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Lamborghini, Iron Lynx Setting Up LMDh Base in U.S.

Lamborghini finalizing development of new regional headquarters for Iron Lynx team…

Photo: Iron Lynx

Lamborghini is expanding its North American motorsport headquarters with a new facility where the LMDh manufacturer’s GTP program with Iron Lynx will be housed.

The two organizations are developing the new site into a regional hub for their transatlantic LMDh project. It is situated close to Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s facility in Detroit, which is the focal point for the manufacturer’s U.S.-based racing activities.

Once finished, the building will also contain the American arm of Iron Lynx’s Lamborghini GT3 program.

Iron Lynx runs Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2s in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup but will graduate to the GTP category next season with the new LMDh prototype. The Italian team will also contest the FIA World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class.

Chris Ward, motorsport senior manager at Automobili Lamborghini America, told Sportscar365 that the new U.S. workshop covers 25,000 sq. ft. of floor space.

“There was an existing building that became available at exactly the right moment,” he said.

“It’s directly adjacent to our existing facility. That will be the base of operations for the GT and prototype program in the future.

“It was a warehouse building where all the trailers and everything will be able to reside inside, which is ideal in the climate that we have in Detroit.

“Three-quarters of the warehouse was office space, so we had to completely gut the inside of the building and start again.

“We’ve got a fantastic owner of the building who we’ve been working with for 16 months and we hope to be finished by the end of March.”

In the meantime, Iron Lynx has been using Lamborghini’s main Detroit facility to house its new GT3 cars.

The former Ferrari squad is contesting the Endurance Cup in both GTD classes this year to get acquainted with the American style of racing ahead of its move up to GTP.

“One of the reasons why we’re trying to have our own facility here is we see the American market as a good opportunity for the future,” team principal Andrea Piccini told Sportscar365.

“There are a lot of customers interested in Super Trofeo. But it’s very early stages for us. At the moment, we have to be focused on this [GT3] program.

“Four races might look like a small program, but there is a huge effort for that. It is also a way to learn the American world, the IMSA racing, so we can prepare for the GTP program next year.

“The two teams really have to work strongly together to share information and try to build up a structure that can work both in America and Europe.

“By the end of March, we will have a much better idea of what we need and how to set up the team. It’s going to be an adventure.”

One to-be-determined aspect of the LMDh program is whether Lamborghini and Iron Lynx will employ American staff for the GTP entry, or bring people over from Europe.

Iron Lynx and its partner team Prema, which is also involved in the LMDh project, have been scaling up their European operations through an LMP2 effort.

“Mainly we will start from this base of people, but we will need some American people or someone from Italy to stay stable in America,” Piccini said.

“I cannot really answer because it’s really a work in progress. We already have a couple of Americans cooperating with us. Step by step, we will have the backbones of the team fixed in our workshop.

“I think if it stays in Endurance [Cup], we will keep the European people. If it goes to full-season, it might change our organization a bit.”

Lamborghini is one of multiple LMDh manufacturers to have confirmed race programs on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, along with Porsche, Cadillac and BMW.

The U.S.-based organizations running the Porsche and Cadillac WEC programs, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, have each established outposts in Germany.

“We are moving in the right direction with the milestones and the strategy that we agreed,” Lamborghini head of motorsport Giorgio Sanna told Sportscar365.

“In America, we will have a headquarters for the team, linked to Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s North American headquarters in Detroit. In Italy, for the LMDh there will be a specific headquarters.

“Now it’s too early to announce how we will be set up, but the European WEC program will be based in Italy, and the IMSA program will be based in Detroit.”

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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