About in Racers <-> Olds and News

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09.08.2004 THE FIRST LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO ARRIVED AT DAMS'S WORKSHOPS OVER THE WEEKEND, THE FRENCH OUTFIT CONFIRMING THE DRIVER LINE-UP FOR THEIR TWO NEW R-GT'S WHICH WILL MAKE AN FIA GT DEBUT AT IMOLA.

DAMS Team will enter two new Lamborghini Murcielago GT-R racers in the next round of the FIA GT Championship at Imola. The first car was delivered at the DAMS workshop this weekend, and the team now plans a two days test at the Le Mans Bugatti track on 17th and 18th August. The second car will be delivered the following week. Jean-Denis Deletraz (Switzerland) and Andrea Piccini (Italy), who were team mates in 2003, will be joined by Felipe Ortiz (Switzerland) and Beppe Gabbiani (Italy), who shared also have shared the same car in the past, and are known in the FIA GT paddock for their experience and results in GT, as well as Le Mans. Jean-Paul Driot, Team Principal of DAMS: “This project is very important for us, many factors had to come together and today it is a great satisfaction to see it real. "Although the team has great successes in single seater racing for the last 2 years, we are delighted to come back in GT with such an ambitious project and I think DAMS will prove that we haven’t lost our level in this category! Our drivers will bring their experience in order to develop the car quickly and bring it in the leaders group as soon as possible.� Eric Boullier, Managing and Technical Director: “It is a great satisfaction to announce officially our commitment, all the crew is very excited by this new challenge."It was quite long to put together all the keys to start this program, for sure we would have preferred running the car earlier but we are looking ahead and everybody is focused on the next step, our test on 17th and 18th August, which will be the first contact with the car for our 4 drivers.� Both Lamborghinis will be entered by DAMS on 5th September at Imola (Italy), then 19th September at Oschersleben (Germany), October 9th at Dubai, and the final round of the season which will be held on the 14th November in Zuhai (China).

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9 August 2004…/The duo of Lamborghini R-GTs currently competing in the USA with Krohn-Barbour Racing were forced to withdraw from this weekend's ALMS race due to the delivery of faulty suspension parts from the official supplier to Lamborghini.

A spokesman of the supplier, Heggemann, explained, "We supplied the original suspension parts to Lamborghini for the new R-GT and these have been successfully tested over a distance of 3000km and used in competition with Krohn-Barbour Racing and with teams racing in Japan. We produced further spares which were supplied to the team, but unfortunately these did not meet with our usual high standards of production quality. The replacement parts were unable to be delivered to the team in time for the race.

"We are extremely sorry that we have not attained our usual high standards and that as a result, the Krohn-Barbour Racing team were unable to compete this weekend. Immediately the problem with the product was evident, we started extensive analysis of the parts to establish the causes of its deficiencies. We will ensure that future supplies will meet the standards required by the race teams and Lamborghini."

Manfred Fitzgerald, Marketing Manager, Automobili Lamborghini, comments, "It was very disappointing that Dick Barbour Racing were unable to compete in the ALMS race this weekend. As soon as a problem became apparent we worked with the team and our supplier to rectify it. Unfortunately, the supplier was not able to deliver the parts required in time for the team to race. We are, of course, putting all our efforts into ensuring that our suppliers provide replacement parts as soon as possible."

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11.08.2004 THE LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO R-GT WILL RECEIVE ITS FIRST TASTE OF LONG DISTANCE RACING WHEN AMPREX MOTORSPORTS ENTER THE 12-HOUR MERDEKA MILLENNIUM ENDURANCE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH.

Genji Hashimoto, owner and driver of Team Amprex Motorsports believes his newly acquired Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT will have a good chance to obtain a top position in the Merdeka Millennium Endurance (MME) race, considered as Asia’s biggest race with the participation of more than 100 cars and 300 drivers.“The Merdeka Millennium Endurance race will be a different story altogether. It is a different game and will suit the Lamborghini,� said Kuala Lumpur-based Hashimoto.He will be partnered by one of Asia’s top touring car drivers Charles Kwan of Hong Kong, and Germany's Norman Simon, his co-driver in the current Japan GT championship, for Sepang’s F1 circuit 12-hour race.He said the Lamborghini was being prepared for the 2005 Le Mans 24-Hour Endurance race and that MME race, which will run for half that time, was a perfect preparation for the team.“The ultimate target is Le Mans. The Japan GT championship race is not actually a priority,� says Hashimoto, who finished 12th at the Japan GT race at Sepang on June 19 with Simon, when the Malaysian-based team put their newly acquired 550bhp Lamborghini to test in a race for the first time. In the next round of the series on July 18 at the Tokachi Speedway, the team finished in 15th position, following a mishap on the track.Officiated by the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Federal Territory, Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique, the 2004 MME race was launched in a colourful ceremony at Desa Sri Hartamas with the attendance of competitors, sponsors and Sepang International Circuit (SIC) partners. The 2004 MME race will be Hashimoto’s third attempt in the event. After failing to finish in their debut in 2002, Hashimoto finished ninth overall and fifth in the open class last year with Charles and Matthew Marsh in their BMW M3. “Both Charles and Norman would be coming on the 22nd and we would immediately go into serious preparations for the race,� added Hashimoto.Amprex Motorsports team director Hong Heng Soon said that is the first time a Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT would be participating in a 12-hour race. “The MME race would be a good test for our car, as we need to simulate in preparation for next year 24 hours of Le Mans. So far, the Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT has not been driven for more than 1000km in any event, even in Europe and America. "The distance for FIA GT race is 500km as well as in ALMS (American Le Mans Series). Therefore, we take this opportunity to run our car and test all components for much longer distance. In fact, we might drive another 12hrs on private test after the MME race in Sepang because is more accurate to simulate on an actual race distance for Le Mans. Then, all components will be sent to Reiter Engineering for analysis after the race."We are optimistic about the race but in the same time, we have to be realistic because the reliability of the car is still a question. No doubt this car is being built for endurance race; but we have to be cautious. "This will be our third time participating in MME and we did not do well in the last two events. Hopefully this time luck is on our side and we should be able to achieve good result with a possibility to win.� Amprex Motorsports has an international support crew, which includes five Malaysian mechanics.The car was developed for racing by the sports unit of Audi, who also own Lamborghini. The company that builds the car, which is powered by a V12 6.0-litre engine is Reiter Engineer of Germany.According to a statement by SIC, previous participants of the MME, first held in 2000 included drivers from the Japan GT Championship, international drivers with racing experience in the British Touring Car Championship, Formula Nippon, Asian Touring Car Championship, Formula BMW, Formula 2000 and all of Malaysia’s top drivers including ex-Formula One driver Alex Yoong. "There will be three drivers to a car and they take turns accordingly to the race regulations to complete 12 hours of non-stop racing around the 5.543-km Sepang Circuit. Each driver can only drive a maximum of 75 minutes non-stop and they must rest at least two-thirds of the driving time before resuming the race. The maximum cumulative driving time for each driver is five hours. Only those who complete the 12-hour period will be classified,� the statement said.Flag-off for the 2004 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race will be at 10am on Saturday, August 28, 2004. Qualifying will be held on Friday, August 27.

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KROHN-BARBOUR RACING SKIPPING NEXT RACE TO FOCUS ON TESTING

Krohn-Barbour Racing will miss next weekend's seventh round of the American Le Mans Series at Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (August 20-22), in order to concentrate on testing and developing its two Lamborghini Murciélago R-GTs.

The Lamborghinis made their US competition debut only seven weeks ago, in round two of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and have quickly established themselves as crowd favorites for their good looks and glorious engine note.

Krohn-Barbour Racing drivers David Brabham and Peter Kox have twice battled for third-place finishes in the GTS class, currently dominated by the two GM Racing Chevrolet Corvettes, and team co-founder Tracy Krohn and track instructor David McEntee finished second in GTS in round four of the ALMS at Infineon Raceway, California, but the busy race schedule has prevented the team from making as much progress as it would like with the performance of the new cars.

Team manager Dick Barbour explained: "With five races in the last seven weekends, there's been almost no time for the testing and development that a new racing car always needs. Tracy Krohn and I have decided it's best to take some time out from the race program to concentrate on testing and development. By missing the Road America race, we get a valuable six-week window before both cars return to the series at Petit Le Mans, the longest and most important event we'll enter this year."

The Petit Le Mans race runs for 10 hours or 1,000 miles (whichever is shorter) at Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, on Saturday September 25.
Source: www.kldconcept.com

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http://www.malaysiangp.com.my/news.asp?nid=183
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31/08/2004
Murcielago R-GT


Team JLOC prepares Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT for racing

31 August 2004…/ The Japanese Lamborghini Owners Club (JLOC) is preparing to return to the JGTC series with its Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT.Following delivery of the original pre-production car earlier this year, JLOC took the decision to test the R-GT in a JGTC race. The team now intends to compete in JGTC rounds and has decided to prepare its pre-production car to its full race potential.

JLOC’s Murciélago R-GT is back with development house Reiter Engineering in Germany, in order that the chassis and engine may be prepared to the R-GT’s current race specification. The car will return to the track for the fifth round of the JGTC at Twin Ring Motegi, September 3 – 5th, and the team will be joined by a number of mechanics from Reiter Engineering to support JLOC for this race weekend.

The privateer team is headed by one of the team’s founders, Masahiko Mearashi, and Japanese Lamborghini Owners’ Club president Isao Noritake.

It is very exciting to see two Japanese teams contesting the JGTC with the new Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT,� commented Manfred Fitzgerald of Automobili Lamborghini. “The spirit and enthusiasm of the JLOC team reflects the enthusiasm for the Lamborghini marque in Japan, and there will no doubt be a substantial following for the car in the JGTC.�

Source: KLD concept

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