The third round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe 2024 (LST-E) took place as part of the supporting programme of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans (France). Leipert Motorsport competed with four Lamborghini Super Trofeo EVO 2 cars. In addition to the two driver pairings Sebastian Balthasar/Jacob Riegel (Germany) and Glenn McGee/Anthony McIntosh (USA), who regularly compete in the LST-E, Leipert Motorsport supported two other vehicles for the Asian guest entrants Harmony Racing (China) and Vortex Racegraph (Korea).
The schedule on the 24h Le Mans platform was tight for the strong field of 51 Lamborghinis. The 13.626-kilometre circuit on the Sarthe was new territory for all the drivers.
The German driver line-up of Balthasar/Riegel (Pro classification, #70) put in another strong performance. The duo impressed in both – free practice and qualifying. Balthasar put the Leipert-Lamborghini in 2nd place on the grid for the first race. Riegel was 10th on the grid for race two. In the race, Balthasar maintained his position and handed over the #70 in 2nd place to his partner Riegel, who soon took the lead and confidently maintained his position against the competition. Unfortunately, the race ended abruptly for the race leader 15 minutes before the chequered flag fell due to a puncture.
The Americans McGee/McIntosh (AM classification, #99) were once again the fastest team in their class. However, after setting the fastest time in free practice, McGee pushed a little too hard in qualifying, as his fastest three laps were excluded from the classification due to track limits. This left him in 46th position overall and 12th in the AM class. Things went better for McIntosh, who put the #99 on grid position 2 for the second race. Race 1 then proved to be a great race to catch up. McGee worked his way through the field, making up more than 20 places in his stint and improving to 5th in class. After the pit stop, McIntosh was already on course for a podium finish in third position when he was involved in a collision on the penultimate lap and lost two places. In the end, the duo finished 5th in the AM class.
The two guest starters Alex Jiatong Liang/Stanislav Minskiy (China/Cyprus, #88, ProAm classification for Harmony Racing) and Haowen Luo/Jia Jun Song (China, #89, AM classification for Vortex Racegraph) made their debut in the LST Europe. All drivers cut a very good performance on what was an unfamiliar track for them. After a faultless practice session, Luo/Song also did well over the distance in the race and were ultimately classified in 11th position in the AM classification after a spin on the last lap. Liang/Minskiy started the race from 6th on the grid in the ProAm class and were in a promising position for a long time. In the end, they finished 9th in the ProAm category.
Due to an unusually high number of punctures during the event, the second race on this extreme high-speed track was cancelled by Lamborghini for safety reasons.
Managing Directors Marcel Leipert & Marc Poos:
“The atmosphere at this traditional event in Le Mans is fantastic. Despite the shorter driving times of the LSTs on the platform, our drivers put in a great performance. Balthasar/Riegel had their first victory within reach and McIntosh/McGee just missed out on a podium. We can be satisfied with our performance, even if this is not reflected in the results. The fact that the second race didn’t start was obviously a huge disappointment for everyone involved. Lamborghini is working on a solution in the interests of everyone involved.”
The next LSTE weekend will take place in Germany at the Nürburgring (26-28 July 2024).
