Iron Lynx began its European Le Mans Series campaign with a podium finish at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 in a thrilling fight to the end.
The six-round ELMS season began at the Spanish circuit with Iron Lynx racing in LMP2 and the new LMGT3 class. The field had tested at the venue previously for the Prologue, so everybody was up to speed around this fast, flowing track.
Qualifying went strongly for Hiroshi Hamaguchi for his ELMS debut, securing a fine second on the grid in his first race in the series sharing the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 with Iron Lynx newcomer Axcil Jeffries and Lamborghini factory driver Andrea Caldarelli. Matteo Cairoli took the #9 ORECA 07 to 12th on the grid for the team’s first LMP2 start, partnered with Jonas Ried and Macéo Capietto.
It was Hiroshi and Jonas taking the start of the four-hour race. In LMP2, some of the racing was chaotic early on which allowed Jonas to methodically work his way up the order to seventh during his run. In LMGT3, Hiroshi had a very good opening stint in ELMS, holding second for much of his stint and setting strong, consistent laps.
Hiroshi handed over to Axcil and Jonas to Macéo once their drive times elapsed. The #63 slipped down the order slightly, but remained in the mix for a top-three finish. Macéo in the #9 was climbing up the order well but a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane hampered the crew’s progress after also being in contention for third.
The final part of the race was affected by a few Full Course Yellows. Matteo was running the #9 solidly in the top 10 in the closing stages but had to retire from the race with a technical issue, while Andrea was behind the wheel of the #63 to the chequered flag.
In the final minutes of the race, Andrea had to hold off the #60 Proton Competition entry in and around the various restarts. He was able to do so superbly, taking the place by less than a second at the finish line, securing the silverware for the team to begin the season on a strong note.
Also racing at Barcelona was the Ligier European Series, with Matteo Pianezzola and Gregorio Bertocco showing strongly during their car racing debut weekend.
Starting second for race one, they were brilliantly leading before a technical issue ended the race early for them. Race two was a bit more challenging from fourth place on the grid, as they slipped back to seventh at the chequered flag.