340 Milliseconds Decided the Paul Ricard Showdown
Mikaël Grenier and Loris Spinelli scored their second victory of the 2017 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season at Paul Ricard, beating Jonathan Cecotto and Vito Postiglione by 340 milliseconds. Lamborghini’s official race summary describes a second stint defined by constant lead changes, with Postiglione overtaking Spinelli on multiple occasions only to lose the position again before the flag.
The result matters beyond a single trophy. Cecotto and Postiglione arrived in the south of France carrying momentum from three consecutive Race 1 victories and a firm grip on the PRO championship lead. They retain that lead, but Grenier and Spinelli just proved they can match the frontrunners in a straight fight, and for anyone following the Super Trofeo Europe standings, the title race tightened considerably over one weekend at Le Castellet.
“It was really a hard-fought race. In the straight stretches, Postiglione managed to reduce the advantage I had over him, but I succeeded in remaining ahead of him till the end. I’m very happy because I really raced with my heart.”, Loris Spinelli, Antonelli Motorsport
PRO Standings: Cecotto Still Leads, but the Gap Is Closing
Cecotto and Postiglione remain at the top of the PRO classification after Paul Ricard. Their Race 1 victory on Saturday extended their winning streak to three, and a second-place finish in Race 2 still delivered solid points. Across six races at three circuits (Monza, Silverstone, Paul Ricard), they collected results no other crew matched.
Pressure now comes from two directions. Grenier and Spinelli sit closer in the standings after converting their qualifying pace into a win. The GDL Racing pairing of Rik Breukers and Axcil Jefferies finished third in both Paul Ricard races, quietly accumulating points. Lamborghini confirms they sit second in the championship, nine points behind Cecotto and Postiglione, with Raphael Abbate and Yuki Nemoto five points further back.
Abbate and Nemoto actually led the early laps of Race 2 after starting from pole with their VS Racing entry. Nemoto looked strong in the opening stint, but the car faded to fourth overall by the finish. Pole position converted to a podium in Race 1 but fell short of the win in both outings, a pattern that will concern the team heading into Spa.
PRO-AM Drama: A Penalty Decided the Class Win
Kikko Galbiati and Davide Roda finished seventh overall in their Antonelli Motorsport entry, but the PRO-AM class result told a far more dramatic story. Roda was leading the class during the final lap when VS Racing’s Liang Jatong made contact with him. The incident cost Roda track position in real time, but stewards intervened after the checkered flag, penalizing Jatong and restoring Galbiati and Roda to the top of the PRO-AM classification.
For Galbiati, the result carried extra weight. It marked his second PRO-AM victory of the season (the first came with Gianluca Giraudi at Silverstone) and extended his championship advantage. Given that he lost a likely win during the final laps of Race 1 the day before, the post-race penalty reversal delivered a result the team felt was overdue.
“I think this was a well-deserved win, after missing the victory during the final laps yesterday. I finished the weekend as a standings leader and that was my goal before this French round.”, Kikko Galbiati, Antonelli Motorsport
The contact incident with Jatong reveals something about the intensity at the front of the PRO-AM field. These are not gentlemen drivers circulating at comfortable margins. The class produces genuine wheel-to-wheel battles, and when a last-lap collision decides the outcome, it underscores how competitive the one-make format remains even outside the headline PRO category.
AM Class and Lamborghini Cup: Giannoni Wins Again, Perez Debuts with a Victory
Raffaele Giannoni, driving for Automobile Tricolore, claimed his second AM class win of the season and finished ninth overall. His pace was strong enough to hold off two PRO-class cars for portions of the race, a detail that speaks to both his driving and the competitive balance within the Huracán Super Trofeo platform.
“The car had a good pace. I had no problems and even managed to keep two PRO drivers behind me as long as I could.”, Raffaele Giannoni, Automobile Tricolore
The AM standings remain led by Polish duo Andrej Lewandowski and Tedor Myszkowski, who won Race 1 with VS Racing for their fourth victory of the season. Giannoni’s Race 2 win keeps the pressure on, but the Poles hold a comfortable margin heading into the second half of the calendar.
Juan Perez delivered the weekend’s most impressive debut. The Colombian driver, competing in the Lamborghini Cup class with Antonelli Motorsport, topped both qualifying sessions on Saturday morning and then converted that pace into a race win on his first European start. Perez already competes in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series, and his immediate speed on an unfamiliar circuit suggests the crossover between Lamborghini’s continental championships produces drivers who can adapt quickly. He finished ahead of Gerard Van der Horst, who retains the Lamborghini Cup standings lead despite the result.
Antonelli Motorsport’s Dominant Weekend
Step back from individual class results and one team’s dominance at Paul Ricard becomes obvious. Antonelli Motorsport won the PRO class overall (Grenier and Spinelli), the PRO-AM class (Galbiati and Roda), and the Lamborghini Cup (Perez). Three class victories from a single team at one round is a statement of organizational depth, not just driver talent.
The Super Trofeo format rewards teams that manage driver changes, tire strategy, and car preparation across multiple classes simultaneously. Antonelli’s ability to deliver results at every level of the grid points to engineering consistency and strong driver coaching. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo operates as a one-make championship where all competitors race identical Huracán Super Trofeo machinery, which means team preparation and driver execution are the primary differentiators. When one squad sweeps three classes, the advantage is operational, not mechanical.
Why the Super Trofeo Matters Beyond the Podium
For LamboCars readers who follow Lamborghini’s road car lineup more closely than its racing calendar, the Super Trofeo series serves a specific purpose within the brand’s motorsport ecosystem. It functions as the entry point for customer racing, sitting below GT3 competition in terms of cost and complexity. Drivers progress through its ranks toward Lamborghini’s GT3 and GT4 programs, and the series gives Squadra Corse a platform to develop relationships with privateer teams and gentleman drivers who often become repeat Lamborghini buyers.
The 2017 European calendar ran through six circuits, from Monza in April to the World Final at Imola in November. Each round featured two 50-minute races, a format designed to maximize track time for paying entrants while keeping costs manageable relative to endurance racing. The World Final, where champions from the European, Asian, and North American series converge, gives the championship a season-ending spectacle that few single-make series can match.
Lamborghini’s decision to anchor the Super Trofeo around the Huracán platform proved commercially and competitively sound. The car’s naturally aspirated V10 delivers a visceral driving experience that keeps amateur and semi-professional drivers coming back season after season. Forum discussion among enthusiasts consistently highlights the sound and throttle response of the Super Trofeo cars as a core part of their appeal, something that separates the series from turbocharged alternatives in the customer racing landscape.
With Spa-Francorchamps next on the 2017 calendar, scheduled to run alongside the 24 Hours of Spa weekend, the championship’s visibility was set to increase. For Cecotto and Postiglione, the goal would be straightforward: defend the PRO lead on one of Europe’s most demanding circuits. For Grenier and Spinelli, Paul Ricard proved they could win the fight. The question heading to Belgium was whether they could sustain that form across the remaining rounds.
What Enthusiasts Should Watch Next
The 2017 PRO championship battle between Cecotto/Postiglione and Grenier/Spinelli now carries genuine tension. A nine-point gap to Breukers and Jefferies in second, and the proven race-winning pace of the Antonelli Motorsport crew, means the title could shift at any of the remaining rounds: Spa, Nürburgring, and the Imola World Final.
The practical takeaway for anyone considering a Super Trofeo entry: Antonelli Motorsport’s Paul Ricard sweep demonstrates that team selection matters as much as driving ability in this championship. The machinery is identical. The difference is preparation, strategy, and the quality of the people standing on the pit wall.
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