
Rain at the Dubai Autodrome crowned two 2018 champions before the final race even started.
Jack Bartholomew and Taylor Proto walked away from Race 1 at the Dubai Autodrome as 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East champions, each wrapping up their respective titles with a race still to run.
Lamborghini's one-make series, established in 2009 with the Gallardo Super Trofeo, operates on a straightforward principle: identical cars, equal preparation, and a format that rewards the driver rather than the engineering budget.
The series runs across Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East, with each regional championship feeding into an annual World Final that pits regional champions against each other on a global stage.
Bartholomew's 2018 campaign spanned the Middle East, Asia, and the World Final, showing how drivers use regional series as building blocks rather than isolated events.
Bartholomew, driving for FFF Racing Team by ACM alongside teammate James Pull, took the PRO category crown on the strength of three consecutive victories, while Proto locked down the AM class with a second-place overall finish.
The Huracán Super Trofeo is a rear-wheel-drive, naturally aspirated V10 race car, and on the wet Dubai surface its layout became a character test that separated the field within laps.
The competitive question for Lamborghini is whether its pipeline produces drivers who can eventually step into higher-tier GT racing and represent the brand at events like the 24 Hours of Spa or the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Teams like FFF Racing, Konrad Motorsport, Antonelli Motorsport, and GDL Racing all field multiple entries across regions, sustaining multi-car operations across several championships simultaneously.
The Middle East series runs across venues in Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the winter months, offering teams and drivers a compact, three-round championship that serves as both a standalone competition and a warm-up for the longer European and Asian seasons.