Seven different crews take victories on the opening weekend of the year in France
Sant’Agata Bolognese/Le Castellet, 12 April 2026 – The 2026 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season kicked off in style at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France, with Kevin Gilardoni and Simone Iaquinta (DL Racing) taking the early Pro championship points lead following victory in race two.
The 2021 Pro champion Gilardoni and his rookie team-mate Iaquinta finished second in the opening 50-minute race on Saturday behind Rexal Villorba Corse’s Benedetto Strignano and Nicholas Pujatti, with the order reversed in Sunday’s second encounter. Gilardoni and Iaquinta’s race two pole position enabled the duo to grab a one-point lead in the standings ahead of the second round of the season at Imola next month.
Anthony Pretorius and Bronislav Formánek (Mičánek Motorsport) took a pair of Pro-Am wins as Grzegorz Moczulski (GT3 Poland) shared the Am victories with Stéphane Lemeret and Rodrigue Gillion (CMR). The Lamborghini Cup produced plenty of action, with debutants Nina Østergaard and Peder Møller Demant (DC Motorsport) and the Rexal Villorba Corse pairing of Luciano and Donovan Privitelio taking a win each.
Race 1
Silas Lovén Rytter (Oregon Team) claimed the first pole of the season and maintained his lead at the start of the race, despite taking to the escape road at the exit of turn one following a scrap with the Pro-Am polesitter Jonathan Cecotto (Invictus Corse). The advantage gained by Rytter was deemed unfair and the #36 Huracán was handed a five-second post-race penalty – and a subsequent 40-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane. Cecotto followed closely in the opening stint, but Rytter began to pull away approaching the 10-minute pit window before handing over to team-mate Patrik Fraboni. VSR debutant Finley Green was in the wars early on, dropping places on the second lap due to contact with Oregon Team’s Alfio Andrea Spina before losing a wheel and retiring a lap later. Also in strife was the UNIQ Racing entry of Jerzy Spinkiewicz – on his return to the championship after injury ruled him out of the final two rounds of the 2025 season. The Polish driver lost control of his car exiting turn seven and lost his rear wing following contact with the tyre barriers. Third before the stops, the #15 Rexal Villorba Corse crew of Pujatti and Strignano then started to make in-roads into Fraboni’s lead in the second stint, with Strignano eventually making a decisive dive to the inside of the final corner to seize the lead with around five minutes left. Fraboni was also passed by Iaquinta – started by Gilardoni – at the same corner for second. Strignano just about fended off waves of attack from Iaquinta and nearly lost everything after getting caught up with the lapped car of Adalberto Baptista on the final lap. The contact at turn two damaged the front of Strignano’s car but not enough to deny he and Pujatti victory. Iaquinta and Gilardoni finished second while Salonen and Tuomaala were third as Rytter and Fraboni dropped to fifth after their penalty.
Cecotto’s early pace helped the #31 establish a healthy Pro-Am lead before switching with newcomer team-mate Sergei Astafjev at the pit-stops. Their nearest challengers came in the form of ASR’s Marzio Moretti and the VSR Huracán of Paul Levet and both leapfrogged Astafjev after the pit window closed. Paolo Biglieri took over from Moretti and Miguel Cristóvão from Levet, with Biglieri grabbing the lead from Cristóvão as both were caught by Pretorius. The latter’s pace was superior in the final laps and the South African found his way past Biglieri with just two minutes remaining to take the win alongside team-mate Formánek. Pietro Perolini and Josef Knopp finished second with Biglieri and Moretti having to settle for the final step on the podium. Mičánek Motorsport was denied a double victory as Renaud Kuppens and Jakub Knoll were forced to retire late in the race; the crew nevertheless were classified second.
The Lamborghini Cup battle went right down to the wire as five cars fought tooth and nail for top honours. Oregon Team’s Baptista took the lead after an early retirement for the Rexal Villorba Corse entry of Donovan Privitelio but the Brazilian spun out of contention before the pit window opened. That allowed Danish rookies Østergaard and Møller to assume the lead, which the latter retained throughout the second stint. Claude-Yves Gosselin (Rexal Villorba Corse) closed to within half a second and brought with him the DL Racing entry of Francesco Turzo and the GT3 Poland car of Holger Harmsen. With Philip Tang (DL Racing) also close behind, the top five cars were split by just over two seconds. Østergaard and Møller pulled away in the final laps to take their first victory from Gosselin, while Tang inherited third place following last-lap contact between Turzo and Harmsen.
Benedetto Strignano (Rexal Villorba Corse), race one winner: "After all the bad luck I had last year, when I was always close to winning but didn't quite manage it, let's say this success is a just reward. It's also my first win, and it gives me the energy to start the season off on a high note. The final laps of the race were chaotic, because I had to keep an eye on Simone Iaquinta, who had the same pace as me, in my mirrors. But at the same time, I had to deal with the lapped cars. In the end, it went well, and I'm also very happy with my teammate, who was making his debut. I want to thank him and the Rexal Villorba Corse team, who did an exceptional job."
Team-mate, Nicholas Pujatti (Rexal Villorba Corse): “It was a mega race, I am super happy to win my first race in Super Trofeo Europe. I felt really good in the car, I had a good start and kept the rhythm but during the second stint, but it was very nerve-racking watching Benny fighting for the lead, but we managed fine and I am very happy. This is my first time sharing a car in GTs, so it was quite stressful to watch from the pits, but Benny did a great job.”
Race 2
Pretorius was quickest in second qualifying and duly held onto his lead on the first lap, as Iaquinta had to jump across the escape road at turn two. Undeterred, Iaquinta made his move for the lead a few laps later on the entry to turn eight and remained ahead until the pit window opened. Hugo Giraud (Rexal Villorba Corse) ran third early on but slipped behind race-one winning team-mate Strignano. Further back, Fraboni had a poor start and dropped four places to eighth in the first stint before handing over to Rytter. Both Iaquinta and Pretorius stayed out for almost the duration of the 10-minute pit window, but both initially fell behind the Pro-Am running ASR Huracán of Ruffini. The class and overall lead did not last long, however, as Ruffini spun at turn five which in turn allowed Gilardoni to pass Formánek for the lead. From then on, Gilardoni pulled clear and took a relatively comfortable victory by just under five seconds. Rytter and Fraboni recovered well in the second stint to take the final step on the podium in third; the Dane caught and passed Månz Thalin (Leipert Motorsport) who had taken over from fellow Swede Axel Bengtsson following an impressive opening salvo. Rytter then made it past Salonen, with the Finnish driver taking another strong top five finish alongside Tuomaala on debut.
Formánek and Pretorius added another win in Pro-Am, heading Knopp and Perolini and Moretti and Biglieri for the second race in a row and taking a superb second place overall. In Am, Kuppens and Knoll endured more frustration as a puncture following contact from Rogério Grotta at the chicane ended their victory hopes. They finished third behind Moczulski as Lemeret and Gillion (CMR) claimed the win.
For the second successive race, the action in the LB Cup was frenetic from start to finish. Race one winner Møller led Turzo and Gosselin from the rolling start with Harmsen and Baptista following close behind. Harmsen’s race unravelled and the German retired before the pit window. After the stops, Turzo took the lead, with Gosselin also jumping ahead of Østergaard. The latter was then sent facing the wrong way after contact from Abdullah Basalamah (ASR). That allowed Baptista – who spun in the opening minutes following contact from Tang – to move back into podium contention. Turzo still led as the race reached its conclusion, but the DL Racing driver was then tagged by Donovan Privitelio (Rexal Villorba Corse) at turn five with a lap to go. Despite this, the Privitelios held onto their win, with Gosselin and Baptista completing the podium.
Kevin Gilardoni (DL Racing), race two winner: “We arrived at Paul Ricard with high expectations, even though we didn't know exactly what to expect because everything was new to us. The season couldn't have started better. Second place yesterday, the win today and the championship lead... I'm really satisfied. My last overall victory in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe was at Spa in 2021. I want to thank the team and everyone who has made it possible for me to be here again."
Team-mate Simone Iaquinta (DL Racing) added: “It was a difficult weekend, because it was my first time in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, and I also missed the first few days of testing due to the flu. Thanks to the team and Kevin, who handled his second stint very well, we achieved this first win."
The season reconvenes in just under a month for round two, which will take place at Imola as part of the Lamborghini Arena event on the 9-10 May.
2026 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe calendar
Round 1 – Paul Ricard (April 10-12)
Round 2 – Imola (May 9-10)
Round 3 – Spa-Francorchamps (June 25-27)
Round 4 – Nürburgring (August 28-30)
Round 5 – Barcelona (October 2-4)
Round 6 – Monza (October 21-23)
Lamborghini World Finals – Monza (October 24-25)
