- Intense week of racing for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Team Iron Lynx
- Road to Le Mans: Two Mercedes-AMG victories in the supporting programme of the 24-hour race
- Christoph Sagemüller: “The Hyperpole result was a ray of hope.”
26 years after the brand with the three-pointed star last raced at Le Mans, Mercedes-AMG returned to the big endurance stage. For the drivers and the Iron Lynx Customer Racing Team, it was a long and intensive week of racing at the Sarthe – with a test day last Sunday, several practice and qualifying sessions during the week and the traditional drivers’ parade on Friday in the centre of Le Mans.
The conditions were made more difficult by a persistent heatwave with temperatures of over 30 degrees throughout the entire week of the event. Iron Lynx entered three Mercedes-AMG LMGT3s in the strong field of participants in the prestigious 24-hour race. A particular highlight was the iconic design of the three LMGT3s – a homage to the legendary Sauber-Mercedes C9 from 1989, when the Silver Arrows clinched a legendary one-two victory.
It was a rollercoaster ride for the Mercedes-AMG race cars
The super challenging endurance classic brought both luck and bad luck for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. In the end, they used the week in Le Mans together with Iron Lynx to gather important data and gain more experience for the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 finished the race in twelfth place, while the #63 crossed the finish line in fifteenth. Unfortunately, the third car with the start number #60 had to retire from the race prematurely.
The Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 got off to a consistently good pace in the practice sessions. Martin Berry (AUS) initially qualified the car in eleventh place, securing the team a place in the Hyperpole. In the decisive session on Thursday evening, 18-year-old Lin Hodenius (NED), who was making his Le Mans debut, initially finished fifth. Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver Maxime Martin (BEL) then showed all his experience and qualified the #61 car in fourth place. Martin underlined his class in the opening stages, immediately making up two places. However, the team lost time during the first driver change and fell back to the rear third of the LMGT3 field. An additional drive-through penalty for an offence under full-course yellow made it difficult to catch up with the leading group. Nevertheless, Maxime Martin, Lin Hodenius and Martin Berry fought their way forward continuously over the distance and ultimately brought the Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 home in twelfth place.
The Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #63 had a less fortunate start to its Le Mans adventure. Stephen Grove (AUS) went off the track during free practice on Wednesday and collided with the barrier. The front of the car was so badly damaged that it was unable to take part in qualifying. The chassis had to be replaced overnight, meaning that the #63 started Saturday’s race from last place on the grid. Due to the limited driving time available to bronze driver Stephen Grove, the race directors imposed a night driving ban on him.
As darkness fell, his son Brenton Grove (AUS) and AMG Driver Luca Stolz (GER) took over the wheel and brought the car safely through the night. The team had to accept a 10-second penalty for dangerous entry into the pit lane about two hours before the end of the race. Brenton Grove had slight contact with another LMGT3 car in the heat of the battle. Ultimately, the drivers brought the car home in 15th place.
The Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #60 faced technical challenges during the event: due to a sudden problem with the fuel system, the car could not be adequately refuelled in qualifying, which led to a premature stop on the track. This ended the session for Andrew Gilbert (GBR), and the driver trio had to tackle the endurance classic from the penultimate position. The race did not go as planned for Gilbert and his teammates Lorcan Hanafin (GBR) and Fran Rueda (ESP) either: after just under four hours, a V-belt broke, damaging an oil line. The Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #60 had to return to the pits for repairs and was able to resume the race about an hour later. However, for safety reasons, the team retired the #60 car shortly afterwards.
>> Race results 24 Hours of Le Mans
Road to Le Mans: Two Mercedes-AMG victories in the supporting programme
The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Teams GetSpeed and Motopark impressed in the GT3 class at the Michelin Le Mans Cup in the supporting programme of the 24 hour race. The series, which comprises a total of six race weekends, made a guest appearance at the Circuit de la Sarthe with two 60-minute races. In the Road to Le Mans race on Thursday evening, Anthony Bartone (USA) and Jans Steve (LUX) from Team GetSpeed – starting from third position – celebrated a commanding victory in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #14.
On Saturday, Lukas Dunner (AUT) and Heiko Neumann (GER) from Team Motopark staged an impressive comeback: Starting from 13th on the grid, the duo fought their way to the front in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 and crossed the finish line in first place. Bartone and Jans, who started Saturday’s race from pole position, secured third place despite a drive-through penalty.
Former tennis player Roger Federer did a few quick laps in the AMG model at Le Mans
Around 332.000 spectators watched the 24-hour race at La Sarthe over the weekend, including tennis legend and Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador Roger Federer (SUI). The 43-year-old took on the honourable role of official starter on Saturday afternoon and gave the race the green light at 4 p.m. sharp. Prior to this, Federer led the traditional President’s Honour Parade together with Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), in a Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance. At midday, the Swiss player had the opportunity to experience real racing feeling as part of the Hot Lap programme: As the co-driver of Yannick Dalmas – former French racing driver and four-time Le Mans winner – he took his place in the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+
Facts and figures
| Circuit de la Sarthe – Length: approx. 13.626 kilometres – Track layout: approx. 9 kilometres originally public road, approx. 4.5 kilometres permanent race track – Number of corners: 38 |
| 24 Heures du Mans 2025: 62 cars – including 21 Hypercars, 17 LMP2 and 24 LMGT3 |
| Le Mans Line-up: #60 Andrew Gilbert (Bronze), Lorcan Hanafin (Silver), Fran Rueda (Silver) #61 Martin Berry (Bronze), Lin Hodenius (Silver), Maxime Martin (Platin) #63 Brenton Grove (Silver), Stephen Grove (Bronze), Luca Stolz (Platin) – The Bronze drivers must each drive in qualifying |
| Starting drivers: #60 Lorcan Hanafin #61 Maxime Martin #63 Luca Stolz |
| Total Laps and Pitstops: #60: DNF after 57 laps // 8 #61: 337 // 35 #63: 334 // 35 |
| Last race for the brand with the star at Le Mans: 1999 |
| First Le Mans start for Iron Lynx: 2020 in the LMGTE Am class |
“The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an impressive event with a unique atmosphere and a great history. Congratulations to Ferrari on their overall victory and to the LMP2 and LMGT3 winners. As far as our sporting result is concerned, I cannot be satisfied. We didn’t come here expecting to win the race, but the result in qualifying was a ray of hope after a difficult start to the FIA WEC and a challenging week leading up to the race. However, the race showed that we were not quite able to match the pace at the front. Nevertheless, our goal was to return to Le Mans with Mercedes-AMG, and we achieved that despite extremely short preparation time and a number of challenges.”
Christoph Sagemüller, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
“First of all, we can be satisfied that we saw the chequered flag without any major incidents. We got off to a good start, but lost time during the first driver change, which set us back significantly. A consistently strong pace is crucial at Le Mans, and that’s what we lacked. We now need to analyse this, draw the right conclusions and come back stronger next year. However, the trend since the season opener in Qatar makes me feel positive overall. I hope that we can take another step closer to the top in the next race in São Paulo.”
Maxime Martin, Iron Lynx #61
“I would like to say a huge thank you to the entire Iron Lynx crew. The fact that they managed to provide us with a car that could race for 24 hours at Le Mans after the accident in practice on Wednesday is absolutely remarkable. It was also very special for Brenton and Stephen to compete in this race together as a father-son duo. I really enjoyed my time here. Le Mans is a mega cool event with so many fans. I would love to come back next year – then with a realistic chance of winning the class.”
Luca Stolz, Iron Lynx #63
[1] The specified values were determined in accordance with the prescribed WLTP (Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure) measurement method. The ranges given refer to the German market. The energy consumption and CO2 emissions of a car depend not only on the efficient utilisation of the fuel or energy source by the car, but also on the driving style and other non-technical factors.
