A Two-Point Championship at Valencia
Craig Duerson and Trent Hindman sealed the 2016 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America Pro-Am championship at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia by the slimmest margin imaginable: two points, 134 to 132, over Brandon Gdovic. The irony is that Gdovic won both final rounds. Duerson and Hindman did not need victories. A second-place finish in Round 11 followed by third in Round 12 proved enough to hold off Gdovic’s late charge, and the result crystallized what made the entire 2016 season worth watching: on identical Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo machinery, accumulated racecraft across a full calendar mattered more than any single dominant weekend.
Gdovic’s sweep of the Valencia Pro-Am rounds would have been a championship-winning performance in most other years. In 2016, it fell two points short. That razor-thin margin set the tone for a finale weekend that also resolved the Amateur and Lamborghini Cup titles, brought together the North American, European, and Asian series for their respective season closers, and fed all three into the World Final held December 3 and 4. Lamborghini says the event also featured world-class hospitality for clients and guests of Lamborghini dealers, reinforcing the series’ dual role as a competitive racing platform and a brand experience for the broader ownership community.
Antinucci Dominates the Overall Field
The Pro-Am title fight generated the closest drama, but the outright pace at Valencia belonged to series veteran Antinucci. Driving the No. 116 entry representing Lamborghini Carolinas, Antinucci dominated both rounds with margins that left no doubt. In Round 11, he crossed the line 39.765 seconds ahead of Pro-Am class winner Gdovic. Round 12 was similarly decisive: a 21.744-second gap over Michimi, who had already clinched the Pro championship after Rounds 9 and 10 at Circuit of the Americas in September.
Michimi’s Round 11 was the more eventful of his two Valencia outings. He overcame a late-race incident to climb from fifth to third overall, taking second in the Pro class in the No. 101 entry representing Lamborghini Paramus. Emmanuel Anassis rounded out the Pro class podium in Round 11. In Round 12, the Asian series pairing of Toshiyuki Ochiai and Afiq Yazid finished third overall as the North American and Asian series raced together on the 2.489-mile (4.005 km) circuit.
Gaps of 20 to 40 seconds in 50-minute sprint races on identical machinery reflect a driver operating at a level well above the field, not a car advantage. In a one-make series built around the principle that equipment is equalized, those numbers are the equivalent of lapping in a different category. Yet even Antinucci’s dominance could not overshadow the points battles playing out behind him, because the Super Trofeo’s class structure ensures that consistency across a season always carries more weight than raw speed on any given afternoon.
Ockey Holds Off Rodriguez for the Amateur Crown
The Amateur championship produced its own compelling season-long battle and reinforced the same lesson. Damon Ockey, in the No. 109 entry representing Lamborghini Calgary, secured the title with a 144-to-131 points advantage over Luis Rodriguez Jr. of Lamborghini Carolinas. Like Duerson and Hindman, Ockey built his championship on steady accumulation rather than a single explosive weekend. He finished second in the Am class in Round 11 and then won Round 12 to close the door.
Rodriguez won the Am class in Round 11 and finished second in Round 12, meaning both drivers traded positions across the two races. The difference was the points Ockey banked earlier in the season. For gentleman drivers competing in the Am category, sustaining this kind of consistency across a full calendar of six double-race weekends is genuinely difficult. Travel schedules, seat time limitations, and the physical demands of racing identical Huracán Super Trofeo cars at circuits from Austin to Valencia all favor the driver who delivers clean, points-scoring finishes every weekend over the one who occasionally finds the top step but suffers a retirement or poor result elsewhere.
Chouest Caps the Season with a World Championship
The most complete individual season in the 2016 North American series belonged to Chouest, who raced the No. 103 entry representing Lamborghini Miami. He clinched the Lamborghini Cup class championship at Circuit of the Americas in September, then added the World Championship in the Lamborghini Cup class during the World Final at Valencia on December 3 and 4. Winning both the continental and world titles in the same season is the full sweep of what the Super Trofeo structure offers, and it underscored the same theme that ran through every class: sustained effort across the entire calendar, not a single spectacular weekend, is what separates champions.
Chouest returned to winning form in Round 11 at Valencia, taking first in the Lamborghini Cup class. In Round 12, Shawn Lawless of Lamborghini Las Vegas edged Chouest for the class victory, with Jackie Heinricher of Lamborghini Palm Beach completing the podium in both rounds. Prestige Performance had already locked up the Team Championship at Circuit of the Americas, meaning the North American series’ major titles were distributed across multiple entries and dealership affiliations.
That dealership representation is a detail worth pausing on. Every entry in the Super Trofeo North American series carries the name of an authorized Lamborghini dealer: Lamborghini Paramus, Lamborghini Beverly Hills, Lamborghini Calgary, Lamborghini Palm Beach. The series functions as a competitive showcase for the dealer network, giving each location a direct connection to racing results that can be referenced in the showroom. For buyers considering a Huracán or contemplating the jump from road car to track car, seeing their local dealer’s name on a championship-winning entry creates a tangible link between the brand’s motorsport activity and the retail experience.
Why Super Trofeo Still Matters for Lamborghini Enthusiasts
Organized by Lamborghini Squadra Corse, the Super Trofeo operates across three continental championships (Europe, Asia, and North America) with the season culminating in a World Final that crowns global champions in each class. The structure of Pro, Pro-Am, Am, and Lamborghini Cup categories creates multiple entry points for drivers ranging from professional-level competitors to gentleman racers with day jobs and a serious racing habit.
For Lamborghini enthusiasts who follow the brand but may not track every race result, the series represents something specific: it is the most direct way Lamborghini puts its production-derived machinery into competitive environments where driver skill, not engineering budgets, determines the outcome. Every car on the grid runs the same Huracán Super Trofeo specification, which means results reflect preparation, racecraft, and consistency rather than who spent more on development. The 2016 season, with its two-point Pro-Am title margin and a Lamborghini Cup champion who earned both continental and world crowns, demonstrated exactly the kind of close competition the format is designed to produce.
The 2017 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America season was confirmed to open May 4 through 6 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, with the 2017 World Final scheduled for November 16 through 19 at Imola, Italy. For teams and drivers who built their 2016 campaigns around the Huracán platform’s characteristics, the continuity of the series offered a clear path to build on what they learned. Duerson, Hindman, Ockey, and Chouest each proved that in a one-make championship, the title belongs to whoever can deliver across every round on the calendar. That lesson applies whether you are racing for a championship or simply following the results from the grandstands.
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