Lamborghini Super Trofeo Revving with Momentum Heading into 10th Season
The stars are aligned for the greatest season to date in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America (LSTNA), which opens its schedule this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The North American version of the single-make racing series enters its historic 10th season and in the first of a five-year extension of the agreement that keeps it under IMSA sanction. The car that every competitor races this year is the new Evo2 version of the alluring and fast Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo. A record grid of 34 cars fielded by 12 teams (another new standard) is entered for the doubleheader race round at WeatherTech Raceway, with more entries expected in future rounds.
To say the future looks bright for LSTNA is a vast understatement. In one of the brief moments he’s had to relax while preparing for the 2022 season, Chris Ward, senior manager of motorsports for Automobili Lamborghini America, reflected on how far the series has come since seven cars were on the grid for the inaugural race in 2013 at Lime Rock Park.
“You think about 10 years,” Ward said, “we’ve been through good times and bad times of the sports car racing paddock. Here we are 10 years later and just celebrating enormous success. The product is terrific and having new teams come to us shows that the word is out that this is a good place to come and race.
“Things are heading in the right direction. I’m very excited.”
The 2022 LSTNA grid is loaded with proven drivers and teams as well as fresh, promising newcomers. Dream Racing Motorsport – the reigning LSTNA team champion – returns with six entries this year, with a pair of 2021 champions in the mix. Richard Antinucci won the Pro class title last season, his third series championship, and will drive with Justin Price in the ProAm division this year in the No. 21 Lamborghini Atlanta Huracán. Luke Berkeley, who as a 17-year-old stormed to the Am class crown, moves up to Pro this season in the team’s No. 23 Lamborghini Broward Huracán.
US RaceTronics also has six cars in the field, including two run in conjunction with longtime series entrant Change Racing. Prestige Performance with Wayne Taylor Racing has four cars entered at WeatherTech Raceway with a fifth expected in future rounds.
Precision Performance Motorsports has three Huracáns on the grid, including the No. 47 Lamborghini Palm Beach entry in ProAm. Bryan Ortiz and Brandon Gdovic won the ProAm championship in the car last season. Ortiz is teamed with Sebastian Carazo in the No. 47 this year in a bid to repeat. TPC Racing and MCR Racing also return with three entries apiece.
New teams include Flying Lizard Motorsports (three cars), Forty7 Motorsports (two) and NTE Sport (1). Each has experience in other IMSA series but will debut in LSTNA this weekend.
A number of other past series champion drivers are back this season as well, including Edoardo Piscopo and Loris Spinelli in the Pro class, Damon Ockey in ProAm and Randy Sellari in Am. Spinelli already won the first two races of the 2022 European Super Trofeo season at Imola, Italy, in the new Huracán Evo2.
The LSTNA season consists of five doubleheader rounds in North America, followed by the final round in November at Portimao, Portugal, which runs along with the World Final matching up the North American and European teams and drivers.
At WeatherTech Raceway this week, LSTNA will conduct two 45-minute practices on Friday, with qualifying at 11 a.m. ET Saturday. The first 50-minute race starts at 4:50 p.m. Saturday and the second race at 12:40 p.m. Sunday. Both races stream live on IMSA.com/TVLive.
Source: imsa.com
