Seventh Heaven for Denning and SJM Theodore Racing in Misano!
Round 6 - MISANO Race One
Misano, Italy 6th November
Asian motorsports team SJM Theodore Racing produced another dominant performance to secure a comfortable victory in the 11th and penultimate race in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series in Misano.
The win was founded on a wonderful first lap by Ireland's Alex Denning followed by a typically controlled run to the flag in the second half of the race by Macau's Charles Leong.
Starting from third on the grid Denning made the perfect lap and despite being pushed onto the grass on the run to turn one the Irish driver held his nerve to bring all four wheels back on track in time to the inside line for turn one.
The second-placed driver briefly held the lead by running off track through the first right hander but Denning was securely in the lead by turn two and he and the SJM Theodore Lamborghini Huracán Evo 2 were soon opening up a clear advantage to the cars behind. After 15 minutes of the 50-minute race Denning had established a lead of eight seconds and he then settled in to manage his advantage all the way to the compulsory pit stop.
Taking over with a comfortable lead, Charles Leong soon found himself 12-seconds clear of the second-placed car and with a secure race-winning advantage. The Macau star is a master of tyre management and he applied a no risk strategy to passing lapped cars as he maintained his lead at around nine seconds all the way to the final lap.
It's a seventh win from 11 races this year and maintains the team's record of winning at every event this year. The squad can look forward with confidence to Friday's second race, the final round of the Asian series where Charles Leong will start from fourth place on the grid.
Charles Leong: "For me, since we had that gap, I was trying to understand the balance and try to see if different driving styles would help a bit the lap time and also compromising a car. So it was an opportunity for a bit of studying for us and because we have won the championship already and we are looking forward to the world finals races at the weekend."
Alex Denning: "I just had my good friend Max Hart remind me that Lamborghini were once famous for making tractors so I was just testing out that functionality to see if it still had it when I got two wheels up on the grass, then it got pushed on and I was holding.
"I just kept two wheels on the white line and managed to get it stopped for turn one. The grass was a lot wetter than I thought! But yeah, I'm sure everyone was on their toes in the garage and, honestly, we couldn't be happier. We acquired great data for the week ahead at the world finals.
Teddy Yip Jr., Team Principal – SJM Theodore Racing:-
“I'd like to congratulate the team on a pretty much perfect delivery of a race from lights out to flag fall. It was a terrific start from Alex who kept a cool head after being forced wide on the run to the first corner. After that he was able to manage the gap and hand over to Charles who is a deft exponent of the art of tyre management while delivering fast lap times.
"We'll refocus and look forward with confidence to Friday's final Asian race and the world finals races at the weekend.”
In a hectic final week of Lamborghini racing, the team will face four separate races during the event with the final two races in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series (LSTA) followed by next weekend's two World Finals races 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 are level on points at the top of the Lamborghini Asia driver's championship and aiming to share the series spoils in Thusday and Friday's final races in the Asia series.
No other drivers are in contention for the title and, given that they will share the SJM Theodore Lamborghini Huarcán again throughout the week, the plan is for both to share the spoils in the driver's championship as well come Friday afternoon.
Then they will turn 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, following Tuesday practice and Wednesday qualifying, Race 1 gets underway on Thursday morning, with Race 2 on Friday afternoon.
After the LSTA concludes attention turns to the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals event 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.
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TEAM BACKGROUND & LSTA SERIES DETAILS:
SJM Resorts, S.A.’s (SJM) support of Theodore Racing stems from a shared vision to elevate Macau’s standing as an international motorsport destination. As the owner-operator of a prestigious portfolio of hospitality assets—including the iconic Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, THE KARL LAGERFELD MACAU, and Palazzo Versace Macau—SJM has long embraced motorsport as a platform to project the city’s unique cultural identity and global appeal.
Celebrated as the first and only Chinese team to enter Formula 1, multiple Macau Grand Prix winners SJM Theodore Racing is looking to continue its excellent run in its second season in LSTA with its two talented young drivers behind the wheel of their Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2.
Supported by long-time partner, Macau-based integrated resorts operator SJM Resorts, S.A., SJM Theodore Racing heads to the sixth round of the championship next week where they will contest the final two races of the LSTA season as well as the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals at Misano, Italy.
The Theodore team and SJM have supported home-grown talent Charles Leong since 2021, when he took his second Formula 4 Macau Grand Prix title on his home Guia street circuit. In 2023 he finished a close second to team mate Arvid Lindblad in the Macau Grand Prix F4 showcase, completing a triumphant SJM Theodore PREMA Racing one-two finish.
In 2017, at the age of just 15, Leong won the both the Asian Formula Renault and Chinese F4 championship titles, going on to make his Formula 3 debut in both Europe and Asia the following year. Having honed his racecraft via open-wheel competition, more recently Leong has proven his versatility by successfully turning his talents to sportscar competition.
Team mate Denning, meanwhile, began his career in karting before switching to cars in a championship winning assault on the Ford Fiesta ST series in his native Ireland. In 2022, Denning was runner up and Rookie Championship winner in the British Mini Challenge JCW with 10 podium finishes and seven victories and in the last two seasons has recorded podium winning performances in the GT4 European Series at the wheel of a McLaren Artura GT4.
The six-round, 12-race LSTA season concludes in Italy at Misano from November 06-07, venue of both the final LSTA round of the year and the annual Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals, a season-closing showdown between Super Trofeo competitors from the European, North American and Asian series.
Each LSTA round includes two, 50-minute races, each with a driver change, and championship points are awarded to the top ten finishers on a scale of 15 points for the winner for each of the PRO, PRO-AM, AM and Lamborghini Cup titles.
The entry of Leong and Denning continues Theodore Racing’s long tradition of nurturing motorsport talent, which has included support of China’s first Formula 1 driver Zhou Guanyu.
Founded in the 1970s by Macau business tycoon and passionate motorsport competitor and supporter Teddy Yip, Theodore Racing entered myriad championships and racing series spanning the globe, including Formula 1, the Indianapolis 500, Formula 5000, Formula 2, Formula Atlantic and Can-Am.
Over the years, many of the greatest names in motorsport raced for the team, and its victory in the first-ever Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix with Ayrton Senna in 1983 has become part of motorsport folklore.
In 2008, Yip’s son, Teddy Junior resurrected the legendary name, initially with Status GP.
Thirty years after the team’s landmark Senna win at Macau, Theodore Racing returned to the streets of the city in partnership with PREMA Racing to take the first of what has become a long list of Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix victories.
SJM Theodore PREMA Racing returns for the 72nd edition of the Macau Grand Prix in November 2025 where the team will be reresented by Chales Leong, Freddie Slater and Rashid Al Dhaheri.
About SJM Resorts S.A.
SJM Resorts, S.A. (SJM), a premier integrated tourism and leisure enterprise in Macau, owns and manages a distinguished portfolio of iconic hotels under the Lisboa brand, including the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, THE KARL LAGERFELD MACAU, and Palazzo Versace Macau. Intricately linked with motorsports since the 1970s, SJM solidified this connection in 2013 through a long-term title partnership with the Theodore Racing Team for the esteemed Macau Grand Prix. Over the years, SJM has been instrumental in propelling the team to numerous championship victories at this pivotal event, often regarded as the team’s spiritual home. Continuing its commitment, SJM fully supports the Theodore Racing Team as they compete internationally, proudly representing Macau on the global stage.
