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Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America: let it Snow!

14 ноября 2020

Change Racing celebrated all four class titles as the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season came to a close at Sebring. Madison Snow emerged as the Pro champion by securing a fourth and second place finish in each of the two 50-minute races, won by chief title rivals Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson (#6 US RaceTronics). With three wins and six podiums, Snow claimed the title by just three points with Precision Performance Motorsports’ Brandon Gdovic 12 points further back in third.

In the Pro-Am class, last year’s overall champion Corey Lewis wrapped up another title alongside McKay Snow – the younger brother of Madison – ending up five points clear of Leo Lamelas in the standings, while the Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing duo of Andrea Amici and Ashton Harrison finished third in the points after claiming their first class win of the season in Race 1.

Victor Gomez IV maintained his 100% success rate in the Am class to easily take the championship, beating Lance Wilsey and Moritz Kranz.

The Change Racing sweep of the titles was completed in the Lamborghini Cup class as Randy Sellari prevailed ahead of the Wayne Taylor Racing newcomer Sydney McKee.

Unusually, the season finished at Sebring, so often the second stop on the IMSA SportsCar Championship calendar. It was also the first timesince the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals in 2015 that the field of Huracán ST Evos graced the former airfield circuit.


Race 1

Eidson and Aghakhani knew that in order to stand any chance of claiming the title, a maximum score was required, and they started out in the best way possible by grabbing both poles for the races. At the start of Race 1 on Friday morning, Aghakhani led off the rolling start while Snow lost valuable ground following a wild moment at Turn 1, dropping to fourth.

On the other side of the mandatory pit-stop, Aghakhani and Eidson remained clear in the lead and duly came home for the win some 3.637s ahead of Gdovic.
Stuart Middleton and Steven McAleer finished third for Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing after a lively battle with Snow in the closing stages. Middleton, having taken over from McAleer at the stops, dived down the inside of the points leader with four minutes remaining and held off Snow’s fightback at the line.

In Pro-Am, Harrison and Amici collected their first win of the year in their Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Paramus Huracán. With less than three minutes remaining, Amici made the decisive pass for the lead on McKay Snow in the Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán.

"It was a really fun race," Amici said. "Ashton did an amazing start and she was with the other Pros in the first stint. Then when I took the car, there was some gap to P1. I tried to push, giving everything, and at the end with the two nice fights, we won the race. We are so happy; this is our first win together."

"The end of it was definitely stressful," Harrison said about watching from pit lane. "I’ve been struggling all year learning and driving with the Pros, so this is really good for us. I’m so thankful for Andrea and looking forward to the race this afternoon."

Lamelas (US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Westlake Huracán) passed McKay Snow for second place on the final lap, an important move since it left Lamelas a remote chance to still win the Pro-Am championship. 

The winners in the Am and LB Cup classes were familiar faces. Victor Gomez IV kept his record perfect in the Am class, winning for the ninth straight time in the No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán. It came on a circuit the Puerto Rican considers his home track.

"It was a very enjoyable race. I love coming back to Sebring," Gomez said. "I have a lot of track time here (in other series). Now, switching to Lambo mode, I had a great start. I made a couple passes but I had to choose my battles. I stayed with a good pace all race."

Like Gomez in Am, Randy Sellari had already clinched the LB Cup championship and added to his standout season by collecting his fifth win of the season in the No. 03 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán. He finished ahead of Matt Dicken, who was embroiled in an entertaining scrap for second with Sydney McKee, with the pair passing and re-passing each other throughout the race.


Race 2 

Like the first race Friday morning, the 50-minute afternoon event ran caution-free. And as in the morning, the No. 6 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Beverly Hills Huracán started from the pole and won courtesy of drivers Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson.

"We came in here knowing what had to be done," Aghakhani said. "We obviously tried everything we could but unfortunately the (No.) 16 car held its pace the second race and there was only so much we could do about it."

"The car was amazing today," said Eidson, the ProAm champion last year with Damon Ockey. "I didn’t really have any drama when I was out there driving, and the car was just stuck to the ground like rails. We did everything that we possibly could have done to put ourselves in the best position to win the championship. Even though we didn’t win that, we’re still really stoked to win both races here. It’s a perfect end to the season."

"It’s awesome being the champion," Madison Snow said. "It was very stressful coming down to the last minute. I could’ve clinched it in Race 1; didn’t have what it took. Then in Race 2, it came down to the very end, but I clinched the championship."

The race itself was relatively low-key, with Eidson leading off the line and Snow slotting into second place at the first corner. Gdovic followed Snow all race and the top three were split by just 1.161s across the line. Snow needed only to finish on the podium to secure the title so the pressure from Gdovic behind was largely irrelevant in the wider picture.

Aghakhani and Eidson took some solace in that their fourth victory of the season left them as the most successful pairing in the Pro class, with champion Snow claiming three wins.

Danny Formal highlighted his capabilities in the Pro-Am race. Starting last after his car didn’t pass post-qualifying technical inspection Thursday, Formal willed the No. 99 Ansa Motorsports Lamborghini Broward Huracán to fifth place overall and first in class at the checkered flag.

"I think it was the best start I’ve ever done in my life," Formal said. "I started 16th and by the end of the first lap I was 10th – passed six cars in one lap. The car was on rails. I’m so thankful to Ansa Motorsports. Extremely happy, super grateful. The team is doing a fantastic job for our first season."

Lewis and McKay Snow finished the afternoon race third in Pro-Am, but it was enough to give them a five-point advantage (125-120) over Leo Lamelas (No. 24 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Westlake Huracán) in the class standings.

"We just knew what we needed to do," McKay Snow said. "We ended up with two (third-place finishes) today and that’s all we needed to wrap up the championship. All we were thinking about was bringing it home because this completes a clean sweep (of championships) for our team."

Gomez continued to impress, winning by a lap in the Am class to collect his second IMSA-sanctioned championship. He was the 2018 Gold Cup winner in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

"It’s been amazing. I’m just so grateful," Gomez said. "I’m thankful for the opportunity Change Racing gave me. I’m thankful for my sponsors, for my family that have been traveling in these tough times from Puerto Rico. This is my second IMSA championship so I’m super happy. I’m excited for the future."

Sellari completed a victory sweep of the two races in LB Cup, beating McKee and Dicken, and choked up with emotion afterward when discussing his championship.

"That last duel with my teammate Matt (Dicken, No. 36 Huracán), that was a good one," Sellari said. "I didn’t think I was ever going to get around him. Once I got into the front, I wasn’t going to let anybody past me after that. I’m elated! I’ve never won anything like this. This is for my kids."
 

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