SEBRING, Fla. — Some of the championship-contending lineups and classes changed from the end of the 2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season to the start of the 2026 one.
But under a gorgeous Sebring sunset, the colors of the overall winners neatly matched the backdrop: an orange and black TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2.
Will Bamber and Elias De La Torre opened their 2026 account one spot better than they both started and ended 2025 – in second – aboard their No. 29 TR3, Lamborghini Miami, Huracán. The duo finished second at both Sebring races last year but got an early jump on their 2025 title rivals, Wayne Taylor Racing, with an authoritative start in the 2026 curtain-raiser in a Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America record-setting Pro field of 13 cars amidst a 39-car field.
From pole, Bamber built a steady lead over Danny Formal – now racing in ProAm in the team’s No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán – with the next Pro car, the sister No. 1 WTR entry started by Formal’s 2025 teammate Hampus Ericsson, a few seconds behind.
The mandatory pit stop window saw the lead trio remain in order, with the only subsequent change Ericsson’s new co-driver Nick Persing moving into second overall past Formal’s new co-driver Graham Doyle. De La Torre beat Persing by 5.157 seconds, and De La Torre will start first tomorrow in Race 2.
TR3’s same lineup of Bamber and De La Torre won twice in the North American rounds last year and also scored the overall Pro win in the first race of the 2025 Lamborghini World Final. As they prepare for their second season together in 2026, they’re off to a flying start.
“Race one was a fantastic start; Elias brought it home under immense pressure,” Bamber explained. “It’s a whole family and it’s all for them.”
De La Torre added, “Will did a great job to start; he kept us in front and that’s crucial in Trofeo. The team gave us such a good car to go.”
WTR’s reshuffled lineups started strong with Ericsson and Persing, who raced solo in 2025, finishing second. Formal has shifted to ProAm following his maximum five years raced in Pro through 2025, and the three-time Pro champion now races alongside the 2025 Am champion, Doyle, who steps up to ProAm.
“It’s actually really cool to hand it off to Graham,” Formal said. “I’ve worked with him for four years since 2023, and he’s come so far. I was really happy to show the pace of the car; we got the fastest lap. We got dirty air behind Will, but Graham did his thing and managed the lead – he led overall – and he did fantastic. I’m very proud of him.”
Ernie Francis Jr. finished third as a solo driver in Pro in the No. 28 Alliance Racing, Lamborghini Broward, Huracán as his planned co-driver, Luke Berkeley, fell ill just prior to race start.
Francis soldiered on for his first Super Trofeo podium finish since the last two North American season races of 2024 at Jerez in Spain, part of that year’s Lamborghini World Final. He described the unanticipated solo drive and what could happen in Race 2.
“We’ve worked very hard for the last month to dial it in for Luke and I,” Francis Jr. said. “He didn’t feel too great in his qualifying session so we played it safe. I prepped for it, and we knew we’d have to do a longer pit stop and I tried to run qualifying laps to make up for it. Super happy to be back on a podium; we’ll hope Luke can go tomorrow. If he can’t, I’ll take a drive-through since he qualified, hope for a yellow and go from there!”
Behind Formal and Doyle, the newly paired duo of Keawn Tandon and Lindsay Brewer finished second in ProAm in the No. 77 Forty7 Motorsports, Lamborghini Philadelphia, Huracán. Kaizen Autosport got a podium with its pairing of Seth Henry and Wyatt Foster in the No. 44 Huracán representing Lamborghini Palm Beach.
Two new teams to the championship – XONINE Racing and Taurino Racing – captured class wins on debut.
Perhaps the best battle of the race came in Am, with the top three covered by the proverbial blanket of just 2.206 seconds after 50 minutes of caution-free racing – even as one of the podium contenders was involved in several incidents.
In Am, 2024 and 2025 LB Cup champion and double 2025 Sebring winner, Nick Groat, grabbed the win in his new class debut in his No. 57 XONINE Racing, Lamborghini Chicago, Huracán by 0.911 seconds over David Staab in the No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán and Johan Schwartz in his No. 89 89x Motorsports, Lamborghini Sarasota, Huracán.
Groat, who hadn’t raced since September at Indianapolis, held off Staab’s furious charge back through the field. Staab’s fluorescent yellow highlighter No. 48 car lost its right-side mirror and recovered from a pair of contacts. Schwartz led early and also mounted a comeback from a drive-through for a pit speed violation.
“It’s beyond a dream debut; really unexpected,” Groat said. “We did a test and the car felt amazing. But we really struggled in the race. For the crew to fix it – I’m absolutely speechless!”
Staab added of his drive, “It was one of the most action-packed races we’ve ever had. Having the contact, losing the mirror is really tough at a track like Sebring where there’s so many right-handers and big brake zones. It was a close battle the whole way through; PPM gave us a great car and Nick Groat drove a good race up front. He didn’t make any mistakes. It’s stiff competition in Am this year; lots of fast guys.”
LB Cup was relatively uneventful, with Ray Shahi scoring the class win in his No. 65 Taurino Racing, Lamborghini Newport Beach, Huracán over Philippe Touchette in his No. 11 TB Autosports, Lamborghini Montreal, Huracán and Clay Wilson in his No. 37 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Orlando, Huracán. Early race leader Rocky T. Bolduc, returning to Topp Racing in his No. 99, Lamborghini Greenwich, Huracán fell back after a short pit stop that necessitated a drive-through.
