IRON LYNX SIGNS OFF VALUABLE 2025 LE MANS EXPERIENCE

TEAM SECURES BEST 2025 QUALIFYING RESULT, FIA WEC POINTS – # 9 IRON LYNX PROTON ORECA TAKES HOME FOURTH IN LMP2

Iron Lynx wrapped up the 103rd edition of the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans with three cars running at the end in two classes, securing fourth place in the LMP2 category in collaboration with Proton Competition, and placing two of its LMGT3 cars in P12 and P15.

The new-for-2025 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 showed positive performance, handing the brand its first hyperpole access on Wednesday with Bronze driver Martin Berry, and then achieving a brilliant fourth place on the grid with the combined efforts of Lin Hodenius and Maxime Martin on Thursday.

As the French flag gave the start on Saturday, the early running was promising, but mixed fortunes soon came into play. The #60 crew had to face the toughest luck of all, with an alternator belt issue that resulted in a ruptured oil line. The subsequent damage meant that while it briefly returned to the track, the car was eventually retired early into the night. Lorcan Hanafin delivered an impressive early stint, while Andrew Gilbert provided a safe drive to stay in touch with the pack. Spaniard Fran Rueda could only complete a few laps before coming back to the garage. The brand-new trio of Le Mans debutants will be back in search of revenge at the 6 Hours of Interlagos.

The #61 crew put up a solid pace, although they could not keep the same pace produced in qualifying. Picking up a yellow flags penalty and suffering a couple of mechanical gremlins, Berry, Hodenius and Martin got as much as they could out of the tense night stints, unpredictable situations, and attrition. While Berry kept a safe and positive pace, Hodenius – also a rookie and the youngest competitor in the field at the age of 18, drove like a veteran in every condition. Making his 10th Le Mans start, Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver Martin was a pillar for the entire team in terms of insight and pure performance. In the end, it all came down to a 12th-place finish.

Having had a tough start of the week with a heavy crash in practice, Stephen Grove, Brenton Grove, and Luca Stolz had limited running in the #63 car, with only one FP completed before missing qualifying and then hitting a technical issue in FP2. Despite having to regain the needed confidence on one of the world’s toughest tracks, especially for rookies, Stephen Grove put together a trouble-free run to cap off his first Le Mans. His son Brenton, together with Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver Luca Stolz, showed remarkable speed potential. The Aussie duo eventually completed their maiden Le Mans 24 Hours, joined by Stolz in a P15 finish.

Iron Lynx lined up again in a partnership with Proton Competition, fielding the #9 ORECA 07 LMP2 racecar under the Proton Iron Lynx banner. Jonas Ried, Maceo Capietto, and Reshad De Gerus fought at the front for the whole 24 hours and even had a shot to contend for the lead before a drive-through penalty cost them valuable time. Still, the pace remained competitive. Ried, who took the start, and Frenchmen Capietto and De Gerus (a proud Le Mans resident) captured fourth place overall to highlight the team’s effort.

We are leaving Le Mans taking away the positives. We started with an entirely new project and we knew right from the start that to make it in Le Mans with only 6 months of preparation would have been challenging. It was an ambitious new idea with many new drivers, which led to a lineup of seven Le Mans rookies out of nine drivers. To have two cars running in the end it is definitely positive. We were actually not far away from the leading pack and showed some peaks of performance, notably in qualifying where we maximized our potential. We delivered good execution especially in tough conditions after the crash, and everyone in the team made a spectacular effort. It was amazing, and a unique chance to bring the Silver Arrows to Le Mans. We thoroughly enjoyed this jouney. We will now work to consolidate our strongest aspect and widen the performance window to be more consistent.

Andrea Piccini, Team Principal & CEO

We had a good start, and we came back to the box after the first stint in P3. Then we had a few little issues during the race, but at the end of the day, we can be happy we have finished with two cars We learned a lot as we have been doing since the beginning of the year. We need to keep working. Every time it is better than the previous one. Now we go to Sao Paulo and we are looking forward to scoring better results.

Maxime Martin, Driver Car #61

“It has been a tough week. I’m really happy we finished the race after the difficulties, especially with the crash on Wednesday. Hats off to the mechanics. They changed basically everything on the car, and worked day and night to bring the car back. But even if we had a difficult race, we were almost faultless and to finish Le Mans is quite cool. Congratulations to Stephen and Brenton. To finish Le Mans together, father and son is quite special.”

Luca Stolz, Driver Car #63

“It was an awesome experience. It was just going, I kept going straight for 24 hours, I slept maybe two hours, and I am exhausted. I will sleep very well tonight.”

Lin Hodenius, Driver Car #61

“It’s unbelievable, the biggest high I had in motorsports. I’ve been lucky to do a lot of things over the journey, but this is definitely number 1. To come to the biggest race in the world, and finish 15th in class is just outstanding. I cannot thank the team, my family, and my fellow drivers enough. It has been a dream come true for me.”

Stephen Grove, Driver Car #61