The season finale of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe (LST-E) took place at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao (Portugal). As usual, the MOTUL-supported Leipert Motorsport team competed with five Lamborghini Super Trofeo EVO 2 cars and achieved podium finishes in the PRO-AM and AM classifications.
Final round of the LST-Europe in Portimao – Podium finishes and Vice Championship
Italian Gabriel Rindone (AM classification, #21) arrived in Portugal as the leader of the AM class. The first race started as a WET race. In the starting battle on a wet track, Rindone lost a possible podium position due to a spin. After a great race to catch up, the Italian finally reached P7 in the class. Despite the strong race, his title hopes were thus a distant memory as his championship rival won the race. In the second race, he started from position 3 and finished P2 in the AM classification. The Italian thus secured the Vice title in the amateur class. Leipert Motorsport also achieved this position in the team classification.
Jürgen Krebs (AM classification, #97) shared the Lamborghini with Finn Mikko Eskelinen this time. The duo competed in this line-up for the first time this season and put in a strong performance straight away. In the difficult conditions of the first race, the Leipert Lamborghini only just missed out on a podium finish. In the end, Krebs and Eskelinen finished in 4th place. In the second race, the duo finished in 7th place.
Gerhard Watzinger and his partner Brendon Leitch (PRO-AM classification, # 70) experienced a weekend with ups and downs. In the first race, the Crowdstrike Lamborghini finished 9th in class. In the second race Leitch started from Pole position. Despite a good performance, it was only enough for 8th place in class in the end, which meant that the duo finished the season in 8th place in the PRO-AM standings.
The duo Jean-Francois Brunot/Kerong Li (PRO-AM classification, #87) managed to finish just inside the top 10 in both races. Places 10 and 11 in class were the yield in Portimao.
Romanian junior driver David Serban (Pro classification, #18) drove to P7 in race one after a strong qualifying practice. Race two unfortunately had to be ended early due to a technical problem. Nevertheless, Serban finished the championship in a solid 5th place overall in the PRO classification.
Grand Final of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo – Pole position and podium finish
At the Grand Final, the starting fields of LST Europe and LST North-America competed together in two races. Due to the huge starting field (64 participants), the races were divided into two groups (AM classification/LB Cup and PRO classification/PRO-AM classification).
After Italian Rindone (AM classification, #21) had secured the vice-champion title in the European Championship, his focus was now on winning the Grand Final. In the first race, Rindone took to the track from second on the grid, but was then spun around by a competitor in the third corner and, despite a strong recovery, did not finish higher than 10th. Things went better in the second race and Rindone crossed the finish line in P5.
Jürgen Krebs (AM classification, #97) drove the Lamborghini solo in the World Final. The results in the last two races of the season were very good. The Swiss driver finished 13th and 9th in class.
Watzinger/Leitch (PRO-AM classification, #70) were able to say goodbye to Portimao with a sense of achievement. In race one, the duo finished on the podium once again after a strong performance in 3rd place. After Pole position in the second race, a good 8th place in class remained in the end. The duo thus secured P4 in the Grand Final standings.
Brunot/Li (PRO-AM classification, #87) had to end the first race early due to a technical problem. In the second race, after a drive-through penalty at the beginning of the race, a 9th place in class remained at the end.
David Serban (PRO classification, #18) drove to 10th position in a strong first race. Unfortunately, he had to retire the car in the second race and was therefore no longer able to fight for the top 10.
Managing Directors Marcel Leipert & Marc Poos:
“We have had a good season in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe and we are proud of it. Our drivers have shown strong races and achieved great results. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win the title in the fiercely contested amateur classification. Despite everything, winning the vice-championship is an excellent success that we are very happy about. David Serban’s 5th overall position is also a great final result in his debut season. We had expected more for the Grand Final of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo. Unfortunately, the races did not go as we had hoped, which meant that we were only able to build on the successes of previous years to a limited extent. Regardless of all the placings we achieved in the end, we would like to thank all the team members and drivers involved for the great season and their hard work. We would like to emphasise the team spirit and the experienced cohesion of the entire team. We are proud of this team! Now we are preparing for the last race of the 24h Series in Kuwait and then already start with the preparations for the next season during the winter break.”
For Leipert Motorsport, the 2022 season is still not over. The last event for the team from Wegberg is the 12h race of the 24h Series in Kuwait (30 November-2 December). There, the Leipert team with drivers Watzinger, Gorski, Brunot and Li still wants to win the title in the “Championship of the Continents” in the GTX class.
