Yahoo Autos North Americans take Super Trofeo World Finals championship
Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America teams delivered a World Finals champion and a race winner in the final day of competition at Autodromo Vallelunga near Rome.
Anthony Mcintosh and Glenn McGee followed their Am class win Saturday with a third-place finish today to clinch the World Finals Am title in the No. 169 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2.
McIntosh started sixth in class and bided his time before turning the car over to McGee during the mandatory pit stop. McGee was challenging in fifth spot when two cars ahead had contact and went off track, allowing him to pull the No. 169 Huracán safely into third place and secure the World Finals title.
“We were smarter than a lot of our opponents for this final,” McGee said. “Tony put in a great stint for me, gave me a good car and we were able to run down the leaders. To be on the podium and get the world title is amazing.”
The co-drivers clinched the North American Am championship earlier in the weekend and were elated to top it off with the World Finals crown.
“To represent America has been really, really amazing,” McIntosh said.
The LB Cup class for those with limited experience competed in the same 50-minute race as the Ams, and Graham Doyle made a thrilling last-lap pass for the lead to claim victory in the No. 110 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, Lamborghini Nashville Huracán. Doyle trailed European Super Trofeo driver Shota Abkhazva (No. 75 ART Line Huracán) when they encountered traffic. Doyle pointed the No. 110 Huracán inside the lapped cars into the turn while Abkhazva was forced wide outside, with Doyle going on to win the class by 0.705s and finishing fourth overall.
“That was incredible! “Doyle exclaimed. “That whole race, start to finish, I can’t even put into words to tell you the truth. Held second position for the majority of the race until that last final lap, when I was able to get into first position and win the race. Truly, I’m on top of the world. To be able to do this here on the world stage is incredible. I’m ready to do it again next year.”
The second-place finish by Abkhazva was enough to secure the World Finals LB Cup championship by a single point over North American driver Jon Hirshberg (No. 186 Forte Racing Powered by US RaceTronics Lamborghini Rancho Mirage Huracán), who finished sixth on Sunday. Mark Wilgus, Hirshberg’s teammate in the No. 150 Lamborghini Beverly Hills Huracán, was in position to take the LB Cup title after winning Saturday’s race, but he was the innocent victim caught in the aftermath when two cars collided in front of him with 12 minutes remaining in today’s race and did not finish.
The Pro/ProAm race that followed saw Shehan Chandrasoma and Nikko Reger (No. 120 TPC Racing, Lamborghini Austin Huracán) place third in ProAm after several post-race time penalties were assessed. Nate Stacy and Nick Persing (No. 108 WTRAndretti, Lamborghini Nashville Huracán) crossed the finish line third but were hit with a five-second penalty for incident responsibility during the race that dropped them to sixth in the final results.
The North American Pro drivers struggled in qualifying for Race 2, with none starting higher than 14th overall. Jake Walker (No. 177 Forty7 Motorsports, Lamborghini Philadelphia Huracán) was the best Pro finisher today, 13th in class and 14th overall. Two-time North American Pro champions Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal (No. 101 WTRAndretti, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán) retired early after absorbing contact from another car.
Lamborghini officials announced that the 2024 World Finals will take place at Jerez, Spain, from Nov. 22-23, with the finals rounds for the North American, European and Asian series taking place at Jerez on Nov. 20-21.
