First Win for US RaceTronics “Shows the Team’s Momentum”

The first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD win for the Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics squad at Motul Petit Le Mans “shows the team’s momentum” according to driver Patrick Liddy.

Liddy, Misha Goikhberg and Loris Spinelli steered the No. 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 to the top spot in Saturday’s ten-hour race, sending USRT to IMSA’s victory lane for the first time.

The California-based former open-wheel outfit joined the full-time WeatherTech Championship grid this year but struggled for good results in the early races, before Spinelli set the overall fastest lap in qualifying for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

He and Goikhberg then claimed their first top-five result in round seven at Lime Rock Park, followed by a fourth at Road America and a second place at Indianapolis.

USRT entered the GTD ranks off the back of success in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and a recent Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS program with Mercedes-AMG.

“I’ve been with US RaceTronics and Forte since I entered the IMSA paddock in Super Trofeo,” said Liddy

“I know everyone on the team, Shane [Seneviratne] and Trish [Donovan], everyone that was doing pit stops, since then.

“It’s been very cool because I’ve heard several times that it’s a Super Trofeo team running a GT3 car. It’s such a big step up to the GT3 level that I didn’t even appreciate until I got here.

“It’s amazing to see the team come together over the season and come out with a win at the last race. It shows the team’s momentum, so I’m incredibly proud of them.

“Amazing driving from Loris and Misha as well.”

Team owner Seneviratne said that winning the final race of the WeatherTech Championship campaign gives USRT a significant boost heading into the off-season.

“It’s really good because I’m also building the program, so I need to find more sponsorship,” he said.

“I had to invest a lot into the team, so hopefully it will be a good result after a season like this, so we can build some momentum.

“IMSA seems to be doing great and we got the entry for next year, so it should make closing the deals easier.

“We got in a few people towards the end of the year to try and build for next year, which also helped.”

USRT overcame three drive-through penalties at Petit Le Mans en route to its maiden GTD victory, with two of them coming as late as the eighth hour.

The first penalty came after Spinelli was deemed to have changed lanes during a restart procedure, while the second was drawn for a clash with the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at Turn 6.

The third drive-through was given for the Lamborghini overstepping its pit box.

“When the full course yellow came out with an hour and a half to go, we were second,” said Seneviratne.

“That was because we stayed out. We then had to decide whether we pit with everybody else [under yellow] and hope for another yellow, and we made the right call to pit.

“Then, the yellows played out so that we didn’t have to make another stop. We were saving fuel. When the No. 10 [Acura] crashed, it was long enough that we saved enough fuel.”

Spinelli then kept ahead of Jan Heylen in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, which stopped with fire blazing from its rear after contact with another Lamborghini at the final restart.

“The feeling is amazing, especially because it’s my first time on this track,” said Spinelli.

“The race started really well and we were fighting for the top five after a couple of hours, but unfortunately we got a couple of penalty drive-throughs.

“The team put amazing effort in the last few hours and the car was really driveable.

“I’m super happy. It’s a result that we deserve. We always showed good speed [and were] a bit unlucky. We had not a lot of experience [in GTD] but we are ready for 2024.”