Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America - Portimao Friday races review 04.11.2022: LAMBORGHINI SUPER TROFEO Portimao, Algarve Friday, November 4th 2022 North America Race 1 US RaceTronics’ Patrick Kujala took pole position and initially led off the line before coming under attack from Spinelli, who started third in t

LAMBORGHINI SUPER TROFEO
Portimao, Algarve
Friday, November 4th 2022





North America Race 1



US RaceTronics’ Patrick Kujala took pole position and initially led off the line before coming under attack from Spinelli, who started third in the Taurino Racing by D Motorsport car shared with Giano Taurino.




Spinelli attempted to go around the outside of Kujala at turn one but made contact, sending himself into a spectacular 360-degree spin. The drama didn’t stop at turn one either, as more contact between the second Taurino car of Luke Berkeley and the Wayne Taylor Racing machine of Danny Formal left both spinning at turn two.



That allowed Piquet to take the lead ahead of Kujala and Billy Johnson, but Spinelli was quickly back into second before long, and then assumed the lead after a side-by-side battle with Piquet at turn 14. Spinelli then built a healthy gap in the lead but was hit with a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits one too many times. The #188 car eventually finished second, 2.848s adrift of the winner Piquet.




Having spent three seconds longer in the pits as a solo driver, Piquet came back out behind Taurino and immediately found himself in a battle with Edoardo Piscopo – who had taken over from Kujala – for second overall. The pair traded places but Piquet eventually got his way back ahead and started to close down Taurino for the lead. Electing not to risk a mistake, Piquet maintained a safe distance behind Taurino and inherited the victory after Taurino’s penalty was applied.




Precision Performance Motorsports’ Bryan Ortiz and Sebastian Carazo took Pro-Am spoils, beating the Wayne Taylor Racing partnership of Tom Long and Ashton Harrison, the latter competing in her last-ever Super Trofeo race weekend. In the Am class, David Staab and Nikko Reger took victory ahead of main title rival Shehan Chandrasoma, while Fred Roberts (NTE Sport) claimed the LB Cup win ahead of Jason Keats-Gagne and Charlie Martin (Dream Racing Motorsport).









North America Race 2



From pole position, Piquet maintained his lead at the start of the race, beating WTR’s Marcelli into the first turn. Further back, Taurino made a strong start and divebombed into third place with a daring manoeuvre past three cars under braking for turn five.



With clear air, Piquet opened up a slender margin over Marcelli, while Patrick Liddy led the early stages of the Pro-Am battle in fourth overall, fractionally ahead of Ortiz. However, there was drama in the Am class as David Staab and Nikko Reger pulled into the pits with an alternator failure and a lack of power, which curtailed their hopes of winning the title and handing the victory and championship to Shehan Chandrasoma (MC Racing). Elsewhere, Jason Keats slowed with a puncture in LB Cup, while Jordan Missig also hit trouble.



The safety car was then deployed after a big off for Ofir Levy who spun at the final corner, hitting the barrier and damaging the rear-end. The recovery was a lengthy process, and the pit window was delayed as a result. At the restart, Piquet led but lost the advantage at the stop as he was stationary for longer than both Taurino and Marcelli.



That allowed Spinelli and Formal to pass, with the leading two remaining the same until the end. Piquet, for his troubles, had to defend from the charging Kujala – who had taken over from Piscopo at the stops – for third. The two cars battled hard, but Piscopo eventually got the better of Piquet to claim the final step on the podium. The Pro-Am title was decided in favour of PPM’s John Dubets and Bryson Lew, after a late-race overtake on Sebastian Carazo two minutes from the end.



Chandrasoma’s sixth Am victory of the year secured the Am title, while Slade Stewart (Flying Lizard Motorsports) completed a remarkable fightback for a heavy crash – which required a substantial rebuild and a fresh rear suspension – in Thursday practice to claim the LB Cup crown with third in class.



Speaking after winning the Pro-Am title, John Dubets (#146 Precision Performance Motorsports) said: “Bryson and I came into this series not knowing what to expect, not knowing too much about the series or the cars, or the team. Everything clicked for us, everything worked well, and it came down to the last weekend, so to be officially crowned champions is incredible.”



PPM team-mate Bryson Lew added: “This was a huge race for us, we worked our asses off all year. We have put everything into this, and I want to thank everyone who helped make it happen, my sponsors, my parents.”

Am champion Shehan Chandrasoma (#119 MCR Racing) said: “Originally, I was going to start in LB Cup and then I got an email from Chris Ward telling me I was too fast and that I needed to move up to Am. It’s my first year back in racing this year, so it’s crazy to even get a podium in Am initially but to win the championship it is definitely a crazy moment for me.”



Lamborghini Cup champion Slade Stewart (#114 Flying Lizard Motorsports) said: “This is my first year in Super Trofeo, so I didn’t know any of the tracks, didn’t know the car so this was everything about learning. We had some early successes, we had our challenges, principally Road America. But we have a great team, a great team-mate in Tom Tait. I thought I was done for the weekend yesterday, but my team pulled together and got me on the grid today, so I cannot thank them enough for their hard work.”



Attention now switches to the season-ending Super Trofeo Grand Finals, which begin in earnest on Saturday. Split by classes, the first Am/LB Cup race starts at 14:45 with the Pro/Pro-Am race starting at 16:05. Race 2 for Am and LB Cup is scheduled to take place at 12:00 on Sunday 6 November, while the final Pro/Pro-Am race will start at 14:50.



All races will be livestreamed on the official Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel and Facebook page. All times local.





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