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Flying Lizard Motorsports Soars to Victory at Laguna Seca with Impressive Win

SALINAS, Cali., (May 15, 2023) – The 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season began this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and California team Flying Lizard Motorsports kicked off the new year with great success, scoring one pole position, one win, and a third-place finish with the newly expanded four-car team.

Each of the seven drivers and four cars showed a strong pace and were positioned to fight for podium finishes in the pair of races, but a series of racing incidents intervened, stealing additional strong finishes from the California team. Despite the setbacks, the team made strong strides in the first doubleheader of the season, currently fifth overall in the team championship standings.

“This was a great way to open the season in Lamborghini Super Trofeo,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “We had a strong showing with a win on day one, third place on day two, and our qualifying first, second, and third in one race is a great accomplishment. All of our cars were fast and had an opportunity to win. We are looking forward to the next event at Watkins Glen and hope to build on the momentum from this past weekend.”

Race One

The Lizards had a strong debut in race one, with all four cars qualifying in a group, matching similar paces with each other. In Pro/am. the No. 68 of Chris Bellomo and Johannes van Overbeek started from sixth place, No. 41 of Paul Nemschoff and Marc Miller in seventh and the No. 14 of Slade Stewart and Andy Lee started from eighth place in the Pro/Am class. Tom Tait had his own strong qualifying session, placing himself in fifth in the Am class for the first start of the race season. The group had a strong run to the front end of the field, with all four cars running in the top five and all with a chance at a podium finish in the final ten minutes. With six minutes remaining, the No. 11 entry spun on turn six, needing track assistance to continue moving. The incident brought out a full-course caution, bunching the field of Lamborghinis back together, building the tension for a one-lap shootout to the checkered flag. The top four cars in the Pro/Am class dove into the Andretti Hairpin, with the No. 46 and No. 47 leading Johannes van Overbeek in third, Marc Miller in fourth, and Andy Lee in fifth. The four-wide battle resulted in the No. 41 getting bumped and spinning. Just four turns later, tragedy stuck the No. 14 of Lee while running in fourth place and getting a good run into the Rahal Straight. A competitor bumped a curb and went slightly airborne, hitting the pink Lamborghini and sending it spinning off course. Although unfortunate for the 41 and the 14 cars, Johannes Van Overbeek and Chris Bellomo brought home the first podium and first win of the season for Flying Lizard Motorsports in the No. 68 car.

Race Two

As in the previous race’s qualifying session, all four Lizard cars started close together, with Marc Miller leading the charge from the Pro/Am pole position, Andy Lee qualifying second, and Johannes Van Overbeek qualifying third. Miller and Lee fought side by side for position from the drop of the green flag, with van Overbeek just behind, eager to get in on the action. They maintained the top three positions for the entirety of their stint, while Tom Tait continued his strong hold on to fifth position. They completed their stints at the halfway point, but bad luck struck once again to the No. 14 Lamborghini when contact with another car sent Stewart and the pink unicorn spinning in turn two. While he received a tow out of the corner and was able to rejoin, his third-place position was lost, ultimately resulting in a seventh-place finish. With 12 minutes to go, the No. 46 entry got by the pair of leading Lizards exiting the corkscrew, but Nemschoff and Bellomo continued on to press for a strong final result. Bellomo climbed into the second-place position, engaged in some intense battles for overall position, with Nemschoff and Tait close behind. Tait had a particularly strong run in the second half of the race, engaged in his own heated fight for position. He held a podium position until turn two of the final lap, still earning a strong fourth-place result. Bellomo and van Overbeek’s car went off course in the final lap but rejoined to finish in seventh. Stewart rounded out the group with an eighth-place result.

Next Up

The series will return June 22-25 for rounds two and three of the championship, taking the competitors to Watkins Glen International in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. For tickets, schedules, and event information, visit imsa.com.

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

About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Based out of Sonoma, California, Flying Lizard Motorsports is one of the most iconic sports car teams in motorsports, having celebrated ten driver and team championships, as well as competed internationally at the 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times.
The Lizards burst on the American Le Mans Series scene in 2004, competing in the GT class until 2012. In 2013, the team moved to the GTC class, still competing in legendary events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona. In 2014, the team expanded its program to include running two Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR Championship, and in 2015, again expanded the program to include two Porsches in Porsche Club racing. Flying Lizard closed out the season with a dominating win at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill with Toyo Tires, a win they repeated in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The 2020 season proved the team’s most successful to date, earning four titles in the GT4 America championship. Flying Lizard Motorsports has proven to be a championship contender no matter the race series or race car. For more information, visit lizardms.com.

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