(Brownsburg, Ind.) Nov. 19, 2023 — The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) team have officially wrapped on the 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo season following the Grand Finals at Vallelunga in Italy. With competitive global competition, the WTRAndretti team depart the Grand Finals highlighted by an LB Cup Class win by rookie Graham Doyle.
With a record-breaking season in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series, PRO Class Champions Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal were ready to contend for the Grand Finals title. Despite a tough and competitive qualifying for the doubleheader, the No. 101 pairing know how to put their heads down and fight forward in the field. After taking over the driver’s seat from co-driver Formal in Race 1, Marcelli was able to charge through the field to earn a sixth-place result overall in Race 1. Sunday’s Race 2 provided a bit of a different result as the No. 101 team encountered damage on the start of the race and the team unfortunately had to retire from the race. Although the Grand Finals may not have been the results hoped for, Marcelli and Formal still walk away from the year as back-to-back champions title holders.
Entering his Grand Finals debut weekend, Ryan Norman was determined to capitalize on the momentum and experience in the North America rounds. Norman was poised for a solid top-10 result in Race 1 on Saturday before the No. 184 suffered a hit by a competitor who had spun on track, damaging the driver’s side door, and ending the day early for the Ohio native. In Sunday’s Race 2, Norman was able to refocus after Saturday and keep his No. 184 out of trouble to finish 16th. In Norman’s first Lamborghini Super Trofeo season highlighted by two wins at Indianapolis, Norman earned Vice Champions honors in the PRO Class for the year.
Nate Stacy and Nick Persing displayed consistent speed and determination across the pairing’s first Grand Finals in the PRO|AM events. After qualifying in the top 10 within the 23-car field, the No. 108 team were able to hold off fellow PRO|AM competitors in Race 1 and finish eighth in class. Starting sixth in class for Race 2, Stacy and Persing were able to battle their way into a podium position, but the pair received a post-race five-second time penalty for incident responsibility and ultimately finished sixth. Despite missing two events in the season as a co-driver pairing, Stacy and Persing finished the LST North America season third in the PRO|AM championship standings.
Graham Doyle continued to showcase his poise and speed as the rookie entered his first Grand Finals weekend. Although Saturday’s Race 1 saw Doyle drive with a tire puncture from contact with a competitor, Sunday’s Race 2 served sweet redemption. Consistently running within the leaders of the LB Cup field and a late caution, Doyle was able to make an impressive pass around the LB Cup leader through lapped traffic to take the victory on the final lap – earning his fourth win of the season. Wrapping up his first motorsports season, Doyle departs Italy as the Vice Champion in the LST North America LB Cup Championship.
The WTRAndretti Lamborghini Super Trofeo stable fared well all season long to earn the most successful season to date for the team. With winning all North America races overall followed up with seven additional class victories and 36 total podium finishes.
Kyle Marcelli, No. 101 WTRAndretti (PRO)
“I don’t have a whole lot to say other than the guys on this WTRAndretti team worked their butts off this week. Every time we were putting the car on track, we were trying something different. It seemed like from Qualifying for Grand Finals, things seemed to go sideways. There was a lot of things that were out of our control that ended up working against us. At the end of the day, we had really high expectations coming into this event, and I think we are deflated because we are leaving the way we are without a result in the PRO Category. Having said that, the team walked away victorious with Graham getting the win in LB Cup.”
Danny Formal, No. 101 WTRAndretti (PRO)
“Well, not the Grand Finals we wanted. Yesterday, was actually a good race. We started 13th and finished sixth. We had pretty good pace. Today, Kyle got hit pretty hard off the start. Damaged the car on the front left. I think with the vibrations and stuff loosened the rear of the car. With the big mechanical issues, we decided to retire the car. Unfortunate end to what was probably the best year of my career in anything – sportscar racing, karting – just a fantastic 2023. 2024 will be the best year of my life, so I am really excited to start the December test with our GTD. Grateful and thank you to every mechanic and team member of WTRAndretti.”
Ryan Norman, No. 184 WTRAndretti (PRO)
“Overall, I am so proud of everyone at WTRAndretti. We finished the season second in the PRO Championship, and it has been such a wonderful experience working with all of my teammates and crew. We have become a big family and have all worked collectively together to get where we are now. Although the Grand Finals races didn’t go as planned, we still have so many positives to take away from this week and I’m very excited to see where the future takes us.”
Nate Stacy, No. 108 WTRAndretti (PRO|AM)
“First off, I have to thank WTRAndretti and Lamborghini Nashville, Hankook and all the guys back in Indianapolis. Team has just been stellar all weekend. Sean, Jim, Jeff Dave, all the guys just killed it all weekend long. The car was a rocket ship from the day we pulled it out of the trailer. Man, we just fought as hard as we could. We were kind of worried there at the end that we would finish fourth, but we ended up taking third. Now we have been hit with a penalty moving us back to sixth. It is brutal – it is news none of the team wanted to hear, but we will rally and try again next year in Spain!”
Nick Persing, No. 108 WTRAndretti (PRO|AM)
“Grand Finals was great. Initially we struggled with the car set up, almost the entire time. But we dialed it in and managed to give ourselves a set up that was fast enough to take home P3 in the final race of the Grand Finals. It is extremely unfortunate that we received this penalty costing us the podium. From my perspective, I had no choice but to follow the car in front of me who was making a pass on the two cars in front. Otherwise, I would have been passed by the car behind me. I feel like I had presented myself in the corner and the car in front should have given way seeing that I was there, but he just turned in on me. The stewards didn’t agree with me. To me, this race was still a third place and I celebrate with the team and my family as such! Big thanks to WTRAndretti for giving us a car that we could take to the front today.”
Graham Doyle, No. 110 DEX Imaging with WTRAndretti (LB Cup)
“The Grand Finals were simply incredible. I started both races in the top six and showed strong pace and ability to keep up with the fastest cars on track. Unfortunately. Race 1 did not go to plan but in Race 2, I was able to regroup and win, finish third in the Worlds. This season has been incredible. Working with WTRAndretti and DEX Imaging, I have been able to progress and succeed in rapid fashion exceeding my own goals. I can’t wait for next season where I hope to continue to grow and develop into a stronger driver.”
ABOUT WTRANDRETTI’S DRIVER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Wayne Taylor Racing, now with Andretti Global (WTRAndretti), is a leader in sportscar racing, recognized worldwide for fielding championship winning racing efforts since 2007. WTRAndretti has run a stable of championship winning cars and drivers in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series for over half a decade, forming the basis of their Driver Development Program. Since its inception in 2015, the team has clinched eight North American PRO Driver, Team and Dealer Championship titles, fielded the first woman World Finals race winner and became the overall 2017 Champions at the World Finals in Imola, Italy. WTRAndretti’s Driver Development program has grown into interim classes and series as it evolves to encompass a greater variety of skill and experience levels. In addition to running a full stable of Lamborghini Super Trofeos, WTRAndretti will be fielding a two-car Acura ARX-06 GTP program as well as a Lamborghini GT3 program in 2024.
