Shinya Michimi Racing (Sebring Race)

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Have fun driving Lamborghinis this week, sounds really boring :p
 
Really like the fluidity of the 60fps! Feels a bit more immersible. Also, hurray, you either found a good spot or a good setting so the view isn't super contrasted and barely visible, like with your Monza lap video.

Keep up the good work, and tell Lamborghini they need to make a care capable of taking Eau Rouge flat out :D.
 
Super Trofeo Silverstone Update
A fairly quiet weekend for our team in Silverstone. After a rough qualifying session, where my teammate had no free laps. We would have to settle for a P18 and P6 starting position. In Race 1, we had to salvage a 10th place position after some contact with a backmarker caused our car to have a missing front left corner. In race 2, we got a great start and moved into 4th under very difficult light rain conditions and managed to keep the car in P4 until the finish.

Race 1:


Race 2:
 
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Super Trofeo Paul Ricard Update
A much better weekend for the #16 car in Paul Ricard. After struggling through qualifying again, we had to settle for the P11 and P7 grid starting positions. In Race 1, Kei Cozzolino was able to move the car to P10 and stay with the lead pack. In the pitstops we were able to gain a number of positions to move us to P4, and then were promoted to P3 when the leader had a drive through penalty. Unfortunately a post race penalty would give us a 30 second penalty which demoted us to P8. For Race 2, I started the car and moved from P7 to P4 in lap 1. Then later to P3 when the car in second had a puncture. Just before handing the car off to Kei, I was able to run the second quickest lap of the race. Kei then ran to the end and was able to move into P2 and finish there!

Race 1:


Race 2:


Next round is at the end of July for the Spa 24H weekend.
 
Stunning first race, Shinya - I was on the edge of my seat for the last few laps! Unlucky second race however, but 9th was a great result nonetheless.
 
Tom
Stunning first race, Shinya - I was on the edge of my seat for the last few laps! Unlucky second race however, but 9th was a great result nonetheless.

Neither of us had any experience with the car in wet conditions, nor did we have experience at Spa in the wet. Race 2 was really just damage limitation. We got some points, and continue to fight on at the final 2 rounds.

You certainly got lots of TV time in race 1, awesome moves! Commentators were suitably impressed.

They seemed pretty excited. Nice to hear a nice change in voice from the excitement:)
 
Neither of us had any experience with the car in wet conditions, nor did we have experience at Spa in the wet. Race 2 was really just damage limitation. We got some points, and continue to fight on at the final 2 rounds.
And got name-checked on the GTP blog...
 
Super Trofeo Spa Francorchamps Update
Spa marked the beginning of the second half of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo European Series. With just Nurburgring and Sebring left on the calendar after Spa, points battles were starting to heat up. Kei and I were sitting in P3 in points after the Paul Ricard rounds. This weekend, we needed some solid points to close the gap to the pairing in P2.

Saturday saw the 2 Qualifying sessions that would determine the grid starting positions for Race 1 and Race 2. In Q1, Kei took the wheel and was able to put us in P7 for Race 1. While I was in the car for Q2, I could only manage one position better to put us starting in P6. Race 1 started off with Kei in the car. He was able to swiftly move up to P5 on the first lap, and stayed there until the Safety Car had to be called onto the track for an incident at the exit of Pouhon. The Safety Car came in just as the pit window opened and we decided to pit in and put me into the car at this time. Unfortunately the Safety Car decided to go 60Kmh far before the indicated area and we had lost a lot of time in the pit stops. After moving through a few cars and beginning to apply pressure to one of our championship rivals, the Safety Car had to be called out on track again. This time at the misfortune of the Vincenzo Sospiri Racing Sister #18 car which had had a crash at Radillon. This stacked the cars up and we restarted in P6 with just 6 minutes left on the clock. This is where the fun began, Daniel Zampieri was sleeping on the restart and I was able to make a late braking maneuver to overtake the Italian and move our car into P5 at La Source. Then, at the end of the same lap, I was able to make an EXTREMELY late braking maneuver on the Bonaldi car of Spengler to move into P4. At this point, P3 had built a 1 second gap over our car, but it was not enough. On the final lap of the final corner, the car in P3 couldn't withstand the pressure and left just enough room on the inside at the Bus Stop for me to overtake and get the final podium spot after an exciting SC restart! Later, Race winner Patrick Kujala would be penalized for overtaking the Safety Car and we would be promoted into P2.

Sunday saw the series first wet race. The Arden Forest had finally let loose a lot of rain around the Spa Francorchamps circuit. This would be our teams, and drivers first go in wet conditions in this car and at this track. Unfortunately the speed was never really there and we had to finish as high as we possibly could to get as many points as possible to continue our fight into Nurburgring.

Heading into the September race at Nurburgring, we are now P4 in points, but much closer to P2 than at Paul Ricard. P2 through P4 in points are only separated by 3 points now. It is also the battle for the first team pairing in the championship. Patrick Kujala in first obviously being a soloist.

Race 1


Race 2
 
Saw this while researching liveries for the Huracan ST in Forza 6. Thought the name looked mighty familiar...

Congrats man! Keep it up and you'll be at the top in no time.

Since you'll be in the U.S. this year, hopefully I can make it to a race! Didn't see that there was a round at Laguna Seca till just now, and that's too soon for me to work it out to get off work, but we'll see. I liked COTA when I went for the GP last year, so maybe I'll try to catch you there.

Good luck either way!
 
Super Trofeo Nurburgring Update
Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe (Round 5)

After a good run at Spa for the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo European Series, Michimi and Cozzolino were sitting in a solid 4th position, and only 3 points back from 2nd place in the championship. The Nurburgring would again be a new circuit for both drivers, thus they would have to make use of the practice time wisely to learn the circuit as quickly as possible. They showed promising speed in practice posting times of 6th overall in the first session and 4thoverall in the second session.

Qualifying duties for race 1 were given to Michimi for the first time this year, so he would get his first opportunity to qualify on new tires. Although he felt that the car was really quick, unfortunately, the session was marred by a red flag and Michimi would only be able to get one semi-clear lap in. This would only be good enough for 9th in class, and 14th overall. Cozzolino would take over for Q2 and would set a solid lap time to qualify 5th in class and 6th overall for race 2 on Sunday.

Cozzolino would take the start for Race 1, and was able to put together an excellent opening lap, coming around in 9th position. Over the course of his stint, he had a long battle with one of the ARTLine cars and would finally take the position to move the car into 7th place just before the pitstops. Michimi would then take the wheel and began charging to catch the rest of the field. Although running a pace similar to the leaders, the gap would prove to be too large and Michimi would have to settle for 6th place, less than one second behind the 5th placed car. Unfortunately, Cozzolino would later be given a penalty for some contact in the first half of the race that would move them back to a 7th finishing position overall.

Cozzolino would also be given starting duties for Race 2 and would again make a brilliant start to go from 6th position and looking to hold 3rd place coming out of turn 1, when he became a victim of contact between Campana and reigning Super Trofeo Champion Pavlovic, and was shoved off the track. Despite the contact, Cozzolino would complete the lap in 6th position and would then have a three lap battle with Spengler. After holding up a train of 5 cars behind him, Spengler would finally be shuffled back through the order when Cozzolino first went by, and the others soon followed suit. Coming into the pits, Cozzolino was in P5 when he handed the car over to Michimi. After rejoining, Michimi would go to work clicking off quick lap times to close the gap to 4th place Di Folco. Meanwhile, the car running in 3rd would run into mechanical issues and have to retire, moving Di Folco up to 3rd. This now meant that Michimi would be chasing down the position for the final step on the podium. He made some smart moves to get around the slower traffic quickly and closed the gap to Di Folco. Unfortunately he began to hear a strange noise from the transmission. With just a few laps to go, the only option was to continue and hope that the transmission would hold out. With only 4 laps to the checkered flag, Michimi would make a quick and decisive overtake on Di Folco for that final spot on the podium. But then bad luck would strike as the transmission finally gave out with only two laps remaining, and Michimi, who was running in 3rd, was forced to retire the car on the spot.

Shinya: “What a really frustrating weekend. I think we had a really quick car, a car capable of finishing in the top 3 for sure. I think we definitely showed that pace in Race 2. Unfortunately bad luck would strike us all weekend. From the red flag coming out in Qualifying, to the transmission letting go in Race 2. This really puts a dent in our 2nd place championship hunt, and really puts us in a hard position for Sebring. I thoroughly enjoyed the Nurburgring and really hope that I get to race here again in the near future. Though, I’m even more excited for the final race weekend in Sebring. Sebring is the most iconic circuit in the United States and one of the most iconic around the world. The bumpy character provides a test of endurance on both the cars and the driver. This will also be the first time for me to be able to finally race cars in my home country. So I really hope to do well there.”

The final weekend of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo European Series will take place in the United States at the famed Sebring International Circuit. Following the European Series conclusion, the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo World Final will take place. This is a race that combines the European, Asian, and North American Super Trofeo series in one super race, to see who can come out on top against all the best Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Drivers around the world.

Race 1


Race 2
 
Nice one yesterday Shinya 👍
 
Are you part Finnish? You look rather indifferent for being on the top step (As does the guy that looks like Kasey Kahne).:lol:

JPrice_LST_RA_2016-3834.jpg


Congrats.:cheers:
 
Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe Sebring Euro Final and World Final

European Final;

The three Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Championships joined together at the Sebring International Raceway in America for an intense four day race program, which included the final round of the European Championship as well as the World Final. For the final round of the European Championship, the drivers ran together with the Asian cars, which meant there would be a total of 42 Lamborghinis fighting for space on the 6km long circuit. Series regulars Shinya Michimi and Kei Cozzolino were sharing the number 116 VSR Huracán car and went into the double header sitting 4th in the European Pro Cup points championship.
Thursday saw the drivers take to the old airfield circuit for three sessions of free practice, squeezed into a short six hour period, that were followed almost immediately by qualifying. Michimi drove in the first qualifying session and set the 4th fastest time in the Pro Class. In Qualifying 2, Cozzolino took the wheel and qualified 5th in the Pro class.
The first of the European races took place on Friday morning. Cozzolino got a good start, gaining one position right away, only to be tipped into a spin from behind by one of the Asian competitors. When Cozzolino rejoined the field, he was last in class and 31st overall, but then quickly went to work in order to make up as much time as possible. After only four laps, the caution flag came out. Cozzolino had made it back up to 25th position overall. The full course yellow lasted until lap eight and when the track went green, Cozzolino was called in to hand over to Michimi. Michimi continued tearing through the field and had made his way into the top ten, when three laps later he was forced to come in to serve a drive-through penalty for a pit lane speed violation assessed to his teammate, Cozzolino. This threw them down the order again and Michimi re-joined in 27th. He again started to carve his way through the field when a massive accident (Mavlanov) with debris scattered all over the race course resulted in a full course yellow, and the fifty minute race finishing behind the safety car. Despite all of the turmoil, Michimi had worked his way up enough to end up finishing 4th in the Pro class and 12th overall.
Just ten points covered the 3rd to 7th place drivers in the Pro Cup points championship battle when the teams took to the grid for the final round. The tension increased when rain began to fall at turn ten and soon a heavy shower covered the whole circuit. The start was initially delayed, and then declared wet, enabling all the drivers to return to the pits to change tires before lining up on the grid again. The race started behind the safety car and the green flag was waved eight minutes in. Michimi, who had been given starting duties for the #116 Huracán, was in 5th overall, when an accident on the start-finish straight brought out full course yellows on lap five. When the pit lane window opened, the team brought in the #118 car of Costa but left the #116 car of Michimi out. Michimi was forced to pit to handover to Cozzolino just as the safety car pulled off, and as a result, a lot of track position was lost to the cars which had already made their stops. At the checkered, Cozzolino brought the car home in 4th in Pro, enough to retain 4th for Michimi and Cozzolino in the European Pro Cup points championship for the year.
Despite a difficult and frustrating couple of days for the European Final, the team would have to quickly regroup for the World Finals set to take place at Sebring immediately following the individual series’ finals. The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo World Final combines the European, Asian, and North American Super Trofeo series into one super event with two races, to see who can come out on top against all the best Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Drivers around the world.

The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo World Final would also be held at Sebring, where Shinya Michimi and Kei Cozzolino would take on the best of the world’s Pro drivers from all three series – Super Trofeo Europe, North America, and Asia.
A hectic schedule started with a half hour warm-up on Saturday morning followed almost immediately by two qualifying sessions. Cozzolino took to the track for Q1, but was hit in the back and sustained damage to the rear diffuser, thus unable to set representative times and had to settle for 10th in class, 15th overall. With just five minutes separating Q1 and Q2, there was no time to work on the cars, so teammate Michimi suffered the same difficulties, and had to settle for 7th in class, 8th overall.
For Race 1 of the World Final, Cozzolino would start the race from the eighth row and worked to gain positions during his stint. Midway through the race, Cozzolino was running in 10th place in the Pro class when he came in for his pit-stop. Michimi took over and was able to run quick laps right out of the gate and had worked his way up to 5th in Pro class when he encountered a problem with the brakes. He attempted to hang onto position while nursing the car, but eventually the brakes failed completely. The crew radioed to bring the car in if it became too dangerous to drive, but Michimi wanted to stay out and try to earn points as much as possible. He bravely coaxed the car to the checkered flag and despite running 9 laps with no brakes at 12-15 seconds off the pace, managed to finish 9th in Pro class and to earn a championship point.
For Race 2, Michimi had set the 7th fastest Pro time in Qfy 2, so the #116 car would start from row four with Cozzolino at the wheel. For the first time all weekend, the fifty minute race was run without safety car interruptions. Cozzolino passed the #126 car for 6th during his stint and was chasing down the rest of the field when he was called in to hand over to Michimi. Michimi then proceeded to catch Enrique Bernoldi, the former F1 driver in the #1 car, whose experience showed as he proved to be very difficult to pass. After an exciting battle, Michimi managed to slide down the inside of Bernoldi at Sunset Bend to take the position. He then set his sights on Antinucci, and began running the fastest laps on the track during this late stage of the race. Michimi had managed to significantly close the gap to within 4 tenths of a second behind Antinucci, but unfortunately ran out of laps just before getting into striking distance. He brought the car home in 5th overall at the checkered flag.
Shinya: “Another promising but disappointing weekend similar to Nurburgring. These last two race weekends, we’ve really had a good car under us, but we didn’t seem to have luck on our side when we needed it. That being said, I want to thank the entire Vincenzo Sospiri Racing crew for all of their continued hard work throughout the season. They always give 100% to make sure that Kei and I have the best car possible to race with. I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity this season to race in such a cool new racecar, and at some of the world’s most iconic race circuits. It’s difficult to choose a favorite out of the 6 tracks that we raced at. I also want to thank Lamborghini Squadra Corse for selecting me for their Junior Drivers Program, and I hope to continue to serve the brand into the future. And finally, thanks to my sponsors, family, fans and friends for their continued support in my racing career.”
 
Race 1 - 2nd place at COTA in the Pro category! Well done!

Good luck tomorrow morning. I hope the Sun isn't too blinding.
 
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