18.10.2003 LAMBORGHINI WITHDRAW FROM THE MONZA RACE AFTER FINAL QUALIFYING SESSION

The three outings have provided development team Reiter Engineering, and drivers Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen, with the opportunity to further test the car on the fast straights offered by the Monza circuit.

“The practice and qualifying sessions have afforded us an excellent opportunity to put the car through its paces,” said Lamborghini’s Marketing Manager Manfred Fitzgerald. “The testing programme undertaken over the last three weeks at Vallelunga and A1-Ring circuits has proved the car’s handling abilities. At Monza we have had the opportunity to demonstrate the R-GT’s reliability as well as improve further on its agility, although the nature of Monza, as a high-speed circuit, has shown that our focus must now be placed on gaining top-end speed.

“The lack of speed seen in practice was a result of an engine problem that is difficult to rectify trackside and, although we changed the engine overnight on Friday, to continue further would simply cause further unnecessary engine damage. In this respect, it is right that we conclude our weekend at this point although, of course, it is disappointing that we cannot compete tomorrow.  We have already identified the areas that require work and we will address these on the team’s return to Reiter Engineering.

“We have gained extremely valuable data from this weekend at Monza, which was our objective in coming to this fast circuit. The opportunity to attend, provided by the FIA, allowed us to obtain the team and driver feedback we are looking for at this stage of the development programme. It was especially useful to have both Capello and Kristensen in the car over two days.”