Birmingham, Ala. (April 7, 2019) – Round 2 of the 2019 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Championship provided the Barber Motorsports Park fans with a great many highlights and in the end, a number of multiple winners on the weekend.
Three of the four winners from Round 1 successfully made it two-in-a-row to take an early season lead in their respective classes when all was said and done after a hard-fought 50 minutes on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn circuit in the hills of north Alabama.
The race started with Dennis Lind (No. 94 P1 Motorsports, Lamborghini Broward) jumping out to the early overall lead from his starting position of third overall and first in the PRO-AM Class.
He maintained that pace during his stint before handing the car over to teammate Brett Meredith with a mandatory pit stop around the 22-minute mark, but the No. 29 with Richy Antinucci (No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte), taking over for Corey Lewis, took the lead when the pit window closed with 20 minutes remaining.
From there Antinucci took control of the overall and PRO class lead as he quickly posted a margin of close to 10 seconds with 17 minutes remaining which continued to grow from there to final victory of just over 18 seconds.
Patrick Liddy and D. Bryce Miller in the No. 34 USRaceTronics, Lamborghini Beverly Hills entry finished second in the PRO Class to make the podium for the first time on the weekend.
Two of the top three teams from the Pro Class had issues toward the start of the race that prevented them for making a run for the overall or class victory.
Sandy Mitchell in the No. 1 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Paramus started on the pole Sunday after finishing third in Round 1 with teammate Andrea Amici. Unfortunately the team’s race ended earlier as with 41 minutes remaining Mitchell had to return the car to the pits due to a fire in the engine bay.
The hopes for two victories on the weekend for the No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach ended just before the pit window opened as the car lost its rear right tire and Conor Daly had to return it to the pits. The car did get back into the race, but was far off the pace when it returned.
With just over five minutes remaining Jacob Eidson (No. 09 USRaceTronics, Lamborghini Vancouver) took over the PRO-AM Class lead from Meredith erasing what had been a good-sized margin when the pit window closed. He went on to win the class by over 13 seconds to secure the team’s second victory on the weekend and they finished the day third overall.
McKay Snow (No. 63 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte) made it a clean sweep of the weekend by winning both AM Class races. He was the quickest car all weekend during practices and qualifying and got his season off to the best possible start with a pair of victories.
He also finished fourth overall while other podium finishers in the class were Steve Dunn (No. 11 Prestige Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach) and Sheena Monk in the No. 7 Dream Racing Motorsport, Lamborghini Palmyra, who was returning to competition following an incident at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last year that kept her out of the final races of 2018.
In the LB Cup, the same two drivers that fought of the victory in Round 1 were at it again Sunday as Mel Johnson (No. 08 GMG Racing, Lamborghini Newport Beach) and Matt Dicken in the No. 36 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte battled for the win that went to Johnson for a second consecutive day by a close margin in what proved to be a tight race the entire 50 minutes. Johnson had to return from going off course earlier in the race to battle back up to the front and earn the victory.
With Rounds 1 and 2 complete, the series continues at Watkins Glen International on June 29 and 30.
A recap of this weekend’s races can be seen on NBCSN on Friday, April 19 at 1 p.m. EDT.
What They Said:
Corey Lewis - No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte
“The start of the race was a little more eventful than I was hoping it would be as we got shuffled back to fourth from second. I had to play catch up from there on and we decided to stay close and conserve the tires and make sure I hit all the points and hand off a good car to Richy.”
Richy Antinucci - No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte
“I inherited all the good work Corey had done and we were fortunate that the No. 1 had to retire. We wanted to make sure we brought home points today. Corey was really quick and we are really identical in our feedback and setup and we have a car that we can pass back and forth to each other and still be very good.”
Jacob Eidson - No. 09 USRaceTronics, Lamborghini Vancouver
“Today was a little more dramatic that yesterday especially with all the traffic that was out there. Damon did a great job at the start to make up some positions and he had a really solid stint. Then we wanted to concentrate on a nice, clean driver change. I was able to see the card down the track but want not sure that I would be able to catch up to them. Fortunately we were able to and part of that was the car was set up really well.”
Damon Ockey - No. 09 USRaceTronics, Lamborghini Vancouver
“It was a great race but today was all about Jacob. He drove an amazing race and even had the third fastest lap of the race. It was impressive to watch and he was gaining on those guys and once we saw his pace we knew he was going to catch them.”
McKay Snow - No. 63 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte
“It has been a great start to the season and today the car was super easy to drive. The team had the car set up really well. We were just cruising out there. These two wins have given me a lot of confidence to drive the car later in the season at tracks I am more familiar with.”
Mel Johnson - No. 08 GMG Racing, Lamborghini Newport Beach
“It feels good to win twice and I couldn’t ask for more from the first weekend of the season. I am having a lot of fun and looking forward to the rest of the season. I went off in the esses and lost a few places that I was able to get back with some good racing and then I was on my own for the rest of the race.”
