Lamborghini ST World Final Saturday Notebook

***Russian driver Roman Mavlanov, co-driver of the No. 105 Antonelli Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 in the the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe series, was reported to be alert and communicating per a series spokesperson, following a sizeable accident on Friday. Mavlanov lost control at the fast right-hand sweeper at Turn 6, which split the car in half, during the first Europe/Asia race of the weekend. Mavlanov had shared the car with Daniel Zampieri, who had set the fastest time in qualifying in any series at 2:00.986 on Thursday.

***Race winners in Friday’s two Europe and Asia rounds included: Patrick Kujala (Europe, race one), Mikhail Stepanov and Harald Schlegelmilch (Europe, race two) and Yuan Bo and Edoardo Liberati (Asia, races one and two). Bo and Liberati also claimed the Asia PRO-AM championship. Kujala’s race one win came following a penalty assessed to Patric Niederhauser, who won on the road but was penalized due to an improper pit lane procedure.

***The second Europe/Asia race of the day started following a slight delay to due to brief heavy rain that soaked the Sebring International Raceway circuit. However, once the rain stopped and the sun poked through, it produced some incredible light for the race (see above)… and then, naturally, it proceeded to rain again after the checkered flag to drench the podium ceremonies.

***Beyond Richard Antinucci claiming the Huracán PRO driver championship, other North American titles clinched Friday included Ryan Ockey as the Huracán Amateur driver champion, O’Gara Motorsport as the team champion and Lamborghini Beverly Hills as the dealer champion.

***In Super Trofeo Europe action, Kujala captured the season championship with his Bonaldi Motorsport team. Bo and Liberati were crowned the Super Trofeo Asia Pro-AM champions.

***Josh Hurley won both poles and both races on Friday in the No. 76 Musante-Courtney Racing Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 in the Gallardo class, even despite a fire bottle going off.

***Hurley wasn’t alone in pulling off a single day sweep; Corey Lewis also won both races in Huracán PRO-AM. The two Americans will look to add to their success throughout the remainder of the weekend.

***This is expected to be the swan song for the Gallardos in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America series. Series manager Chris Ward expects a full grid of Huracán entries in 2016, potentially in the 24 to 26-car range.

***Speaking of Huracáns, two Huracán GT3s have arrived to Sebring in advance of next week’s two-day test for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams and drivers. The second GRT Grasser Racing Team chassis joins the other car that’s tested this week. Both are on display in the paddock here this weekend.

***The father-son duo of Dr. Jim and Josh Norman, from nearby Tampa, took a popular win in race two in the Huracán AM class in the No. 71 BAD Lambo Racing Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2. Jim Norman had been confident going into the weekend, telling Sportscar365, “Josh learned to go fast here. He knows every crack in the pavement, so I expect some really good things from him.”

***It’s been more of a nightmare weekend for the new Dream Racing-liveried No. 07 STR Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2, co-driven by Cedric Sbirrazzuoli and Lawrence DeGeorge. A spin and a small fire occurred in practice for what is a new chassis, built up from the remnants of two other chassis that had sustained accidents and/or fires earlier this year. Despite Sbirrazzuoli’s rally to fourth in race one Friday, the car retired in race two.

***GMG Racing packed up its two cars, the Nos. 32 and 88 Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2s of Rob Phillips and Jeffrey Cheng/James Sofronas respectively, and are no longer on site in Sebring after the conclusion of the North American rounds.

***After running combined, another STR car, the No. 22 Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 of Thomas Pichler and Fernando Barbachano will have a slightly altered lineup for the rest of the weekend. Barbachano is due to drive the No. 22 car solo for the World Final. The team’s No. 63 car didn’t start either of Friday’s races.

***A mix of incidents and repairs from race one meant what had been a 24-car U.S. field was reduced to 19 before the end of the first lap in race two. All cars that were out before the first lap are on site, as repairs continued before today’s races.

***With warmup sessions underway this morning, qualifying takes place for Gallardo and Huracán AM drivers starting at 10:30 a.m. ET, with Huracán PRO and PRO-AM sessions set for 11:20 a.m. Racing will start after the lunch break.

Lamborghini ST Europe

RESULTS: Race 1, Race 2

Lamborghini ST Asia

RESULTS: Race 1, Race 2