IRON LYNX X TRIVELLATO GOES FROM POLE TO WIN AT IMOLA

The Iron Lynx X Trivellato partnership made a scintillating motorsport entrance this weekend at Imola. Lining up one Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Swissman Jean-Luc D’Auria and Dutchman Lin Hodenius, the new combination went from pole to victory in dominant fashion in the third round of the Italian Gran Turismo Endurance Championship.

The team started strong since practice, progressively improving its chemistry and confidence with the GT3 car on Pirelli tyres, and making good moves on and off the track.

In qualifying, Hodenius and D’Auria shared the three sessions and posted a stunning aggregate pole position, taming a brief change of conditions and getting the chance to start from P1 for Sunday’s 3-hour race with an remarkable collaborative effort.

Hodenius, who turned 19 on Friday, led from the start and kept a steady pace, and so did D’Auria, staying out of trouble, especially in the challenging traffic situations provided by a competitive GTCup-class field. With solid execution in the pits and on the track, the #61 car only briefly relinquished the lead in the middle stages, but soon after getting back on top, it was never put under pressure again.

Today’s overall victory marked the first win for the Iron Lynx family with Mercedes-AMG since the start of their collaboration for FIA WEC, ELMS, and now Gran Turismo. And it is, of course, the first in the partnership with legendary brand Trivellato, coming back to racing success after starring so much in the golden age of motorsports.

With a nice summer break ahead, the team will be back for the fourth round of the European Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, at the end of August. The Iron Lynx X Trivellato partnership will return with D’Auria and Hodenius for the final round of the Gran Turismo Sprint Championship at mighty Monza.

From pole position to the win, I think it’s a dream start for everybody, but everybody truly deserved it. Everyone in the team worked so hard and made many sacrifices for this beautiful project, so I’m extremely happy that they are rewarded with victory. We are going to enjoy a fine Sunday evening!

Jean-Luc D’Auria – Driver Car #61

A very nice way to end the first half of the season! Victory is so nice, standing on the podium, and opening the champagne is awesome. We fought hard, and it paid off in the end with a nice gap to P2. Awesome!

Lin Hodenius – Driver Car #61

I’m very proud and satisfied today. It’s our first win with Mercedes-AMG, and it’s a milestone for us as we are determined to bring our partnership from strength to strength. Everyone on the team, management, engineers, and mechanics, truly deserved the victory. Their effort this season has been immense at all levels. Rewarding straight away an exceptional partner like Trivellato also feels amazing, and to see Jean-Luc and Lin celebrate on the podium was just incredible. We have been working with Lin for a while, and we have believed in him since day one. It’s so sweet to see him win. On the other hand, we just met Jean-Luc, but he was really impressive from the get-go, adapting quickly to a new car and a new team. We cannot wait to have him back at Monza!

Andrea Piccini – Team Principal & CEO