ALTON, Va. – Sunny skies and a dry racetrack were a welcome sight for the 16-car Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America field Sunday.
After Saturday’s race in wet conditions, the Huracan Evos roared to the green flag at iconic Virginia Int’l Raceway for round eight of the season.
Polesitter Corey Lewis in the No. 29 Change Racing/Lamborghini Charlotte entry led the field to green. He was able to extend his lead as Sandy Mitchell in the No. 1 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing/Lamborghini Paramus went off the track in turn two of the first lap and Paolo Ruberti was hit with a drive-through penalty for jumping the start.
That left Lewis to race ahead of Brandon Gdovic in the No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsport/Lamborghini Palm Beach entry for the first part of the race. Mitchell got back into the race before going wide at the Oak Tree Turn before the pit window opened and was right behind Gdovic.
The opening of the pit window was delayed for three minutes after the No. 63 of McKay Snow suffered a flat left rear tire, and a full course yellow came out for debris on the track. Lewis was the first Pro Class entry to pit and turned the car over to teammate Richy Antinucci.
As the pit cycle closed with 17 minutes remaining in the race, the No. 46 seized the lead with Shinya Michimi taking over for Gdovic. Round 7’s winner – the No. 27 quickly moved up to second with Cedric Sbirrazzouli behind the wheel as the No. 29 fell off the pace and had to stop in the pits a second time.
Michimi then enjoyed a five- to seven-second lead over the final minutes of the race as the No. 46 won for the second time in 2019 and for the first time since round one over the No. 27.
Lewis and Antinucci remain in the class lead in points with 102 marks, followed by Adrea Amici and Sandy Mitchell with 90.
Jacob Eidson and Damon Ockey in the No. 9 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Vancouver continued to close in on the ProAm class championship with their seventh win in eight races. Eidson started the race and quickly moved to the front of the class before handing the car over to Ockey during the mandatory pit window.
Ockey brought the car to the finish line with a little drama on the last lap, as he spun in the Oak Tree but was still able to finish third overall and enjoyed a 40-second win over Patrick Liddy in the No. 24 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini La Jolla entry.
The duo has now accumulated 122 points on the season with William Hubbell in the No. 69 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing/Lamborghini Paramus entry in second with 78.
McKay Snow and Steven Aghakhani once again battled it out in the Am Class as they were separated by less than half a second for a majority of the first 20 minutes of the race. With 33 minutes remaining Snow’s car suffered a flat left rear tire which brought out the aforementioned caution.
That allowed Aghakhani to take the lead. He was able to go to victory over Sheena Monk in the No. 7 Dream Racing, Lamborghini Palmyra entry to earn his third victory of the year.
Snow remains in first place in class with 105 points while Cameron Cassels is second with 85 and Aghakhani is third with 82.
LB Cup Class leader Mel Johnson had the first stint in the No. 08 GMG Racing, Lamborghini Newport Beach entry, but was overtaken by the No. 43 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing after contact in turn one of the first lap.
The No. 43 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing/Lamborghini Paramus entry driven by Stephanie Cemo took the lead at that point until it changed 10 minutes into the race as Justin Price in the No. 22 Dream Racing, Lamborghini Atlanta entry moved to the front looking to make it a sweep on the weekend.
A slower pit stop by the No. 22 allowed the No. 08 with Thomas Lovelady behind the wheel to reclaim the lead following the pit window being closed. He was able to make it the fifth win of the season for the No. 08 as they held off a strong challenge from the No. 43 and Ashton Harrison.
Johnson, on his own, still leads the class with 90 points while Harrison and Cemo are second with 82.