Flying Lizard Shows Resilience at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., (September 19, 2023) – Despite having four fast Lamborghini entries in last weekend’s Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America doubleheader at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Flying Lizard Motorsports closed out the weekend with three top-five finishes, the first time all season the team left an event without a podium finish. Though the team’s quartet of entries showed strong speeds and impressive race craft, luck was not on the team’s side.
“Indy was a bit tough for us as we had some car issues in the first race,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “But on the positive side, the cars are handling well and we had good pace. Based on those items we all feel confident heading to Vallelunga Italy in November and look forward to both the final round for the US championship as well as the World Finals.”
Race One
Due to an incident in qualifying that left the No. 41 undergoing repairs, three-time podium finishers Paul Nemschoff and Marc Miller were forced to sit out race one, cheering on their teammates in the opening race from pit lane. Andy Lee led the team charge at the drop of the green flag, starting the race with the No. 14 pink unicorn Lamborghini from seventh place in the Pro/Am class. Teammate Chris Bellomo started from eight in the same class, while Tom Tait, who suffered rare mechanical issues in qualifying started from eighth in the Am class. Tait’s electrical gremlins reappeared early into the race, forcing him to bring the No. 64 Lamborghini back to the garage, unable to continue the day’s competition.
Hungry to reprise his appearance on the podium with co-driver Slade Stewart, Lee engaged in a brief battle to take sixth place from Luke Berkeley in the first stint of the race. He pitted with one minute left in the mandatory pit stop window, handing the unicorn off to Stewart to finish out the race. Stewart climbed as high as second and had many side-by-side battles that resulted in the No. 14 car getting moved back to fifth place. Luck also turned for the No. 68 of Bellomo and van Overbeek, who were running strong in the top ten, but with 20 minutes to go were forced to withdraw due to an electrical issue. Stewart and Lee were the only Lizards to finish the race, netting a strong fifth-place finish.
Race Two
Undeterred by the previous day’s misfortunes, the Lizards regrouped for Sunday’s final race of the weekend, with van Overbeek starting from fourth, Stewart in fifth, Miller in tenth, and Tait eighth. Miller had a commanding start, climbing four class positions to run in sixth in the opening laps, behind Stewart. The two raced nose-to-tail for fifth place, with Miller eventually taking the position and then continued to work his way up through the field. In the Am class, Tait battled with several cars as he ran in sixth place. As the competitors approached the halfway point and the mandatory pit window, a full course caution paused the competition. In the Pro/Am class, van Overbeek, Miller, and Stewart held the fourth through sixth positions, with Tait holding sixth in the Am class. As the green again came out and racing resumed, Miller had an impressive run and worked his way up to first in class, Stewart pitted first, swapping over to Lee, followed by Tait. Miller and van Overbeek pitted with 17 minutes left in the race, allowing for Nemschoff and Bellomo to take over. Lee climbed to fourth place, with JCD Dubets separating him from Nemschoff. In the end, Lee earned another top-five finish with a fourth-place result, Nemschoff finished in eighth, and Bellomo in ninth. Tom Tait had another strong performance to take a strong fifth-place finish.
The doubleheader at Indianapolis Motor Speedway closes out the American leg of the 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season. The championship will conclude in November at the World Final at Vallelunga in Italy. The No. 16-17 will bring together all of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo competitors, and each series will have a final two rounds in which the 2023 champions of each respective series will be crowned. All the series will come together for two additional rounds to crown a world champion, November 16-17.
2023 Race Schedule
May 12-14, 2023
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Salinas, California
June 22-25, 2023
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen, New York
August 4-5, 2023
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
August 25-27, 2023
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America
VIRginia International Raceway
Alton, Virginia
September 15-17, 2023
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis, Indiana
November 16-17, 2023
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America
Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi
Campagnano di Roma, Italy
