First success for Forte Racing as Imperiale win Italian GT Endurance finale
Sant’Agata Bolognese/Road Atlanta, 15 October 2023 – Lamborghini claimed another landmark victory on American soil as Forte Racing Powered by USRT’s Loris Spinelli, Misha Goikhberg and Patrick Liddy triumphed in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
It is the sixth major success in the United States, following the victories in the Daytona 24 Hours (2018, 2019 and 2020) and the Sebring 12 Hours (2018 and 2019) and the first win for Forte Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
The crew of the #78 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 completed what had been something of a comeback drive following a tricky qualifying session which left Spinelli, Goikhberg and Liddy 11th on the grid in GTD. At the end of the opening hour, the car had made significant progress, climbing to fourth position courtesy of Spinelli and it remained consistently among the top five for much of the 10-hour marathon race.
Testament to how much of a comeback drive the #78 had to deliver was fighting back from adversity. The team received three drivethrough penalties during the race, with two coming inside the final two hours. Spinelli was penalised for changing lanes during the restart procedure, while contact with an Aston Martin gave them a second trip through pit-lane. A further pit-stop infringement was the cause of the final drivethrough.
Despite these setbacks, the #78 remained firmly in contention, helped in part by the stop-start nature of the race, which feature multiple full course yellow periods. These allowed the Forte Racing crew to move back to the top of the field and save sufficient fuel to assume the lead inside the final hour. Spinelli then had to fend off a ferocious attack from the Porsche of Jan Heylen – which subsequently retired in the closing stages – to claim the win.
The victory in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, therefore, represents just reward at the end of what had been an immensely challenging race for the #78 crew. It is also the first victory in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship for Lamborghini since 2021 at Long Beach. New to IMSA competition in the GTD class this year, Forte Racing Powered by USRT has delivered a constantly improving campaign which began back in January at the Daytona 24 Hours.
Spinelli produced a sensational lap in qualifying to take pole position for the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen in June, beating both the GTD and GTD Pro competition before he and Goikhberg finished second in the Indianapolis sprint race in September. Having graduated from Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America to GT3 competition this season, Forte Racing Powered by USRT has finished the IMSA season as the strongest outfit in GTD, claiming victory and a second place in the final two races to give the Californian team momentum heading into 2024.
Lamborghini also tasted success in the final round of the Italian GT Championship, winning the Endurance Cup encounter at Vallelunga following a post-race appeal.
Stuart Middleton, Raúl Guzman and Kevin Gilardoni (Imperiale Racing) started second on the grid and maintained position during the former's opening stint. Gilardoni then took over and worked his way into the lead before an unfortunate collision with Tommaso Mosca's Ferrari. Gilardoni spun and dropped to second, which is where the crew finished on the road with Guzman at the wheel. However, after a 10-second penalty for the Ferrari, the trio were promoted to victory.