WTR Continues Roll in ProAm; PPM, Forty7 Claim Am, LB Cup Wins
For Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America competitors, the pendulum swung wildly both on-track and in the air from Saturday’s late afternoon sunny first 50-minute race of the weekend to Sunday morning’s cloudy second one at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
After retiring halfway through Saturday’s race on debut in his new team with a part issue, Will Bamber captured his third Pro class win in four races but first aboard the No. 33 XONINE Racing, Lamborghini Chicago, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2. He co-drove the winning entry today with Darius Trinka.
In a race filled with action, contact, passing and drama, the race momentum in multiple classes turned on its head with 30 minutes remaining, mere moments before the mandatory pit window was set to open.
Elias De La Torre, who shares the No. 29 TR3 Racing Huracán with Dennis Lind, pulled off driver’s left at pit exit with a mechanical issue that took the championship-leading car out of action. Trinka had been running third overall, second in Pro, after climbing from fifth in Pro and seventh overall on the grid.
The full-course caution delayed the pit window and jumbled the order, with the pit stop cycle opening once the race restarted 10 minutes later with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Bamber emerged ahead of the remainder of the field once the cycle completed and then maintained the gap for the rest of the race before it finished under caution.
“Speechless, really,” Bamber reflected. “We wanted to get one for the guys after a tough Saturday. It’s been a great weekend, even though Saturday was tough with a bad part. Darius did an amazing job, seventh to second before the pit stop put us in position to capitalize.
“We had a great test before the race; the first test day my mind was fried!” he added of his shift to XONINE. “But we gelled quickly, and we’re working together well as a team.”
Trinka added after his strong opening stint, “The racing gods were in our favor today, for sure. It was a nice clean race. We knew we had the pace. I went forward and executed. It was tough coming from seventh overall, but we had some fire under us after what happened yesterday.”
The No. 4 ANSA Motorsports Huracán of Tommi Gore and Nico Jamin banked its second podium of the weekend with the No. 7 Wayne Taylor Racing Huracán of James Wallis and Al Morey IV on the podium for the first time this year in third.
After a first lap spin that dropped the car to 35th and last, the Race 1-winning No. 1 WTR Huracán of Nick Persing and Hampus Ericsson rallied back to fourth in class. Persing drove through the field to the fringes of the overall top-10 before the full-course caution.
The ProAm race, like in Pro, also swung on a dime at the mid-race full-course caution. Wayne Taylor Racing continued its roll with Graham Doyle and Danny Formal continuing their perfect start to the season in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán. Whereas Formal spent Saturday crediting Doyle, Doyle spent Sunday crediting Formal for the win.
“Pretty much a perfect weekend on our end,” Doyle said. “Once again Danny Formal proves why he’s the best in these things. He got us P2 overall today after he gave me a great car yesterday.”
Success for Doyle and Formal came at the expense of their WTR teammates, as overall polesitter Marc Miller banked a lead nearing 20 seconds that was erased when the full-course caution flew. He and co-driver Paul Nemschoff ended seventh in the No. 41 Huracán.
As they were in Sebring, the No. 77 Forty7 Motorsports Huracán of Lindsay Brewer and Keawn Tandon were second ahead of the No. 44 Kaizen Autosport Huracán of Seth Henry and Wyatt Foster.
In Am, David Staab’s season-long consistency paid off with his first visit to the top step of the podium and fourth top-three finish in as many races in his No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán. The win for Staab came as Anthony Bullock, poised for a weekend sweep in his No. 12 XONINE Huracán, was stuck in the gravel in Turn 9 in the waning moments and lost the lead.
“This race, we knew we had a great car; we’d led practice one and two, but first qualifying couldn’t get a lap in,” Staab said. “We finally got a good gap, showed the pace before the stop, and avoided mistakes when others had them.”
It shifted the podium to Gabriel Holguin in a season-best second in his No. 45 PPM Huracán, with Johan Schwartz and Mike Fitzpatrick third in their No. 89 89x Motorsports entry.
LB Cup also saw a fluid ride with each of the podium finishers taking a turn leading the class. Ultimately, Christopher Koebbe claimed his first win in the No. 66 Forty7 Motorsports, Lamborghini Philadelphia, Huracán. Teammate Christopher Tasca banked his second podium in as many days in the No. 95 Huracán with Rocky T. Bolduc completing the podium in the No. 99 Topp Racing Huracán.
“It was definitely a tough weekend; I had no brakes in qualifying so I started last,” Koebbe explained. “But the Forty7 Motorsports team rallied so well.”
The frantic but fun second race of the weekend leaves the championship battles fairly close in three of four classes heading to Watkins Glen International for Rounds 5-6, June 26-27.
Unofficially in Pro, just one point separates the Ericsson/Persing pair for WTR from Bamber, now in the XONINE entry, and De La Torre in the TR3 car.
In ProAm, WTR’s Doyle and Formal’s perfect four-for-four start sees them more than 20 points clear of the Brewer/Tandon and Foster/Henry lineups.
Staab’s got a healthy gap to Nick Groat and Schwartz in Am, while in LB Cup, Philippe Touchette and Bolduc are within just two points.
