Half a million fans and the atmosphere of Europe’s most iconic race – that’s what awaits the Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra team as they take on the third round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe. The prestigious one-make championship joins the action at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As many as sixty identical Lamborghini ST EVO2 cars are in for a truly exceptional weekend. They’ll take to the same circuit as the machines of the world’s most famous endurance race – and do so in front of a record-breaking crowd. “We’ve never raced in front of so many people or in such an incredible atmosphere. It’s a true celebration of motorsport, and lining up alongside this event is a dream come true for us,” says team manager Jiří Mičánek Jr. ahead of what is set to be Europe’s biggest motorsport weekend.
On the other hand, he knows that he and his four drivers are facing an extremely tough challenge. With such a packed weekend schedule, they’ll have only one practice session before qualifying – on a circuit none of them, nor their rivals, have ever driven before. Just like the endurance prototypes, the Huracáns will thunder along the 13-kilometre track that partly runs on public roads, sharing only a short section with the modern closed circuit.
A total of 55 cars are entered for the race, with up to sixty expected to line up on the grid. However, on the 13-kilometre circuit – almost twice as long as the championship’s second-longest track, Spa-Francorchamps – the field should spread out quickly once the action gets underway.
The line-up remains unchanged for the third race weekend – in the Pro-Am category, Bronislav Formánek and Štefan Rosina will be aiming to extend their five-point lead at the top of the championship standings. In the Pro class, the junior pairing of Jáchym Galáš and Matěj Pavlíček will once again take to the track.
For me, this will be one of the most exciting weekends of my career. I’m really curious to see how the whole event will be organised – we’ve never raced as part of something this massive,” says Bronislav Formánek, who has so far been preparing for the track using a simulator. Štefan Rosina is in a similar position: “The circuit looks incredibly fast on the simulator, and I can’t wait to experience it for real. I’m proud that together with Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra, we’ll be representing Czechoslovak motorsport at such a world-class event.
Jáchym Galáš is splitting his focus between the car and his final university exams during race week, yet he still managed to find time for the simulator. “I’ve got a strange feeling about the circuit – there’s a lot of waiting around,” he says, referring to the long straights. In the same breath, though, he admits that in reality, when that “waiting” means travelling at speeds of up to 290 kilometres per hour, it’s bound to feel quite different.
Like their rivals, the team faces a major time crunch – on an unfamiliar circuit where no testing is allowed throughout the year, they’ll have to find their bearings during a single free practice session, as that’s all the Lamborghini Super Trofeo organisers have scheduled. “It’ll be everyone’s first time there, so it’ll come down to how quickly we can find the ideal setup,” notes PRO-class driver Matěj Pavlíček.
The entire format will be unusual for the Super Trofeo Europe. Free practice takes place as early as Wednesday, followed by the first race on Thursday. The second race will then kick off the official 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend, with the Huracáns battling it out in front of a quarter of a million fans on Saturday morning, just before the legendary endurance race begins.
This extraordinary weekend at the world’s most famous motor race will also be brought to fans through television coverage. On Friday, 14 May at 7:20 a.m., Jiří Mičánek will appear as a guest on Nový den on CNN Prima News.
