RLL hopeful it's returning to form as IMSA visits Road America

One year ago, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing claimed overall victory in IMSA’s annual visit to Road America, but only after learning that its nearly 20-year partnership with BMW was going to come to an end.

RLL now returns to the venue aligned with McLaren, racing in the GTD Pro class, and slowly building momentum after a season-best sixth-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job getting up to speed,” said Max Esterson, one of RLL Team McLaren’s two American rookie drivers alongside Indy NXT title contender Nikita Johnson.

“I think at Daytona maybe we weren’t in a great window, but I think by the time we got to Sebring, the car was in a pretty good place. It’s just been about executing in the races. I don’t think we’ve made too many mistakes, it’s just a few small issues throughout the race – or you could even say, a bit of bad luck. Although I think that evens out by the end of the year.”

The sprint race at CTMP saw Esterson qualify second in class aboard the orange No. 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo; that was the car’s first front-row start since McLaren factory driver Dean MacDonald qualified the car second for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, an astonishing result in RLL Team McLaren’s first outing.

Esterson and Johnson ran second for a good portion of the race at CTMP until the final round of pit stops shuffled them down to sixth, still a season best, but far from what Esterson feels was possible from the weekend.

“Ending up sixth was a bit disappointing,” Esterson lamented. “There wasn’t really much we could do about the situation. We just ended up a bit short on fuel because one of the [safety car] pass-arounds was too slow to top up. So it was a hard thing to avoid, from that perspective.”

On top of that, mechanical issues for the No. 59 McLaren led to an uncompetitive result at Daytona and a DNF at Watkins Glen have hurt the team’s form. Esterson and Johnson currently sit ninth in the GTD Pro championship table, last of the nine full-season teams in the category.

“But overall, we have a lot of the pieces that we need to get some good results,” Esterson says.

It’s been a difficult year, but a rewarding one, as both Esterson and Johnson, single-seater racers by trade throughout their young careers, have acclimated to multi-class endurance racing.

Johnson, who is pursuing a future in the IndyCar Series, is enjoying the challenge of racing established factory GT drivers in the top-tier GTD Pro category. “It’s pretty surreal crazy to race against some of these guys that, not too long ago, I was watching as a spectator at Daytona and Sebring,” he said.

“But it’s good to learn from them, I think they drive harder in this category than in Indy NXT or even IndyCar, because obviously you can go rub onto each other, and hit each other. There’s a lot more opportunities to drive tough and really go for it. It’s good to be in this ecosystem and learn this, and it’ll make me a better driver for IndyCar."

Coming from his background in European single-seater racing, Esterson is learning on the fly how strategy in much longer races can make or break a race. “It’s interesting in IMSA, just how much the small things matter, Especially with pit sequences, it’s such a big deal, especially on tracks that you can’t pass easily,” he said.

“Last race was a good example where a good in and out-lap, and a bit of a short-fill, it seems that often decides the race. You’ve got to drive as fast as you can, without using too much energy when a yellow is likely.”

Sunday’s race will see RLL Team McLaren and its two young drivers challenge once again for its first GTD Pro podium.