Iron Lynx weathers the storm at Spa-Francorchamps in World Endurance Championship

Italian racing team, Iron Lynx, has endured the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Spa-Francorchamps, with consistent finishes from the #60 Iron Lynx car and #85 Iron Dames machine after a race filled with changeable weather and incidents. 

After Sarah Bovy tested positive for COVID-19 and Michelle Gatting being in close proximity, a last-minute driver change was made, with Christina Nielsen and Doriane Pin joining Rahel Frey in the Iron Dames car.  

Christina Nielsen in the #85 car was unfortunately spun by a Porsche at La Source in the first turn, after what was an impressive fourth place qualifying for the female racer. But, her consistent pace as the weather took a turn for the worse in the Ardennes forest, as well as Rahel Frey’s strong run in monsoon conditions was enough to keep the car in a stable position.  

In the final stages, it was Doriane Pin making her FIA World Endurance Championship debut, who would bring the car home in tenth place, ultimately helping the team gain three places from being two laps down after the opening lap incident.  

The #60 Iron Lynx car had a steadier race, with Claudio Schiavoni starting in tenth place, dealing with the intense torrential conditions, and driving cleanly through the early stages before handing over to Matteo Cressoni, who made up two places.  

Staying away from the incidents and drama as the rain continued to fall, it was Cressoni that handed the car over to Giancarlo Fisichella within the final two hours, where the Italian brought the car across the chequered flag in eighth place, even after a pit lane penalty spoilt a potentially much better finish. 

In LMP2, the PREMA Orlen team continued its debut campaign with a seventh-place finish, with all three drivers of Robert Kubica, Lorenzo Colombo and Louis Deletraz fighting hard in the tricky conditions to pick up some valuable points in a race where experience paid off.  

Team Principal of Iron Lynx, Andrea Piccini, said:

“Today’s difficult conditions really changed what could have been a positive result for the team. Unfortunately, the Iron Dames car had the race compromised at the first corner when they clearly got pushed into the gravel putting them a lap behind.  

“Christina’s comeback drive and pace was very good after coming into the team at such late notice. 

“The #60 car was running well at the beginning in dry conditions with Claudio at the wheel, but then struggled to find the pace when it started raining. 

“Before the late race penalty, we had the potential for a fifth-place finish. However, we still scored some points, and we must take the positives from that.” 

Iron Lynx was also competing in the opening round of the Italian Formula 4 championship at Imola today, with rookie Ivan Domingues and Maya Weug performing well to both score points in race one with a ninth and tenth place finish respectively.  

The action continues tomorrow with a further two races, where Ivan and Maya will start race two in second and third, with the third race being started from pole position and third place respectively. 

The 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship continues at the Circuit de la Sarthe for the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11th and 12th, 2022.