Alvaro Parente claimed the GT Drivers’ Championship after a last-lap incident between O’Connell and Patrick Long.
O’Connell crossed the line 0.464 seconds ahead of Parente, after the Cadillac driver and Long made contact while battling for the lead on the final-lap restart.
Long, who was running second at the time, lost the championship to K-PAX Racing’s Parente due to the contact in Turn 5, which sent his Porsche 911 GT3 R off course. He finished fifth.
It marked McLaren GT factory driver Parente’s first PWC title while the Flying Lizard Motorsports-run K-PAX squad picked up the GT Teams’ Title and McLaren won the Manufacturers’ Championship.
The Laguna Seca raceway race will be part of the Intercontinetal GT Challenge in 2017. (confirmed dates : 21-22 October 2017)