Lamborghini brings race series to Korea as sales shoot up

It's only a matter of time before motorsports come to prominence in Korea, Lamborghini Asia-Pacific Region Director of Operations Francesco Scardaoni predicted Friday.

Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 vechicles displayed at Inje Speedium in Inje, Gangwon on Saturday ahead of Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia race of the day. [PAIK JI-HWAN]

It's only a matter of time before motorsports come to prominence in Korea, Lamborghini Asia-Pacific Region Director of Operations Francesco Scardaoni predicted Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the Inje Speedium in Inje, Gangwon, Scardaoni said Lamborghini sales have shot up in Korea in recent years, with interest in racing likely to follow the popularity of the supercars.

In line with that trend, Lamborghini held its Super Trofeo Asia racing tournament at the Speedium, Korea's largest motor racing circuit, on Saturday.

The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia is one of the three racing series of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, taking place in Asia, Europe and North America. This year marks the first time that the Super Trofeo Asia has visited Korea since 2019 and Inje Speedium hosted the fourth round of the 2023 Asia series — a total of six rounds run in a calendar year.

“It is not yet one of the main sports in Korea,” Scardaoni said. “We strongly believe that by having one week, like Trofeo, allows motorsport to have better visibility, from fans and also from customers. You can see your daily car used on a race track. In Seoul, we saw a lot of STOs [Super Trofeo Omologato], meaning that our customers in Korea are keen on those kind of street racing cars. Here they can see pure racing cars, which are the same as their own cars, so I think this will create a culture in terms of motorsports.

“It is important to cultivate motorsport culture to create the link from motorsports to production cars.”

Korea has seen a big increase in Lamborghini vehicle sales in recent years, with the German-owned Italian marque having sold an all-time high 403 vehicles in Korea last year, compared to just 11 in 2018.

Last year's sales saw Korea become Lamborghini’s eighth largest market in the world.

“We bring all of our products to Korea,” Scardaoni said. “And we see Korea as a market that is setting a trend in terms of digitalization and connectivity.”

This year’s Super Trofeo Asia also includes the first Korean racers to compete in the series, with drivers Lee Chang-woo and Kwon Hyung-jin competing for the SQDA-GRIT Motorsport team since the first round.

Lee Chang-woo, left, and Kwon Hyung-jin of SQDA-GRIT Motorsport, speak to reporters at Inje Speedium in Inje, Gangwon on Friday ahead of Saturday's Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia race. [PAIK JI-HWAN]

“Having the Korean duo representing SQDA-GRIT Motorsport, racing in the Super Trofeo Asia series is proof that the interest in motorsports in Korea is growing,” Scardaoni said.

“Of course, there are ways to further promote motorsports in the local scene such as making the race accessible to a wider audience through live streaming, having local race drivers represented on a regional or global racing stage or series and grooming the next generation of race drivers through young driver programs.”

A total of 27 racers consisting of 12 pairs and three solo participants competed as 15 different teams on Saturday, all driving the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 — the only vehicle model used in the 2023 Asia series that speeds up to 192 miles per hour.

Lamborghini Asia-Pacific Region Director of Operations Francesco Scardaoni [LAMBORGHINI SEOUL]

In the Super Trofeo series, four different categories of racers — professional, Pro-Am, amateur and Lamborghini Cup — all compete in the same race. Saturday’s races included two professional, three Pro-Am, six amateur and four Lamborghini Cup teams.

The teams competed in two individual races on Saturday and SQDA finished the first race in first among amateur drivers and third overall, before finishing second in the amateur class and sixth overall in the second race.

The Super Trofeo Asia will continue through November, with the series next heading to Shanghai, China on Sept. 8 for the fifth round. The sixth round is set to take place in Rome, Italy on Nov. 16.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]