Larson headed next to the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout
MILLVILLE, NJ (November 10, 2026) – After three grueling days of fitness testing, interviews, sim work and racing, Lincoln Larson topped seven other finalists to capture PT Autosport’s Aspiring Driver Shootout.
Larson will join the team’s junior squad and earn financial support of up to $250,000 ($50,000 guaranteed) to further his racing career.
The 18-year-old from Park City, Utah, has an opportunity to gain additional support for his career next week, when he joins PT Autosport’s Max Stallone as team drivers who have been invited to the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout.
Larson won the 2025 Spec Miata title and went on to earn a $75,000 Mazda scholarship at the Spec MX-5 Shootout. He contested the VIR round of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, finishing 24th and 16th – gaining 14 positions in the second race.
If Larson is looking for examples of how the Aspiring Driver Shootout can change a young racer’s life, he need look no further than two past winners who were on hand at the Shootout: Luis Beilicke came into last year’s Shootout as a leading sim racer, with no racing experience. Under PT Autosport’s mentorship, he dominated the UK-based Ginetta GT Academy series’ rookie class, capturing a record setting 16 wins in 18 races on his way to the championship title. Inaugural Shootout winner Henry Drury, who handled sim management and data analysis at the Shootout, recently captured the Ginetta Challenge North America championship.
Larson knows that winning the Shootout will change the trajectory of his career, which made his initial reaction completely understandable.
“I was honestly speechless,” said Larson, who is also an instructor at the Allen Berg Racing School at Utah Motorsports Campus. “It was a roller coaster of emotions and I’m not sure it’s even set in yet. This is life-changing for me. I know how much work me and my family and everyone else who supports me has put into this, into believing in me, so there’s also some relief. I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone, from the judges to PT management, everyone who helped me this week.”
Day one of the Shootout held the off-track testing: each candidate made a presentation to the judges about their aspirations and background, and answered questions, then were tested on their sim racing skills. Each finalist then moved on to the fitness test, conducted by Jim Leo, owner of Indianapolis-based PitFit – known globally as one of the leading motorsports and high-performance athlete fitness and training facilities.
Through those three tests, Larson impressed the judges, including Shootout coordinator Alex Sedgwick – one of the founders of PT Autosport, who drove for the team in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America and in GT World Challenge America.
“Lincoln was very good in the sim, in terms of approach – he built up speed carefully and was eager to learn,” said Sedgwick. “We had competitors who were driving the sim in the way that you would in iRacing but that doesn’t apply in any way to the real world. We really didn’t care how fast they were in iRacing: we wanted to know that they could learn, adapt, and take care of a car. Lincoln did a nice job at that.”
Days two and three focused on driving, with each of the eight finalists going out in the team’s Ginetta G56 GTAs with their assigned coach (the coaching team included Cameron Davies, Will Martin and Anton Spires). As each driver progressed, they then took the wheel – though several finalists were eliminated at the end of day two. As day three ended, the choice was clear.
“We had Lincoln first, Vasilios Beletsiotis (from Cologne, Germany) second, and Ellis Spiezia (Hoboken, New Jersey) third,” said Drury. “Lincoln had exactly the kind of approach we’re looking for, undeniable pace, and solid all-round skills. There’s lots we can improve and develop, but he has all of the core traits that make for a future professional racing driver. Vasilios was a well-deserved P2, he developed steadily throughout the week and really surprised us with his improvement from day 1 to day 3, as did Ellis.”
Beletsiotis earned $10,000 to help further his racing career, along with OMP driving shoes and gloves, while Spiezia took home a $5,000 scholarship and a pair of OMP racing gloves. As winner, Larson will receive a full OMP Racing “kit” including a custom race suit and nomex, boots, and gloves for his debut year with PT Autosport.
PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers noted that every year the Aspiring Driver Shootout kicks it up a notch in terms of competition, helping the team choose the best driver for its program.
“Another outstanding Shootout,” said Myers. “I think it was a step up in every aspect of operations and in competition from the candidates. Having Jim Leo from PitFit doing our fitness assessment was a huge benefit to us, he was able to build some good assessments on each candidate for the fitness test, including VO2 max and reaction times.
“Competition in the Ginetta G56s was also great. It was a very tough decision that took us down to the final moments until we ultimately decided on Lincoln. We’re looking forward to having him on the team – and we wish him good luck with the Mazda MX-5 Shootout next week! And of course, we thank all of our partners: OMP, Pirelli, PitFit, Ginetta, Billfold, Flow Society, Solenza, Myers Tactical and of course, Momentum Brewery and Race Brew 0.0%.”
About PT Autosport — Discover Unique Talent. Develop Champions.
PT Autosport provides merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals with high integrity, grit, and coach-ability, achieved through a development program for young aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other professionals. The first step of this process is applying for the annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a team racing partnership with the team.
A rigorous evaluation process of applicants determines the final competitors for the driver shootout. The winner earns financial support of up to $250,000 ($50,000 guaranteed) to pursue their racing career. The review process also provides the team the chance to identify unique talent for other roles in motorsport, including race engineers, mechanics, and professionals.
PT Autosport is building a community that fosters the development of young talent to find a place where they can make an impact in the motorsport community as a career.
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