IRON LYNX SHOWS STRONG PACE, SECURES P6 AT INTERLAGOS

A weekend that started with great potential did not convert into positive finishes for Iron Lynx at Interlagos, as the #61 and #79 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 cars were involved in multiple contacts and hit with a few penalties.

Qualifying went well for the team ahead of the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, with both cars making it into the hyperpole session in the hands of Martin Berry and Johannes Zelger. The Italian captured his maiden top-10 result in qualifying only in his fourth WEC event. In the Hyperpole session, Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver Lin Hodenius delivered an amazing lap to secure a front row spot, while Rui Andrade secured P6 after being slowed down by traffic late in the session.

The start of the race was clean, although Zelger was penalized for a jump start and later picked up a drive-through for track limits. Still, the car was fighting in the points zone until Hodenius was hit from behind and spun by a hypercar. Car #61 was spun twice, with Berry hit from behind by a hypercar and Andrade, who relieved him, punted by an LMGT3 competitor. A pit speeding penalty resulted in a drive-through for Andrade, but the Angolan still had a remarkable pace.

The final stints of the race were for Mercedes-AMG Performance driver Maxime Martin on the #61 and Matteo Cressoni on the #79. Exiting the pits in P11, Martin delivered a superb comeback, fighting back to sixth place. Cressoni was tasked with a challenging tyre- and fuel-saving strategy, and had to settle for P15.

We come back from Brazil with our best result of the season, but ending up sixth when we know we had the pace to fight for the win leaves us with a bitter taste. We proved that we can be competitive with both cars, and we’ll keep working with confidence, knowing that the results this team deserves will come soon.

Andrea Piccini – Team Principal & CEO