What’s going wrong with the new Lamborghini Temerario GT3

Lamborghini is facing major concerns ahead of the DTM season opener in Spielberg, with its new Temerario GT3 yet to find its footing in competitive conditions.

The car, which replaces the successful Huracan GT3 Evo2 for 2026, has endured a difficult start to life.

“Time will tell what’s possible with the car, but if I look at the first few months, including the [GT World Challenge] race a few days ago in France, I don’t think we’ll be in the mix at the front,” factory driver Mirko Bortolotti admitted.

“I think that will be difficult, especially at the start of the season,” added the 2024 DTM champion, who has returned to Grasser Racing after a challenging campaign with Abt last year.

Testing opportunities in the DTM are heavily restricted, placing added pressure on development.

“That means we really have to use every lap and make sure we learn as much as possible and develop the car as quickly as we can, because there’s still a lot of work ahead of us,” said the 36-year-old Italian.

Brake and turn-in issues hamper early progress

The new Temerario GT3, unveiled in summer 2025, marks a significant shift for Lamborghini. It is the first race car from Sant’Agata Bolognese developed entirely in-house, without the collaboration of Audi that underpinned the Huracan programme.

The car made its racing debut only in March at the Sebring 12 Hours and represents a complete departure in concept, featuring a twin-turbo V8 engine rather than the Huracan’s naturally-aspirated V10.

“The car is completely new and feels totally different,” said Bortolotti. “There is absolutely nothing that reminds me of the Huracan. That makes it a big adjustment for both the team and us drivers.”

Grasser Racing received its cars only at the end of the first week of March 2026, while the Abt squad had to wait even longer. The car also appears to have been delivered without a fully-refined base set-up, with teams reporting issues under braking and a lack of responsiveness on turn-in.

There are ongoing doubts within the paddock as to whether the Temerario can currently be brought up to the level of its rivals through Balance of Performance adjustments alone.

Reliability the only clear positive so far

One area where the car has delivered is reliability. At both Sebring and the GT World Challenge Europe opener in Le Castellet, the Temerario completed the full race distances of 12 and six hours respectively.

“The most positive aspect is reliability,” said team boss Gottfried Grasser. “The car has no problems. At least that allows you to do a lot of running and a lot of testing.”

That was also evident during the official DTM test day in Spielberg, where the four Temerario drivers completed a combined 497 laps. However, the pace deficit remained significant: Abt rookie Luca Engstler was the fastest Lamborghini driver, but still 0.990 seconds off benchmark setter Ben Dorr in the McLaren.

“We’ve at least caught up to the backmarkers, but there is still a lot to do and to learn,” Grasser admitted. He did not deny the issues under braking and on corner entry, adding: “It’s all related to setup and suspension. We’re still searching for the right direction.”

Tyre struggles exposed in race conditions

These weaknesses were also evident at the Paul Ricard round of GTWCE, where Grasser’s team played no significant role in the race.

“It was more difficult than we expected,” Grasser said. “We found a solid balance in the set-up, but we still couldn’t get the tyres into the working window. That created a considerable gap that couldn’t be compensated for technically.”

Despite a deficit of more than one second in Spielberg, Grasser noted “very positive steps” in testing. This may also be linked to the new exclusive DTM tyre, which appears to reach operating temperature more quickly than the Pirelli DHG used in GT World Challenge Europe.

Performance pressure ahead of DTM opener

With the DTM featuring sprint races of around one hour, reliability alone will not be enough to deliver results.

“In DTM, it’s all about performance — and if you don’t have the performance, you won’t be successful,” Bortolotti said.

“That’s why I think we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m also happy to take on this challenge, together with the team and the brand, just like we did 12 years ago with the Huracan.

«It’s a process we now have to go through, and I hope we can get up to pace as quickly as possible.”

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— The Motorsport.com Team