MACHAVERN PICKS UP FIRST WIN OF SEASON AT CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 12, 2014) – Dillon Machavern earned his first win of the season in Round 7 of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America on Saturday, July 12 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Machavern became the first Amateur class driver to win overall honors this season in his No. 07 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 fielded by Mitchum Motorsports. He beat Victor Gonzalez’s No. 99 entry fielded by Change Racing and representing Lamborghini Carolinas by 8.860 seconds.
Rounding out the podium was Gonzalez’s Change Racing teammate, championship leader Kevin Conway, in third place in the No. 29 car also representing Lamborghini Carolinas.
Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe driver Thomas Pichler was running second in the No. 1 Lamborghini Dallas entry fielded by Jota Corse when he suffered a flat left rear tire with one minute remaining, dropping him to a heartbreaking eighth place.
“It was a huge strategy race, and we knew that going in,” Machavern said. “Everything seemed to work really well, so we’re going to keep the same game plan for tomorrow and hope to be right back here.”
Round 8 of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America is scheduled for 10:55 a.m. (ET) Sunday on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit. The 50-minute race will be streamed live at HTTP://SQUADRACORSE.LAMBORGHINI.COM/EN/LIVE-USA.
First-time Super Trofeo drivers Aaron Povoledo and Corey Lewis controlled the first part of the race from the pole until a pit stop violation at the driver’s change pushed them back, as they ended up finishing seventh in the No. 33 Musante Motorsport entry representing Lamborghini Boston.
Machavern took the lead during that ill-fated pit stop by Povoledo/Lewis, losing it only for a lap when he made his mandatory 90-second stop. He regained the lead once Gonzalez pitted and led for the final 20 minutes of the 55-minute race.
“The first stint I was just conserving tires and running a pace where the leader could see me in his mirrors but not hard enough to run the tires off,” Machavern said. “Then after the pit stop I was given the green light to push a little bit, but I guess the leaders had a challenging pit stop, so I jumped out to a huge lead and was able to just cruise the rest of the race.”
The No. 80 Lamborghini Palm Beach Gallardo driven by Lee Carpentier and fielded by MITCHUM MOTORSPORT finished second in the Amateur class, followed by David Welch in the No. 88 car representing Lamborgini Vancouver and fielded by GMG Racing. Carpentier and and Welch finished fourth and fifth overall, respectively, as Amateur class drivers took three of the top five spots in the race.
This is only the second race weekend in the series for Machavern and first as a solo driver. He co-drove with Carpentier on June 27-29 at Watkins Glen International, picking up a third-place Amateur finish.
The two rounds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park continue a busy stretch of action worldwide for the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo championship, which continues to reach new levels of success at every round in Europe, North America and Asia.
The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America and Europe competed during the final weekend of June at WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL and CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD, respectively. The next round of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe is July 25-26 at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. The Asian Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo championship resumes Aug. 30-31 at FUJI SPEEDWAY in Oyama, Japan.
The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo car is the ultimate single-make race car and the only four-wheel drive GT racer in the world. The 570-horsepower, V10 Gallardo LP 570-4 features impressive technology such as paddle shift E-gear transmission, Öhlins race shocks, Brembo brakes, a carbon fiber aerodynamic package that includes a rear wing with 10 adjustable positions, MTA data acquisition, air jacks, center wheel locks and more.
Lamborghini and Blancpain are providing world-class hospitality this weekend for clients and guests of Lamborghini dealers in Montreal and Toronto. Guests also can participate in the IMSA Hot Lap Experience, high-speed rides around the Canadian Tire Motorsport circuit in a Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4.
The Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 is on display at Lamborghini Village at the circuit throughout the weekend.
POST-RACE QUOTES:
DILLON MACHAVERN (Winner, First Amateur, No. 07): “It was a huge strategy race, and we knew that going in. The first stint I was just conserving tires and running a pace where the leader could see me in his mirrors but not hard enough to run the tires off. Then after the pit stop I was given the green light to push a little bit, but I guess the leaders had a challenging pit stop, so I jumped out to a huge lead and was able to just cruise the rest of the race. Everything seemed to work really well, so we’re going to keep the same game plan for tomorrow and hope to be right back here.”
VICTOR GONZALEZ JR. (Second, No. 99 Lamborghini Carolinas): “It’s great to be here in Canada and again driving in the Super Trofeo series. The race was good. I thought I could a little bit better. We lost the balance of the car a little bit, but it’s the driver’s fault. I have to do a better job of dialing the car. The guys did a great job at Change Racing, and thanks to Lamborghini Carolinas. Great to be here and with the series.”
KEVIN CONWAY (Third, No. 29 Lamborghini Carolinas): “We had some engine problems in qualifying, so we had to start really deep in the field. We had a good start and got in position but lost ABS at about lap four or five. So we were battling lack of ABS, which is very challenging on a fast track here like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I want to thank Eddie Littlefield and Robbie Benton, everybody at Change Racing. They did a great job fixing the car from yesterday and getting it ready. Still some problems, but we learned a lot and know what changes we need to make for tomorrow and hopefully come back a couple of steps higher.”
LEE CARPENTIER (Second Amateur, No. 80 Lamborghini Palm Beach): “It’s a tough race here at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s a grueling track. It’s an aero track, which fits this car perfectly. The Mitchum Motorsports-West Palm Beach Lamborghini was phenomenal; we had a car under us the entire time. We ended up P4 overall, second in class chasing P3 overall, but just not enough time. But it was a phenomenal run; my teammate took the overall win. And we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
DAVID WELCH (Third Amateur, No. 88 Lamborghini Vancouver): “We took our time in the start, saved tires and were really right where we wanted to be. And we did our pit stop, and unfortunately the guys mistimed it and got a drive-through (penalty). So instead of first we got third, but the GMG guys were great. First podium in only my second race, so it’s good. The track had a lot of marbles, but this is an awesome place to drive. Lots of fun. All the guys were good out there and behaved. It was awesome.”
