Teams and drivers in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America championship faced a long Saturday at VIRginia International Raceway.
Their day was bookended by a pair of qualifying sessions early in the morning and the first of two weekend races in late afternoon.
When the checkered flag waved to conclude the 50-minute race, Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson, teammates in the No. 6 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Beverly Hills Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO, claimed a second straight overall and Pro class win in the 2020 season. Other class winners were: Leo Lamelas in ProAm, Victor Gomez IV in Am and Randy Sellari in LB Cup.
Aghkahani started the day by putting the No. 6 Lamborghini on pole in Race 1 qualifying. He led from the green flag but felt pressure from Stevan McAleer in the No. 1 Prestige Performance with Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Paramus Huracán for much of the opening stint.
“The day went really well,” Aghakhani said. “The No. 6 car was really excellent. I did my job, handed it off to Jacob and he did his part and here we are.”
“Steven made my job really easy,” Eidson said, complimenting his teammate. “He got a nice gap out there, so I just had to go out, hit my marks, keep my head down. The car was amazing as always. US RaceTronics, they always give us a great car and I don’t take that for granted.”
Aghkahani was last among the Pro front-runner to make the mandatory pit stop, with Eidson taking over and quickly resuming the lead. Winner of 11 of 12 races last season in ProAm, Eidson pulled away to win by 3.817 seconds over Stuart Middleton, who finished for McAleer in the No. 1. Following a pair of fourth-place finishes in the opening round two weeks ago at Road America, the No. 1 showed marked improvement on Saturday.
“I’m pretty happy with our first podium,” said Middleton. “I felt as if it was a night-and-day difference from Road America with the feel of the car. Definitely made big moves forward in terms of the general overall feel and outright race pace.”
Madison Snow is driving the No. 16 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán solo this weekend after teaming with Bryan Sellers to finish first and second in the Road America races. Pulling double duty on Saturday after also driving in the IMSA SportsCar Championship race, Snow finished third overall and in the Pro class in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo race.
Lamelas gave US RaceTronics two winners in the race by taking top honors in ProAm. Driving the No. 24 Lamborghini Westlake Huracán, Lamelas earned his first series win ahead of Corey Lewis and McKay Snow, the duo in the No 63 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán who won both Road America races. Making their season debut in the No. 99 Ansa Motorsports, Lamborghini Broward Huracán, Trick Madsen and Danny Formal placed third in class.
“It feels great,” Lamelas said of his first win. “It’s the second time for myself in the car. I like Virginia. It’s a different championship for me; I raced two years in the Prototype Challenge, so this is my first time in the GT cars (at VIR).
“It was very hot today, so it was necessary for the drivers to be prepared physically and we need to take care of the tires also because of high temperature on track. I hope tomorrow is a little cooler.”
Gomez racked up his third win in as many tries in the Am class, driving the No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán. Lance Willsey took second place in the No. 53 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Greenwich Huracán.
“I struggled during qualifying due to the track conditions,” Gomez said. “During the race, I was able to advance five positions showing great pace. Overall, very happy with the win and looking forward for tomorrow’s race.”
Like Gomez, Sellari collected his third class win in as many outings in 2020. Driving the No. 03 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán, he passed LB Cup pole sitter Matt Dicken (No. 36 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán) less than 15 minutes into the race and opened a comfortable lead before Dicken charged back.
Unable to overtake his teammate, Dicken finished just 0.907 seconds behind Sellari. Tom Kerr finished third in LB Cup driving the No. 74 TPC Racing, Lamborghini Sterling Huracán.
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America weekend finale is set to start at 12:55 p.m. ET Sunday, with Eidson and Aghakhani again starting from the pole position.