WTR, XONINE, Topp Claim Other Class Wins
By Tony DiZinno
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – TR3 Racing claimed both Pro and overall victories to complete a weekend sweep in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America races at Watkins Glen International.
Daniel Morad and Elias De La Torre drove the No. 29 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Miami, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2.
Championship leader De La Torre has scored his fourth win of the year, achieved with two different co-drivers. He swept Sebring with teammate Will Bamber and now Watkins Glen with new teammate Morad, who was substituting for his Monterey teammate Dennis Lind, who missed this weekend due to a schedule conflict.
The No. 29 car moved to the front of the field at the conclusion of the 50-minute race following a series of 95-second time penalties issued to multiple cars for unserved mandatory pit stops.
That affected cars and leaders in all four classes, who’d hoped to extend their window as long as possible within the available time. However, the strategic options were limited following a red flag for a multi-car incident earlier in the race that pushed both the restart and the pit window into the final 18 minutes of the 50-minute race.
With the penalties applied, the Pro podium was the same three cars as on Friday, albeit in a slightly different order.
Morad and De La Torre ended ahead of RAFA Racing Team’s Kiko Porto and Tyler Gonzalez in their No. 2 Huracán and XONINE Racing’s Bamber and Darius Trinka in their No. 33 Huracán. On Friday, the No. 33 car was second with the No. 2 car in third.
“Last year was a great weekend, and we improved on it this weekend,” said De La Torre, who swept Watkins Glen last year as well. “We have such a great team at TR3 and I have such a great teammate with Daniel Morad. We made it count when we needed to. We didn’t have many green laps, but we showed ourselves.”
Morad, in his first Lamborghini Super Trofeo weekend added, “This TR3 team has so much experience and it was so dialed in from the start. We had minimal setup changes to make. The fact I don’t drive this car often, I can bring a fresh perspective. I noticed the car had a good, neutral balance.
In ProAm, Graham Doyle and Danny Formal, who shared the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán, extended their win streak to a perfect sixth win in as many races.
“We made some changes and it was purple on the one lap we had,” said Formal, who was one of several drivers who had minimal green flag running. “Graham was super safe and moved through. He did a great job with a great reaction. Six for six is awesome.”
There were two new weekend podium finishers, with RAFA’s ProAm pair of Chloe Chambers and Ian Porter a season-best second in the No. 81 Huracán and Mateo Siderman and Martin Fuentes equaling their season-best of third in the No. 63 TR3 Racing Huracán.
Anthony Bullock parlayed his weekend pace and top-10 overall starting position into a top-10 overall finish too, ninth overall and first in Am in his No. 12 XONINE Racing, Lamborghini Chicago, Huracán. It’s his second win of the year, after securing his first in Monterey.
“It feels amazing,” Bullock said. “We had a pit problem yesterday with the timer. To be racing with the pros is every racing fan’s dream when you’re out there. Ninth today is special!”
Friday winner Dean Neuls (No. 70 TR3 Racing) and Am championship leader David Staab (No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports) completed the podium.
In LB Cup, season-long combatants Rocky T. Bolduc (No. 99 Topp Racing, Lamborghini Greenwich, Huracán) and Philippe Touchette (No. 11 TB Autosports) went at it again. Bolduc claimed the win ahead of Christopher Tasca (No. 95 Forty7 Motorsports) with Touchette in third.
“We’re finishing in 20th in a 41-car field (16th overall in Race 2); we’re halfway through the pack,” Bolduc said of the depth of the LB Cup field. “I’ve never seen such a LB Cup field like we have now. We’re almost third or fourth in the class ahead of us.”
De La Torre in the No. 29 car ascended to the Pro championship lead after Friday’s Race 1 and extended his lead after Saturday’s Race 2. The Doyle/Formal pairing holds a healthy ProAm lead. Staab (Am) and Bolduc (LB Cup) also unofficially solidified their leads in their respective classes, as well.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo heads next to Road America July 30-Aug. 2 for Rounds 7 and 8 of the season.