Antinucci Wins Opening Lamborghini ST Race at Monterey

Richard Antinucci led from start-to-finish to win Round 1 of the 2015 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, highlighted by the series debut of the Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo car.

Antinucci drove the No. 50 Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo fielded by O’Gara Motorsport and representing the Beverly Hills dealership to the win under caution in the 50-minute race.

“The result was perfect,” Antinucci said. “It’s a lot more difficult than it seems on paper, and we were better on our one-lap pace than on our race pace, I think. But we managed it well, and we saved a little bit extra, just in case.”

Cedric Sbirrazuoli, from Monaco, placed second in his Super Trofeo debut in the No. 07 STR entry representing Dallas. Sbirrazuoli was the first Huracán Pro-Am finisher.

Corey Lewis completed the overall podium, finishing third overall and second in the Pro-Am class in the No. 29 Change Racing Huracán representing Carolinas after starting sixth overall.

Antinucci captured pole position for both races in a double qualifying session earlier in the morning.

In Round 1, the top three drivers separated themselves from the field after the mandatory 90-second pit stops to allow for driver changes. But Antinucci never gave up his lead. An incident in the famous Corkscrew turn complex with six minutes left in the race led to a full-course caution that ended the race.

The quickest race laps of the top three finishers were within two-hundredths of a second, indicating the close competition at the front of the field on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit.

Joe Courtney and Aaron Povoledo finished third in the Pro-Am division in the No. 77 Musante-Courtney Racing Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo representing Miami.

The father-and-son duo of Jim and Josh Norman finished first in the Huracán Amateur division and sixth overall in their Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America debut in the No. 71 BAD Lambo Racing Huracán representing Palm Beach.

Ross Chouest took second in the Amateur class and 10th overall in the No. 3 Musante-Courtney Racing entry representing Miami. O’Gara Motorsport driver Ryan Ockey was third among Amateurs and 12th overall representing Vancouver.

This season is the first for multi-class racing in Lamborghin Blancpain Super Trofeo North America, showcasing both the new Huracán and the Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo that was the exclusive car for the first two seasons of the North America championship in 2013 and 2014.

Mitchum Motorsports, the reigning Team Champion, swept the overall Gallardo podium. Dylan Murcott took the win in the No. 84 Gallardo. His teammate Jake Rattenbury finished second in the No. 42 Gallardo after tough racing with Murcott. Bryan Hixon rounded out the podium and was the first Gallardo Amateur finisher.

Joe Chan and Paul Taylor finished second in the Gallardo Amateur division in the No. 15 Paragon Competition Gallardo representing Toronto.

Round 2 will start at 10:15 a.m. (PT) Sunday, May 3. As part of a new partnership with Torque.TV, the race will be live streamed on four platforms: squadracorse.lamborghini.com/en/live-usa, imsa.tv, torque.tv and radiolemans.com.

RESULTS: Round 1