Tag Archives: Racing

BMW Confirms LMDh IMSA Entry Using Dallara Chassis

BMW M Motorsport has confirmed it will enter the LMDh class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the 2023 season through a partnership with Dallara.

BMW is the latest car manufacturer to commit to the new LMDh class. Just last month, Cadillac confirmed it will participate in both LMDh and Le Mans with its new prototype. Lamborghini is also expected to join, alongside other brands including Acura, Audi, and Porsche.

BMW will run two prototypes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship that feature chassis produced by Dallara. The first test car will be built at Dallara’s site in Italy in a close collaboration between BMW M Motorsport engineers and a team of Dallara engineers. The car will make its on-track debut at the Varano circuit in 2022.

Read More: BMW To Join Le Mans Daytona Hybrid Class In 2023

“In Dallara, we are delighted to have found a partner for our LMDh project that shares our passion, professionalism and huge ambition in motorsport and, like us, is fully committed to the goal of writing a new success story in the history of BMW M Motorsport from 2023,” BMW M chief executive Markus Flasch said in a statement. “After speaking to all the possible chassis partners, the decisive factor in our decision was that Dallara, with all its expertise and experience, was enthusiastic about working together with BMW M Motorsport. The chemistry was there between us from the word go. We see our relationship as a real partnership in which we are fighting for a common goal of success at the racetrack.”

On his part, Dallara president Giampaolo Dallara commented: “I’m honored to have been selected by BMW M Motorsport and with great enthusiasm I’m looking forward to begin this new adventure. Back in 1977 I had the opportunity to work alongside BMW on designing the M1 as Lamborghini consulting. It was a great experience and a lot was learned. I hope to repeat the same adventure in LMDh. I firmly believe that we will do great things together.”

Dallara is one of four companies approved to make chassis for the series, the others being ORECA, Multimatic, and Ligier. Cadillac will also source their chassis from Dallara, while both Porsche and Audi have partnered with Multimatic.

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This Lamborghini Diablo SV-R Race Car Will Make Other Supercars Go Look For Their Mommy

Some Lamborghinis are cooler than others, and this Diablo SV-R definitely goes to the sub-zero section of the Raging Bull’s back catalog.

The Diablo SV-R is the first Lamborghini race car straight from the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory, with the carmaker building just 31 examples to compete in their Supertrophy series.

Based on the Diablo SV, the SV-R came with all the motorsport-related goodies you can imagine, including a stripped interior, fixed Plexiglass side windows, a more aggressive aero kit with a carbon rear wing and air ducts in the place of the pop-up headlights, and a racing suspension, among other.

Read More: Lamborghini Diablo – The Story Of The Iconic Supercar On Its 30th Birthday

The first factory racing version of the Lamborghini Diablo was 421 lbs (191 kg) lighter than the SV model, tipping the scales at 3,053 lbs (1,385 kg). The naturally aspirated 5.7-liter V12 engine was tuned to produce 533 HP (540 PS) in this application and was bolted to a five-speed manual transmission.

This particular Lamborghini Diablo SV-R is the 16th example and comes with a pretty rich racing history that includes campaigns both in Europe and Australia. Its racing career includes the 1998 Lamborghini Super Sport Trophy Championship at the hands of Fabio Santaniello and no less than 18 race wins over two competition seasons in the Australian Nations Cup.

One of the many highlights of the Diablo SV-R #16 while racing in Australia came at its debut race in Adelaide with Paul Stokell behind the wheel, where it won the race and also set a new lap record despite a 100 kg weight ballast.

In addition, the car wears its #666 Australian Nations Cup livery, complete with all the period-correct sponsors. The angry bull is located in Australia and is currently offered in an online auction over at Trading Garage.

The racing Lambo recently came out of a $125k restoration from Lamborghini Melbourne, using brand new original parts to bring it back to its race specification. It can now compete in the EU/US International GT Legends series, which includes the Le Mans Classic event, but the new owner can also easily convert it for driving on public roads. Let’s face it, putting a set of number plates on this beast with the #666 on the scissor doors will probably be the best thing you ever did.

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