New Lamborghini locked in for Bathurst 12 Hour

The Australian debut of Lamborghini’s latest and greatest Huracan GT3 EVO2 race car will take place at the 2024 Repco Bathurst 12 Hour.

Long-time Lamborghini racer and 12 Hour competitor Adrian Deitz has locked in his entry of a brand-new Huracan GT3 EVO2 for the February 16-18 event next year.

The car will again be fielded by Porsche and TCR championship-winning team Wall Racing, with Deitz to once again be joined in the squad for the third year running by David Wall, Tony D’Alberto and Grant Denyer.

Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse customer racing program will once again support the entry at the event, with the team to send their lead GT3 engineer to Australia for the race immediately following the Daytona 24 Hour next year.

Deitz’s new ride was completed in Europe this year before being shipped to Australia, where it arrived at Wall Racing in Sydney on Friday. It's the first EVO2 model in the Asia Pacific region.

The team will shake the car down this December before full preparation for the 12 Hour itself begins.

Deitz has entered the 12 Hour on four occasions, with his team finishing fifth outright in 2022.

The team was on for a similarly strong result this year, narrowly missing the Pirelli Shootout for pole position before unfortunately being forced out of the race after completing 70 laps.

Famous for its incredibly popular livery, inspired by the Le Mans-contending BASF BMW, the Lamborghini has rapidly become a fan favourite each year, with Deitz promising that the team will go ‘all out’ to both recognise the new car while honouring the popularity of the existing model this year.

The team will release the final livery ahead of their first shakedown of the brand-new car in mid-December.

The Repco Bathurst 12 Hour runs across the February 16-18 weekend next year with tickets, camping and corporate experiences now on sale via the official event website.

“It’s a very exciting project and we can’t wait to get there,” Deitz said.

“Between myself, David, Tony and Grant we’ve got great chemistry, and we work so well together. This year was a case of one small mistake leading to large consequences but there’s no need to change what is not broken.

“Tony was P3 on old tyres in a practice session and Wally would have been in the top 10 but he had to lift for traffic several times. It’s a great package.

“We have great support from Lamborghini which will continue next year. Giovanni Rizzo, their head GT3 engineer, will be back with us for Bathurst which will be a terrific acceleration for our learning curve for the new car. We’ve already got together online to go through new things, work out what’s different and start planning.

“We are very aware of the popularity of our livery; it’s so well known here and even internationally. I’ve been reluctant to change it, but we also wanted to recognise that we are moving into the new car.

“I think the concept we've developed in collaboration with Jason Christopher, a leading visual artist and designer from Belly of the Beast, is really exciting and acknowledges the history and evolution of the livery.

“Le Mans has had a long tradition of ‘Art cars’ and this is our Bathurst version."

Wall added: “It’s a big thanks to Adrian for trusting us as a team with his new car – let alone letting me have a steer!

“We had our best result ever a couple of years ago and while this year didn’t go to plan it was the quickest we have ever been.

“The upgrade to the new car is a fundamental step forward, it’s a completely new car and has far more scope and adjustability than we’ve had before – it’s an unreal bit of kit and we’re looking forward to getting our teeth into it.

“It will be the only one in Australia and with what I have seen planned for the livery, I’m sure it will be just as popular as the last one.”