Lamborghini Iron Lynx will conclude its maiden season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with its SC63 LMDh prototype this weekend as the curtain falls on the 2024 campaign with the Petit Le Mans at the iconic Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia.
The #63 crew of Matteo Cairoli, Andrea Caldarelli and Romain Grosjean team up for the final time in 2024 coming off the back of a hugely encouraging penultimate round at Indianapolis where the Lamborghini SC63 fought for an overall podium for much of the six-hour Battle on the Bricks.
Indeed, with Grosjean at the wheel in the early stages of the race, the #63 was one of the fastest cars on the circuit in wet conditions and charged from 10th on the grid to fourth before a long full course caution. After the restart, the SC63 then made superb progress to take the lead from the Penske Porsche, staying there for 10 laps while Cairoli also spent some time at the head of the field.
While performance gains are still required in dry running, the signs have been overwhelmingly positive for the SC63, which is still in its infancy in the US having competed in just three races across the Pond. The Lamborghini Iron Lynx team will be looking to continue its learning process with the car during extended practice running and qualifying ahead of the 10-hour race, the second longest race distance it is set to cover in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
As in Indianapolis, a quartet of Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs are set to do battle for the final time in 2024. In GTD Pro, the #19 Iron Lynx machine returns to a three-driver line-up with Mirko Bortolotti, Jordan Pepper and Franck Perera providing a full factory driver roster. The GTD entry remains the same, with the #83 Iron Dames squad of Rahel Frey, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting returning to the scene of their most successful qualifying performance last year, when Doriane Pin qualified second overall among the GTD Pro and GTD cars.
The Dames were once again forced out of the race in Indianapolis and, like the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti trio of Danny Formal, Kyle Marcelli and Graham Doyle need a strong finish to their campaign. After their sensational GTD victory in the Petit Le Mans last year, the #78 Forte Racing partnership of Devlin DeFrancesco, Loris Spinelli and Misha Goikhberg will look to go back-to-back in Georgia.
Track Description
Located just north of the town of Braselton, the 12-turn 4.088km track is one of the most demanding tracks in endurance racing with a mix of slow-speed technical turns and fast sweeping corners throughout. The challenge already begins at the start of the lap with the compression of turn one heading into the slight rise of turn two, where the car gets light. Then, the downhill famous “esses” section – normally taken flat-out in qualifying trim – takes the cars from turn two all the way to turn five before the slowest corner on the track, turn seven taken in first gear. The back straight is a moment of brief respite and a good chance to pass backmarker traffic while the downhill heavy braking zone of the turn 10a and 10b chicane provides the best overtaking opportunity at the end of the lap. With a capacity grid of 54 cars across four classes (GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD) and very little room for error, concentration and precision will undoubtedly be the key elements to a strong result.
The weekend at a glance
Thursday 10th October
Free Practice 1 (10:40-12:10)
Free Practice 2 (15:20-16:45)
Free Practice 3 (19:30-21:00) – Night Practice
Friday 11th October
Qualifying – GTD/GTD Pro (15:25-15:40)
Qualifying – GTP (16:15-16:30)
Saturday 12th October
Race (12:10-22:10)
