Sanna: No Decision on Lamborghini GTE Program

Photo: Jamey Price/Lamborghini

Head of Lamborghini Motorsport Giorgio Sanna has admitted plans for the manufacturer to eventually expand beyond GT3, but not yet officially confirming the presence of a GTE program that has been rumored to start by as early as 2019.

Speaking to reporters during last weekend’s Lamborghini World Final in Valencia, Sanna downplayed reports that a GTE version of the Huracan is already under development, in conjunction with Dallara.

Instead, he stressed Lamborghini’s focus on building a strong foundation with its current Super Trofeo and GT3 products.

“I’ve said many times, the target is to consolidate what we are doing,” Sanna said. “Everybody is talking about Lamborghini and we’re proud of this and it means we’re on the right way.

“We are spread all over the world with many cars and Super Trofeo is going very well.

“But I remind everybody, especially inside the company, that we were born just three years ago, and we’re competing against manufacturers with 50 years of history.”

Sanna said a decision to enter the GTE ranks could depend on the status of the latest round of GT Convergence talks, which resumed this summer.

Lamborghini, along with a number of other GT3 manufacturers, have shown support in developing a single GT platform, which would help reduce costs and provide added flexibility to customers.

“We have to look in the next two years on how GT convergence will move,” Sanna said. “We have a philosophy where we don’t need to develop or create different cars in the GT category.

“We think a common GT car is the future where you could have GT3 and GTE on a common platform.

“In any case we have to wait on how the GT convergence will move between the manufacturers, the FIA and promoters like IMSA and ACO.

“We will take two or three years in front of us to continue to compete in GT3 and strengthen Super Trofeo. Then we will evaluate potential new categories.”

While it had been speculated that an announcement on a pending GTE car would be made this past weekend in Valencia, Sanna said a decision on whether to go ahead with the program has not been determined.

He indicated that a decision may not be officially taken until as late as 2019.

“I’m the first that wants to race in France but we have to move step by step,” Sanna said. “Because the problem is not the technical side, it’s that the structure has to grow up step by step. Otherwise, we have a risk to collapse.

“For sure when we talk about the dream to go race in Le Mans, you can be sure there’s a lot of our customer teams, gentlemen or young drivers that dream like us to race [at Le Mans].

“We are here to support them. But we just have to take the right time.”

Sanna ruled out any current interest in prototypes, although it’s understood Lamborghini had initially evaluated building a bespoke LMP2 car prior to the FIA, ACO and IMSA’s regulations overhaul for 2017.

“Today the GT3 is the pinnacle [in Lamborghini motorsports],” Sanna said. “It’s clear in the future we cannot expect to stay where we are.

“We work to grow up and create new opportunities for the young drivers. But we have to do it always step by step. Now is too early to talk about a new pinnacle of the strategy but we are keeping in mind what is possible.”

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