Abu Dhabi, February 10th, 2017-It was a thrilling race, the one which took place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and officially inaugurated the new Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East. The victory went to the all-Italian duo formed by Davide Roda and Marco Antonelli, who finished first overall and ranked first in the AM class as well.
One of the most brilliant crews of the championship went out of the race at the first corner, after starting from the pole position: the Huracan Super Trofeo #7 of GDL Racing, driven by the 18-year-old Lamborghini Young Driver Rik Breukers and Axcil Jefferies (coming from the GP2 series), was the victim of a contact with the car # 55 of the team GT3 Poland, driven by Myszkowski-Lewandowski, which put an end to the winning ambitions of the fast young drivers.
After the entrance of the safety car, the Huracan #27 driven by Costantino Bertuzzi (GDL Racing team) and the two cars of FFF Racing Team by ACM took advantage of the situation. The two cars of the latter team were driven by PRO drivers at their debut in the series: Jack Bartholomew and Parth Ghorpade on the car #5, Richard Goddard and the young German female driver Carrie Schreiner on the car # 15.
The trio led the race until the pit-stop for the driver change, but during the second half of the race the game changed. Marco Antonelli, after taking over the wheel of the Huracan # 72 of the team Antonelli Motorsport from Davide Roda, managed to take the lead of the race, thanks to a good race pace and some overtakings against the leaders. Subsequently, the car #70 (Steven Liquorish – GDL Racing) went out of track, which first caused the entrance of the safety car, then the early end of the race with a red flag, thus freezing the standings 10 minutes before the official conclusion.
The Italian crew Antonelli-Roda therefore got the overall victory and the one in the AM class, ahead of the Huracan #5 of FFF Racing Team, driven by Bartholomew-Ghorpade (first in the PRO class) and the car #15, belonging to the same team, with Schreiner-Goddard behind the wheel and authors of the fastest lap of the race.
In the PRO-AM class, the victory went to the duo formed by Bertuzzi and Farmer (with the Huracan #27 of GDL Racing), fourth overall and authors of a good race. Second place in the PRO-AM class for the car of Konrad Motorsport driven by the debuting duo, Paul Scheuschner and Hendrik Still, while the third place of the class was conquered by the Huracan the team GT3 Poland with the drivers of the Super Trofeo Europe, Moczulski and Mikrut.
In the AM class, behind the winners Roda-Antonelli, the second and third place were conquered respectively by Vincent Wong, Top Speed Racing, and Andrew Haryanto with the team GDL Racing.
In the Lamborghini Cup class, the victory went to the Italian Gabriele Murroni, behind the wheel of the Huracan of Petri Corse Hurcan. The driver was at his debut in Motorsport.
Race 1 Driver quotes
Davide Roda – Antonelli Motorsport n. 72 (first overall and first in the AM class): “I am very happy to have made my debut in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East, it was very important to me. I felt good right from the start: since free practice, Marco and I had had a good pace; the fact that there is little difference in lap times between us makes us a very balanced crew. Let’s see tomorrow in race 2!”
Marco Antonelli – Antonelli Motorsport 72 (first overall and first in the AM class): “Of course, I would have preferred that the race ended with the checkered flag and not with a red one. When I was on track after the driver change, I managed to overtake three cars and then I got the lead of the race before the safety car was released. It was a great experience to win on a track I had never seen before and which I find beautiful. ”
Jack Bartholomew – FFF Racing by ACM no. 5 (first in the PRO class): “A very eventful race! Mine was a simple stint, I mean, I maintained a good race pace without making any mistakes and the events led us to conquer this victory. I’m at my debut in this series and I must say that the Huracan is really a good car.”
Parth Ghorpade – FFF Racing by ACM no. 5 (first in the PRO class): “I am very happy to have finished on the podium in the first race of my life with a GT car. I used to race with single seaters, therefore I still have to become familiar with this kind of car, but it is really fantastic.”
Costantino Bertuzzi – GDL Racing no. 27 (first in the PRO-AM class): “I didn’t expect to get on the podium, so I’m really very happy. The team was extraordinary, they did a great job, and after racing many years in another one-make series, I’m very satisfied with this first experience with Lamborghini.”
Gabriele Murroni – Petri Corse no. 88 (first in the Lamborghini Cup class): “This was my first race ever. I really liked the atmosphere, the car is very powerful and also the fact that we raced during the night made the experience really special. ”
BREUKERS AND JEFFERIES OF GDL RACING TEAM WIN RACE 2
Race 2 – Saturday, February 11, at 4:10 p.m. local time.
The young drivers Rik Breukers and Axcil Jefferies have had a rewarding weekend, with brilliant results during all sessions, except for Race 1 where they went faultlessly out of the race due to a contact at the first corner. Race 2, saw the triumph of the crew of the Huracan Super Trofeo # 7 fielded by GDL Racing. Both PRO drivers managed to score the victory thanks to a very fast race pace and a perfect conduct.
After starting from the pole position thanks to the best time set during qualifying, the eighteen-year-old Rik Breukers, member of the Lamborghini Young Drivers Program, had immediately to hand over the first position to Marco Antonelli, author of a calibrated overtaking at the first corner and winner of Race 1 on Friday. But after six laps at a qualifying pace for both drivers, Breukers made his way and regained the lead.
When the pit-lane was opened for the driver change, the Huracan #7 of GDL Racing got in immediately and Axcil Jefferies took over the wheel from Rik Breukers, while Marco Antonelli exploited the entire time window to try and leave the car to David Roda in an optimal position.
After the driver change, the twenty-two-year-old driver coming from the GP2 Series, Axcil Jefferies, continued leading the race, with a very fast and steady pace. Davide Roda managed to keep the second position until the end of the race, thus stemming the comeback of the Huracan # 27 of Bertuzzi and Farmer (GDL Racing, PRO-AM), who finished in third position.
The PRO class saw the victory of the duo of GDL Racing Breukers-Jefferies and behind them, in second and third position respectively (5th and 7th overall), the two crews of FFF Racing Team by ACM: the first one was formed by the American Richard Goddard and the nineteen-year-old German female driver Carrie Schreiner; the second crew consisted of the English Jack Bartholomew (author of the fastest lap) and the Indian Parth Ghorpade, all at their first experience in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo.
In the PRO-AM class, Costantino Bertuzzi and Nigel Farmer scored their second win after that obtained in Race 1 on Friday, thanks to a fast and steady pace maintained throughout the weekend. Behind them are Paul Scheuschner and Hendrik Still (Konrad Motorsport), already in P2 in Race 1, and the duo of GT3 Poland, Mikrut and Moczulski.
The AM class saw another success of Antonelli and Roda, constantly on the podium, while in second position there are Andrew Haryanto (GDL Racing) and Lewandowski-Myszkowski (GT3 Poland).
In the Lamborghini Cup category, the Italian Gabriele Murroni (Petri Corse), at his debut on the track, scored a double victory during the weekend.?
