Kroes and Afanasiev Break Through at Zandvoort
Danny Kroes lives 20 minutes from Zandvoort. On Saturday he took pole by nearly half a second, led every lap of his opening stint, and handed the Bonaldi Motorsport Huracán to teammate Sergei Afanasiev with enough margin to survive a late charge. The result: a first Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe victory for the 19-year-old Dutchman and his Russian co-driver in Race 1 of the weekend’s third double round.
Kroes is a recent addition to Lamborghini’s Young Drivers Program, and the significance of winning here was not lost on him. “This is my track,” he said afterward. “Obtaining my first victory in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe here was the most I could hope for.” Pole position, a controlled first stint, and a teammate who held his nerve under pressure: the weekend script could hardly have been cleaner.
Afanasiev’s contribution deserves its own line. One report indicates he lost over two seconds after running deep at the ‘S’ Bocht chicane mid-stint, yet still held off the rapid Vito Postiglione, who had taken over the Imperiale Racing car from Kikko Galbiati. Postiglione crossed the line second, extending his crew’s points advantage in the Pro class after their double win at Misano. Jack Bartholomew and Stuart Middleton completed a strong day for Bonaldi Motorsport by finishing third.
From Karting to Victory Lane: What the Young Drivers Program Produces
Kroes’ breakthrough illustrates exactly what Lamborghini’s Young Drivers Program is designed to deliver. The concept is straightforward: identify promising drivers early, embed them in the Super Trofeo ecosystem, and give them the seat time and coaching infrastructure to develop into potential factory-backed GT3 competitors. Kroes fits the profile precisely. Web research indicates he began karting in 2011, progressed through the SMP F4 Championship and TCR International Series, and eventually became a Lamborghini GT3 Academy Driver.
For Lamborghini, the program solves a practical problem. Customer racing series generate revenue and brand loyalty, but they also need credible young professionals to anchor the field and raise the competitive standard. A 19-year-old winning on home soil, in front of a crowd that knows his name, generates exactly the kind of story that attracts new entrants and sponsors. It also populates the talent pipeline that feeds into broader GT3 competition, where Lamborghini competes against factory-supported programs from Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren.
The Super Trofeo series functions as a proving ground. Drivers who perform here become candidates for higher-profile GT3 and GT World Challenge seats. Kroes’ Zandvoort result is a small data point, but it lands in a context where Squadra Corse is actively building toward a new era of factory racing.
Zandvoort’s Unforgiving Character Shaped the Race
The class results told their own stories, though all of them were filtered through Zandvoort’s particular demands. The circuit punishes errors with unusual severity because its run-off areas are minimal and its elevation changes amplify any loss of composure.
One incident shaped the overall order as much as any overtake. Bartosz Paziewski, running second after the pit stops for Imperiale Racing, reportedly suffered a snap of oversteer at the high-speed Shievlak corner and dropped behind Postiglione. For Super Trofeo competitors accustomed to more forgiving circuits, the Dutch track demands a different kind of precision, and that precision is exactly what separated Kroes from the rest of the field.
Shota Abkhazava and Harald Schlegelmilch won the Pro-Am category for ArtLine Team Georgia, their second class victory and fifth consecutive podium. That kind of consistency in a gentleman-driver category is unusual and suggests a well-sorted operation. “On a very demanding track, we managed to bring home another important result for the championship,” Schlegelmilch noted. Robert Zwinger claimed his first Am class victory, driving for GT3 Poland on what Lamborghini says was also his first visit to Zandvoort. In the Lamborghini Cup, Benoît and François Semoulin returned to the top step after a gap stretching back to the season opener at Silverstone.
A Proving Ground, Not a Parade
Lamborghini’s Super Trofeo, established in 2009, occupies a distinct position among one-make supercar series by running Huracán-based machinery that bridges the gap between arrive-and-drive track days and full GT3 competition. The series spans Europe, Asia, and North America, with a World Final that brings all three regional championships together.
What separates it from some rivals is its explicit role as a feeder system. The Young Drivers Program, the GT3 Academy pathway, and the proximity of Squadra Corse’s factory support create a pipeline that other one-make series do not always replicate with the same structure. For gentleman drivers, the Am and Lamborghini Cup classes offer competitive racing with appropriate handicaps. For professionals like Kroes, the series carries real consequences for career progression.
Forum discussion among enthusiasts and owners reflects genuine respect for the Super Trofeo cars themselves. Multiple owners on enthusiast forums describe the maintenance demands as substantial, with dedicated rebuild schedules and specialist gearbox attention required between track outings. These are purpose-built racing machines, not road cars with roll cages bolted in. That distinction matters when evaluating what Lamborghini offers its customer racing community compared to series where the competition car sits closer to the showroom product.
Vito Postiglione is set to start Race 2 from pole position. Fans can watch via live streaming on the Lamborghini Squadra Corse Facebook page and YouTube channel.
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