TR3 Claims Pro and Am Wins; WTR Wins Fifth Straight ProAm; Bolduc ‘Topps’ LB Cup
By Tony DiZinno
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Close points battles entering the first Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race of the weekend set the stage for a decisive and dynamic first 50 minutes of action at historic Watkins Glen International across three of the four classes and a Watkins Glen Super Trofeo record 41-car field.
Then once a caution mid-race shook up the gaps between the leaders, it became a battle to see who’d excel quickest in the final 23 minutes to the finish.
But in the end, Daniel Morad and Elias De La Torre claimed the overall and Pro victory in their No. 29 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Miami, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2.
Wayne Taylor Racing continued its ProAm streak with Danny Formal and Graham Doyle in their No. 10 WTR, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán. In Am, Dean Neuls brought TR3 its second win of the day in his No. 70 TR3, Lamborghini Miami, Huracán and in LB Cup, Rocky T. Bolduc delivered a win in his No. 99 Topp Racing, Lamborghini Greenwich, Huracán.
Morad claimed Pro pole position for Race 1, which created a three-way tie in the Pro class points. It left Morad’s teammate Elias De La Torre, De La Torre’s previous teammate Will Bamber (No. 33 XONINE Racing) and the duo of Nick Persing and Hampus Ericsson (No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing) entered all with 47 points.
It meant whichever of the three finished ahead would move into the Pro points lead for Race 2. The No. 29 car rolled off first overall with the No. 33 car in third (second in Pro) and No. 1 car fifth (fourth in Pro).
Morad proceeded to extend his lead north of 12 seconds before a full-course caution flew for the No. 40 car stopped on track at Turn 8 just prior to when the scheduled pit window was supposed to open at the 30-minutes remaining mark. Morad had 4.1 seconds over Formal in second overall and 12.7 to his nearest Pro competitor, Giano Taurino.
The gaps were erased once the full-course caution flew, and the pit stop window shifted to after the race resumed with 23 minutes remaining. Once the cycle shook out, Formal’s teammate Doyle held the overall lead but only briefly before De La Torre in the No. 29 TR3 car and Darius Trinka, Bamber’s teammate in the No. 33 XONINE entry, both made it past on the road.
De La Torre withstood Trinka’s pressure in the final stint to win by just 0.464 of a second. RAFA Racing Team completed the Pro class podium with the new pairing of Tyler Gonzalez and Kiko Porto in the No. 2 Huracán; Porto is substituting for an injured Jem Hepworth this weekend.
“We’ve had great partners all year, but I think we found another great one,” said De La Torre, who scored his third Pro win of the year and now unofficially holds a three-point lead after Friday’s Race 1.
Morad, in his first Lamborghini Super Trofeo weekend added, “When you have TR3 behind you, it’s always impressive. They know what they’re doing. It’s all the hard work and preparation that makes it run smoothly. We had it under control. We were conservative on the pit stop to not get caught up in the yellow.”
After four consecutive wins to start the year in ProAm, Formal and Doyle extended their streak to make it five-for-five in their No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Huracán. Formal qualified second overall, first in ProAm, and proceeded to hand off to Doyle who did the rest.
Doyle maintained a class win by a healthy 10.926 seconds over teammates Paul Nemschoff and Marc Miller in their No. 41 Huracán. Forty7 Motorsports’ duo of Lindsay Brewer and Keawn Tandon scored their fourth podium in five races in third in their No. 77 Huracán.
“A fun stint; I was overall leader, but struggled a bit with the rears,” Doyle said. “Minute issues, really. We were third overall and won our class, so five for five which is unbelievable. Wayne Taylor Racing puts the best car on track. I should have won overall for them today, but maybe it’s in the cards for tomorrow. So fortunate to have Danny in the car as he put me in a perfect position to close.”
The Am race was once again a battle of two different drivers up front and championship leader David Staab (No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports) maintaining consistency in the background.
In this race, Neuls made a decisive move through the Esses in his No. 70 TR3 Huracán on the returning Cooper Broll, who shared the No. 47 Precision Performance Motorsports Huracán with Derek Ware. Broll finished second, 3.938 seconds behind, with Staab banking his fifth podium finish in as many starts.
“What a fun race that was!” Neuls reflected. “These guys were tough competitors and faster than me in several corners. We got them coming up the Esses with a draft into the Bus Stop. It was a little sketch for the old man, but it was so fun!”
Broll added on the battle: “It was a good stint, and a lot of fun. It was give and take. I had him in one part but he had me in another. Wish we could have brought it home, but it was so fun.”
LB Cup entered with a tight points battle and a record 11-car grid as part of the 41-car lineup Philippe Touchette (No. 11 TB Autosports) entered with a two-point gap to Bolduc. Like in Am, four different drivers had won the class in as many races entering Round 5.
It once again came down to Bolduc and Touchette for today’s Race 1, with Bolduc leading 22 of 26 laps and only losing the class lead to Touchette during the pit stop sequence. Bolduc held on to win by just 0.477 of a second over Touchette; both scored their fourth podium in five races. Ray Shahi (No. 65 Taurino Racing Huracán) was third.
Nashua, New Hampshire’s Bolduc was verklempt at his home race as he enjoyed a savory repeat of his 2025 win in his Bolduc Maple Farms entry, albeit with another team.
“This guy gave me a run for my money,” Bolduc laughed. “I love racing with these guys, Philippe and Ray. We’ve been playing P1-2-3 since Sebring. It’s been a heck of a battle.
“I’m speechless. I have 40 of my closest family and friends here. My first ever race was at Watkins Glen. My first ever P1 was Watkins Glen. To repeat it is nothing but special!”
Saturday’s Race 2 goes green at 5:15 p.m. ET and local time and streams on Peacock, IMSA’s Official YouTube channel and Lamborghini’s YouTube channel.