Lamborghini squad Abt Sportsline might lose its second-place end within the Nurburgring 24 Hours after failing an important post-race test this week.
Motorsport’s sister web site Motorsport-Complete.com has realized from a number of corroborating sources that the engine output of the #84 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 didn’t match the reference values throughout a dyno check on Tuesday. These values had been established there within the run-up to the race and used to find out the Stability of Efficiency (BoP).
A spokesperson for the race additionally confirmed this: “Throughout a routine inspection of a complete of six GT3 autos (SP9 class), irregularities had been detected within the Purple Bull Crew Abt Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 with #84. Throughout inspections of the opposite 5 autos from Aston Martin, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche – together with exams on a dynamometer to measure energy – no points had been discovered within the days following the occasion.”
The technical stewards’ report has since been “forwarded to the race stewards”, “who will convene within the coming days and provides staff representatives the chance to touch upon the incident. Till then, the race outcome stays provisional.”
20bhp too many? Why the Abt Lamborghini failed the check
There have been studies that the Purple Bull-liveried automobile pushed by Mirko Bortolotti, Patric Niederhauser, and polesetter Luca Engstler exceeded the reference values by round 20bhp. In line with this, the engine energy could be outdoors the tolerance restrict, which, in line with the laws, is 2% to account for potential variations amongst engines. At an estimated 500bhp, the tolerance could be 10bhp.
Because the #84 Abt-Lamborghini was the one one among six chosen automobiles that would not be inspected on Tuesday following the 24-hour race, the measurement was postponed by one week. The trigger is claimed to have been a faulty clutch.
Instantly after the race, the top-finishing autos from the six strongest producers had been sealed, loaded onto a tow truck, and secured for a follow-up inspection. These included the victorious #80 Winward Mercedes, the second-placed Abt Lamborghini, the #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin (third), the #99 Rowe BMW (4th), the #24 Lionspeed Porsche (sixth), and the #67 HRT Ford (eighth).
Abt Lamborghini in a restricted space: was there suspicion?
The groups didn’t regain entry to their autos till two days later at McChip’s dyno facility in Mechernich – 50km away from the Nurburgring – to suit them with the mandatory parts for inspection. All of this happened below the strict supervision of officers from ADAC North Rhine-Westphalia. The automobiles had been then measured on the check bench in time slots from 10am till the night hours.
The race automobiles had been examined on McChip’s dynamometer in Mechernich
Picture: McChip
Eyewitnesses report that the Abt Lamborghini was the one automobile to not be seen all day and was apparently secured in a cordoned-off space, resulting in hypothesis that officers already had suspicions in regards to the automobile.
After no irregularities had been discovered within the first 5 autos, the check on the Abt Lamborghini was halted. On the automobile that was the final to go on the “curler” within the night, a damaged clutch was reportedly found throughout warm-up.
The clutch should perform on the dynamometer, because the automobile’s efficiency is calculated as soon as once more throughout the ‘coasting’ section. After the check was halted, the automobile was sealed, picked up by a towing firm, and locked away to be re-inspected every week later – on Tuesday following the DTM weekend in Zandvoort.
The clutch alternative was carried out on Monday by Abt mechanics below supervision; the next day, the staff needed to return to the McChip dynamometer at 2pm. If the whole lot goes in line with plan, the inspection on a naturally aspirated automobile just like the Lamborghini takes lower than an hour. Nonetheless, in line with data from Motorsport-Complete.com, measurements had been nonetheless being taken at 6pm. It is because irregularities got here to mild.
The method resumed on Wednesday morning, as the surface temperature on Tuesday was considerably increased than throughout the reference measurement in 2025; nonetheless, resulting from a technical situation with the automobile, no outcome was obtained. A excessive air temperature – as was the case throughout the decisive measurement – would truly work in Abt’s favor on this occasion, since engines lose energy within the warmth.
In line with eyewitnesses, the Abt Lamborghini was subsequently seen on a tow truck heading again towards the Nurburgring. It’s secure to imagine that the automobile was secured once more, as – relying on how issues proceed – additional investigations could also be essential.
Disqualification not but confirmed: what occurs subsequent
As for what occurs subsequent, the chairman of the race stewards, who has already obtained the technical committee’s report on the irregularities throughout technical inspection, will set a date for a listening to at which the Abt staff may current its case. This listening to is anticipated to happen shortly. Disqualification would observe thereafter.
However even then, the matter would seemingly not be settled, because the staff would then have 96 hours to file an attraction, which might result in an extra listening to earlier than a sports activities courtroom of the DMSB (German Motor Sport Federation). Due to this fact, it might nonetheless take weeks earlier than the results of the 24-hour race is lastly official.
A staff spokesperson has acknowledged that Abt “doesn’t want to touch upon this matter at current”.
It wouldn’t be the primary time a staff has stumbled over a follow-up check on the dynamometer. In 2019, the “Grello” was additionally disqualified for extreme engine energy, inflicting Manthey to lose second place. On the time, the Porsche staff requested one other measurement utilizing a modified testing methodology, however that too confirmed the engine output exceeded the desired limits. The staff subsequently determined to not attraction.
Knowledge comparability: did the much less beneficial BoP don’t have any impact?
Anomalies had already been recognized by officers within the race knowledge, because the speeds for the airflow restrictor mandated by BoP had been apparently too excessive – particularly for each Abt Lamborghinis and the privately entered Konrad Lamborghini.
Primarily based on 20% of the very best prime speeds of the respective automobiles in Sector 8 on the Dottinger Hohe – that are extra consultant than the utmost prime speeds resulting from potential slipstreaming – the #84 Abt Lamborghini achieved a mean of 275.2km/h. That is even though the automobile reached solely 268km/h on Thursday night time in Qualifying 2 with a 0.5mm bigger restrictor – that means extra engine energy.
The BoP adjustment, which was unfavourable for the Lamborghini, happened on Friday morning – and apparently had solely a restricted impact, because the #84 Huracan additionally achieved a prime pace of 269km/h in High Qualifying 3, held on Friday. With a time of 8m11.123s, it additionally secured the primary Lamborghini pole place within the 24-hour race.
The lap instances of the Abt Lamborghinis within the race had been additionally extraordinarily spectacular: Patric Niederhauser set the quickest lap of the race within the #84 with a time of 8m08.758s – making him 0.755s quicker than Nicky Catsburg within the #130 Abt Lamborghini in Schaeffler livery. Christopher Mies within the HRT Ford posted the third-fastest lap time of 8m11.247s, whereas Max Verstappen’s greatest lap time was 8m12.818s.
In the event you take a look at the common of the 20 quickest race laps for all automobiles that completed, you get a extra sensible image, since site visitors, Code 60 phases, and circumstances play a significant function: the #84 clocked an 8m14.058s, adopted by the sister #130 Abt automobile with 8m16.893s and the HRT-Ford in third place in 8m17.001s. The profitable Winward-Mercedes automobile achieved a mean of 8:17.812 in these statistics.
And the theoretically quickest laps, calculated from a automobile’s greatest 9 sector instances, paint an identical image: The #130 clocked an 8m04.022s, whereas the #84 recorded an 8m05.163s. The third-fastest theoretical greatest machine was the Winward-Mercedes profitable automobile (#80) with an 8m06.752s.
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