Lamborghini: WEC Two-Car Mandate May Impact IMSA Effort

Photo: MPS Agency

The FIA World Endurance Championship’s new minimum two-car mandate for the Hypercar class could have an impact on an originally targeted full-season program for Lamborghini Iron Lynx in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2025.

The Italian manufacturer, which has entered the majority of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races this year with its SC63 LMDh car, however, has reiterated its commitment to the WeatherTech Championship, despite the extent of next year’s program yet to be defined.

Iron Lynx has campaigned a single SC63 full-time in the WEC this year, which Lamborghini chief technical officer and acting motorsport boss Rouven Mohr confirmed to reporters during last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will double per the change in regulations.

However, Mohr and Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann suggested the increased budget to run a second Hypercar will make it “difficult” for the brand.

“One of the key elements is that the budget was foreseeable,” Winkelmann said. “For sure, [now] things are changing. It’s going to be more expensive for us.

“We’ll do it and we’ll have the second car in WEC starting next year.

“We only planned to have [two cars] in Le Mans and in Daytona. In other championships the maximum is two, here we have competitors that are doing three, four or even more cars.

“This would be a difficult competition also in the future of the racing for a small OEM like Lamborghini.”

Mohr added: “At the moment it’s a little bit too early to speak [about the 2025 IMSA program]. We don’t have the big picture.

“We have to see what is realistic because, for sure, if you ask me we’d for sure like to do more. It’s clear.

“But it also doesn’t make sense to spend our resources that are not as much as other manufacturers, in too many things and then in the end you lose the focus and you lose the progress.”

When asked if a two-car program in WEC could mitigate a full-season campaign in the WeatherTech Championship, Mohr said: “It could be.”

“We will decide within our board in the next weeks how we set up the 2025 season,” he added.

“Because at the moment, we have to sort out some things, also on the evolution of the car, it’s clear this has been a learning year from the beginning on and we already have ideas for an evolution.

“It’s not that we just have to build a second car. It’s more the logistical part and also the support part of the second car. Only to have a second car is the easiest part. It’s also the least expensive to have a second car.

“But to have the team behind it, and also from us at Squadra Corse, the right race engineers, the right data analysts, and so-on, this you have to take care that you are on the right level.”

WEC Two-Car Rule Will Help SC63’s Development

Mohr admitted that running two cars in the WEC will have its benefits in terms of the car’s development.

He explained: “At the moment in the season, based on the fact that we have only one car on the grid, the development progress is for sure slower because we have less data and also not so much opportunities to during a race weekend to have different strategies, different setup strategy, different race strategies.

“On this end, if I speak as an engineer, I like [the two-car rule].

“But also I have to say from the budget side, but also the team point of view, to take care of the second car, it’s really an additional effort for a company size like us, that don’t have hundreds of motorsport people, is for sure a challenge.

“It would be wrong to say it’s not a challenge. We like challenges and also this will find a number of ways to deal with it.”

Mohr confirmed to reporters that the length of the SC63 program is currently set for three years.

Lamborghini Rules Out Second Car for COTA, Indy This Year

While previous motorsport boss Giorgio Sanna floated the idea of having a second SC63 on the grid for the WEC round at Circuit of The Americas and the six-hour WeatherTech Championship round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year, Mohr has ruled out such prospects.

“Unfortunately based on the logistics it would not make sense,” he said. “At the moment, even for sure if we would like.

“Logistically wise, we cannot manage with the current situation of the staff. To send the car is not a problem but we need the staff to execute in a proper way.”

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