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Juncadella: ABT ‘Has the Tools’ for N24 Success

Daniel Juncadella looks ahead to first Nürburgring 24 with Lamborghini and ABT…

Photo: Gruppe C Photography

Daniel Juncadella believes Red Bull Team ABT ‘has the tools’ to score a breakthrough result for Lamborghini at the Nürburgring 24 as he tackles the event in anything other than Mercedes-AMG machinery for the first time.

The Spaniard forms part of a two-car effort for the German squad at the Eifel endurance classic, sharing the No. 27 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 with Lamborghini factory drivers Jordan Pepper and Mirko Bortolotti.

The sister car, meanwhile, will be piloted by Marco Mapelli, Christian Engelhart and Luca Engstler, making Juncadella the only driver in the ABT lineup to not come from Lamborghini’s roster of factory drivers.

This year’s N24 will be the first time the 34-year-old has contested the race in anything other than Mercedes-AMG machinery, previously driving for the likes of Black Falcon, HTP Motorsport (now Winward Racing), GetSpeed Performance and Haupt Racing Team.

“The team is really good,” Juncadella told Sportscar365.

“I raced against ABT most of my career in DTM, so it’s pretty cool to race for them now and see how they work and manage everything.

“The car is also really cool, very similar in terms of driving style to the Corvette, in terms of the geometry, it’s not miles off.

“It’s a bit harder to drive at high-speed, a bit trickier, I would say.

“But I’m really excited for the race. I’d say it’s my highlight of the year together with Le Mans – but if I had to choose one, I’d say the Nurburgring!”

Juncadella struck an upbeat tone regarding Lamborghini’s odds of success at the event, something it has yet to achieve despite fielding star-studded entries in recent years with the likes of ABT and Orange 1 FFF Racing.

ABT finished fifth in last year’s fog-shortened edition, which was its best finish to date.

However, Juncadella believes that the reduction in the number of factory-backed cars for this year’s race, which he linked to the clash with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Watkins Glen, improves Lamborghini’s outlook.

Notably, while the SP9 class features two more cars than it did last year (27 versus 25), the likes of BMW and Mercedes-AMG both field fewer factory-supported entries compared to 2024.

“I think this is a year that the chances [to win] are higher because it’s clashing with a big event, at Watkins Glen,” said Juncadella.

“It reduces the amount of quality cars and drivers that will be participating there and increases the probability of having a chance to win.

“In terms of pace, I think the Lambo is gonna be up there. But I don’t know the car well enough. The car hasn’t been as successful as Porsche, BMW, Audi, Mercedes… it hasn’t raced as much.

“But I think we have the tools, a strong driver lineup as well, so excited to be part of that.”

Juncadella had his first taste of the Lamborghini during last month’s N24 Qualifiers, sharing a car with Mapelli and Engelhart during a rain-impacted weekend.

“That was a wild experience, the worst conditions I’ve ever experienced at the Nordschleife and with a car I didn’t know,” he said.

“To be sent into a race with those changing conditions with Michelin not having extreme weather tires, that was tricky to manage.

“Even though we didn’t have the full wet tire, we managed to stay on track, which was quite an accomplishment.

“It’s the kind of conditions you don’t want to have, but if you have to have them, you might as well have them in the qualifying race and get used to it.

“It cannot get any worse than that for the race. In that sense, it was good preparation.”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report

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Davey Euwema is Sportscar365's European Editor. Based in The Netherlands, Euwema covers the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, among other series.

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