Chloe Chambers charges from the back, secures class top-5 at Laguna Seca

Chloe Chambers secured her first top-five finish in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America with a remarkable recovery drive at Laguna Seca, overcoming a technical failure in qualifying that forced her to start from the back of the field in both races.

Photo credits: RAFA Racing

Chloe Chambers secured her first top-five finish in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America with a remarkable recovery drive at Laguna Seca, overcoming a technical failure in qualifying that forced her to start from the back of the field in both races.

The second round of the 2026 season proved a true test of resilience for Chambers and her RAFA Racing teammate Ian Porter, but the duo delivered an impressive comeback that culminated in a top-five ProAm finish in Sunday’s second race.

Competing in her first season in the series after transitioning from single-seaters following two years in F1 Academy, Chambers has been adapting quickly to the demanding Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2. Known for her versatility and rapid learning, Chambers continued to build experience after a tricky yet encouraging debut at Sebring. At Laguna Seca, she showcased her trademark strong race pace and fighting spirit, delivering two highly competitive stints as she charged through the field.

The weekend began positively in practice, with Chambers setting a 1:25.6 lap in FP1 to go eighth fastest in ProAm, around one second quicker than her teammate. She made further progress in FP2, improving to a 1:25.1 to go fifth fastest in class.

However, qualifying brought the major weekend setback. Ian Porter took the wheel for Q1 and showed improvement, climbing to sixth in ProAm before a technical issue forced him to stop at Turn 2, bringing out a red flag with five minutes remaining.

As a result, his fastest times were deleted, and the team would be forced to start from the back of the over-30 car field. The #81 RAFA Racing entry was unable to take part in Q2 as well following the earlier issue, meaning Chambers would also start Sunday’s race from the rear of the grid.

Photo credits: RAFA Racing

Race 1 on Saturday afternoon took place under cloudy skies, with Porter starting from ninth in ProAm and 32nd overall. At the green flag, he made a strong start, gaining two positions by passing Morillo and Holguin in the AM class to move up to 30th overall while retaining his class position. On lap two, Avery Towns’ #55 Pro car went off and became stranded in the gravel at Turn 3, triggering a full course yellow.

Following the restart with 37 minutes remaining, Porter focused on working his way through traffic, with three LB Cup entries ahead. He successfully cleared Bolduc and Touchette to climb to 26th overall, running competitive 1:27.3 lap times, quicker than several AM cars ahead, and closing to within two seconds of ProAm rival Nemschoff.

As the pit window opened with 30 minutes remaining, Porter dived into the pits immediately from ninth in class, handing over to Chambers. The stop proved costly, however, as she was delayed by another car pitting directly in front of her and had to be pushed back before restarting, losing significant time.

Despite the setback, Chambers delivered a strong outlap and quickly set the car’s best lap to that point with a 1:26.8. Rejoining down in P33 overall and ninth in class, she began an impressive recovery drive, overtaking Clay Wilson and picking up further positions with a pace advantage of over four seconds per lap compared to surrounding cars. She improved to a 1:25.1 lap time and continued to climb the order.

Navigating heavy traffic, Chambers advanced to P28 overall, passing Tasca for P27 and then overtaking Bolduc, running significantly quicker but often held up by LB Cup and AM traffic. She eventually cleared Touchette for P24 overall, but with no further cautions to close the field, recovery opportunities were limited. Chambers took the chequered flag in P24 overall and P9 in ProAm.

Photo credits: RAFA Racing

Sunday’s Race 2 presented another challenge, with damp track conditions following morning rain. Once again, Chambers was forced to start from the back - P9 in ProAm and P35 overall - requiring her to fight through multiple classes.

The race began behind the safety car, going green on lap two amid immediate chaos into Turn 2 as Persing and Taurino encountered trouble, with the #1 WTR car ending up in the gravel. Chambers made a brilliant start, gaining eight positions almost immediately and slicing through the LB Cup field.

Continuing her charge, she overtook Boucher and Heffring to move into seventh in ProAm and 21st overall within the opening laps, already halfway through the overall field. Running just half a second behind Whiting, Chambers continued to navigate traffic while targeting further gains.

A dramatic moment followed when Elias De La Torre’s car caught fire, bringing out a full course yellow with 29 minutes remaining, just ahead of the pit window. Chambers was running seventh in ProAm at the time of the neutralization.

Racing resumed on lap 17, and Chambers capitalized on a chaotic restart to move up into sixth in class before diving into the pits after another outstanding recovery stint. Ian Porter took over the #81 car, rejoining sixth in ProAm.

Porter settled into a consistent rhythm, running 1:26.4 lap times while managing traffic from the AM class. He gradually closed in on ProAm rivals Henry and Nemschoff, who had pitted later in the cycle. On lap 28, Porter made a move on Nemschoff to take fifth place in class, building a small buffer as Jack Miller closed from behind.

Late drama unfolded when AM class leader Bullock went off at Turn 9 with two laps remaining, becoming stranded in the gravel and triggering another full course yellow. The race eventually ended under caution.

Chambers and Porter completed their recovery drive with a fifth-place finish in ProAm, a remarkable result given the setbacks that had defined their weekend. It marked a well-earned improvement for the duo, who after two rounds now sit eighth in the ProAm championship standings with 14 points and will aim to build further momentum at the next round at Watkins Glen on June 25–27.