One year after becoming the first woman to race in the Radical Cup North America - and the first woman to win - Aurora Straus will return at the wheel of the Radical prototypes for the Blue Marble Radical Cup
American racing driver Aurora Straus, 24, announced a return to the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America, after becoming the first woman to enter the series - and win a race - in 2022. Straus will be driving the #17 Richard Mille Radical RS3 in the Pro 1500 class.
An experienced sports car racer, Aurora started her racing career in spec Mazda MX-5 cars in 2015, before progressing into the 2016 Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge and then Pirelli World Challenge Sprint-X series in 2018, in a BMW M4 GT4 operated by ST Racing. She would claim two victories and four podiums, ultimately finishing runner up in the class standings.
The Harvard graduate has since then mainly competed in GT4 machinery, making several appearances in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge since 2017, returning to the season opener at Daytona in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023.
In 2021, Straus was part of an all-female Richard Mille-backed operation in GT4 America, where she teamed up with two-time IMSA GTD champion Christina Nielsen at the wheel of a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Earlier this year, Straus was back at Daytona International Speedway for the first round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, where she had a spectacular run in the Crucial Motorsports' McLaren Artura, charging from 44th to finish sixth overall in the 4-hour race.
A Richard Mille ambassador, Straus announced her plans for the rest of the season, which will see the American return to the prototypes of Radical Cup, for a six-calendar event starting from this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park.
The series will race alongside IndyCar in four rounds - Barber Motorsports Park, Road America, Toronto and Laguna Seca - plus a round on the USAC schedule at COTA, Austin.
Each race event includes two 30 minute practice sessions, a 30 minute qualifying and three 40 minute races.