Last week saw the Automobili Lamborghini development team and engineers from tyre partner Pirelli put the Gallardo Super Trofeo through its paces on the Vallelunga Race Track outside Rome. This marked the first tests under simulated race conditions, with Lamborghini test driver Giorgio Sanna behind the wheel. From the very outset, the lap times achieved were faster than any ever recorded with a single-brand trophy race car on this track.
The new Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo delivered the first evidence of its outstanding performance in initial testing, with extremely good handling and excellent lap times. Preparations for the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo are running well within schedule. The first race of the world’s fastest single-brand competition is set to be run on 2 May 2009 at Silverstone.
The focus of the calibration work was on the tyres and the race car set-up. “During the 40 minute race, the drivers are not permitted to change the tyres. Therefore, we have to pay particularly close attention to the durability of the slicks,” explains Giorgio Sanna.
Exceptionally good handling
Particular attention was also paid to the individual calibration options for the new race car based on the various tracks and drivers. “The Super Trofeo should be easy for gentlemen drivers to control, yet challenging for professional drivers,” says Sanna, who has already carried out rain tests on the race track in Nardo. “The permanent all-wheel drive and high aerodynamic downforce give the Gallardo Super Trofeo exceptionally good handling.”
“We are well within our schedule, and will continue to push things forward,” says Manfred Fitzgerald, who is Director of Brand and Design for Lamborghini and responsible for the Super Trofeo. “Ultimately, we want to provide our teams with a race car that is not only fast, but also perfectly reliable.”
The world’s fastest single-brand trophy
The Super Trofeo is the only one-make series in the motorsport world to feature cars with all-wheel drive. And it is Lamborghini’s clear objective to ensure that it will be the fastest single-brand series in the world – partly due to the technical superiority of the all-wheel drive principle. Starting in May, the Super Trofeo will make guest appearances at six race events – at Silverstone (UK), on the Adria Raceway (Italy), on the Norisring (Germany), in Spa (Belgium), in Barcelona (Spain) and on Paul Ricard racetrack (France).
Lamborghini is building 30 cars for the Super Trofeo, which they are making available to individual enthusiasts, as well as to Lamborghini dealer teams. The factory will enter one car for itself, and plans to commission well-known guest drivers to take the wheel. And on the edge of the racing action, the Super Trofeo Village hospitality venue will be available.
A top-class race car
The Super Trofeo race car is based on the Gallardo LP 560-4, powered by the new 5.2 litre V10 with direct fuel injection (IDS), generating an increased output of 419 kW (570 hp). Its power flows through the e.gear six-speed robotized gear box to the permanent all-wheel drive with viscous traction – the kind of power transmission perfectly suited to motorsport.
The Super Trofeo is a top-class race car in every detail. Its chassis, featuring double wishbone suspension all round, has been reworked specifically for the purpose. The competition tyres are supplied by Pirelli and a specialist racing brake system provides brutal stopping power with racing ABS. Additional body components such as the large, adjustable rear wing are made from carbon-fibre composite. The cockpit incorporates an ultra-light race seat, a racing steering wheel and additional specialized racing instruments.
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