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Media release 13.00 GMT, November 29, 2019

Mia Flewitt secures second successive Pure McLaren GT Series title in Bahrain

▪ Mia Flewitt successfully defends Pure McLaren GT Series championship title ▪ Race wins for Al-Khalifa, Ojjeh and Proctor as 2019 season concludes in Bahrain ▪ First ever night races for Pure McLaren GT Series

The final event of the 2019 FIA-approved Pure McLaren GT Series season took place in Bahrain on November 26-28 with a field of 19 McLaren 570S GT4 cars competing on the 5.412 km (3.363 mi) Sakhir circuit, also home to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

With the championship set to be decided, there was a lot at stake in the final three races of the season, with reigning champion Mia Flewitt aiming to fend off rookie challenger Nick Moss. Adding to the excitement, these would be the first ever Pure McLaren GT Series races to be held at night.

Heading both title contenders in qualifying on the opening day of the event, however, was invitation class driver Isa Al-Khalifa, who took pole position for race one. Points leader Flewitt would share the front of the grid, fastest of the championship competitors but Moss was unable to lap within a second of the pole time, and joined Issam Charrouf on the next row.

Despite dropping to fourth place on the opening lap, Al-Khalifa quickly recovered to win the opening race. Meanwhile there was plenty of action behind, mostly from Moss who tailed leader Flewitt on the opening tour before falling to fifth, sparking a stirring recovery drive. He clawed his way back to third place as Charrouf dropped down the order, but Flewitt responded perfectly to win the championship points race, opening the gap to her closest rival.

Moss fared much better in qualifying on the second day, taking a front row slot alongside polesitter and Bruce McLaren Cup rival Patrice Gautier. Christian Buechel and Peter Karpati shared the second row, whilst Flewitt could only manage seventh place in the session.

Moss got the jump on Gautier to take an early lead in the race, but quickly lost out not just to the pole man, but also Karpati and Sultan Ojjeh. Title rival Flewitt also ensured fluctuating fortunes, initially losing two places before regaining them via a late charge that netted sixth overall just one behind

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Moss and now just three points short of a successful title defence. The race was won by Ojjeh, who took the lead late on, with Karpati wresting second from Gautier.

Al-Khalifa returned for the final race and again set impressive times in qualifying to take pole position with Gautier completing the front row, ahead of Flewitt and Proctor. Moss, meanwhile, would start from sixth place on the grid.

This time, Al-Khalifa was unable to break away from the chasing pack and a thrilling race ensued, with Gautier and Proctor losing ground as Moss surged to second place and kept the leader under close scrutiny. In the tense battle that followed, Moss, Proctor and Flewitt swapped places but Al-Khalifa seemed set fair until the closing laps when the order shuffled dramatically. Proctor was the main beneficiary, taking the win from Al-Khalifa with Flewitt completing the podium a net second place - ahead of Brendan Iribe and Moss.

Moss ended the season with the Bruce McLaren Cup title for the best rookie driver.

The Pure McLaren GT Series will return in 2020, with the new calendar set to be confirmed shortly.

Ends

Notes to editors:

The Pure McLaren GT Series is a prestigious one-make championship for amateur racers to enjoy their first steps in motorsport, in an environment benefiting from full McLaren support. Drivers have a dedicated driver coach and full engineering and technical support to ensure that their skills and race craft continue to develop at every round. Luxury hotels and five-star McLaren dining experiences ensure that drivers enjoy a great social scene and the championship benefits from close camaraderie both on and off the track.

Drivers race in technically identical McLaren 570S GT4 cars so that the emphasis is on driver skill.

Pure McLaren GT Series is made up of two categories: Pure McLaren GT Series (competed for by all drivers), The Bruce McLaren Cup (only open to drivers who have not held a racing licence for longer than a year and not competed in any racing higher than a club level race event).

Pure McLaren GT Series races solely on Pure McLaren weekends to guarantee a premium and exclusive environment with likeminded drivers. The 2019 calendar is:

Round 1, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, 1 2 June Round 2, Hungaroring, Hungary, 29 30 June

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Round 3, Hockenheim, Germany, 31 August 1 September Round 4, Silverstone, UK, 12 13 October Round 5, Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain, 27 28 November

A selection of high resolution images accompanying this release is available to download from the McLaren Automotive media site cars.mclaren.press

About McLaren Automotive: McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance sportscars and supercars.

Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in , Surrey, England.

Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.

The company has defined product families: Sports Series, Super Series, Ultimate Series and Motorsport which are retailed through over 80 retailers in more than 30 markets around the world.

McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fibre chassis into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1. Then in 1993 it designed and built the McLaren F1 road car - the company has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis since. As part of the Ultimate Series, McLaren was the first to deliver a

research and development to deliver 18 new cars or derivatives by the end of 2025.

In 2018, the company launched the 600LT and the first two cars of Track25, the McLaren Speedtail, the next Ultimate Series, -GT, and 720S Spider. It also opened a new £50m McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region in the Nor that are at the heart of all McLaren cars.

2019 saw McLaren launch the 600LT Spider confirmed as the third car of Track25, with a new GT car announced and the previously-confirmed track-only Senna GTR unveiled.

To support the development, engineering and manufacture of its range of innovative sportscars and supercars, McLaren Automotive partners with world leading companies to provide specialist expertise, technology and solutions. These include , Pirelli, Dell Technologies, Ashurst, AkzoNobel and OnePlus.

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Further information:

Piers Scott Global Communications & PR Director | McLaren Automotive Limited

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