LAMBORGHINI IRON LYNX FINISHES 2024 LE MANS 24 HOURS, CLAIMS HISTORIC TOP-10 RESULT

Lamborghini Iron Lynx achieved a memorable top-10 finish in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the team’s Lamborghini SC63 LMDh racecars completed their maiden run at the historic race. Not only did both cars cross the finish line, but they did so without a single visit to the garage and no major problems, optimizing every pit-stop as much as possible.

The #63 car, driven by Mirko Bortolotti, Daniil Kvyat, and Edoardo Mortara delivered an outstanding tenth-place finish, securing the team’s first points in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Not far from them, the #19 car, raced by Matteo Cairoli, Andrea Caldarelli and Romain Grosjean ended up in P13. Both cars were only two laps down compared to the winners.

The start of the race, before a record-breaking crowd of 329.000 fans, featured Caldarelli and Mortara on board and proved tricky as the team suffered from some small bodywork issues. The problems could soon be fixed but cost valuable time. Then the night runs were impacted by severe precipitations as the race direction opted to run behind the Safety Car for several hours. Faced with physical exhaustion and weather concerns, the drivers carried the team into the morning.

Despite a couple of pesky penalties, Bortolotti, Mortara, and Kvyat were eventually able to secure their first FIA WEC points, highlighting an incredible run for the team and the Italian manufacturer in a history-making first prototype start at Le Mans in the Hypercar class.

The final stages saw drivers search for consistency and merge as much as possible with the car, maximising its strengths and managing the weaknesses as they sailed to the finish. Rapid pitstops and a well-rounded strategy completed the job, capping the team’s first time with a two-car operation, which needed perfect teamwork and huge technical and logistic preparations.
 
The team’s effort for the month of June is not finished though, as it prepares to be back into action in a few days at Watkins Glen. Driving the IMSA-spec SC63 will be Andrea Caldarelli and Matteo Cairoli.

Emmanuel Esnault, Racing Director: “This is a great success. Finishing the race without major issues was our first goal, and we did it without a single trip to the garage and scoring our maiden points finish in FIA WEC. I’m proud of how our team managed the race and faced any adversity, performing brilliantly. Knowing the incredible amount of effort and dedication that went into this project at every level, I look forward to what we’ll be able to achieve in the future starting from next weekend’s IMSA event at Watkins Glen and the upcoming Brazilian round of FIA WEC.”

Matteo Cairoli: “First of all, I want to thank everyone on the team because, considering that the car touched ground only 11 months ago, it’s impressive to see the #63 car finish in the top 10 and our car not very far away. It wasn’t easy, in my second stint I felt quite nauseous and it was tough to manage that situation. I didn’t want to give up and I managed to finish. I’m extremely happy and proud of everyone involved. If we think about the time lost due to relatively small issues, that’s even more auspicious for 2025. I cannot wait to come back here.”
 
Romain Grosjean: “I didn’t finish my first Le Mans so I’m glad we got to the end with Lamborghini Iron Lynx. It was a dream. I thank the team for the opportunity because personally it was something I wanted to do, and I’ve done it. I’m very proud of the effort. Of course, it could have been better, we could have been in the top 10, but it’s amazing that the #63 car made it. It’s been a great experience, a great weekend for everyone, and a lot to learn for the future. We finished Sebring, one of the toughest races in the world, and Le Mans is not easy either. We got to finish those two, and we did it in good shape!”
 
Andrea Caldarelli: “I think we reached the target, which was to finish the race with both cars and for the first year, it’s amazing. I think we did really everything we could to get to the end and we had a lot of things happening during the race that could have stopped us. I’m really happy for all the guys in Sant’Agata and at Iron Lynx because they worked very hard to bring the cars to this race. There’s only a bit of a bittersweet taste because after the start we thought we could have a better pace. However, we can’t forget it’s our first year and I’m really proud of the team.”

Mirko Bortolotti: “First of all, I’m extremely proud of everybody who was part of this project, Lamborghini, Iron Lynx, Ligier, all my team-mates, the mechanics, the engineers, everyone worked incredibly hard in these few months. We managed to finish with both cars in Le Mans at our debut, and one in the top 10. I’m incredibly happy for this achievement, considering that the project went on track less than one year ago. It was an amazing day, and I’m really happy and proud of how we executed the race. We still got a lot of work ahead of us, we know, but we are looking forward to taking the next steps, and we now celebrate this phenomenal result.”
 
Daniil Kvyat: “It was a truly amazing race for us. We enjoy this result as it’s a reward for the hard work. Still, there’s a lot of work ahead of us, because I want to win one day, and the next steps we have to take will be crucial. We managed to get this result with what we had with a new car, it shows how strong we are, and when we will bring what we have to, we can fight for victory.”
 
Edoardo Mortara: “It was extremely important to finish the race today, and we achieved that. Regarding the competition we were facing, we were trying to get to the top 10, although it was kind of the secondary goal that we achieved as well. It’s been a long time here in Le Mans, with lengthy preparations from the mechanics to the engineers, marketing, communication, and management, and rewarding them with a result it’s very important. It’s going to motivate us to come back stronger and want more.”