This past weekend was a hot one down at NOLA Motorsports Park with the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series! Much of our Wayne Taylor Racing team—myself included—had never been there before, so it was a new experience and an opportunity to come up to speed quickly while learning a new track. Not only were the drivers learning the circuit, but the engineers were also trying to optimize the setup on our Lamborghinis.
We were fortunate to have a test day, which is not typically the norm, so that added an extra day to the event weekend. It was a tremendous help, not just for us, but for all the teams since we were able to get more prepared going into qualifying Saturday morning.
We are so lucky to have the incredible support from Harrison Contracting Co and WTR. It truly is special to be associated with such a top-tier organized program.
NOLA is a unique circuit in that it’s flat—as you might expect in Louisiana—but it has plenty of high- and low-speed corners that are quite a challenge since the marshland has settled under the circuit, creating an undulating course. The 2.75-mile track was in great shape, with newly repaved sections, and the high-speed esses added quite a dynamic challenge to the circuit.
With the format for Lamborghini Super Trofeo, each driver qualifies in two separate 15-minute sessions. There were 34 cars on track for qualifying, and it was hard to get a clean lap. That meant strategy for qualifying was critical. We managed to get the strategy right for our car on at least one of the runs, but unfortunately, we weren’t so lucky on the second attempt, putting us farther down the starting order than we had anticipated. That meant we had our work cut out for us in race two!
It’s always awesome to have young fans come to cheer and help celebrate!
The first race of the weekend was later that afternoon, but it was delayed due to severe storms. We were fortunate enough to get the race in just before we ran out of daylight. The series required us to start on rain tires due to the wet conditions. The track quickly dried out as my co-driver, Ashton Harrison, took the green and had a great first stint.
The Wayne Taylor Racing team called an excellent strategy. When the pit window opened for the driver change, they brought Ashton in and we switched to dry tires, which was a 10-second advantage over the rain tires. There was a lot of activity in pit lane, coordinating all four team cars for both driver and tire changes, and the team did a great job with it.
When I got out on track, I was on brand-new, cold tires on a damp track. Visibility was tricky as the sun went down, and it all made for an exciting first couple of laps!
In the closing laps of the race, we had a great battle for the lead. Unfortunately, with less than 10 minutes left, a car off-track brought out a full-course yellow. That ended the race early, so we never got that last shot for the win, though we were pleased with our second-place finish.
Bring on the trophies and champagne!
Because of our qualifying position for race two, we had our work cut out for us. We advanced a few positions despite some full-course cautions during my opening stint, then Ashton got in the car and brought it home for another second-place finish.
It’s funny that we finished second both days, but the feeling was different each time. In race one, we felt like we had gotten short-changed because of the late-race caution, but in race two, we felt satisfied to finish second after fighting our way forward. Overall, it was a big weekend for our Wayne Taylor Racing team, including both poles and wins in the pro category for our teammates. It was a good weekend for hardware and points!
