Vallelunga Weekend Notebook

***This weekend marks the third time that the Lamborghini World Finals has visited Vallelunga. The Italian manufacturer previously held its annual Super Trofeo season finale at the circuit near Rome in 2013 and 2018.

***The full contingent of almost 100 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2s assembled for a group photo at the start of the event. The number has been boosted by the return of the Asian series, which returned in 2023 after a three-year hiatus.

***Chris van der Drift and Marco Giltrap swept the final round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia season, held across Thursday and Friday. The Absolute Racing duo ended the season as runaway champions with ten victories. Race 1 / Race 2

***Absolute and Harmony Racing have a busy weekend as both teams are also competing in the FIA GT World Cup. Max Wiser slotted into Harmony’s Super Trofeo Asia lineup, replacing team boss Weian Chen who is racing with a Ferrari in Macau.

***Newly crowned Super Trofeo Europe champion Brendon Leitch was displeased at Loris Spinelli’s tactics to hold up his Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini in Friday’s season finale, which kept his VSR teammate and title contender Gilles Stadsbader within range.

***Spinelli held Leitch at bay during the opening stint and reportedly changed his line multiple times as they drove past pit entry. “That was just poor sportsmanship,” Leitch told Sportscar365. “I just feel sorry for him that he had to do that.”

***Nonetheless, Leitch felt the relief of securing the European title and will head into the World Finals with no pressure. “Maybe we’ll make some small [setup] tweaks, just for fun,” he said. “To be honest, I’m not too worried about the World Finals. I’ll just go in there for some good battles and have a few laughs. I’m looking forward to it.”

***European Am champion Gabriele Rindone bounced back from an accident in Free Practice 2 on Wednesday to snatch the title away from Ibrahim Badawy in the last race. Rindone crashed at Turn 10, damaging the chassis of his original Leipert Motorsport car which needed to be replaced.

***With the North American, European and Asian seasons now wrapped up, attention turns to the World Finals in which cars from the regional series are pitted against each other.

***Boutsen VDS packed up on Friday afternoon after it elected not to take part in the World Finals. Team manager Amaury Laine told Sportscar365 that both of the Belgian team’s paying amateur drivers had other commitments this weekend, after several days at Vallelunga that included two races last Sunday.

***The updated World Finals entry lists were released on Friday They include a 44-car grid for the pair of Pro/Pro-Am races and 41 cars for the Am/LB Cup segment. As usual, the world champions in each class will be determined using a points system.

***Ten cars that did the regional races are not staying on for the World Finals, although it is still a record entry. The withdrawals are both Boutsens, the No. 44 and No. 11 from Oregon Team, No. 20 HBR Motorsport, No. 233 Iron Lynx, No. 283 Kam Lung Racing, No. 211 Triple Ace Racing, No. 216 Harmony Racing and the No. 166 Forty7 Motorsports, whose driver AJ Muss has moved into the No. 151 car alongside Joel Miller.

***US RaceTronics borrowed a car from Italian team Bonaldi Motorsport for its Pro-Am entry with Patrick Liddy and Blake McDonald. It will then switch to LB Cup for the World Finals, due to Liddy being ineligible because he has not completed two Super Trofeo North America rounds this year.

***The same applies to Guy Cosmo, whose Flying Lizard Motorsports co-driver for the North American races Thomas Tait will go solo in Am for the World Finals.

***ART-Line’s Pro-Am lineup of Egor Orudzhev and Shota Abkhazava has separated for the World Finals and will compete in the separate Pro and Am races as solo drivers.

***US RaceTronics is yet to finalize the rest of its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD lineup beyond Loris Spinelli and Misha Goikhberg who were named in the Rolex 24 at Daytona entry list, according to team director Shane Seneviratne.

***Seneviratne told Sportscar365 that he is working out USRT’s budget for next season’s Michelin Endurance Cup seat. It is understood that Liddy is one of the drivers in the frame, while USRT also expects to add Lamborghini factory ace for Daytona.

***NTE Sport is not present at the World Finals, meaning that North American Pro-Am champion Keawn Tandon missed the final round of the regional season. Team owner Paul Mata told Sportscar365 that the decision was partly based on Tandon having already secured the title at Indianapolis last month.

***Mata also revealed that NTE Sport has put its GT3 program on ice “for at least a year” amid high running costs. It entered the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen this year with the latest EVO2 version of the Huracan but was not on IMSA’s 2024 entry lists. NTE instead plans to concentrate on Super Trofeo next season and projects a five-car entry.

***In addition to the North American season finale, Am champions Anthony McIntosh and Glenn McGee also did the European races with Imperiale Racing. They will contest the World Finals with their U.S. team Precision Performance Motorsports.

***One of the Vallelunga pit garages is reserved for a full-scale model Lamborghini SC63, but the test car is not present to turn laps. This is because it is currently at Windshear’s wind tunnel in North Carolina, where it is undergoing IMSA’s homologation process.

***Lamborghini has launched an SC63-inspired road car, based on the Huracan STO, called the Huracan STO SC 10° Anniversario. Its name alludes to the 10th anniversary of the company’s Squadra Corse factory racing department.

***The one-off vehicle, which is on display in the Vallelunga paddock, features a performance kit with new aero features on the hood, a higher wing angle, and a set of racing-derived four-way adjustable shock absorbers. It is fitted with Bridgestone tires.

***Lamborghini will announce the location of its 2024 World Finals during a prize-giving ceremony at Vallelunga on Saturday evening. Sportscar365 understands that the chosen venue will be in Europe for an eighth consecutive year.

***Several Lamborghini factory drivers are expected to be present this weekend including Daniil Kvyat, Andrea Caldarelli, Franck Perera and Leonardo Pulcini. Romain Grosjean attended last weekend’s Super Trofeo Europe round but is missing the World Finals due to his French TV broadcast commitments for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Porsche driver Gianmaria Bruni, who is from nearby Rome, was spotted in the paddock on Thursday.

***Lamborghini has yet to appoint a replacement for its former North American senior motorsports manager Chris Ward, who departed the role in October. Sportscar365 understands that Ward is set to be replaced by two positions, with an overarching North American racing coordinator working alongside a Super Trofeo series manager.

***Lamborghini is again supporting the Movember initiative which aims to promote men’s health causes. Different road car dealerships are taking part. At the time of publication, a total of $180,803 USD in sponsorship money had been raised, with Lamborghini Orlando leading the charge.

***Flying Lizard Motorsports plans to continue with four cars in the 2024 Super Trofeo North America season, according to program manager Darren Law. Its sister organization K-PAX Racing recently confirmed that it will go on a hiatus from GT3 racing next year.

***Law told Sportscar365: “Personnel-wise and equipment-wise [four cars] works out well for us. We don’t plan to make any adjustments there. The driver lineups are still to be determined. I’d love to have a Pro car, but it just depends. We’re still finalizing that.”

***Kyle Marcelli described Vallelunga as a “pretty unique” racetrack compared to the circuits where the North American series usually runs. “I’ve come to like the place,” the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport driver told Sportscar365.

***Marcelli added that the Turn 2 right-hander is “by far the fastest corner” he has taken in a Super Trofeo. “I’ve heard that it’s flat out in a GT3, which makes it relatively easy, but in these things… holy smokes! It’s a full lift. You’re right on the ragged edge.”

***Meanwhile, Law reckons the World Finals pecking order will remain unclear until the first mixed-series track session takes place. “You can look at lap times, but we are on track at different times of the day,” he said. “There are a lot of factors in there. It’s hard to say until we get into our first session on Saturday morning in the same tire conditions.”

***The first World Finals race for Pro and Pro-Am takes place at 3:55 p.m. CET (9:55 a.m. ET) on Saturday. It will be preceded by the first Am/LB Cup race at 2:35 p.m. (8:35 a.m. ET) with warmup and qualifying sessions being held in the morning.

***All races will be streamed live on Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s YouTube channel.