Lamborghini and Iron Lynx have signed up Edoardo Mortara and Matteo Cairoli to complete its respective WEC and IMSA championships.
Lamborghini Squadra Corse and Iron Lynx have finalised the line-ups which will contest the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2024, with Matteo Cairoli and Edoardo Mortara joining the Sant’Agata Bolognese firm as factory drivers.
Both Cairoli and Mortara arrive at Lamborghini with extensive GT racing experience and took to the wheel of the LMDh prototype during the final two-day test of the year at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas this week. The pair, who got their first taste of the SC63 at Jerez in September, will team up with fellow factory drivers Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli, Romain Grosjean and Daniil Kvyat.
Mortara will partner Bortolotti and Kvyat for the FIA WEC season, giving the SC63 its competitive debut in the season-opening Qatar 1812km on the weekend of March 1-2. Caldarelli, Grosjean and Cairoli will tackle four rounds of the IMSA Endurance Cup season, starting at the 12 Hours of Sebring (March 13-17). Both crews will then line up together at the jewel-in-the-crown Le Mans 24 Hours, taking place on the weekend of June 15-16.
Rouven Mohr, Lamborghini Chief Technical Officer, added: “The Austin test concludes the development phase of the SC63 ahead of the racing debut in Qatar. Overall, we are satisfied with the maturity of the project so far, which was demonstrated at the Daytona test where we set the fastest time on the first day. Of course, there is still a lot of work behind the scenes to be done before Qatar. I also want to take this opportunity to welcome Matteo and Edoardo, who complete our 2024 driver line-up, to the Lamborghini Squadra Corse family.”
Lamborghini Head of Motorsport, Giorgio Sanna said: “We are thrilled to welcome Edoardo and Matteo into our Lamborghini Squadra Corse family. Both drivers have a lot of experience and not only bring with them impressive speed and professionalism to the LMDh project in FIA WEC and IMSA, but also the opportunity to use them strategically in some of the biggest GT3 races and championships.”
Swiss driver Mortara, who also holds French and Italian citizenship, brings over a decade of experience racing at the highest levels of single seaters and GT racing. Known as “Mr Macau”, the 36-year-old from Geneva is regarded as one of the world’s best street circuit drivers, having amassed a staggering 10 victories (seven overall and three qualification races) at the famous Guia Circuit during his career, along with several further podiums. Mortara was crowned Formula 3 Euro Series champion in 2010, after finishing runner-up in 2008, beating current BMW LMDh driver Marco Wittmann and future F1 star Valtteri Bottas. He has also taken nine DTM victories and finished runner-up to Wittmann in the 2016 standings. More recently, Mortara has raced successfully in the FIA Formula E World Championship, finishing second and third in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons with Venturi Racing respectively.
Edoardo Mortara, Lamborghini Factory Driver, said: “I am super happy to be joining Lamborghini Squadra Corse, which is allowing me this incredible opportunity to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Endurance Championship, both of which I have wanted to take part in for a long time. It is a very proud moment for me, and I hope we can achieve some good results next season.”
Joining Mortara within the Lamborghini Squadra Corse ranks, Cairoli is another newcomer to Sant’Agata Bolognese. The 27-year-old from Como in the north of Italy has ostensibly raced Porsche machinery since moving from single seaters in 2014 and has won the iconic Nürburgring 24 Hours overall in 2021. Having started out in Italian Formula Renault 2.0 in 2012, Cairoli claimed the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia title two years later before winning the Porsche International Cup Scholarship.
Picked up as an official young driver, Cairoli then finished runner-up in the 2016 Porsche Supercup championship and has since achieved multiple successes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, in the LMGTE Am category. Prior to his move to Lamborghini, he has raced in the GT World Challenge Europe series and has also contested the 24 Hours at Daytona.
Matteo Cairoli, Lamborghini Factory Driver, said: “First of all, I am really excited to be here in Austin for my second proper outing with the LMDh car, and I want to thank Lamborghini Squadra Corse, Giorgio, and the Iron Lynx family for this amazing opportunity and for believing in me. I am ready to give the best of myself next year; clearly, it’s a dream I have been chasing for a long time and to do it with an Italian brand as an Italian driver has given me even more motivation. The aim is to learn as much as possible about the car for next year, but I am already pumped for the start of the season.”
[Note: The story is as per press release]