Trent Hindman and Riccardo Agostini maintained their near-perfect form in Road America Sunday, claiming the second of two wins as Lamborghini Super Trofeo visited the famous Wisconsin track. With the two wins at Road America, following on from a similarly decisive result at Watkins Glen International, the pair take control of the championship heading into the season’s exciting second half.
The No. 1 Prestige Performance entry, representing Lamborghini Paramus, didn’t have quite as easy a ride to the top step of the podium Sunday as it enjoyed in Race 1. Agostini started the race from the outside of the front row and fell back several positions in the event’s opening laps, but it wasn’t long before the young Italian driver found his legs and he began to make moves up the field. After several deft passing maneuvers, Agostini ran second before the race’s mandatory pit stop and handing the car over to his teammate. Hindman took over at the controls and began to set a pace even faster than Agostini’s, opening enough of a gap to leapfrog the eventual second-place finisher, Richard Antinucci. It was smooth sailing from the race’s second half for Hindman, and the young American pilot brought his Lamborghini Huracán home to the checkered flag ahead of championship rivals Antinucci and Austin Versteeg.
“It’s not exactly what I planned,” admitted Agostini after the race. “I struggled a bit during the first three or four laps to get into the pace, so I was running in P4. From there, I tried to get into my pace and get closer to the top three guys to be as close as possible to the lead before the pit window opened. Trent [Hindman] did an amazing job after the pit stop and we have the championship lead now and hopefully for the next race we are fighting for the victory.”
Versteeg made up for a difficult time in Race 1 with a strong showing on Sunday, running in the top group throughout the event and even challenging for a second-place overall finish with Antinucci at the end. The 18-year-old claimed his third ProAm class victory of the year in his No. 7 DXDT Racing entry, representing Lamborghini Dallas, proving that he will continue to be a threat for the ProAm championship as Lamborghini Super Trofeo visits the last two venues of the 2017 season.
“Unfortunately, we had a little bit of an issue in Race 1 yesterday and I have never been to Road America in this car in the dry, so besides 15 or 20 minutes of qualifying, the race was my first full session out on track,” said Versteeg. “The car was awesome and I can’t thank everyone enough for what they do.”
Yuki Harata was another two-time winner at Road America. The track clearly suited the driver of the No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsport entry, representing Lamborghini Las Vegas, who managed only his first Super Trofeo class win in Race 1. Harata qualified first in class for Race 2, but fell back in the race’s first stint, before hunting down Patrice Brisebois for the class lead midway through the second half of the event. Harata’s Road America weekend did wonders for him in the points standings. Provisionally, the Japanese driver is now tied for the points lead with just four races to go.
“I can’t believe it,” said a smiling Harata after the race. “It was a good start and I was trying to follow a Pro and had a veteran behind me, so it was a long first stint. I had no mistakes and it was a good race.”
J.C. Perez also enjoyed a dominant weekend, earning two wins in the LB Cup category. After an initial order shuffling at the start of the race, Perez pulled ahead of his other LB Cup competitors, battling cars in higher classes, before finishing tenth overall in his No. 71 P1 Motorsports entry, representing Lamborghini Palm Beach. Perez has not finished off the podium all season long, and leaves Road America with a commanding lead in the provisional points standings.
“Today was all about pace and keeping the tires underneath me,” explained Perez. “My car did amazing and I couldn’t ask for more. I was really relaxed and just babysitting the tires. I didn’t want to go past my limit, so I just ran consistently all the way through.”
With their sweep of the Road America weekend, championship momentum has seemed to shift to the Prestige Performance pair of Hindman and Agostini. Their championship rivals will be working hard to ensure that the duo is unable to enjoy an equally successful weekend at VIRginia International Raceway later this month.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America will be back in action at VIRginia International Raceway later this month, Aug. 25-27.
Tape-delayed coverage of Road America will air on the CBS Sports Network on Aug. 27, 2017 at 3 p.m. ET. The coverage will feature live commentary on both the broadcast and live streams.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo races will be live-streamed on the following platforms: squadracorse.lamborghini.com, motortrendondemand.com and Internationally on imsa.tv and radiolemans.com. Tape-delayed coverage of each event will air on CBS Sports Network in primetime. The coverage will feature live commentary on both the broadcast and live streams.
The North American series continues to attract increasing numbers of competitors and interest.
The Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo adopts the V10 direct injection engine mounted on the road car, managed by a MoTeC control unit that delivers a maximum output of 620 horsepower. The frame is a hybrid carbon/aluminum construction with modified geometries to house an improved radiator up front and better accommodate the racing gearbox at the rear, which also provides better aerodynamics.
POST-RACE QUOTES
TRENT HINDMAN (No. 1 Prestige Performance, winner, first Pro):
“It was interesting. I saw what was going on out there in Riccardo’s [Agostini] stint and he had a hell of a drive by the way. Just two awesome moves coming out of six. And that’s where I was getting a little bit nervous on the pit wall seeing what was coming but at the end of the day the Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing guys gave us a fantastic car. Pit strategy was great. We were able to get out and get the lead and get clean air. That’s where this car is the happiest. Big thanks to all the Prestige guys and big thanks to Riccardo for all his effort.”
RICCARDO AGOSTINI (No. 1 Prestige Performance, winner, first Pro):
“It’s not exactly what I planned but anyway, I struggled a bit during the first three or four laps to get into the pace and after that I lost two positions, so I was running in P4. From there I tried to get into my pace and tried to get closer to the top three guys, so I wanted to be as close as possible to the lead before the pit window opened. And that’s what happened and I am really, really happy about this weekend. Trent did an amazing job after the pit stop and we have the championship lead now and hopefully for the next race we are fighting for the victory.”
AUSTIN VERSTEEG (No. 7 DXDT Racing, winner, first ProAm):
“Unfortunately, we had a little bit of an issue in Race 1 yesterday and I have never been to Road America in this car in the dry, so besides 15 or 20 minutes of qualifying, the race was my first full session out on track. I can’t thank everyone enough. Everyone who prepared me. Just going over data, and my engineer Jonatan Jorge and JJRD got my mindset correct heading into this race. As the race went on we were just learning as we went. Ritchie [Richard Antinucci] and I had an awesome battle at the end. It was just about gathering information and learning as we went on. The car was awesome and I can’t thank everyone enough for what they do.”
YUKI HARATA (No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsport, winner, first Am):
“I can’t believe it. It was a good race and sunny. It was a good start and I was trying to follow a Pro and had a veteran behind me, so it was a long first stint. And we did a good pit stop. I was trying to catch him [Patrice Brisbois]. I had no mistakes and it was a good race.”
J.C. PEREZ (No. 71 P1 Motorsports, winner, first LB Cup):
“Very excited. Today was all about pace and keeping the tires underneath me. My car did amazing and I couldn’t ask for more. I was really relaxed and just babysitting the tires. I didn’t want to go past my limit, so I just ran consistently all the way through.”
2017 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Schedule
| Date | Venue | Location |
| May 4-6 | Circuit of The Americas | Austin, Texas |
| June 29-July 1 | Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, N.Y. |
| Aug. 4-6 | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wis. |
| Aug. 25-27 | VIRginia International Raceway | Danville, Va. |
| Sept. 22-24 | Laguna Seca | Monterey, Calif. |
| Nov. 16-17 | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | Imola, Italy |