Heading back to the track where it all began, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series will kick off their sixth season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend.
The IMSA-sanctioned, single-make championship returns to the site of the first-ever Super Trofeo North America event that took place in 2013. This weekend’s races feature the North American competition debut of the new-generation Huracán Super Trofeo EVO race car.
The new Huracán Super Trofeo EVO, which was unveiled last year, features an all-new aero package, enhanced safety features and improved performance features that make it significantly quicker than the previous model.
All Super Trofeo teams were required to either purchase an upgrade kit for its existing Huracán Super Trofeo, or opt for an all-new car, according to Chris Ward, Senior Manager, Motorsport for Automobili Lamborghini America. Despite the new-car requirements, 17 teams are currently on the entry list for the first round of the 2018 championship.
Prestige Performance, which will run under the Wayne Taylor Racing banner this season, returns with Trent Hindman and new co-driver Jonathan Cecotto to defend their Pro class and World Title championships.
“Following such a successful Super Trofeo season in 2017 with Prestige Performance and Wayne Taylor Racing, I believe our goals are to defend both the North America and World championship titles, but I cannot say that we expect this to happen or magically come easier to us in 2018,” Hindman said. “The level competition continues to increase globally and that is what needs to drive us to continue finding performance in the cars, the team, and us drivers most importantly. The introduction of the Huracán Super Trofeo Evo is yet another challenge that will be thrown into our hands, but I believe the Wayne Taylor Racing/Prestige Performance team is more than ready to attack these challenges head-on.”
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be the first challenge that awaits all drivers and teams looking to take home the championship trophy at the end of the six-round season. Each round features a pair of 50-minute sprint races.
“One of the things that will be new for me this year, will be the U.S. racing circuits,” said Cecotto. “I have never driven on any American race track before. Mid-Ohio looks very interesting from the videos I saw.”
Also looking to familiarize himself quickly with the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course will be Wayne Taylor Racing/Prestige Performance driver Cameron Cassels.
“Mid-Ohio will be a new track for me this season,” Cassels said. “With the absence of actual track time there, my time on the SIM will help out with my preparation.”
For drivers like Shea Holbrook, who will be driving full-time for Precision Performance in the AM class this season, Mid-Ohio is an opportunity to showcase why Super Trofeo is a premier single-make series in North America.
“I cannot tell you how pumped I am about returning to Mid-Ohio, a true driver’s track with huge technicality and fantastic fans who supported me tremendously in my career,” Holbrook said. “My read is, it’ll be a challenging one for Super Trofeo simply as Mid-Ohio can be so unpredictable. I guess we’ll have to wait and see! That’s what makes it so exciting.”
The new car and new tracks will not be the only change the drivers will see this season. This season the Pro and Pro-Am classes have mandatory two-driver lineups to align the North American series with its counterparts in Europe and Asia. Single-driver lineups will still be available for the teams running in the AM and LB Cup classes. Additionally, Motec in-car cameras have become mandatory for coaching, data, and incident evaluation.
The first two rounds of the 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series can be streamed on IMSA.TV and squadracorse.lamborghini.com/live-streaming starting with Race 1 on Saturday at 6:00 P.M. ET and Race 2 on Sunday at 10:25 A.M. ET
