McLaren Glasgow by Greystone GT continued their winning run in the Pure McLaren GT Series as team regular Iain Campbell scored the first victory of his racing career at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, last weekend.
The Sandhurst driver’s win in the second of three races at the United States Formula One Grand Prix venue came after he produced a flawless drive; resisting intense pressure from behind for the entire 25-minute race.
It marked a fantastic transition from rookie to racer for Iain, who finished his first season of motorsport on the ultimate high and added to McLaren Glasgow by Greystone GT’s Portimao win with Tim Whale in September.
Iain served notice of his intent during Friday’s opener. Having qualified second in the Bruce McLaren Cup class for McLaren 570S GT4s, he leapt into the lead at the start and spent the entire 25 minutes disputing the top spot, eventually finishing just 0.4 seconds from the win.
He took a further step forward on Saturday as he again surged ahead at the start from second on the grid, but this time was never headed as he won with a fastest lap that was quicker than his Friday qualifying time.
Following his win, Iain opted to move into the faster Trophy class for Sunday’s finale, a 45-minute enduro featuring a mid-race driver change in which he aimed to compete for the overall victory.
Paired with Oli Webb - the former European Le Mans Series Champion with whom he scored four podiums in the UK’s GT Cup - Iain, now equipped with 110bhp more than GT4-spec 570S he’s raced all year, started third.
He ended his stint in the same position as he handed over to professional racer Oli for the second half of the race, but a power issue caused the Knutsford ace to slip back during his stint. He crossed the line fourth in class.
McLaren Glasgow by Greystone GT end their Pure McLaren campaign with two victories while Silverstone-based Greystone GT were also victorious at their home track in August in the GT Cup as Rich Mason and Jon Lancaster triumphed with their McLaren 570S GT4.
Iain Campbell said: “It feels fantastic to be a race winner, but I’ve definitely had easier races this year - the pressure that I was put under by the guys I was mainly racing with was intense. But I did a lot of preparation on the sim before I came out to Texas and it was useful, though I wasn’t expecting some of the bits of the track to be quite as bumpy as they were. After I got the win and the second place, the team suggested that Oli and I move up to the Trophy class for the pitstop race because I’d only been about two seconds a lap slower in the GT4 on Saturday, so we did that. It was going well too and I pitted from third, but Oli wasn’t getting full power in his stint so we lost a bit of time and couldn’t keep the podium spot. It’s been a fantastic experience and one I’ll always remember.”
Oli Webb said: “Iain did a great job all weekend and was on it straight away. We’d made sure he had some good preparation on the sim back in the UK last week and that really helped. The fact he was in a GT4 - the type of car we’ve raced together all year - was a big help, but even so, beating a bunch of Americans who have raced here before was very impressive. We were all made up for him that he got the win on Saturday, which he really deserved, and we decided to move up to the more powerful Trophy class for Sunday. Iain did a top job to bring the car into the pits in third, but we had an issue where we weren’t getting full power, so that caused me to slip back during my stint. Still a great experience at a great track.”
Mark McLoughlin, Team Principal, said: “This time last year Iain was preparing for his first-ever motor race, so to see him get his first victory this weekend, after all his hard work, was very special for all of us. He’s adapted brilliantly to the challenge of a circuit that’s renowned for its challenging nature and helped McLaren Glasgow by Greystone GT to score a second win in as many Pure McLaren events. The trip to COTA has been a big success for us with the track programme we’ve been running and we’d certainly like to come back with more cars representing even more McLaren dealers in 2022.”
