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Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe: Stoneman gives Bonaldi Motorsport victory in Race 2 at Misano

9 August 2020

Dean Stoneman (Bonaldi Motorsport) came out on top in the second Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe race of the weekend at Misano Adriatico after hunting down and passing Andrzej Lewandowski (VS Racing) in the closing stages.

The front row of the grid was a Pro-Am lock-out after Karol Basz put the #16 VS Racing Huracán Super Trofeo Evo on pole position, with Loris Spinelli (Van der Horst Motorsport) second fastest. Basz staved off a spirited attempt by Spinelli to grab the lead at Turn 1 and maintained the advantage throughout the opening stint. Basz and Spinelli quickly gapped the chasing pack, which was led by Kikko Galbiati (Imperiale Racing) who in turn had fended off Stoneman on the opening lap to run third.

With track and ambient temperatures much higher than Saturday evening’s season opener, several drivers struggled with a lack of grip on the slippery Misano circuit. The second VS Racing Huracán of Olli Kangas – shared with the experienced Edoardo Liberati – suffered a front-right puncture at the final corner, tipping the Finnish driver into a spin. Kangas eventually pulled out of the race at Turn 2 with damage. The Konrad Motorsport cars of Franz Konrad and Martin Lechman also suffered spins, as did Takis Spiliopoulos (Leipert Motorsport).

None of the top Pro runners opted to pit when the 10-minute window opened, with Patrick Liddy (GSM Racing) the first of the leading cars to come in along with Guillem Pujeu Beya (Leipert Motorsport) and Kevin Rossel (Target Racing) on the following tour.

As expected, Basz and Spinelli stayed out until the very last moment, which meant that Galbiati and Stoneman would have to pit earlier if they were to stand a chance of closing the gap to the leaders. Lewandowski took over from Basz and maintained the lead out front, with Gerard van der Horst, now at the wheel of the #98 Huracán, in second.

Vito Postiglione swapped with Galbiati and looked set to make crucial inroads into Lewnadowski’s lead after dispatching van der Horst, but a loose wheel while approaching the high-speed Turn 11 kink pitched the #44 Imperiale machine into the gravel trap and ultimately out of the race. It was a bitter disappointment for the Super Trofeo Europe veteran, who had taken nearly four seconds out of Lewandowski up until that moment.

That enabled Stoneman to take up the pursuit of the impressive Lewandowski heading into the closing stages of the race. The British driver soon latched onto the back of the Pole and made a relatively routine overtake to seize the lead at Turn 4 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Lewandowski held on to finish a superb second place, comfortably claiming the Pro-Am honours, while the Race 1 winning pairing of Raul Guzman and Miloš Pavlović finished a close third to extend their points lead leaving Misano.

Jonathan Cecotto finished just off the podium to cap off a positive maiden Super Trofeo outing for the Monaco-based GSM Racing team. Having taken over from Liddy at the pit-stops, Cecotto held firm in fourth to bag solid points for the championship. Alberto di Folco was fifth ahead of the leading Leipert Motorsport duo of Sebastian Balthasar and Marcus Påverud, who finished third in the opening race on Saturday. Dutchman Max Weering produced a fantastic second stint in the solo Johan Kraan Motorsport entry, executing a series of overtakes in the closing stages to end up seventh on his first Super Trofeo weekend, while fellow debutant Pujeu Beya claimed eighth.

After losing out on victory in Saturday’s night race, Massimo Mantovani (Target Racing) claimed an easy win in the Am class, despite running four places behind early leader Cedric Leimer (Autovitesse) during the opening stint. Following the pit-stops however, Mantovani came out on top by just over 17 seconds.

While there was disappointment in the Pro class, Imperiale Racing had reason to cheer in Lamborghini Cup as Hans Fabri claimed the win from Konrad Motorsport’s Martin Lechman.

The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe teams and drivers now have a break before the second round of the 2020 season, which takes place at the famous Nürburgring circuit in Germany on the weekend of 4th-5th September. 

 

Lamborghini Super Trofeo - 2020 Calendar

Round 1: Misano Adriatico, 7-9th August

Round 2: Nürburgring, 4-5th September

Round 3: Barcelona, 9-11th October

Round 4: Spa-Francorchamps, 20-24th October

Round 5: Circuit Paul Ricard, 13-15th November

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