Iron Lynx Takes Victory at Vallelunga in Italian GT Championship

Iron Lynx reconvened with the Italian GT Championship at Vallelunga to contest the penultimate round of the series’ current campaign and the final Endurance event of the category’s 2023 season. In a two-hour race at the Roman venue, the #20 crew of Claudio Schiavoni and Matteo Cressoni delivered a competitive performance. In contrast, the #208 father-son pairing of Luciano and Donovan Privitelio continued to show promise.

After a tight qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, the #20 crew started the race from second in the GT3 Am class, with Claudio taking the wheel for the race’s opening phase. He settled into a consistent rhythm following a hard-fought start and handed over to Matteo after 30 minutes of running.

With his sights set on victory, Matteo dug in to chase after the class-leading #28 Mercedes during his stint. He delivered a clinical performance to overtake Luca Magnoni at the start of the second half. He then set out to build a comfortable advantage over his closest rival, battling his way up to second overall before handing the reins back to Claudio for the closing 30 minutes.

Claudio drove an excellent final stint and displayed a defensive masterclass against the #28 in the final run to the chequered flag to secure victory – a fantastic result, marking Iron Lynx’s first win with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2.

In the ever-competitive GT Cup Am class, Donovan and Luciano displayed a fighting performance in the #208 Iron Lynx entry but were unfortunately forced to retire with a mechanical issue. Despite losing ground at the race’s start, Donovan delivered a strong comeback throughout his first stint to rise to second and handed over to Luciano with 72 minutes remaining.

Luciano rejoined in fifth, maintained his place in the top five throughout his stint, and gave the wheel to Donovan for the final 45 minutes. After a brief off-circuit excursion, Donovan came to a halt 25 minutes from the chequered flag and was forced to retire.

Iron Lynx Team Principal and CEO Andrea Piccini said: “Today’s race is an important result for Iron Lynx and marks our first win with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2. Matteo drove an incredible middle stint, and Claudio displayed impressive defending at the end to take home a deserving victory. The race marked their first time driving the car since Daytona earlier this year. It gave us an invaluable opportunity to continue improving our understanding of the package in preparation for next season. In the #208 car, Donovan and Luciano showed a competitive pace and were unfortunate not to see their performance realised in the final result. I know they’ll come back fighting in the season finale.”