Chloe Chambers ends rookie Lamborghini Super Trofeo NA with top-5 in Monza, denied podium by late technical issue
Chloe Chambers secured a top five finish in the final Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America's round in Monza, before her hopes of a podium finish were dashed by a late technical issue in Race 2, while in second place. The RAFA Racing driver still completed her rookie campaign fifth in the ProAm standings.
Chloe Chambers saw her hopes of a podium finish to the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season finale dashed by a late technical issue in Race 2 at Monza, after showing great pace and while solidly in a podium position in the Pro-Am class. The American and teammate Ian Porter had recovered to finish fifth in class in the opening race before Chambers was forced out while running second in the final race of the continental season.
The RAFA Racing pairing ended the North American campaign fifth in the Pro-Am standings with 78 points, but will have another opportunity to fight for silverware at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals this weekend.
Chambers arrived in Italy following another productive round at Indianapolis, where she and Porter secured third in Pro-Am in Race 1 before adding a fifth-place class finish in Race 2. The result followed her breakthrough weekend at Road America, where Chambers claimed her maiden Pro-Am victory after a spectacular recovery drive from the back of the field in the second race, having finished runner-up in the opening contest.
The American returned to GT racing in 2026 after two seasons in F1 Academy, joining RAFA Racing for her rookie Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America campaign alongside Porter. She adapted quickly to the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2, showing strong racecraft at Laguna Seca despite starting both races from the back after qualifying issues, before securing her first Pro-Am podium with second place at Watkins Glen.
The season finale at Monza presented a new challenge for Chambers, who was making her first appearance at the Temple of Speed despite her previous experience racing single-seaters in Europe. The circuit's long straights and heavy braking zones can offer overtaking opportunities, but its distinctive characteristics also leave little room for error in the close battles.
Mixed weather throughout testing and practice added another complication, making it more difficult for teams to find the right setups. Chambers and Porter posted a 1:48.454 in the opening dry practice session to finish ninth in class before topping the Pro-Am order in the wet second session with a 2:04.536, although the limited representative running left some uncertainty heading into qualifying.
Chambers took the wheel for the first qualifying session and progressively found more speed. After setting a 1:49.0 on her second push lap, she dipped below the 1:49 barrier with a 1:48.1 before improving further to a 1:47.706. However, a red flag interrupted the session in the closing minutes, preventing her from capitalising on her improving pace. She was left seventh in Pro-Am and 13th overall for Race 1.
Porter handled the second qualifying session and immediately set a 1:48.152, putting himself in a strong position before the session was again disrupted. He ultimately secured third in Pro-Am and 11th overall for the second race, giving the team a solid starting position for the North American finale.
Chambers started the opening race from 13th overall and seventh in Pro-Am, facing a tightly packed field into the first chicane, which she navigated smartly. On the following lap, Chambers found herself in a multi car battle - with three cars going side by side along the straight. The American managed to negotiate the corner and was emerging ahead of the other two who had gone deep into turn 1, but she was eventually hit at the corner exit, costing her momentum and a position.
Chambers settled into the race and began working to close the gap to the group ahead, setting a 1:48.0 and gaining three tenths on lap seven. She also began catching the Pro-class car of Lawley, bringing the gap to less than a second as the pit window approached.
The American pitted on lap 11 from seventh in Pro-Am, handing the #102 Lamborghini over to Porter as the team looked to gain positions through an undercut. The strategy helped the pairing move up to sixth in class and 12th overall after the pit cycle, with Porter initially lapping faster than the two cars ahead and still within reach of further progress.
By lap 20, however, Porter had Dinkov closing from behind, with the gap dropped below three seconds. The RAFA Racing driver however then began to pull away and close on Heffring, reducing the margin to around a second as the race entered its final minutes.
With the chequered flag approaching, Porter launched his attack. The two cars ran side by side on the final lap, with Porter completing the pass to secure fifth in Pro-Am and 10th overall, giving RAFA Racing another solid result.
Chambers explained that qualifying had left her with work to do, particularly after the interruption prevented her from completing further flying laps: “Quali was a little bit difficult on my side personally. It was really early in the morning, with colder weather, and for me, it never felt like I had the tyres fully in. I was still improving, improving, improving and then we had a red flag in the last five minutes of the session. So, I lost out on probably two or three laps because of that. But, I qualified in a big pack of the other Pro-Am cars. I knew that if I had to, I can race from there, from the start of the race."
“Race one, I started the race and had a relatively decent start, staying in the same place as I was. And then I made a couple of positioning mistakes, I would say, that put me in a bad position heading into Turn 1 on the second lap. I wasn't able to make any more moves after that once the field started spreading out. The race went green all the way through, so it was hard to do anything else from there.”
“Ian got in the car and was able to finish in the top five, which was decent. But obviously, we knew we could have had more.”
Porter started the final race of the North American season from third in Pro-Am and 11th overall, and made a clean getaway as the field navigated the first corner without incident. He maintained his position in class while gaining places overall, quickly settling into a strong rhythm and beginning to close on second-placed Doyle.
A local yellow flag followed when the #122 of Lawley went off, although the race remained green. Porter continued to make progress, closing the gap to Doyle before passing him to move into second in Pro-Am. Once ahead, he maintained a pace in the 1:48s and began to pull away, matching the speed of class leader Miller.
Porter then produced an impressive series of laps, dipping into the 1:47.6 range as he continued to pressure the leaders as the pit window approached.
He brought the #81 Lamborghini into the pits on lap nine from second in class, handing over to Chambers for the second stint. The American immediately demonstrated the pace that had been building throughout the weekend, setting a 1:47.5 on her first push lap.
Chambers initially held third in Pro-Am while several rivals were still due to stop. When the leading cars made their pit stops on lap 12, she moved into second behind Nemschoff. Chambers continued to push, setting a 1:46.9 and rapidly closing on the leader; she caught and passed Nemschoff, but Formal had also moved ahead and now led the class, setting the fastest lap on track. Chambers therefore settled into second and remained in a strong position for a podium finish as the race entered its later stages.
However, her hopes were abruptly ended on lap 17. While negotiating the second chicane, Chambers lost drive and came to a halt with a mechanical failure. The #81 Lamborghini was forced out of the race while running second in Pro-Am, turning what had looked like a promising finish into a frustrating retirement.
It was an especially disappointing outcome given the pace shown by both drivers throughout the race.
“Today's race was a different story. I would say on the pace and the driving side, it was better for me. Ian qualified well, so we were able to already be ahead of ourselves,” Chambers explained.
“And then, during my stint, we just had a mechanical issue and unfortunately had to retire while running in second place. So, definitely not what we were planning on. But, you know, sometimes these things happen and we still look forward to the World Final races.”
Despite the late misfortune, Chambers and Porter finished the North American campaign fifth in the Pro-Am championship standings with 78 points. For Chambers, the season marked an important step in her return to GT racing, highlighted by her maiden class victory and a series of increasingly competitive performances.
The American will now have an opportunity to put the Monza setback behind her at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals, which bring together competitors from the North American, European and Asian championships to fight for the world titles across Saturday and Sunday.
