Iron Lynx Wins at Vallelunga After Testa’s Final-Lap Pass

Iron Lynx driver Rodrigo Testa produced a final-lap overtake on Andrzej Lewandowski to win the second of Sunday’s two Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Pro/Pro-Am races at Vallelunga.

Testa and Ugo de Wilde claimed their first victory of the season after the former reeled in Pro-Am leader Lewandowski and dived up the inside when the Pole ran wide into the two-part Campagnano right-hander.

De Wilde started from third on the grid in the No. 10 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 but moved ahead of Daan Arrow at Turn 3 on the opening lap.

However, the Belgian was unable to reach pole-sitter Loris Spinelli who charged into a 14-second lead before handing his Vincenzo Sospiri Racing car over to Lewandowski.

Considering Lewandowski’s role as the amateur in VSR’s Pro-Am driver lineup, Testa quickly reduced the gap in his Pro-class machine before making the late move.

Pro points leader Brendon Leitch also got past Lewandowski on the final tour, but the Pro-Am winning car still finished on the overall podium.

The opening 50-minute race went the way of Pro title contenders Mattia Michelotto and Gilles Stadsbader who dominated from lights to flag in their VSR Lamborghini.

Michelotto made a strong start and established an 11-second lead over second-placed solo competitor Amaury Bonduel, who then halved the gap after the driver swaps.

Despite recovering some of the lost ground, Bonduel was unable to benefit from a late safety car — caused by the stranded Pro-Am Target Racing car of Frederik Schandorff — because the clock ran down before the race could restart.

Largim Ali and Oliver Soderstrom came through in third as Spinelli and Lewandowski again took Pro-Am honors in fifth place overall.

The Race 2-winning Iron Lynx entry struggled in the morning encounter after early contact between Testa and Leitch that resulted in a 10-second penalty for the former.

Leitch’s second place in the afternoon rescued his day and the Leipert Motorsport driver will head to this week’s season finale with a 2.5-point lead over Michelotto and Stadsbader.

The first of two Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe rounds at Vallelunga featured a series record-equalling 50 cars and required separate races for Pro/Pro-Am and Am/LB Cup.

Giovanni Anapoli and Piergiacomo Randazzo prevailed in the opening Am/LB contest for VSR before finishing third in Race 2 behind victorious solo driver Ibrahim Badawy.

The final races of the Super Trofeo Europe season will take place on Thursday and Friday before the European entries go up against counterparts from the North American and Asian regional series in next weekend’s World Finals.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2