Key weekend in store in Germany as all four class title races remain wide open
Sant’Agata Bolognese/Nürburgring, 27 July 2023 – The 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season reaches its halfway point at the Nürburgring, and it could prove a pivotal weekend in the context of the Pro standings, with just eight points covering the top four crews.
Bad weather forced the second race of the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps to be halted after just a handful of safety car laps, meaning only half points were awarded. It leaves the top of the table nicely poised ahead of the third double-header weekend, taking place at the 5.148km Eiffel circuit – on the Grand Prix layout – for the first time since 2021.
Courtesy of a pair of second places at Spa-Francorchamps, Leipert Motorsport’s Brendon Leitch takes a narrow half-point lead into the Nürburgring round, but VS Racing’s Mattia Michelotto and Gilles Stadsbader are the only crew to have won twice this season so far and will be serious challengers from the off. Three points behind Leitch and keen to bounce back from a tricky weekend in Belgium is the Oregon Team entry of Marzio Moretti and Sebastian Balthasar. The latter recorded a second place the last time Super Trofeo Europe visited the track, and the German will be eager to go one better in front of the local support. Another crew also in contention is the Iron Lynx duo of Ugo de Wilde and Rodrigo Testa de Sousa, eight points off the top of the table and building momentum following a second podium finish of the year at Spa-Francorchamps. Despite a troublesome weekend at his home track BDR Competition’s Amaury Bonduel remains just 18 points down on the championship leader, and a good round in Germany could catapult last year’s series runner-up back into the title race. Spa race two winner Cedric Wauters is missing this weekend, but the action in the second half of the standings is sure to be as close as ever. VS Racing’s Stéphane Tribaudini and Loris Cabirou are just one point clear of Oliver Söderström and Largim Ali (Target Racing), with Rebelleo Motorsport’s Abbie Eaton and Daan Arrow tied on 13 points. Boutsen by VDS Racing’s Thomas Laurent completes the top 10 and will again be partnered by GT World Challenge Europe team-mate Adam Etecki.
With four different winners from the first four races, the Pro-Am class is most certainly living up to its pre-season billing. Target Racing’s Frederik Schandorff and Alex Au have been rewarded for their consistency and lead the standings from VS Racing’s Andrzej Lewandowski and Loris Spinelli by seven points thanks to three podiums – including a victory in Paul Ricard. Spinelli and Lewandowski in turn are five points ahead of Iron Lynx’s Yelmer Buurman and Nigel Schoonderwoerd, who picked up their maiden win in the opening race at Spa-Francorchamps. Martin Ryba and Edoardo Liberati (Brutal Fish Racing) – who won the half-points second race in Belgium – are 6.5 points further back but within striking distance of the top of the standings heading into the weekend. Meanwhile, Arkadia Racing’s Edgar Maloigne and Stéphan Guerin are slowly building momentum and will aim to improve on their maiden podium finish from Spa this weekend. Micánek Motorsport’s Bronislav Formánek and Karol Basz lie sixth in the standings with 21.5 points, while Iron Lynx’s Emanuele Zonzini and Emanuel Colombini 1.5 points behind in seventh. HBR Motorsport’s sibling pairing Benjamin and Robert van den Berg are eighth in the standings, while ArtLine Racing’s Shota Abkhazava and Egor Orudzhev, who recorded their first points at Spa, are just behind in ninth. Scuderia Villorba Corse’s Michael Blanchemain and Jim Pla round out the top 10.
In the Am category, Gabriel Rindone (Leipert Motorsport) leads the way after taking his third victory in a row in the truncated second Spa-Francorchamps race. The Luxembourg driver, who has only been beaten once in qualifying this season, holds a 4.5-point advantage over Boutsen by VDS Racing’s Pierre Feligioni and Renaud Kuppens, with Egyptian teenager Ibrahim Badawy (Lamborghini Roma by DL Racing) just three points further adrift in third. The experienced Claude-Yves Gosselin and Marc Rostan (Iron Lynx) lie fourth in the standings, 5.5 points clear of Elie Dubelly and Karim Ojjeh. Tied with 17 points is Leipert Motorsport’s Kerong Li and Jean-François Brunot and the GT3 Poland entry of Holger Harmsen, competing on home soil this weekend.
Things are a little less tight in the Lamborghini Cup class as Iron Lynx’s father-and-son combination of Luciano and Donovan Privitelio hold a 8.5-point margin into the weekend over Bonaldi Motorsport’s Paolo Biglieri and Petar Matić, who claimed their first win together in the opening race at Spa-Francorchamps. Four-time LB Cup champion Gerard van der Horst is only six points further back in third after picking up his first podium of the season last time out. BDR Competition’s Alfredo Hernandez Ortega is fourth, four points clear of the Brutal Fish Racing pairing of Charlie Martin and Jason Keats who are tied on 21 points with Leipert Motorsport’s Jürgen Krebs, returning to action this weekend after sitting out Spa.
The Grand Prix layout of the Nürburgring has historically produced exciting racing in the one-make series reserved for Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2. The five-kilometer, 15-turn track is a demanding rollercoaster which can catch out the unsuspecting driver but also one where plenty time can be made. The most popular passing places come at the start and the end of the lap. The right-hand hairpin of turn one also gives the opportunity to fight back at the following left-hander, while the final chicane rewards bravery and precision.
The action begins on Friday morning with the first of two one-hour free practice sessions, taking place at 10:20. FP2 is scheduled to start at 14:30. Qualifying then takes place on Saturday in the usual Q1/Q2 format at 10:55, with the first race starting at 15:45. Race two will be held on Sunday morning at 10:15. Both races will be livestreamed on the Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel and Facebook page.