AUSTIN, Texas – The depth of competition in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America this season was highlighted Sunday at Circuit of The Americas, with a different winner in each of the four classes from Saturday’s first race.
In Sunday’s 50-minute race under changing weather conditions that finished under the last of two full-course cautions, Stevan McAleer and Madison Snow took the overall and Pro class win in the No. 16 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO.
Teammate Victor Gomez IV finished first in ProAm in the No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán. Ashton Harrison drove the No. 25 Harrison Contracting with Wayne Taylor Racing Huracán to victory in the Am class, with Bill Peluchiwski notching the first series win for him and Kelly-Moss Road and Race in the No. 62 Lamborghini San Francisco LB Cup entry.
Rain began falling around the 20-turn, 3.4-mile road course on the pace laps, gradually getting heavier. McAleer started from pole position in the No. 16 Huracán but was overtaken on the first lap by Loris Spinelli (No. 51 Taurino Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach) heading into the wide turn one.
“At Turn 1, Loris made a good move on the inside; I didn’t fight it too much at all,” McAleer said. “I was actually quite happy for him to lead through the esses on the out lap to kind of see what was going on.”
The wet conditions contributed to Max Weering spinning and contacting the turn three wall in the No. 61 MCR racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán – bringing out the first yellow flag. When racing resumed with 36 minutes remaining, the rain had essentially stopped and the course began to dry. Spinelli still led McAleer when the 10-minute pit window opened with a half hour to go in the race.
Spinelli was the last driver to make his mandatory stop, handing over the No. 51 to co-driver Claude Senhoreti in the lead, with reigning Pro class champion Snow second in the No. 16 and Saturday’s race winner Richard Antinucci third (No. 27 Dream Racing Motorsport, Lamborghini Las Vegas).
Antinucci bumped his way by Snow into second place and then chased down and passed Senhoreti for the lead with 17 minutes left. The joy was short-lived, however, as Antinucci was penalized for passing a car under a local yellow. The ensuing pit-lane drive-through dropped the two-time series Pro champion to a fourth-place finish.
“(Antinucci) got me in turn 11, pushed me off the track and almost into the grass,” said Snow, who is only slated to drive this weekend in the No. 16. “Then he passed a lapped car under yellow. That cost him.”
Snow sailed by Senhoreti and held a two-second lead over Alec Udell (No. 48 Kelly-Moss Road and Race, Lamborghini San Francisco) when the second full-course caution came out after Scott Welham (No. 82 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte) slid into the turn 12 barrier with eight minutes remaining.
The track safety crew was unable to clean things up before the race ended under yellow.
“Stevan did a great job getting the start done, hoping it was going to rain and then staying up front,” Snow said. “Then the yellow came out, I got in the car, had a couple good runs against good guys and ended up out front.”
McAleer and Snow have an unofficial lead of five points over Antinucci after the first of six doubleheader rounds.
“We had the car up front both races, we’re leading the championship and super excited,” McAleer said. “This is my first win in the Pro class. It’s going to be a good season.”
Gomez IV, who won all 10 races to dominate the Am class in 2020, captured his first ProAm win Sunday in the No. 29 Change Racing entry. While Spinelli set a blazing pace in his opening stint in the No. 51, Gomez bided his time second in class.
After Senhoreti took over the No. 51, Gomez quickly erased a 16-second deficit and made the pass for the class lead just before the second caution period.
“Change Racing gave me a great setup for the long run,” said Gomez, who finished second on Saturday. “The weather was rain-dry-rain-dry, but I’m really happy to be here on the top step. I think we were ready for dry or wet. I enjoyed getting up to rhythm in the Am class (in 2020). We had a really good season and are Am champions, and now we’re here going for the (ProAm) championship.”
Gomez is unofficially two points up on Saturday’s ProAm winners, Brandon Gdovic and Bryan Ortiz (No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach).
Starting fourth in the No. 25 Harrison Contracting Huracán, Harrison took advantage of pitting as soon as the window opened. Once the pit cycle completed, she had a comfortable lead over Alan Metni (No. 99 Kelly-Moss Road and Race, Lamborghini Dallas), who recovered nicely from a lap-one spin to take second in Am.
“It’s unfortunate that we had to finish the race under yellow but I’ll take the win as I can get it,” said Harrison, who finished third in Race 1. “My team made really big changes overnight and it was a great race. The car was great, it was consistent throughout the entire stint and a great way to start the year.”
Harrison takes a five-point unofficial lead over Metni out of round one.
After finishing third in Saturday’s race, Peluchiwski patiently worked his way to the front in LB Cup. He passed Jon Hirshberg (No. 86 O’Gara Motorsport/US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Newport Beach) for the class lead with 13 minutes remaining and held on.
After being away from competitive racing for more than five years, Peluchiwski was drained but elated.
“It feels good to be back in the car,” Peluchiwski said. “It’s good to get some confidence back and try to race a little bit better. It was pretty slippery at the start, so I had to adjust some settings and use traction control more effectively. Then it started to dry and I kind of turned it back and was able to keep the tires and able to pass the people ahead of me.
“Very happy to get the first win here for Kelly-Moss and myself.”