Costly mistakes at Wayne Taylor Racing opens door for TR3 during the third weekend of the season

The 2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season is now halfway through after Rounds 5 & 6 at Watkins Glen International. Coming into the race, the talk was about the new compound of Hankook tires the teams would use for the first time. The tires definitely played their part in a pair of action-packed 50 minute sprints.

Race 1

Will Bamber led the field away from his first pole of the season Friday…only for Danny Formal to send it around the outside of Turn 1 to take the lead. Like Race 1 at Sebring and Laguna Seca, Formal set sail and commanded the field during his stint. Formal’s Wayne Taylor Racing teammate Brendon Leitch had to serve a drive thru penalty after his co-driver Anthony McIntosh was voluntarily removed from the car on safety grounds as he was recovering from an illness. The first half of the race was calm with the biggest moment being LB Cup polesitter Tom Capizzi suffering engine issues at the 17 minute mark sidelining him for the afternoon.

After the mandatory mid-race pit stop window, the #1 continued in command with Hampus Eriksson at the wheel. Meanwhile, the #47 from Precision Performance Motorsport was having an afternoon to forget. First, Dominic Starkweather hit the wall exiting the inner loop with 20 minutes to go. Moments later, crashed at the exit of Turn 1 and went no further. The crash triggered a late-race Full Course Yellow. The wreckage got cleaned up in time for a five-minute dash to the finish. It was on the restart when the race was turned on its head.

An avalanche of penalties shakes up the ending…

Per IMSA protocol, race control does not announce penalties during full course yellow periods to negate possible competitive advantages. As the cars were coming up to speed, race control announced a slew of penalties. Among them, the #1 Wayne Taylor Racing was one of six cars issued a drive-thru penalty for not meeting the minimum pit stop time. Because it was issued inside the final five minutes, team impacted could serve the penalty or stay out and incur a time penalty to their final race time. Eriksson made the decision to enter the pit lane to serve the penalty coming to the checkered flag. The dominant car in the race ended up with nothing to show for it.

The benefactor of the #1’s mistake was #29 TR3 Racing duo of Elias de La Torre and Will Bamber, taking their first win of the season. Elsewhere, Pro-Am saw a late race pass for the win. Tyler Gonzalez made a bonzai move on the restart to go from 3rd to 1st in class. Gonzalez would hold on to claim class victory for he and partner Harry Gottsacker. WTR’s Graham Doyal and Glenn McGee would top the Am class while Mark Brummond scored the LB Cup victory, his first of the season.

 

Race 2

The Super Trofeo grid regrouped for its second race of the weekend Saturday. One notable absence was the #69 Wayne Taylor Racing Pro-Am entry. With Anthony McIntosh choosing to sit out again, the team opted to not take the grid. The car was listed 37th and last as a Did Not Start (DNS).

Like Friday’s race, the #29 TR3 entry started from pole position Saturday. Unlike Friday, however, Elias de la Torre  held the lead off the start. Hampus Eriksson was instead preoccupied by teammate Nick Persing which Eriksson eventually fended off and held second. The first half of the opening lap was clean. In contrast, the second half was the complete opposite.

About that Opening Lap Carnage

Exiting the Toe of the boot, Am driver Dean Neuls was spun and made contact with the wall. Pro-Am driver Seth Henry made contact with Neuls stationary Huracan. The damage on Henry’s vehicle was sufficient enough to damage his steering and send him into a crash at the Heel of the boot. Suffice to say, this would end both of their afternoons. In an unrelated incident, Friday’s LB Cup winner Brummond would go for a spin at the Heel before continuing on.

That’s not good…

After 15 minutes under the safety car, the race would get back to the green. Eriksson’s #1 WTR Lambo didn’t get the memo however. A mechanical gremlin reared its ugly head resulting in Eriksson crawling and holding the entire field back as de la Torre set off into the distance. The Swede rightfully pulled to the side at the exit of Turn 11 and the car eventually did get back to full song again. Danny Formal, after the pit stop, would drive the car through the field to an eventual tenth overall. The same could not be said for the #47 Pro entry. The weekend from hell finally ended when the car caught fire. Bryan Ortiz came to the pits with 3 minutes left in the race, retiring the car.

Going, Going, Gone…

While battles would spurn throughout the field after pit stops, there were no such battles for TR3 Racing. Will Bamber picked up the baton at the pit stop and did not relent in the race’s second half. Bamber’s lead would get as high as 13 seconds in one point during his stint. For TR3 Racing, it was a dream weekend. De la Torre and Bamber would finish their sweep of the weekend, two poles and two victories, in commanding style. Their final margin of victory was nearly 8 seconds.

Pro-Am (again) going down to the wire…

Like Friday, a battle for the Pro-Am would take center stage in the race’s closing laps. Slade Stewart of Flying Lizard Motorsports was trying to hold off Nicky Hays. Stewart’s effort were ultimately unsuccessful. The ANSA Motorsports driver overtook Stewart in the Heel on the penultimate lap of the race en route to class honors. Unfortunately for Stewart, his story did not end there as contact with the Am entry of Anthony Bullock spent them both into a spin at Turn 1 on the final lap. Stewart got going quickly to hold on to 4th in class. Bullock would get a time penalty for his driving, dropping him to eighth in the Am class as Graham Doyle and Glenn McGee completed the class weekend sweep. Finally in LB Cup, Rocky Bolduc grabbed his first win of the season.

Next Round

The Huracans of Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America go in hibernation until early August. The series reconvenes at Road America part of the IMSA weekend for the fourth round of the season.

 

Featured Photo: Elias de la Torre in Victory Lane after Race 1/Photo Courtesy: Lamborghini Squadra Corse