Oregon Team started the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season in the best way. The team led by Jerry Canevisio and Giorgio Testa returned to success at the Paul Ricard, in the first of six 2023 rounds, claiming a second place and the victory in the Sunday’s race two courtesy of Italian Marzio Moretti and German Sebastian Balthasar – 21 and 26 years-old respectively – taking the Pro lead in the standings.
The Paul Ricard weekend had opened on Saturday with the third best overall time and the second of his class set by Moretti in qualifying 1. In the same session the 22-year-old Spaniard Guillem Pujeu, who made his return to the one-make series pairing with Brazilian Pedro Ebrahim (17 years-old), finished 13rd. Lorenzo Pegoraro was seventh in the Pro-Am sharing another Oregon Team’s Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 car with Enrico Bettera, whilst Filippo Berto, partnered with 19-year-old rookie Alessandro Mainetti, placed around the middle of the grid. In the second session Balthasar set the sixth quickest lap and fifth of the Pro. Ebrahim entered the top-10 over 48 entries. Manetti finished 23rd, and Bettera ended nine places behind him.
At the start of Race one, Moretti lost two positions due to a set-up issue. However, the Italian and Balthasar had a good pace and made no mistake to finish second with a five-second gap from the leaders. Ebrahim and Pujeu were 16th and clinched the top-10 in their class. Pegoraro and Bettera finished ninth in the Pro-Am. Unfortunately, Berto and Mainetti were forced to retire due to a driveshaft failure.
In Race two Balthasar started well from the third row of the grid, managing perfectly his tires and recovering third. After the pit-stop Moretti made a couple of overtakes, passing in the final stages Rodrigo Testa and Andrzej Lewandowski to take the lead and mantain it until the finish line. That gave important points to Oregon Team duo and let them to reach the top of the standings.
Mainetti and Berto also performed well, finishing 21st overall and tenth of the Pro. Ebrahim and Pujeu were forced to retire. Pegoraro and Bettera narrowly missed the Pro-Am top-10.
Next round will be in Spa, on 29 June-1 July, in the same weekend of famous 24 Hours.
