One point. That is the smallest possible margin separating Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra from the rest of the field after the second Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe weekend of the season. The team’s Pro-Am crew still leads the standings by a single point, while the AM pairing sits just one point shy of the championship lead.
“We’ve come through an extremely difficult weekend, and unfortunately, we made a few mistakes — we have to admit that openly. On the other hand, we’re leaving with important points, another trophy and, above all, both drivers and cars in one piece,” summarises team manager Jiří Mičánek Jr. after the second round of the season at the legendary Imola circuit.
Bronislav Formánek and Anthony Pretorius finished third in the second race and sixth in Pro-Am in the first. Jakub Knoll and Renaud Kuppens lost a podium result after receiving a penalty for a pit stop that was too short, before narrowly missing out on the podium again with fourth place in race two.
This time the championship used an unusual two-day format, with both races taking place on Sunday. The already demanding timetable was made even more complicated by wet weather. Both races were repeatedly interrupted by safety cars, incidents, penalties and team mistakes.
The better result for Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra came in the second race. Despite running off the circuit during his stint, Anthony Pretorius fought his way back through the field to claim third place. The second car then lost a comfortable advantage after a late safety car intervention, leaving Jakub Knoll to finish fourth.
In the difficult conditions, it was newcomer Anthony Pretorius who endured the toughest weekend. Imola marked his first appearance at the circuit, and he made his race debut there in highly challenging conditions — on a drying track in race one and in full wet conditions in race two. In the opening race, he was forced off the track by another driver and lost crucial positions while rejoining. In the second, he made a mistake in the wet, only to recover with an impressive comeback drive that ended on the podium.
“On one hand it’s frustrating, because we could have been fighting for victory in both races. On the other, I’m happy we brought both cars and drivers home safely. In the first race there was a huge risk that someone would hit Anthony while he was stranded on the track. We could easily have lost the car and gone home with two zeroes — not to mention the risk to the driver himself,” says Jiří Mičánek.
“This was a weekend to forget, but also one to learn from. We had strong pace, but the first race was incredibly unlucky and the incident with the other car made it even worse,” admits Anthony Pretorius. “It was not a real representation of what we can do.”
According to Bronislav Formánek, the pressure of defending the championship lead also played a role. “It was mentally exhausting. We wanted too much and pushed too hard. The positive thing is that we managed to recover to third place in the second race and keep the championship lead.”
The second crew of Jakub Knoll and Renaud Kuppens crossed the line third in AM in the opening race and looked set for a podium finish, only for race control to issue a harsh verdict — a penalty for a pit stop that was too short. The team’s mistake in the pits cost the pair two positions. “It was an intense weekend and the conditions were extremely difficult. Tough circuit, slick tyres on a mixed conditions at the start of race one, and I just couldn’t get properly into the rhythm,” says Jakub Knoll about his stint.
The second race looked far more promising. Kuppens made an excellent start and built a comfortable ten-second lead before handing the car over to Knoll. That advantage disappeared when the safety car was deployed and compressed the entire field. After the restart, with cars from every class fighting together in traffic, Knoll eventually secured fourth place. “There was a huge amount of pressure after the restart and I lost the podium on the final lap. I feel especially sorry for Kuppi, because he was extremely strong in the first stint and he was competing with the professional drivers,” says Knoll.
“I think I did the maximum and I can be happy with my performance, especially in the second race. I had a really good start and was running inside the top ten overall. It’s frustrating because we lost a lot of opportunities this weekend. We’re second in the championship by one point, but normally we could have been leading with a big advantage,” says Renaud Kuppens.
“Unfortunately, we made a mistake in the first race during the pit stop and we need to admit that openly. In the second race the circumstances simply didn’t go our way. Without the safety car, we had a very strong chance to win AM and were almost certainly heading for a podium,” says Jiří Mičánek about the Knoll–Kuppens result.
“We’ll put this weekend behind us and focus on preparing for Spa-Francorchamps at the end of June, where we’ll race alongside the iconic 24 Hours of Spa. Broněk and Anthony still lead the championship by one point, while Jakub and Renaud are second by one point. We probably all expected more from Imola, but objectively it’s still a very solid result and another trophy from the fastest one-make series in the world. We mustn’t forget that,” concludes Jiří Mičánek.
