At the invitation
of Michelin, the Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT sports racing
car participated in four days of tyre testing at the Misano
circuit in Italy.
The test, which
took place last week saw the R-GT completing a series of
track runs which added up to a total of 1,800 kilometres
(1,125 miles).
The R-GT was run by
Reiter Engineering, the German-based company that builds and
develops the race cars for Automobili Lamborghini.
The car was driven by Peter Kox, who co-piloted the
Murcielago R-GT to third place on its race debut in the FIA
GT championship race in Valencia, Spain, in April.
Evaluating a
selection of slick, intermediate and wet-weather Michelin
racing tyres, the Lamborghini covered a distance equivalent
to five FIA GT or American Le Mans Series races.
Hans Reiter, head
of the eponymous engineering company, said: "It was very
encouraging. On intermediate and wet-weather tyres, the
Lamborghini went really well, lapping faster than the
Prodrive-built Ferrari that also ran in the test.
"On the slick tyres we need a little improvement because the
Lamborghini is mid-engined and the tyre compound was
designed for a front-engined car, but even so it was close:
sometimes the Ferrari was one- or two-tenths of a second per
lap quicker, sometimes the Lamborghini was one- or
two-tenths quicker; it varied from day to day."
