The decision to opt for Ligier as their chassis manufacturer will ensure a full commitment on Lamborghini Iron Lynx’s LMDh venture, as stated by the Italian manufacturer’s Emmanuel Esnault in a pre-season media briefing.
“Considering the tight schedule we had, it was important for to have a chassis partner who could focus 100% on this programme,” said the Le Mans native.
“On top of that, Ligier has got a big heritage in racing, manufacturing racing cars in endurance or in other activities.
“We are still doing some testing – we’ve got three days of testing at Barcelona and three days of testing in Sebring.”
Lamborghini intend to debut the SC63 at the first race of the FIA WEC in Qatar, and in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the second race this year, the 12 Hours of Sebring, on 16 March.
Esnault, who manages the Lamborghini Iron Lynx operation, concluded: “… The car has been homologated recently, so we approach the season with lots of humility considering the competitors on the grid and [being] involved in endurance racing for a while.”
Competitors opting for the LMDh formula can choose between four chassis manufacturers: Oreca, Dallara, Ligier and Multimatic.
Until Lamborghini’s choice, Ligier were the only LMDh manufacturer unrepresented in the Hypercar era, having mostly been regarded for their Ligier JS P320 LMP3 car across respective series utilising the category, including IMSA’s Sportscar Challenge.
Sean Creech Motorsport has decided to run a Ligier JS P217 LMP2 car for its first IMSA race presence since five years beforehand, when United Autosports fronted a Ligier Prototype programme.
The Italian make’s hope will be that Ligier can tailor to one LMDh programme, as both parties will learn, understand and develop the SC63 at its youth.
Dallara fronts two LMDh commitments, one in the chassis development for BMW’s M Hybrid V8 – and another for Cadillac’s V-Series.R – all of which are based off the next generation of LMP2.
