Why Lamborghini is quitting its Le Mans fight with Ferrari
Lamborghini will not race in the World Endurance Championship in 2025, citing two-car Hypercar mandate in its decision
The exact nature of Lamborghini’s recently reported motorsport troubles has come into focus with an official statement from the marque detailing its wholesale withdrawal – of both the Huracan LMGT3 and the SC63 LMDh Hypercar – from the 2025 World Endurance Championship season.
The marque cites the WEC’s sporting regulation mandate of a two-car entry in the Hypercar class across the 2025 season as chief in the reasoning for its exit, saying that it ‘is no longer aligned with the company’s strategy’.
In other words, two cars were not budgeted for next season, potentially linked to struggles getting the car developed last year after a significant accident during testing. The departure also sees the end to Lamborghini’s long-standing relationship with the Iron Lynx racing outfit, which will now race Mercedes-AMG GT3s at Le Mans next year.
None of this is to say that Lamborghini is ending SC63 activities altogether. The car will continue to race in the American IMSA sportscar championship, so its development and refinement will continue. In fact, the next stage of Lamborghini’s presence in sportscar racing as a whole is in the preparation stages, as the marque readies the Temerario GT3 to replace the incredibly successful and long-serving Huracan GT3 in various national and international GT racing championships around the world.
Selling Huracan GT3s has been a cornerstone of profitability for Lamborghini’s racing activities up to this point. It’s the development of the Temerario GT3 that the marque will be able to focus on during what is expected to be a semi-fallow year. Indeed, the marque has only referred to this as a ‘pause’ in activities in the WEC. It’d be a safe bet, then, to say Lamborghini may well at some point return to La Sarthe, potentially in 2026 with two SC63 Hypercars and the Temerario LMGT3 in tow.
By then, it’s possible Ferrari may have racked up its third Le Mans win on the trot in its sportscar racing renaissance. The 2025 WEC entry list has now been confirmed, with Ferrari set to again field two factory 499Ps, with AF Corse running a third car. Toyota will be back with its usual pair of cars, as will Porsche, Alpine, BMW and Peugeot.
The highly successful independent JOTA team switches this year from the Porsche 963 to Cadillac’s V-Series.R. Fellow privateers Proton Competition are set to field a lone 963.
The most significant addition to the grid this year will be Aston Martin, with the Valkyrie pairing run by the Heart of Racing team. This marks the first time a road-based car has been entered in top-flight sportscar racing since the end of the 1990s GT1 era.
