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Lamborghini Super Trofeo NA

Imola Weekend Notebook

Ryan Myrehn’s weekend notebook from the Lamborghini World Final at Imola…

Photo: Lamborghini

***Katherine Legge’s appearance on the Lamborghini World Final entry list in a Prestige Performance Lamborghini Huracan came as a surprise, even to Legge herself. Initially Legge was asked to coach Sheena Monk, who made her racing debut with the team this weekend, then got the nod to drive alongside the debutante.

***When weather canceled the team’s planned testing session earlier this week, Monk shifted to a solo LB Cup effort in order to get more track time, prompting yet another change of plans for Legge. “They asked me if I’d like to run with Michele Beretta, and I said, ‘Hey it’s your world, I’m just living in it!'” Legge told Sportscar365. Legge and Beretta finished tenth and fourth overall in the two races on Friday.

***Legge indicated that her 2018 plans are in flux given the changing nature of the Michael Shank Racing-run Acura NSX GT3 program she was a part of last year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. She indicated that a return to MSR remains a possibility, and said her priority is to remain in the series.

***Cold weather threw a wrench into several teams’ testing plans when snow unexpectedly coated the famed Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola making for some remarkable photos.

***The snow gave way to rain by the middle of the week and conditions have been dry throughout the first two days of official track running. Partly cloudy conditions with high temperatures in the low 50s Fahrenheit are expected this weekend.

***Trent Hindman and Riccardo Agostini captured the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Pro class championship with a pair of wins on Friday, but their path to the title was made significantly simpler by Richard Antinucci’s absence from the North American grid.

***Antinucci entered the weekend as the nearest challenger to the Prestige Performance duo after a strong season with Change Racing, but was not entered for the final two rounds. He did contest the European series races in the E-P class for Bonaldi Motorsport alongside Finnish driver Patrick Kujala on Friday, however.

***Lamborghini Young Driver and Change Racing GT Daytona competitor Jeroen Mul made a guest appearance with the team, finishing second in both North America races in the Pro category.

***Also in a Change Racing car was Austin Versteeg who had driven for DXDT Racing this season, but the team did not field any entries for the two races at Imola. Versteeg finished first and second in class in the two final races, and came a mere one point shy of the Pro-Am championship, which was won by Edoardo Piscopo and Taylor Proto.

***Other class champions for the season were Yuki Harata in the Am class and JC Perez in the LB Cup category. Prestige Performance clinched the team championship while its associated dealer Lamborghini Paramus won the dealer championship.

***Click Here for the full season-ending point standings.

***Raphael Abbate and Yuki Nemoto won the first European series race on Friday for VS Racing, while Loris Spinelli and former Indy Lights driver Mikael Grenier took Race 2 for Antonelli Motorsport. Full results can be found here: Race 1, Race 2.

***With the North American, Asian, and European championships decided, attention turns to the World Final races on Saturday and Sunday. Qualifying for Am and Cup class competitors will be held in two separate but consecutive 20-minute sessions starting at 10:10 a.m. local time on Saturday. The Pro and Pro-Am qualifying sessions will follow starting at 11:15 a.m.

***The first World Final races of the weekend start with the Am and Cup cars at 1:20 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Pro and Pro-Am race at 3:30 p.m. Live streaming coverage is available.

Ryan Myrehn is an Indianapolis-based broadcaster and reporter. In addition to his work covering primarily domestic sports car racing for Sportscar365, he is the lead announcer for SRO America's TV coverage as well as a pit reporter for IndyCar Radio. Myrehn, a graduate of DePauw University, is also the host of Sportscar365's “Double Stint” Podcast.

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