Laguna Seca Weekend Notebook

Photo: Jamey Price/Lamborghini

***A total of 32 cars are set to take part in this weekend’s Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season opener at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in what’s still a record-breaking field for the single-make series. Its previous largest car count came at last year’s season-opener at Circuit of The Americas, which saw 30 entries.

***After not appearing on the initial entry list, TR3 Racing has added a second entry for Rodrigo Vales and Rogelio Perusquia while the veteran driver pairing of Martin Fuentes and Caesar Bacarella will compete in the team’s No. 45 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 in the Am class.

***Both the No. 14 Flying Lizard Motorsports car of Slade Stewart and the No. 19 MCR Lamborghini co-driven by Shehan Chandrasoma has been moved from the Am to LB Cup class.

***This weekend’s field features ten different nationalities of drivers, also another record.

***There are no major changes to the sporting regulations, which again sees a three-second time penalty for single-driver lineups during the mandatory pit stops. Fifteen of the cars feature single-driver lineups.

***The biggest change comes with the debut of the Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 model, which is mandatory for all entrants. Twenty-five of the entries are brand-new chassis while the others were upgraded from the previous Evo specification.

***TPC Racing, which expands into a three-car operation, received the assistance of Lamborghini Squadra Corse mechanics and engineers to get its cars ready for the weekend according to the team’s director of race operations Harris Levitas. “There was a shipping delay on some of the new EVO2 package and Lamborghini provided engineers from Italy to fly in just help get our cars ready with our team.”

***Levitas added: “We’ve had a lot of interest during the off-season from other drivers wanting to get into the Lamborghini program. Lamborghini offers an amazing single-make racing platform series and I can’t say enough good things about the Lamborghini Squadra Corse team.”

***It’s understood the upgrade job, which largely focuses on new bodywork and an all-new braking package, takes roughly a day-and-a-half for a four-man crew.

***RDS Automotive Group and Forty7 Motorsports have announced a new partnership amid Forty7’s Super Trofeo debut. The team was due to field two entries this weekend but has instead placed focus on its No. 7 Am class entry for Wyatt Schwab and Nick Parmelee.

***The No. 14 Flying Lizard Lamborghini of Stewart is sporting a distinctive pink livery designed by his daughter. Stewart, who is competing in the LB Cup class, affectionally has named the car “Sparkle Farts”. The car has received considerable interest in the paddock, especially with young fans.

***All cars competing this weekend are full-season entrants according to Lamborghini’s Chris Ward, who indicated that additional teams will be on the grid for the second round of the season at NOLA Motorsports Park next month.

***Sportscar365 understands that ANSA Motorsports will return to action with two cars while Wayne Taylor Racing will add a fifth entry and Flying Lizard Motorsports is eyeing expansion from its already-confirmed three-car effort.

***Ward said it would be “extraordinary” if the series could reach 40 cars later this year. He indicated there are no restrictions on car count other than track-specific space limitations.

***Should the field continue to grow, Ward indicated they would consider having split starts, with Pro and Pro-Am gridded in class order followed by Am and LB Cup. “Forty [cars] for me is the tipping point,” he told Sportscar365.

***The last-minute change of venue from Ozarks International Raceway to NOLA is understood to have been a second choice after a deal with Circuit of The Americas fell through. Super Trofeo is part of the SRO America weekend bill for this event only and remains sanctioned by IMSA.

***Qualifying is scheduled for 8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET) followed by Race 1 at 1:50 p.m. PT (4:50 p.m. ET) which will be carried live on Peacock, IMSA.tv and the Lamborghini Squadra Corse website.

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