Kiko Porto and Tyler Gonzalez overcame intermittent engine trouble and intense late pressure to secure second place for RAFA Racing Team in race two of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The pair finished just 2.939 seconds behind race winner Giano Taurino, with Gonzalez holding off the charging Will Bamber to secure the runner-up spot by 0.699 seconds.
The result rewarded a determined effort from both drivers after an engine cut had also disrupted their opening race of the weekend.
“That last stint was hectic for sure,” Gonzalez said. “Bamber coming from way back, and then we just had some issue with the car and kept cutting out.”
With Bamber closing in and traffic adding another complication, Gonzalez had little opportunity to settle into a rhythm during the closing stint.
“He definitely didn’t give me any room to breathe,” he said.
Despite those challenges, Gonzalez kept the No. 2 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 ahead of Bamber’s No. 33 entry to complete a strong recovery from Saturday, when he and Porto were classified sixth in Pro.
Porto explained that the engine issue had struck while he was running fourth in race one, undoing some of the promise shown by the car’s handling.
“I think we had a very good balance of the car during this whole weekend,” Porto said. “We kept having this problem with the engine cutting.”
The interruptions were less severe in Sunday’s race, giving the pair the opportunity to turn that balance into a podium result. For Porto, second place was a welcome reward after the frustration of the previous day.
For Gonzalez, the weekend also underlined the value of the partnership the two drivers have been building. Working together and developing their understanding of each other has been an enjoyable part of the program.
“I love racing with Kiko. It’s been a lot of fun, and I think it’s good for us to kind of work together and get to know each other,” Gonzalez said.
He also pointed to “big improvements in terms of the race car,” with Sunday’s performance demonstrating the pair’s ability to deliver a result even when the car was not running trouble-free.
In the team’s No. 81 Lamborghini, Ian Porter and Chloe Chambers completed the Indianapolis weekend with two top-five finishes in Pro-Am. The pair were classified fourth in the revised provisional results for race one, 6.996 seconds off third place, before taking fifth in race two.
