WTR Wins Pro and ProAm; XONINE Goes 1-2 in Am; TB Autosports Claims LB Cup Triumph
A key driver shift in the Pro class headlined the pre-race notes for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America’s cross-country trip from Sebring to Monterey. But the race’s defending winner who stayed put recaptured the flag in the first 50-minute race of the weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Nick Persing, who shared the No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 with Hampus Ericsson, scored his third straight Monterey Pro and overall win in style.
A year after the Morgan Hill, California resident won in a photo finish by just 0.006 of a second over his teammate, Persing needed the opposite approach to bank a margin and build enough of a gap to offset a penalty.
Initially, it appeared as though the race would come down to the No. 29 TR3 Racing and No. 33 XONINE Racing entries, which featured revised lineups in Monterey. TR3 welcomed Dennis Lind alongside Elias De La Torre while Will Bamber shifted to the XONINE entry alongside Darius Trinka. For good measure, the pair of cars started alongside each other from the front row.
From pole, Lind withstood Bamber’s initial challenge, then restarted from the lead after an early full-course caution, which positioned him well heading into the mandatory pit stop window. The Dane held a consistent one-second gap before the stop and pitted with 26 minutes remaining to hand off to De La Torre.
Bamber attempted an overcut in his No. 33 XONINE car, running a lap longer before pitting himself and handing off to Trinka. The battle was for naught as the No. 33 car slowed on course on its out lap leaving the pits and parked past Turn 3.
That promoted Persing’s No. 1 WTR Huracán into second, less than a second behind De La Torre. And then it got interesting.
With roughly 10 minutes left in the race, Persing made a passing attempt for the lead on De La Torre at the Corkscrew, but inadvertently pitched the No. 29 car into a spin. The No. 1 car was assessed a 10-second post-race time penalty, which meant Persing had to set sail to secure the win.
Over the course of the final six laps, Persing pulled out anywhere from 1.5 to 2 seconds per lap to win by 11.274 seconds over De La Torre. With the 10-second penalty added, he still had a 1.274-second final margin of victory.
“There was a lot of lapped traffic and I didn’t mean to get into him at all,” Persing said. “I thought it was a racing incident. I’ll find him and apologize. But once the team told me I had a penalty, I put my head down and drove as fast as I could. I was going to drive as hard as I could. I have to thank the team for an amazing car to be able to push this hard.
“I think it’s just the home crowd,” he added of his Monterey form. “There’s something about family and friends being here. It’s about linking corners together.”
Ericsson added simply about watching the drive, “I’m speechless.”
ANSA Motorsports’ Tommi Gore and Nico Jamin, the latter deputizing for Colin Queen this weekend, completed the Pro podium in their No. 4 Huracán.
The joy for Wayne Taylor Racing extended to ProAm as well, as one of two classes featuring a team sweeping the top two spots.
Danny Formal got ahead of Joel Miller for the ProAm lead shortly after the initial start, a key move in the class before he handed off his No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán to Graham Doyle.
That move proved pivotal to the duo’s third win in as many races to start the season. Doyle took the flag by 15.259 seconds over teammates Marc Miller and Paul Nemschoff in the No. 41 WTR Huracán. TR3’s Mateo Siderman and Martin Fuentes scored their first 2026 podium in their No. 63 Huracán.
“The car had way more than a P5; I told Graham I’d make it up for him, and for him, he was a machine out there,” Formal said. “It was so impressive to watch. Seeing his growth is impressive, particularly with his traffic management.”
Am saw the XONINE Racing team emerge victorious for the second time in as many weekends, although with its first 1-2 result. Anthony Bullock, in his No. 12 XONINE Racing, Lamborghini Chicago, Huracán broke through to end an elusive run awaiting a victory, his first since Race 2 at Watkins Glen in Am in 2024.
“It’s amazing to be back,” Bullock said. “It’s been a rough road back since Road America last year; it didn’t end well. To come back and still struggle at Sebring but then come out to see how much XONINE and Lamborghini came through for us.”
Nick Groat was second in the similar No. 57 XONINE entry with David Staab third in the No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports entry. Staab and Groat both won Race 1 at Monterey last year, and Groat won the 2026 season opener in Am at Sebring.
In LB Cup, Philippe Touchette made a pass of Rocky T. Bolduc to secure his first win in the No. 11 TB Autosports, Lamborghini Montreal, Huracán. Bolduc, the Sebring Race 2 winner, scored his second straight podium in the No. 99 Topp Racing entry with Chris Tasca bouncing back from a tough Sebring and tough Friday in Monterey battling gearbox issues to podium in his No. 95 Forty7 Motorsports entry.
“I guess I got pretty lucky,” Touchette explained. “I think there was a pro behind us. Rocky maybe slowed a bit too much, and I took the opportunity to make the move.”
The second Lamborghini Super Trofeo race of the weekend is Sunday at 10:35 a.m. PT, 1:35 p.m. ET, streaming on Peacock, IMSA’s Official YouTube and Lamborghini’s YouTube channels.
