IT AIN’T HALF HOT!

Living the dream in the Lambo lap of luxury
Exclusive by Russell Bray

A few weekends ago I discovered how the other half lives, or more accurately races.

I was a guest of Lamborghini at the ultra-fast Silverstone race circuit for the UK round in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo one-make race series.

Some 20 Super Trofeo race versions of the Gallardo LP 560-4 have been sold to European teams through their local dealers and the logo-ed cars looked spectacular in the paddock.

And they almost sound even better. Real spine-tingling stuff as the snuffle along hugging the ground in the paddock.

Lamborghini says there has been interested from the Middle East in the race series though no races are yet planned in the region.

This is only the first year of the Super Trofeo though and it was felt that it should be possible to drive to all the circuits, albeit having to cross the Channel to get to the UK event.

So, it may be that a separate series would have to be set up in the Gulf states if there was sufficient interest.

Though the Gallardo race cars remain four-wheel drive and with anti-lock brakes, they have stripped out interiors and built-in roll cages in case the car tips over in a crash.

Lighter than a normal Gallardo these cars have a reworked chassis with stiffer springs and changed roll bars and an extra 10% more power.

The Super Trofeo is fitted with one low-mounted racing bucket seat in extremely light and stiff Kevlar carbon-fibre composite tailored to the driver’s ideal position.

A six-point racing harness secures the driver into position.

You can take off the small racing steering wheel for easier entry using a quick-release fastener.

Gear change lights in the instrument panel indicate when a rev limit has been reached as otherwise it might not be noticed among the heat of battle charging into corners.

An additional display shows lap times.

Each car costs 200,000 Euros, with the series entry fee a further 25,000 Euros. and top of that comes the cost of running the team, spare parts, tyres, fuel, coping with accident damage and so on.
It’s a lot of money obviously, but I can’t think of any race car that would give the driver the chance to experience so much power for so little, so I suppose it’s a bargain in a way.

The 5.2 litre 10-cylinder engine produces 570 bhp and though the car has a six-speed paddle change gearbox there is no “launch control” system for the ultimate in fast starts.

And because the gearbox is sequential the drivers have to go through every gear when changing down for a corner rather than missing ones out which with manual gearboxes used to sort out the men from the boys and gave some skilled drivers an advantage.

The cars run on lightweight 18in diametre competition wheels but I was surprised the brakes were steel rather than ceramic. Apparently it is a cost decision which shows how much you can still spend on ceramic stoppers.

No matter how stable a road car feels at speed, racing is something else altogether and the race Gallardos have a full aerodynamic overhaul for greater downforce with minimum drag for grip out of corners and maximum straight line speed.

The front skirt, splitter, rear bonnet, front compartment cover, side skirts, diffuser, rear skirt and large rear wing are all made from carbon-fibre composite. Pricey stuff.

The rear wing can be repositioned to suit the requirements of various race tracks, but is not driver adjustable.

All windscreens and windows are made from Makrolon light weight hi-tech polycarbonate.

Given a long enough straight top speed is about 202mph. The tyres are supplied by Italian manufacturer Pirelli.

Drivers need an International Group A, B or C race licence to compete but a C licence is relatively achievable.

The two-day UK meeting, featuring the British Formula 3 single-seater Championship and the British GT Championship, followed events in Belgium, Germany and Italy.

The Lamborghini compound was a typically stylish affair with military style tents complete with camouflage netting over power generators and other equipment. How cool is that?

There was a £1.4 million Reventon on display and watched carefully all the time by a security guard. Sadly I never heard it running.

Swiss luxury watchmaker Blancpain not only sponsors the series but the company’s president and CEO, Marc Hayek, shares a car with driver Peter Kox.

Watch-making skills were on display during the meeting but I was horrified to discover the timepiece I fancied was £102,240 English pounds and no, that isn’t a misprint.

Perhaps a Lamborghini Polo shirt was a better idea…

The quality of food, imported specially from Italy, was sensational, and being able to sit on luxurious white leather furniture and eat with proper cutlery on black table clothes while watching the action on wide screen televisions at usually windswept Silverstone was surreal.

The Super Trofeo is more relaxed than most race series. Two drivers share each car for each of the 40 minute races but it is not exactly defined when the first driver pits to hand over to his or her colleague.

While it gets pretty serious out on the track there is no pressure for teams and drivers to turn up for every event, though obviously some get very serious and involved.

The intention, according to UK PR Juliet Jarvis is more about the lifestyle that accompanies owning a Lamborghini and creating opportunities to show what the cars can really do.

It struck me as a fantastic opportunity and makes for a truly memorable experience.

It is not even intended as a further step on from the Lamborghini Driving Academy courses .

The cars are supposed to be mechanically identical and the teams are not allowed to modify them, but some seemed faster than you would expect driver difference to make, especially as one of the drivers was Britain’s Andy Wallace.

A former Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona 24 hour winner, you can assume he knew what he was doing.

Some cars seemed plagued by understeer and slow to turn into corners; which also kept the driver waiting before he could get on the power again on the exit.

Little adjustments in the suspension would have made all the difference, but as usual with motor racing to make those changes would have required a day’s careful testing and analysis at the circuit.And that was time that people simply didn’t have available.

The Lamborghini Gallardo is the most popular model in the Italian marque’s history.

Since its launch in 2003, over 8,700 Gallardo models have left the Sant’Agata Bolognese production plant.

The latest model, and the car that would tempt me even more than the lightweight limited edition Superleggera, is the Valentino Balboni version named after the company’s charismatic and now officially retired chief test driver. And the reason? Because it is rear drive only, rather than four-wheel drive, and so has more traditional handling characteristics.

But back to the race programme…

The Super Trofeo series was designed to create a further brand extension for Lamborghini, allowing owners, drivers and sports car enthusiasts to enjoy the performance of Lamborghini in the most extreme environment.

Happily it also lets fans and people who have not experienced Lamborghini previously to do so.

The next round is at Catalunya, Spain on September 18 followed by Paul Ricard on October 2. See you there?