Lynn to Miss Monza, Silverstone in Formula E Clash

R-Motorsport driver Alex Lynn says he is “gutted” to miss the first two Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup rounds of the season owing to a clash with his new Formula E commitments.

The Brit was confirmed as part of R-Motorsport’s expanded lineup with the new-for-2019 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in February.

He was set to join Jake Dennis and Marvin Kirchhoefer in one of two full-season Pro entries for the five-race Endurance Cup.

However, he will now only compete at Paul Ricard, Spa and Barcelona, with Nicki Thiim drawn in as a replacement driver for the Monza and Silverstone races.

“I’m gutted not to be doing the first two races actually,” Lynn told Sportscar365. “I wanted to fight for the championship, that was the goal with R-Motorsport.

“Now, I’ll aim to make sure Marvin and Jake are well supported for their push in the No. 76 Aston Martin.

“My ambition is to win at Spa and to assist the guys for the title. I will be back for Ricard and will start my season there. The team will do a great job this season, I have no doubt.”

Sportscar365 has learned that fellow Aston Martin works driver Thiim has been drafted in for the races on April 14 and May 12.

The Dane drove for R-Motorsport in Blancpain GT last year, joining Dennis and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the No. 76 car which scored two pole positions and won at Silverstone.

“Due to Alex Lynn‘s commitment to Formula E we knew that we had to replace him for the Monza and Silverstone rounds of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup rounds,” said R-Motorsport team principal Dr. Florian Kamelger in a statement provided to Sportscar365.

“With Nicki Thiim we have a capable replacement. Nicki drove for us last season and was one of the winners in our Aston Martin V12 GT3 in Silverstone last year.

“He has already gained a lot of race experience with the Aston Martin Vantage V8 and is familiar with the R-Motorsport team.

“He will be an asset to our outfit in the first two rounds of the Endurance Cup.” 

Lynn’s clash has arisen due to his new Formula E deal with Panasonic Jaguar Racing, announced on Thursday, as a replacement for Nelson Piquet Jr. for the rest of the season.

The Blancpain GT rounds at Monza and Silverstone fall on the same weekends as the Rome and Monaco Formula E races.

With Formula E races on Saturday and both qualifying and the race on Sunday for Blancpain GT, double duty between the two is possible and has been achieved before, including by Maro Engel at Silverstone and Berlin last year.

The chance of reigning Blancpain GT champion Raffaele Marciello competing at both Monza and Rome on April 13-14 has gone, with GEOX Dragon choosing Max Guenther instead of the Italian for the Formula E race.

Sam Smith contributed to this report.