Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Roars Back for 2023
Lamborghini’s Asia-Pacific one-make racing series spent three years in enforced silence. Now the 2023 calendar confirms the comeback was worth the wait: five countries, six rounds, and a geographic expansion that reveals how seriously Squadra Corse views the region’s long-term commercial potential.
The Super Trofeo Asia, sidelined since 2019 by the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume its ninth season at a venue loaded with symbolism. Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, the same track that hosted the series’ inaugural race in 2012, opens proceedings on May 5-7, bookending a decade of history. Yet the real headline sits further down the calendar. Australia joins for the first time, with The Bend Motorsport Park near Adelaide hosting round two from June 9-11. For a series that previously concentrated on Northeast and Southeast Asian circuits, planting a flag that far south signals genuine strategic ambition rather than a cautious restart. Every car on the grid will be a Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2, keeping the formula pure and the competition centered on driver skill rather than engineering budgets.
Why Asia-Pacific Matters for Lamborghini Motorsport
Customer racing programs like the Super Trofeo serve a dual purpose that rarely gets discussed in the context of a calendar announcement. On the surface, they provide wealthy enthusiasts a structured, professionally managed environment to race identical machinery. Beneath that, they function as one of Lamborghini’s most effective brand-loyalty tools in a region where supercar sales have grown sharply over the past decade.
The numbers reinforce the point. Lamborghini says 254 drivers from 30 nations have competed in the Super Trofeo Asia championship since its inception, generating 96 races across 18 circuits and crowning 30 different champions. Each entrant represents not just a race car purchase but an ongoing relationship with the brand through parts, support, hospitality, and, often, a road car in the garage at home. The anticipation of the largest grid in the series’ history for 2023 suggests that three years away did not erode demand; it may have amplified it.
Ferrari runs a comparable model with its Challenge series, and Porsche fields its Carrera Cup across multiple regions. Lamborghini’s bet is that the exclusivity of the Huracán platform and the spectacle of V10 racing create a stickier emotional connection than either rival can match in this segment. Whether that holds true depends partly on how the transition from naturally aspirated to hybrid power unfolds in future seasons.
The Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 charges down the track, highlighting its aerodynamic prowess from above.
The Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 in Context
The car at the center of this return deserves more than a spec recital. The Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 runs a 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 producing 620 CV (456 kW), channeled through a sequential six-speed X-Trac gearbox to the rear wheels only. That rear-drive layout is a deliberate choice: it gives gentleman drivers and aspiring professionals an experience closer to GT3 machinery, where managing traction and rotation under power is a core skill.
One source indicates the Super Trofeo platform carries a dry weight of around 1,270 kg (2,800 lb), which, if accurate, yields a weight-to-power ratio of roughly 2.05 kg per CV. Strip away the road car’s all-wheel-drive system, creature comforts, and sound insulation, and what remains is a purpose-built race car wearing Lamborghini Centro Stile bodywork designed for downforce rather than showroom appeal. The aggressive front splitter, massive rear diffuser, and towering rear wing visible in official imagery confirm the aerodynamic priorities.
Lamborghini does not publicly disclose participation costs for the Super Trofeo. The one-make format does, however, control expenses relative to open GT racing: identical cars eliminate the arms race in development spending, and centralized technical support from Squadra Corse reduces the operational burden on private teams. The real outlay is the car itself, transport logistics across five countries, and the consumables, Pirelli racing tires, brakes, fuel, that accumulate over a six-round season.
Intricate details of the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2's front design, showcasing its racing pedigree.
Australia and the Full 2023 Calendar
The Bend Motorsport Park is not a circuit most Lamborghini fans will know by heart. Located in the Tailem Bend region of South Australia, it features a 7.77-kilometer international layout that should reward the EVO2’s aerodynamic grip and high-speed stability. Adding a venue this far from the series’ traditional Northeast Asian strongholds requires significant logistical effort, making the inclusion a clear statement about the Australian market’s importance to Lamborghini’s regional strategy. After Sepang and Adelaide, the calendar follows a more established path:
| Round | Circuit | Country | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sepang International Circuit | Malaysia | May 5-7 |
| 2 | The Bend Motorsport Park | Australia | June 9-11 |
| 3 | Fuji International Speedway | Japan | July 14-16 |
| 4 | Everland Speedway | South Korea | August 18-20 |
| 5 | Shanghai International Circuit | China | September 8-10 |
| 6 | Grand Finals | TBA | TBA |
Fuji International Speedway has hosted a Super Trofeo Asia round every season since 2012, according to Lamborghini, making it the series’ most consistent venue. South Korea shifts from the former Formula 1 facility at Yeongam to Everland Speedway further north. The season wraps with the Grand Finals, where Asia’s top performers join the European and North American champions at a location to be announced at the 2022 World Finals in Portimão.
Building Drivers, Building Loyalty
One-make series tend to be dismissed as gentlemen’s playthings, and while the Super Trofeo certainly caters to that audience through its Am and Lamborghini Cup classes, the Pro and Pro-Am categories serve a more serious function. The series operates as a proving ground where strong performances earn visibility with Lamborghini’s factory racing operation, and the pathway from Super Trofeo to GT3 endurance racing is well established within the Squadra Corse ecosystem.
The most recent champions before the hiatus illustrate the breadth of the grid. Evan Chen and Chris van der Drift took the 2019 Pro title, Toshiyuki Ochiai and Afiq Yazid won Pro-Am, Huilin Han claimed the Am class, and Clement Li secured the Lamborghini Cup. All four championships were decided at the final round in Jerez, Spain, which speaks to how competitive the series remained even in its pre-pause seasons.
Owners and fans consistently view the Super Trofeo as the most accessible way to experience Lamborghini’s racing DNA without the complexity and cost of multi-manufacturer GT competition. The structured classes mean a well-funded amateur can race the same car as a professional, separated only by classification, keeping the experience aspirational without being exclusionary.
The Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 demonstrates its powerful rear design and aerodynamic features on the track.
What the Return Signals for Lamborghini’s Racing Future
The Super Trofeo Asia’s comeback arrives at a pivotal moment for Lamborghini’s motorsport strategy. The Huracán platform that underpins the EVO2 is nearing the end of its competitive life cycle, and Autoblog reports that the Temerario GT3, Lamborghini’s first competition car fully designed, developed, and built in-house, debuted at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed. That car represents a generational shift: twin-turbo V8 hybrid power replacing the naturally aspirated V10 that defined the Super Trofeo for over a decade.
For the 2023 Asia grid, though, the EVO2 remains the weapon, and that is part of what makes this season significant for participants and collectors alike. Racing a naturally aspirated V10 Lamborghini in organized competition is a finite opportunity. The sound, the linear power delivery, the mechanical directness of the platform are characteristics that will not carry forward into the hybrid era in the same form.
Buyers considering the Super Trofeo as a racing entry point should recognize the timing. The infrastructure is proven, the series is expanding geographically, and the car itself represents a mature, well-understood platform. Whether the 2023 season becomes the EVO2’s final chapter in Asia or continues for another cycle, the return confirms that Lamborghini’s commitment to customer racing in this region survived the pandemic intact and came back with the ambition to grow.
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