The Lamborghini Temerario GT3 recorded its first endurance race victory as Pfaff Motorsports’ Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell claimed GTD Pro honours in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship six hours of Road America.
The factory driver line-up aboard the #9 Lamborghini Temerario GT3 started eighth on the grid for the fourth round of the Endurance Cup campaign, and made solid progress inside the opening 90 minutes with Caldarelli at the wheel.
While misfortune would ultimately affect other rivals in the GTD Pro, a clean run and strong strategic calls amid multiple full-course yellow periods allowed the #9 to climb to an impressive third two hours in.
Mitchell then took over from Caldarelli and kept the #9 in a strong position approaching the halfway point. The car was third before a fuel stop under yellow dropped it to fifth as strategy began to play an ever-increasing role in the outcome.
Caldarelli then used the improved race pace of the Temerario, which benefitted from a performance upgrade ahead of the race, to build a healthy lead, having opted for an alternative fuel strategy to those behind.
At the top of the final hour, Caldarelli came in for the last time, and the #9 remained at the head of the field with an extended margin of nearly 10-seconds before the race was neutralised again with 45 minutes left.
Further FCYs impacted the remaining portion of the race, with the final caution coming with just under 10 minutes left to run. The subsequent clean-up meant that the race ended under yellow, securing the first-ever endurance victory for the Temerario GT3.
The victory marks another crucial milestone in the short lifespan of the Temerario GT3, which made its global debut at the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring back in March. Pfaff Motorsports also gave the car its first outright podium on the streets of Detroit, while the Temerario GT3 recently achieved its maiden victory in the DTM courtesy of Mirko Bortolotti and Team TGI by GRT.
Lamborghini Factory Driver Andrea Caldarelli: “It’s a fantastic feeling to win such an important race at Road America. The competition was incredibly strong, so this result is a great reward for everyone involved. The Lamborghini Temerario GT3 was competitive throughout the race, and the team executed a perfect strategy with flawless pit stops. Sandy also did an amazing job, and together we were able to maximize our package. This victory is a testament to the hard work from Lamborghini Squadra Corse, Pfaff Motorsports, and everyone involved in developing the car. We’re proud to bring home another important win for Lamborghini “
Fellow Lamborghini Factory Driver Sandy Mitchell: “It has been a huge amount of work to get to this point and we have done a lot of testing in the background in Italy, so I am so happy for everyone involved in this project, especially the guys and girls at Pfaff Motorsports. The team nailed the race today: they got every call right, we got a bit of luck here and there but we also had the pace at the end to finish it off, so it was a picture-perfect race for us.”
On the other side of the Atlantic earlier on Sunday, Lamborghini collected its breakthrough first overall podium finish in GT World Challenge Europe, as Rutronik Racing’s Patric Niederhauser and Luca Engstler finished third in race two at Magny-Cours.
The crew of the #96 Lamborghini Temerario GT3 started sixth on the grid and ran inside the top five when the race restarted following a lengthy red flag. Niederhauser pitted from third to swap with Engstler, with the #96 initially dropping a place. Engstler produced a superb recovery, however, and passed the #50 Ferrari with 11 minutes remaining to seize third overall and second among the Pro runners.
