Lamborghini Targeting Sebring Finish in Temerario GT3 Debut

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Lamborghini is approaching the race debut of the Temerario GT3 in next weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with realistic expectations according to its interim motorsport boss Rouven Mohr, who is targeting to get the car to the finish on one of the world’s most physically demanding tracks.

Andrea Caldarelli, Sandy Mitchell and Mirko Bortolotti will be at the wheel of the Pfaff Motorsports-run GTD Pro entry for the car’s global debut race, following more than 15,000 kms of testing between Europe and the U.S. since last summer.

It comes after what was deemed a successful endurance test at the Florida airfield circuit last November, which has helped lay the groundwork for its highly anticipated debut.

“Everything was very positive,” said Mohr of the Sebring test. “Also we didn’t find any major problems.

“In general, I have to say that all the test sessions we were quite fast accumulating mileage. We had no really major issues, some small things, yes, but not one major thing where we say this is an issue.

“For instance, with the LMDh [car], we detected the rear suspension [issue], it was already after the first test that was clear.

“In the Temerario GT3, at the moment, everything has been fine-tuning and still understanding the car.”

Mohr, who was recently named Audi’s new chief technical officer but has remained with Lamborghini in an interim state, said they’ve been able to take lessons from the development of the Lamborghini SC63 into the brand’s first ground-up race car.

“If people ask me, it was very helpful that we had the engineering competence of the LMDh,” he said.

“This was not the only reason but it was for sure influencing the pausing of the LMDh because we had to focus the engineering capacities [on Temerario GT3].

“We learned a lot, especially regarding if you start from zero, for sure you can influence much more also on the performance steps you want to do.

“We had engineering support. I’m not saying it was everything in-house, but we guided the process from the beginning to the end, including the test sessions.

“In the past it was sometimes like we put the car into a team that was making the performance development.

“This time we said, ‘No, it’s such a fundamental product for us, it will be the product for the next decade, or at least for a long period of time and we want to have the best knowledge in our internal team.'”

Improving the handling and drivability were two of the key goals for the Temerario GT3, which Mohr said they’ve achieved over its predecessor, the Huracan GT3.

“The current car has a very narrow setup window, so if the car is not exactly in the setup window… If it’s in the setup window, you can fight for victories. If it’s not, you are far away,” he said.

“The car is very sensible. It’s very rotative that not every gentleman driver likes it, to be honest, because it’s a little bit more nervous.

“On top the roominess and the comfort in the cabin, with all the switches, is for sure, at least one generation older compared to the other current GT3 cars.

“Therefore we spent a lot of effort in drivability, comfort in the cabin and also setup window.

“The [new] car is more forgivable in a wider range of setup in ride height, sensitivity, setup. This was one of the development targets.

“For sure we checked the car with our development drivers, then with our Pro drivers and then also with some Silver drivers to understand it.”

When asked for his expectations at Sebring, Mohr admitted they’re taking a rather conservative approach.

“If I’m honest, from the performance, if we are close to the average, it would be fine,” he said. “If we could finish, it would be for sure fantastic. But we have to be realistic.

“For us, it’s kind of a test.

“I think we will have a good starting base, knowing that nevertheless, we’ll find some problems and knowing that the BoP management and everything, if you come with a new car, it’s usually quite conservative of what you get.

“We are realistic. Sebring is for sure the first race. It’s not the easiest one for a car with all the bumpy conditions. It’s kind of a reliability stress test.”

Mohr: Goal to Collect “As Much Knowledge as Possible” Over Season

While the Temerario GT3 will continue for the remainder of the WeatherTech Championship season with Pfaff, while also making its debut in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and DTM, Lamborghini’s next key endurance race with the all-new car will be the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

Mohr said the goals will not change entering the car’s first 24-hour race in June.

“For sure our target is during the entire season to collect as much knowledge as possible, and at the end of the season to be really competitive,” he said.

“This is our target. Then see how the BoP is evolving. It’s not a secret that in this kind of racing, it’s the make or break. You can have the fastest car but if you have the worst BoP, you can be nothing.

“Of course the motorsport governance bodies have to get trust to understand the car and so-on and we will invest this season to learn and to be at the end of the season to be really on the point and from 2027 on, a fight for titles.

“This is always our target. This does not mean this year we don’t want to win something. But it’s clear I try to be realistic.”

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