Lamborghini Murciélago#R-GT
The Lamborghini Murciélago R- GT is a Gran Turismo racing cars in the GT1 group, which has been developed by Reiter Engineering and Audi Sport Department.
History
Reiter Engineering brought in 2000 with the Lamborghini Diablo GT Lamborghini race car developed for the FIA GT Championship on the racetrack. As successor was developed in 2003 with support from the Audi Murciélago R-GT based on the Lamborghini Murciélago. In order to adapt the vehicle to the regulations of the FIA and the ACO, the V12 engine from the Murciélago to six liters was reduced and engine performance are throttled by the air restrictor. In addition, the four-wheel drive had to be removed and the vehicle can be converted to rear wheel drive. The curb weight has been reduced by the use of body parts from carbon fiber at 1100 kilograms. On the body, a large rear wing and other aerodynamic parts were installed to improve the aerodynamics. The Murciélago R-GT was presented at the IAA 2003 in Frankfurt am Main for the first time to the public and offered at a price of 500,000 euros customer teams for sale.
At the last race of the FIA GT championship 2003 at Monza brought the Reiter Engineering Murcielago R-GT for the first time at the track. Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen completed with the vehicle while the first qualifying, came to the race but not more. In the second round of the FIA GT Championship in 2004 in Valencia Reiter Engineering joined for the first time in a race. Oliver Gavin and Peter Kox achieved with the third place on the podium right away. In the last four races of the FIA GT Championship sat DAMS first customer team two Murciélago R-GT, a, however, had to struggle with technical problems and scored no points. The Murciélago R-GT also found its way to the United States, where Krohn- Barbour Racing initially one and later a second Murciélago R-GT may establish in the American Le Mans Series. Success came from but since the vehicles shown little stable. DAMS and Krohn- Barbour Racing therefore ended their involvement with the Murciélago R-GT at the end of the season again.
Reiter Engineering put the Murciélago R-GT 2005 in some races in the FIA GT Championship. However, the lack of reliability prevented good results and so was the eighth place of Peter Kox and Gianni Morbidelli in Oschersleben, which won a championship point, the only countable success. In the same year brought his vehicle Reiter Engineering also the 1000-kilometer race at Monza in the Le Mans Series at the start. Peter Kox and Norman Simon demonstrated in this race the potential of the Murciélago R -GT and were within their class in the lead, but fell less than one hour before the race because of engine failure. In the same race also JLOC approached from the Japanese GT Championship, but could not finish the race well.
In the FIA GT Championship Reiter Engineering abdicated in 2006 under the name of its sponsors, initially as a B- Racing RS Line Team and later as All- Inkl.com Racing. Once again, the team has experienced multiple failures. Best result was sixth place by Christophe Bouchut and Peter Kox in the second round at Brno. It followed only two more points standings, which were achieved by two eighth places in Dijon and the Hungaroring. Reiter Engineering also launched the 1000-kilometer race at Spa -Francorchamps, but in which only one lap could be completed. In the same year, the Murciélago R-GT was in the hands of JLOC pilots Marco Apicella, Koji Yamanishi and Yasutaka Hinoi its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race went for JLOC not easily, but he kept the team for a long time in the race. Nevertheless JLOC was not classified, since the Murciélago R-GT could not finish the last round.
For the 2007 season the revised Reiter Engineering Murcielago R-GT, whereby the reliability has been drastically improved. This effort made it soon paid off when Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke in Zhuhai decided the opening round of the FIA GT Championship for himself and thus achieved the first race win with a Murciélago R- GT. At a second place at the third round in Bucharest still followed some more points standings, so Reiter Engineering could reach the seventh place in the team standings. Marco Apicella, Koji Yamanishi and Atsushi Yogo went again for JLOC the 24- hour race at Le Mans, but did not get a lap out.
As of 2008, Reiter Engineering is no longer went with his Murciélago R-GT is now under his own name at the start, but focused on the support of the Russian team Spartak Racing IPB. After a rather weak start to the season in the FIA GT Championship alone could be achieved in the 24- hour race at Spa -Francorchamps total of eight points. The Spartak Racing drivers Jan Lammers, Peter Kox, Roman Russinow and Tomáš Enge were in the scoring after twelve hours already in fourth place in the race and finally finished fifth in their class. In the following two races in Budapest could be spotted and so the team reached the eighth place in the team standings again. IPB Spartak Racing denied in the same year, the Le Mans Series, in which the team with three of the five races of the season reached the podium and eventually finished third in the team standings. As the only team with a Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT IPB Spartak Racing stepped up to contest the 24 - hour race at Le Mans. The race went for Peter Kox, Mike Hezemans and Roman Russinow but not easily and so it happened that they exactly one round was absent in the race to be included in the summary.
IPB Spartak Racing scored in the season opener of the Le Mans Series 2009 Roman Russinow and Peter Kox the first time a class victory. It was followed by the second class rank at the 1000 -kilometer race at Spa- Francorchamps by Peter Kox, Filip Salaquarda and Erik Janiš. Then IPB Spartak Racing ended its involvement with the Murciélago R-GT after only two completed this season race. Due to lack of competition, these two results ranged from still to still retain third place in the team standings. The Japanese team JLOC returned again in 2009 with a Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT for 24 - hour race at Le Mans back in which Atsushi Yogo, Yutaka Yamagishi and Marco Apicella, however, failed after only one lap. Successful went for the team to participate in the newly established Asian Le Mans Series, which was held in two races in Okayama. Atsushi Yogo and Hiroyuki Iiri achieved in the first race class victory and reached the second class rank at the second race, which they decided the championship in the GT1 class of its own.
This success is JLOC qualified before the successor Murciélago LP670 R -SV for the 24- hour race at Le Mans 2010. Imagine 2010 Reiter Engineering for the new FIA GT1 World Championship.