Denning and SJM Theodore Racing Star in World Finals Race One in Misano

Asian motorsports team SJM Theodore Racing eventually finished 12th in race one of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals in Misano after thrilling the spectators with a series of incisive overtakes on the sinuous circuit on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

Starting 16th on the 37 car grid after a challenging qualifying session, team drivers Charles Leong of Macau and Ireland’s Alex Denning refused to accept their situation and, starting with Denniing in the first stint of the 50 minute race, they produced a string of overtaking manoueuvres that brought the #232 car up to the leading pack in the combined World Final event for teams and racers from across the globe.

Denning made up four places in a hectic first lap and a further three places on lap two to run ninth. He converted that into eighth on the following 4.2km lap and settled in to a battle for seventh all the way to the compulsory pit stop around half distance when Charles Leong took over the Lamborghini Huracán EVO 2. Leong moved into seventh when all the teams had completed their stops and then the appearance of a late race safety car bunched up the field and set up a crescendo conclusion to a hugely entertaining race in the gathering gloom of the popular Moto GP venue.

At the restart with five minutes to go, Leong was hit from behind by the eighth placed car, badly damaging the rear diffuser which compromised the handling for the remaining laps. Shrugging off that incovenience Leong then took sixth briefly a few corners later before dropping back to12th when he ran deep into a long left hander and then had to take evasive action as another car spun in front. In the end SJM Motorsport had to be satisfied with a final classified position of 12th place in a race which had, fleetingly, promised so much more but which nonetheless had delivered a considerable improvement on their starting position.

The squad will regroup at Misano for Sunday’s second and final World Finals race where Charles Leong will take the wheel for the opening stint of what is the final race of the Lamborghini season. The SJM Theodore crew have much to do from 18th position on the start grid but will have been greatly encouraged by the consistent front running pace displayed in race one.

Charles Leong: “That was an encouraging run, if ultimately a little frustrating. At the end, I thought, I’m going to have enough grip to overtake the car on the inside because I had a better angle, but yeah, I just overestimated the grip a bit, We could have been P6, I think and I know that we are getting there too, step by step. I think at the moment with the pace we have, if we had been able to maximize the qualifying, I we could have had a shot to be in the top three, but  it is what it is at the moment, so let’s see how we do in race two. ”

Alex Denning: “Yeah, look qualifying with a frustrating this morning, especially to see people up the front that we’ve been quicker than all year. We’ tried something that didn’t work on the setup. That’s part of racing, I suppose. And yeah, the race was fantastic. It was a lot of fun. I actually thought before the race that it was going to be difficult to overtake with the turbulent air behind other cars and it turned out to be a hectic first a couple of laps with lots of overtaking, lots of action and a lot of fun. It was a pity that we got unlucky with the way the way things went on the last couple of laps on going wide. But yeah, we’ll regroup for race two.”

Teddy Yip Jr., Team Principal – SJM Theodore Racing:-
“Wow, what a roller coaster ride that was! It might seem disappointing to finish 12th after running sixth but we have to remember we improved our grid position by four places and, more importantly, we demonstrated that we are competitive with the very best Lamborghini Trofeo teams from all over the world. What imporessed me, too, was the fighting spirit displayed by Charles and Alex throughout and we can look forward to the second race where again, we have a mountain to climb and I know everyone in the team will be fully focused for this one last outing in the Lamborghuni Super Trofeo for 2025.” 

In a hectic final week of Lamborghini racing, the team faced four separate races during the event with the final two races in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series (LSTA) followed by two World Finals races on Saturday and Sunday against opposition from around the globe.

Having scooped the teams’ title one round early at Sepang, Malaysia last month, team drivers Charles Leong and Alex Denning finished level on points at the top of the Lamborghini Asia driver’s championship and now share the series spoils after Thusday and Friday’s final races in the Asia series. Then they turned their attention to the two races which make up the World Finals with both drivers relishing an opportunity to test themselves against the cream of Lamborghini Super Trofeo teams from the three different continental championships.

Sunday’s second and final World Finals race is just the end of part one of a huge fortnight for Charles Leong and SJM Theodore Racing. At the conclusion of his Italian adventure Leong will head with other key team personnel to his native Macau where he is part of the three-car team line up in the Formula Regional World Cup at the 72nd Macau Grand Prix.

Race Format
As always, the race format includes two 50-minute races with a mandatory driver change. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals event started with qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday morning followed by Race 2 on Sunday where SJM Theodore Racing will continue to fly the flag for Macau on the international stage.