Sanna: Final Two Lamborghini LMDh Drivers to be New Signings

Photo: Jamey Price/Lamborghini

Lamborghini Iron Lynx’s final two drivers for its LMDh program will come from outside of Lamborghini Squadra Corse according to the manufacturer’s motorsport boss Giorgio Sanna, who expects to announce the full lineups at the end of this season.

The Italian manufacturer, in association with Iron Lynx, has so far confirmed Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat and GT3 aces Andrea Caldarelli and Mirko Bortolotti for the dual FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup effort.

A single car will be entered in both championships next year, featuring separate lineups, with the intention of having a two-car Hypercar class program at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“The last two drivers will be communicated at the end of the season. We have to keep some patience,” Sanna told Sportscar365.

While Mercedes-AMG GT3 star Raffaele Marciello had been linked to the program last year, it’s unclear if the Swiss-Italian is still in the frame for a seat given his contract extension with the German manufacturer for the 2023 season.

Sanna said the two drivers have been “already decided” although they have not driven the SC63 in the simulator yet.

“We are just waiting to the end of the season where we are looking to present the final livery of the car and the driver lineups in the two championships,” he said.

“We are defining the drivers based on different premises. I believe that with Andrea and Mirko, we took the two drivers of our existing portfolio with the right skills to drive the LMDh.

“We saw already this year, during the WEC and IMSA seasons, that there are a few top drivers coming from GTs doing very well in LMDh or LMH.

“This means that the decision is right to bring the best GT drivers with previous experience, like Andrea and Mirko [who also have] experience in the single-seater, high-downforce cars.

“Then we look to mix the characteristics. We have the experience and the speed of our best GT drivers, combined with drivers like Daniil or Romain who bring experience and competence from Formula 1, especially on the hybrid powertrain and the sophistication of this type of car.

“They also bring a methodology of work, coming from F1 which is the maximum expression in terms of organization. In terms of the last two, we will communicate at the end of the season, but mixing the skills that I have explained.”

While Caldarelli and Bortolotti are the only two Lamborghini factory GT3 drivers that have been given the nod for the LMDh effort, Sanna previously stated that all of its works pilots will be involved in the car’s development process in various capacities.

Additional Hypercar/GTP Cars Possible for 2025

While ruling out additional customers, Sanna indicated that more SC63s could be fielded by Lamborghini Iron Lynx in 2025, building off next year’s program.

“Maybe we could evaluate an additional car in the WEC or more commitment in IMSA because both championships are very important for us,” he said.

“It’s always linked to the budget, as you can imagine, and the capability to support the program in a proper way.

“The reason why, in this moment, we’re not looking with interest to have additional customer cars is simply because we don’t have a structure similar to some others where we can guarantee the best support to all the teams like we’re doing in GT3, for example.

“But in GT3, it’s something that we’ve developed and created in five to six years.

“We’re not here to have [as many] cars [as] possible. We’re here to be competitive with this program and to do it, we want first to get experience and give our best to Iron Lynx, which is our reference team.

“Then we will evaluate if and when there will be the chance to have additional cars or additional teams.”

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report

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