Lamborghini second-strongest result in LMGT3

WECLMGT3

Nov 9

After locking first row during LMGT3 Hyperpole session the two Mc Laren LMGT3 EVO were not able to keep the pace of winning Ferrari and podium maker Corvettes but Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan #60 kept fighting for the podium until the end.

We continue our LMGT3 race story at Bahrain. See part 1 here.

Iron Lynx Lamborghini fourth

With Matteo Cressoni, and Matteo Cairoli behind the wheel, the yellow #60 Lamborghini Huracan moved further up the order as night loomed. The two Matteos were able to make the most of the Huracán as it showed more competitively during the night than it did in the daytime.
Through a late VSC sequence, Matteo Cressoni moved up the order with rapid pace, moving from outside of the top 10 into the top five as the final hour approached. The final part of the race was driven by Matteo Cairoli and he was in contention for the podium places in a battle with the #55 Ferrari and the #81 and #82 Corvettes.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Claudio Schiavoni, Matteo Cressoni and Matteo Cairoli with Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2.

However, despite his most valiant efforts, he was not able to find a way by either of the Corvettes as the Ferrari pulled away, but he came through to cross the finish line in fourth place, just over a second behind the third-placed #82, for the team’s second-strongest result of the FIA WEC season in the highly-competitive LMGT3 field.

Andrea Piccini, Iron Lynx Team Principal & CEO: "It's a good way to finish our first FIA WEC season of the LMGT3 era. We are happy with the work by the whole team. We started with a strategy which we knew from the beginning it would have been difficult because we double stinted tyres in the hottest moments and we kept all the new ones for the end of the race. So in the beginning, when we dropped down the order, we had to keep cool as we knew it would have paid off at the end of the race. So, we took the risk, we kept the tyres in our pockets and it was the right strategy. We are happy with the work of the crew as everyone did a very good job this race with car preparation, the pitstops and the strategy. Unfortunately, a little mistake under Full Course Yellow made car #85 get a drive-through penalty. And this, at the end, took them away from the possibility to fight for a podium, which was really possible. On the other hand, everyone on car #60 fought like lions. Claudio, Matteo and Matteo fought until the end and we were really, really close to the podium. We missed it by a second and we were only five seconds away from the victory. It's not a victory, it's not a podium but it's a very positive way to close the season because we have grown as a team. We improved the car very much and we showed we are very competitive so we are happy to end the year with a very positive result." Source: Iron Lynx

Manthey EMA’s Porsche 911 GT3 R finishes in fifth place

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R with drivers Yasser Shahin, Richard Lietz and Morris Schuring.

In the LMGT3 class, the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Manthey EMA finished the season finale in fifth place with drivers Yasser Shahin, Richard Lietz and Morris Schuring.
“We clinched a one-two result in our classification and celebrated class victory at Le Mans – it doesn’t get much better than that. I’m super impressed by our team and extremely proud,” explains Niki Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey. “Returning to the WEC stage after a year’s break took a lot of work. We stepped back into the world championship spotlight and people can see what we’re capable of. Aside from the DTM, which we won last year, the WEC is the biggest GT3 racing scene.”

McLaren LMGT3 EVO #59 in P6

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Cottingham, Nicolas Costa and Gregoire Saucy on board #59 United Autosports McLaren LMGT3 EVO.

In the McLaren LMGT3 EVO #59, Cottingham did a great job managing his tyres in the first hour and, when Caygill (sister #95) started to struggle, overtook safely for the lead to maintain track position for the United Autosports crew.

Over the next five hours, the #59 McLaren ran consistently in the top two, with solid drives from Cottingham, Nicolas Costa and Gregoire Saucy. Sadly, however, the crew’s bad luck streak with Safety Car timing reared its head once again, with a VSC (Virtual Safety Car) dropping the team to P5 and bunching up the pack at a critical point for tyre strategy.

Struggling for grip with double stint fronts and without radio comms, Costa did his best to hold on to P5 but dropped a couple of positions in a thrilling burst of LMGT3 racing after the restart. Saucy took over for the final dash, slowed by a longer-than-planned pit stop caused by a technical issue with the wheel nut retainer, ultimately crossing the line P6 when a podium had looked so promising.

Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #54 seventh

The other Ferrari 296 LMGT3, crewed by Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci, and Thomas Flohr, finished seventh.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Francesco Castellacci, Thomas Flohr and Davide Rigon with #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3

The Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #54, started from seventh position with Francesco Castellacci at the wheel. The Italian driver gained several positions before handing the car to Thomas Flohr, who kept it in the points during his stint. As with its sister car, the safety car proved crucial, allowing Davide Rigon to close in on the leading group. The Italian climbed back to second place, on the heels of his teammate Rovera, before a drive-through penalty with less than an hour remaining dropped car number 54 to seventh place overall. It finished just under a minute behind the winners. Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, and Davide Rigon finished seventh place in the drivers’ standings with 57 points

Davide Rigon: “It was an interesting race. I had a lot of fun at the restart after the Safety Car when Alessio Rovera and I overtook everyone—I moved from ninth to second. Unfortunately, we received a drive-through penalty for a restart after the Full Course Yellow. I wouldn’t have had the pace to win, but I’m delighted for our teammates’ success. It’s been a positive year for us, particularly for Thomas (Flohr, ed.) and Francesco (Castellacci, ed.), who both did an excellent job.”

Pole and P8 for McLaren LMGT3 EVO #95

From the podium in Sao Paulo to a historic front row lock out in Bahrain - with nine top 10 finishes and four top five results along the way - it marks the end of a monumental debut season, which has established the newly formed McLaren Automotive programme as a true contender on the LMGT3 world stage.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Josh Caygill, Nicolas Pino and Marino Sato driving the #95 McLaren.

The highlight of the weekend came on Friday, when United Autosports became the first LMGT3 team to secure P1 and P2 on the grid in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Josh Caygill of the #95 McLaren dominated the afternoon, posting the fastest time in both Qualifying and Hyperpole, and celebrating his first pole position of the season with James Cottingham backing it up with P2 in the sister #59.

Meanwhile, for the #95, the opening half of the race was uneventful but for the most part they maintained their place in the top 10. The VSC also fell badly for the #95 crew, who came out of the pits one lap down as a result. As darkness fell, however, the #95 unlocked extra pace which allowed Marino Sato to get back on the lead lap, stationing the Japanese driver in P13 with half an hour to go.

Sato started the charge with four new tyres, storming from P13 to P8 in 20 minutes – an epic run at the end of a triple stint, which secured a final haul of championship points for the #95 Sao Paulo podium placers.

Manthey PureRxcing in P9

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R shared by Klaus Bachler, Joel Sturm and Alex Malykhin.

The sister car from Manthey PureRxcing crossed the finish line in P9. The German customer team’s #92 entry was shared by Klaus Bachler, Joel Sturm and Alex Malykhin. The team had already secured the Endurance Trophy at the penultimate race in Fuji (Japan).

Iron Dames 10th

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Sarah Bovy at the wheel of Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo3

The Iron Dames were also in action and stellar pace from Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting ultimately resulted in little reward as, despite fighting for the race lead in and around the VSCs, a penalty late on dropped them down the order. A charge from Michelle in the final hour brought the #85 crew into the points to conclude what has been a tough season with very little luck at the majority of the events.

8 Hours of Bahrain LMGT3 Classification after scruteneering