Road America and the Mid-Season Reckoning
Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2017 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America championship arrive at Road America this weekend, and the timing could not be more dramatic. The 4.048-mile Wisconsin circuit marks the exact midpoint of the season, with every one of the series’ four classes showing either a tight points battle or a kind of momentum swing that makes the second half genuinely unpredictable.
A 21-car field will contest two 50-minute sprint races: Race 1 on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT and Race 2 on Sunday at 10:55 a.m. CT. The format rewards consistency and racecraft in equal measure, because a single bad pit stop or contact incident can reshape a championship that looked settled a round ago. Richard Antinucci, the Pro class leader, already learned that lesson the hard way at Watkins Glen.
The Super Trofeo’s position in Lamborghini’s broader Squadra Corse ecosystem is what gives weekends like this their deeper significance. Originally launched with the Gallardo and now running the Huracán Super Trofeo exclusively, the series functions as both a competitive championship and a talent pipeline. Drivers who prove themselves here can advance toward GT3 programs, and Lamborghini’s Young Driver Program, established in 2014, specifically scouts talent from these one-make grids. Every round at a circuit like Road America is simultaneously a race and an audition.
Ashley Freiberg Makes History, Then Heads Back to Work
The biggest story entering Road America is not a points gap. Lamborghini says Ashley Freiberg became the first woman to stand on the overall podium of any of its worldwide Super Trofeo series at Watkins Glen, a milestone that resonates well beyond a single race result. Freiberg sits third in the Pro standings, piloting the No. 30 DAC Motorsport entry for Lamborghini Palm Beach, and she tested at Road America last month to prepare for this weekend.
What separates her achievement from a feel-good footnote is context. The Super Trofeo is not a gentleman-driver series where overall results are an afterthought. Pro class entries run the same 620-horsepower Huracán as everyone else, and an overall podium means beating drivers across all categories on outright pace. Freiberg did that at Watkins Glen while racing against established names like Antinucci and the Agostini/Hindman pairing.
For Lamborghini, the moment carries strategic weight. Manufacturer one-make series like Ferrari’s Challenge and Porsche’s Carrera Cup compete not just on track but for attention, sponsorship, and cultural relevance. A barrier-breaking result gives Squadra Corse a narrative advantage that no spec sheet can replicate. Whether Freiberg can close the points gap to the Pro class leaders over the remaining rounds will determine if the story grows from a single weekend into a season-defining arc.
A Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo race car with black, white, and green livery speeds around a track corner.
Pro, Pro-Am, Am, and Lamborghini Cup: Every Class Tells a Different Story
In the Pro category, Richard Antinucci opened the season with three consecutive victories from his No. 16 Change Racing entry before trouble at Watkins Glen cost him dearly. Riccardo Agostini and Trent Hindman, the Prestige Performance pairing representing Lamborghini Paramus, capitalized with their first win of the year and now trail Antinucci by just four points. Road America’s long straights and fast, flowing corners will test whether Antinucci can reassert control or whether the momentum belongs to the No. 1 car.
Pro-Am looks more settled on paper. Edoardo Piscopo and Taylor Proto, running the No. 50 US RaceTronics entry for Lamborghini Beverly Hills, entered the weekend without finishing lower than second on the class podium all season. The threat comes from Austin Versteeg, who earned a class win and an overall second at Watkins Glen in his No. 7 DXDT Racing car. Versteeg is quick enough to contend for an outright victory, and Road America’s demanding layout tends to reward drivers who carry confidence into high-speed braking zones.
The Am division features a dead heat. Patrice Brisebois and Emmanuel Anassis in the No. 18 DAC Motorsports entry share the championship lead with the No. 17 US RaceTronics car, both representing Lamborghini Palm Beach. Yuki Harata, running the No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsport entry for Lamborghini Las Vegas, trails with three podiums but no win yet. For anyone who thinks one-make racing lacks drama, this class exists as a rebuttal.
Lamborghini Cup, designed for drivers newer to professional racing, mirrors that tension. J.C. Perez holds a narrow lead in his No. 71 P1 Motorsports entry, but Ryan Hardwick scored two wins at Watkins Glen and closed the gap significantly. The class functions as the first rung on Lamborghini’s motorsport ladder, and several current Pro-Am and Pro competitors started in exactly this category.
The Huracán Super Trofeo: What 620 Horsepower and a MoTeC Brain Mean on Track
Every car on the Road America grid runs the same Huracán Super Trofeo, powered by the naturally aspirated V10 direct injection engine producing 620 horsepower and managed by a MoTeC control unit rather than the road car’s standard ECU. The MoTeC system allows Squadra Corse to define precise engine maps and data logging parameters, giving teams granular telemetry while keeping the playing field level.
The chassis uses a hybrid carbon and aluminum frame construction, shared in principle with the road-going Huracán but modified with different geometries. Lamborghini says these changes accommodate an improved front radiator package and a racing gearbox at the rear, with revised bodywork also contributing to better aerodynamics. The result is a car that retains the road car’s fundamental architecture while being purpose-built for wheel-to-wheel competition. It is not street-legal, a point that occasionally surprises enthusiasts who confuse the Super Trofeo race car with the road-going STO or Performante variants.
Squadra Corse provides a standardized technical package and factory coaching, particularly through its Young Driver Program, which reduces the guesswork compared to open GT racing. The trade-off is that the car cannot be used for anything except sanctioned events and private testing. Buyers considering the Super Trofeo as an entry into Lamborghini motorsport should understand it as a commitment to a racing program, not a dual-purpose track toy.
Following the Action and Why It Matters
Both Road America races will be live-streamed on squadracorse.lamborghini.com, motortrendondemand.com, imsa.tv, and radiolemans.com. Tape-delayed broadcast coverage was scheduled for CBS Sports Network on August 27, 2017.
That accessibility reflects a deliberate strategy. Ferrari’s Challenge series and Porsche’s Carrera Cup both maintain robust streaming and broadcast presences, and Lamborghini cannot afford to cede visibility in the one-make space. The Super Trofeo’s multi-regional format, with separate North American, European, and Asian championships feeding into a World Final, gives Squadra Corse a global footprint that few competitor programs match in structure.
The lessons Lamborghini extracts from the Huracán Super Trofeo’s racing life will inform the next generation of customer motorsport. The Super Trofeo’s class structure, driver development pipeline, and dealer-linked team model provide a template for future programs. For enthusiasts watching this weekend, the 2017 season is a championship worth following on its own merits and a window into how Lamborghini intends to compete for racing customers in the years ahead.
