Lola Lovinfosse secures maiden Lamborghini ST podium at Nürburgring

Newly-announced to the Lamborghini Junior Program and in her first GT racing season, Lola Lovinfosse delivered a standout performance at Nürburgring, recovering from sixth to third in her race 2 stint to achieve her first class podium in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe.

Having just joined the Lamborghini Junior Program, Lola Lovinfosse delivered a breakthrough performance in the latest Super Trofeo Europe round at Nürburgring, where the French racer had a superb stint recovering from sixth to third and collected her first class podium in the series.

Lovinfosse, who is venturing in her first season of GT racing after a couple of seasons of F4 competitions, including the all-female F1 Academy championship, is making noticeable progress in just her rookie campaign in Lamborghini Super Trofeo. From a top-20 in the Pro class on debut at Imola, she then had to miss the second round at Spa Francorchamps due to a wrist injury sustained in F1 Academy, which meant that she would return behind the wheel of the #76 Schumacher CLRT Huracan at Circuit de La Sarthe for the third round.

At Le Mans, however, Lovinfosse was hit by bad luck, with a post race 40 second penalty in race 1 for a pit stop infringement hampering her results and a cancelled race 2 eventually limiting her learning-oriented season. Coming into the fourth round at Nürburgring, Lola was therefore aiming to resume her progression in GT competitions, also strong of very exciting news in the build-up to the event.

The French driver, who is contesting a double racing program in F1 Academy under the banner of beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury, was in fact among the selected for the Lamborghini Junior Program - a year-long programme that will see the shortlisted drivers under 25 being assessed throughout the season and evaluated on performance, progression and consistency before a shootout at Jerez in November.

Lovinfosse was the only female driver announced in the program.

The Nürburgring weekend also brought a change in the team's line up: Lola Lovinfosse would be teaming up with Laurent Hurgon and therefore move to the ProAm category. This proved to be a very strong driver pairing, as the #76 Schumacher CLRT duo soon showcased top three pace straight from the practice sessions.

In the first practice session at Nürburgring, held in wet conditions, the Schumacher CLRT duo finished 19th overall and P5 in class, marking a good start to the weekend. In the second practice session, Lovinfosse and Hurgon were P8 in class, with the session halted by a red flag in the final minutes.

Q1 on Saturday morning saw typical Nürburgring weather; Lovinfosse, in the car for Q1, secured P7 in class with a time of 2:19.993. Hurgon took over for the second qualifying session, delivering strong laps to reach third in class and just outside the overall top 10.

Race 1 at Nürburgring was again characterized by very wet, cold conditions with poor visibility, requiring a start under the safety car. With 48 cars on the grid, Lovinfosse started from P7 in the ProAm class for the first stint of the race, following a strong qualifying performance earlier in the morning.

As the green flag waved with 40 minutes remaining, Lovinfosse maintained her position and began to gain ground, moving up to P23 overall and sixth in class. The treacherous conditions did not deter her as she showcased impressive pace, gradually recovering three seconds in one lap to catch her next ProAm rival, Bronek Formanek, who was a few cars ahead. Lovinfosse continued to improve her personal best lap times, passing Abkhazava and the Pro car of Enzo Geraci, as she set her sights on Formanek, now just over a second ahead.

Despite the challenging weather, Lola remained unfazed; Iron Lynx's Gosselin spun but managed to rejoin without causing a neutralization, allowing the race to proceed uninterrupted. As the race approached the pit window, Lovinfosse put in strong sector times, making a crucial move to break into the ProAm top five on lap 9 with a strong run.

Entering the pit cycle, Lovinfosse stayed out longer, climbing the overall classification to P17 and fifth in class. She then handed over the car to her teammate Laurent Hurgon after one of her best stints in the series to date. Hurgon rejoined the race P20 overall and sixth in class.

Hurgon was faster than Anthony Nahra and soon overtook the #74 Pegasus Racing Lamborghini, reclaiming fifth in ProAm by lap 14. He then faced a tough challenge from the very quick Schandorff, who managed to pass him. However, Hurgon fought back and overtook Schandorff one lap later, also clinching P4 in class after Calle encountered trouble.

Now 17th overall, Hurgon targeted Renaud Kuppens, five seconds ahead. Still, he had to defend against Schandorff, who got back ahead with 5 minutes remaining. Unfortunately, Hurgon lost another position to Milos Pavlovic on the penultimate lap.

Amaury Bonduel took his fourth overall victory of the season, while Stefan Rosina secured the ProAm win in a tightly contested class. Schandorff finished second, and Ignazio Zanon third. Laurent Hurgon and Lola Lovinfosse finished fifth in class, marking a highly promising first race of the weekend in extremely wet conditions for the Schumacher CLRT drivers, on their first in the ProAm category. After post-race penalties, they would be classified P7, after cars ahead had their in-race penalties cancelled.

Race 2 offered a stark contrast with sunny and dry conditions. Laurent Hurgon started from third in the ProAm class, providing a good chance to capitalize on their positive performance from Saturday's race.

At the start, Schandorff lost the overall lead into turn one but maintained a clear gap from the closest ProAm competitors, with Pavlovic second and just outside the overall top ten. Hurgon, starting third in class, faced a challenging start and dropped to fifth after falling behind Kuppens and Locanto. However, he quickly reclaimed sixth as Kuppens dropped down the order.

With 30 minutes remaining, the pit window opened, and Hurgon began climbing a few positions overall, slightly extending his stint. Hurgon pitted on lap 11, and Lola Lovinfosse took over, rejoining the race in 28th overall and sixth in class.

Lovinfosse immediately set fast sector times, determined to make up the positions needed to catch her closest class rival. She was two seconds per lap faster than Gosselin and quickly closed the gap. Lola made up several places overall, utilizing attrition ahead to her advantage and moving up to fifth in class.

Continuing her relentless pursuit, Lovinfosse chased down Gosselin, who was now only two cars ahead. On the final lap, both Lovinfosse and Maximilian Paul managed to clear Gosselin, with Lovinfosse also passing Guido Luchetti.

This impressive performance allowed Lovinfosse to secure a superb third place in the ProAm class, marking her first podium in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe.

Lovinfosse's strong stints in both races at Nürburgring demonstrated her growing proficiency in GT racing, solidifying her place as a promising talent in the Lamborghini Junior Program.

On only her third weekend at the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracan SuperTrofeo EVO2, Lovinfosse reached the podium - as she will aim to keep momentum entering the final two rounds in Barcelona and Jerez.

Before, Lola will switch back her focus to her F1 Academy campaign, as the all female series will make its on-track return to Zandvoort, Netherlands, on 24-25 August.