Record grid delivers classic Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia thrills in Japan

Chris van der Drift and team mates Dan Wells and Emilien Carde share round four spoils 

Japan. (August 18, 2024) – A smorgasbord of torrential rains and scorching sun met the record 23 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 entries for round four of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia (LSTA), held at the Fuji International Speedway in the foothills of Japan’s sacred mountain. Despite the changeable conditions, the 15 teams and 39 drivers delivered one of the most exciting rounds of the season. 

Absolute Racing New Zealander Chris van der Drift took his third consecutive victory in race one, while DW Evans GT duo of Dan Wells and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Junior Junior Emilien Carde won race two to leapfrog PRO title rivals Charles Leong and Miki Koyama of SJM Iron Lynx Theodore Racing to the top of the leaderboard. 

The two PRO rivals are now equal on points in the race for the championship, but the title remains wide open with Lamborghini Super Trofeo Junior Gavin Huang and team mate Jonathan Cecotto just 16 points behind. The pair were on course for the win in race two when a wheel bearing forced their early retirement. 

There was plenty of action throughout the weekend on the tricky 4.563km circuit, with Arrows Racing’s Jazeman Jaafar and Selim Rafique taking the PRO-AM victory in race one, and Madness Racing’s Liu Kai Shun and Lu Wei taking the class win in race two. However, it is DW Evans GT’s Thomas Yu Lee and Nikolas Pirttilahti, second over the line in race two, who top the PRO-AM leaderboard courtesy of the guest driver Madness Racing entry being ineligible to score championship points. 

Both AM victories went to SQDA – GRIT Motorsport’s Brian Lee Changwoo, who now has five-point lead over YK Motorsports by Star Performance Thai talents Nattanid ‘Kat’ Leewattanavalagul AND Dechathorn ‘Phu’ Phuakkarawut at the top of the standings. 

HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing Oh brothers Haziq and Hairie took both Lamborghini Cup wins but, despite their continued success, the title remains wide open with four races remaining. Siamgas Corse’s Supachai Weeraborwornpong is just 22 points behind, with Iron Lynx Malaysian driver Kumar Prabakaran also in contention. 

LSTA is back in action next month for the fifth round of the 2024 season and the final double-header in Asia at China’s Shanghai International Circuit from September 13-15, before heading to Spain’s Jerez de la Frontera in November for round six followed by the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals. 


Race 1 

Chris van der Drift continued his eye-catching series return with Absolute Racing, taking pole position for race one ahead of Promotion Racing’s Yuya Motojima and Shunsuke Kohno and DW Evans GT PRO title aspirants Dan Wells and Emilien Carde. However, as the field stormed off the start it was Wells who stole the march on the reigning champion by snatching the lead, while Motojima also made a strong getaway and held onto P2 behind the Briton. 

AM sensation SQDA – GRIT Motorsport’s Brian Lee Changwoo got by Arrows Racing PRO-AM title contender Jazeman Jafaar off the start to go fourth overall, while DW Evans GT’s Nikolas Pirttilahti passed SJM Iron Lynx Theodore Racing’s Charles Leong, demoting him to P7. 

As van der Drift launched his fightback, rapidly closing the gap to Motojima ahead, there was plenty of action throughout the field. An early tangle between Lamborghini Cup rivals HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing’s Hairie Oh and class pole-sitter Supachai Weeraborwornpong of Siamgas Corse saw the Malaysian take the category lead. Oh was later handed a ten-second penalty for the clash, but his lead was such that he retained the win. 

Before the pit window opened, van der Drift made his move on Motojima to claim second and set off to reel in Wells ahead. Behind him, Jafaar made a pass on Lee to reclaim P4 before also passing the Promotion Racing Japanese driver. Behind them, a brave move by Leong on Pirttilahti put him fourth of the PRO runners. 

When the pit window opened for the mandatory stops, Wells remained out on track until the last possible moment. However, Absolute Racing’s pit stop strategy proved a winner, with Emilien Carde emerging for his stint behind solo driver van der Drift. 

While van der Drift set about increasing his margin out front, attention turned to the Arrows Racing Lamborghini of Super Trofeo Junior Gavin Huang and Jonathan Cecotto. Huang had driven a strong opening stint, climbing up the order from a P12 start to eighth by the pit window. Cecotto took the wheel and immediately built on the momentum, climbing to fourth overall. He quickly closed up to Shunsuke, who had taken over from Motojima, in third, diving past before eviscerating the 12 second gap to Carde ahead. 

As van der Drift headed to the flag to take his third consecutive overall victory in as many races, behind him the Fuji fans were treated to a nail-biting finale as Cecotto homed in on Carde, sweeping past in the dying moments of the 28-lap race to snatch second. Motojima and Kohno were fourth overall, with Leong and Miki Koyama collecting points for P4 to keep them at the top of the PRO leaderboard. 

Lee completed another sensational solo outing in fifth overall and taking his fourth AM class win of the season. Despite second in class for YK Motorsports by Star Performance Nattanid ‘Kat’ Leewattanavalagul and Dechathorn ‘Phu’ Phuakkarawut, an impressive seventh overall, Lee drew equal on points with the Thai pair in the hotly-contested AM championship. Joining them on the AM podium were 610Racing by Absolute’s Li Xuanyu and Xie Wenjun. 

Jafaar and team mate Selim Rafique took a well-earned PRO-AM win from title rivals Pirttilahti and Thomas Yu Lee, with newcomers Liu Kai Shun and Lu Wei third in class on their debut with Madness Racing Team. 

In the Lamborghini Cup, the Oh brothers took their sixth class victory of the season in seven races, with Weeraborwornpong second, also setting the fastest lap of the class in the race, and joined on the podium by Arrow’s Racing’s Steven Chian. 


Race 2 

Starting from pole, Chris van der Drift was once again crowded out off the start, this time by a fast-moving Jonathan Cecotto and Shunsuke Kohno, the trio three abreast as they thundered through the opening series of turns. Cecotto stormed into the lead, with van der Drift initially in hot pursuit, before the Arrows Racing driver broke clear and began pulling away. Behind the pair, Miki Koyama was pressuring the Performance Racing guest driver from fourth, while Madness Racing Team PRO-AM driver Liu Kai Shun had gained three places from his P8 grid position to get by class pole-sitter Liang Jiatong of Harmony Racing. 

Koyama got past Kohno, with Liu following suit in short order, but now the Japanese ace had to defend from the Madness Racing Team talent, hindering her pursuit of van der Drift and Cecotto up ahead. 

Out in front, Cecotto’s impressive lead suddenly began to diminish, allowing van der Drift to close the gap. Moments later, the Arrows Racing ace dived into the pits, a wheel bearing issue forcing their premature retirement and putting pay to the team’s hopes of victory. 

Having inherited the lead, van der Drift set off on the hunt for his fourth consecutive PRO win, with Koyama – still with Liu hot on her heals – in second, and 610Racing by Absolute’s AM driver Li Xuanyu now fourth overall ahead of Kohno. The Japanese guest driver was next challenged by SQDA – GRIT Motorsport’s Brian Lee Changwoo, who made his move stick at the second time of asking, climbing to P5. 

Solo driver van der Drift was one of the earliest to pit when the window opened, and held the lead from Charles Leong who had taken over from Koyama when the second stint got underway. However, it was Dan Wells, who had taken the wheel of the DW Evans Lamborghini from team mate Emilien Carde, who had the bit between his teeth. As Wells climbed up the order, getting by Lu Wei to snatch P3, van der Drift was handed a drive-through penalty for a pit lane speed infringement. That handed the race lead to Leong, but Wells had gained another place and rapidly began reeling in the Macau driver. 

With five minutes remaining on the clock, Wells seized the lead from Leong, romping home to take the overall and PRO win from a disappointed Leong. Van der Drift had made an eye-catching recovery to make it onto the podium in third after another standout drive, ahead of fellow PRO drivers Motojima and Shunsuke. 

Newcomers Liu Kai Shun and Lu Wei took PRO-AM honours ahead of DW Evans GT’s Nikolas Pirttilahti and Thomas Yu Lee and Harmony Racing’s Jiatong Liang and Stanislav Minsky. Fifth overall and winning the AM class was Lee ahead of category rivals Li Xuanyu Xie Wenjun, while YK Motorsports by Star Performance Thai duo Nattanid ‘Kat’ Leewattanavalagul and Dechathorn ‘Phu’ Phuakkarawut joined them on the podium. 

HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing’s Hairie and Hafiz Oh celebrated their seventh Lamborghini Cup win of the season, followed home by Siamgas Corse’s Supachai Weeraborwornpong and Iron Lynx Racing’s Kumar Prabakaran, who made a welcome return to the podium.