Lamborghini claims victory and podium in Barcelona GT World Challenge Europe
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Gilardoni started the #11 Oregon Team Huracán from sixth on the grid but already made up two positions inside the opening 10 minutes of the 50-minute race. Unfortunately, erstwhile championship leaders, Miloš Pavlović and Raul Guzman (#41 Target Racing) were unable to take the start following a technical problem, while the #2 Leipert Motorsport car of Noah Watt and Sebastian Balthasar was handed a drivethrough penalty for contact with Stoneman before the start.
Stoneman, who was tied at the top of the standings with Pavlović and Guzman on 53 points coming into the race, knew he needed to score well in the absence of his chief title rivals and followed the pole-sitting #9 Target Racing car of Alberto di Folco and Kevin Rossel either side of the pit window.
But luck was not on their side during the Barcelona weekend as the car was deemed to have sped in the pitlane and therefore had to serve a costly drivethrough penalty. Stoneman, having taken over from Kujala in the mandatory driver-change pit-stops, did however finish fourth at the end and thus, taking the lead of the championship.
Rossel swapped with di Folco and initially maintained the lead before going very wide at the long Turn 3 corner, handing the temporary lead to Stoneman while also losing second place to Boccolacci. Boccolacci then inherited the lead when Stoneman came into the pits for a second time, eventually going on to win from Sebsatian Fernandez (#6 VS Racing), who drove an excellent race to claim a podium on his first weekend in Super Trofeo. Jonathan Cecotto and Patrick completed the overall podium in their GSM Racing Huracán.
Having endured a difficult Race 1, VS Racing’s Karol Basz and Andrzej Lewandowski returned to form in the Pro-Am class, taking the victory with sixth overall in their #16 VS Racing Huracán. Basz started the race and challenged the podium positions before the pit window opened. Lewandowski took over and put in a solid stint to hold off a charging Max Weering (#61 Johan Kraan Motorsports) to the flag. Oregon Team’s Victor Franzoni da Silva and Lorenzo Bontempelli finished second in class, while Leipert Motorsport’s Mikko Eskelinen and Elias Niskanen finished third.
In the Am class, Fidel Leib and Yury Wagner (#21 Leipert Motorsport) came out on top in a race-long battle with Massimo Mantovani and Dilantha Malagamuwa (#51 Target Racing). Wagner held the lead at the beginning of the race, while Mantovani put in a typical second stint charge to finish just five second adrift of the class win at the end. Hans Fabri won the LB Cup class, beating Micanek Motorsports ACCR Kurt Wagner and Libor Dvoracek.
Next up for Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe is the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on the weekend of 20-24 October. A staple of the Super Trofeo Europe calendar, the championship runs on the support bill of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, providing one of the biggest challenges of the year for our drivers and teams.
Kevin Gilardoni (Oregon Team #11): “Two victories in a row, it’s amazing. Yesterday it was a different taste as I was in the car at the end and today, I was in at the start. My team-mate did such a mega job and the car was absolutely perfect. At the beginning, I was fighting a little bit with the car but after that, it was so consistent, and Dorian finished off the job. We are so happy for the team today.”
Dorian Boccolacci (Oregon Team #11): “I was feeling really good [out of the pits] because when [Kujala] went out, I caught him quite quickly and got past the #9 who went wide. I think I would have been able to recover the gap. I pushed a lot when I was in the car and I put in some very good lap-times and I am just so happy for the team.”
Lamborghini Super Trofeo - 2020 Calendar
Round 1: Misano Adriatico, 7-9th August
Round 2: Nürburgring, 4-5th September
Round 3: Barcelona, 9-11th October
Round 4: Spa-Francorchamps, 20-24th October
Round 5: Circuit Paul Ricard, 13-15th November
Sant’Agata Bolognese/Barcelona, 10 October 2020 - Dorian Boccolacci and Kevin Gilardoni claimed Oregon Team’s maiden Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe victory in the opening race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, following a time penalty for on-the-road winners Dean Stoneman and Patrick Kujala (Bonaldi Motorsport #33).Cloudy skies and a pre-race rain shower meant that track conditions were far from ideal for the field of 16 cars. Having dominated Friday practice and topped the qualifying timesheets, Kujala led off the line from Boccolacci into the first corner following 10-minutes behind the safety car. Frenchman Boccolacci was keen to make a move on Kujala under braking for Turn 5 but contact between the two cars forced the Oregon Team #11 machine off the road and through the gravel trap.
Deemed at fault for the incident, Kujala and team-mate Stoneman were handed a three-second penalty, to be added post-race. The key beneficiary of Boccolacci’s trip through the gravel was Jonathan Cecotto (Target Racing) who moved into second place and right onto the tail of leader Kujala. Cecotto did not waste time in forcing his way into the lead of the race, pulling off a superb manoeuvre on the Finn on the run towards Turn 6.
Kujala then reclaimed the lead as Cecotto ran too deep at the Turn 10 hairpin, just before the pit window opened. Despite the track beginning to dry out, none of the field elected to gamble on a move to dry tyres, with Stoneman resuming in the lead after swapping with Kujala. Gilardoni took over from Boccolacci and came back out in front of Cecotto’s team-mate Patrick Liddy as the safety car was deployed to retrieve the VS Racing car of local driver Sebastian Fernandez.
Fernandez was a late addition to the Pro entry but struggled in the conditions. He went off at Turn 6 at the same time as Boccolacci on the opening lap after starting fourth, and then spun out for good at Turn 1.
Stoneman, now faced with a truncated lead, had to open up a three-second margin over Gilardoni, which he looked like achieving until running wide at Turn 4 on the final lap, losing valuable time. Gilardoni then merely had to stay behind for the remainder of the lap to claim his and the Oregon Team’s first Super Trofeo victory.
It was a double celebration for Oregon Team as Victor Franzoni da Silva and Lorenzo Bontempelli claimed honours in the Pro-Am class. Pro-Am points leaders Andrzej Lewandowski and Karol Basz (VS Racing) also had a race to forget. Such were the conditions of the track, Lewandowski spun on his way to the grid at Turn 5, while Basz received a drivethrough penalty for speeding in the pitlane following the mandatory stops.
Leipert Motorsport’s Mikko Eskelinen and Elias Niskanen finished second in class and ninth overall, one place behind erstwhile overall points leaders Miloš Pavlović and Raul Guzman. In the Am class, Fidel Leib and Yury Wagner bounced back from a difficult weekend at the Nürburgring by taking victory for Leipert Motorsport, finishing a superb 11th overall.
The pair headed Boutsen Ginion’s Claude-Yves Gosselin and Giuseppe Fascicolo, with points leader Massimo Mantovani – sharing with Sri Lankan driver Dilantha Malagamuwa – completing the podium.
Imperiale Racing’s Hans Fabri claimed a routine victory in Lamborghini Cup, which was made easier after his only rival in the class, Kurt Wagner – partnering Libor Dvoracek – spun his Micanek Motorsports ACCR car while behind the safety car before the start of the race.
Race 2 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is scheduled to take place on Sunday at 10:50 CEST.
Dorian Boccolacci (Oregon Team #11): “This is a great result for us, our first victory in our first season as a team. We deserved this win because we work every day, from late in the evening until early in the morning. Kevin drove really, really well too. Everything went perfectly, except for the contact at Turn 5, when the other driver pushed me off the track. I lost one position only but a lot of time.”
Kevin Gilardoni (Oregon Team #11): “Seven years ago, I left Barcelona having lost the win on the last lap, in the Mégane Eurocup Trophée, so to come back here and win the race is something very special for us. Have to thank the team for their trust in us, I am so happy to share the car with Dorian and as a team, we are pushing so hard to be at the top, and this is I hope the first victory of many.”
Lamborghini Super Trofeo - 2020 Calendar
Round 1: Misano Adriatico, 7-9th August
Round 2: Nürburgring, 4-5th September
Round 3: Barcelona, 9-11th October
Round 4: Spa-Francorchamps, 20-24th October
Round 5: Circuit Paul Ricard, 13-15th November
