Nina Østergaard secures class victory in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe at Barcelona
Nina Østergaard and Peder Moller-Demant converted strong qualifying pace into another Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe LB Cup class victory at Barcelona, overcoming a fiercely contested race to take the class win in the only race held during the weekend.
Nina Østergaard and Peder Moller-Demant converted strong qualifying pace into another Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe LB Cup class victory at Barcelona, overcoming a fiercely contested race to take the class win in the only race held during the weekend.
Driving the #67 DC Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán, the Danish pairing continued their impressive debut campaign with another strong performance, adding a another LB Cup victory to the class win they scored at the opening round of the season.
The Barcelona weekend began with clear signs that the #67 Lamborghini had the pace to fight at the front of the class. Østergaard posted a 1:53.286 in the opening practice session to place eighth in LB Cup, although the session was interrupted by a red flag. The improvement came immediately in FP2, where she topped the LB Cup classification with a 1:51.569, approximately a tenth of a second faster than the #64 Rexal Villorba Corse Lamborghini, establishing the DC Motorsport entry as one of the cars to watch heading into qualifying.
Østergaard maintained that form into Saturday morning's first qualifying session, setting a 1:47.566 to qualify 23rd overall and second in LB Cup. Moller-Demant then delivered an equally strong performance in Q2, recording a 1:47.778 that put the #67 Lamborghini on LB Cup pole position and 18th overall.
The pace of the DC Motorsport car suggested that the Danish pairing was in an excellent position to challenge for another class victory, but the remainder of Saturday afternoon produced an unexpected anti-climax. Heavy rain arrived at the circuit, with the weather deteriorating to the point that Race 1 was eventually cancelled following a weather alert. With the opening race unable to take place, the entire weekend's competitive focus shifted to the second race on Sunday.
With the weather finally improving and sunshine returning to Barcelona, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe field assembled for Race 2 on Sunday afternoon, with all of the day's races having been compressed into the afternoon schedule. Moller-Demant started the sole Super Trofeo race from LB Cup pole, giving the #67 DC Motorsport Lamborghini the ideal opportunity to convert its qualifying performance into a result.
The opening moments were immediately chaotic. A car spun in the midfield on the main straight, triggering a multi-car accident involving four cars and bringing out the Safety Car almost immediately. Moller-Demant avoided the incident completely and emerged from the opening chaos still leading LB Cup, while also running 15th overall.
The field was directed through the pit lane under the Safety Car to allow marshals to clear the main straight before racing could resume. When the track returned to green with 34 minutes remaining, Moller-Demant immediately demonstrated that the #67 Lamborghini had the pace to control the class battle.
He set a 1:48.8, the fastest lap in LB Cup at that stage, while gaining another overall position, and followed it with a 1:48.2 to extend his advantage over the nearest class competitors. By this stage, a three-car buffer had opened behind him, allowing the DC Motorsport driver to control the race while the pit window approached.
As other cars began making their mandatory stops, Moller-Demant remained on track and climbed as high as tenth overall. The strategy also kept him comfortably at the head of the LB Cup field, although the race remained unpredictable, with Baptista's Oregon Lamborghini ending up in the gravel during the pit window.
Moller-Demant eventually brought the #67 into the pits on lap 11 from the class lead, carrying a two-second advantage over the #64 Rexal Villorba Corse Lamborghini of Merendino. The car was handed over to Østergaard, who rejoined in second place in LB Cup before immediately reclaiming the class lead as Philip Truman emerged behind following his own stop in the #64 Lamborghini.
Østergaard therefore found herself at the front of the class for the second half of the race, but the fight was far from over. Another incident at Turn 1 involving the #6 VSR Lamborghini of Euan Hankey triggered a second Safety Car with 15 minutes remaining, neutralising the class battle once again.
The race returned to green with nine minutes on the clock, but the restart was messy, with several cars running deep into Turn 1 and the order changing rapidly. Østergaard retained the LB Cup lead, although a number of fast cars began moving through the field and she was immediately forced to defend her position.
Petar Matic emerged as her principal challenger, while Østergaard also had to negotiate traffic from the ProAm and AM classes. The DC Motorsport driver had to find a way through the traffic ahead without compromising her defensive position. When Ruffini suffered damage to his car directly ahead, Østergaard successfully avoided the incident, but Matic eventually found a way past on lap 20 to take the LB Cup lead. The fight appeared to have turned against the #67 Lamborghini, but the situation changed again almost immediately.
Matic encountered trouble on the following lap and dropped back down the order, allowing Østergaard to regain the class lead with just two minutes remaining. The Danish driver now faced a final challenge from Francesco Turzo, but she responded with her best lap of the race: Østergaard set a personal best of 1:51.241 as she maintained her advantage through the closing stages, delivering another strong final lap under pressure and bringing the #67 DC Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán across the finish line to take the LB Cup victory.
The result marked another outstanding performance from Østergaard and Moller-Demant during their first season in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe. After the opening-round class victory at Paul Ricard, the Danish pairing returned to the top step of the podium after starting from pole position in class.
With the Barcelona win, the DC Motorsport duo will now close out their debut campaign at Monza, where the final round of the European season will be held, before the Lamborghini World Finals on 22-25 October.
