Sanna Named New McLaren Automotive Head of Motorsport

Photo: McLaren

McLaren Automotive has appointed former Lamborghini motorsport boss Giorgio Sanna as its new head of motorsport, replacing the recently departed Ian James, who has returned to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in a team principal role.

Announced on Friday, Sanna will oversee all of McLaren Automotive’s GT products and customer racing activities and will report to Jonathan Simms, the director of McLaren Special Operations and Motorsport, McLaren Automotive.

Sanna served nine years as Lamborghini’s motorsport director, having helped build Squadra Corse from the ground-up to significant success in both GT3 customer racing and single-make competition.

The Italian, a former championship winner as a driver in the Italian GT Championship and Asian Le Mans Series, will now direct McLaren’s GT racing operations, which includes the McLaren 720S GT3 and Artura GT4 models, as well as the McLaren Trophy single-make series in Europe and North America.

“Giorgio Sanna’s appointment as our new Head of Motorsport further strengthens a division of McLaren Automotive that is integral to our brand DNA,” said Simms.

“Maintaining a strong and enduring connection to our racing heritage firmly aligns us with our most passionate and committed clients, and securing a recognized leader in the GT racing arena to lead McLaren Motorsport signals our determination to drive growth in this area.”

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