The Murciélago R-GT race car debuted at Monza yesterday. The car ran in competitive conditions for the first time in Friday's two 90-minute FIA GT practice sessions, and again in Saturday's 45-minute qualifying session before retiring with engine trouble.
"The practice and qualifying sessions have afforded us an excellent opportunity to put the car through its paces
," said Lamborghini's Marketing Manager Manfred Fitzgerald. "The testing programme undertaken over the last three weeks at Vallelunga and A1-Ring circuits has proven the car's handling abilities. At Monza we have had the opportunity to demonstrate the R-GT's reliability as well as improve further on its agility, although the nature of Monza, as a high-speed circuit, has shown that our focus must now be placed on gaining top end speed
.
"The lack of speed seen in practice was as a result of an engine problem that is difficult to rectify trackside and, although we changed the engine overnight on Friday, to continue further would simply cause further unnecessary engine damage."
The Murciélago R-GT will be raced by customers in FIA GT and ACO-governed series, commencing in 2004.