GREAT PODIUM FINISH FOR IRON LYNX IN ELMS LMGT3 DEBUT AT BARCELONA

Iron Lynx began its European Le Mans Series campaign with a podium finish at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 in a thrilling fight to the end.
 
The six-round ELMS season began at the Spanish circuit with Iron Lynx racing in LMP2 and the new LMGT3 class. The field had tested at the venue previously for the Prologue, so everybody was up to speed around this fast, flowing track.

Qualifying went strongly for Hiroshi Hamaguchi for his ELMS debut, securing a fine second on the grid in his first race in the series sharing the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 with Iron Lynx newcomer Axcil Jeffries and Lamborghini factory driver Andrea Caldarelli. Matteo Cairoli took the #9 ORECA 07 to 12th on the grid for the team’s first LMP2 start, partnered with Jonas Ried and Macéo Capietto.

It was Hiroshi and Jonas taking the start of the four-hour race. In LMP2, some of the racing was chaotic early on which allowed Jonas to methodically work his way up the order to seventh during his run. In LMGT3, Hiroshi had a very good opening stint in ELMS, holding second for much of his stint and setting strong, consistent laps.

Hiroshi handed over to Axcil and Jonas to Macéo once their drive times elapsed. The #63 slipped down the order slightly, but remained in the mix for a top-three finish. Macéo in the #9 was climbing up the order well but a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane hampered the crew’s progress after also being in contention for third.

The final part of the race was affected by a few Full Course Yellows. Matteo was running the #9 solidly in the top 10 in the closing stages but had to retire from the race with a technical issue, while Andrea was behind the wheel of the #63 to the chequered flag.
 
In the final minutes of the race, Andrea had to hold off the #60 Proton Competition entry in and around the various restarts. He was able to do so superbly, taking the place by less than a second at the finish line, securing the silverware for the team to begin the season on a strong note.

READ MORE: Iron Dames unlucky after comfortably leading on ELMS return

Also racing at Barcelona was the Ligier European Series, with Matteo Pianezzola and Gregorio Bertocco showing strongly during their car racing debut weekend.
 
Starting second for race one, they were brilliantly leading before a technical issue ended the race early for them. Race two was a bit more challenging from fourth place on the grid, as they slipped back to seventh at the chequered flag.

This ELMS weekend has been full of action and we showed great potential in every race. Coming away with a podium for Hiroshi, Axcil and Andrea is a huge boost to the entire team and we are delighted to secure the result. They all performed brilliantly throughout the weekend, especially Hiroshi on his ELMS debut. It was a pity to lose the #9 LMP2 late in the race, but we have proven that we can be fighting for the top spot in that incredibly strong category. We also began our journey in the Ligier European Series, leading Race One and fighting for the podium in Race Two, but we were unable to make the result materialise.

Iron Lynx Team Principal & CEO, Andrea Piccini