POLE AND VICTORY FOR IRON LYNX’S LMP2 TRIO IN MUGELLO ELMS ROUND

Iron Lynx had a weekend with several strong results across racing action in the penultimate European Le Mans Series meeting of the 2024 season, including pole and victory for the LMP2 trio and the LMGT3 #63 keeping in championship contention into the final round of the season. Elsewhere, there was a first win for the #60 Ligier European Series duo, and promising speed sadly not translating into strong results in the French Rally Championship in central France.

European Le Mans Series
In the fifth round of the 2024 European Le Mans Series season, the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán LMGT3 Evo 2 with Hiroshi Hamaguchi, Axcil Jeffries and Andrea Caldarelli, and the #9 Iron Lynx – Proton Oreca 07 Gibson with Jonas Ried, Matteo Cairoli and Macéo Capietto were in action for the debut of the 4 Hours of Mugello.
 
Matteo was behind the wheel for the #9 LMP2 in Qualifying and put in a very strong performance at his home event to secure pole position – Iron Lynx’s first in the LMP2 category, while Hiroshi put in a solid drive to place fifth on the LMGT3 grid.
 
Jonas took the wheel for the start of the race in car #9, with Hiroshi behind the wheel of #63. The #9 lost the lead, but to a car running a higher graded driver. A race of many interruptions allowed the #9 to stay towards the front throughout, and good pitstops from the team and great driving from all three drivers kept them in the hunt for the win.
 
It became a race-long battle between the #9 and the #65 Panis Racing entry, with the crucial pass coming around one of the few green flag pitstops. Macéo handed the car over to Matteo for the final part of the race in the lead and on the final restart with an hour to go, the Italian driver pulled away as the #65 faded, holding off the #25 Algarve Pro Racing entry for the victory – the first for the crew along with their first pole position, and the first in LMP2 for Iron Lynx.
 
The #63 was less fortunate with their race. Hiroshi had a great first stint to work his way into third, but towards the end of his stint he was hit by an LMP2 on a restart which left him beached in the gravel. That left the team a couple of laps down. Axcil and Andrea did what they could to maximise their result, but they were limited to ninth. Despite this, they remain in title contention heading into the finale at Portimao, where many teams are in the running for the crown.

Ligier European Series
Gregorio Bertocco and Matteo Pianezzola had their strongest weekend yet in the Ligier European Series in the JS2 R category. The first race featured a long battle with the #29 Pegasus Racing entry, with both drivers having to pass the car on track for the lead. Matteo masterfully resisted a late Safety Car restart to secure a historic victory for the pair.
 
It looked like a similar story in the second race as the yellow #60 took to the lead at the opening corner, but a minor pitstop infringement meant that the team had to serve a stop/go penalty. They fought back to third to secure their second podium of the season.

French Rally Championship
It was a mixed weekend for Iron Lynx over in France. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi and Jules Escartefigue were out of the running after going off the road in the first stage and damaging the left-rear.
 
It started out as a better event for Rehane Gany and Franck Le Floch, concluding the first day in sixth place. Sadly, early on in the second day, their Ford Fiesta Rally2 was also out of action from their promising position as they also went off the road and sustained damage to their car.

It has been a challenging season so far in LMP2, so it was wonderful to see the efforts of everyone within the Iron Lynx and Proton Competition teams be rewarded with this fantastic victory. Matteo Cairoli in particular was on his best form this weekend, and a home win always feels special. We were unlucky with the race for #63 but we are still in a very open championship fight, and we will give it everything in Portugal to try and take the title. Finally, it was a brilliant weekend by Gregorio Bertocco and Matteo Pianezzola to take a first victory in the Ligier European Series, which shows how far these young drivers have come this season. We are now looking ahead to plenty of season finales, and will aim to end each championship on a high.

Andrea Piccini, Iron Lynx Team Principal & CEO