Just a day before the start of the new Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season, Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra completed the final piece of its driver line-up. Joining the already confirmed pairing of Bronislav Formánek and Anthony Pretorius at Paul Ricard will be Jakub Knoll and, newly, 2024 Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Champion Renaud Kuppens.
After a one-year spell in the GT2 European Series, the team returns to the grid with two cars — and, above all, with highly competitive driver crews. “Following Anthony Pretorius, Renaud Kuppens is another top-quality international driver we’ve brought into the team. Both belong among the fastest and most capable drivers of their generation in the entire Lamborghini Super Trofeo field. I see it as a major success, and above all as confirmation of the quality of our team and the reputation we have built in global motorsport,” says team manager Jiří Mičánek Jr.
The Formánek–Pretorius pairing will line up in the Pro-Am category for the opening round, while Kuppens and Knoll will compete in the Am class. All drivers except Kuppens completed two days of testing at Monza, with all four set to take part in free practice at Paul Ricard on Thursday. “At Monza, we confirmed that the Formánek–Pretorius duo will be very quick, and we can aim not only for class results but for strong overall positions as well. We’ll know more about the second crew after Thursday, but Renaud is an extremely experienced driver, just like Jakub. I believe they’ll gel quickly and be able to fight at the front of their class,” outlined Mičánek.
The team returns to Paul Ricard after a year — last season, it dominated both GT2 European Series races there. “Even if we have the speed, it certainly doesn’t mean we’ll automatically be first. The competition is extremely close. I believe Anthony will have strong pace, and for me it will be a big challenge to maintain the position” estimates Bronislav Formánek ahead of the opening race weekend.
His team-mate approaches the first event with equal humility. “At Monza, the lap times looked very promising. Not just mine — Broněk set the bar very high as well. Based on lap times, we’re very competitive, but we still don’t know how we compare to the rest,” says one of the most talented drivers on the grid of this prestigious series.
“I did my first Lamborghini Super Trofeo tests at Paul Ricard, and last year we won the opening race here by eight seconds. So I’ll feel very strong here, and I’m curious to see what we can show,” concludes Pretorius, who will celebrate his nineteenth birthday at the start of the race weekend.
The team’s second Lamborghini Huracán ST EVO2 will be driven by Jakub Knoll and Renaud Kuppens. Knoll, the reigning two-time Czech champion, returns to European racing after a two-year break. “Paul Ricard is, let’s say, a moderately favourite track for me. It’s a very good circuit to start the season, and we’ll want to make the most of the test day we have before the weekend,” says Knoll, who will be working with a completely new team-mate. Belgian driver Renaud Kuppens is a regular in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo AM class. In 2024, he became the overall winner of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final with Boutsen VDS, and in the European series he fought for the Pro-Am title until the final race — directly against Jiří Mičánek’s team and Bronislav Formánek.
“It was a huge surprise when Jiří contacted me a few days ago. We know the team well – we fought against each other for the title in 2024. It was fair racing, tough but clean, with no dirty moves. That made the decision to accept the offer very easy. Mičánek Motorsport is a professional team with a great atmosphere on the human side as well,” says the forty-eight-year-old Kuppens, who has competed in FIA GT in past and holds two titles in the Trofeo Maserati World Series.
“I think the DNA of Jiří Mičánek’s team is closer to my character than any other in the paddock. They work very professionally, yet remain relaxed. I have to say I’m really happy. On Tuesday morning I didn’t even have my licence renewed, and now I’m preparing for the first races. My goal is to deliver the best possible performance and focus on completing the full season with the team,” Kuppens adds.
The team has already announced that running a second car for the full Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season will depend on the results of the opening race weekend — particularly from Jakub Knoll’s perspective. He will decide after the weekend whether to remain in the fastest one-make series in the world or return to Central European circuits. “I’m fully aware of how important this race is in that regard,” Knoll emphasises.
Despite the strength of the line-up, team manager Jiří Mičánek approaches the start of the season with humility. “We’re returning to one of the most competitive championships in the world. With the line-up we have, many rivals will be highly motivated to beat us. We have to handle that pressure. But I believe that with this team, we have the best possible foundation to continue our work and build on our European titles from 2024 and 2025.”
