NEWS

SJM Theodore Racing leads charge into crucial double-header in shadow of Mount Fuji

The 2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia season continues June 27-29, at Japan’s Fuji International Speedway where the quest for the PRO, PRO-AM, AM, Lamborghini Cup and Team titles resume amongst the competitive international field.

Heading into the season’s half way point, 16 teams and 43 drivers will take to the 4.563km, 17-turn Japanese track located in the foothills of the mighty Mount Fuji for round three of Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia.

Leading the way in the PRO class with three wins under their belts thus far are SJM Theodore Racing young guns Charles Leong of Macau and Irish team mate Alex Denning. Leong, contesting his second season with the series having finished runner-up in 2024, and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia newcomer Denning, have a 15-point advantage at the top of the class leaderboard after four races in the DW Evans GT-run entry.

Second in the standings is Singaporean Ethan Brown. The Leipert Motorsport youngster opened his season with a pole position and runner-up finish in Sydney alongside Swede Hampus Eriksson. In Shanghai, he and Jacob Riegel proved a winning combination, the pair taking their first victory together from pole. In Japan, 21-year-old Finn Nikolas Pirttilahti, 2024 PRO-AM runner-up alongside Thomas Yu Lee, returns to the series alongside Brown.

BC Racing PRO duo Gavin Huang and Jonathan Cecotto lie third heading to Japan after three double-digit points-scoring races and a pole position in Shanghai. Five points behind them are series newcomer Nazim Azman of Malaysia and Frenchman Emilien Carde, who is contesting his second season with DW Evans GT. China’s Peter Li Zhicong teamed up with Korea’s Lee Jungwoo for the first time in Shanghai, taking two podium finishes together to stay very much in title contention. They reunite in Japan in the Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph PRO entry.

Absolute Racing enters Vicenzo Ricci, racing under a Philippines licence, alongside fellow series newcomer Du Tianhao.

An eventful Shanghai round brought mixed fortunes amongst the PRO-AM ranks. LK Motorsport by Climax Racing’s Chinese duo Liu Kaishun and Cao Qikuan continue to top the class leaderboard, and have extended their advantage over SQDA-GRIT Motorsport challengers Brian Lee Changwoo and Liang Jiatong to 14 points. For round three, reigning AM champion Lee is joined by Japanese F4 and Super Taikyu driver Kohei Tokumasu.

The title campaign of Liu and Cao’s team mates Lu Zhiwei and Ling Kang saw a setback in Shanghai with a DNF in race one, but the pair quickly bounced back and on to the podium in the final encounter of the weekend to retain third in the PRO-AM standings. Conversely, a superb second-place class finish in race one for Arrow’s Racing’s Dr. Ma Chi Min and Malaysian former FIA World Endurance Championship ace Weiron Tan was followed by retirement from race two, but the pair nevertheless climbed to fourth on the leaderboard. On equal points are BC Racing’s Johnson Huang and young son Brian, the father-and-son combination getting their racing debut together off to a strong start.

In Shanghai, Z.Speed’s Chen Chunhua and Ho-Pin Tung endured an unlucky race one when damage incurred during an incident prematurely halted their weekend. In Japan, Chen is joined by 28-year-old German and ADAC GT Masters regular Tim Zimmerman, who makes his Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia debut.

Another combination to make their series debut in Japan are one-make racing stalwart Yao Liangbo and accomplished GT campaigner and fellow Chinese driver Zhang Yaqi, who line up at Climax Racing.

In the sister Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini, AM driver Song Jiajun is joined by former Lamborghini Young Professional Driver Brendon Leitch on a PRO-AM line-up. A successful junior single seater career brought New Zealander Leitch to Asia where, in 2019, he made his Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia debut – finishing runner-up in the PRO-AM class – and began what has become a long and fruitful relationship with Leipert Motorsport. Among his many achievements, the 29-year-old won the 2021 24 Hour GT Series – GT3 PRO title with the team, going on to take the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe PRO title in 2023, and win the 2024 Super Trofeo World Finals PRO-AM class.

With two class wins and a podium under his belt, True Vision Motorsports Thailand’s Suttiluck Buncharoen leads the way in the AM standings. A former AM champion and a staunch supporter of the championship since 2017, the Thai driver has a 16-point lead over reigning Lamborghini Cup champions Haziq and Hairie Oh of HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing. Climax Racing’s Li Dongsheng and Li Donghui have already made their mark in their debut season and currently lie fourth, ahead of fellow series debutants Umar Abdullah and Dypo Fitramadhan of Indonesia with Delta Garage Racing Team by Absolute Racing.

Kam Lung Racing’s Bertram Lau is reunited with team mate and father Kenneth Lau for round three. Kenneth Lau was absent from Shanghai, but Bertrum Lau soldiered on solo to finish both races just off the class podium.

The AM class also sees the welcome return of Jun Tashiro to Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia family for the first time since 2019. Competing with Promotion Racing, Tashiro will race solo in his home race.

Siamgas Corse’s Supachai Weeraborwornpong currently leads the charge for the 2025 Lamborghini Cup title. Three wins, a podium and a pole position put the Thai nine-points ahead of Batmobile Racing’s Kumar Prabakaran of Malaysia, who has so far amassed an impressive four podiums and three pole positions across four races. Most usually to be found racing solo, in Fuji, Prabakaran is joined on the team by Japanese driver Shinji Takei, an experienced GT3 and one-make sportscar Am campaigner.

Singapore’s Gerald Goh began the season in Sydney in the PRO-AM class alongside Lee Jungwoo, but switched to the Lamborghini Cup class for Shanghai alongside Samson Chan. The pair took a class win and a podium together in round two and in Japan Goh will be looking to replicate that success, this time racing with Terence Tse at Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph.

SJM Theodore Racing leads the Team rankings after round two with a 17-point advantage over Leipert Motorsport, while BC Racing sits third, just 21 points off the top of the leaderboard.

Nestled in the foothills of Mount Fuji, while breathtakingly picturesque, weather at the Japanese circuit can be notoriously unpredictable. Frequently alternating between heavy downpours, sustained drizzle and brilliant sunshine, both teams and drivers will need to be ready to adapt to potentially rapidly-changing conditions.

In addition, the 23-strong Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 field will be shod with the 2025-spec Hankook Ventus tyre for the first time. The new tyre, which was hailed by drivers and teams when it made its debut at the Super Trofeo Europe season-opener, provides improved durability and better drivability, increasing driver confidence. The Ventus is being rolled out across all Lamborghini Super Trofeo series to ensure all teams are fully familiar with its performance ahead of November’s World Finals.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia round three gets underway with two, hour-long official practice sessions on Friday, 27 June. Two 15-minute qualifying sessions follow on Saturday to decide the starting grids, with race one starting at 13:45 local time. Race two begins at 12:35 on Sunday, 29 June (all times UTC+09:00). Both 50 minutes-plus-leader races will be live streamed on the Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia 2025 calendar
Round 1        Sydney Motorsport Park, Australia    5-6 April
Round 2        Shanghai International Circuit, China    16-18 May
Round 3        Fuji Speedway, Japan            27-29 June
Round 4        Inje Speedium, South Korea        18-20 July
Round 5        Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia    5-7 September
Round 6        Misano World Circuit, Italy            6-7 November
World Finals         Misano World Circuit, Italy            8-9 November