The first retirement arrives for Lamborghini at the 6h of Spa-Francorchamps, the third event of the FIA World Endurance Championship which saw the SC63 suffer a mechanical problem for the first time since its debut in a competition.
In the Ardennes Mirko Bortolotti and Daniil Kvyat were joined by the expert Andrea Caldarelli, replacing Edoardo Mortara engaged in Formula E, and from the first testing sessions the Iron Lynx team concentrated on simulating the Qualifying with the Russian, and then work on the race pace relying on Trentino and Abruzzo.
Kvyat again qualified, but the LMDh del Toro branded with the #63 only placed 16th, without finding the right momentum to be able to think about accessing the next phase of the assault on the Hyperpole.
The race started like the others already faced previously in Qatar and Imola (plus Sebring in IMSA), i.e. trying to avoid mistakes and trying to increase the pace first with Kvyat and then with Caldarelli, but the climb up to 13th place it came to an abrupt stop when the latter – just after crossing the finish line – encountered a failure of the right rear suspension strut.
Despite the effort in reaching the pits after having covered the 7.004km of Belgian track, there was nothing more to be done for the black-green prototype and the only consolation concerns having collected other data and information on a circuit never seen before that they may be useful for the future, as the 34-year-old from Pescara himself says.
#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli, Daniil Kvyat
Photo by: Marco Losi / KAPPAEMEDIA
“I think we can take some advantages from this weekend. It was the first time for us at Spa and we knew it would be difficult compared to our rivals who had already raced and tested before. It is a very particular track with high forces, quite demanding for a racing car and it was good to come here”, underlines Caldarelli.
“We tried new things that turned out to be very positive. In the race we had to retire due to a problem that we are looking into, but we made a couple of changes that can be very useful, especially for Le Mans. We will go back home, analyze and we will prepare for the 24h.”
Bortolotti also agreed: “It certainly wasn’t the race or the weekend we wanted. Unfortunately we had to withdraw the car due to a problem, but I think we can take some advantage from the test sessions. We just need to investigate the failure and its causes , we will come back stronger next time.”
Kvyat adds: “We have come to Spa for the first time with this car and it is a track that presents some challenges. However, we have made a lot of progress over the weekend and have made positive steps forward. We continue to move forward, we have found other areas to work on during the race and, even though we had to retire the car, we saw encouraging signs and the pace was good.”
“I believe that if we can improve further, we will be able to start fighting for points. To do that, we have to stay united and every single member of the team has to give their best. By doing so, we will achieve improvements.”
#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli, Daniil Kvyat
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
Emmanuel Esnault, Director of Track Operations at Iron Lynx, admits: “It was a difficult weekend. We came to Spa-Francorchamps for the first time with our car and it was definitely a challenge to adapt it to such a demanding circuit.”
“Some initial problems prevented us from obtaining a good position in qualifying and there were obstacles that we had to overcome at the start of the weekend. We had to put in our maximum effort and make progress, counting on the extraordinary skills of our drivers.”
“In the race, we were leading and still learning things, when we had a problem with the rear axle and had to retire. However, everything we learned here will be useful for the rest of the season and especially for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We need to move forward and find momentum again.”
Rouven Mohr, Chief Technical Officer of Lamborghini, comments: “We certainly did not obtain the desired result with the SC63, but for us it was an important challenge due to the technical characteristics of Spa-Francorchamps and here we did not have the opportunity to test our LMDh”.
“However, we can say that it was definitely a good experience, we learned a lot from the car, especially in the fast corners, and based on what we learned we will improve for the next races. I feel sorry for the whole team because they put in a lot of effort, it wasn’t This is what we wanted to achieve, but it will be a lesson for the future.”
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