motor

a007apl · 03-22-2004, 02:59 PM

... AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES WITH NEW KROHN-BARBOUR RACING TEAM

SEBRING, FL. - Lamborghini, a name that represents glamour, excitement, speed and raw power in the automotive world, will enter professional sports car racing competition in the American Le Mans Series this season with the newly-created Krohn-Barbour Racing team.

The team, which will campaign a pair of Lamborghini MurciÃ©lago R-GT cars in the GTS class, will make its debut in Round Two of the 2004 ALMS season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, June 25-27. Though a privateer racing effort, Krohn-Barbour Racing will be officially affiliated with the Lamborghini factory.

Krohn-Barbour Racing is co-owned by Texas businessman/racing driver Tracy Krohn and longtime sports car racing team owner/driver Dick Barbour, marking the return to racing as a team owner for Barbour for the first time since 2001. The announcement of the new team was made today at Sebring International Raceway on the eve of the 52nd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, a race that Barbour won overall three straight years as an owner, and one as a driver, starting in 1978.

"This is an exciting day for us and is the result of many months of hard work," said Krohn, who is driving at Sebring in a Porsche for PK Sport but will be one of the drivers for Krohn-Barbour Racing when the team makes its debut. The full driver lineup will be announced at a later date. "We're going to field a first-class racing team and we look forward to mixing it up with the other competitors in what we consider to be the finest professional sports car racing series in the world."

"I've been searching for the right opportunity to get back into racing and I'm very grateful to Tracy Krohn and Lamborghini," said Barbour, who will operate the team from a shop located at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. "The Lamborghini is a glamorous and popular car off the race track, and our goal with the car is to take a good battle to the Corvettes and the others in the GTS class on the race track."

"We enthusiastically welcome the participation of Lamborghini and the spectacular MurciÃ©lago in the American Le Mans Series, and we're also happy to welcome Krohn-Barbour Racing," said Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the American Le Mans Series. "Many manufacturers and racing teams are looking at the GTS class and we feel that it is going to be an area of tremendous growth and competition over the next few years.

"Anyone who knows Dick Barbour knows that he only races to win - races and championships," Atherton said. "With this in mind, the battle for the American Le Mans Series GTS championship just heated up in a big way."

Krohn is President and CEO of W&T Offshore, Inc., an oil and gas exploration and production company with activities primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. He began his racing career three years ago at the Panoz Racing School and progressed through the Panoz GT Pro Series, where he finished second overall in 2003. He lives in Houston.

Barbour will be trying to become the first team owner in ALMS history to win team titles in three different classes, having won the GT class championship in 2000 and the LMP 675 title in 2001. His team also won the LMP 675 title in the European Le Mans Series in 2001. In addition to his three straight Sebring wins, the native Californian also took three consecutive class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a driver starting in 1978. His team enjoyed a 14-win season in 1980 that was capped off with an IMSA championship.

"We're having to miss racing at Sebring this year, but we're still going to be racing all-out to win the championship in the remaining eight races," he said. "We can't wait to get started."

SFDMALEX · 03-22-2004, 03:19 PM

Its all great and all, but I think that Murc will be all the way back.

adlinyusman · 03-22-2004, 10:29 PM

the R-Gt is going for sale as well isn't it? For homologation purposes. That one is one beautiful piece of machinery.

adlinyusman · 03-23-2004, 12:46 AM

yeah it's like carbon fibre everything. Even the paint scheme looks carbon fibre-y. You and I might not think it's worth it, but for those with deep (mariana trench deep) pockets, a couple of hundred thousand dollars difference, is just relative.

Would I buy it? In a heartbeat if i had my manic shoes on. But if i had my sensible berkinstocks on, I'd probably just opt for the regular, mundane murcielago in really bright yellow.

callen · 03-23-2004, 01:08 AM

YES! i was wondering where the RGT was at sebring. lookin forward to seein it in a few months in ohio

666fast · 03-23-2004, 02:19 AM

Sure hope it'll be running at Road America, I'd love to see it.
Vici Racing is supposed to be running one too, but who knows. They tried to run a Diablo GT in the past and made it to one practice.

I hope it does well, it definately has it's work cut out for it!

possessed_beaver · 03-23-2004, 08:54 AM

wow, lambo getting back into le-mans racing, there is alredy several lambo racing classes to my knowlage?

1zippo1 · 03-23-2004, 09:17 AM

My dream is a Le Mans series with Lamborghini - Porsche - Ferrari - Maybe Aston Martin... in a close battle.

I think it's cool that Lambo is into le-mans racing again, but it's owned by the vag group who has been winning it for the last couple of years. First with Audi, then with Bentley.

I'm very curious what Porsche will have for the Le Mans series in a few years!!

SFDMALEX · 03-23-2004, 06:08 PM

Lamborghini just cant do motorsports :cry: When ever they try they fail. Back in Monza the RGT toped out at 280km something like 40km off on the big boys. The RGT is just to big, to bulky.

It will take them a lot of work to be competitive to run along with these guys! Anyway the GTS field is like 6cars this year(well at sebring at least) and the only good team there is the Vette team which has GMs full support. Those 575s arent with a good team soooo its gonna be all Vette this year.

stradale · 03-23-2004, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by SFDMALEX

Lamborghini just cant do motorsports :cry: When ever they try they fail. Back in Monza the RGT toped out at 280km something like 40km off on the big boys. The RGT is just to big, to bulky.

The size of the R-GT is no problem whatsoever. It's as big as the 575 you pictured. Lamborghini has no tradition in racing because Ferruccio Lamborghini always declined to go racing when he was in charge of the factory and with later owners there just weren't sufficient means to develop a serious contender. In recent years there was a Diablo cup and some privately run Diablo GTRs competing in GT races, but never something of the scale of the MurciÃ©lago R-GT project. The race at Monza was more a test than to be competitive. It was only a step in the development program. And now with the weight of Audi behind them, I think they can make this a success. I'm sure they'll overcome the 20 km/h speed difference they had at Monza.

SFDMALEX · 03-23-2004, 06:44 PM

Originally Posted by stradale

Originally Posted by SFDMALEX

Lamborghini just cant do motorsports :cry: When ever they try they fail. Back in Monza the RGT toped out at 280km something like 40km off on the big boys. The RGT is just to big, to bulky.

The size of the R-GT is no problem whatsoever. It's as big as the 575 you pictured. Lamborghini has no tradition in racing because Ferruccio Lamborghini always declined to go racing when he was in charge of the factory and with later owners there just weren't sufficient means to develop a serious contender. In recent years there was a Diablo cup and some privately run Diablo GTRs competing in GT races, but never something of the scale of the MurciÃ©lago R-GT project. The race at Monza was more a test than to be competitive. It was only a step in the development program. And now with the weight of Audi behind them, I think they can make this a success. I'm sure they'll overcome the 20 km/h speed difference they had at Monza.

I see what you are saying that this is a big project but those Diablos that raced in FIA GT were not succesfull in either GT or NGT...just like some attempts of racing 996 GT2s in the GT class.

I know I may not have lots of facts backing up my feelings about the RGT project,,,but I just have a gut feeling that it wont do good. I hope it will do good. I only see it succesfull if most of the parts in the car will be Audi. And I do see that, but thats not Lamborghini now is it?

And I know that the Monza race was a test. But Monza is the track that uses the least downforce of the season, and running basicly no downforce and being 40km off the opposition is kind of a problem even at the testing stage.

a007apl · 03-23-2004, 07:22 PM

:roll:

StanAE86 · 03-24-2004, 12:28 PM

Hopefully, Lamborghini will stay involved long enough to allow development to be competitive. I doubt they'll be much of a threat this year being the first year they're there...but wouldn't it be great if they were a contender and putting pressure at the top!

Erez · 03-24-2004, 01:04 PM

DAMN!! this is gonna be GOOD!!!
lambo was never into racing... (well they had some trys but you know...) cant wait to see what will come out of this!

a007apl · 03-27-2004, 03:41 PM