The 2023 European Le Mans Series Championship started off with the 4 hours of Barcelona, as
Matteo Cairoli raced in the LM GTE class behind the wheel of Iron Lynx’s Porsche 911 RSR. The
first round of the championship on the Spanish track saw the driver from Como finish in fourth, with the Italian team just eight seconds off the podium after a great comeback during the race.
Cairoli was part of a fully Italian crew together with Matteo Cressoni and Claudio Schiavoni, with
both drivers already part of Iron Lynx’s endurance programme in the past few seasons. Schiavoni
was the one who took part in qualifying, which saw the 62-year-old finish in eleventh place in the
LM GTE Class.
Thanks to Schiavoni’s good start and a great middle stint from Cressoni, Cairoli got in the car as
Iron Lynx found themselves in fifth place in their category. The driver from Como immediately
showed his pace, gaining on Spirit Of Race’s David Perel who found himself in fourth; Cairoli then
overtook his rival in the Ferrari, climbing up to fourth place – which Cairoli held on to until the end
of the race, gaining on JMW Motorsport’s third place but ultimately never getting close enough to
attempt an overtake. A controlled, well-driven race for Iron Lynx and their drivers, who maximised
the result and brought home valuable points to start the season off in the best way possible.
After the first weekend in Barcelona, Matteo Cairoli will be back in the European Le Mans Series
for the 4 hours of Le Castellet, with the second round of the season scheduled to take place from
the 14 th to the 16 th July.
Matteo Cairoli
“I’m very happy with the final result. The LM GTE class always has a very competitive field, and
after qualifying we did well to climb back up and finish just outside of the podium places. My
teammates did a great job in the first few hours of the race, and when I got in the car I gave it my
all as I always do, because I knew that we could get a good result. A big thanks to the team, who
gave us a very quick car, and we hope to back this performance up in the next race around Paul
Ricard”.
