Alexandra Hainer makes IMSA Pilot Challenge debut with second overall at IMS
- RACERS
- 19 minutes ago
- 4 min read
In her first IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge start, Alexandra Hainer was the protagonist of an outstanding debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as the #21 Motorsport In Action McLaren sealed a remarkable runner-up finish overall.
After a remarkable rookie season in McLaren Trophy North America, Alexandra Hainer made her first-ever start in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, stepping up to the highly competitive GS class aboard the #21 Motorsport In Action McLaren Artura GT4. And she did so with an outstanding performance, securing second place overall.
Sharing driving duties with her regular McLaren Trophy teammate Jesse Lazare, Hainer continued the successful partnership that has already brought her to the top positions of the ProAm class in the one-make series, now bringing that momentum to the IMSA stage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hainer has been one of the revelations of the 2025 McLaren Trophy season, quickly emerging as a front-runner in her debut campaign. Two class victories and a podium at Circuit of the Americas had launched her into the ProAm championship lead, which she extended with two runner-up finishes at VIRginia International Raceway and further podiums at Road America — narrowly missing victory by just three tenths in Race 2.
Arriving at Indianapolis, she was ready for a new, bigger challenge, but showed the same competitiveness that has marked her season so far.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120, supporting the IMSA Battle on the Bricks, featured six female drivers across the grid — four in TCR and two in GS, including Hainer’s much-anticipated debut. From the outset, the Motorsports In Action McLaren proved a front-running contender. In the first practice session, Lazare set the second-fastest time with a 1:29.706, while Hainer impressed immediately in her first-ever laps in Pilot Challenge, just two seconds adrift after 20 laps of running.
The pair continued strongly in FP2, where Lazare clocked the third-fastest lap in a tightly bunched top three separated by only two tenths. Hainer improved further, lowering her personal best to 1:31.640, a promising sign ahead of qualifying.
For Saturday’s two-hour race, it was Hainer who handled qualifying duties, and she delivered a strong performance, improving again with a 1:31.577 — her best lap of the weekend and just 1.8 seconds from pole. That effort placed the #21 McLaren 17th in the GS class, with both drivers confident in their race pace to move forward.
When the green flag dropped, Hainer took the start and showed good racecraft immediately. With a clean getaway through turns one and two, she slotted into P15, quickly finding her rhythm. Her pace improved lap by lap, breaking into the 1:32s by lap three as she closed in on the Mustangs of Michaelian and Quinlan. In the midst of GS and TCR traffic, Hainer held her ground in P15 with consistent 1:32s pace.
Drama struck on lap nine when the #4 CarBahn BMW of Cain outbraked himself into turn one and hit the #21 McLaren. Hainer smartly avoided major damage by running through the grass, though she sustained some front-right toe damage that she would have to nurse for the rest of her stint.
Moments later, the first full-course caution flew for debris on the main straight. While most of the GS field pitted for fuel, Hainer stayed out and climbed to fifth overall.
On the restart six laps later, she slipped back to sixth as Chaves’ Toyota Supra got by, but quickly resumed her 1:32 pace, driving consistently. Despite pressure from McLeod’s Mustang and Holton’s Aston Martin, Hainer held eighth place, surviving a close call when Uretsky’s McLaren ran deep at turn one and missed her by inches.
Demonstrating maturity, Hainer managed the car’s damage and executed a smart one-stop strategy while running solidly in the overall top ten. With just over an hour remaining, another caution was triggered when the #18 Hyundai came to a halt at turn one.
Anticipating the neutralization, many cars had already stopped, while Hainer again stayed out, holding eighth before finally pitting on lap 34 under caution. She handed the car to Lazare after a mistake-free, competitive, and strategically smart first IMSA stint despite the earlier contact.
Lazare rejoined in P10 with 53 minutes to go and immediately began his charge. Clearing a lapped car, he picked off Westphal and Altzman within a lap, before engaging in a close battle with Jan Heylen’s Porsche. With the top ten covered by just a handful of seconds, Lazare climbed to seventh as penalties shuffled the order, and then to sixth as the lead Toyota was hit with a drive-through. He stayed in the thick of a fierce multi-car battle, narrowly avoiding debris after contact between rivals brought out another caution with 40 minutes left.
On the restart, Lazare wasted no time, passing Heylen to move into the top five. His pace in the 1:31s put him in the fight for the podium, and when further incidents struck ahead, he seized the opportunity climbing to third after Johnson and Plumb tangled.
Closing in on the Mustangs of Liefooghe and Noaker, he passed Liefooghe for second on lap 54, while Noaker stretched a five-second lead. But when another caution was triggered by a tyre debris, that gap was erased.
With 17 minutes left, the race reset for a final dash to the flag. Lazare launched an intense battle with Noaker’s Mustang, attempting multiple moves before having to slot back in line, as Michael Cooper’s McLaren also joined the fight. In a three-way scrap for the lead, Lazare set his fastest lap at 1:31.237 as the top three pulled away.
With just minutes remaining, Cooper snatched second and then grabbed the lead, while Lazare fought back into P2 on the penultimate lap.
At the chequered flag, the #21 Motorsport In Action McLaren Artura GT4 crossed the line in second place overall, just 1.2 seconds shy of victory. For Hainer, it was a dream debut: on her first-ever IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge start, on her first Indianapolis Motor Speedway visit, she had stood on the overall podium after a superb opening stint that kept the car in contention.
After one of the most convincing debuts in recent series' memory, Alexandra Hainer will look to build on this momentum and close her 2025 season in equally impressive fashion.
