Michelotto, Basz Take World Final Lead with Dominant Pro Win

Mattia Michelotto and Karol Basz gained the upper hand in the Lamborghini World Final by taking a dominant win from pole position in the first of two Pro/Pro-Am races.

The drivers of the No. 6 Vincenzo Sospiri Racing led from start to finish under the floodlights at Misano, earning a maximum 16-point score on the first day of the event that combines grids from Lamborghini’s European and North American Super Trofeo series.

Basz crossed the line just over three seconds ahead of North America champion Richard Antinucci who was competing as a solo driver for Dream Racing Motorsport.

Danny Kroes and Daan Pijl completed the podium in their Bonaldi Motorsport machine after winning both races that made up the Super Trofeo Europe final round on Friday.

Michelotto made a strong start from pole, leading away from Kroes and Antinucci.

The Italian driver was able to build a clear advantage in the opening stint when Kroes was ordered to give second position to Antinucci after he cut the first corner.

Antinucci moved past the Bonaldi driver into Quercia after five and a half minutes, at which point Michelotto held a three-second edge over second place.

Michelotto was four and a half seconds ahead when the pit window opened after 20 minutes.

Antinucci, who had to serve an extra three seconds at his mandatory stop due to being a solo competitor, dived in at the first opportunity while his rivals opted to wait.

Strong laps on either side of the pit stop enabled Antinucci to negate the extra three seconds he had compared to Kroes and Pijl, who remained in third after the services.

There was a brief scare for race leader Basz whose pit visit was placed under investigation, however the post-race time penalty he received only amounted to 0.6 seconds.

Antinucci finished 1.3 seconds ahead of Pijl as the top North American competitor, while Raul Guzman and Glenn van Berlo were fourth in their Target Racing Lamborghini.

Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal completed the top five for Wayne Taylor Racing, after the Bonaldi Huracan driven by Maxime Oosten and Milan Teekens mysteriously dropped out of contention on the final lap.

Seb Morris and Sebastian Balthasar picked up sixth for Leipert Motorsport, ahead of Change Racing’s Jeroen Mul and North America series runner-up Stevan McAleer.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Pro champions Kevin Gilardoni and Leonardo Pulcini finished outside the points after Pulcini lost ground when he was struck into a spin at Turn 4 by Dream Racing Motorsport’s Dario Capitanio.

After sealing the North American Pro-Am title earlier in the week, Bryan Ortiz and Brandon Gdovic gained the early advantage in the category’s World Final segment with a victory for Precision Performance Motorsports.

Ortiz came out of the pit cycle in third but quickly managed to find a way past Italian broadcaster Guido Meda in the VIP guest car, which had been rebuilt after sustaining front-end damage in a heavy accident during qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

Ortiz then advanced to the lead past Oscar Lee, whose driving partner Dan Wells commanded the opening stint from pole.

Loris Spinelli charged through the pack in the second half of the race and had risen t second by the end, while Dmitri Gzavaza and Andrea Cola ended up third.

The Lamborghini World Final consists of two groups that hold two races each across Saturday and Sunday. Massimo Ciglia won the opening race of the Am and LB Cup bracket.

RESULTS: Pro/Pro-Am Race 1 / Standings