Racing Ferrari GTEs in 2023 ‘Not Possible’ for Iron Lynx

Iron Lynx team principal Andrea Piccini has ruled out the possibility that the team could campaign Ferrari machinery for one more season as it works to remain on the FIA World Endurance Championship GTE-Am grid in 2023 following its Lamborghini deal.

The Italian squad announced a switch to Lamborghini GT3 machinery as part of the new partnership between the two parties that sees Iron Lynx become the official manufacturer team for its LMDh effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship beginning in 2024.

While Iron Lynx will be able to run the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in various GT3 series next year, GT3 machinery will not be eligible in the WEC until 2024.

That leaves the team with a one-year gap to bridge in both WEC and the European Le Mans Series, but Piccini is adamant that the team will not race the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for that additional year.

It’s understood that Iron Lynx is looking at alternatives to remain in the GTE ranks next year.

“Of course we are fully committed with Lamborghini as a team, so it is not going to be possible to stay where we’ve been until now,” Piccini said.

“There’s an idea to try and stay somehow in the WEC, which we are working out. Because it is important for us to keep working on this championship because rules are changing for next year.

“For example, there will be no tire heaters anymore. So to continue to gain experience to be ready to run in 2024 the LMDh and also come back with the GT3 at Le Mans is important.

“We are working on something. For sure, we are not going to stay where we are and we will know more in the next months. But there is an idea to somehow stay in the WEC.”

Paddock rumors have suggested that Iron Lynx could be working towards a partnership with Proton Competition, which would see it run the Porsche 911 RSR-19 for the final year of that car’s lifespan.

Matteo Cressoni, as well as Iron Dames drivers Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy, tested a Proton-operated Porsche at Portimao following the conclusion of the European Le Mans Series season at the Portuguese venue.

Piccini confirmed that a test outing between the two parties took place, but downplayed the significance of that test.

“We have done some testing here, also with Porsche,” he said.

“This was mostly because Christian Ried is a good friend of us. We wanted to try the car for a long time, so we took the occasions as we were here testing. We will see.”