Ernie Francis Jr. and Giano Taurino hailed their championship triumph in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America as the crown on a “crazy year” after they clinched the title with a race to spare in Jerez.

The TR3 Racing duo were crowned champions in the Pro class after they finished second during the first of two races in Spain, where the North American series wraps up as part of Lamborghini’s end-of-season World Finals event.

Victories at Sebring, Watkins Glen, Circuit of The Americas and Indianapolis gave Francis Jr. and Taurino a twelve-point advantage over their nearest rivals in the standings.

Friday’s result, where the No. 188 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 finished second behind Loris Cabirou and Bryson Morris, puts the TR3 pairing 17 points clear of Danny Formal and Ryan Norman in the Pro class.

With 15 points up for grabs in the final race of the season on Friday, they can no longer be overhauled, thus deciding the championship battle.

“We came into this year knowing we wanted to win a championship and we’ve been fighting every race for a championship, trying to just be consistent and get the results when we can,” Francis Jr. said.

“We’ve just been putting in a lot of work this year. Just can’t thank everybody enough. This has been such a crazy year.

“Today’s race was probably one of the most exciting races we’ve had with those damp conditions on the slicks.

“The cars were sliding around everywhere and made for some interesting lines, some interesting passing, some very aggressive driving out there.

“But when a championship is on the line, you have to do what you have to do. Put your elbows out and get it done.”

While Francis Jr. won the title in his debut season in the series, South African-born Taurino has been a regular in the championship in 2021 and has competed in the Pro category for three years.

The 20-year-old admits that the belief of a championship tilt for him and Francis Jr. grew throughout the season, with their Race 2 win at Sebring acting as a major early morale boost.

“Our season, we started with the same idea, the same goal to go and win a championship,” Taurino said.

“Throughout the year, every race just seemed like, ‘Dang, this is becoming more and more possible.’

“We won Sebring and then after that, we’re like, ‘Oh we can do this.’

“I think that gave us a lot more faith, a lot more hope to have the confidence we needed to continue to work, continue to persevere.

“Ernie also just kept on getting faster and faster. Everything we do is for each other, so yeah, it’s been a crazy year.

“This has been the craziest race we’ve had. I love the rain. Even growing up with the go-karts, rain has always been my favorite.

“So it’s cool that we finally got to race in the rain after so long.”

Francis Jr., meanwhile, adds a Super Trofeo title to a resume that already includes seven Trans-Am championships.

“I think these cars really suited my driving style, coming from my Trans-Am cars that I used to race,” he said.

“Big cars, a lot of horsepower. The Trans-Am cars had no traction control or ABS, so it’s pretty nice to have that in these cars.

“You could really lean on the car a lot, you can lean on each other. The cars are tough.

“If you look at the side of our car right now, most race cars wouldn’t be able to finish a race after the hits that we took in that in that one there.

“They’re a lot of fun. I really enjoy it and then the competition out here is great.

“You look at the guys that we’re racing against, the level of competition, the speed that these guys have on track and how tight it is every race weekend.

“Every race this year, somebody in the front could have won it. We’ve all had races where we’ve been better than each other.

“It’s been great. Just loving racing out here.”

Reference: https://sportscar365.com/imsa/lamborghini-st/pro-title-caps-off-crazy-year-for-francis-jr-taurino/