65 cars from 11 different makes would compete … Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, McLaren, Mercedes, Nissan, Porsche … and naturally Lamborghini, in total 12 Raging Bull would tackle the Spa-Francorchamps track, 11 Huracán GT3 and one Gallardo REX.

After the free practice runs the Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 took 6th (#16), 11th (#19) and 58th (#63) place with the Barwell Motorsport number 666 in 19th place. Note that the Gallardo REX (#132) from Lago Racing secured the 42nd spot at this time.

The pre-qualifying round changed the settings a lot, the #666 Barwell Motorsport car now took 6th place with the #16 car from Grasser Racing Team on the 11th spot, Attempto Racing with their #100 Huracán GT3 positioned 17th and the Lago Racing Gallardo Rex took 19th place leaving 8 of the more recent Huracán behind her.

The more important qualifying round didn’t turn out so good for the various Lamborghini in Spa, the first one on the list was the #666 from Barwell Motorsport at the 14th spot, #16 from Grasser Racing Team took the 16th spot while the #100 from Attempto Racing only managed a 26th place, #101 from the same team took the 28th spot with the second entry from Barwell Motorsport with #78 took the 29th spot … the Gallardo REX ended up at the 64th spot … last place of qualifying.

Night qualifying became a totally different story with #16 at the 8th position, #78 on number 9, #1à from Ombra Racing took the 20th qualifying spot this time, #19 at P22, #100 at P30, #132 Gallardo REX at P38, #29  from Konrad Motorsport at P41, #38 from Antonelli Motorsport at P44, #666 at P48, #101 at P58, #63 at P61 and #69 from ARC Bratislava at P63 of a total of 65 cars.

The Super Pole was really interesting this year, second place was grabbed by #16 from GRT Grasser Racing Team in their green Huracán GT3 with #666 from Barwell Motorsport on the 9th spot, very impressive to say the least.

Hourly standings:

The race started on Saturday, August 30th at 16:30 in a rolling start and after the first pitstop the number 16 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 entered by Grasser Racing Team and driven by Mirko Bortolotti was in the lead, but he had some serious pressure of two Audis already.

After two hours
the #19 Lamborghini Huracán from GRT with Michele Beretta behind the wheel made an amazing comeback from P26 to P6 while the #100 from Attempto Racing with Louis Machiels in the seat came from P34 all the way to P9 in a mere 20 minutes … that’s some serious driving. The Gallardo REX was at P49 at this time.

After three hours
the lead was lost to Audi, but now the number 19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 entered by Grasser Racing Team took P3 overall with the sister car #16 in P7, #100 was at P11, #101 at P13, #666 at P18 … a total of 5 Lamborghini in the top 20 after 62 laps at Spa-Francorchamps. The Gallardo REX held onto P50 now with 60 laps on the counter.

After four hours
after 86 laps the first Lamborghini Huracán sat at P7 overall, the #19 from GRT with #16 at P13. P16 was taken by #101 and #100 took P19 … #132 the Gallardo REX was still at P50 with 3 laps difference.

After five hours
the #19 Huracán from GRT moved up to 5th place overall after 109 laps, at P15 was the #100 Huracán from Attempto Racing and P19 was taken by #16 from GRT … both at 108 laps, at 105 laps the Gallardo REX from Lago Racing was at P51 now.

After six hours
the 24 Hours of Spa comes to an important moment, at this time the first points are being awarded, so it is important to have a good position. The #19 Lamborghini from Grasser Racing Team was in P4, their colleagues in the #16 car were at P10 while the #100 from Attempto Racing took P15 overall … but P2 in the Pro-Am Class behind an Aston Martin. The Gallardo REX moved up to P50 again.

After seven hours
the lead cars have done 154 laps at full speed, #19 Grasser Racing Team at P5, #16 from the same team at P11 with 153 laps, #100 from Attempto Racing at P16 also with 153 laps, #101 from Attempto Racing at P21 with 152 laps, #666 from Barwell Motorsport at P25, #29 from Konrad Motorsport at P28, #78 from Barwell Motorsport at P30 with 151 laps, #38 from Antonelli Motorsport at P35, #132 from Lago Racing at P45 with 149 laps, #69 from ARC Bratislava at P48 with 148 laps, #63 from Grasser Racing Team at P59 with 132 laps and finally #10 from Ombra Racing at P62 with 115 laps.

After eight hours
the #16 Huracán from Grasser Racing Team was holding onto P11 overall with 174 laps (2 laps behind the pole in a BMW M6 GT3) but more importantly the #100 from Attempto Racing at P16 overall still held P2 in the Pro-Am Class, the Gallardo REX from Lago Racing took P46 now.

After nine hours
the Grasser Racing Team was doing well at this point, their #16 car moved up to P8 with 191 laps and #19 was at P18 (190 laps), with the #29 from Konrad Motorsport at P17 overall, but more importantly P2 in the Pro-Am Class and #100 from Attempto Racing at P20 overall but P3 in the Pro-Am Class … and #101 was just behind at P21 overall. #132 from Lago Racing was at P45 with 185 laps.

After ten hours
the grueling race was still going strong, 217 laps done by the lead cars and still several Lamborghini in the top 20. #16 from GRT at P12 (216 laps), #29 from Konrad Motorsport at P17 overall (P2 in Pro-Am Class and 215 laps) and #19 from GRT at P19 overall. With 208 laps the #132 Gallardo REX from Lago Racing held onto P45 overall.

After eleven hours
only one Lamborghini managed to hold onto a spot in the top 20, the #16 Grasser Racing Team Huracán GT3 at P14 with 238 laps, 2 laps behind the Bentley Continental GT3 in the lead. #132 did 231 laps by now and was still at P45.

12 hours – mid race
another very important moment during the 24 Hours of Spa race as points are again handed out at this time, the #16 Huracán GT3 driven by factory driver Mirko Bortolotti was at P6 (261 laps, 2 less than the lead), at 259 laps we get #101 Attempto Racing at P23, #19 GRT at P24, #100 Attempto Racing at P26, #666 from Barwell Motorsport at P28 and #29 from Konrad Motorsport at P29.

P32 was taken by #78 from Barwell Motorsport (258 laps), P41 by #38 from Antonelli Motorsport (253 laps), P42 by #132 from Lago Racing (253 laps), P47 by #69 from ARC Bratislava (250 laps), P54 by #63 from Grasser Racing Team (232 laps) and P60 by #10 from Ombra Racing (223 laps).

After 13 hours
only one Lamborghini Huracán GT3 in the top 20 at this time, the #16 from Grasser Racing Team at P12 with 281 laps, 2 laps behind the lead in an Audi R8 LMS. The second GRT Huracán #19 took P21 after 280 laps. #132 Lago Racing was still at P42 with 273 laps.

After 14 hours
306 laps into the race and the #16 GRT car managed to move up to P4 now with 2 laps less while #19 remained at P21 with 302 laps. In fact, several Lamborghini were very close together at this stage in the race. P23 for #101 from Attempto Racing, P25 for #29 from Konrad Motorsport and P26 for #100 from Attempto Racing, all at 302 laps. The two Barwell Motorsport entries were at P29 and P31 respectively with 301 laps. #132 from Lago Racing took P40 after 295 laps.

After 15 hours
still 2 laps behind the lead, but at 329 laps the #16 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini moved up to P4 overall with the sister car #19 at P19 after 327 laps, only 9 laps behind at P39 we now find #132 from Lago Racing

After 16 hours
With 350 laps on the counter the #16 GRT car stands at P10, #29 from Konrad Motorsport came up to P19 and #19 from GRT took P20 … so again three Lamborghini in the top 20 at this moment with P22 and P23 also taken by the Bull. #132 moved up to P37 after doing 341 laps.

After 17 hours
things are getting heated as the night turns into day … #16 GRT dropped to P12 with 373 laps (3 less than the lead), #19 also from GRT took P19, #29 from Konrad Motorsport sat at P20 and #666 from Barwell Motorsport moved up to P2 … all at 372 laps. The Gallardo REX from Lago Racing did 363 laps at managed P41 for now.

After 18 hours
the BMW M6 GT3 in the lead has done 401 laps by now, the #16 GRT Lamborghini dropped to p15 with 398 laps, one lap behind at P19 we now see the #19 sister car and at P21 overall we have the #666 Barwell Motorsport taking P3 in the Pro-Am Class.387 laps on the track for the #132 Gallardo REX at P40.

After 19 hours
once again we have three Lamborghini in the top 20 standings, P13 for the #16 with 421 laps, P18 for the #666 and P19 for the #19, both with 419 laps. #132 did 408 laps at P40.

After 20 hours
The Grasser Racing Team was moving up at Spa, even with light rain … #16 climbed to P10 overall with 439 laps, #19 now stood at P16 only 2 laps behind and the #666 from Barwell Motorsport at P18 was battling it out with an Audi for P2 in the Pro-Am Class. #101 from Attempto Racing took P20 making it four Lamborghini in the top 20 with four hours left.

After 21 hours
The #16 car from GRT remained at a solid P10 overall with 460 laps (3 less than the lead BMW), #19 climbed one spot to P15 with 458 laps, P17 was taken by #101 from Attempto Racing, P18 was #666 from Barwell Motorsport and P20 was #78, also from Barwell Motorsport … five Lamborghini in the top 20 now. After 443 laps the #132 Gallardo REX held onto P38.

After 23 hours
Only one hour of racing left, the lead car has done 510 laps by now and the #16 Lamborghini from Grasser Racing team moved up in the top 10 at P9 with 506 laps. #101 from Attempto Racing took P14 and #19 from GRT took P15, both at 504 laps. P17 was taken by #666 from Barwell Motorsport which was also P3 in the Pro-Am Class. #132 did 489 laps at stood at P37.

The result after 24 hours of racing
P11 #16 Grasser Racing Team (Mirko Bortolotti, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Rolf Ineichen) 527 laps
P14 #101 Attempto Racing (Fabio Babini, Patric Niederhauser, Daniel Zampieri) 526 laps
P15 #19 Grasser Racing Team (Andrea Piccini, Luca Stolz, Michele Beretta) 524 laps
P17 #666 Barwell Motorsport (Jon Minshaw, Phil Keen, Oliver Gavin, Joe Osborne) 524 laps (P3 Pro-Am Class)
P25 #78 Barwell Motorsport (Marco Attard, Leo Machitski, Marco Mapelli, Tom Kimber Smith) 517 laps
P28 #38 Antonelli Motorsport (Michela Cerruti, Loris Spinelli, Cedric Sbirazzuoli, Gilles Vannelet) 514 laps
P30 #29 Konrad Motorsport (Christopher Zöchling, Jules Gounon, Luca Rettenbacher, Rik Breukers) 513 laps
P35 #132 Lago Racing (Roger Lago, Steve Owen, David Russell, Jonathan Webb) 509 laps
P39 #69 ARC Bratislava (Miro Konopka, Andrzej Lewandowski, Teodor Myszkowski, Zdeno Mikulasko) 502 laps
P42 #63 Grasser Racing Team (Diego Alessi, Nicolas Pohler, Anders Fordjbach, Dennis Andersen) 488 laps
P45 #10 Ombra Racing (Matteo Beretta, Giovanni Berton, Stefano Costantini, Stefano Gattuso) 480 laps
P52 #100 Attempto Racing (Louis Machiels, Max Van Splunteren, Jeroen Mul, Giovanni Venturini) 415 laps

After 531 laps and about 3,700 km of racing there are four Lamborghini in the top 20 with less than 7 laps difference with the lead car making Lamborghini the third most successful make in the top 20 after Audi with 6 cars and Mercedes with 5 cars. Even the impressive Gallardo REX leased from Reiter Engineering by Lago Racing managed to finish at P35 with only 22 laps between the lead car … a very nice result.

The post Lamborghini At The Total 24 Hours Of Spa 2016 appeared first on LamboCars.

The Lamborghini Huracan GT3 has proved to be among the best GT3 cars on the international race scene, even during this weekend’s 24 hour race in Spa. In one of the most challenging races worldwide, the two cars lined up by Grasser Racing Team were among the protagonists confirming the car’s incredible potential.

With the free practice sessions and qualifying dedicated to confirming the best possible setup, the car #63 piloted by factory driver Mirko Bortolotti, recovered from the back of the 57-car grid up to second position as the race entered its fourth hour. This happened in challenging conditions due to the heavy rain that affected the first two hours of the race.

The Huracan GT3 car #19 also achieved impressive results, with the other official Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse driver Fabio Babini lapping competitors ahead of him to rise through the field just outside the top ten after 180 minutes.

Two mistakes during the night unfortunately affected the overall result. Car #19 was forced to retire after hitting the barriers while dueling to achieve P10. Yet another crash at 3.15 AM, due to the fog at the end of the Kemmel straight, significantly affected the result for car #63 that was competing amongst the top five. Adrian Zaugg managed to reach the pit lane, where the mechanics managed to repair the car including replacing the radiator, but a crucial 24 laps were lost.

Bortolotti, Zaugg and Giovanni Venturini still managed to keep up the pace seen in the first part of the race, recovering eight positions before a failure of the oil cooling system that had been damaged in the earlier crash, caused overheating and forced retirement.

The two Lamborghini Huracan GT3s will be back on grid on the 19 and 20 September for the last round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at the German Nürburgring circuit.

The post GRASSER RACING TEAM ENTERED TWO HURACAN GT3 IN THE 24H DE SPA appeared first on LamboCars.

In Spa, the Italian Alberto Di Folco won his first race in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europa, giving his team Raton Racing their first win as well. The Race One result was, however, quite unexpected: the first race of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe’s fourth round was ruled from flag to flag by the Finn Patrick Kujala (Bonaldi Motorsport), who also set the pole position. Kujala was however later penalized with a 10-second penalty for having overtaken the Safety Car at the re-start, and classified sixth.

The 2014 PRO-AM Champion Di Folco achieved P2 in qualifying and constantly chased the leader throughout the race, which saw the two safety cars called in by Race Control. The first incident was after nine minutes when Cyril Leimer crashed, while the second was in the last stages, which saw the retirement of Jacopo Faccioni.

The Italian/Japanese duo made up of Kei Cozzolino and Shinya Michimi (Vincenzo Sospiri Racing) managed P2 overall, edging out the Imperiale Racing pair Alberto Cerqui-Giacomo Barri in the very last lap. Also racing under the Bonaldi Motorsport banner, the German Florian Spengler seized fourth place.

Edoardo Liberati experienced an unlucky race. Starting from P2 on the grid in the other Raton Racing car, the Italian was soon forced to pit and his team-mate Patric Niederhauser ended up at the back of the pack.

The PRO-AM Class saw the second win of the season for Loris Spinelli and Marco Moscato, repeating their result in Silverstone. With a P5 overall they took the flag ahead of their Antonelli Motorsport team-mates Daniel Zampieri and Roman Mavlanov. However, the podium was determined only in the last lap when Simone Pellegrinelli (Imperiale Racing) assured his second place after overtaking the Leipert Motorsport duo of Mikko Eskelinen and Kelvin Snoeks, which led the Class in the race’s early stages.

Mikhail Spiridonov (Kinetic Racing Team) won the AM Class while the Bonaldi Motorsport pair David Perel and Ricardo Vera proved the best in the AM-Gallardo Class.

Driver Quotes

Alberto Di Folco #90 – Raton Racing (Overall and PRO Class winner): “This is more than a win for me as it’s my first overall win in the Super Trofeo and it arrives after quite an unlucky period, which stopped me grasping a podium finish. I would like to thank my team Raton Racing. I’m happy that they could cheer for their first win.”

Loris Spinelli #15 – Antonelli Motorsport (PRO-AM Class winner): “The weekend started in the best possible way for me and my team-mate Marco Moscato. P4 in qualifying and the PRO-AM Class win are also the result of the brilliant job by the team.”

Mikhail Spiridonov #99 – Kinetic Racing Team (AM Class winner): “I’m happy that my first win came in such a demanding race. The car was perfect and I’m confident I can win Race Two as well.”

David Perel #34 – Bonaldi Motorsport (AM Gallardo Class winner): “This was my first ever race in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europa. I could not ask for more.”

The post ALBERTO DI FOLCO FIRST WIN IN SPA FRANCORCHAMPS appeared first on LamboCars.

Patrick Kujala reconfirmed as the leader of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe, sealing in sixth season’s victory. The Finn racing with Bonaldi Motorsport, won a rainy Race Two leading from pole position to finish under a pouring rain.

Thanks to this win Kujala keeps the lead of the PRO Class. The 19 y/o Di Folco was once more among the protagonists. The young Raton Racing driver, after having achieved his first win in Race One, proved all his skills in wet conditions overtaking in the early stages his team-mate Patric Niederhauser (along with Edoardo Liberati fourth overall) and taking the chequered flag just 1.352 second behind Kujala.

Thumb up for Daniel Zampieri and Roman Mavlanov, once more on podium with the Antonelli Motorsport car. A disappointing P7 though for the Team Lazarus pair made up by Sergio Campana and Fabrizio Crestani, who were second overall before the Spa round in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe.

Simone Pellegrinelli (Imperiale Racing) won the PRO-AM Class, exactly one year after his last win in the Super Trofeo. He also managed to get in the topten edging the Italian/Japanese duo Kei Cozzolino/Shinya Michimi (Vincenzo Sospiri Racing).

P12 and AM Class win for the Artline Team Georgia driver Shota Abkhazava. The David Perel/Ricardo Vera Bonaldi Motorsport pair granted double in the AM – Gallardo Class winning Race Two as well.

The next round of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe, fifth and penultimate of the season, is scheduled for the 19 and 20 September at the German Nürburgring Circuit.

Driver Quotes

Patrick Kujala #32 – Bonaldi Motorsport (Overall and PRO Class winner): “Thanks to this win I’ve increased my margin in the Championship. The fact that Campana-Crestani were back on the result sheet also helped. Rain was not a matter of concern, all went well and I could be satisfied for the outcome of the weekend”.

Simone Pellegrinelli #31 – Imperiale Racing (PRO-AM Class winner): “This is my first win of the season and the first one in the past year. My last win was here in Spa in 2014, and I’m definitely happy to be back on the top podium’s step”.

Shota Abkhazava #78 – Artline Team Georgia (AM Class winner): “Notwithstanding a minor contact at the start, and the rain which deeply affected the whole race, I’ve managed to keep the lead of the AM Class since the very first lap. This represents an important win as it was achieved in challenging conditions”.

David Perel #34 – Bonaldi Motorsport (AM – Gallardo Class winner): “The decision to join this event in Spa was taken only few days ago. I’m glad I won both races even if this represented my debut in the Super Trofeo”.

Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo – Europe
2015 Calendar

Monza (ITA) – 11/12 April
Silverstone (GBR) – 22/24 May
Paul Ricard (FRA) – 19/21 June
Spa (BEL) – 22/26 July
Nürburgring (DEU) – 18/20 September
Sebring (USA) – 19/20 November

World Final

Sebring (USA) – 21/22 November

The post PATRICK KUJALA TAKES FIRST PLACE IN THE RAIN AT SPA SUPER TROFEO appeared first on LamboCars.

At the practice sessions on Thursday it became obvious the drivers and cars in the 2013 Super Trofeo season are all very close when it comes to putting down a time on the track, this means the competition is fierce and the winner could be undecided until the last lap of the race itself … a very nice battle would be the result on Friday.

During the qualifying session in the morning temperature was high in combination with a wet track and actual rain during the 40 minutes stint, times were around 20 seconds slower compared to earlier ones set on a dry track … during the qualifying session the positions of the different drivers kept changing as better times were put down … still the first race of the Spa Francorchamps stint would see Zaugg and Amici taking the front row with Zucchi taking P3 … unfortunately one of the casualties of this typical Belgian weather was Cédric Leimer who saw his second place drop to a fifth spot for the actual race later on.

Race One at Spa Francorchamps could start in dry track conditions with Adrian Zaugg and Andrea Amici turning in at La Source ahead of the pack only to expand their lead up to 16 seconds in the first six laps. Initially holding third place in the race, Matteo Zucchi had to enter the pitlane after an accident at turn 8 … obligatory pit window did shook up the positions a bit, Cédric Leimer opted for an early stop and managed to move into third place, Zaugg’s team-mate held a 9.5 second lead over Andrea Amici initially, but Amici was able to close up to 6 seconds in the first lap after leaving the pitlane.

Amici was able to pass De Nora and take the lead, the latter was now feeling the pressure from Leonardo Geraci that was thundering through the cars from a 13th position right up to third place, taking down Leimer in the process … in the end Amici took first place, De Nora managed to hold on to his second position while Geraci took third … series leader Leimer still added 8 points to his total for taking fourth place … no podium perhaps but still very important points to keep him at the top of the Championship.

Fifth place overall in Race One would be the first place for the amateur drivers in the Super Trofeo Championship, and the battle was fierce for this position … during the final lap the drivers switched places continually and an accident was waiting to happen … but it didn’t and once the chequered flag came down Richard Chlad took first place in the amateur standings, Laurent Jenny took second and Flavio Pierloni managed to take the final spot on the podium.

Race two of the 2013 Super Trofeo Championship at Spa Francorchamps on July 27 was started behind the safety car … lots of lightning, thunder and pouring rain changed the conditions of the track only minutes before the start … it took two laps for the safety car to leave the track again and the race finally bursted into action with Amici, Zaugg and Geraci taking a healthy lead during the first laps of this wet race.

Because of the enormous spray due to a very wet track most drivers left a gap between the cars, still some felt quite at home in the rain, Andrea Palma racing for Imperiale didn’t seem to have a problem with water as he managed to go from a 9th position up to fifth in only a few laps after some very audacious maneuvers to overtake the competition.

Once again the pit window showed different strategies among the teams, Amici went into the pitlane early while Zaugg again stayed out on the track longer to create a lead before handing over to De Nora again who was able to stay in the lead … for a short time as Amici passed into the lead again by lap 10 only to keep ahead of the competition right until the end of Race two.

The rain kept pouring down at Spa Francorchamps and while Cédric Leimer tried his best to reach third place he unfortunately spun off the track in the last corner during the final lap … Leonardo Geraci passed in second position with Richard Chlad holding onto third position overall and winner of the amateur class … Leimer still took fourth place and increased his points in the championship to 92 … an 11 points lead over Andrea Amici (81 points).

Geraci’s amazing performance at Spa Francorchamps now puts his total at 74 points for overall 2013 Super Trofeo European Champion … a tie with Adrian Zaugg and Federica De Nora … with 30 points being awarded in the final round of the 2013 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo European season on the German based NürnburgRing at the end of September it is still possible for any of these five drivers to take the championship title …

The post BLANCPAIN SUPER TROFEO RACE AT SPA FRANCORCHAMPS appeared first on LamboCars.

After the various qualifying sessions it became obvious the race would be very exciting, and would feature some very close driving … twelve cars set a qualifying time no less than one second apart from the pole position. The Lamborghini entered by Reiter Engineering managed to secure a 7th starting position with Peter Kox behind the steering wheel, this meant an impressive fourth row overall between some very strong competition.

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ was entered in the Pro-Am class, were it took a very respectable third qualifying time. Talking to Hans Reiter on Saturday before the race he made it clear this position could possibly been improved during the “super pole” qualifying session planned on Friday when the top 20 qualifying times from the Thursday sessions would go head to head for another shootout, the car was ready, the drivers were ready and the tires were prepared … and the session was cancelled thanks to the great Belgian weather at that time … it would be too dangerous to qualify in those conditions so the starting grid remained fixed using the timings from Thursday.

At 16:00 on Saturday conditions were good, the track was dry and the start of the 2012 Total 24 hours de Spa event went perfect … but it didn’t take long for the Belgian rain clouds to visit the Spa Francorchamps circuit again with heavy rain resulting in several accidents that would lead to sixteen exits for the safety car … and we all know this seriously interrupt the well-rehearsed driving rhythm of these professional drivers.

The race continued however, and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ prepared by Reiter Engineering managed to keep up very well with the top of the group, in fact the Raging Bull managed to secure the pole position in the Pro-Am class several hours in a row, the pilots kept the V10 Bull firmly on the track, which wasn’t easy from time to time with the excessive rain … but after little over 8 hours into the race bad luck struck for the Lamborghini.

The Gallardo LP600+ had to make a pit stop because one of the wheel nuts cracked, the car left for the track again … only to being forced into another pit stop because a wheel bearing got damaged … these unforeseen pit stops made the Lamborghini drop to a 22nd position … but thanks to the massive efforts by the drivers and the team they managed to climb through the pack and reach a very nice 9th position overall by sunrise, this meant a 4th place in their class !

Again the Raging Bull from Reiter Engineering was keeping up with the best of the best for hours in a row, but the stress wasn’t over yet, towards the end of the 24 hours Mark A. Hayek took the wheel for the final stint … only to freak out the team when he contacted them with the rather bad news he couldn’t avoid colliding a left over part on the track … just to make sure it was safe to continue the team made the difficult decision to call the car in for a quick check up … everything looked fine and the car continued the final laps with a broken front spoiler.

After 24 hours of pushing the limits, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ from Reiter Engineering with number 24 on the sides managed to finish in 11th position overall, 6th in the Pro-Am class with 486 laps of the Spa Francorchamps circuit … note that the pole position taken by an Audi R8GT did 509 laps in total, only 23 laps more … which makes the performance of the Gallardo LP600+ even more impressive.

Marc A. Hayek:
“It was a great race with an excellent result, despite our small technical problems and the bad weather. The team did a fantastic job. They were focused and very quick with the necessary repairs”.

Peter Kox:
“My start was good and I kept up with the top group. Finishing the race was important to us and we succeeded, achieving a fantastic result. We are just a small team and we compete against the other big manufacturers which worked out well. The team did an excellent job and the car was perfectly prepared for the event. Hans (Reiter) was the race engineer and he also developed the strategy. That was perfect and worked well up until the end”.

Jos Menten:
“Our start into the race was great and we were aware of the fact that we would achieve a good result if we managed to complete the race. We actually had a good chance of a place on the podium and we proved that the Lamborghini is not only able to complete a race but that it can keep up with the other competitors. We lost a few places due to some small things but we will be back next year and then we will be even stronger”.

Albert von Thurn und Taxis:
“It was my first 24-hour race and a fantastic experience. At first, I was a little skeptical. I am not used to sharing the track with and having to overtake so many cars. Doing that without losing too much time is a real challenge. We are able to keep up with the competitors and defend ourselves against the professionals. A 24-hour race is a completely different experience. It is not about pushing constantly but about driving the car at a high pace for 24 hours without overworking it. Hans (Reiter) had a great strategy which the team implemented effectively. A big complement to everyone involved!”

Hans Reiter (team principal):
“It was a perfect weekend for us. I was pretty surprised about the fact that we were able to keep up at such a high level. We were at the top after the first 6 hours which shows our fantastic pace. Neither the drivers nor the team made any mistakes and everybody deserves praise. We had two technical problems which is too bad. However, we will continue working in order to avoid things like that and to be able to win races”.

The post REITER LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO LP600+ AT THE TOTAL 24H DE SPA appeared first on LamboCars.

The amazing looking black Bull with number 24 has managed to reach a third position in its category with a best time of 2:20.240 on the famous circuit at Spa Francorchamps, Belgium … so the starting grid looks good for Reiter this year, let’s hope they can keep it up and finish this edition of the 24 hours of Spa in a good position and grab some additional points for the championship.

Naturally the weekend has some additional races too, and one of them is the Super Trofeo series where a nice collection of Gallardo Super Trofeo battle it out on the track … too bad the Reiter Super Trofeo driven by Peter Kox and Mark A. Hayek wasn’t competing this time due to their work for the 24 hours race, this meant the great looking nr 24 Super Trofeo was all alone in the paddock.

As usual Automobili Lamborghini SpA is also present with a VIP lounge and a Super Trofeo Team Lounge on the respective paddock area, and no less than two Aventador LP700-4 were on display, one finished in the bright Arancio Argos shade while the second one was looking very distinguished in a grey metallic bodywork … not as flashy as orange or yellow, but still extremely good looking on the V12 flagship model.

The post LAMBORGHINI AT THE 2012 TOTAL 24 HOURS OF SPA appeared first on LamboCars.

This year Lamborgini Brussels was also present with a nice stand, no less than five Raging Bulls were on display, ranging from a classic Gallardo Spyder over a stunning LP570-4 Superleggera and a Murciélago LP640 right up to a rare dark grey Bicolore and a white Performante … safe to say these beauties drew a lot of attention during SpaItalia.

This year SpaItalia celebrated De Tomaso as the Italian make, and naturally several Pantera, Longchamp and more classic models built by Alejandro De Tomaso were present, both as a static display and on the track, as SpaItalia is not only about show, most of the cars you can admire on the paddock later take on the track for a few spins on the famous F1 circuit.

But as much as I like a nice De Tomaso, my heart belongs to the Raging Bulls, so that’s where I spent most of my Sunday, surrounded by cars like a classic Espada and it’s smaller sibling the Jarama, but also three Urraco were present, two blue ones and a nice yellow one, both the early P250 variant and the younger P300 edition with the 3-Liter V8 engine.

There was no Jalpa, but many Gallardo took the drive to Spa, from the early 5.2 V10 models over their Spyder counterpart and Superleggera version right up to the current LP560-4 super car, in all kinds of shades from the sober grey to the bright orange metallic.

As nice as these cars are, most of the attention was grabbed by the select few V12 engines that were also there, the 40th Anniversary still remains an impressive car in his exclusive shade of green, and even better, a nice lavendar metallic Diablo SE30 was parked next to it, clearly showing the two limited edition V12 models. A more classic Diablo was parked near by, this one was finished in silver metallic and I’m sure I encountered these three V12 for some years now at SpaItalia.

If you know your Lamborghinis I’m sure you are aware of the legendary Miura V12, the first super car of it’s kind for road use … and a bright yellow P400 S model showed at in Spa, still one of the most sensual Raging Bulls ever made … and a model that is becoming more and more appreciated over time judging by the staggering sales price of a Miura SV recently … no less than $ 1.700.000 for a pristine sample, that’s no pocket change in my opinion.

Remember the amazing looking Diablo SVR from earlier SpaItalia events ? Well the owner recently bought another Diablo, a bright white pearl metallic shade SV edition, this car looked really nice and was driven ferociously on the track. Later I noticed SVR style side skirts and I wouldn’t be surprized he will mount a racing style rear wing on this car later on.

All in all the 2011 edition of SpaItalia was another success, some really amazing Raging Bulls were on show and from the other Italian car makers a stunning selection made their appearance in Spa … I for one can’t wait for their 2012 edition, and which Italian make they will celebrate next.

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