IMOLA, Italy – Riccardo Agostini and Trent Hindman swept both Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America events held Friday at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
In Friday morning’s race the green flag waved and it was Edoardo Piscopo that set the tone for the day and took advantage after a hesitant start by front runners Agostini and Jeroen Mul by threading through the middle of the two Pro drivers and taking the lead before the first turn.
Not to be dissuaded by the turn of events, Agostini rebounded quickly in his No. 101 Huracán Super Trofeo entry and recaptured his lead before the start of the second lap. At that point, it was clear sailing for Agostini, but fellow Italian Piscopo, never fell completely out of Agostini’s mirrors and as the pit windows opened, the gap was less than two seconds.
In looking for an advantage, and to escape the clutches of Michele Beretta, it was Mul who entered the pits first in the No. 134 entry for Change Racing and Lamborghini Carolinas. The veteran sportscar driver conducted a flawless stop and headed out ahead of his fellow Pro competitors.
But as Agostini transferred the car over to Hindman, the game was afoot and Hindman quickly retook the lead and never looked back, claiming their sixth win of the season and clinching the Pro Championship.
Mul settled for second position on the Pro Podium and was followed by Brandon Gdovic, who ran a smooth and steady race despite a half-second penalty issued for a pit lane infraction, moving around Taylor Proto just before the one and only caution period of the race to take third place.
In Pro-Am competition, it was Austin Versteeg who ensured that the championship would be pushed into the final round. The young driver in the No. 116 entry for Change Racing and Lamborghini Carolinas made a brilliant pass on Taylor Proto in the renowned Tamburello Chicane with just three minutes remaining to secure the class win and fourth overall.
Proto and co-driver Piscopo were relegated to second place and fifth overall, but well in contention for the championship with one race left.
Series newcomer Yuki Harata enjoyed a stellar season of competition in North America, and despite already clinching the championship in September at Laguna Seca, the driver of the No. 155 entry for Dream Racing Motorsport maintained his sixth place starting position throughout the entirety of the race and claimed his sixth victory of the season in the Am class.
Another series newcomer, Ryan Hardwick in the No. 102 entry for Dream Racing Motorsport and Lamborghini Atlanta, claimed his first LB Cup victory of the season after finishing eighth overall in the first race.
The second and final race of the day saw Jeroen Mul lead the field to the final green flag of the season. The young Dutch driver held the lead for an impressive length of time before his mirrors filled up with the black and blue No. 101, with Hindman behind the wheel.
Despite having already clinched the Pro category championship, Hindman stayed on the gas and quickly maneuvered himself back into the lead, ultimately winning his second race of the day.
“We had the dealership championship on the line for Lamborghini Paramus, and the Team Championship on the line for Prestige [Performance] and Wayne Taylor Racing, so once we got past 70 percent of race one, we were able to relax a little bit,” Hindman said. “I mean obviously you don’t show up to one of these races to cruise around and not push for a win, so specifically for race two, I really wanted to get the lead at the start, but Jeroen [Mul] had a good reaction time as well. I thought I would be able to jump him there because you know Americans and drag racing and that sort of stuff but it was good, we had a good scrap with him.
“I just knew that once we started catching traffic, I started picking the points where he was having some trouble and where I could stay right with him. I followed him through on a couple passes and fortunately it worked. I would like to think that we forced him into a little bit of an error just putting him under pressure, but I know he is too good of a driver for that, so I think maybe we just timed it right, but either way, incredible run by Riccardo [Agostini] setting quick laps at the end. Really good race overall. I think we have a good platform to work off and I think we were in good shape.”
The rest of the Pro podium mirrored Friday’s earlier race, with Mul finishing in second and Gdovic taking third-place honors.
It was the Pro-Am category that was shaken down, as the championship came right down to a drag race to the finish between Versteeg and the duo of Proto and Piscopo. In a nail-biting performance, Piscopo managed to hold off the hard charging Versteeg for the last eight minutes of the race to take the class win and, ultimately, the championship. It is Proto’s first season of competition in North America and his first category Championship.
Following in Hindman and Agostini’s footsteps, Harata swept the Am competition, taking his seventh and final victory of the season.
In LB Cup, the top two steps were also a repeat of Friday’s earlier race with Hardwick securing his second victory and race sweep, with Cassels following in his footsteps to secure second place.
Source : speedsport.com
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