Isotta Fraschini LMH Completes Second Test at Monza

The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH Competizione completed its second track test over two days at Monza this week.

Former Audi LMP1 driver Marco Bonanomi was behind the wheel of the Michelotto-developed hybrid LMH car, which Italian manufacturer Isotta is planning to enter into the FIA World Endurance Championship once homologated.

The two-day test followed on from the Tipo 6’s first shakedown at Vallelunga last month and was held on a shared track with other WEC competitors.

According to Isotta, the Tipo 6 ended up posting lap times that were “very close” to the Oreca 07 Gibson LMP2s that were present from the likes of Prema and JOTA.

Its program was “full of repetitive procedures” including data-gathering on electronic components and aerodynamics rather than focusing on outright performance.

Bonanomi, who is a test driver for engineering company Michelotto, indicated that most of the mileage took place on Wednesday.

“[It was] a positive test after a somewhat difficult first day in which we covered only a few kilometers,” he said.

“However, we had a very productive second day, in which we did many laps and tried many different systems, configurations and car balances, all of which gave good results.

“Considering that it was my first test and the second for the team and car, we managed to lap consistently and at an interesting pace in the afternoon.

“I think we can all be happy because the car seems born well, even if there is still a lot of work to do and data to analyze.”

Isotta Fraschini, which built luxury cars in the early 20th century, is set to publicly present its LMH prototype at the 6 Hours of Monza in July and is aiming to undergo FIA homologation in October.

It could make its race debut at the season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain before a planned full-time WEC effort in 2024.

“We’re talking about the car’s second outing ever, a test session that proved to be very interesting after [Wednesday’s] rain and track logistics problems,” said Isotta Fraschini motorsport managing director Claudio Berro.

“We rode regularly and this allowed us to do a lot of aerodynamic and electronic checks.

“We’re starting to discover the performance of the car and studying it sector by sector, to understand how to improve it day by day. It was a satisfying test.”

In addition to the activities at Monza, reigning Hypercar world champion Toyota Gazoo Racing is currently at Spa-Francorchamps undertaking its traditional shakedown before the 24 Hours of Le Mans.