Hot Lamborghini Gallardo's British debut
04 June 2007 Team Modena had no idea just how fast this striking car could go – until its storming Avon Tyres British GT Championship debut yesterday. Trackside’s Keith Collantine was there to see it. “I’ll be happy if it does one lap.” Team boss Graham Schultz was pessimistic ahead of the Lamborghini Gallardo’s debut. The team only got their hands on the car just in time for the third round of the British GT championship. Lamborghini sells every Gallardo it makes – getting one to race isn’t easy. Aggressive
It’s wider, faster, and finished in a striking blend of deep neon orange and dark carbon fibre. An aggressive aerodynamics kit transforms the Gallardo from sleek sports car to track-tuned racer. The front bodywork is 35mm wider and built from extra-light carbon fibre. An enormous rear wing sticks the back of the car to the ground for better traction. Inside the lavish interior is gone and replaced with the bare minimum kit to save weight. One change that gave the team trouble in testing is the transmission, which is tuned to swap cogs more quickly than the road car. Car trouble Team Modena was up against it last weekend: Most of their crew were at Le Mans practicing for the famous 24-hour race. This left a skeleton crew at Snetterton to service the Gallardo.
But on Sunday the team finally unlocked the pace of the Gallardo – they were fastest in the pre-race warm-up with a 1m 10.1s lap. Near miss On the grid the atmosphere was tense expectant ahead of the two-hour race. At the start the team almost saw their weekend’s work ruined at the first corner: A Porsche span into the Gallardo’s path and driver Jones took evasive action. Afterwards he said: “I practically had to double back to avoid smashing the car up. When I reached the main straight the leaders were at the other end.”
That brought him into the company of the championship leaders – but still he kept on passing. He chased Stefan Daoudi’s Ferrari 430 and the pair overtook Guy Harrington’s Aston Martin DBRS9. On lap 28 Jones dispensed with Daoudi, putting the Gallardo third. Next time around he was second having picked off another Aston Martin. In the pits the team cheered him on while everyone else wondered just how fast the Gallardo could go. Surely it couldn’t catch the leading Mosler MT900R of the Cole brothers, some twenty seconds ahead? Jones immediately proved exactly what the Gallardo was capable of with a 1m 10.2s lap – the fastest of the race. And there was still over an hour left to catch the Mosler. Cruel blow
Second driver Rob Wilson took over but now the car was down in ninth, two laps down. Any hope of catching the leaders was stymied by more gearbox problems – the car occasionally jumping from third to first. But the experienced Wilson – a professional racing driver coach – kept everything under control. He even profited from a late safety car period to pull back one of the lost laps. Fantastic finish A late collision between the Mosler and a Dodge Viper gave Wilson fourth place. They may have missed out on a podium – but it’s an extraordinary debut for the stunning Gallardo.
Those are ominous words for the Gallardo’s rivals. The battle resumes at Brands Hatch on July 14th – can this extraordinary and gorgeous machine win a race next time? Racing round-up Avon Tyres British GT championship, Snetterton Barwell Motorsports made history in the same race. Their bioethanol-fuelled Aston Martin DBRS9 was the first such ‘environmentally friendly’ car to win a major British race. Lloyds TSB British F3 international series, Snetterton Marko Asmer extended his championship lead with a win in the second race. But he failed to finish the first event after picking up a puncture. That left Niall Breen to head home a one-two-three for the Carlin team, with Sam Bird and Alberto Valerio behind him. Bird is now second in the title race. Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, Croft Colin Turkington made the most of his rear-wheel drive BMW’s prowess off the start line to leap into the lead of the first race and win. Darren Turner took his first ever BTCC win in the second race after he and team mate Jason Plato twice swapped places to maximise Seat’s points haul. But Plato’s championship rival Fabrizio Giovanardi won the third race to close up the title battle again. World Touring Car Championship, Pau, France Andy Priaulx moved into the lead of the World Touring Car Championship despite not having won a race yet this year. Alain Menu took his second win of the year for Chevrolet in the first race, and Priaulx followed team mate Augusto Farfus home in the second. Trackside video
Watch Augusto Farfus’s crash in the dying stages of qualifying for the WTCC round at Pau. His mechanics worked through the night to repair his BMW 320si and were rewarded with victory in the second race by the Brazilian. External links Team Modena Auto Trader is not responsible for the content of external links. Auto Trader links 1,400hp F1 turbo monsters |
The racing Gallardo GT3 shares the same 5.0-litre engine 500bhp V10 engine as its road going brothers.
Drivers Adam Jones and Rob Wilson only got behind the wheel of the car for the first time on Saturday. Then gearbox trouble robbed the team of precious qualifying laps, leaving them 15th on the 22 car grid.
Jones pushed on – and discovered just how quick the Gallardo was. He leapt up the running order from twelfth on lap four sixth by lap ten.
Disaster struck on lap 41 during the mandatory pit stop. The car was stationary for a minute longer than any other as the mechanics struggled with the new wheel guns.
Afterwards Jones (pictured right with Wilson) declared his delight with the car: “The fastest lap was easy,” he said, “We can definitely go faster.” Page 1
