Kaia Teo takes back-to-back McLaren Trophy pro-class podiums at Road America
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Kaia Teo continued her competitive 2026 McLaren Trophy North America campaign with a double class podium at Road America, securing third place in the Pro class in both races.
Kaia Teo continued her competitive 2026 McLaren Trophy North America campaign with a double class podium at Road America, securing third place in the Pro class in both races. Sharing the #8 Forte Racing McLaren Artura again with Paul Holton, Teo combined strong race pace with a pair of competitive stints as the duo recovered from difficult circumstances in the opening race and produced a determined charge through the field in Race 2.
Teo arrived at Road America as one of the leading contenders in the Pro class championship, having raced as a front-runner during her first season in the series. She made an immediate impact on her debut at Sonoma, winning the Pro class, and continued to build her championship challenge through the following rounds.
At Miami, a scheduling clash for her regular teammate meant Teo was paired with Jon Miller, but the change did little to disrupt her competitive form. The duo finished ninth overall and fourth in Pro, collecting valuable championship points. She entered the Road America weekend second in the Pro class standings, with another strong points haul crucial to maintaining that position heading into the final stages of the season.
For Road America, Teo was reunited with Paul Holton, and the pairing immediately showed front-running pace in practice. Holton and Teo finished 15th overall and fifth in Pro during the opening session, before making a substantial step forward in FP2. Holton put the #8 McLaren at the top of the overall timing sheets with a 2:08.819, providing an early indication that the car had the speed to fight for the leading positions.
Holton was behind the wheel for the opening qualifying session and he posted a 2:07.967, setting the fastest times through both the first and second sectors and moving into second position before returning to the pits. The effort ultimately came close to pole position: Holton missed the top spot by just 0.006 seconds, securing second in the Pro class for the opening race.
Teo then took over the #8 McLaren for the second qualifying session. Her first benchmark of 2:10.341 initially placed her fifth in Pro and 15th overall, with the times extremely close throughout the field. Despite the competitiveness of the session, Teo retained fifth in class and 15th overall, giving the pairing a front-row start for one race and a more challenging recovery assignment for the other.
Saturday afternoon's opening race was held on a wet circuit following earlier rain, adding another variable to an already competitive Pro class. Holton took the start from second overall and on pole position in Pro, with Neser alongside him at the front. Neser retained the lead when the race went green, while Holton settled into second and immediately concentrated on keeping the gap under control.
Holton was unable to match Neser's pace completely, with the leader gradually extending his advantage, but the Forte Racing driver also had to manage increasing pressure from Cooper Broll behind. Jon Miller soon joined the fight, although he initially remained around three seconds behind.
As Neser pulled approximately six seconds clear at the front, Holton began losing ground to Miller, with the gap falling by around two seconds. Holton responded by pushing harder and produced a 2:24.5, briefly setting the fastest Pro-class lap.
Miller nevertheless had the pace to respond, and by lap six he had caught Holton, placing the #8 McLaren under significant pressure for the class position. Holton defended strongly as the pit window approached, but the race was soon affected by another major strategic complication. Kenneth Gregg's #6 car went into the gravel, triggering a Full Course Yellow during the pit sequence. Holton remained on track for a couple more laps, with most of the field electing to pit immediately under Safety Car conditions.
He eventually brought the McLaren in on lap 11, handing the car over to Teo. The timing of the stop dropped the car to eighth overall and fourth in the Pro class, leaving Teo with a significant amount of work to recover - however the strategy ultimately worked in favour of the duo as several cars that pitted earlier were left almost a lap down.
When racing returned to green with 17 minutes remaining, Teo immediately settled into a good rhythm. She was subsequently handed a 7.21-second penalty for a short pit stop, creating an additional challenge for the closing stages, but the #8 McLaren still held a substantial advantage over Patrick Liddy, the closest Pro-class rival behind.
Teo continued to improve her pace, initially posting a 2:20.355 before lowering her benchmark into the 2:19s with a best of 2:19.3. With the penalty not posing a threat, her priority became maintaining the car's position and avoiding any further complications.
She delivered exactly that, bringing the McLaren home seventh overall and third in the Pro class. Despite the difficult pit sequence, the penalty and the wet conditions, Teo and Holton had recovered to secure a valuable podium and put themselves in position to score another strong result on Sunday.
The second race provided Teo and Holton with another opportunity to fight for the Pro podium, with Teo taking the opening stint from fifth in Pro and 18th overall. She settled into 18th overall at the start but immediately began looking forward. Teo applied pressure to Stevens and completed the pass later in the opening lap to move into 17th, before pulling clear and beginning to chase down Teoman.
The pressure on Teoman quickly intensified, with Teo closing to within half a second. She completed the pass on lap four, moving into 16th overall and immediately turning her attention to Lumsden ahead.
The race remained green when James Li, winner of the opening race, encountered a technical problem on lap seven and was forced to limp back toward the pits. Teo benefited from the incident, moving into fourth in Pro and 15th overall as the pit window approached.
She completed her stop on lap nine from fourth in Pro, handing the McLaren over to Holton. The team produced a strong pit stop, allowing Holton to rejoin 12th overall while retaining fourth position in the Pro class.
Holton immediately went on the attack. He passed Ploskas to move into 11th overall and survived a close call with a lapped car before continuing his charge. Harrison was the next target, approximately three seconds up the road.
Holton closed the gap and completed the pass, moving into ninth overall by lap 16. Grecco was now ahead, separating him from Hanley, who represented the next Pro-class podium contender and was only around three seconds in front.
The battle intensified rapidly. One lap later, Holton found a way past Hanley to take third in Pro, while also moving into eighth overall. He then completed another pass on Grecco to move up to seventh overall, continuing an impressive charge through the field.
The next target was Balseghian, a ProAm runner ahead. When Balseghian spun under pressure, Holton was able to capitalize and continue his progress. On lap 19, he passed both James and Highland to move into fourth overall.
At that stage, Holton had completed a remarkable recovery drive and was already on the Pro podium - third in class - and only around ten seconds behind Pro rival Stockard, with enough time remaining to potentially mount another challenge.
The charge was ultimately interrupted by another late-race caution. With five minutes remaining, Grecco became involved in a three-way battle and went off, making contact with the barriers and bringing out the Full Course Yellow.
The race finished under caution, preventing Holton from making any further progress, but the result was already secure. Teo and Holton crossed the finish line third in the Pro class, completing a second consecutive podium and securing another valuable points haul for Teo's championship campaign.
The final round of the McLaren Trophy North America season will take place at Indianapolis from October 8–11, where Teo and the team will look to convert the momentum from their double podium at Road America into another strong points haul and finish the campaign on a high.
