Iron Lynx gets its FIA WEC season underway with promising Prologue performance

Italian racing team, Iron Lynx, has successfully completed the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Prologue test at Sebring International Raceway for the upcoming 2022 season, with both the #60 car and the #85 Iron Dames machine showing early promise on the famously unforgiving circuit.

Day one proved to be a tale of two halves, with the early morning session being halted due to a severe storm sweeping through the region. The rain eased off in the afternoon however, and it was the #60 car that set the fastest time in GTE Am, with Giancarlo Fisichella setting a 1:58.227 on his debut with the team, and Michelle Gatting setting the Iron Dames’ fastest lap of a 1:58.393, positioning the #85 car into third place at the end of the session.

On day two it was all about trying different set ups and tyre compounds for the team with a full day of dry running. As the chequered flag waved to signal the end of the weekend’s Prologue, it was Michelle Gatting that yet again set the fastest time in the Iron Dames car, with a 1:58.803 being good enough for sixth place in class, and the #60 Iron Lynx car in ninth place setting a time of 1:59.136 by Giancarlo Fisichella.

Meanwhile, in the LMP2 category, the PREMA Orlen team started on the right foot, setting the fastest lap on day one with Robert Kubica placing the #9 car at the top of the timesheet with a time of 1:49.084. On Sunday, Louis Deletraz set a time of 1:48.954 late on in the session for third fastest in class.

Team Principal of Iron Lynx, Andrea Piccini, said: “The prologue was positive for us this weekend. It’s the first time here for both the team and many of our drivers, but we found a solid balance from the car straight away. To get the drivers familiar with the track we worked mostly on long runs, and both cars were consistent.

“Matteo and Giancarlo have some experience at this track, which provided valuable insight for Claudio helping him get up to speed as quickly as possible and make some great improvements. On day two we tried some new set ups, finding a good rhythm and pace with the drivers improving throughout the session.

“Overall, the first two days have been very positive with no issues and we’re now looking forward to the race. We expect the conditions to be quite different as it’s been much colder this weekend, so we will need to make the correct decisions on the tyre strategy.”

The first round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship begins at Sebring International Raceway for the 1,000 Miles of Sebring on March 18th, 2022.