The Points Earned by Danny Formal and Kyle Marcelli Put the Wayne Taylor Racing Duo atop the Pro Class Standings Heading into the Two Races
By Mark Robinson
AVONDALE, La. – Danny Formal and Kyle Marcelli wasted no time in taking over the Pro class points lead in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America on Saturday morning, sweeping to the pole positions for both weekend races in qualifying at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Formal was first out in the No. 1 Prestige Performance with Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Paramus Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2, setting fastest overall time for Race 1 later in the day with a lap of 1 minute, 35.484 seconds (103.682 mph). Marcelli took over the car for Race 2 qualifying on used Pirelli tires and squeezed in a final lap of 1:36.149 (102.965 mph) to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s finale.
“We needed this, especially with the unknowns of the weather,” said Marcelli, referring to the chance of rain later Saturday and on Sunday. “We knew qualifying was going to be so crucial, plus there’s extra valuable points. We just scored two points so that gets us back to the championship lead.”
Indeed, the point earned for each pole position unofficially moves Formal and Marcelli a single point up on Edoardo Piscopo and Patrick Kujala, co-drivers of the No. 50 O’Gara Motorsport/Change Racing/US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Beverly Hills Huracán. The No. 50 qualified third and 11th, respectively, for the two 50-minute races on the 2.75-mile, 16-turn road course.
Formal knew it would be difficult to get a clean lap with the record-tying field of 31 cars, so he laid his best down early and came to the pits with five-plus minutes left in the opening session.
“We knew I had to get it done quickly, especially with the traffic around here,” Formal said. “I had a big mistake in Turn 13 that I thought was going to take the pole away from me but the rest of the lap was really, really clean. Then I parked it because I knew I wasn’t going to go any faster.”
Marcelli went into Race 2 qualifying with the same approach – bank a fast lap early – but traffic prohibited him from getting clear for a flyer until his last attempt with less than a minute remaining on the 15-minute clock.
“My heart rate was probably 185,” Marcelli admitted, “but I managed to string it together to get us the pole position. Looking forward to racing.”
Other class pole winners for Race 1 were: Bryan Ortiz, No. 47 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán in ProAm; Tyler Hoffman, No. 9 TPC Racing, Lamborghini Washington Huracán in Am; and Slade Stewart, No. 14 Flying Lizard Motorsports, Lamborghini Newport Beach Huracán in LB Cup.
Other class pole winners for Race 2 were: John Dubets, No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán in ProAm; Jordan O’Brien, No. 99 Ansa Motorsports, Lamborghini Broward Huracán in Am; and Charlie Martin, No. 54 Dream Racing Motorsport, Lamborghini San Francisco Huracán in LB Cup.
Race 1 takes the green flag at 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Race 2 starts at 10:45 a.m. Sunday. Both races stream live on IMSA.com/TVLive and Peacock.