Dime Racing brings the Bull to PWC

If there was one make conspicuously absent from the Pirelli World Challenge GT class, it had to be a certain Italian manufacturer known for its extreme sports cars but which only recently decided to tackle motorsports head-on. Lamborghini's Huracán GT3 had been seen racing elsewhere in the states, but had been missing from World Challenge until Dime Racing entered one at Long Beach with Jonathan Summerton at the wheel.

Dime Racing, the motorsports arm of Mercedes and Lamborghini tuning shop Dime Research and Development in Huntington Beach, California, had previously raced the Mercedes AMG SLS GT3, mostly with Frankie Montecalvo. Montecalvo and Dime parted ways before Sonoma last year, when Summerton (pictured) stepped in to race the SLS. Now the team has turned to the other manufacturer it works with to showcase a different product.

"[The Lamborghini] gets a lot of attention," Summerton said. "It's a really cool car."

Summerton and the team were just finding their feet at Long Beach, because the deal to run the car had only come together a few days beforehand and they had no testing. Despite that, Summerton finished 12th at Long Beach. With James Davison on board to co-drive, the team finished 13th and ninth in their SprintX debut at VIRginia International Raceway.

The team had originally planned to run all the SprintX rounds and a few West Coast Sprint races. However, after taking a break form the next round at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Dime Racing plans to run the rest of the season. In addition, the team will be adding a Lamborghini Super Trofeo car for GT Cup competition. This is all in preparation for an even bigger program in 2018, says Dime chief operations officer Rod Shegem.

"We like working with Pirelli World Challenge," Shegem said. "They've been very supportive on getting us going. And we like the exposure they provide on TV. It's a good series; we use it for marketing at a lot of tracks, a very good, wide dynamic of customers in different states."

What Dime Racing is marketing is its aftermarket parts and tuning business that includes not only many AMG products, but also a twin-turbo kit for the Huracán that adds about 50 percent more power to the already quick car, along with suspension upgrades. Of course, those bits aren't on the GT3 car, but it still helps to showcase the brand. And being the only one in the series, the team is also getting support from Lamborghini and one of its teams that races in the IMSA Tequila Patron North American Endurance Championship and Super Trofeo, DAC Motorsports.

"Lamborghini helped us out here, DAC Motorsports has helped us," Summerton said. "It's a good program. The car is great to drive, a lot of fun. We're just learning, but it's good to be where we are. We're in the hunt."

Shegem says the team will be in the series full time from Lime rock on.