Lamborghini: Spa 24 Hours win “best way” to close Huracan’s chapter in GT3 racing

Lamborghini says its maiden Spa 24 Hours victory is the “best way” to bring the curtain down on the Huracan GT3, as it prepares to roll out the car’s successor next year.

The Italian manufacturer secured its maiden victory in the Belgian endurance classic last weekend, with Mirko Bortolotti, Jordan Pepper and Luca Engstler triumphing by over eight seconds in Grasser Racing’s No. 63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

Since its launch in 2015, the Huracan has been a staple of Lamborghini’s sportscar racing programme, scoring three consecutive class wins at the Daytona 24 Hours (2018-2020) and back-to-back Sebring 12 Hours victories in 2018 and 2019.

However, this was the first time that the Sant'Agata brand won a major 24-hour GT3-only race at an international level.

As Lamborghini prepares to phase out the Huracan GT3 at the end of the year and replace it with the Temerario GT3, which will be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month, the company said the Spa win adds to the legacy of its V10-powered racer.

“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 Lamborghini’s Chief Technical Officer Rouven Mohr.

“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.”

Pepper originally qualified the No. 63 Lamborghini in 12th place but was hit with a seven-place grid penalty for not respecting the delta time for exiting the pitlane.

However, Pepper, Bortolotti and Engstler made rapid progress in the early part of the race, with the South African grabbing the lead just after the halfway point during the night.

A full-course yellow period during the morning handed the advantage to the No. 96 Rutronik Porsche, but Bortolotti retook the lead with two hours to go after Sven Mueller suffered a puncture shortly before his pitstop.

“Winning this race makes me extremely proud,” said Pepper, who won the Bathurst 12 Hour with Bentley in 2020 before moving to Lamborghini in 2023.

“I have been an official factory driver with this brand for three years now and they have become my family, and to see how much effort has gone into the programme versus some of our competitors, everyone back home in Sant’Agata, is amazing. 

“But I want to thank everyone who gave me this opportunity to join [team owner] Gottfried [Grasser] and his team, which I thought was a new challenge in my life. 

“We have had heartbreak together but this has made us stronger; this has been the goal that we circled on the calendar, and I am so proud of this. Also, I want to thank Mirko and Luca a hundred times because they did an awesome job.”