Forty Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2’s roared to life under the Californian sun as the grid assembled for Race 2 of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America weekend at Laguna Seca.
With the hills of Monterey echoing with the sound of V10 engines and four distinct classes—Pro, Pro-Am, Am, and Lamborghini Cup—stacked across the field, the 2.23-mile circuit promised no shortage of drama.
For Kiwi fans, the spotlight was firmly on Brendon Leitch and William Bamber, both determined to bounce back from gut-wrenching setbacks in Race 1.
For Leitch, the previous day’s heartbreak still lingered. After a dream debut victory at Sebring alongside American teammate Anthony McIntosh, the pair suffered a crushing DNF in Race 1 when McIntosh spun out on Lap 1, meaning Leitch never got to take the wheel.
The Wayne Taylor Racing team worked through the night to rebuild the #69 machine. The duo responded by qualifying second overall for Race 2—first in the Pro-Am class—with Leitch taking on the opening stint.
Meanwhile, Bamber and his American co-driver Elias De La Torre had their own redemption arc to complete. The pair led most of Race 1, only to lose the lead late before De La Torre crashed out in the final two minutes. Still, they regrouped and qualified third overall and second in the Pro class, with De La Torre to start the race.
The cool morning air, just 17 degrees Celsius, combined with 30-degree track temperatures meant the race began under full-course yellow, allowing the field to build tyre pressure on the single-pace lap.
When the green flag finally waved with 47 minutes on the clock, the field surged toward Turn 1 in a three-wide formation, navigating the Andretti Hairpin cleanly—but from that moment on, it was anything but calm.
Leitch slotted in behind pole-sitter Nick Persing and immediately came under fire from Scott Huffaker, who pushed relentlessly to snatch second place.
The Kiwi was in no mood to yield, fending him off lap after lap while opening a healthy buffer in the Pro-Am category.
By the ten-minute mark, Leitch had stretched his class lead to over six seconds, with Pro-Am rival Andy Lee unable to match the blistering pace.
Just behind, De La Torre had slipped from third to fifth in the early laps, overtaken by both Huffaker and Hampus Ericsson, but settled into a rhythm and held steady through his stint.
The track, famous for its 180-foot elevation change and the iconic Corkscrew drop, caused chaos throughout the field. In the LB Cup class, contact between Nick Groat and Mark Brummond caused Groat to spin, though the race remained green.
A pair of penalties were soon handed down to Jem Hepworth and Rocky Bolduc for early-race incidents.
Back in the Pro-Am lead, Leitch continued to pound out quick laps, highlighted by a 1:24.422, before finally diving into the pits just after the 30-minute mark.
McIntosh took over and rejoined seventh overall, fourth in class, with several pit stops still to cycle through.
Persing maintained his lead up front while Bamber, now in the #29 TR3 Racing Lamborghini after swapping in for De La Torre, rejoined in ninth and began picking off positions as others pitted.
As the race settled into its second half, McIntosh moved up to third overall and retook the Pro-Am class lead once all stops had been completed, holding a five-second gap over Stewart in second.
Bamber had worked his way into fifth overall, running fourth in the ultra-competitive Pro class.
Then, as so often happens at Laguna Seca, late-race chaos erupted. With 15 minutes remaining, LB Cup driver Bolduc went off track twice in one lap before finally coming to a halt in a precarious position, bringing out a full-course yellow.
The field bunched up for a restart with just seven minutes left on the clock, only for another incident to immediately unfold—Tadas Karlinskas lost control of his Pro-Am entry and slid into Nicky Hays, putting both cars out of contention and triggering yet another caution.
It all came down to a two-lap shootout to the finish, and the intensity couldn’t have been higher. Persing led the field to green, followed closely by Denny Formal, McIntosh, Enzo Geraci, and Bamber. What followed was nothing short of breathtaking.
Formal and Persing went wheel-to-wheel in a flat-out sprint to the line. As they charged toward the checkered flag, the margin was nearly imperceptible—just 0.006 seconds in Persing’s favour, a photo finish that will go down in Super Trofeo history.
But while the Pro class duel stole the headline, McIntosh and Leitch delivered a story of grit and redemption.
McIntosh brought the car home third overall and first in Pro-Am, sealing their second class win of the season. After the crushing disappointment of Race 1, it was a heroic bounce-back for the Kiwi-American duo.
“We were talking about this last night,” said McIntosh post-race.
“Brendon and I have won five of our last seven races, and when you get used to winning, a DNF really hits you hard. I can’t thank the team enough, they rebuilt the car overnight, and without Wayne Taylor Racing, we wouldn’t have been here.”
Bamber, too, showed remarkable resilience. Though a podium eluded him, his steady and smart drive brought home valuable points in the Pro class after the devastation of the previous day.
Both Kiwi drivers stood tall in a race punctuated by full-course yellows, class shuffles, and chaotic restarts.
Elsewhere, Glen McGee and Graham Doyle continued their dominant run in the AM class with their third win of the season, while Adrian Kunzle emerged victorious in the LB Cup after a tense battle with Bolduc.
Leitch, McIntosh, and Bamber’s efforts resonated the loudest—proof that perseverance, preparation, and raw talent always rise to the surface.
With momentum back on their side, the Kiwi contingent now turns their focus to Round 3 at the legendary Watkins Glen, set for June 19–21. If Laguna Seca was any indication, Brendon Leitch and William Bamber are not only contenders—they’re among the very best in the Super Trofeo paddock.
Header Image: Ed Justice, Jr (CEO of Justice Brothers)
