Lamborghini at Motegi and Bahrain

Lamborghini closes on Super GT points lead as JLOC takes third win of the year at Motegi

JLOC’s Yuya Motojima and Takashi Kogure claimed Lamborghini’s third Super GT300 victory of the season and second in as many races after another sensational drive through the field from 17th on the grid in the penultimate round at Motegi. Motojima and Kogure, at the wheel of their #88 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, again combined a bold strategic call and strong race craft throughout the 63-lap race and now have a realistic chance of winning the drivers’ title, having reduced the deficit to the top to just 11 points, ahead of the season finale at Suzuka next month.

Much like it had last time out at Autopolis, rain affected Saturday’s qualifying session which left bittersweet feelings in the JLOC camp. While the #87 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Kosuke Matsuura and Natsu Sakaguchi finished inside the top 14 in Q1 and therefore securing its place in Group 1 (which determined the first 14 places on the grid for the race) for Q2, the #88 missed out. As conditions got worse, the #88 was only 11th fastest and a spin for Motojima just before the session was red flagged all but destroyed its chances of making it into the top 14. Relegated to Q2 Group 2, Kogure salvaged the third-quickest time in the session, albeit leaving the #88 a lowly 17th.

In stark contrast to qualifying, race day was dry and sunny which gave the #88 machine the best opportunity to work its way up through the field. A strong start from Motojima allowed him to make up six places in the early stages before decisively slicing down the inside of the Mercedes at turn two on the fourth lap. The speed of the JLOC Huracán was evident in the opening laps as Motojima breezed through the field to enter the top 10. Two more overtakes in quick succession, around the outside of the D’Station Aston Martin at the downhill braking zone of turn 11 and to the inside of the #45 Ferrari at turn one took the #88 car into eighth place after just six laps.

Having gained valuable track position, the #88 followed the different strategy as the leaders by electing to change the rear tyres versus a no-tyre change for those in front, thus conserving its hard-earned third place. Now with a tyre advantage over the leading two cars, Kogure took over from Motojima and closed the gap before diving to the inside of the #65 Mercedes [JLOC’s main title rivals] to take second place at turn 11. Two laps later, Kogure produced a superb and daring manoeuvre around the outside of turn one to pull alongside the #31 Lexus. Despite some slight contact on the exit, Kogure then had the inside line for turn two and completed the #88’s climb to the lead which it held until the end.

The #87 Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Matsuura and Sakaguchi had a clean run and had been in the hunt to make it a JLOC one-three but had to make do with fourth place at the end after falling behind the #18 Honda late on. For the #88, however, its third victory of the season – after triumphs at Fuji and Autopolis – means that Kogure and Motojima are now just 11 points adrift in the drivers’ title standings, heading into the final round of the campaign at Suzuka on the weekend of December 7-8. Takashi Kogure, #88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, said: “Motojima-san was really fast in the first half [of the race], and he moved up through the field so well that I thought we could make it into the lead group. When I got out of the pit and into the race in 3rd place, I was thinking that this was a chance [to get the win]. I had some worries about the brakes along the way, but I reminded myself as I drove that it had been the same last year [when we got our first win]. And this time it was our first consecutive win, so I am very happy.”

Lamborghini SC63’s maiden FIA WEC campaign ends in DNF in 8 Hours of Bahrain

Lamborghini Iron Lynx wrapped up its maiden season in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with retirement under the lights in the 8 Hours of Bahrain after a punishing final round of the year. The #63 combination of Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat and Mirko Bortolotti raced well in the early stages, running as high as eighth, but encountered a water pressure issue in the final hour which forced them out of the race prematurely. In LMGT3, the #60 crew of Matteo Cairoli, Matteo Cressoni and Claudio Schiavoni produced a superb drive in their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 to finish fourth from the back of the grid, coming up just short of a second podium finish of 2024. Meanwhile, the #85 Iron Dames of Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey missed out on a chance to claim a podium of their own, finishing 10th after a late drivethrough penalty.

Free Practice and Qualifying – Hypercar

The final weekend of the year began on Thursday with the first of three free practice sessions. With track temperatures varying greatly between the afternoon and evening running, tyre degradation and drop-off was a lot higher than anticipated. Tyre management, therefore, was the main priority during FP1 (in which the #63 finished sixth) and FP2. The team then conducted a qualifying run in FP3, setting the third-quickest time, while others focused on race simulations. Kvyat was again at the wheel of the SC63 for qualifying and, despite suffering slightly with understeer during his fastest lap, managed a best time of 1m48.555, splitting the Peugeots and ending up just over a second off the quickest car.

Race – Hypercar

The #63 started on the preferable hard Michelin compound with Mortara producing another one of his stunning opening laps to leapfrog eight positions to run a superb eighth in the early stages. With ambient and track temperatures at their highest all weekend, degradation proved a major challenge in the first stint, with the SC63 dropping to ninth before the first pit-stops. Mortara stayed aboard, the team electing to change two tyres which meant the #63 fell down the order in the second stint as tyre preservation became a critical factor. As night began to fall, Bortolotti took over and kept the car on-track and made the most of four new tyres to overtake the #35 Alpine before handing over to Kvyat for his first stint. Kvyat stayed in the car under the virtual safety car period and was engaged in a lively ebb-and-flow scrap with the #99 Porsche. Bortolotti, back at the wheel, then moved up the order as others in front hit strife and had looked evenly poised to prevail in his scrap with the Proton Porsche. However, a water pressure issue forced the car into the garage in the final hour and, after returning to the track for a lap, retired with just over half an hour remaining.

Race – LMGT3

Bovy maintained fourth place at the start of the race and stayed with the leading group despite struggling for grip and tyre wear in the opening stages. The #85 then doubled stinted the tyres it started the race on, which initially cost the Dames multiple positions and dropping to 14th by the time Bovy handed over to Frey. The early pain paid off as the Magenta Huracán made progress towards half-distance, going slightly off sequence and using the fuel advantage to run at the front of the race before Gatting jumped in. The all-female crew then got back on sequence with a free pit-stop during the VSC period, allowing Bovy to move into the lead as she completed her minimum drive time. Frey then dropped to fourth after attempting to snatch the lead at the second VSC restart, but the #85 subsequently dropped out of contention with a drivethrough penalty due to a VSC procedure infringement, eventually finishing 10th.

The #60’s race was a slow burner, with Schiavoni completing a single stint early on, alternating with Cressoni before getting back in towards the halfway marker. The car showed incredible pace, particularly with Cairoli aboard as the Lamborghini Factory Driver set the fastest lap of the race as night fell. Schiavoni then completed his drive time after the two VSC periods, handing back to Cressoni entering the final hours, settling into a solid fifth place. Cairoli then took over for the final stint and showed strong pace to challenge the pair of Corvettes in front and get close to the podium. The #60 did briefly take third place with a dive down the inside of turn eight, but Cairoli ran too deep and had to settle for a competitive fourth place at the end.