Lamborghini SC63 programme - to make USA debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring

2024-03-15

Lamborghini Iron Lynx will take part in the GT Prototype class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the first time this weekend as the SC63 LMDh makes its US debut in the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Having made its competitive bow in Qatar a fortnight ago, the SC63 will take on a completely different challenge in Florida, with the notorious bumps of the former airfield requiring a vastly altered setup to the one used during the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

At the wheel of the #63 machine this weekend will be Lamborghini Squadra Corse factory drivers Matteo Cairoli, Andrea Caldarelli and Romain Grosjean, who will make their race debuts in the SC63.

Joining the GTP class on the grid for the gruelling endurance event, which forms part of the Michelin Endurance Cup, is a quintet of Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2s. As in Daytona for the opening round of the season, four crews will contest the GT Daytona (GTD) class, with two cars in GT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro).

The team heads into the Sebring round with much the same goals as they did in Qatar, namely focusing on reliability and learning more about the car while improving overall performance. The former was particularly positive in Qatar, where the SC63 reached the finish of the 10-hour race, completing a total of 330 laps. In addition to the recent long-distance achievement of the car, the #63 crew will also arrive at Sebring with some knowledge of the track in advance, having participated in a group test last month.

The 6.019km (3.741 miles), 17-turn Sebring International Raceway is one of the most demanding circuits on the IMSA calendar, with the change of surface and variation of corners presenting innumerable challenges for the crews. For the Lamborghini Iron Lynx team, the engineering challenge is also at the forefront, with significant alterations to suspension and ride height settings required to withstand the natural bumps and undulations of the circuit over the course of 12 hours. Therefore, further learning and data gathering will be the primary aim for the Lamborghini Squadra Corse engineers and technicians across the weekend, as the LMDh project continues its journey.

Lamborghini aiming to return to winning ways in GTD

The Sebring 12 Hours has been a happy hunting ground for Lamborghini in the GTD class over the years, with Grasser Racing Team winning the 2019 edition, completing the unofficial 36 Hours of Florida following its victory in the Daytona 24 Hours. Lamborghini, courtesy of TR3 Racing, also finished on the podium with second in 2021. Iron Lynx will field a single Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in the GTD Pro class, with Franck Perera, Jordan Pepper and Mirko Bortolotti at the wheel of the #19 car. Meanwhile, the #60 will again feature Claudio Schiavoni and Matteo Cressoni, with the pair joined by Leonardo Pulcini.

In GTD, the #83 Iron Dames machine remains largely unchanged, with Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy and Rahel Frey lining up together. The full season entries of Forte Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti are also contenders for class victory. Devlin Defrancesco, Misha Goihkberg and Loris Spinelli will look to avenge a disappointing Daytona round for Forte, while Kyle Marcelli, Graham Doyle and Danny Formal partner again for WTR.

The weekend at a glance

Competitive action begins on Thursday morning with the first of three free practice sessions scheduled to take place at 10:05, with the second session held at 15:05. The final session will begin at 19:45. All sessions will run for 90 minutes. The grid will then be set on Friday with qualifying, split by GTP and GTD classes, starting at 12:50. The 12 Hours of Sebring takes centre stage on Saturday morning, with the green flag dropping at 09:40.

The weekend will also mark the opening round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America one-make championship, the 12th season of the one-make series organised by Squadra Corse. Both 50-minute races will be livestreamed on the official Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel and IMSA TV.