Mapelli Captains Leipert Crew for Team’s Asian LMS Debut

Lamborghini Squadra Corse factory driver Marco Mapelli will captain Leipert Motorsport’s driver lineup for its Asian Le Mans Series debut in February.

The German squad will enter the ACO-run championship with a single Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo that Mapelli will share with Gabriele Rindone and Brendon Leitch.

Both Rindone and Leitch drove for Leipert his year, with the former competing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe and the latter racing in the Silver Cup class of Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

Mapelli, meanwhile, drove full-time in ADAC GT Masters with T3 Motorsport and featured in factory-supported Lamborghini entries at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa and Indianapolis 8 Hour.

In addition to announcing its Asian LMS drivers, Leipert confirmed that it will enter next year’s Michelin Le Mans Cup which is also run by the ACO and uses Michelin tires.

That program is set to occur with the new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, which is expected to become available to European teams in March and means that Leipert will run the older Evo model in Asian LMS.

“Our debut in the Asian Le Mans Series will be a good start for the 2023 season, as we will be participating in the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup, among others,” said team principal Marcel Leipert.

“We are extremely satisfied and competitive with the driver lineup for the [Asian] LMS.

“Our goal in the two intensive weeks in February will be to celebrate a successful debut and to secure podium finishes.

“In this context, we are of course also very happy for the support we receive from Lamborghini.

“Since the existence of the motorsport division Squadra Corse, we have successfully worked together and in a spirit of trust, are delighted about the current developments and prospects.”

Leipert’s Asian LMS debut forms part of a multi-race winter program for the team during the European off-season.

It will tackle the inaugural 12 Hours of Kuwait next weekend, and also plans to contest the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai and the 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi — all of which are run by Dutch promoter Creventic — with a Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2.

Additionally, Leipert is the first Lamborghini team to enter Asian LMS since the series switched to its current United Arab Emirates-based schedule in 2021.