Three for Three at the Glen
Richard Antinucci made Watkins Glen International look like his personal proving ground on Friday, leading every lap of the 50-minute Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race to claim his third consecutive victory of the 2017 season. The No. 16 Change Racing entry, backed by Lamborghini Carolinas, started from pole and controlled the field wire to wire, with Antinucci delaying his mandatory pit stop to the end of the window to build an uncatchable gap.
A former 2015 Pro class champion with nine career victories in the series, including a sweep of the 2017 COTA weekend, Antinucci now holds a commanding points lead. His team skipped both the 2016 Watkins Glen round and the pre-race test. No track time, no data, and still a flag-to-flag win. That speaks to driver quality, but it also reveals something about the consistency of the Huracan Super Trofeo platform: when the car is equal across the grid, talent becomes the only variable that matters.
The bigger story for the series’ long-term health, though, came from the car running second.
Proto’s ProAm Breakthrough Signals the Pipeline at Work
Edoardo Piscopo and 19-year-old Taylor Proto finished second overall and won the ProAm class in their No. 50 US RaceTronics entry, representing Lamborghini Beverly Hills. Piscopo ran the opening stint, pressuring Antinucci before handing the car over in strong position. Proto then held off the far more experienced Riccardo Agostini, a Squadra Corse Young Driver, for the remainder of the race.
A rookie defending second place overall against a factory-backed driver at one of North America’s most demanding road courses is not routine. Proto benefited from Agostini encountering tire trouble late, but the pace he showed before that point was legitimate. Piscopo, his co-driver, was unequivocal in his assessment of the teenager’s composure.
This kind of result is precisely what the Super Trofeo series was designed to produce. Established in 2009 and since expanded from Europe to Asia and North America, the championship functions as Lamborghini’s entry point into competitive motorsport. Every car runs the same engine tune, the same X-Trac gearbox, and the same tire specification. That parity strips away the engineering arms race and forces drivers to develop racecraft, tire management, and the kind of wheel-to-wheel judgment that separates capable amateurs from professionals. For someone like Proto, the series offers a controlled environment to sharpen those skills against a mixed field of seasoned pros and gentleman drivers, with Squadra Corse watching the results closely.
The Huracan Super Trofeo: Why the Platform Works
Lamborghini says the Huracan Super Trofeo produces 620 horsepower from its naturally aspirated V10, the same direct-injection architecture found in the road car but managed by a MoTeC control unit calibrated for racing. The frame uses a hybrid carbon and aluminum construction, with modified geometries that improve radiator packaging at the front and accommodate the sequential racing gearbox at the rear while cleaning up aerodynamic flow underneath the car.
The predecessor Gallardo Super Trofeo, which delivered approximately 562 horsepower to all four wheels, already demonstrated the concept’s viability. Aerodynamic upgrades for 2013 brought a 10-way adjustable wing and downforce figures ranging from 282 pounds in low-drag trim to 352 pounds in maximum-grip configuration. Redesigned brake ducts improved thermal performance by 50 percent. The Huracan iteration built on all of that, adding the stiffer carbon-aluminum tub and a significant power increase.
What makes the platform effective for a one-make series is its predictability. The Huracan was purpose-built for this kind of competition: identical hardware, equalized performance, and enough mechanical grip to reward smoothness over aggression. For prospective competitors weighing their options, that philosophy contrasts with series where factory support or engineering budgets can tilt the playing field.
From Super Trofeo to GT3: The Motorsport Ladder Lamborghini Is Building
The Super Trofeo series does not exist in isolation. It sits at the base of a motorsport structure that Squadra Corse is actively expanding. Drivers who prove themselves in the one-make championship can progress to GT3 competition, where the Huracan GT3 EVO2 competes globally in events ranging from the Blancpain GT Series to the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Temerario GT3, which Autoblog reported was unveiled at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed as Lamborghini’s first fully in-house competition car, represents the next chapter of that ladder.
This pipeline serves a dual commercial purpose. It keeps gentleman drivers and wealthy amateurs engaged with the brand through real competition rather than track-day novelties, and it develops the professional talent pool that staffs factory GT3 entries. Agostini’s presence at Watkins Glen as a Squadra Corse Young Driver, racing against the very privateer teams and amateur co-drivers who fund the series, illustrates the ecosystem at work.
One detail Lamborghini does not publicize is the cost of entry. According to one report, a new Huracan Super Trofeo costs approximately €270,000 before taxes, with team service fees and consumables adding substantially to a full season budget. The series targets gentleman drivers who want authentic competition, but the financial barrier is real. For anyone considering the jump from track days to organized racing, the Super Trofeo offers a structured, well-supported environment, though it demands a serious financial commitment beyond the car itself.
The Championship Picture and What Comes Next
Antinucci’s perfect record means the 2017 Pro class title fight is his to lose, with Road America, VIR, Laguna Seca, and the World Final at Imola still ahead. The North America series runs six double-race weekends across some of the continent’s best circuits, culminating in that season-ending showdown where drivers from the European, Asian, and North American championships compete head to head.
Saturday’s second race at Watkins Glen should produce a more contested opening stint, with Antinucci starting from second on the grid alongside Agostini. Proto and Piscopo will look to build on their ProAm momentum. In the Amateur class, Patrice Brisebois and Emmanuel Anassis continued their own dominant run with another class victory for DAC Motorsports, while Ryan Hardwick recovered from a poor start to win the LB Cup for Dream Racing Motorsport.
The Super Trofeo grid is growing, and the competition level is rising with it. Lamborghini’s investment in Squadra Corse, from the one-make series through GT3 and beyond, gives the brand a motorsport credibility that directly reinforces the performance claims made by every Huracan that rolls off the Sant’Agata production line. Antinucci’s dominance validates the car. Proto’s emergence validates the program.
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