Super Trofeo Stories: A Family Affair

Representing the fifth smallest country in the world, cousins Emanuele Zonzini and Emanuel Colombini are immensely proud to fly the flag of San Marino in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe.

Both have Lamborghini heritage, albeit in slightly contrasting ways: former GP3 Series driver Zonzini previously raced in the one-make category reserved for the Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 and has plied his trade as a test driver for the Sant’Agata Bolognese firm. 

Colombini, on the other hand, is a racing novice who made his debut last season in Super Trofeo Europe at the historic San Marino Grand Prix venue, Imola, and is also a customer of the lucrative Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 trackday hypercar.

Each has their own story about how they arrived in perhaps one of the most competitive one-make GT championships in the world.

But the end goal is very much the same.

“This year is only the second year of racing for Emanuel, but I have to say he is really fast already,” says Zonzini.

“Race after race he is always improving too. We work a lot together on the telemetry, the video, and when it’s possible we put a seat in the passenger side of the car for Emanuel to sit alongside me.

“It’s incredible because he is such a hard worker, and he wants to improve quickly on the track. And for me, he’s impressive because in qualifying at Spa, he was with the Pro cars in terms of speed and the quickest Am driver.”

For novice driver Colombini, that is about as glowing an assessment you can possibly hope to receive, and not just because of the family connection between the two. 

As a driver coach and test driver, what Zonzini doesn’t know about a Lamborghini Huracán simply isn’t worth knowing. So, it’s perhaps testament to the raw skill within Colombini that the double act has been able to work so well as team-mates.
“When we check the telemetry, it’s really consistent with Emanuel, there aren’t such big improvements in one area or another,” explains Zonzini. “It’s a little bit everywhere and that makes a difference. 

“A little bit more in braking, some more in acceleration. Every time he gets into the car, he improves a little bit more which is very positive. And in the races, he is more and more confident now too.”

Unlike his cousin, Colombini arrived in Lamborghini Super Trofeo with little to no racing experience at all. In his youth, he dabbled a bit in local rallying, but his career took over instead.

An accomplished businessman now, Colombini decided to jump feet first into racing alongside Zonzini at the start of the 2022 season, teaming up together at VS Racing on comparatively home soil in Imola.

The maiden season was considered a success, taking four podiums – including one victory – in the Pro-Am class en route to sixth in the final standings. Now, with a season under his belt, Colombini has found a new wave of confidence in 2023, where he continues his partnership with Zonzini amid the Iron Lynx stable.

“I’ve always been attracted to racing,” said Colombini.

“When I was younger, I did some motocross and then local rallying but then I stopped for about 20 years to concentrate on my business [a furniture and interior design company of which Colombini is the founder and owner].

“But the passion for cars remained and I became a collector of Lamborghinis and then was able to test a Super Trofeo before making the decision to race in 2022.

“The first race I did was at Imola and it was a great pleasure for me to race there. I didn’t know anything about racing with a professional team, so I had to learn all about telemetry, how to work with engineers and all the procedures and rules for the championship.

“Somehow, I don’t know how, but we won in Pro-Am in our first race and finished P3 overall, which seemed far too easy!”

Although technically a hobby, racing carries with it the same sort of preparation, stress and concentration of everyday business that Colombini is well accustomed to. But away from that, there is another type of Lamborghini which allows him to full let his hair down.

Colombini is one of just 40 owners of Squadra Corse’s trackday only Essenza SCV12 hypercar.

“I collected Lamborghinis for a number of years, and it was at the same time that the Essenza SCV12 programme,” describes Colombini.

“For me this is an incredible car, totally different to today’s type of cars. A V12 engine, naturally aspirated with a lot of downforce, and a very developed machine, like a proper race car.

“I drove the Essenza two or three times at different types and it was through this that I managed to begin my racing career. And thanks to Emanuele and his father Giovanni, the dream then became a reality.”

The connection to the automotive side of Lamborghini is, evidently also a family affair. Since leaving the junior single seater ladder in 2015, Zonzini’s day job has allowed him to discover a completely different line of work.

“I am a test driver for Automobili Lamborghini so that means I take a road car into the mountains, on the country roads, on the motorway and I carry out a full check of the car before it is sold to customers. 

“I check everything, but in particular the infotainment, the electronics and then after that, I make a very long report to send my feedback.

“Every day is a similar routine, but it is also quite different. And then every month, we go to the Lamborghini technical centre in Nardò in southern Italy to carry out tests on all sorts of aspects: the braking, the handling, everything.”

The relationship both Colombini and Zonzini have with Lamborghini is certainly deep-rooted, but just what is it like having your cousin as your team-mate?

“We get along really well, I have to say,” Zonzini says. “We have known each other since we were young and we are really good friends first of all, and then team-mates.

“I try to help him out as much as I can, and we never argue with each other so that is always good when you are racing together.”

“We are second cousins and there is a bit of an age gap between us, we live in the same area, but I never had a long, long relationship with Emanuele,” says Colombini.

“So, we discovered each other within the motorsport environment, and we have developed a good bond as friends and team-mates.”

It’s just as well then, as the results are beginning to speak for themselves on track this season. Despite competing in arguably the strongest Pro-Am field Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe has ever had, the family line-up is turning heads with their performances.