BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 13, 2024) – The No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 GTD for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) tackled their first and only international qualifying session of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) with Kyle Marcelli securing the seventh starting position for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). Marcelli’s qualifying strategy was interrupted by an early red flag, which caused the team difficulties in finding clear track for a key lap. However, Marcelli was still able to secure a top-ten start in the tight GTD field with a fast lap time of 01:15.807.
The No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team are set to compete in Chevrolet Grand Prix, which will see the green flag fly at 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 14th for the two hour and 40-minute event. Broadcast for the sprint race from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be featured on Peacock and IMSA Radio.
TOP FIVE GTD STARTING GRID
- No. 12 Vasser Sullivan (Lexus RC F GT3) F. Montecalvo, P. Thompson (117.937 mph)
- No. 27 Heart of Racing Team (Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo) R. De Angelis, S. Pumpelly (117.533 mph)
- No. 96 Turner Motorsports (BMW M4 GT3) R. Foley, P. Gallagher (117.157 mph)
- No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports (Mercedes-AMG GT3) M. Skeen, M. Grenier (117.087 mph)
- No. 70 Inception Racing (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO) B. Iribe, F. Schandorff (116.951 mph)
- No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 (Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2) K. Marcelli, D. Formal (116.775 mph)
Kyle Marcelli, No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2: “It was a disappointing qualifying session. I think it all went sideways with the red flag at the beginning, although everyone is in the same situation. We came back to pit lane, and it just shrunk the time on the clock. I thought it was the right call to do a long hold, knowing that we already did a warmup lap on our tires, and they come in early. We were going to do a long hold and push right away. That was my plan, and there was nobody in sight, but of course, right at the end of my first push lap, we came up on four cars stopped in turn eight, so I had to abandon the lap, which wrecked the next one as well trying to find a gap. So now I had four or five laps on my tires before I was able to put a lap time on the board, and it was only good enough for seventh, and I think we’re all a little disappointed.”
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.