Even amongst petrolheads, the name Giorgio Sanna is not exactly a household one, but Lamborghini's Head of Motorsport has had an accomplished enough career that it ought to be. Recruited as test driver in 2001, his time at Sant'Agata has seen more highlights than most. In 2002 he took to Nardo in a Murcielago, averaging a speed of 198.8 mph, and covering 100 miles in just 30 minutes and 9 seconds - breaking three production car world speed records in the process.
Later that year he returned as part of a team aiming to claim another world speed record. This time, in VW's W12 prototype, they covered 4,402.8 miles in 24 hours with an average speed of 183 mph, beating the previous record by 8 mph.
Sanna continued to test for Lamborghini, becoming Chief R&D test driver in 2009, whilst simultaneously racing for Audi Italia and then Lamborghini in the Italian GT Cup, where he found yet more glory as Italian GT Champion in 2011. He assumed his current role, overseeing Lamborghini's Super Trofeo and GT3 programmes, in 2015.
We sat down with Giorgio at the recent Silverstone round of the Blancpain GT3 Championship to talk all things Lamborghini. (This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and flow.)
Your career at Lamborghini has spanned so many years, how do you feel the company has changed since you've been there?
"The company for sure has changed drastically, in a positive way of course, because when I started working for Lamborghini in 2001, we were more or less 300 employees and today we are more than 1,500. We have more or less 300 technicians just in research and development today. The VW Group has invested heavily and I have to say that I saw with my own eyes during this period the company growing up. In terms of skill of the employees, procedures, quality of the products - where we have achieved a big, big step - especially in the first seven or eight years. And talking about motorsport of course, we had to wait till the right time, because the priority in 2000 was to work on the model range; for the first time ever we had a second model in production - that was the Gallardo in 2003 - we developed the Murcielago, then we developed the Aventador, and arriving at the end of the life cycle of the Gallardo we had doubled the number of dealers worldwide. So there was a lot of work to do that we did waiting until the right moment, which was 2013, to create Lamborghini Squadra Corsa which is the first motorsport department ever in our history."
Stefano Domenicali has come in from such a strong motorsport background. How has that impacted things over the last year or so?
"I don't think it's just related to his motorsport experience, it's related to the fact that he's a very, very good manager - Lamborghini knew that and they took Stefano for this reason. He spent two years at Audi, so probably was the right person to come instead of Mr Winkelmann. It's clear that we are lucky to have a CEO like Domenicali who also has strong experience in motorsport, and for sure he arrives in the right moment, because we have a lot still to do for the company to grow, but also he arrives in a moment when Squadra Corsa is achieving very strong results both from a commercial and a sporting point of view. So we can for sure improve our business and competitiveness in motorsport, thanks to Stefano and his experience."
How important do you think Lamborghini's motorsport programmes are to the brand's strength?
"It's fundamental and for this reason I can say that motorsport, as a customer racing programme, is a pillar of the strategy of the company. With models like the Huracan and Aventador, we are the manufacturer with road cars probably closest in terms of shape, performance and handling to the race cars, so we have a product that is perfect to be shown in terms of technology and exposure in motorsport activities. We can now also use the motorsport activities to have a technological transfer from the race car to the road cars. We already have examples with the Huracan Performante and the Huracan 580-2 with two-wheel drive, which we developed through Super Trofeo and transferred to the road car. So motorsport is something new to Lamborghini, it was not part of our DNA but now we have opened a cycle, which is a long term commitment to motorsport, and we are also changing the mindset of the company regarding the motorsport activities."
With that in mind, given that motorsport seems to be trending towards hybridisation and electrification and Lamborghini seems resolute in sticking with non-hybrid V12s, do you think that motorsport will stay as relevant to you going forward?
"For Lamborghini? For sure. At the moment we are not expecting the hybridisation of GT3, not in the short to medium term. So at the moment the GT competition is the only category which we are looking at with interest to invest. Also because it is the closest category to our strategy on the road models, so we are not looking to do Prototype or Formula E or something like that."
So will we see Lamborghinis in GTE at Le Mans any time soon?
"At the moment we have to keep focused on Super Trofeo and GT3 for the simple reason that we are a young motorsport department, we cannot forget that we were born just four years ago. So we have to move step by step, but it's clear that, due to the fact that we achieving very good results on the commercial side and on the sporting side, that if we keep focusing on the GT category there are not so many other categories where we can look with interest. It's fundamental to understand when and where will be the right time to take this step, at the moment we are just waiting."
Would you like to see more directly related transitions of technology from the race cars to the road cars? Could we see a Huracan Superleggera maybe?
"Yes, why not? It's a matter of mindset, DNA and strategy. The Huracan for example is a car, the road version I mean, that was born with a clear intention to be used for racing activities. When we developed it, at the time I was the chief test driver, we designed it with the intention to use it for racing. Then, through the racing model, we developed the technology to support the derivatives of the Huracan, so it's a sort of synergy between the research and development of the road cars and the racing cars. But it's clear that you cannot be a competitive race car if you start from a car that is not born to have some dedicated characteristics."
With Lamborghini doing so well in the GT3 Championship at the moment, what are your expectations for the rest of the season and how important do you think winning is as opposed to just being seen to have a presence within a racing series and being able to have that brand relationship?
"In terms of expectation, we expect to be protagonists. We cannot think to dominate the GT3 series, for the simple reason that the principle of balance of performance is that nobody can do it. So what is important is to be protagonists, to be always in front and, when it's possible, to win. When it's not possible, due to BoP, or because the others are doing better than us, that's the sport, it's fine, but it's important to be at the front and show our products and our customer teams in the right way. It's not just the car that's important, but it's the service you provide. As you can see on Super Trofeo but also GT3, we offer to our customer teams and drivers a certain level of service that, in my opinion, nobody else is offering today on the market. This makes the difference, so we continue to invest also in the services - spare part services, technical support, hospitality, not just in Europe but also in Asia and America.
"So we have a great platform based on the Super Trofeo series and GT3 Championship. But of course it is also important to win, because although we are committed just to customer racing, we don't have factory teams, it's clear that when you win in GT3 it's very good exposure for the company to show the performance and reliability of the products. It's the reason why we decided for Super Trofeo to use a standard engine. So we have the same engine as the road car for this reason, to show the power, performance and reliability of our powertrains."
How important is it to you in Super Trofeo to maintain a balance of gentleman drivers with professional and young drivers?
"Fundamental. It's fundamental because customer racing is based on gentleman drivers first. Then we have improved the level of the young drivers' programmes from a manufacturer's perspective. We are trying to offer to the young drivers coming from the single seater a real professional opportunity to become a professional driver. That doesn't mean only to become a factory driver, that is the dream of everybody and we offer this opportunity, but in any case we offer to these young drivers the chance to become test drivers, to become instructors, to become professionals of the steering wheel. So it depends on the talent, it depends on the budget, but for sure I'm proud to say that all of the young drivers involved in our motorsport programmes are given the opportunity to become ambassadors of the brand for the future.
"Today, our Lamborghini academy, we have only instructors that are at the same time Lamborghini race drivers in Super Trofeo and in GT3. We have guys that are 20, or 25, or 30 years old, and we invest a lot in them in terms of training on the product, training on communication, training on attitude and some of them, due to their young age, are in their first experience of work. When they start to work as instructors, for some of them it's the first time that they have to report to a boss, to respect a time schedule, so it's a first job for them. It's a wonderful experience that also the parents of the drivers love. First because they are happy, and every father or mother I think would like to have that, second because the guys have the factory behind them and they are getting a real professional experience that is based mainly on my previous experience."
Talking of your previous experience, can you describe how you felt during your Murcielago run at Nardo?
"The world record you mean? Scary. [Laughs] No, it's a fantastic experience that I keep in mind as being unique, because it was the first time that Lamborghini tried to get an important result to show the performance and reliability of our products. For me, as a young driver at the time, my target was not just to be a test driver for the company, that for sure was already a dream, but also to become a race driver within the Volkswagen Group. So any chance to show my performance and attitude was more than welcome. I took a lot of risk of course, to break the record, but I did it with the passion and the professional attitude that today I try to maintain. It was a great moment and, thanks to this record, I was offered the chance to become a driver for Audi one year later in the Italian Championship, where I drove for Audi Italy for four years.
"So as I say to our drivers today, the future is always in their hands. All the time they have to use at 100 per cent their capacity, their skill, they have to always do their best with the maximum professional attitude. Even when the race weekend is not the best, even when the car is not performing as they expect, if they trust in themselves and if they trust in what they want to do in their life, nothing can stop them. And this was my attitude and is still my attitude today."
With so much emphasis now put on Nurburgring times, most recently the Performante, would you prefer to see Lamborghini going for those kind of records again?
"I remember in 2000, there was a moment when everybody wanted to set a speed record. I also set the speed world record with Volkswagen in the prototype at Nardo in the same year so there was a momentum where a lot of companies, for sure inside the Volkswagen Group, were interested in setting a speed record with production or prototype cars. Now is the moment when all of the manufacturers are looking to set times at the Nurburgring. The Nurburgring record that we set with Marco Mapelli is exceptional, but maybe in the future there will be the opportunity to beat my record, which by the way is still valid. Records are set to be beaten, I would be more than happy to see our young drivers in the future set new records and also beat the records that I have. It means that I have worked in the right direction."
Aside from that, is there a stand out moment or achievement for you in your time at Lamborghini?
"I was 23 or 24 years old at the time when I entered the company. At the time I was a young race driver, that like all young drivers had a dream to become a professional or factory driver. I had for sure a talent as a test driver, because since the beginning as a race driver it was very easy for me to set up my car and the cars of the other drivers, based on their driving style even if it was different compared to mine. Due to circumstance, Lamborghini at the time was interested in finding a new, young, test driver - an Italian one if possible.
"Different race teams, driving schools and automotive magazines explained to Lamborghini that the right guy for them was Giorgio Sanna. They decided to call me and get to know me, I met directly with the Director of Research & Development at the time and after 20 minutes we had an agreement."
A couple of questions about you specifically - what is your favourite Lamborghini you've driven?
"The next one that we will present."
What do you daily drive at the moment?
"An Audi A6 because, due to age, I love the comfort [laughs]."
What's your favourite non-Lamborghini car you've ever driven?
"Let me say RS6, all day the Audi RS model range. I love it. Because it's a very good combination of performance, comfort, and usability every day."
Finally, with such a focus on tying Lamborghini's road cars to racing activity, do you think we could see a Urus in the Dakar?
"No, because first we have to keep focused on the circuit. To become we hope, in the short to medium term, protagonists in GT competition. My target is to put Lamborghini at the top level in GT competition worldwide. After that, maybe we will see what we can achieve as the next challenge..."