MISANO ADRIATICO, Italy – Brandon Gdovic, Bryan Ortiz and John Hennessy became the latest Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America drivers to win on the global stage, taking first place in their respective classes in Saturday’s World Final races at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
The event brought together competitors from the North American and European single-make series that all utilize the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO. Gdovic and Ortiz teamed to win the ProAm class of the Pro/Pro Am race, edging fellow North American series drivers Loris Spinelli and Claude Senhoreti by less than two seconds. In the race featuring Am and LB Cup participants, Hennessy came home first in the latter. Second races for each group are set for Sunday when the Lamborghini Super Trofeo world champions will be decided.
Driving the No. 146 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán, Gdovic and Ortiz – who won the ProAm championship for the North American series on Friday – rallied Saturday after starting third and seeing Gdovic get bogged down in traffic early in the opening stint. Ortiz took a sizable lead following the mandatory pit stop but knew he had the hard-charging Spinelli closing in.
“The car was very good on my stint,” Ortiz said. “Brandon was held up at the beginning but once he got through, he was really quick as well. I was pushing hard. I knew Spinelli was coming hard; he’s one of the fastest guys out there. Happy we won the first one, we have one in the books now.”
In the earlier Am/LB Cup race, Hennessy was in control of his class throughout. He qualified second in the No. 133 O’Gara Motorsport/US RaceTronics, Lamborghini San Diego Huracán, but started the race first in class after the pole-winning car crashed in practice and was unable to be repaired. Hennessy went on to win by more than 14 seconds over Michael Mennella and Bart Collins (No. 104 MCR Racing, Lamborghini Miami).
It was Hennessy’s sixth win in his last seven Lamborghini Super Trofeo races, following a period where he missed five races after sustaining a wrist injury when he crashed in the season opener. Hennessy said he just paid attention to the words of his crew over the radio, helping guide him to victory.
“They just said, ‘Hit your marks, hit your marks. Don’t worry about what’s in front or what’s behind. We’ll let you know what’s coming up on you,’” Hennessy said. “For probably the first time I just focused on trying to get the apex and just driving a good, clean race. And I won, so I’m stoked! I’m super happy.”
Other North American series drivers shined as well on Saturday. Richard Antinucci finished second overall and in the Pro class in the 50-minute Pro/ProAm race. Victor Gomez IV brought home second overall and in the Am class in the Am/LB Cup race.
With the day’s schedule delayed to make track repairs from earlier incidents, the Pro/ProAm race ran under the lights, catching Antinucci a bit unprepared. He finished 2.698 seconds behind overall winners Karol Basz and Mattia Michelotto in the No. 6 VS Racing Huracán.
“I forgot to turn my lights on at the beginning of the warmup lap and thought this was going to be very sketchy,” Antinucci, the newly crowned North American Pro class champion, said. “Once the lights were on, it was really good. We had a fast car. We’ve had frontrunning pace all week but the (No.) 6 car had a step on everyone.”
Gomez, the 2020 North American Am champion, competed this season in the ProAm class. Racing with fellow Ams on Saturday, he nearly collected his first win of 2021, taking the lead with less than nine minutes left before Massimo Ciglia (No. 27 Oregon Team) retook the lead with under three minutes remaining. Still, Gomez was pleased with second place.
“It’s an honor to be here at Misano representing Lamborghini Puerto Rico, representing Change Racing. Throughout the whole week we faced numerous problems in the car. However, the Change Racing guys got it fixed. We started fifth and we battled all the way to first place, so I’m just honored to be here. We secured second place so I’m looking at the bigger picture and hopefully winning tomorrow.”