The #63 combination of Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat and Mirko Bortolotti drove a good race in the early stages and even finished eighth, but had a problem with the water pressure in the final hour, which forced them to retire from the race prematurely.
In the LMGT3 class, the #60 crew of Matteo Cairoli, Matteo Cressoni and Claudio Schiavoni put in an excellent drive in their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 and finished the race in fourth place, narrowly missing out on their second podium finish of the 2024 season. The Iron Dames with starting number 85, Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey, missed the chance of a podium of their own and finished 10th after a late drive-through penalty.
Free practice and qualifying – Hypercar
The final weekend of the year began on Thursday with the first of three free practice sessions. As the track temperatures fluctuated greatly between the afternoon and evening practice sessions, tyre wear and degradation was much higher than expected. Tyre management was therefore the top priority in FP1 (in which the #63 finished sixth) and FP2. In FP3, the team then carried out a qualifying run and set the third-fastest time, while others focussed on the race simulations. Kvyat was once again at the wheel of the SC63 in qualifying and, despite slight understeer, set a best time of 1m48.555s on his fastest lap, pulling away from the Peugeots and finishing just over a second behind the fastest car.
Race – Hypercar
The #63 started on the favoured Michelin hard compound and Mortara put in another of his impressive opening laps, making up eight positions and finishing an excellent eighth in the early stages. With the highest outside and track temperatures of the entire weekend, tyre wear in the first stint proved to be a major challenge and the SC63 dropped back to ninth place before the first pit stops. Mortara remained on board and the team opted to change two tyres, which resulted in the #63 dropping down the order in the second stint as tyre conservation became a critical factor. As night fell, Bortolotti took over the car, keeping it on track and using four new tyres to overtake the #35 Alpine before handing over to Kvyat for his first stint. Kvyat stayed in the car during the virtual safety car period and had a lively duel with the #99 Porsche. Bortolotti, who was back at the wheel, moved up the order when others ahead of him got into trouble and it looked as though he might prevail in his duel with the Proton Porsche. However, a water pressure problem forced the car into the garage in the final hour. After returning to the track for one lap, he retired with just over half an hour to go.
Free practice and qualifying – LMGT3
With regular driver Franck Perera sitting out the season finale to concentrate on his participation in Sunday’s FIA WEC Rookie Test, Cairoli was joined by Schiavoni and Cressoni in the #60. The car set the third fastest time in FP1, but ended up 13th after a problem in the second session. Strong winds meant that dust and sand reduced grip levels even further in FP3, but the trio still achieved the sixth fastest time. The #85 Iron Dames concentrated on race optimisation and tyre management on Thursday, with Gatting and Frey happy with the overall race pace. Bovy took over qualifying and made it into the top 10 of the Hyperpole session with the third fastest time, before consolidating his second row start with fourth place in the shootout.
Race – LMGT3
Bovy maintained fourth place at the start of the race and remained in the leading group, despite struggling with grip and tyre wear in the early stages. The #85 then double-degraded the tyres it had started the race on, initially costing the Dames several positions and dropping them back to 14th place when Bovy handed over to Frey. The early pain paid off as the Huracán in magenta made progress at the halfway point of the race, pulling slightly out of line and using the petrol advantage to run at the front of the race before Gatting jumped in. With a free pit stop during the VSC period, the all-female crew got back on track and allowed Bovy to take the lead as she completed her minimum lap time. Frey then dropped back to fourth after attempting to take the lead on the second VSC restart, but the #85 was subsequently handed a drive-through penalty for a VSC infringement and eventually finished 10th. The #60’s race was a slow-paced affair, with Schiavoni initially completing just a single stint, alternating with Cressoni before rejoining towards the middle of the race. The car showed incredible pace, especially with Cairoli on board, who set the fastest lap of the race as darkness fell. Schiavoni then finished his driving time after the two VSC phases and handed back to Cressoni in the final hours, who settled into a solid fifth place. Cairoli then took over for the final stint and showed strong pace to challenge the two Corvettes in front of him and close in on the podium.
The #60 was briefly able to take over third place when it dived on the inside of turn eight, but Cairoli drove too low and had to settle for fourth place in the end.
Some voices about the event
Mirko Bortolotti: “It’s definitely not the end of the season we wanted this weekend because we had to retire with a technical problem. It was a really challenging and difficult season for us, obviously the first season for Iron Lynx and Lamborghini in the WEC, and we expected some difficulties at the beginning of the year, but I have to say that we were still struggling with the car towards the end of the year. It was a disappointing year to be honest and we deserved to at least finish the last race. But anyway, the guys have worked so hard all season, so thank you for their dedication and effort, and let’s see what the future holds.”
Daniil Kvyat:“It’s been a challenging year, obviously the results have not been what we would have liked, but considering it was our first year in the championship, there have been some encouraging performances and we’ve been there a few times, battling with much more experienced rivals. Obviously there are many areas where we need to improve, we know that, and hopefully we will be able to bring the updates we really need to make our package more competitive. I’m proud of the efforts of the guys and girls in the team, the dedication of the team has been incredible.”
Edoardo Mortara: “Unfortunately, we had a small technical problem and were unable to finish the race. As always, we did our best and performed well at some points in the race. We also lacked a bit of pace, which is always frustrating when you can’t quite keep up with the others. But we have learnt a lot this year. We knew it wouldn’t be an easy task against some really strong competitors. We have improved, but hopefully we will come back with a more competitive package, which is the aim of the whole team. We have shown some performance, but now it’s up to us to get the maximum out of it.”
About Lamborghini Stuttgart
Exceptional automotive passion
“Performance, lifestyle and design – be inspired by the incomparable! In Stuttgart, we are just as happy to provide you with advice and support in every area as we are at our location in Singen.” – Thorsten Gohm
Enthusiasm and professionalism – the history of the Gohm family business is characterised by enduring values and over 100 years of tradition. This is also reflected in the very personal, appreciative, even friendly relationships with customers, whose individual needs and wishes are catered for in the best possible way. We look forward to thrilling driving experiences and exciting moments that can be enjoyed together without a care in the world. Accompany the Lamborghini Stuttgart team into the fascinating automotive world and visit the showroom at Motorworld in Böblingen.
Contact
Lamborghini Stuttgart
Graf-Zeppelin-Platz 1
71034 Böblingen
Tel.: +49 7031 2055 2040
E-Mail: info@gohm.de
Web: https://www.lamborghini-stuttgart.com/de/
