JEREZ, Spain – Championships in two Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America classes were decided in Thursday’s race under mixed track conditions at Circuito de Jerez, with the other two classes to be decided in the series’ season finale on the same circuit.
Loris Cabirou made a daring, contact-filled pass for the overall and Pro class lead on the opening lap Thursday, and co-driver Bryson Morris brought the No. 130 Ansa Motorsports, Lamborghini Broward Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 across the finish line first in the 50-minute race.
But by finishing second to Cabirou and Morris, Giano Taurino and Ernie Francis Jr. locked up the Pro class championship in the No. 188 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Miami Huracán when the race concluded under its second full-course caution.
Meanwhile in LB Cup, Nick Groat only needed to start the race in the No. 157 One Motorsports, Lamborghini Newport Beach Huracán, but he left no doubt by winning his class.
ProAm points leaders Joel Miller and AJ Muss put themselves on the precipice of taking the championship by winning their class on Thursday in the No. 166 Forty7 Motorsports, Lamborghini Philadelphia Huracán. They’ll take a 10-point lead into Friday’s finale.
In the Am class, Dominic Starkweather (No. 147 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán) kept his championship hopes flickering by taking class honors in Thursday’s race. He heads into Friday’s race eight points behind Anthony McIntosh and Glenn McGee, who placed fifth on Thursday in the No. 169 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán.
Thursday’s race began in drying conditions from earlier rain. All cars started on the Hankook dry-condition slick tires but conditions were treacherous. Pole sitter Danny Formal (No. 101 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán) ran wide into Turn 1, allowing Nico Jamin (No. 104 Ansa Motorsports, Lamborghini Broward Huracán) to slip past. Soon after, though, Jamin went off course, opening the door for Cabirou and Taurino to battle for the lead.
They made hard side-to-side contact before Cabirou gained the edge and pulled away in the No. 130 Huracán. He built a comfortable lead before turning the car over to Morris on the mandatory pit stop, and Morris still led by more than four seconds when the first full-course caution occurred with just under 18 minutes remaining. Despite light rain returning, Morris held strong to the lead on the restart with eight minutes left and cruised home under yellow after a second caution flag waved with six minutes to go.
“That was a tricky race, for sure,” Morris said, “and definitely at the end. Under the safety car it started raining a bit more so I was a bit cautious and got caught off a bit with the green flag, but we were able to keep the lead on the restart and bring it home for the win.”
Taurino and Francis, meanwhile, were more than happy to finish second, giving them an insurmountable 16-point Pro class lead heading into Friday’s race.
“We were just trying to run our race and then wherever the chips lay is where they lay,” said Francis, the former Trans-Am star driver who made his Super Trofeo debut this season. “I just can’t thank my teammate enough; he had an awesome drive getting from fourth to second. Everybody on the team has put in a lot of work this year, heart and soul into this year. It’s been a great season.”
Taurino echoed his co-driver’s thoughts on the total team effort that resulted in the championship.“We’ve put so much effort into this year, so much late nights,” he said. “I believe we wanted this with our hearts.”
For Muss and Miller, the ProAm class win gave them a bit more breathing room in the championship chase. With a finish of fourth place or better on Friday, they take the crown.
“It got really serious there at the end with all those yellows,” Miller said. “AJ did a great job and the team gave us a good car today to manage those mixed conditions. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. We’ve got one more to close it out. Obviously, (winning Thursday) helps for the championship but it’s not over ‘til it’s over.”
With his second win of the season, Starkweather stayed in the hunt to dethrone reigning Am class champions McIntosh and McGee, who finished fifth on Thursday.
“It was hectic,” Starkweather said. “We started in fourth and we needed to pass (McIntosh and McGee) to get some points and stay in this championship, and we did that. It was a fun race. The restart was crazy hectic but we made it through relatively clean and lived to fight tomorrow.”
Groat’s LB Cup title was a foregone conclusion heading into the weekend but he thoroughly enjoyed his chance to drive in the changing conditions – something he wasn’t used to.
“I’m from the desert so it’s my first time driving on anything damp, and that was quite an experience just trying to keep it alive out there,” he said. “For my, (the class championship) isn’t official until tomorrow, but it feels pretty good – especially for first year doing any level of racing like this.”