US RaceTronics’ young development driver Steven Aghakhani takes the next step in his training program. The 13-year-old California native has begun testing in the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo with impressive results.
Aghakhani started racing go-karts at age 7 and was completely hooked after convincing his dad to let him sit behind the wheel of his 50th Anniversary Lamborghini Aventador at the Pikes Peak Race Festival in Colorado Springs two years later.
Aghakhani raced his dad’s McLaren before shifting his focus to road courses and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Gallardo.
He and his dad searched for a program that would give him the support and training he needed to win at the next level. After meeting with US RaceTronics team owner Shane Seneviratne, they knew his was the program they wanted Steven in as he moves toward the possibility of a professional racing career.
Aghakhani is still a few years away from being able to compete in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series with US RaceTronics, but has already moved from the Super Trofeo Gallardo up to the Super Trofeo Huracán after just six months and made steady progress through the test days.
He logged 69 laps on his first day and picked up where left off at the start of his second day in the new car. His times quickly dropped even further as the day progressed, and by the end of only his second day in the Huracán, Aghakhani was comfortable enough to put together two back-to-back fast lap times to impress his driver-coach Bryce Miller.
“Regarding Steven’s performance in the Huracán,” Miller said, “I thought he did a really good job. The Huracán is definitely a lot more car to handle compared to the Gallardo and he really stepped into it with a lot of maturity and professionalism.
“He’s still got a lot to learn just like any racing driver, but I think he’s got a bright future in this car and with the Lamborghini platform.
“He handles himself in a professional manner and is a joy to work with. I think he’ll continue to grow and develop and I’m looking forward to a bright future for him.”
Aghakhani is excited to be taking the next step in his development and loves the Huracán. His goal is to keep improving as he learns the new car.
“The Huracán is definitely one hell of a race car,” Aghakhani said. “It has so much potential and there’s a lot that I need to learn about the car. It feels amazing behind the steering wheel.
“The biggest difference between the Huracán and the Gallardo is that the Huracán has so much more grip, downforce, and power; almost everything is better than the Gallardo.
“I like the way the Huracán looks and feels, the sound of the motor, the cornering speed and braking. Everything feels much better in the Huracán.
“Personally, what I think about the car is that it’s so perfect on so many different levels and you can do so much more with this car. I can’t wait to get back in it.”
Team owner Shane Seneviratne is happy with the progress Aghakhani has made already in his development program and is confident that he’ll continue to make strides each time he gets behind the wheel.
“After evaluating the progress that Steven has made with the team and the Super Trofeo Gallardo over the last six months, we strongly felt that he was ready to take the next step up the ladder to the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Huracán,” Seneviratne said.
“As always, Steven’s approach to the tests was methodical and he executed to our expectations and adapted to the conditions quite naturally.
“The Huracán is quite a beast; it’s a fast race car. You need to have good analytical skills and reflexes to get the maximum out of this race car. Steven is making impressive strides every test day. Our objective is to get Steven to drive this car to its limit over the next year.”