Modena Team

## Modena

**Modena Team SpA** is a former Formula One constructor that participated in the 1991 and 1992 seasons. The team's confusing origin story, and its connections to the Italian manufacturer Lamborghini, saw it often referred to as **"Lambo"** or the **Lamborghini Team**.

## Racing history

After the Chrysler Corporation purchased Lamborghini in 1987, the American car giant's then-President, Lee Iacocca, wished for the marque to be Chrysler's entry into Formula One. Iacocca appointed former Ferrari team manager Daniele Audetto in 1988 to oversee a new group called *Lamborghini Engineering*. He also hired Mauro Forghieri, who had played a key role in Ferrari's success in the 1970s and early 1980s, and assigned him the task of designing a V12 engine for the 1989 3.5-litre normally aspirated regulations.

Forghieri produced a 80° V12 that produced 600 bhp (447 kW; 608 PS) @ 11,200 rpm. During the course of 1988, it was announced that the Larrousse team would have exclusive use of the motor in 1989. Despite encouraging pre-season tests, this proved to be a learning year, the highlight being a seventh placed finish for Yannick Dalmas at the Italian Grand Prix. In the naturally aspirated-era, the ten and twelve cylinder engines were proving more powerful than the V8s, and the Lamborghini V12 stood out alongside the Ferrari V12, and the dominant V10s of Honda and Renault. As a result, the Lamborghini powerplant became more sought after. So much so that, before 1989 had ended, Lamborghini announced that they would supply not only Larrousse in 1990, but also the renowned Lotus team, seeking an advantage after a year of struggling with Judd V8s. Lotus's troublesome 102 chassis put paid to their chances, although Martin Donnelly scored a miraculous third place at the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix of that year that also saw both Larrousse cars score points.

For 1991, Lamborghini looked set to supply two completely different teams. One was Ligier, looking for an interim engine while waiting for the Renault V10s to arrive in 1992, which stole the V12s from under Larrousse's nose. The other appeared to be a new team called GLAS, which would be financed by Mexican businessman Fernando Gonzalez Luna for around $20 million and led by former Italian journalist Leopoldo Canettoli. Furthermore, Lamborghini Engineering was expanding beyond engine production to include chassis design for the GLAS team. Forghieri and Mario Tolentino began developing a prototype, and by the summer of 1990, it was ready for testing, only for Luna to disappear with his funds. Despite the financial hole this created, Lamborghini was determined to proceed with the project because they had an engine and a chassis, and Carlo Patrucco, an industrialist and former Fila CEO, took over as Team Principal.

Former Alfa Romeo and Spirit driver Mauro Baldi put the Lamborghini 291, a distinctive dark blue chassis with triangular side pods and slanting radiators, to the test near the end of 1990. The team was entered for the 1991 World Championship as *Scuderia Modena SpA*, which caused a great deal of confusion. For essentially, this was the Lamborghini Engineering team, but they had named themselves 'Modena', after the town in Italy's motor racing heartland and Stefano Modena, who would drive for Tyrrell in 1991 (and was born in… Modena). Tolentino and Augusto Bovati were touted as provisional team managers, but the job was eventually given to ex-Minardi employee Jaime Manca Graziadei, though Graziadei's role was limited due to Forghieri's role as Technical Director as well as his role at Lamborghini Engineering.

Roberto Moreno, former Coloni driver and "supersub" for Williams in 1989, was to pilot one car, while Eric van de Poele, 1987 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Champion and 1990 International Formula 3000 Championship runner-up, would drive the other. Tolentino was in charge of engineering Moreno's car, while Dave Morgan, another former Formula One driver, was in charge of van de Poele's. Despite the fact that the team would have to go through pre-qualification, there were enough ingredients to give them hope. They had two combative drivers, a well-performing engine from the previous year, and a management team with extensive experience. When Baldi first tested the car at Imola, it recorded times comparable to the bottom-tier teams in F1.

This section is incomplete. If you'd like to help, please add the relevant information.