Kiwi drivers Liam Sceats and Chris van der Drift both delivered impressive performances across the second round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia championship at Ningbo International Circuit in China, with the pair securing podium finishes and class victories during a strong weekend for Team VSR.
Race one began with Jonathan Cecotto and William Tregurtha claiming pole position for Bat Mobile Racing, while Kiwi Liam Sceats and co-driver Gustaw Wisniewski lined up third overall in the Pro class. Fellow New Zealander Chris van der Drift and teammate Todd Kingsford started alongside them from fourth overall in their Pro-Am entry.
Cecotto made the perfect getaway from pole position and led the field into Turn 1, while Wisniewski slotted into second place during the opening laps. Kingsford initially held fourth before coming under pressure from Zhicong Li, who completed an early move to push the VSR entry back to fifth.
At the front, Cecotto started to edge away slightly, though Wisniewski kept the leader firmly within range. Ten minutes into the race, the gap sat at just 1.3 seconds as the VSR Lamborghini continued to apply pressure.
Further behind, Kingsford endured a difficult moment in the final sector after a mistake cost significant time, leaving him more than 13 seconds adrift of Li and with work to do during the second half of the race.
Kingsford was among the first to pit, bringing the car in with 28 minutes remaining before handing over to van der Drift. By that stage, the gap to fourth place had grown to more than 30 seconds.
Wisniewski stayed out longer before pitting from second place with 22 minutes left and handing the #6 Lamborghini over to Sceats. Once the pit cycle had been completed, Sceats emerged still running second overall, while van der Drift rejoined in fifth place and immediately began hunting down Andre Couto in the #77 Racegraph Lamborghini.
Van der Drift quickly began closing the deficit, reducing the gap from 16 seconds to just over five seconds as the race entered its closing stages.
Meanwhile, Sceats continued another composed and mature drive in second place overall, although race leader Tregurtha managed to maintain a comfortable advantage at the front after taking over from Cecotto.
The fight for fourth overall and the Pro-Am lead became one of the key battles of the race. With just over eight minutes remaining, van der Drift caught Couto and completed the pass to move into fourth overall and first in class. From there, the experienced Kiwi controlled the remainder of the race to secure Pro-Am honours.
Tregurtha and Cecotto went on to claim the overall race victory, while Sceats and Wisniewski secured second overall and second in the Pro class after another standout showing from the young Kiwi. Van der Drift and Kingsford completed an impressive recovery drive to finish fourth overall and take victory in the Pro-Am class.
Race two brought further success for both New Zealand drivers.
Van der Drift and Kingsford started from pole position in their Team VSR Pro-Am Lamborghini, with van der Drift taking the opening stint. Alongside him on the front row was William Tregurtha, setting up an intense battle in the opening corners.
Van der Drift converted pole into the race lead and immediately settled into a strong rhythm despite heavy pressure from the Pro-class machinery behind.
Further back, Sceats and Wisniewski lined up fifth overall and third in the Pro class alongside the Racegraph entry of Zexuan Liu and Andre Couto.
The race was quickly interrupted on the opening lap after Bertram Lau’s AM-class Lamborghini became stranded in the gravel at Turn 4 following contact, bringing out the safety car. Sceats safely negotiated the early chaos and held onto fifth place.
When racing resumed with 42 minutes remaining, Sceats soon found himself battling Zhicong Li for fourth overall. A small mistake at Turn 4 allowed Li through, but Sceats stayed close behind and continued applying pressure over the following laps.
At the front, van der Drift was controlling the race superbly and had stretched his lead to 6.6 seconds by the halfway point, giving Team VSR strategic flexibility heading into the pit window.
Sceats was among the earlier drivers to stop, handing the car over to Wisniewski, while van der Drift stayed out longer to maximise his advantage before eventually pitting with 20 minutes remaining and handing over to Kingsford.
The strategy initially worked perfectly, with Kingsford, still in the race lead, rejoining and holding an eight-second advantage over Cecotto, who had taken over from Tregurtha. Wisniewski also rejoined strongly, sitting third overall and second in the Pro class.
Cecotto began charging toward the race lead, reducing the gap to just 4.4 seconds with 12 minutes remaining. Wisniewski was also looming large behind, sitting only 1.3 seconds back and adding further pressure to the battle ahead.
With seven minutes left, Cecotto launched a decisive move through the chicane, diving down the inside of Kingsford to take over the race lead.
Behind them, Wisniewski became locked in a tense battle with Titus Sherlock over the final podium position and second in the Pro class as the final laps unfolded.
At the chequered flag, Tregurtha and Cecotto secured victory in the second and final race of the weekend.
Van der Drift and Kingsford finished second overall and claimed another Pro-Am class victory, while Sceats and Wisniewski completed the overall podium in third place and second in the Pro class to complete a double Kiwi podium result.
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia championship now heads to Fuji International Speedway in Japan for round three on 19-21 June.
Header Image: Lamborghini Squadra Corsa Asia
