The Italians Each Have Wins in WeatherTech Championship GTD Endurance Races
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lamborghini has announced the first two drivers who will be part of the Italian manufacturer’s LMDh prototype program when it debuts in 2024 in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Factory drivers Mirko Bortolotti and Andrea Caldarelli were named to the project Thursday by Lamborghini Squadra Corse.
The 32-year-old Italians are no strangers to WeatherTech Championship competition. Bortolotti has a pair of Rolex 24 At Daytona wins (2018 and ’19) and a Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts victory (2019), all coming in a Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 in the GT Daytona (GTD) class. Caldarelli was part of the winning Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini GTD team at the 2020 Rolex 24.
The duo also helped the TR3 Racing Huracán to a second-place finish in this year’s Twelve Hours of Sebring.
“We are especially proud to announce Mirko and Andrea as the first drivers for the LMDh program,” said Giorgio Sanna, Lamborghini head of Motorsport. “Both have contributed substantially to achieving historic results for Lamborghini in GT racing, and their addition to the LMDh project also rewards their continued commitment to the Squadra Corse family. I’m sure that their talent and experience will be an added asset to our competitiveness in the premier endurance class.”
After winning the FIA Formula 2 championship and serving as a Williams Formula 1 test driver in 2011, Bortolotti joined Lamborghini’s GT program in 2014. In addition to his WeatherTech Championship endurance race responsibilities this year, he is also leading the DTM touring car championship in a Lamborghini.
“I’m so happy to continue my career with Lamborghini,” Bortolotti said, “and to start an exciting new chapter. And I’m very grateful to Squadra Corse for making the LMDh project possible, and for the unconditional trust they have put in me since 2014. Representing the brand on the most important endurance racing stage and competing for overall victory in the great endurance classics is both an honor and a responsibility.”
Caldarelli has been a Lamborghini driver since 2017, winning several GT championships in other series. He, too, is eager to take that next step into prototype racing.
“I’m really happy to be part of the program, which is truly fantastic, and in general about this new challenge from Lamborghini Squadra Corse,” Caldarelli said. “Back in 2017, when I started racing for Lamborghini, I had the goal of fulfilling my childhood dream: to race with my favorite brand of car in the most prestigious endurance races.
“I had the opportunity to race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2022, winning both heats of the Road to Le Mans with the Huracán GT3, and it was really special. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of an LMDh. I’m really excited about this new adventure, and I’ll do my best to bring all my experience to this project and to win new and prestigious trophies.”
LMDh prototypes will compete in the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the WeatherTech Championship beginning in 2023. Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche are all scheduled to compete in the class next season, with Lamborghini joining the following year.