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  Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT2      

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Country of origin:Italy
Introduced in:2009
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:July 27, 2009
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Click here to download printer friendly versionUnlike their big rival Ferrari, Lamborghini does not have a rich racing heritage. During the 1980s and 1990s several fruitless attempts have been made to change that. Eventually it took outside help from German tuner Hans Reiter to create a reasonably competitive competition Lamborghini. Using the original Murciélago as a basis, Reiter created the 'R-GT' in 2003. This was eligible for the GT1 class of international racing and has since been raced with some success in Europe, Japan and North America.

Three years later Reiter launched a GT3 version of the Gallardo, which proved to be one of the most victorious Lamborghini based racing car ever built. The V10 engined machines were raced in the international GT3 championship as well as many national series, like the German ADAC Masters, the British GT and the Belgian Belcar. After a startling 49 GT3 Gallardos were constructed, Reiter felt it was time to move up to GT2 with the Gallardo.

Using the revised Gallardo LP560-4 road car as a basis, Reiter built their 50th Gallardo competition car early in 2009 to the GT2 regulations. As with the previous conversions, the biggest change was the removal of the four-wheel drive system fitted as standard to the road cars but currently not legal in GT racing. The enlarged V10 engine was retained. Much of the other work focused on lightening the car and installing safety features like a full roll cage.

Eagerly anticipated, the GT2 Gallardo was first driven in public during the official Le Mans Series test at Paul Ricard in March of 2009. As the car was still very early in its development, Reiter decided to forfeit the first round of the Le Mans Series at Barcelona. During the first weekend of May, the Gallardo GT2 did make its competition debut in the hands of seasoned GT-racer Christophe Bouchut and German gentleman-driver Prince Albert von Thurn & Taxis.

It proved to be a very difficult weekend with many new-car gremlins taking valuable time to fix. Unfortunately technical problems prevented the GT2 Gallardo from taking part in the qualifying session. Having to start from the back, the team overcame several more issues to cross the line at the end of the 1000 km race. Sadly the time lost in the pits meant the car was not classified. The GT2 Gallardo's first race proved to be a steep learning curve but knowing Reiter better performance can be expected in the future.

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  Article Image gallery (22) Specifications