Monza Weekend Notebook
Photo: Lamborghini Squadra Corse
***This year’s Lamborghini World Finals is a milestone occasion as it not only marks the final appearance for the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 but it is also the first time in the event’s 13-year history that it has been held at Monza.
***The circuit therefore becomes the ninth different venue to have hosted the end-of-season celebration — the fourth in Italy after Vallelunga, Imola and Misano — while 577 drivers from 59 countries have so far taken part in World Finals competitions.
***Of those competing this year, Andzej Lewandowski has the most previous World Finals starts, having previously taken part in 17 races. The 2019 Pro-Am conqueror and 2022 Am champion only trails the 20 starts of Shota Abkhazava, who has also taken two titles, in the leaderboard.
***Each of the three Lamborghini Super Trofeo regional championships held their final two races with the Huracan — before the Temerario Super Trofeo machine is introduced next year — across Thursday and Friday at Monza.
***While the overall titles in the North America and European championships were settled before the final race began, the Asian crown went right down to the very last lap. VSR drivers Liam Sceats and Gustaw Wisniewski cut the deficit to Batmobile Racing’s Will Tregurtha by winning the opening dry race.
***However, the second contest was held in very wet conditions and featured Tregurtha defending from Wisniewski in the final laps as the pair caught VSR driver Todd Kingsford. The two VSR cars made contact and Kingsford was sent spinning but still Wisniewski pursued Tregurtha, ultimately finishing 0.3 seconds behind to just miss out on the title, while Zhicong Li and Titus Sherlock won the race.
***Tregurtha, who claimed the title as a solo driver as teammate Jonathan Cecotto did not contest the season-opener, told Sportscar365: “In the context of the season it was even more intense. We’ve had no testing, it was a last-minute call-up and here we are. When I got into the car, the steering was so far out of whack after the hit earlier it was crazy. Driving down the straight with the steering about 55-degrees off to the side, so that was tricky. All the mirrors were bent in, I couldn’t see a thing behind me. It was just a load of fun and really hard at the same time.”
***The nail-biting conclusion was in contrast to the other three Asian classes, which had all already been decided prior to arriving at Monza.
***Tregurtha will not contest the World Finals with Cecotto, however, as the Monegasque is prioritizing his Pro-Am entry with Sergei Astafjev for Invictus Corse. Tregurtha will therefore be paired with Adam Putera, who has contested the Asian season alongside Batmobile’s Kumar Prabakaran.
***Of the World Finals, Tregurtha added: “It will be tough. The Americans are really techie and set the cars up really well, the European teams have got a load of experience and we’re just trying to rock the boat a bit.”
***Monza’s event features a slightly different format to regular Super Trofeo fixtures as each of the races is only 45 minutes in duration, rather than the traditional 50 minutes. The change has been made to ensure there are no issues with cars running out of fuel due to the high-speed nature of the Italian circuit.
***While the European competitors are much more familiar with Monza, it’s a new experience for many of the North American teams and drivers. Their learning of the track was further complicated by wet weather affecting some of the pre-event practice sessions.
***Wayne Taylor racer Hampus Ericsson may have grown up in Europe, but he was also a Monza newcomer. He told Sportscar365: “Nobody on this team and the team itself has been here so there’s a lot of new impressions for everyone. Really starting from level one and building together within the drivers, the mechanics and the engineers — a big commitment from the team.”
***Will Bamber dedicated his win in the season-concluding Super Trofeo North America race to XONINE Racing teammate Darius Trinka, who was forced onto the sidelines after being taken to hospital on Tuesday.
***Bamber told Sportscar365: “I was just thinking about my teammate the whole time and the rest of the team. It’s been a really long week and I don’t think people realize how serious it was and he’s been in surgery twice. We spent about two hours last night hanging out and my wife and I bought him a big pizza. It was pretty scary and just gives you context that health is so fragile.”
***Bamber finished second in the standings after joining the XONINE setup for the second round of the campaign. The team gets its name through Trinka’s Lithuanian background with X09 representing the year 1009 (‘X’ for 10, combined with ‘09’), which was when the name Lithuania was first recorded in historical texts.
***North America championship runner-up Bamber is keen to remain with the squad next season, having enjoyed his experience since joining for Laguna Seca. He added: “It’s been a lot of fun and very welcoming and probably the most fun I’ve ever had in racing. I’m really glad we ended up here.”
***ANSA Motorsport driver Tommi Gore has combined his North America campaign with competing in rallies and races closer to his native Jamaica. He sits on the board of the local Jamaican ASN in an effort to promote grassroots motorsport in the region to “help provide some insight” from his international competition and is also two weeks away from completing his race director training.
***Patrik Fraboni’s crash on the way to the grid for the second Super Trofeo Europe race had consequences beyond just ending his and Silas Rytter’s faint title hopes. The impact resulted in sizeable damage to the front of the car, ruling the Oregon Team pair out of the World Finals, too.
***The majority of the Lamborghini factory driver roster are in attendance at Monza, with Sandy Mitchell and Patric Niederhauser joining David Addison to provide commentary on some of the races, all of which are shown live on the Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel. Andrea Calderelli will also join Dakota Jane as a pit lane reporter on Sunday.
***Qualifying for the World Finals races takes place on Saturday from 11 a.m. CEST (5 a.m. EST) to 12:55 p.m. CEST (6:55 a.m. EST). The opening Am/LB Cup race is then due to be held at 2:20 p.m. CEST (8:45 a.m. EST), followed by the first Pro/Pro-Am contest at 4:50 p.m. CEST (10:50 a.m. EST).
***The champions will then be determined following another pair of races on Sunday, with the Am/LB Cup decider at 11:05 a.m. CET (6:05 a.m. EST) before the Pro/Pro-Am finale is due to begin at 1:20 p.m. CET (8:20 a.m. EST).
John Dagys contributed to this report
Source: Sports Car 365