Record lineup with 52 cars in the first round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe. In Imola, the continental series reserved for the Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 inaugurated its 16th edition, alongside the FIA WEC World Championship for the first time.
The Santerno circuit hosted the two inaugural races of the season, the first of which took place in prohibitive conditions and was interrupted with the red flag approximately 20 minutes before the end of time. Sunny and dry on Sunday in Race 2.
Victory on Saturday in Pro for the Target Racing team made up of Largim Ali and Oliver Söderström, the latter setting the fifth overall time in the first qualifying session. Success in the Pro-Am for Renaud Kuppens and Roee Meyuhas (Boutsen VDS). First victory in the Am class for Nigel Bailly, in his second season in the championship of the Sant'Agata Bolognese company, as well as his first outing with the ART-Line, while in the Lamborghini Cup Charlie Martin and Jason Keats won at the wheel of a car of the Brutal Fish Racing Team.
In the second race, success went to Amaury Bonduel (BDR Competition by Grupo Prom), ahead of Ali and Söderström, who jumped to the top of the Pro classification. Bronek Formanek and Stefan Rosina won the Pro-Am with the Micanek Motorsport team. Davide Roda and Pietro Perolini finished ahead of everyone in the Am class with the colors of the Oregon Team. In the Lamborghini Cup success for Shota Abkhazava with the ART-Line.
RACE 1
PRO
The initial phases were lively, with Leonardo Caglioni's car being pushed against the wall even before the start by that of Jachym Galas (who was then penalized with a drive through), making an extra lap necessary before the start.
Then the start was launched with Bonduel, very fast in the qualifying sessions and twice on pole, who maintained the lead. Behind him Mattia Michelotto resists the attack of Alberto Di Folco, who follows third, but shortly afterwards he in turn has to give way to Sebastian Balthasar.
After 16' the wind picked up and it started raining in some parts of the track, making the intervention of the safety car necessary. Pit stops begin under neutralization regime. Then the exit at the Variante Alta of Rodrigue Gillion, who still had the slick tires, and the red flag, with the race definitively interrupted.
In the lead are Ali and Söderström, who had kept the dry tires on par with Caglioni and Enzo Geraci, who eventually moved up to third with the first of the Oregon Team cars, behind the Leipert Motorsport duo of Sebastian Balthasar and the young rookie Jacob Riegel. Michelotto and Gilles Stadsbader came fourth, immediately followed by Bonduel.
PRO-AM
Miloš Pavlović gets off to a good start in the Pro-Am and is the fastest in his class at the end of the first round of official testing. The ASR team driver confirmed his lead and immediately moved up three positions to take fourth overall. But the safety car and the rain mix everything up, allowing the Boutsen VDS crew composed of Kuppens and Meyuhas to jump into the lead.
Bronek Formanek and Stefan Rosina did well, second with the Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 of Micanek Motorsport powered by Buggyra. Debut and podium for Calle Bergman and Guido Luchetti (Lamborghini Stüttgart by Target Racing).
AM
Glenn McGee immediately took the lead in the Am class and remained there until the race was cancelled. So, after the stops everything changes and the car shared by Andrzej and Adrian Lewandowski finds itself in the lead. Then Gillion's exit and everything changed after the breaks.
First victory therefore for Bailly. Second, upon their return to the series, were Davide Roda and Pietro Perolini, with another Oregon Team car, while McGee and his partner Anthony McIntosh finished third.
Lamborghini Cup
In the Lamborghini Cup Keats and Martin immediately scored. Behind them Holger Harmsen (GT3 Poland) and the Rexal Villorba Corse car shared by Luciano and Davide Privitelio, father and son. Paolo Biglieri, ahead of everyone in his class at the end of the first qualifying round with ASR, finished fourth together with Petar Matić.
Oliver Söderström, Target Racing (1st Pro class): “It was a crazy race. The weather conditions were really complicated and at a certain point the light also went down. At the beginning I struggled a bit, then it started raining right away.” before making my stop, but not enough to decide to fit wet tyres”.
Largim Ali, Target Racing (1st Pro class): “When I got into the car, I didn't have the slightest idea whether the safety car was staying on the track or not. I was hoping that was the case, because from the pits they decided to leave the slick tyres. It was a gamble, but in the end it turned out to be the right choice.”
RACE 2
PRO
Bonduel is on pole. Behind him is the VSR team rookie Andrea Frassineti (17 years old), a real surprise in qualifying in which he posted the second fastest time. At the start, as in the first race on Saturday, the Belgian took the lead. Ali gains a position and moves behind him. Frassineti instead slips to third, followed by Pavel Lefterov and Enzo Geraci.
Immediately behind was Stadsbader, who had contact with Egor Orudzhev's car. On the third lap Jerzy Spinkiewicz ends up against the wall and the safety car comes onto the track. With the clock at minus 36 minutes we start again, but a carambola at the Tosa curve, involving Guido Luchetti, Cristian Bortolato and Filippo Lazzaroni, immediately makes a further neutralization necessary, postponing the opening of the pit stop window by three minutes.
At the re-start Bonduel continues to lead the group followed by Ali. Lefterov instead passes Frassineti and takes third and then stays there, imitated by his partner Stefan Bostandjiev. Meanwhile Edgar Maloigne ends up on the sand after being rear-ended by Rodrigo Testa.
We continue and 17' from the end of the time the first two make the pit stop, returning to the track in the same order, with Söderström taking Ali's place. The Swede always finds himself behind, with a gap of five seconds. Behind him is Bostandjiev.
Ignazio Zanon, who replaced Frassineti, slipped to seventh. Caglioni, Giorgio Amati and Riccardo Ianniello pass in front of him. Five minutes from the end Stéphane Tribaudini turns. New safety car and another restart and the checkered flag displayed at the same time with Bonduel still in command.
PRO-AM
Joran Leneutre takes the lead in the Pro-Am. Kuppens passes second but further away. After the first neutralization the Frenchman from Iron Lynx still remains firmly in front and does the same following the second safety car. Before the stops Kuppens ends up on the gravel.
Rosina takes over the lead, preceding Claude-Yves Gosselin at the finish line, who got into the car in place of Leneutre. Miloš Pavlović and Alessio Ruffini climb to the lowest step of the podium.
AM
Excellent initial start from Perolini, who confirmed his lead even after the initial double neutralization. After the stops, Roda continues to lead the Am class platoon, but then progressively slips to third.
Adrian Lewandowski took the lead instead, taking over from his father Andrzej at the wheel, followed by Stéphane Tribaudini, who ended up second paired with Piergiacomo Randazzo. But a post-race penalty imposed on the first two crews puts Roda and Perolini back in front.
Lamborghini Cup
In the Lamborghini Cup Abkhazava takes the lead. The ART-Line driver, both in the excited initial phases and after the pit stops, managed to manage his advantage without any problems and on arrival he closed with a margin of over four seconds over Holger Harmsen. Paolo Biglieri and Petar Matić finished third with the ASR car.
Amaury Bonduel, BDR Competition by Grupo Prom (1st Pro class): “I'm really happy with this victory, because with all these safety cars it wasn't an easy race at all. I had to stay focused, but the pit stop was perfect , considering that racing alone I had to stay in the pits longer than the Target Racing team crew. All in all it was a good weekend and now I can't wait to get back on track in Spa next month.”
The next round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe will be in Spa on 9-11 May, again combined with the FIA WEC World Championship, before stopping at Le Mans in mid-June on the same weekend as the 24 Hours.
#Lamborghini #Successes #AliSöderström #Bonduel #Imola
