Iconic Belgian circuit a key championship battleground across all four classes
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe championship enters the second half of the 2022 season, with the historic circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium hosting the fourth round this weekend.
The single-make championship, reserved for Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 machinery, has been a constant on the support bill for the 24 Hours of Spa for well over a decade now, making its first visit to the Ardennes in 2009. With an entry list of 37 cars this weekend, the continental championship will provide plenty of action across two 50-minute races, the final two before the summer break. Following a month’s holiday in August, the season resumes at the end of September for the penultimate round in Barcelona before the finale at Portimão.
Coming into this weekend, Bonaldi Motorsport’s Loris Spinelli and Max Weering have a commanding lead in the Pro championship standings with 95 points, after setting the record for six consecutive victories in the top class. Extraordinary pace in qualifying has been a key component of their success too: five pole positions for the #61 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2.
Their nearest title rival is BDN Competition’s Super Trofeo rookie Amaury Bonduel, competing on home soil this weekend, with 57 points after picking up a pair of well-deserved second places at Misano last time out. The young Belgian driver is six points clear of VS Racing’s French pairing of Stéphane Tribaudini and Jean-Luc D’Auria while the Target Racing partnership of Marzio Moretti and Milan Teekens are just a further six points behind in fourth. Imperiale Racing’s Manuel Bejarano is two points adrift in fifth and will hoping for a better weekend in Belgium after a frustrating time in Misano last month. Other potential contenders for podiums in the Pro class come in the form of Leipert Motorsport’s David-Mihai Serban, while series newcomers Johan Boris Scheier and Pierre-Loius Chovet (Arkadia Racing) have shown strong pace since making their debut at Paul Ricard. Spa-Francorchamps is also set to mark the Super Trofeo debut of the HBR Motorsport team for Dutch duo Robert and Benjamin van den Berg.
The Pro-Am title race took a significant turn in favour of Oregon Team’s Massimo Ciglia and Lewis Williamson last time out at Misano, and the pair hold an 11-point lead over Rexal FFF Racing Team’s Dan Wells and Oscar Lee coming into the Spa weekend. Ciglia and Williamson have yet to finish outside the podium positions this season, but if one thing has been a constant in 2022, it’s that fortunes can change quickly in the Pro-Am category. Dmitry Gvazava and Milan Petelet (Target Racing) are currently the best of the rest, but with just a 13-point advantage over VS Racing’s Emanuel Colombini and Emanuele Zonzini who in turn are only two points ahead of Bronislav Formanek, who claimed his first class win at Misano alongside Karol Basz. Leipert Motorsport’s Daniel Watzinger and Brendon Leitch will be looking for a breakthrough first win this weekend, while the Lamborghini Roma combination of Damien Ciosek and Magnus Gustavsen hope to grab their maiden podium.
With three victories apiece, it’s all to play for in the Am category, as Andrzej Lewandowski (VS Racing) leading the standings with 80 points. Three points behind is Leipert Motorsport’s Gabriel Rindone, who had an uncharacteristically difficult weekend at Misano as Lewandowski claimed a double victory. Arkadia Racing’s Stéphan Guerin is third in the standings with 59 points, aiming dor his first win after taking a pair of second place finishes last month. It’s a similar story for the Rexal FFF Racing Team partnership of Claude-Yves Gosselin and Marc Rostan. Gosselin’s former team, Boutsen Racing will be keen for a strong result on home territory with Pierre Feligioni and Elie Dubelly in the #2 car. Also on track this weekend will be Oliver Freymuth (AKF Motorsport), Antonios Vossos (Target Racing) and Jürgen Krebs, who will be at the wheel of a Leipert Motorsport Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2.
In the Lamborghini Cup, experienced Super Trofeo campaigner Gerard van der Horst has been the omnipotent force so far this year, notching up three victories from six races and holding a comfortable 27-point lead in the standings over nearest challenger Luciano Privitelio (Rexal FFF Racing Team). Boutsen Racing’s François Grimm is third with 44 points, and leads a close battle with Donovan Privitelio, Hans Fabri (Imperiale Racing) and fellow Boutsen team-mates Daniel Waszczinski and Regis Rego de Sebes. All four crews are split by just eight points. This weekend also marks the return to the championship of Kumar Prabakaran, who missed the previous two rounds, while sibling pairing Benoît and François Semoulin race at home. Micanek Motorsport will field a car for Kurt Wagner, and Mexican Alfredo Hernandez Ortega will race for BDR Competition.
The weekend kicks off on Thursday, with two free practice sessions, each lasting one hour, taking place before qualifying begins on Friday morning. Race 1 is scheduled to begin on Friday at 14:50, with the second of the 50-minute encounter starting on Saturday at 12:40. Both races will be live streamed on the official Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel worldwide, and also live on Sky Sport Action in Italy.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe – 2022 Calendar
Round 1: Imola (Italy), 1-3 April
Round 2: Le Castellet (France), 3-5 June
Round 3: Misano (Italy), 1-3 July
Round 4: Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) 29-30 July
Round 5: Barcelona (Spain) 30 settembre-2 October
Round 6: Portimão (Portugal), 3-4 November
Finals 2022: Portimão (Portugal), 5-6 November