Another double victory gives Bonaldi Motorsport duo healthy championship points lead
Sant’Agata Bolognese/Le Castellet, 5 June 2022 – Max Weering and Loris Spinelli gave Bonaldi Motorsport its fourth Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe race victory in a row to extend their lead in the championship standings at Paul Ricard. Leading from pole position, the #61 Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 broke clear at the start and was never threatened throughout the 50-minute encounter, finishing just under six seconds ahead of Target Racing’s Milan Teekens and Marzio Moretti.
Following an unbeaten start to the season, Weering and Spinelli lead the championship with 64 points, almost a full race weekend’s worth ahead of Imperiale Racing’s Manuel Bejarano, who took his third Pro class podium of the year in third.
Race winner Max Weering (#61 Bonaldi Motorsport) said: “It was another perfect race for us, a lot easier for me in the second stint when Loris handed over the car with a nice gap. But, at the same time, it’s never nice to hear on the radio that the gap is getting smaller and smaller from the guy behind, but I managed the pace well and happy to get another victory. The aim is of course to win all the races, we will see what we can do; without technical problems, we look very strong every race and every track.”
Team-mate Loris Spinelli (#61 Bonaldi Motorsport) added: “This fourth win in a row clearly shows we are doing a good job this season. It was an amazing car, good pace and I was very consistent in my stint, without pushing too much. I’m really happy with the job that Max did again, we have a strong lead in the championship and the aim is to do the same again in Misano.”
Off the rolling start, polesitter Spinelli made a superb getaway and comfortably maintained his lead over Milan Teekens into the first corner. Behind, Oregon Team’s Lewis Williamson and the Arkadia Racing Huracán of Johan Boris Scheier fought over third place, with Scheier losing control of his car approaching Turn 3 following slight contact with Williamson, hitting the barrier hard. The Frenchman was unharmed, but the safety car was deployed as a result.
Spinelli held onto his advantage at the restart, with Teekens in second ahead of the Pro-Am lead battle between Williamson and Leipert Motorsport’s Brendon Leitch. The latter pair spent the majority of their stint nose-to-tail, with Leitch closing under braking for the chicane but unable to find a suitable overtaking opportunity. Further back in Pro-Am, Rexal FFF Racing Team’s Dan Wells made strong progress through the field after a generator failure prevented the British driver from setting a time in qualifying. The #51 Huracán started 35th on the grid but worked its way up to 11th by the start of the pit window following a series of overtakes.
At the front, Spinelli made his mandatory pit-stop with 24 minutes left on the clock, switching with Weering and giving Teekens the temporary lead. Teekens then brought the #54 car in a lap later to hand over the commands to team-mate Marzio Moretti, while the rest of the Pro-Am runners also left it until the end of the 10-minute pit window to give way to their Am team-mates.
Missing the pit window following a miscommunication between the BDR Competition team and driver was Amaury Bonduel, who finished third in Saturday’s Race 1. The Belgian driver was subsequently handed a drivethrough penalty which dropped him out of contention.
Now with Weering at the wheel, the #61 remained comfortable in the lead, with Moretti nine seconds in arrears once the pit window closed. Bonduel rejoined from the pits in fifth but moved back up a place with a pass on VS Racing’s Emanuel Colombini at Turn 12.
Colombini’s race soon unravelled in the final minutes following contact with Target Racing’s Milan Petelet at the last corner. Petelet had better pace than the VS Racing car and drove around the outside at the penultimate turn, but Colombini took his line at Virage du Pont and was spun around.
For overall honours, Moretti closed the gap to Weering to just over five seconds at the finish, but it was not enough to take the win away from the #61 Bonaldi Motorsport Huracán. Massimo Ciglia took an on-the-road podium in third but was demoted to fourth overall after the stewards awarded a 10-second post-race time penalty after Williamson was adjudged to have pushed Scheier off the track on lap one.
Ciglia and Williamson still held on to claim victory in the Pro-Am class, with Rexal FFF Racing Team’s Wells and Oscar Lee completing a sensational drive through the field to finish second, despite a penalty of their own for a pit-stop infringement. Petelet and Gvazava recovered from the contact with Colombini to finish third.
Leipert Motorsport’s Gabriel Rindone made amends for Saturday’s opening race to take his third Am class win of the year. Polesitter Shahan Sarkissian led away from the start but lost out to Rindone after the pit window closed. Indeed, Sarkissian showed strong pace to run inside the overall top 10 but came home fourth in class after team-mate Stéphan Guerin was handed a drivethrough penalty for a pit infringement. Second in Am was GT3 Poland’s Andrzej Lewandowski, with Raffaele Giannoni (Automobile Tricolore) completing the podium.
In the Lamborghini Cup, Rexal FFF Racing Team’s Luciano and Donovan Privitelio claimed another victory ahead of the Semspeed partnership of Benoît and François Semoulin. The #8 Privitelio pairing started from pole and trailed Semoulin at the start of the second stint but found a way past to win. François Semoulin just fended off Boutsen Racing’s François Grimm for second at the flag.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe – 2022 Calendar
Round 1: Imola (Italy), 1-3 April
Round 2: Le Castellet (France), 3-5 June
Round 3: Misano (Italia), 1-3 July
Round 4: Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) 29-30 July
Round 5: Barcellona (Spain) 30 settembre-2 October
Round 6: Portimão (Portugal), 3-4 November
Finals: Portimão (Portugal), 5-6 November
