Iron Lynx ‘Motivated to Fight’ After Tough 2023 Campaign

Mirko Bortolotti thinks Iron Lynx is “in a much better position” to fight for GTD Pro class honors in the Rolex 24 at Daytona after a “really formative” 2023 appearance that marked the start of a learning year for the Italian squad following its switch to Lamborghini.

The Italian racer spearheads Iron Lynx’s assault for class victory aboard the No. 19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, sharing the car with fellow factory drivers Andrea Caldarelli, Franck Perera and Jordan Pepper.

This year’s edition of the Florida endurance classic marks the one-year anniversary of the debut outing for the new alliance between Lamborghini and the Andrea Piccini-led stable.

The team finished a distant fourth in class last year, one lap down on winners WeatherTech Racing in what Bortolotti described as a “character-building race.”

It was the start on a challenging year from the squad across the globe, retiring from the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans for various reasons.

“It’s always a pleasure to come back to do this race, as it’s one of the major races of the season,” Bortolotti told Sportscar365.

“So I’m really looking forward to it, and of course the last season has been not going to plan due to different reasons. That also shows that everything needs to work out almost perfectly, if you want to be in a position to win this race.

“We are back now again after a really formative experience last year that was quite a character-building race.

“I hope that we will take the positives out of that, and I’m pretty sure about it, going into this race. So I think we are in a much better position than last year.”

Bortolotti said that the 2023 season should be viewed as a learning year for Iron Lynx, settling into a new manufacturer relationship that will also see the team field the SC63 LMDh car in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship.

With a year of learning behind them, the 34-year-old believes the team is now “ready to fight” for race wins, beginning at Daytona.

“Year two for the car, year two for the team,” he said. I think this is really important.

“We don’t have to forget that Iron Lynx last year made the switch to the Lamborghini. So it needed some time with the new car to set things up and to work, to find the right working method, to understand the car properly.

“So I think that this 2023 season has been really important in order to be in a much better position now. And I think we are obviously ready for this race, and we are ready to fight. Let’s see what happens.

“You never know in Daytona, because it’s a race that has its own rules. So we will need to do our homework well now in the Roar, and then prepare it well through the week, and hopefully be competitive and make the right calls during the 24-hour.

“This will be important and crucial if we want to be at the top at the end. This is the goal. We are here for that. We are paid for that to be here trying to go for the maximum result and to fight for the wins.

“But in motorsport a lot of factors play a really big role. I think last year, as I said, it’s been a new learning year for everyone, for all of us.

“So we are really motivated to go into this season with all the things we’ve learned last year. Ideally also having the results we expect and we deserve. This is obviously our goal.”