MONTEREY, California (May 12, 2024) – Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti’s (WTRAndretti) No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team started off strong at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca after showing blistering pace all weekend. In Saturday’s qualifying session, Danny Formal secured pole position for the GTD Class. As the green flag flew, Formal was able to lead his first laps of his career in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD field.
After an hour of intense racing, Kyle Marcelli took over for Formal, and following a shuffling of the order from the race’s only caution period and pit stops found himself in fifth in the GTD Class. Marcelli was able to maintain position and again showcase the strong pace from behind the wheel.
In the final hour, the WTRAndretti team pitted to change back to Formal for the final stint in an attempt at an overcut strategy. With lots of traffic on track and passing quite tough, Formal came out in sixth yet continued battle for positions into the closing minutes of the race. Formal was able to reclaim fifth position in the final stint, earning the No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team’s best result of 2024.
The No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team will return to the track for endurance racing with the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen on June 21-23, 2024 at Watkins Glen International.
No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Kyle Marcelli: “The No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 car was fantastic all weekend. The WTRAndretti guys have always done a great job with the prep and reliability. The performance was there. Danny has been awesome all week long. He has really been on it, and it was great to get that pole position for the team. He led the entire opening stint. We went a little longer on the first stop and just got hung out with the yellow, pushing us back to fifth. I did the middle stint and I felt like we had more pace if we could be in clean air, but we didn’t see much of it. So, it was just a matter of not making mistakes. Danny jumped back in at the end, and we finished fifth – which is the best result of the season. There’s more to come. We are going to find our way to the podium and victory lane soon.”
Danny Formal: “The second sprint race of the season is over. We led about an hour and seven minutes but got really unlucky with a yellow. It cycled us back to fourth position and there was nothing that we could do. We missed it by 18 seconds, and they didn’t let us pit when a lot of other people pitted. So, it is what it is, it’s racing. I’m extremely grateful to WTRAndretti and DEX Imaging. The 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 was on rails today and I’m so proud of this team. We left the pits in seventh place on the last stint and were able to make it up to fifth, and I finished on the bumper of fourth. It’s a hard place to pass and we were still down a little bit of power on the straights, but we are just so good on the corners. I’m extremely grateful to be partnered up with Kyle Marcelli this season, he does a fantastic job. He always gives me a car that’s brand new when I get to it. I’m proud of the team, just disappointed that we didn’t win, but it’s our first top-five of the season, so you have to be happy. Watkins Glen is up next, and Graham Doyle will be back with us since it’s an endurance race, so I’m super excited about that. We’ll see what happens and hopefully we can bring a good result to the team.”
ABOUT WTRANDRETTI
Andretti Global and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership in 2023 that combines the resources of the two championship-caliber teams to compete in IMSA’s top classes. In 2024, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) has expanded to a two-car GTP program as well as competes in the GTD class. Coming off its 2023 championship winning effort, WTRAndretti continues its Driver Development Program competing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series with a full stable.
WTRAndretti’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013 and 2017), and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2020, 2021) which contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac. In its brief 17-year history, WTRAndretti has accumulated multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events: Rolex 24 At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Six Hours of The Glen. With its back-to-back PRO Class Championship wins (2022, 2023), WTR also has ten North America Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.
Andretti Global, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, competes in additional racing categories worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australian Supercars and the Mexico SuperCopa Championship. Additionally, the racing enterprise commits to driver development through competition in INDY NXT by Firestone and through support of Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon’s racing careers.
WTRAndretti’s long term partnerships include Lamborghini Squadra Corse, DEX Imaging, Harrison Contracting Company and Gainbridge.
