Aurora Straus made a spectacular return to Radical Cup North America, securing a victory and a third-place finish at Sebring, establishing herself as a frontrunner in the Pro 1340 class.
Aurora Straus enjoyed a sensational return to Radical Cup North America by claiming victory in the Pro 1340 class at Sebring International Raceway.
Driving for Primal Racing, Straus qualified in sixth before a remarkable comeback drive in race one saw Aurora finish in second, before inheriting victory following a post-race penalty for a rival. In race two, Straus enjoyed more close battles on her way to a third-place result to once again stand on the podium.
Straus returned to Radical Cup North America after making history in the championship back in 2022 as she became the first female driver to claim a race victory. After further appearances in the series during 2023, Aurora returned for a full-time championship challenge in the Pro 1340 class in 2025. Driving for Primal Racing, the talented American driver was aiming to contend for podium finishes from the outset.
The formidable Sebring International Raceway hosted the curtain-raiser with almost 30 cars competing across the three categories. The multi-class racing in Radical Cup North America provides an extra challenge for the drivers with Straus looking to use her past experience to begin the weekend on the front foot.
The drivers were given a series of test sessions prior to the competitive action getting underway and these were vital in developing an effective car setup. Straus finished both sessions in fourth place within the Pro 1340 class, while improving her lap time by almost one and a half seconds over the course of the day.
Friday’s on-track action began with the first of two official free practice sessions, before qualifying took place later in the afternoon. Straus took a huge step forward in the first session as she continued to reacclimatise herself with Radical machinery. The Prima Racing driver ended the session fifth fastest, with her quickest time set on the final lap of practice. A consistent end to practice saw Straus finish session two inside the top-5 ahead of qualifying later that day.
Straus was looking to maximise her one-lap pace in the first qualifying session of the season. It was a disrupted session with a red flag coming out during the middle part of qualifying and this impacted the majority of the field. At the end of the session, Aurora had set the sixth fastest time in class and put herself in position to challenge towards the front of the Pro 1340 class.
Starting race one from sixth on the grid in class, Straus made an excellent start and immediately moved into third position. Despite a number of faster class cars making their way through, Aurora used her experience to pass several of her rivals. A full course yellow period was then required as the car of Jace Bacon needed recovery.
As the racing resumed, Straus again had to deal with faster class cars which were out of position and this time she slipped behind the Pro 1340 class machines of Brady Clapham and Mike D’Ambrose. Now running in fifth, the Primal Racing driver was searching for her rhythm as the race entered a period of stability. Straus was regularly matching the leading Pro 1340 class drivers in the middle part of the lap and this gave her encouragement as she chased time in sector one.
On laps seven and eighth, Straus ran back-to-back personal best times and this allowed her to extend the gap behind her to sixth-place driver Mike Dardin. Two laps later, Cedric Ohayon stopped out on track and therefore a second intervention period was needed. However, this allowed Aurora to catch the drivers ahead and mount a challenge on the restart.
Taking the green flag just a tenth behind D’Ambrose, Straus was showing her intentions to move forward in the closing stages of race one. She quickly passed the Team Stradale driver, while claiming a provisional podium spot after Seth Bacon retired with a technical issue.
Despite leading the majority of the race in the Pro 1340 class, Andy Voelkel spun with three laps to go and therefore Aurora was up to second. A personal best time on the penultimate lap saw Straus extend her margin to the drivers behind and take the checkered flag in second position. However, a penalty awarded to race-winner Clapham meant that Straus inherited the victory to complete a sensational return to Radical Cup North America.
After her phenomenal result in race one, Straus was confident of moving through the field in race two. Starting from fifth in the Pro 1340 class, Straus did a superb job to negotiate a start line incident and initially move up to third, before completing lap one in fourth while the race entered a full course yellow period. The drivers circulated at a reduced speed for an extended period of time as barrier damage required assessment.
When the green flag was displayed Aurora slipped behind both Jace Bacon and Seth Bacon as the Crown Concepts with Apex machines moved ahead. As the race settled into a pattern, Aurora maintained a close margin to podium battle and looked to force a mistake from her rivals. On lap seven, a second full course yellow period was required as the car of Ryan Persing was stranded off-track.
Following an issue for Seth Bacon on the restart, Straus was back into the top-5 and after a clean pass on Mike D’Ambrose, the Primal Racing driver was up to fourth. A personal best time on lap 12 saw Straus extend her gap to D’Ambrose with Aurora now the second fastest driver in the Pro 1340 class. As a result, she reduced the margin to Jace Bacon ahead before just running out of time to make a move.
Nonetheless, Straus finished in fourth position in class to collect another large haul of points to begin her season, later promoted to third following a penalty assessed to Bacon to claim her second podium finish in as many races.
Straus enjoyed a superb return to Radical Cup North America as she was immediately on the pace and challenging for race victories. By finishing both races on the podium, Aurora established herself as a frontrunner in the Pro 1340 class despite being away from the series for a number of years.
The Primal Racing driver will be aiming to continue her strong start to the season as the drivers head to Barber Motorsports Park on the weekend of 3rd/4th May for the next round of the championship.
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