A strong start for Oregon Team at Paul Ricard in the opening round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, held over the past weekend. On the French circuit, the Italy-based squad secured multiple podium finishes, laying the groundwork for what promises to be a very exciting season.
The newly formed Pro-class pairing of Patrik Fraboni and Silas Rytter delivered a particularly strong performance. Both drivers are in their second year in the Sant’Agata-based championship, but it was their first outing with the team led by Jerry Canevisio and Giorgio Testa. Rytter claimed pole position at the end of the first qualifying session. However, at the start of race one, the young Dane – while successfully holding off Jonathan Cecotto – exceeded track limits, resulting in a five-second penalty. This was followed by an additional one-second penalty for failing to meet the minimum pit-stop time. Despite this, he and Fraboni initially finished third. However, a further 40-second penalty applied after the race for exceeding the pit lane speed limit (due to the accidental deactivation of the limiter) dropped them to ninth overall and fifth in the Pro class.
In race two, with Fraboni starting from the second row, things improved, and the Oregon Team duo finished fourth overall and third in class.
A more challenging debut came for Alfio Andrea Spina and Rogério Grotta in the team’s second Pro entry. After a promising performance in free practice, the Italian driver qualified eighth in class in Q1, with the Brazilian one position behind in Q2. Climbing up to tenth, Spina then served a drive-through penalty in race one for a jump start, and he and Grotta eventually finished seventh in class. Race two also proved difficult, with Grotta spinning in the early stages and Spina doing his best in the second stint, ultimately finishing eighth in the Pro class.
The Pro-Am category delivered much better results for Pietro Perolini and Josef Knopp, with the latter setting the fourth fastest time in class in Q1. A solid qualifying session paved the way for an excellent race one, where the Cremosano-based team secured sixth overall and second in class. Perolini then placed third in Q2 and, in Sunday’s race, he and Knopp finished second in class (seventh overall), securing another podium.
In the Lamborghini Cup, Brazilian driver Adalberto Baptista initially took the lead in race one but later spun, dropping down the order. However, he made up for it in the second race by finishing third in class.
The next round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe will take place at Imola over the weekend of May 9–10.
