Cairoli Hoping for Improved SC63 Reliability at Indianapolis

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Matteo Cairoli is hoping that Iron Lynx’s Lamborghini SC63 will be able to show both pace and reliability in this weekend’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, following encouraging speed shown in recent IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races.

The Italian squad, which gave the Ligier-chassied LMDh car its North American debut with a seventh place finish in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, retired from the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in June with a technical issue.

While its parallel FIA World Endurance Championship program also saw a retirement last weekend at Fuji Speedway, after making Hyperpole for the first time, Cairoli is upbeat on their chances in Sunday’s penultimate round of the Endurance Cup season.

Cairoli and Andrea Caldarelli are rejoined by Romain Grosjean in the No. 63 Lamborghini this weekend.

“Our goal was to try to finish every race,” Cairoli told Sportscar365. “We started pretty well during the season because Sebring, which was the most tricky race, we ended up in P7, which was pretty unexpected.

“In the following ones, we started to have some small technical issues, which unfortunately, is a pity because of course we lost data on the ground.

“Watkins Glen was going pretty well. In the mixed conditions we showed pretty good pace. Unfortunately we had another technical issue so we had to stop the car.

“The car is growing in terms of potential but of course we need to give more priority and more focus on the reliability because that’s the most important [things].”

When asked if there’s anything the team can take from its encouraging recent runs in WEC competition, Cairoli acknowledged the goal is to goal is to have a trouble-free run in the six-hour contest.

“In Fuji, it was the driveshaft that was the problem,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t know what they have done between Fuji and now because [it’s a short time] and they are obviously two different cars.

“Indianapolis is a track that shouldn’t be too hard on the car, so I believe if we have a clean and smooth race, we should be fine.”

With the car still in its first year of competition, Cairoli believes there’s still more potential to come from the package.

“If I think that this car has [only] had a bit more than a year of history, I think it’s doing great,” he said.

“Also doing the race season we haven’t been testing a lot.

“The preparation has been 50/50, so we didn’t drive as much as the others. Of course, Lamborghini as a brand doesn’t have the experience of Porsche or BMW or the big brands.

“If I consider the short time this car has had, I think it’s doing great. I cannot wait for next year because we will have some good news to show on track.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John