Lindsay Brewer and Jem Hepworth take maiden win in Lamborghini ST at Road America
- RACERS
- Aug 4
- 6 min read
"We wanted the win, and we got it.” - The RAFA Racing all-female team of Lindsay Brewer and Jem Hepworth secured their first class victory in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America with a near-perfect round at Road America, stepping onto the top step of the podium in Race 2.
The RAFA Racing all-female team of Lindsay Brewer and Jem Hepworth secured their first class victory in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America with a near-perfect round at Road America, where the rookie duo came close to victory in Race 1 before finally stepping onto the top step of the podium with a perfectly managed Race 2 performance.
Lindsay Brewer and Jem Hepworth have made an immediate impact in their debut season as teammates in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, forming an all-female duo for RAFA Racing Team. Brewer, stepping into GT racing for the first time after competing in top-level U.S. single-seaters including Indy NXT, and Hepworth, bringing prior GT4 European Series experience with RAFA, have quickly gelled as a competitive pairing in the AM class.
They opened the season with a third-place podium at Sebring, showing strong pace and teamwork from the outset; the pair then continued their upward trajectory with another third-place finish at Laguna Seca, where they also set the fastest lap in class in both races. At Watkins Glen, a track new to both drivers, Brewer and Hepworth enjoyed their strongest weekend up to that point, securing two runner-up finishes and running competitively within the overall top ten.
With four AM class podiums in three rounds, the RAFA Racing duo remained firmly in the championship hunt, third in the class standings before heading to the fourth round at Road America, one of North America's most iconic and challenging tracks. While Brewer had previous experience at the circuit in other championships, it marked Hepworth’s first appearance at the Wisconsin venue.
Despite that, the duo quickly felt comfortable with the car and circuit and showed immediate pace. Hepworth set the second-fastest time in AM during the opening practice session with a 2:09.767, and they were seventh in the second session—showing clear potential to continue their uninterrupted podium streak in every round so far.
In Q1, Hepworth was behind the wheel for RAFA Racing. A red flag was brought out early after the #99 of Bolduc went off at Turn 8, leaving time for just one flying lap once the session resumed. Jem delivered under pressure with a 2:09.322, initially placing her third in class—until Staab, the last car to complete a lap, claimed pole and pushed Hepworth to fourth in AM and 17th overall.
In Q2, Lindsay Brewer took over. Her first timed lap was a 2:09.171, which put her fourth in class. After a few improvements from rivals, she slipped to fifth, and a red flag with three minutes remaining ended the session early. Brewer was classified fifth in AM.
Race 1 took place on Saturday afternoon at Road America. Jem Hepworth started P4 in class in the #2 RAFA Racing Lamborghini Huracán and took the opening stint.
Lining up on the inside, Hepworth got a clean launch and immediately gained several positions into Turn 1. She held firm against bold moves behind and emerged P14 overall and second in AM class after an excellent first lap. Ahead of her, Slade Stewart's ProAm car separated her from class leader Staab, while Jem also had to defend from Pro car Starkweather, who eventually passed her, though Hepworth remained second in AM.
Ten minutes into the race, the LB Cup entry of Tasca went off in the gravel, followed by chaos as Colin Queen spun while running in the overall top ten. Shortly after, Stewart spun just ahead of Hepworth, who avoided contact and gained a position overall.
Hepworth was then hit by the Pro-class car of Persing at Canada Corner, though she avoided damage despite running deep and not losing a class position. Persing was later handed a 10-second penalty for the contact.
Now in clean air, Hepworth began building a gap to the AM car behind—Neuls—extending the margin to over two seconds. She steadily reeled in Staab, running a 2:08.815, the fastest AM lap of the race, and closed the gap just as the pit window approached. When Staab pitted, Hepworth stayed out longer, cycling into the class lead and breaking into the overall top 10 by lap 10 before diving into the pits a lap later.
Brewer rejoined the race in third, but with McAuliffe and Holguin yet to pit. When they eventually stopped at the end of the pit window, both rejoined behind the #2 RAFA Racing Huracán, promoting Lindsay to the class lead by 0.8 seconds over Staab. Both drivers moved up a spot when Comeau finally pitted his ProAm car, and the battle for the AM win was on.
Brewer began to stretch her legs by lap 14, gaining a few tenths on Staab, but a crash for the #41 ProAm Flying Lizard entry brought concern—fortunately, the race stayed green. Staab responded with a quick lap and caught Brewer again one lap later. The fight was intense as the final 14 minutes unfolded. Lindsay defended well but made a small mistake at Turn 8 on lap 17, going deep and allowing Staab to sneak past.
Now around two seconds back, Brewer regrouped and began to close the gap again. Though she couldn’t get close enough to challenge for the win, she finished second, nine seconds clear of third-place Neuls. It marked their third consecutive runner-up finish in a closely fought and highly-competitive race.
Despite qualifying faster than Hepworth, Lindsay Brewer lined up fifth in class for Race 2 on Sunday, aiming to bounce back. Drama unfolded immediately with a multi-car crash at the start, eliminating several contenders and triggering a lengthy caution. Brewer navigated through the chaos and moved up into third in class before the race was neutralized. Due to the severity of the incidents, most of the opening stint ran under yellow.
Racing resumed with 30 minutes to go, and Brewer quickly gained a position overall to run P11. A couple of Pro and ProAm cars sat between her and Staab in second place in AM. On lap 6, Lindsay pitted just as the window opened. Hepworth took over and rejoined in third, with two AM rivals yet to stop. When they did a lap later, Jem emerged ahead—gaining two seconds and climbing to second in AM and P11 overall.
Now chasing Graham Doyle in the Wayne Taylor Racing Huracán, Hepworth began to close the five-second gap at a rapid pace. Running consistent 2:07.9s, she halved the deficit on lap 9, and just a few laps later was within striking distance.
On lap 13, Hepworth made a sensational move for the lead into Turn 5, cleanly passing Doyle. Once ahead, she immediately pulled clear with dominant pace—six seconds ahead within a few laps, setting the fastest times in class.
Hepworth was unchallenged in the closing stages, and even a final-lap crash for Bullock didn’t interrupt her rhythm. The race ended with Jem Hepworth taking a commanding win—15 seconds clear of championship rivals Doyle and Staab.
It was a long-awaited first victory for the all-female RAFA Racing pairing of Hepworth and Brewer after six podium finishes and three consecutive runner-up results. After coming close on Saturday, they sealed the win in dominant fashion on Sunday.
“That stint was the best stint of my life", Hepworth commented. "I was chasing down P1, I knew I had time and had about 12 minutes on the clock. I thought, ‘Let’s not do anything outrageous and wait for him to make a bit of a mistake.’ Last night we were distraught with second; at the beginning of the season, we’d have been thrilled for it! We wanted the win, and we got it.”
“Jem did an incredible job at the end", Brewer added. "We gained a lot of positions at the start to bring it to P3 and Jem took it home. This is my favorite track, and it’s such an incredible place to have my first win here.”
They now sit a tied-second in the AM class standings with 82 points, 17 behind leaders McGee/Doyle. The next round will be the final event on North American soil at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 18–20 September, ahead of the season finale and World Finals at Misano, Italy.