ALTON, Va. – Austin Versteeg finally claimed his first overall Super Trofeo victory Sunday with a masterful driving display at Virginia Int’l Raceway.
The 19-year-old American was the class of the field, grabbing the top spot at the race’s start and never looking back before a dominant win at the checkered flag.
After a similarly impressive performance in race one, Versteeg-who finished first on track in his No. 7 DXDT Racing entry, representing Lamborghini Dallas-was relegated to the second-place overall after a time penalty was imposed for a too short pitstop. There were no such issues for the ProAm competitor on Sunday as he crossed the line more than 30 seconds ahead the second-place driver.
“Awesome day to not necessarily bounce back, but unfortunately we didn’t get the overall victory yesterday with the penalty we had,” said Versteeg. “It was an awesome race. I think this was a good weekend for confidence headed into Laguna, and we’ll see what we can do there.”
The winning result also marked the first overall victory for the DXDT Racing team in Super Trofeo-the culmination of a season-long effort from team and driver to reach the top step of the podium.
Trouble in the Pro category helped an unexpected entrant to victory in class as Dion von Moltke grabbed the win in his No. 11 Prestige Performance entry, representing Lamborghini Paramus. Von Moltke-who was called into service shortly before qualifying Saturday morning-stayed out of trouble and ran consistently to reach the top step of the Pro podium, earning valuable points for Prestige Performance in the team championship.
“It’s always great to drive these Lamborghinis,” said von Moltke after his unanticipated win. “They’re a lot of fun-especially around VIR. It’s a high commitment track and there’s a lot of horsepower in these cars, so it was pretty difficult to jump straight into qualifying and figure things out.”
Emmanuel Anassis, who was driving solo for the first time this season in the No. 18 DAC Motorsports entry, representing Lamborghini Palm Beach, was back on top in the Am category. Starting 14th after a difficult qualifying, Anassis methodically worked his way through the field, staying clean and clear as other cars raced hard around him. By the mandatory, midrace pit stops, Anassis was leading his class, but he continued to move up the field to finish fourth in the overall order.
“It’s great to be back on the top again,” said Anassis. “It’s been a bit of a dry spell, but we’re back at it. Luck was on our side and we had a very good race pace. The team again did an amazing job, so I’m happy to be up on the top of the podium.”
Another driver who had to work through the field for a class win was LB Cup winner, J.C. Perez. The No. 71 P1 Motorsports entry, representing Lamborghini Palm Beach, qualified 15th overall and was shuffled back to the rear of the LB Cup on the opening lap. Perez made patient work of his competitors, however, taking advantage of mistakes, and making expert passes when needed, to gain the class lead on Lap 17. He eventually finished eighth overall, the last car on the lead lap, to take his fourth win of the year and extend his championship lead.
Versteeg’s win-his third in a row in the ProAm category-helped to bring him closer to the points leaders in the ProAm category with just four races left in the 2017 season. While he still trails in the overall standings, this victory over series veterans and experts of other sportscar categories is bound to instill even more confidence in the teenage driver, making him an even more potent threat for the rest of the year.
Source : speedsport.com
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