2013 World Final winner Andrew Palmer earned his first victory of the 2014 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America season, dominating the 50-minute race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Palmer, from Chicago, won the race under caution in the No. 14 Lamborghini Beverly Hills Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo. He started from pole and led by 20 seconds when Tom O’Gara spun off track into the tire barriers in Turn 4 with six minutes remaining, creating the race-ending full-course caution period.
2013 series champion Kevin Conway finished second in the No. 29 Lamborghini Carolinas Gallardo. The No. 80 Jetset Magazine/B+ Foundation/Lamborghini Palm Beach team of Al Carter and Aleks Altberg finished third.
“Our No. 80 Palm Beach Mitchum Motorsports car ran great,” said Carter “Aleks (Altberg) had a good start, ran second most of the stint. Brought it in second, he was chased by (Kevin) Conway. We pitted. Conway is the master; he’s great at getting away from the pits. So we left the pits, and he was a little bit in front of me and he stayed there. We usually have a little Carter-Conway battle toward the end, but I couldn’t get close enough to make it interesting. It was a good first start. This was the first time we had two drivers in the car. Alex did a great job for his first time in the car, and we’re here on the podium.”
Kevin O’Connell was the first Amateur class finisher and fifth overall in the No. 9 Lamborghini Houston Gallardo. Scott Monroe was the second-place Amateur and eighth overall in the No. 15 Lamborghini Toronto entry, while Ryan Ockey was third in the Amateur class and ninth overall in the No. 88 Lamborghini Vancouver Gallardo.
There have been three different winners in three rounds this season, as Carter and Conway won the opening rounds in March at Sebring International Raceway.
Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America highlights
Other Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America highlights Saturday at Laguna Seca included world-class hospitality, including clients and guests from Lamborghini Beverly Hills and Lamborghini Dallas, and hot-lap rides around the iconic circuit in a Lamborghini Aventador Roadster. The exciting new Huracan LP 610-4 also was displayed in technical presentations for media and guests in the Lamborghini Village at the circuit.
2013 World Final winner Andrew Palmer finished a sweep of both Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America races this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, winning Race 2 on Sunday, May 4.
Palmer, from Chicago, became the first two-time winner in the series this season in the No. 14 Lamborghini Beverly Hills Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo. He led all but four laps of the 50-minute race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit, losing the top spot only as the field cycled through its mandatory pit stop.
Tim Bell was second in the No. 81 Lamborghini Chicago entry, 3.241 seconds behind Palmer. John Farano rounded out the podium finishers in the No. 63 Lamborghini Dallas Gallardo by holding off 2013 series champion Kevin Conway and 2014 Sebring race winner Al Carter (5th) over the closing laps.
Kevin O’Connell completed a sweep of the Amateur class and finished sixth overall in the No. 9 Lamborghini Houston Gallardo. Scott Monroe was the second-place Amateur and eighth overall in the No. 15 Lamborghini Toronto entry, while Ryan Ockey was third in the Amateur class and ninth overall in the No. 88 Lamborghini Vancouver Gallardo.
Rounds 5 and 6 of the season will take place June 27-29 at historic Watkins Glen International in the scenic Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.
