| Dream Way to End Lamborghini Super Trofeo VIR Weekend Antinucci Completes Doubleheader Sweep; 17-Year-Old Berkeley Wins Am Class June 6, 2021 By Mark Robinson IMSA Wire Service Race 2 Unofficial Results ALTON, Va. – Dream Racing Motorsport completed a dream weekend at VIRginia International Raceway in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. Not only did Richard Antinucci collect maximum points by winning both Pro class pole positions and races, but 17-year-old rookie teammate Luke Berkeley drove to the Am class victory in Sunday afternoon’s finale. Dario Capitanio nearly gave the team a trifecta of wins Sunday afternoon, finishing less by than a second behind the ProAm winner. Antinucci, in the No. 27 Dream Racing Motorsport, Lamborghini Las Vegas Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO, pulled a consistent lead early in Sunday afternoon’s 50-minute race, then backed off near the end to save his equipment. He won by 5.915 seconds over Sergio Jimenez (No. 44 Ansa Motorsports, Lamborghini Broward Huracán), but only after the No. 16 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán of Stevan McAleer had closed within 1.5 seconds of Antinucci before pulling off with a mechanical issue in the closing minutes. “I’m very satisfied. We optimized everything in qualifying and the races,” said Antinucci, the two-time Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Pro champion who’s won three of the four races this season. “A little bit of luck, I was managing things at the end. We had an issue with the car near the end, so I had to manage it. But we did it. “I’m really grateful for the ‘Dream team,’” he added. “The No. 27 Dream car has been a rocket all year, which is just two rounds, but three out of four (wins); I can’t ask for more.” Scoring the max 32 points (15 for each win and one for each pole) allowed Antinucci to unofficially open a 15-point lead over McAleer in the Pro standings after two rounds and four races of the six-round, 12-race season.  Ortiz, Gdovic Double Up in ProAm Bryan Ortiz and Brandon Gdovic doubled up on ProAm wins for the day in the No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán, leading the entire way from the class pole position. Gdovic said he, too, had to hold on with an unforeseen issue near the end, but he crossed the finish line 0.720 seconds ahead of Capitanio in the No. 22 Dream Racing Motorsport, Lamborghini Las Vegas Huracán. “I don’t what was going on, whether it was the track or it was the car, but I about wadded it up the last four laps through the Esses,” said Gdovic, who has four VIR wins since 2019. “Still, we had an awesome car all weekend. Bryan did all the work at the beginning (of Race 2) and I just tried to screw it up at the end. It’s an awesome weekend to sweep, home track for us, which is always fun.” Gdovic and Ortiz have an unofficial seven-point lead over Victor Gomez IV (No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán) after four ProAm races with the next doubleheader round June 24-27 at Watkins Glen International. “Looking forward for that weekend,” Ortiz said. “Great team and Brandon has done a great job at that track also, so we should have another good shot at it.”  17-Year-Old Berkeley Earns Breakthrough Am Win After being knocked out early in Sunday morning’s race, Berkeley collected himself and drove a steady race to win in the Am class. It was the maiden series victory for the teen who turned 17 last month. “It feels great,” Berkeley said after winning by nearly 18 seconds. “I worked really hard to get here. I’m super thankful for everybody who brought me here. It was not an easy race; it was hot out here. I managed the tires well and then the last couple laps they started to fall off. Just kept control of the car, consistent laps, smooth and clean and was able to bring it home P1. I’m over the moon right now.” Alan Metni, who fashioned a pair of second-place finishes Sunday in the No. 99 Change Racing, Lamborghini Dallas Huracán, unofficially leads the Am championship by three points over Giano Taurino (No. 88 Taurino Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán).  Olson, Kvamme Sweep LB Cup In LB Cup, Terry Olson and Mark Kvamme completed their own victory sweep. They followed up their morning triumph in the No. 47 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán with an 8.984-seconds victory over Matt Dicken (No. 36 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán) in the afternoon. Kvamme started in the No. 47 and turned the car over to Olson second in class. Olson took it from there. “Once I got in, it was really slippery,” Olson said. “Luckily, the word had come back that the track was really hot and slick, so we had to run just nine-tenths quite a bit to keep the car from getting away from us. We had no fewer than four go off track in front of us in that last stint. We were able to keep our car clean and the Palm Beach Lamborghini was flawless for us; never missed a beat.” Olson and Kvamme now sit atop the LB Cup standings, six points up on Dicken heading to Watkins Glen. |
