The green flag will drop on the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America season as the series starts its 2016 championship April 28-May 1 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
The series once again will open its season for the second consecutive year at the scenic 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit near the central coast of California. This will be the third trip overall to Laguna Seca for the series.
The North American series, in its fourth season, has continued to attract increasing numbers of competitors and interest, especially with the introduction of the Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo last season.
This season marks the first time the Huracán – the new purpose-built race car by Lamborghini Squadra Corse in 2015 – will line up solo on the grid.
Racing in the series is divided into separate podiums, recognizing the breadth of talent in the Super Trofeo field. After each race, there is a podium for the top three finishers in Overall, Pro-Am, Amateur and Lamborghini Cup, for those just being introduced to the professional aspects of racing, classes. The championship provides exciting action for professional and aspiring professional drivers alike.
There will be guaranteed to be new championship contenders as both the 2015 Pro and Pro-Am teams and drivers have moved to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the debut of the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 in the GT Daytona class or into another class.
The North American series has become an important rung of the Lamborghini racing ladder, propelling teams and drivers into some of the most competitive and prestigious racing series worldwide.
There will be various new teams to the North American paddock with previous Super Trofeo North America connections. US RaceTronics, owned by Shane Seneviratne, a former director of 2015 Team and Driver champions O’Gara Motorsport, will field multiple entries.
Damon Ockey, who raced with O’Gara Motorsport last season, will enter the Amateur championship with US RaceTronics, while 2015 Pro Champion Richard Antinucci will co-drive with Brian Thienes in the Pro-Am division.
Dream Racing, which has a history of supporting rising talent in the sport, also will field two cars in 2016 in addition to its entry into the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the Huracán GT3.
Change Racing, the 2015 Pro-Am Team and Driver champion, will be back in the field with three entries. The father-son duo of Jim and Josh Norman will race for their second consecutive year in the Amateur division along with 2015 Pro-Am driver champion Corey Lewis, who will compete in the Pro division. The third entry for the team will have Luis Rodriguez Jr. behind the wheel, who will make his series debut in the Pro-Am division.
Two-time driver and World Final champion Kevin Conway is switching gears to run his new team, eXclaim Racing, with Will James behind the wheel.
Conway’s former team, Prestige Performance, will continue to field two entries with Pro driver Trent Hindman pairing with IMSA Single-Make and Development Series veteran Craig Duerson in the Pro-Am division and Shinya Michimi piloting the other entry.
Other new teams to the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America paddock include DXDT Racing, HP Tech Motorsport, MG1 Motorsports and TRG.
There will be two 50-minute sprint races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Round 1 will start at 10 a.m. (PT) Saturday, April 30, with Round 2 at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, May 1. Two practices will take place Thursday, April 29, with qualifying at 10:05 a.m. Friday.
As part of a new partnership with MotorTrendOnDemand.com both races will be live streamed at: MotorTrendOnDemand.com and IMSA.tv. Tape-delayed coverage of each event will air on CBS Sports Network in primetime on Sunday afternoons. The coverage will feature live commentary on both the broadcast and live streams.
The Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo adopts the V10 direct injection engine mounted on the road car, managed by a Motec control unit that delivers a maximum output of 620 horsepower. The frame is a hybrid carbon/aluminum construction with modified geometries to house an improved radiator up front and better accommodate the racing gearbox at the rear, which also provides better aerodynamics.
The 2016 season will feature 12 rounds at six iconic circuits. The first five events will showcase some of the best tracks in North America. The sixth event and final two rounds of the regular season will be at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, where following the conclusion of the regular season, the Super Trofeo North America, Europe and Asia series will converge to battle for the right to be a world champion.
Lamborghini and its dealers entertain VIP guests at every Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America in the Lamborghini and Blancpain Village, which features lavish hospitality and amenities.
NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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