Bronislav Formánek and Štefan Rosina lead the Pro-AM championship in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe after the first race. Following a second-place finish in Saturday’s race, which was cut short by an extreme storm, the pair secured victory on Sunday. The junior duo Jáchym Galáš and Matěj Pavlíček completed their debut weekend in the PRO category in fifteenth place.
„This result is the first step in the strategy we set for ourselves – to return to the top positions in the series. The first weekend couldn’t have gone better for us. What more could you ask for than two podiums, including a victory, and the championship lead?” says team manager Jiří Mičánek Jr.
The path to this excellent result, however, got off to a difficult start. “On Friday, we had problems with the steering and had to replace it. At the same time, we were repairing the second car, which was involved in a collision during the second practice session,” recalls Jiří Mičánek on the hectic start to the weekend.
The first race, started by Štefan Rosina, was disrupted by an extreme storm that swept over Imola. The drivers began under a dark sky on dry tyres, but soon the track was littered first with broken branches from surrounding trees and then with raindrops. Teams still managed to complete a driver change, with Rosina handing the car over to Formánek in second place in Pro-AM, but by then the race was already behind the safety car. Just before race control decided to call the race, Broněk Formánek pitted, though this didn’t change the result—second place was secured, even if the team had to contest it in a protest to race direction.
In the second race, Broněk Formánek got off to a brilliant start, quickly gaining several positions, and Štefan Rosina then completed his teammate’s precise work by driving the team’s Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra Huracán ST EVO2 to first place. “I’m pleased that our thorough preparation paid off and that we’re proving we belong among the absolute top of the Pro-AM class,” says Štefan Rosina. Bronislav Formánek, starting his sixth season in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, is also enjoying the feeling of leading the championship for the first time. “Finishing first and second moved us into the lead, and now we’ll do everything we can to stay there.”
The debut weekend in Super Trofeo proved far more dramatic for the duo Jáchym Galáš and Matěj Pavlíček. On Friday, the team lost a significant amount of track time due to Pavlíček’s crash in the second practice session. His Huracán ended up against the barriers, and the repair work meant the team couldn’t return to the track. Both drivers performed well in qualifying, with Jáchym Galáš particularly pleased. “I managed to string together the three fastest sectors, which is good news. We still have room for improvement, of course, but this shows that aiming for a top-ten finish this season is realistic,” says the twenty-two-year-old driver.
He drew his share of bad luck at the start of the first race, when a collision with another driver damaged his car right off the line. “Over the radio I heard the light was green, but I didn’t physically see the starting lights. So I accelerated, but unfortunately the cars in front had slowed down. For the manoeuvre that sent one of the competitors into a spin, I received a drive-through penalty, but in the end I entered the pit lane for a different reason – the radiator was damaged in the collision.”
The junior duo redeemed both their mood and their reputation in the second race, delivering aggressive driving packed with overtakes. “Considering Imola’s reputation as a circuit where passing is difficult, moving up nine positions is fantastic,” Galáš assesses. While he had problems at the start of the first race, Matěj Pavlíček handled the second perfectly, navigating a congested pack where several collisions occurred and gaining several positions in the process. Galáš then had the chance to move up even further, but in the final minutes the field ran behind the safety car. “I believe they’ve both learned from their initial mistakes. The second race was very strong. Matěj made an excellent start and moved forward, and Jáchym completed it flawlessly,” says Jiří Mičánek, emphasising that the incidents in practice and at the start of the first race are behind the young pair now.
„The overall impression is very positive. In Pro-AM, we achieved a result we can be proud of—one that certainly wasn’t handed to us by chance. Broněk put in an excellent fight on Sunday, and Štefan was outstanding as well. I’m convinced this is our standard, and as long as we aren’t plagued by bad luck, we’ll continue to prove it in the upcoming races,” concludes Jiří Mičánek.
