Iron Lynx gives Ilott Le Mans debut
Company press release.
•Young British star to race at 24 Hours of Le Mans
•Ferrari-backed youngster to drive Ferrari 488 GTE in Iron Lynx's 3-car team
•Andrea Piccini will be Team Principal, Sarah Bovy joins Iron Dames squad
Italian racing team Iron Lynx announced today that British racing driver Callum Ilott, Scuderia Ferrari's official Formula 1 test driver, will drive for the team in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race on the weekend of 21/22 August.
Ilott, who is also the test and reserve driver for the Alfa Romeo F1 team, has raced for Iron Lynx in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS at Monza and Paul Ricard so far this season. He will compete again for the team in the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa at the end of the month, plus further GT World Challenge rounds at Barcelona and Nürburgring this year. This experience will serve him well as he prepares for the world's most famous endurance race next month alongside car #80 teammates Rino Mastronardi and Matteo Cressoni.
Iron Lynx will return to Le Mans for a third year in the LM-GTE Am class, with three Ferrari 488 GTEs including their all-female Iron Dames squad, which finished ninth in class in 2020. This year, Belgian Sarah Bovy steps up to the team, joining Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting in car #85. The #60 car will be driven by Italian racers Claudio Schiavoni, Paolo Ruberti and Raffaele Giammaria.
Iron Lynx Team Principal Andrea Piccini, who raced at Le Mans for the team last year and finished second in class at the great race in 2006, will step back from his regular driving duties to focus on directing the team. He commented: 'Callum is a great addition to our driver strength. We have been incredibly impressed with his versatility in making the switch to GT racing with us and are looking forward to working hard together in the coming weeks as we prepare for Le Mans. Equally, we have enjoyed watching Sarah's progress with us in Italian GT Endurance, Michelin Le Mans Cup and FIA World Endurance Championship, so she deserves her opportunity on a bigger stage.' He continued: 'I will naturally miss not driving in the race this year but will be able to concentrate totally on our team. Running Callum at Le Mans further strengthens our relationship with Ferrari and the Ferrari Driver Academy, and since Iron Lynx joined forces with Prema just a few weeks ago, there is a world of opportunities available across all disciplines of racing.'
Callum Ilott added: 'It is a real honour to be chosen to drive for Iron Lynx and Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and an opportunity I just couldn't turn down! There's a great tradition of British drivers doing well there, and I will be aiming to make my own contribution to Le Mans history.'
Iron Lynx will field three Formula 4 entries at this weekend's Italian F4 Championship at Imola, before taking on the 24 Hours of Spa on July 31st/August 1st with a two-car campaign, as the team continues to challenge for honours around Europe.
•Young British star to race at 24 Hours of Le Mans
•Ferrari-backed youngster to drive Ferrari 488 GTE in Iron Lynx's 3-car team
•Andrea Piccini will be Team Principal, Sarah Bovy joins Iron Dames squad
Italian racing team Iron Lynx announced today that British racing driver Callum Ilott, Scuderia Ferrari's official Formula 1 test driver, will drive for the team in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race on the weekend of 21/22 August.
Ilott, who is also the test and reserve driver for the Alfa Romeo F1 team, has raced for Iron Lynx in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS at Monza and Paul Ricard so far this season. He will compete again for the team in the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa at the end of the month, plus further GT World Challenge rounds at Barcelona and Nürburgring this year. This experience will serve him well as he prepares for the world's most famous endurance race next month alongside car #80 teammates Rino Mastronardi and Matteo Cressoni.
Iron Lynx will return to Le Mans for a third year in the LM-GTE Am class, with three Ferrari 488 GTEs including their all-female Iron Dames squad, which finished ninth in class in 2020. This year, Belgian Sarah Bovy steps up to the team, joining Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting in car #85. The #60 car will be driven by Italian racers Claudio Schiavoni, Paolo Ruberti and Raffaele Giammaria.
Iron Lynx Team Principal Andrea Piccini, who raced at Le Mans for the team last year and finished second in class at the great race in 2006, will step back from his regular driving duties to focus on directing the team. He commented: 'Callum is a great addition to our driver strength. We have been incredibly impressed with his versatility in making the switch to GT racing with us and are looking forward to working hard together in the coming weeks as we prepare for Le Mans. Equally, we have enjoyed watching Sarah's progress with us in Italian GT Endurance, Michelin Le Mans Cup and FIA World Endurance Championship, so she deserves her opportunity on a bigger stage.' He continued: 'I will naturally miss not driving in the race this year but will be able to concentrate totally on our team. Running Callum at Le Mans further strengthens our relationship with Ferrari and the Ferrari Driver Academy, and since Iron Lynx joined forces with Prema just a few weeks ago, there is a world of opportunities available across all disciplines of racing.'
Callum Ilott added: 'It is a real honour to be chosen to drive for Iron Lynx and Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and an opportunity I just couldn't turn down! There's a great tradition of British drivers doing well there, and I will be aiming to make my own contribution to Le Mans history.'
Iron Lynx will field three Formula 4 entries at this weekend's Italian F4 Championship at Imola, before taking on the 24 Hours of Spa on July 31st/August 1st with a two-car campaign, as the team continues to challenge for honours around Europe.
