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In its final 24 hour race at Spa-Francorchamps, the Lamborghini Huracán took its biggest and most memorable victory: a first overall major 24 hour race win for Lamborghini and Grasser Racing Team.
And what a time to do it: the car will be retired from frontline competition next year, to be replaced by its successor, the Lamborghini Temerario GT3. The new car will be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 11th July.
Phil Oakley
This was a victory Lamborghini chased for many years. While the Huracán had won Spa 24 Hours in class previously, the overall win was the win the Italian manufacturer really wanted.
And even more so, this is the car's first ever overall 24 hour race victory. Lamborghini have taken multiple class victories at both Spa 24 Hours and at Daytona 24 in the US, but this is both the Huracán's, and Lamborghini's, first ever overall 24 hour race victory.
Bravo!
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Pepper, Bortolotti, Engstler take victory at Spa
The car, the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 from Grasser Racing, started from the lower reaches of the top 20 on the grid in the hands of Mirko Bortolotti.
Over the course of the race moved forwards, to be well within the top 10 by the end of the first quarter of the race.
They continued to move forwards until the final quarter of the race, outlasting several competitors and rivals until the battle for the win was between themselves and the #96 Rutronik Porsche.
The Porsche got lucky with a well-timed pitstop during a full course yellow, enabling the driver trio of Sven Müller, Patric Niederhauser and Alessio Picariello to take the lead.
But the Lamborghini was too strong, and was able to close the gap and pass the Porsche. With Bortolotti just tenths behind him, Müller suffered a puncture on his in-lap at Blancimont towards the end of the lap, enabling Bortolotti to take the lead before he stopped the lap after.
From then on it was just about protecting the lead to take the win. There was one moment at the Lamborghini's final pitstop where the car wouldn't refire to rejoin the race – a proper heart-stopping moment for the team, no doubt – but it did re-fire and take the win, 8.7 seconds ahead of the Porsche.
The Huracán's crown jewel win
Since its debut in 2015, the Huracán has become one of the predominant GT3s around the world.
Lamborghini says the car has won almost 200 races since then, including three consecutive GTD class victories at Daytona in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The Evo model, introduced for the 2019 season, was a huge upgrade over the original car, with new aerodynamics, front suspension, electronics, and an enhanced V10 engine giving the car a new lease of life.
It debuted at Daytona in 2019 and promptly won its class, following on from the original car's win in 2018.
Also that year, Lamborghini won all three GT World Challenge Europe titles, the Sprint Cup, Endurance Cup, and the overall title, with factory drivers Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli.
After four years of competition, the Huracán GT3 Evo was replaced by a second evolution, the Evo2, in 2023.
This car's most notable achievement was most likely winning the DTM championship in 2024, in the hands of factory driver Mirko Bortolotti and customer team SSR Performance.
DTM had switched from its previous 'Class one' regulations to GT3 a few years before. The championship win was the first for an Italian manufacturer, in a championship typically dominated by German brands.
Also in 2024, Lamborghini entered the car into the FIA World Endurance Championship, with new factory partner team Iron Lynx, in the new LMGT3 class. This would also see Lamborghini enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time ever.
Unfortunately, success was not forthcoming in the series, where Lamborghini and Iron Lynx were up against tough competition, although the Iron Dames car, with Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey as the driver line up, did finish sixth in class.
Furthermore, the Lamborghini and Iron Lynx had a major falling out during the year, culminating in a split at the season's conclusion, with Lamborghini not returning to WEC or Le Mans in 2025.
It was looking increasingly likely that Lamborghini would retire the Huracán GT3 from top-line competition at the end of 2025 without a major 24 hour race win. But, this win seals the car's legacy, and means it goes out on a high.
'This is another dream that is coming true, because we have four fantastic 24-hour races in the world and Spa is one of the most amazing races,' said Rouven Mohr, Lamborghini Squadra Corse's chief technical officer.
'And to win it has been fantastic, the job that the whole Squadra Corse team has done has been superb and a good example of a perfect collaboration and I am super proud of this. This is the best way to end the 10-year history of the Huracán GT3, but we still have many more races to focus on and win.'
Feature image: Lamborghini
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