Back-to-Back Lamborghini Super Trofeo Champions Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal Will Drive the No. 45 Huracán GT3 Evo2
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport is aligning its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class with a new manufacturer for the 2024 season, but a marque that the team has achieved monumental success in an IMSA-sanctioned single-make series.
WTRAndretti announced today that it will field the No. 45 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 in the ’24 season, with Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal assuming full-season driver roles. Additional drivers for endurance events will be named later.
The team fielded an Acura NSX GT3 in five races this season but made the switch to Lamborghini in great part due to a successful relationship with the manufacturer in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series that exclusively runs the Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 car. Since 2015, WTRAndretti has collected nine Super Trofeo class championships, including back-to-back titles in the Pro class for Marcelli and Formal in 2022 and ’23.
“We’re really excited that Lamborghini has come to us and regarded us as a team that is worthy of a factory program,” said Wayne Taylor, team principal at WTRAndretti. “Danny Formal and Kyle Marcelli will be doing the full season. We’ve got a long history with Lamborghini with us running four cars a year in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series, so there’s a great relationship already built. Like I always said, everything to do with success in motorsport is to be able to have people you can communicate with and build relationships with, so very excited about that with Lamborghini.”
Giorgio Sanna, head of Motorsport at Automobili Lamborghini, said the long-term relationship with WTRAndretti set the stage for the GTD partnership.
“We are particularly proud to start the GTD program with WTRAndretti,” Sanna said. “We are cooperating with success with Wayne’s team since few years in our Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, supporting talented drivers like Danny and Kyle in their career, so we are very excited to have these drivers in our Huracán GT3 Evo2 starting from Daytona.”
Marcelli, the xx-year-old Canadian, is an accomplished sports car racer. In addition to his Super Trofeo titles, he has seven career IMSA top-tier series wins, the last coming in 2018 with 3GT Racing. He also won the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship in the Grand Sport (GS) class.
“I couldn’t be more excited to make my full-time return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with WTRAndretti,” Marcelli said. “It has been three years in the making, first taking an opportunity with WTR to drive the Lamborghini Super Trofeo in the Pro Class in 2021, then winning back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. It has always been the long-term plan in house to be back at the top level of the sport. I know the team has been working so hard to put this together and we are just thrilled that it is happening. I couldn’t be prouder to be doing it with Lamborghini.
“It just seems like an obvious and seamless fit for the team and us,” he added. “To continue to share the cockpit with Danny, we have developed a great relationship on and off the track. We complement each other very well and in different ways. Excited for the coming season. We will make the most of it.”
Formal made his WeatherTech Championship debut this year, driving in the five races for WTRAndretti in the Acura. His season highlight was taking the Motul Pole Award in qualifying for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
“What can I say? 2024, my dream come true!” he said. “My first full season, endurance and sprint championship, in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTD Championship with WTRAndretti and Lamborghini Squadra Corse. My dream come true.
“So thankful for the opportunity to share the car with my brother, Kyle Marcelli, in our fourth year together. We have been pushing each other so hard these past four years. We have two Lamborghini Super Trofeo Pro championships. Just grateful, thankful, excited and looking forward to starting the 2024 season with a bang at Daytona and try to get a couple wins this season and hopefully a championship.”
The 2024 WeatherTech Championship season opens with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 27-28.