By Mark Robinson
SEBRING, Fla. – Befitting of the season-long close competition, two Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America class championships will be decided in the final race of the year following the first of the two races today at Sebring International Raceway.
Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson won from the pole position in Friday morning’s 50-minute sprint and now lurk just six points behind Pro class leader Madison Snow heading into the season-ending race at 3:40 p.m. ET. Aghakhani and Eidson will start on pole again in the No. 6 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Beverly Hills Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO.
In the ProAm class, Leo Lamelas kept the door slightly ajar to overtake Corey Lewis and McKay Snow for the title.
In Race 1 this morning, Madison Snow (No. 16 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán) started beside Aghakhani on the first row and attempted a pass for the lead at the drop of the green flag. Snow’s car wiggled as they entered the first turn and he fell to fourth place before regaining momentum.
“The start of the race was quite something else,” Aghakhani said. “Madison tried to go outside, couldn’t hold it and lost control of the car. We just knew what we had to do, kept it clean and did what we had to do.”
Aghakhani handed the car off to Eidson on the mandatory mid-race pit stop with a six-second advantage. Eidson cruised home 3.637 seconds ahead of Brandon Gdovic in the No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán. Stuart Middleton muscled the No. 1 Prestige Performance with Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Paramus Huracán past Snow with four minutes remaining and held on for third place in a spirited battle over the closing laps.
“That window for the championship is still there and we’re giving it everything we have,” Eidson said. “Steven had an awesome start. It got a little dicey there in Turn 1, but he did an awesome job. He made it real easy for me. I just had to hop in the car and do my thing. … One done and one more to go.”
Madison Snow will clinch the Pro championship with a podium finish this afternoon. Eidson and Aghakhani must win and have Snow finish fourth or worse in class to land atop the standings.
In ProAm, Ashton Harrison and Andrea Amici collected their first win in the No. 25 Prestige Performance with Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Paramus Huracán. With less than three minutes remaining, Amici made the decisive pass for the lead on McKay Snow in the No. 63 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán.
“It was a really fun race,” Amici said. “Ashton did an amazing start and she was with the other Pros in the first stint. Then when I took the car, there was some gap to P1. I tried to push, giving everything, and at the end with the two nice fights, we won the race. We are so happy; this is our first win together.”
“The end of it was definitely stressful,” Harrison said about watching from pit lane. “I’ve been struggling all year learning and driving with the Pros, so this is really good for us. I’m so thankful for Andrea and looking forward to the race this afternoon.”
Lamelas (No. 24 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Westlake Huracán) passed McKay Snow for second place on the final lap, an important move since it left Lamelas a remote chance to still win the ProAm championship. Lewis and McKay Snow will still win the ProAm crown if they finish fourth or better this afternoon.
The winners in the Am and LB Cup classes were familiar faces. Victor Gomez IV kept his record perfect in the Am class, winning for the ninth straight time in the No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán. It came on a circuit the Puerto Rican considers his home track.
“It was a very enjoyable race. I love coming back to Sebring,” Gomez said. “I have a lot of track time here (in other series). Now, switching to Lambo mode, I had a great start. I made a couple passes but I had to choose my battles. I stayed with a good pace all race.”
Like Gomez in Am, Randy Sellari has already clinched the LB Cup championship and added to his standout season by collecting his fifth win of the season in the No. 03 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán.
“I’ve never been on this track so during the practices I was making my mistakes and trying to correct them in a short period of time,” Sellari said. “So when I got out there today, I was so relaxed and just did my thing. … I love this series. Lambo’s done a fantastic job recovering this year so I’m really glad to be able to represent them.”
The final race of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season will stream live at 3:35 p.m. ET today on IMSA.com.