- The two Italian drivers first overall and in the AM class
- The new drivers Bartholomew and Ghorpade winners in the PRO class with FFF Racing Team by ACM
- Bertuzzi and Farmer from GDL Racing team won in the PRO-AM class
Sant'Agata Bolognese/Abu Dhabi, February 10th, 2017.
It was a thrilling race, the one which took place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and officially inaugurated the new Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East. The victory went to the all-Italian duo formed by Davide Roda and Marco Antonelli, who finished first overall and ranked first in the AM class as well.
One of the most brilliant crews of the championship went out of the race at the first corner, after starting from the pole position: the Huracan Super Trofeo #7 of GDL Racing, driven by the 18-year-old Lamborghini Young Driver Rik Breukers and Axcil Jefferies (coming from the GP2 series), was the victim of a contact with the car # 55 of the team GT3 Poland, driven by Myszkowski-Lewandowski, which put an end to the winning ambitions of the fast young drivers.
After the entrance of the safety car, the Huracan #27 driven by Costantino Bertuzzi (GDL Racing team) and the two cars of FFF Racing Team by ACM took advantage of the situation. The two cars of the latter team were driven by PRO drivers at their debut in the series: Jack Bartholomew and Parth Ghorpade on the car #5, Richard Goddard and the young German female driver Carrie Schreiner on the car # 15.
The trio led the race until the pit-stop for the driver change, but during the second half of the race the game changed. Marco Antonelli, after taking over the wheel of the Huracan # 72 of the team Antonelli Motorsport from Davide Roda, managed to take the lead of the race, thanks to a good race pace and some overtakings against the leaders. Subsequently, the car #70 (Steven Liquorish - GDL Racing) went out of track, which first caused the entrance of the safety car, then the early end of the race with a red flag, thus freezing the standings 10 minutes before the official conclusion.
The Italian crew Antonelli-Roda therefore got the overall victory and the one in the AM class, ahead of the Huracan #5 of FFF Racing Team, driven by Bartholomew-Ghorpade (first in the PRO class) and the car #15, belonging to the same team, with Schreiner-Goddard behind the wheel and authors of the fastest lap of the race.
In the PRO-AM class, the victory went to the duo formed by Bertuzzi and Farmer (with the Huracan #27 of GDL Racing), fourth overall and authors of a good race. Second place in the PRO-AM class for the car of Konrad Motorsport driven by the debuting duo, Paul Scheuschner and Hendrik Still, while the third place of the class was conquered by the Huracan the team GT3 Poland with the drivers of the Super Trofeo Europe, Moczulski and Mikrut.
In the AM class, behind the winners Roda-Antonelli, the second and third place were conquered respectively by Vincent Wong, Top Speed Racing, and Andrew Haryanto with the team GDL Racing.
In the Lamborghini Cup class, the victory went to the Italian Gabriele Murroni, behind the wheel of the Huracan of Petri Corse Hurcan. The driver was at his debut in Motorsport.
Drivers' quotes
Davide Roda - Antonelli Motorsport n. 72 (first overall and first in the AM class): "I am very happy to have made my debut in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East, it was very important to me. I felt good right from the start: since free practice, Marco and I had had a good pace; the fact that there is little difference in lap times between us makes us a very balanced crew. Let's see tomorrow in race 2!"
Marco Antonelli - Antonelli Motorsport 72 (first overall and first in the AM class): "Of course, I would have preferred that the race ended with the checkered flag and not with a red one. When I was on track after the driver change, I managed to overtake three cars and then I got the lead of the race before the safety car was released. It was a great experience to win on a track I had never seen before and which I find beautiful. "
Jack Bartholomew - FFF Racing by ACM no. 5 (first in the PRO class): "A very eventful race! Mine was a simple stint, I mean, I maintained a good race pace without making any mistakes and the events led us to conquer this victory. I'm at my debut in this series and I must say that the Huracan is really a good car."
Parth Ghorpade - FFF Racing by ACM no. 5 (first in the PRO class): "I am very happy to have finished on the podium in the first race of my life with a GT car. I used to race with single seaters, therefore I still have to become familiar with this kind of car, but it is really fantastic."
Costantino Bertuzzi - GDL Racing no. 27 (first in the PRO-AM class): "I didn't expect to get on the podium, so I'm really very happy. The team was extraordinary, they did a great job, and after racing many years in another one-make series, I'm very satisfied with this first experience with Lamborghini."
Gabriele Murroni - Petri Corse no. 88 (first in the Lamborghini Cup class): "This was my first race ever. I really liked the atmosphere, the car is very powerful and also the fact that we raced during the night made the experience really special. "
Race 2 of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East at Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi is scheduled on Saturday, February 11, at 4:10 p.m. local time.