Giorgio Sanna (Lamborghini) : "Two Hypercars at Daytona and Le Mans"

After Romain Grosjean, you are recruiting a second ex-F1 driver. Was this a desire?

For me, what is important is to have drivers - obviously with a certain speed and experience - but even more so who have the motivation to work with us on such a project. For Lamborghini this is very important. Daniil (Kvyat. ed.), and the same goes for Romain (Grosjean. ed.), we didn't just hire them because they come from F1 and they will give us the benefit of their great experience, which will be particularly beneficial to us during the car's development phase. They both showed us that they have the same motivation as a 16-year-old driver.

Do you have any idea who the final lucky ones will be?

I have a good idea of who they will be (as we revealed last August, Raffaele Marciello should be one of them). Editor's note).

Would it be possible to have a woman at the wheel of one of the two cars?

We have no limiting criteria. And it's a minimum three-year programme. Maybe we will have the chance to develop our strategies.

But how many drivers do you need for 2024?

We want six drivers, because the idea is to have two cars at the 24 Hours of Daytona and as many at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We will announce the complete lineups at the end of the season, but we want some drivers dedicated to IMSA and others dedicated to WEC.

So do you think you'll be able to start the 24 Hours of Daytona?

That was the goal, but at the moment we are chasing the time. And if we don't make the start at Daytona, then the idea is to be ready for Sebring. At the moment it's too early to say. But you know, it's a long-term programme. And, in the future, the objective will be to have two cars at the 24 Hours of Daytona and for sure, from 2024, two at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

What programme are you aiming for in 2024?

One car in the IMSA endurance races and one in the WEC.

When can we expect to see the Lamborghini LMDh and when do you hope to start testing?

The presentation is imminent. The test programme should start in the summer.

Is the engine already running on the bench?

The entire powertrain is already on the test bench. I can't say much more than that, but you'll gradually understand why we opted for a twin-turbo V8.

Is this the first turbo on a Lamborghini?

No, the Urus is already available with a twin-turbo V8. But this is a completely new engine, dedicated to the LMDh. However, the idea is also to have links between racing and the series.

How do you work with Ligier?

We chose Ligier because it offered us the opportunity to work closely with a manufacturer. They have a dynamic team, just like us at Lamborghini Squadra Corse. The collaboration is going very well, as well as with the other partners involved in the project. An LMDh project cannot be done completely in-house because the regulations force you to work with subcontractors and technical partners. So the management of the project is quite complicated but it is also very exciting. You have to find synergies, both in terms of communication and technical aspects.

Where will you be based?

For the WEC, in Italy, in the premises of Prema (Grisignano di Zocco, editor's note). For IMSA, in Detroit, where Lamborghini Squadra Corse North America is already based. Iron Lynx and ourselves are building a new workshop that will be used for the LMDh and also the GT programme.