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Lamborghini SC63’s FIA WEC 6 Hours of Fuji - ends in retirement after strong qualifying
Lamborghini Iron Lynx was unable to convert its best FIA World Endurance Championship qualifying performance of the year into a strong race result in the 6 Hours of Fuji, as mechanical problems caused the #63 crew of Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat and Mirko Bortolotti to retire from the penultimate round of the season in Japan.
The Lamborghini SC63 started a superb ninth on the grid after making it into the top 10 Hyperpole shootout for the first time and briefly led the race during the pit-stop phase, marking a demonstrative performance improvement in overall pace.
Unfortunately, the adventure ended prematurely as a drivetrain failure with Kvyat at the wheel forced the #63 into retirement with just over 90 minutes of the race remaining.
In LMGT3, the #85 Iron Dames crew of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting were in the hunt for a first podium finish of the year, however a virtual safety car period meant it fell back and had to make do with fifth at the finish. Meanwhile, the #60 combination of Matteo Cressoni, Franck Perera and Claudio Schiavoni finished 13th after an improved weekend.
Free Practice and Qualifying – Hypercar
The focus during Friday’s pair of free practice sessions was on developing the best setup and finding the optimum car balance for the notoriously challenging Fuji circuit. Track temperatures were relatively high – averaging around 35 degrees – and, with the front-left particularly punished in the medium to high-speed second sector and the tighter final sector, tyre management was crucial. The drivers initially complained of a lack of general balance with the SC63, but the #63 was competitive in the last sector, often matching the faster cars in the slow-speed part of the track, while long-run race pace gradually became more consistent versus rival teams. Qualifying then produced an historic breakthrough result for the Lamborghini SC63 as Kvyat posted a time of 1m29.721 to make it into the top 10 Hyperpole shootout for the first time. In the 10-minute grid-setting session, Kvyat posted the SC63’s fastest time of the weekend, a 1m29.582 which was good enough for ninth on the grid, just 0.681s off pole position, the smallest deficit to the front of the field for the car in qualifying all season.
Race – Hypercar
From the start, Mortara suffered minor contact with a Ferrari as the field jostled for position at turn one, with the #63 dropping to the back of the Hypercar grid after briefly going off-track at turn three. A multi-car incident at turn one on the following lap, however, allowed Mortara to move back into the top 10, but heavy tyre degradation throughout the stint contributed to the car dropping back down the order ahead of the first round of pit-stops. Mortara stayed in the car for a double stint, and it was in the second hour that the SC63 performed far better in race trim, the tyres delivering more grip and stability than they did in the first. The #63 was often involved in on-track battles and passed the #93 Peugeot with which it was running closely for the bulk of the race. A 10-second penalty was applied to the car following the first stop, but this didn’t stop the #63 from leading a WEC race for the first time ahead of the second stop. Kvyat then took over and kept the car in 13th position before a drivetrain issue in the final sector of the lap ground the car to a stop with just over 90 minutes remaining. The retirement was a bitter disappointment for the Lamborghini Iron Lynx team which had enjoyed one of its most competitive showings in the WEC all season.
Free Practice and Qualifying – LMGT3
The opening day of practice began quietly for the #85 Iron Dames, ending up 13th quickest in FP1 and 15th in FP2. Bovy completed a 15-lap stint race simulation in the second session, lapping consistently, proving the performance of the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2. As the Bronze-rated driver, Bovy was again at the wheel for qualifying and made it through Hyperpole for the sixth time in seven races with the third quickest time. Such are the fine margins in the LMGT3 class, the #85 ended up fourth on the grid, just under 0.4s off pole. The #60 enjoyed a positive Friday with Cressoni and Perera each impressing as Schiavoni got himself up to speed. The car was fourth in FP1, third in FP2, while Schiavoni did well to bridge the gap to the fastest qualifying time, just over two seconds off the pace in 18th.
Race – LMGT3
The #85 maintained its fourth position in the early stages, with Bovy completing a double stint and keeping good pace with the leading cars in front. Contact between the pair of McLarens allowed the #85 up into third before Bovy went on the attack of the #59, eventually taking second on the entry to turn one just before the first stops. Having utilised a virtual safety car period to pit early in the second stint, Bovy handed over driving duties to Frey who duly took the lead of the race with a move to the inside of the McLaren at the final corner. Agonisingly for the Dames, they pitted for the penultimate time shortly before the virtual safety car period following the #63’s stoppage, meaning Gatting lost track position. A spirited drive in the final two stints ensured the #85 finished fifth, narrowly missing out on fourth following a lively scrap with the #81 Corvette. The #60 Huracán finished 13th after going slightly off-sequence in the pit-stops at the mid-way point, a strategy which brought them into the mix for points before slipping back after the final stop.
Quotes
Daniil Kvyat: “I think there were a lot of encouraging signs this weekend for sure. The strong point of the weekend was of course qualifying, which was really encouraging, we managed to put the car into the working window well and the trick now is to make sure we do this consistently. Until the failure, there were some encouraging signs of pace that was there somewhere in the region of the top 10, I think. Obviously, we had a transmission issue and we had to stop on track which is a shame and frustrating but that’s racing.”
Edoardo Mortara: “This Fuji race weekend for us has been a mixture of highs and lows. Of course, qualifying went extremely well with Daniil managing to give us a nice moment, but unfortunately, we had to retire the car in the race, which is not ideal definitely. We will try to investigate the issue. Other than that, on track we had quite a lot of fights and we tried to take advantage of an alternative strategy. It was actually working quite OK for most of the race, and it would have been interesting to see where we would have ended up; we were kind of fighting in the mid-field. Hopefully, in the future if we can improve the car, we can come back and fight for points like we did in Le Mans. We still have one more shot in Bahrain and if we can improve the car for this race, we will come back stronger.”
The FIA World Endurance Championship now takes a seven-week break from action before reconvening for the final round of the 2024 season, held at the Bahrain International Circuit on the weekend of 31st October – 2nd November. The eight-hour finale will bring down the curtain on the first campaign of the Lamborghini SC63 LMDh programme under the floodlights in the Middle East. Attention now shifts to next weekend where Lamborghini Iron Lynx will be competing in the Battle of the Bricks, round four of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Indianapolis. At the wheel of the #63 Lamborghini SC63 will be Andrea Caldarelli, Matteo Cairoli and Romain Grosjean.
