HINDMAN AND AGOSTINI SCORE DOMINANT WIN IN LAMBORGHINI SUPER TROFEO RACE 1 AT ROAD AMERICA
Trent Hindman and Riccardo Agostini were untouchable Saturday at Road America, claiming victory at the historic track in their second-consecutive triumph of the 2017 season.
The No. 1 Prestige Performance entry, representing Lamborghini Paramus, was unrivaled today, as Hindman set a blistering time in the morning’s qualifying session before jumping out to a sizable lead in the race’s opening laps. Unchallenged by other competitors, the young American driver handed over the Lamborghini Huracán to co-driver Riccardo Agostini at the race’s mandatory pit stop with a large margin to the cars behind. Agostini took up his driving position and continued to turn quick laps, eventually leading the field to the checkered flag by a margin of 17.467 seconds.
“I knew we had a good car,” said Hindman after the race. “It came as a little bit of a surprise though. We had no testing here and showed up a bit blind. At the end of the day we were able to capitalize on the day. I’m really proud of the team and proud of Riccardo and the way he was able to pick up this track so quickly.”
One of the race’s most exciting battles was for the runner-up position. Ashley Freiberg battled all race long in her No. 30 DAC Motorsports entry, representing Lamborghini Palm Beach, to get around the No. 10 Prestige Performance entry, representing Lamborghini Paramus, of Alex Popow and Michele Beretta. The two cars crossed the line just .272 seconds apart, as Prestige Performance claimed a 1-2 finish and Freiberg earned her second-consecutive podium result after a third-place finish in Race 2 at Watkins Glen International.
D. Bryce Miller claimed his first Lamborghini Super Trofeo class victory by finishing ahead of his ProAm competitors and fourth overall. The 26-year-old benefited from first lap incidents to move up from his sixth-place starting position, running as high as third overall during the mid-race pit stops in his No. 34 Change Racing entry, representing Lamborghini Carolinas. Miller emerged from the stops second in class, but made quick work of the No. 46 DAC Motorsports entry, representing Lamborghini Palm Beach, of Todd Snyder and Brandon Gdovic, securing his class win in the final third of the race.
“I haven’t been on track since really 2012, and to bring home this P1 in class for the team feels awesome,” said Miller. “Can’t thank the team and everyone who has supported me enough.”
Yuki Harata also claimed his first Am category win of the year in his No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsport entry, representing Lamborghini Las Vegas. The Japanese driver made the most of a chaotic start to jump four positions on the opening lap before gaining the class lead only one circuit later. From there, Harata never looked back, relinquishing his lead only during the race’s mandatory pit window. He finished the event in sixth overall, nearly one minute clear of the next Am category driver.
“This was my first win for Super Trofeo and this was the first race I saw for Super Trofeo last year,” explained Harata. “I came here to watch, and now I’m so happy to win this year.”
J.C. Perez returned to the top of the LB Cup podium earning a similarly dominant victory in his class. The No. 71 P1 Motorsports entry, representing Lamborghini Palm Beach continued its season-long streak of podium finishes adding to Perez’s championship lead heading into the second half of the season. Perez was the only driver in his category to finish on the lead lap, crossing the line seventh overall.
“I’m very proud of my team today,” said Perez after the race. “This is a beautiful track that has a lot of high speed corners I am really getting to love. Everybody was really competitive and I am really proud to be number one today.”
With their second-consecutive win, Hindman and Agostini move into the provisional points lead. Tomorrow they will try to increase that lead from one spot further back on the grid, starting next to their chief championship rival, Richard Antinucci who will look for redemption after a difficult first race at Road America.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America will return to the track for its second race of the weekend tomorrow, Sunday, Aug. 6, at 10:55 a.m. (CT).
Lamborghini Super Trofeo races will be live-streamed on the following platform: squadracorse.lamborghini.com. The North American series continues to attract increasing numbers of competitors and interest.
The Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo adopts the V10 direct injection engine mounted on the road car, managed by a MoTeC control unit that delivers a maximum output of 620 horsepower. The frame is a hybrid carbon/aluminum construction with modified geometries to house an improved radiator up front and better accommodate the racing gearbox at the rear, which also provides better aerodynamics.
POST-RACE QUOTES
TRENT HINDMAN (No. 1 Prestige Performance, winner, first Pro):
“That was all right. I knew we had a good car. I knew the Wayne Taylor/Prestige Performance guys gave us a good car after qualifying. It came as a little bit of a surprise though. We had no testing here and showed up a bit blind. And after all the rain and all the cancellations to our sessions due to the weather it was pretty surprising to find ourselves up there. At the end of the day we were able to capitalize on the day. I think it was a really good day in terms of the Championship for us, for myself and Riccardo [Agostini] and the Prestige Performance guys. It’s what it’s all about for us right now. Just capitalize on the opportunities we’re given and we did exactly that. I’m really proud of the team and proud of Riccardo and the way he was able to pick up this track so quickly and be right on pace right away. We are going to try like hell to do it again tomorrow.”
RICCARDO AGOSTINI (No. 1 Prestige Performance, winner, first Pro):
“It was a good race from the beginning. Trent managed the gap until the pit window opened, so I tried to do the same after the driver change. Today was a nice race. I’m really happy about that. Good also for the championship, so that’s what we had to do. Hopefully for tomorrow we can get another great result. Thanks for the team, thanks to the sponsors. It’s always great to race here in America. Honestly, we’ve been fast in practice under the rainy conditions. Hopefully we can also manage a good race tomorrow. I don’t know what the weather’s going to be, so let’s see what’s going on.”
D. BRYCE MILLER (No. 34 Change Racing, winner, first ProAm):
“It feels good to be back. It’s a long road. Good to be back here and back on track. I haven’t been on track since really 2012 and to bring home this P1 in class for the team feels awesome. It’s been a long, long offseason of pseudo-retirement and every race this year I have been making it my goal to just progress, keep moving up the field and hopefully soon we will be battling for the overall podium. But to bring home a P1 in class and P4 overall feels really good. Can’t thank the team and everyone who has supported me enough. This has just been an incredible road and I look forward to getting out there and doing it again tomorrow.”
YUKI HARATA (No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsport, winner, first Am):
“This was my first win for Super Trofeo and this was the first race I saw for Super Trofeo last year. I came here to watch, and now I’m so happy to win this year. It was a great race and I like this track. Tomorrow might be rain, but I have never raced on wets [tires] so it should be fun.”
J.C. PEREZ (No. 71 P1 Motorsports, winner, first LB Cup):
“I’m very proud of my team today. P1 Motorsports did a great job. My engineers did a great job. This is a beautiful track that has a lot of high speed corners I am really getting to love. Lamborghini Super Trofeo is probably one of the best series to be in right now. I had a really good time. Everybody was really competitive and I am really proud to be number one today.”
Comments
