Romanelli: TR3’s Road America Pro-Am Win a “Sigh of Relief”

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

Daniel Morad and Brayton Williams’ Pro-Am class win in last month’s GT World Challenge America powered by AWS round at Road America was a “sigh of relief” according to TR3 Racing team principal Gregory Romanelli.

The Florida-based team broke through to claim its first victory since rejoining the SRO America-run series this year, thanks in part to Morad’s pass on the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Jan Heylen for the eventual win.

It came after a number of missed opportunities since the start of the program at Sonoma Raceway in March.

“We’ve had great pace and everything to be at the top at every race,” Romanelli told Sportscar365. “Sonoma was Brayton’s first race. and we had a bit of a contact at the start and suspension failure.

“COTA, we just made a mistake in the race and got a drive-through for that. Sebring, we felt we got robbed of a win because we made a pass that there was no contact whatsoever. We could have crossed the line first and didn’t.

“At Road Atlanta, we as a team made a mistake strategy-wise, so that put us on the back foot as well.

“The win at Road America was really nice. It was more or less Brayton’s home track because he’s from Michigan.

“It was a sigh of relief. We almost had a missed opportunity there.

“The pass with Jan Heylen was under review. Running around the outside of Turn 1 at Road America is not an easy thing to do. Daniel was able to do it three times in a row!

“That was a really good weekend. We know that’s where we need to be.”

The Road America triumph also marked GT3 rookie Williams’ first professional win, having only started competing behind the wheel last year.

“It’s Brayton’s first year of racing,” said Romanelli. “He won the championship in the Concours Cup. He killed it in that and we started and we got him in his father’s Mercedes-AMG GT2 car and he did great.

“He was like, ‘OK, what’s the next step from here?’

“We either go GT4 racing or GT3 racing. He was up to par right away with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and he’s been bullet-proof ever since.

“Every time we’re on track, he’s like a different animal. He’s like a sponge and absorbs everything.

“Brayton is improving every single time he gets in the car. The kid is absolutely stellar and Daniel is Daniel. He’s a rocket ready to be unleashed every time.”

TR3 Set to Continue in GTWC America, Likely With Mercedes-AMG

Romanelli said plans are coming into place for next year, in what was always outlined as a two-year program with Williams, with the intention of continuing in GTWC America with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo package.

This is despite the team, which currently fields four entires in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, understood to having at least explored the possibility of acquiring a Lamborghini Temerario GT3 for either a GTWC America or IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign.

“Obviously we have two [Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos],” said Romanelli.

“We’re pretty invested with the platform right now and we knew it was a two-year plan, so we’ll probably stick to it and see where it takes us once this car is obsolete.

“It’s just seeing what the best package is. We really like working with Mercedes.

“We work with Lamborghini on the Super Trofeo side of things; we have a very strong relationship as well.

“I know Mercedes is building a new car but we want to see it in action and see where it goes and how competitive it is.

“That was the game plan going into the year and nothing’s really changed right now.

“It’s kind of hard to change things at this stage. We’ve had meetings [with other manufacturers] but it’s too late to change things.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John