Lamborghini's Eight-Car GTD Gambit at the 2017 Daytona 24 Hours
The record entry that proved Squadra Corse's customer racing model worked.
Lamborghini committed eight Huracán GT3s to the GTD class for the 55th Daytona 24 Hours in January 2017, making Sant'Agata the manufacturer with the most cars in the category.
The strategic risk of a record entry
IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was the most visible stage for proving a GT3 car could take punishment, and the North American sports car market was the growth engine every European supercar manufacturer wanted to own.
The Super Trofeo feeder system
Lamborghini's Super Trofeo series, running identical Huracán race cars in regional championships across North America, Europe, and Asia, functioned as a controlled environment where gentleman drivers and young professionals learned the platform before stepping up to GT3.
Established names and newcomers in one roster
Four of the eight entries came from teams making their first Daytona appearance, while twelve drivers across the lineup had roots in the Super Trofeo one-make series.
From record entry to first Daytona victory
Grasser Racing Team's number eleven Huracán GT3 won the GTD class at the 2018 Daytona 24 Hours, giving Lamborghini its first victory at the event just one year after the record eight-car effort.
The Huracán GT3's V10 platform
The Huracán GT3 shared its 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 with the road car, combined an aluminum and carbon fiber chassis weighing 2,731 pounds, and delivered 585 horsepower through a six-speed sequential gearbox.
Development leadership embedded on the grid
Squadra Corse's structural investment in driver development allowed Lamborghini to scale from five Daytona entries to eight in a single year without diluting the quality of its teams.
Numerical advantage in a 29-car GTD field
Eight cars gave Lamborghini a numerical presence no rival could match at the 2017 event, along with a statistical advantage in finishing probability across 24 grueling hours.
A Huracán GT3 at Daytona — the ecosystem's proof of concept
The ecosystem of teams, drivers, and factory support that made eight Daytona entries possible is the same ecosystem that gave Squadra Corse the confidence and operational knowledge to take full ownership of its next GT3 platform.