Daytona Beach, Florida (Friday, January 26, 2024) – Loris Spinelli had a fantastic qualifying session on Sunday to put the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan EVO2 fifth on the IMSA WeatherTech GTD grid for this weekend’s season-opener at Daytona International Speedway with a qualifying time of 1:44.709. Spinelli was just 0.002 seconds behind the fastest GTD Lamborghini driven by Kyle Marcelli and just slightly over two-tenths of a second behind the pole time of 1:44.494.
Spinelli, a Lamborghini factory driver, will be joined this weekend by fellow Forte Racing drivers Misha Goikhberg, Devlin DeFrancesco and fellow Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell. The four drivers have been very successful in their respective careers and the team is confident that with such a strong driver lineup they can continue to carry the momentum they built at the end of the 2023 season. The goal is to start the 2024 season as they finished 2023, with a win!
“Qualifying went really well,” Spinelli said. “At Lamborghini we are all quite close with our pace. We have the speed to chase the fastest for the race. Everything will work around the strategy at the last. The guys are really working hard to make it possible. I’m really looking forward to the last couple hours of the race. See where we are, and we can attack.”
Forte Racing full-season driver Misha Goikhberg will start his 10th Rolex 24 At Daytona this weekend. With one 24 Hour win under his belt (2016 Prototype Challenge), he’s confident that he and his teammates have the car and the talent to get back to the top step of the podium. Goikhberg was instrumental in the team’s 2023 Petit LeMans win and having him return for this season, and next, gives the team the consistency they need to be contenders for the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Championship. He’s confident that, if the team can stay out of trouble, Forte Racing has a shot at winning this weekend to start the season.
“We’re looking to have a solid race, not make any mistakes and be there at the end,” Goikhberg said. “I think it’s a benefit to qualify up front because it’s going to be easier to hopefully stay out of trouble. The longer we run according to our plan, stay clean and manage our tires, the better shot we have. I’m very excited and hope we have a solid, mistake-free race.”
While NTT INDYCAR driver Devlin DeFrancesco has also won at the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona as part of the winning LMP2 team in 2022, he’s still hoping to add another watch to his collection. DeFrancesco will participate in all five 2024 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races. With all three of Forte Racing’s endurance drivers having won at least one endurance race, the team is expected to be in contention for the win on Sunday.
“I’m happy we’ve qualified up front and are out of the mess,” DeFrancesco said. “We have a strong car and a very good team. We need to make sure we make no mistakes and execute for 24 hours. This will be key for us to have a strong finish.”
Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell has extensive experience with endurance racing including two wins, a second and a third-place finish in the 24 Hours of Spa. In an effort to add to his already impressive endurance results, Mitchell returns to the Rolex 24 At Daytona for his second attempt at winning the iconic race.
“I think the ROAR went really well,” Mitchell said. “We progressed throughout the days and put in a really solid qualifying. We’re starting fifth in class which is a nice place to start, right up at the front end of a really stacked field in GTD. I think the level (of competition) this year is super high, as high as I’ve ever seen it. It’s going to be exciting going into the race. I think a lot of people think they have a chance to go and win this race with how close it’s been throughout testing, so that’s going to be fun. From our side, we’re feeling confident. We’ve got a really strong driver lineup in terms of all four drivers having pretty similar pace, which I think during the night, that kind of thing is going to serve us well. We’ve just got to keep the car out of trouble and go and fight for the last few hours.”
GTD team manager Michael Harvey is confident of the team’s chances this weekend. “We are optimistic as we head into the 24 weekend, buoyed by the great support and collaboration from the Lamborghini family. Our drivers are eager to get going, tapered with a calm approach to the challenges ahead.”
Make sure to tune in and watch the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini this weekend at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The iconic race will air on network TV for the start of the race live on NBC Network at 1:30 p.m. before switching to USA Network at 2:30 p.m. USA Network coverage is Sat., 1/27 – 2:30-8 p.m., 10 p.m.-12 a.m. and Sun. 1/28 – 6 a.m.-12 p.m. Peacock will have flag-to-flag coverage of the entire 24-hour race starting at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday 1/27.
About Forte Racing (Formerly known as US RaceTronics)
Forte Racing is a Los-Angeles based Motorsport team supported by Lamborghini Squadra Corse and competing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series.
Founded in 2023 and operated by US RaceTronics, the Italian-American team’s GT Daytona title contender is a Lamborghini Huracan EVO2 GT3 driven by Pro driver Loris Spinelli and Misha Goikhberg. The ream finished the 2023 season with four top-five finishes in the last five races of the season and included a 2nd-place finish at Indianapolis and a win at the season-finale Petit LeMans. The team finished an impressive rookie season fifth in the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Championship.
The team line-up for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech GTD Championship includes the team’s 2023 Petit LeMans winning driver Goikhberg and Spinelli along with NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Devlin DeFrancesco for the five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races.
US RaceTronics (USRT) was founded by Shane Seneviratne in 2005 to compete in the Atlantic Championship, a formula race car series. The team finished 5th in points its first year and continued its success during the succeeding years, ultimately amassing a total of 21 podiums, 7 poles, 5 race wins and finishing 3rd in the 2009 Atlantic Championship. USRT was put on hold after series officials announced the Atlantic Series was put on hiatus.
Seneviratne fully returned to racing in 2015 after receiving an invitation to manage the O’Gara Motorsport entries in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North American (LBSTNA) Series. The team won the Team Championship, Dealership Championship, Pro Championship and Amateur Championship that season.
The success of 2015 reignited Seneviratne’s passion for racing and he relaunched US RaceTronics to compete in the 2016 LBSTNA Series. The team has won multiple North American and World Championships and expects to add to their success as they enter their eighth season in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American Series. The team also competed in 2023 with one car each in the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Championship and the IMSA VP Challenge and will be expanding their entries in 2024.
For more information on how to become a driver with US RaceTronics, learn more about the Series, or attend a race, visit www.usracetronics.com.
About O’Gara Motorsport
O’Gara Motorsport was founded in 2014 by owner Tom O’Gara and celebrated winning the 2015 North American Lamborghini Super Trofeo driver and team Championships. The team goal is to achieve victories in the Series as well as showcasing the brands of their sponsors both on and off the track. With a vertically integrated platform that starts at the dealership and accelerates to the top levels of professional sports car racing, everyone at O’Gara is dedicated to providing a comprehensive program for anyone, from the casually curious to the dedicated racer.
About Change Racing
Founded by Lamborghini Charlotte CEO and long time real estate developer, John E. Littlefield, Change Racing is the premier championship winning team. Claiming 18 titles in various classes; Change Racing has competed in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series since its inception in 2013.
Most recently claiming the 2021 Amateur World Championship in Misano, Italy. Change Racing also claimed all SIX 2020 North American Championships, including the Pro, Pro-Am, Am and LB Cup class championships as well as the Team and Owner championships.
