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HARD-FOUGHT PODIUM FOR IRON LYNX IN ELMS RACE AT PAUL RICARD
It was a busy weekend for Iron Lynx, competing in four categories across two circuits. At the ELMS event at Paul Ricard, Iron Lynx entries featured in the headline LMP2 class, the prestigious LMGT3 category and the supporting Ligier European Series, while two cars contested the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia round at Sepang.
ELMS 4 Hours of Paul Ricard
LMP2
In the ELMS LMP2 class, Jonas Ried started in third and held firm for the opening stages. Through the opening stint though, the #9 Iron Lynx – Proton car lost ground as the chasing pack capitalised on any opportunity.
With the first stop completed, the #9 re-joined the circuit in a net seventh place overall. During his second stint, Jonas settled into a rhythm to maintain a gap to the cars behind.
With an hour and 30 minutes of the race completed and with Maceo Capietto now at the wheel, he joined a four-way battle for eighth position. By the halfway point, Maceo had battled his way back to eighth after making a fourth pit stop of their own.
As the race went under Virtual Safety Car conditions, Matteo Cairoli got behind the wheel. Although a late Safety Car period and multiple Full Course Yellows brought the pack within reach, the final stint was hampered by a Drive Through penalty from Maceo’s stint. Unfortunately for Matteo, that was the defining factor of his stint, and he brought the car home in ninth.
LMGT3
The #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini started from third in the LMGT3 class with Hiroshi Hamaguchi at the wheel. In the opening lap drama, Hiroshi conceded a place to the #50 Formula Racing car, but quickly made his way back past and into the top three.
Hiroshi continued his charge by pressuring the Spirit of Race car through the first half of the opening stint. Finally, at the 30-minute mark, the #63 car prized the door open to seize second in class, with only the Iron Dames car now in front of him.
After the first round of stops, Hiroshi had slipped back behind the Kessel Racing Ferrari but quickly set about regaining lost ground. With an hour and 15 minutes on the clock, he clattered over the kerbs of the 1.8km Mistral Straight to take back second in class.
READ MORE: Iron Dames make strong impression across multiple racing fronts
Just before the halfway point, Axcil Jefferies took over and held firm in second through his stint. He then pitted under Virtual Safety Car and the ensuing Safety Car period reduced the gap to the lead to just six seconds. With the race restarted, he set about closing the gap further, and by the time of the final stops, he had reduced it to three seconds.
Andrea Caldarelli took over for the final stint and emerged in third, close behind the GR Racing Ferrari that he made short work of dispatching. In the final 30 minutes, the Ferrari ahead suffered on older tyres allowing Andrea to close the 15-second lead gap down to five, but he ran out of time as the chequered flag fell. A hard-earned second place in the ELMS 4 Hours of Paul Ricard takes the #63 car up to second in the standings, just two points shy of the top of the table heading into Round 3 at Imola.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia
A pair of Iron Lynx machines took part in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo round in Malaysia and collected three trophies from a possible four. In Race 1, the #32 Pro team of Charles Leong and Miki Koyama jumped from fourth on the grid to second in the race while Kumar Prabakaran in the #33 LC Cup car qualified second, but failed to finish.
The second of the weekend’s races would yield a double podium for SJM Iron Lynx Theodore Racing, with Miki and Charles converting a third place in qualifying to another second place. Remarkably, that same result was replicated by Kumar in the LC Cup class.
Ligier European Series
The Ligier European Series also visited Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend for the second round of the championship. The Iron Lynx #60 squad of Matteo Pianezzola and Gregorio Bertocco showed strong pace throughout the weekend, taking pole position in the first qualifying session and a best finish of 4th in class in Race 2.
It’s been a really well executed weekend for the Iron Lynx team as a whole. We competed in a lot of races over the course of 48 hours, and came away with a number of trophies. It was an excellent performance by the #63 crew to finish five seconds away from the win, and the #9 car had a strong race considering the penalties. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia drivers also did a fantastic job securing three podiums out of four, and our drivers in the Ligier series are continuing to develop and gain pace. Overall, we are happy and proud of the results we achieved this weekend.
Iron Lynx Team Principal & CEO, Andrea Piccini
