Monrovia, California (Friday, October 30, 2020) – US RaceTronics is adding two cars to their lineup for this weekend’s Lamborghini Super Trofeo races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Brian Thienes will return to the team in the No. 17 Lamborghini of Beverly Hills, while Mel Johnson and Jonathan Hirshberg will have their debut race with the Southern California team in the No. 286 Lamborghini of Newport Beach. Both of the new additions will race in the AM class.
Team regulars Steven Aghakhani, Jacob Eidson, John Hennessy and Leo Lamelas are all excited to be back in action after the break that followed the two races at Road Atlanta in early September. With four races left in the season Aghakhani and Eidson are just 11 points out of first-place in the championship, while Lamelas is just 10 points behind in the ProAm class. Rookie John Hennessy is a mere two points away from taking command of the second-place position in the LB Cup class which has been dominated this by veteran driver Randy Sellari.
Aghakhani and Eidson will be back in the No. 6 Lamborghini of Beverly Hills with high expectations for pole positions and wins this weekend. The duo has won four of the first six poles and have scored two wins for the team. Both are excited to be back behind the wheel for the team’s home race.
“I’m really looking forward to Laguna Seca.” Eidson said. “Aside from how much fun it is to drive, it’s also been a great track in terms of results and I’m confident Steven and I will deliver some strong results again this year and find our way back to P1 in Championship points. It’s been an incredible year of racing and I want to thank all the help and support of the US RaceTronics team, including Armik, Shane, Kevin, Peter, and all the mechanics that work so hard to make this championship contending season possible.”
“We are excited to be back racing with our upcoming race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca,” Aghakhani added. “This will be the only race in the western region which means we consider this our home track. We had some tough luck at Road Atlanta with tire issues, but totally expect to be back to our winning ways this weekend. I’m sure we can get the great results we need to get us back to the top of the Championship points.”
This weekend will be the first-time racing at the famed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the team’s ProAm driver Leo Lamelas. The young Brazilian is looking forward to the challenge of the new track and expects to have a good performance in the No. 24 Lamborghini of Westlake regardless of his lack of familiarity with the circuit.
“I’m very excited to this race because I’ve never been in this track and it seems to be a very nice track,” Lamelas said. “We’re second in the championship and I will give it all to take the lead back. I’m much more comfortable with the car now so it makes easier to adapt to a new track like this in a short period of time.”
LB Cup rookie John Hennessy will also make his first appearance at the 2.238 mile, 11-turn Road Course in the No. 33 Lamborghini of La Jolla. Hennessy has been getting more comfortable as the season has progressed and it shows in his results. The American driver, who captured both poles at Road Atlanta, took the win in Race 1 and finished second in Race, is looking forward to similar results this weekend.
“We had a great weekend at Road Atlanta and I see no reason why we shouldn’t expect similar results at Laguna Seca,” Hennessy said. “Shane and the entire US RaceTronics’ team have consistently put together competitive cars that are capable of winning, so our plan is to go for both pole positions and wins. I’m excited to be back in the car and looking forward to the opportunity to race at another amazing track.”
Former US RaceTronics’ driver Brian Thienes is looking forward to the opportunity to race again at one of his favorite tracks in the No. 17 Lamborghini of Beverly Hills. The Southern California driver is confident in the team’s ability to give him a competitive car for his return to Lamborghini Super Trofeo.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car and even more excited to be racing again at Laguna Seca,” Thienes said. “I’ve always considered this my home track and love racing here. I want to thank Shane for putting together a great car for me. I’m confident that I’ll have the equipment I need to have the best possible results this weekend.”
2019 LB Cup Champion Mel Johnson and his co-driver Jonathan Hirshberg will team up in the No. 286 Lamborghini of Newport Beach for their first outing with US RaceTronics. The pair is excited to be racing at Laguna Seca and will compete in the AM class.
“It’s great to be back in the Lamborghini Huracan,” Johnson said. “We had a good test a couple weeks ago and now I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in a competitive environment. I’d like to thank Lamborghini of Newport Beach for their support. I think we’ve got a great shot at bringing home a couple of podium finishes for them.”
“I’m excited about this weekend,” Hirshberg added. “US RaceTronics did a great job with our test and have been doing a great job getting everything ready for the race. I have a great teammate for this event and I’m looking forward to getting strong results in both races.”
Team owner Shane Seneviratne is excited to be back racing this weekend and is looking forward to having two additional cars competing in the team’s home race; WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is just a few hours from their shop in Buttonwillow, CA. Seneviratne is happy to have support from four Southern California dealerships this weekend and is expecting some good results for all five of the cars.
“Looking forward to getting back to racing after a bit of a break since Road Atlanta,” Seneviratne said. “We’ve got John Hennessy, Steven Aghakhani, Jacob Eidson, and Leo Lamelas continuing on from where we left off in Atlanta with hopes of getting good results at our home race. I also want to welcome back Brian Thienes who has been a regular on our team for the last four years. He’s coming back and doing Laguna Seca with us and we’re super excited to have him. We’re really thrilled to have John Hirshberg and Mel Johnson join us for Laguna Seca as well. They’ll be competing in the AM class along with Brian. We’ve been working with them at Thermal Club and have been doing some testing with them. They’re really a good addition to the team and we’re looking forward to giving them the best opportunity to have a good result and a fun weekend.”
Race 1 is on Saturday, October 31, 2020 from 1:40 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time, with Race 2 going green Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 10:25 a.m. Pacific Time.
Be sure to follow all action on US RaceTronics’ social media pages at: www.USRaceTronics.com, and through Twitter www.twitter.com/usracetronics, Facebook www.facebook.com/usracetronics, and Instagram www.instagram.com/usracetronics
About US RaceTronics
US RaceTronics (USRT) originated in 2005, founded by Shane Seneviratne to compete in the Atlantic Championship, a formula race car series with races throughout North America. The team finished 5th in points its first year and continued its success during the succeeding years, ultimately amassing a total of 21 podiums, 7 poles, 5 race wins and finishing 3rd in the 2009 Atlantic Championship. USRT was put on hold after series officials announced the Atlantic Series was put on hiatus.
Seneviratne fully returned to racing in 2015 after receiving an invitation to manage the O’Gara Motorsport entries in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North American (LBSTNA) Series. The team won the Team Championship, Dealership Championship, Pro Championship with driver Richard Antinucci, and Amateur Championship with Ryan Ockey.
The success of 2015 reignited Seneviratne’s passion for racing and he relaunched US RaceTronics to compete in the 2016 LBSTNA Series where Damon Ockey won the Amateur Championship and the team’s Pro-Am driver Brian Thienes finished third in points. Success continued in 2017 with drivers Edoardo Piscopo and Taylor Proto winning both the North American and World Championships in the Pro-Am class. 2018 saw the team win the North American LB Cup Championship along with second-place finishes in the PRO and AM Championships. The 2019 LST Season saw continued success with AM driver Steven Aghakhani becoming the youngest ever World Champion and finishing second in the North American Championship, while Damon Ockey and Jacob Eidson won the North American ProAm title.
To follow all of the 2020 Series action and the US RaceTronics team, make sure to follow the official Twitter account @usracetronics for live updates along with Facebook.com/usracetronics and Instagram http://instagram.com/usracetronics. To become a driver, learn more about the series, or attend a race, visit www.usracetronics.com for more information.
