INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (September 22, 2024) – The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team earned its first top ten finish at an endurance event after a hectic six-hour TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).
Danny Formal started the six-hour race in sixth after a strong qualifying session placed the team toward the front of the 22-car GTD grid. He quickly made positions on track, maneuvering the car into third before steady rain caused continuous cautions, preventing progress for a large part of his double stint. The cautions also disrupted the team’s strategy, changing driver order and forcing the team onto the back foot in the early stages of the race. However, Formal kept the car out of trouble and ran in the podium positions before handing the car over to Kyle Marcelli from second position.
Marcelli continued to battle with adverse weather and cautions before the rain eventually cleared, and the black and red team was once again able to make progress through the field. Marcelli’s pace and strategy allowed the team to run at the front of the GTD field despite a plethora of yellow flags. Marcelli continued his strong pace and handed over the driver’s seat to Graham Doyle to take over for his first IWSC racing laps at IMS.
Doyle drove an impressive stint in changing conditions as he navigated the difficult field and lap traffic. He drove with impressive pace, managing to keep the No. 45 car on the lead lap throughout his stint before returning the car to Marcelli for the final hour of the race. However, an issue during the pitstop hindered the team’s further forward momentum. Marcelli still quickly found blistering pace, putting up similar lap times to the race leaders. He brought the car home in tenth after a challenging six hours for the WTRAndretti GTD team’s best endurance finish of 2024.
“It was an up-and-down day, but all-in-all, the car is getting better,” said Wayne Taylor, Team Principal of WTRAndretti. “Kyle and Danny drove really well and I am equally proud of Graham. For his first time here driving this GTD car on a racetrack with varying conditions, I just told him to keep it on the track, and that will be good enough, and everyone on the team told me how awesome he drove. I’m very happy for DEX Imaging, the drivers and the WTRAndretti team.”
Next up, the No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team will take on Road Atlanta for the iconic Petit Le Mans on October 10-12, 2024.
No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 Drivers:
Kyle Marcelli: “We need to be really happy with the result today. We finished in tenth and on the lead lap. We got on our back foot early in terms of strategy, and driving line up if you will. We didn’t get Graham until just over two hours remaining, and he finished his drive time with just an hour left. So, all things considered, we had things happen to us early that hurt our strategy, but also a couple that helped us out toward the end. On our final pit stop, there was some kind of an issue, some kind of fuel rig problem. That really took us out of contention from trying to move forward in the last hour, but the pace was good. We were able to match the pace of the leaders. In the wet today we were quick. The No. 45 car passed a lot of cars today and we led multiple times but had to drop back for various reasons. I think a really good day for the team’s spirit, and I think the car is in good shape for Petit Le Mans.”
Danny Formal: “It was a great weekend. We got our best endurance qualifying in sixth. The race pace was very good for us three. I had a really interesting stint. I got taken out in Turn 7, went back to eighth and worked my way back up to third. There were some really good passes, and the car felt awesome. It started raining, and that disrupted our strategy because we couldn’t pit for Graham to do his drive time. When we did pit, we went back to last. I made my way back to ninth in the rain, and the car felt amazing in the rain. Kyle and Graham both had great stints. It was definitely Graham’s best endurance stint of the season. He drove fantastically, and so did Kyle. Tenth at the end and our first endurance finish on the lead lap for the team. Graham is a very new driver in the IMSA paddock, so for him to finish in the top ten at this six-hour event just shows how much our team has grown, and the No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán was just fantastic this weekend. I’m very grateful to be a part of this team, and we’re ready for Petit Le Mans next month.”
Graham Doyle: “It was a pretty crazy race from start to finish. It started out dry but quickly went wet in the first stint. Danny did a great job throughout that; he did a double through the majority of the rain. Then Kyle hopped in for a bit when the rain started to fade out. He was able to run the car from wet to dry. That’s when I was able to get in, do a double and keep us on the lead lap, and Kyle finished it out for our first top ten finish in an endurance event this year. Altogether, great weekend, great work by the team, and I’m super happy for everybody and excited for 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.
