COTA Lamborghini ST Weekend Notebook

Photo: Jamey Price/Lamborghini

***Santino Ferrucci has scored pole in his Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America debut weekend, taking the No. 77 Courtney Racing entry to the top spot for Round 10 with a 2:06.876 lap time. The 18-year-old Connecticut native, a Haas Formula One test driver, will drive the car solo this weekend in the Pro class after originally being listed as a Pro-Am entry with co-driver Joe Courtney.

***Richard Antinucci will start Round 9 from the pole in his No. 17 US RaceTronics Lamborghini, thanks to a 2:05.789 time. Click Here for qualifying results for Round 9 and Click Here for results for Round 10.

***Change Racing returns to a three-car effort for the first time since the season-opener at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with Victor Gonzalez Jr. in the team’s No. 16 Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo. Gonzalez returns after contesting the 2015 season with the Robby Benton-owned team.

***The addition of the third Change car brings the total field up to 22 cars for the final 2016 race weekend on North American soil. Rounds 11 and 12 will be contested in Valencia in December, prior to the World Final later that weekend.

***Jeroen Bleekemolen has been a late addition to the No. 66 TRG Lamborghini, pairing with Derek DeBoer. The Dutchman, who makes his Super Trofeo debut, will be the only driver pulling triple duty this weekend between the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and Super Trofeo races.

***Lamborghini veteran Enrique Bernoldi returns to series competition in the No. 12 DXDT entry with Jeff Burton (unrelated to the NASCAR driver with the same name). It is the third car for the Utah-based team, which recently completed a shakedown with the brand-new chassis at COTA last week.

***Brian Thienes returns to the wheel of the No. 17 US RaceTronics Lamborghini after missing last month’s round at VIR due to getting married. “The team has done such a great job all year preparing the car and providing the perfect set up for each track,” said Thienes, who will again co-drive with reigning series champion Antinucci.

***Paul Miller Racing, which had made its Super Trofeo debut at VIR, has pulled its entry for the remainder of the season, with the team electing to concentrate its efforts on its GTD program with the Huracan GT3, which is coming off a maiden class win with Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers.

***This weekend marks the first time all three Super Trofeo series are racing simultaneously, at different venues. The European championship is at the Nürburgring, while the Asian series is in action at Fuji Speedway. All three will join up at Valencia for their respective season finales in December, prior to the World Final.

***Andy Blackmore has expanded his IMSA Spotter Guide portfolio to include Super Trofeo this year. Click Here to download the guide for this weekend’s races.

***Watch Round 9 live on Motor Trend and Demand and IMSA.tv Thursday at 6:50 p.m.. ET. Round 10 gets underway Friday at 8:55 a.m. ET. Tape-delayed coverage will air on CBS Sports Network on Sunday afternoons. Check your local listings.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John