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Post by jager on Jul 25, 2023 7:21:23 GMT -5
Iron Lynx have had a high profile at Le Mans since the team arrived in 2020 with a three car entry, including a special entry for the all female ‘Iron Dames’. I was keen to add one of their cars, and the opportunity arose to add this car with which they secured a podium position in the GTE AM class in 2021. The ‘Iron Lynx’ came about when racing brothers Andrea and Giacomo Piccini were discussing names for their racing programmes which grew out of a racing driver and coaching school. The thinking behind it was that all of the famous racing brands were linked to an animal, but most of the common ones were already taken. This lead them to the concept of the Lynx, a very fast animal but with very big feet that’s very stable and has a good grip, with excellent long-distance vision. They thought this was the ideal visual for their team, the perfect image of a racing driver – Cool, fast, great vision and great grip. They then looked for something connected to the mechanical world that portrayed a strong image. After a good bottle of wine, they settled on the name "Iron Lynx"! The team appeared at Le Mans in 2020 with a three car Ferrari entry, with the best result coming from the all female ‘Iron Dames’ team in the #85 Ferrari who finished 9th in class. Rino Mastronardi, Matteo Cressoni and Andrea Piccini in the sister #75 Ferrari saw their race come to an end after 211 laps. The following year, Rino Mastronardi and Matteo Cressoni were back at Le Mans in this #80 Ferrari. This time, Andrea Piccini had been replaced by Calum Illot. They qualified 6.5 seconds faster than in 2020, which put them 7th in class and 45th overall on the grid. After six hours of racing the #80 Ferrari was up to 36th position and by the midpoint of the race they were running 32nd and 3rd in class.  Progress was slower in the second half of the race, and #80 Ferrari was only able to inch forward, claiming a handful of positions. By the 18th hour they had moved up to 20th position, before eventually taking the chequered flag in 27th position overall and the final step of the GTE AM podium to give Iron Lynx their best Le Mans result to that point (a result they have subsequently been unable to better in 2022 and 2023).   Car : 2021 #80 Ferrari 488 GTETeam : Iron Lynx Drivers : Matteo Cressoni (ITA)/ Rino Mastronardi (ITA)/ Calum Illot (GBR) Qualifying : 45th Result : 27th (3rd in GTE AM) Model : Looksmart (LSLM130) |
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Post by Tom on Jul 25, 2023 12:43:36 GMT -5
Interesting team and livery, excellent model as we can expect from LS.
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Jul 25, 2023 13:42:08 GMT -5
Very nice looking model, cool livery!  |
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Post by Alfaholic on Jul 25, 2023 22:25:19 GMT -5
Excellent, as is to be expected from a Look Smart 488. I wasn't aware of the story of the Team's name, thanks for the education. Their cars have certainly stood out over the past few years and it is good you had an excuse to add one.
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LM24HRS
Member
Paul - "Collecting Motorsport in Miniature; for the passion and its history".
Posts: 550
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Post by LM24HRS on Jul 26, 2023 2:55:35 GMT -5
Like Martin, I never knew what was behind the Iron Lynx name. Thanks for highlighting. Mind you this one looks more like a zebra.
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Post by reeft1 on Jul 26, 2023 17:32:29 GMT -5
Thats cool
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Post by jager on Jul 26, 2023 18:46:24 GMT -5
Interesting team and livery, excellent model as we can expect from LS. As you say Tom, an excellent model all round, even if it does come at a cost. Very nice looking model, cool livery! I was pleased when they secured a podium finish so I had a reason to add this one Julio. Excellent, as is to be expected from a Look Smart 488. I wasn't aware of the story of the Team's name, thanks for the education. Their cars have certainly stood out over the past few years and it is good you had an excuse to add one. I wasn't aware of the name's background either until I started researching the back story for this car Martin. I think that one of the nice things about this hobby is what you learn along the way. Like Martin, I never knew what was behind the Iron Lynx name. Thanks for highlighting. Mind you this one looks more like a zebra. "Iron Zebras" doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but I'll email it to the team and see what they say Paul! Yes, very! |
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Post by jager on Jul 27, 2023 6:10:46 GMT -5
Continuing on the black theme of the Ferrari above, here’s another black car, his time from the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans. Michael Wainwright is a British businessman and amateur racer who started his racing journey with a Renault Clio Cup in the 24 Hours of Dubai in 2010. By 2012, Wainwright was competing in a McLaren MP4 12-C in the Blancpain Endurance Series, before transitioning to the European Le Mans Series in 2014 and making his Mans debut in 2016. Along the way, Wainwright brought the famous blue and orange ‘Gulf’ colours back to racing and between 2016 and 2019, his team was known as ‘Gulf Racing UK’ and his Le Mans Porsche 911 ran with Gulf sponsorship. However, in 2020, the team parted ways with Gulf, and from 2021 the team was renamed ‘GR Racing’, switching to a simple black livery with orange trim. Throughout his Le Mans campaign, Mike Wainwright has been joined by his long-term partner, Pro driver Ben Barker. While rarely a front-runner, the team secured two 5th placed finishes in 2016 with Adam Carroll and again in 2020 with Andrew Watson through consistent, error free driving. For the 2022 Le Mans, the team’s 2021 third driver Tom Gable was upgraded to a “Gold” driver. As Ben Barker was already Gold-rated, the team needed a silver-rated driver, unfortunately meaning Gamble had to move on. As a result, Italian Riccardo Pera joined the team. After qualifying 7th in class and 46th on the grid, Ben Barker took the start, before handing over the Michael Wainwright, who stayed in the car for two stints. By the time he handed over to Riccardo Pera, the #86 Porsche had dropped down through the field and was running in a lowly 58th position. Pera got the Porsche back up to 54th position, before Wainwright jumped back in the car to complete another two stints, with the Porsche running in 56th position after six hours. Once Wainwright had completed most of his driving time, Barker and Pera set off on a strong recovery drive. Amazingly, by midnight they were running second in class and had the Porsche up to 47th position at the mid-point of the race.  In the eighteenth hour the #86 Porsche was back up to 45th position. Wainwright completed two more stints, and then Barker and Pera ran the final five hours, taking eight places on their way to the chequered flag. As a result, GR Racing took its best-ever Le Mans result, claiming fourth place in GTE AM and 37th overall ahead of the #88 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche with whom it had battled much of the race.   Car : 2022 #86 Porsche 911 (991) RSR Team : GR Racing Drivers : Michael Wainwright (GB)/ Benjamin Barker (GB)/ Ricardo Pera (I) Qualifying : 46th Result : 37th (4th in GTE Am) Model : Spark (S8652) |
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oldirish33
Member
"All Jaguars run on Guinness!"
Posts: 3,333
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Post by oldirish33 on Jul 27, 2023 8:24:36 GMT -5
I like the clean, simple livery. Really sets off the lines of the car. Nice add!
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Jul 27, 2023 10:00:23 GMT -5
That’s a very good looking model, indeed!  |
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Post by Tom on Jul 27, 2023 12:28:31 GMT -5
Not a car that stands out in the field visually, but finishing ahead of the veterans from Dempsey-Proton is quite a feat. I like that it’s not plastered all over with sponsor decals and the model is of the usual high quality.
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Post by reeft1 on Jul 27, 2023 16:49:00 GMT -5
Not a bad looking car for an evo beetle
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Post by Alfaholic on Jul 27, 2023 23:56:38 GMT -5
Not a bad looking car for an evo beetle He, he, he, he.... I must admit I'm usually concentrating on the Proton Porsches when watching WEC races as they are more than likely the ones harassing the 488s! The simple livery works on this one, although I hope they have cleared the papaya orange with McLaren  . |
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Post by jager on Jul 28, 2023 23:45:22 GMT -5
I like the clean, simple livery. Really sets off the lines of the car. Nice add! That was definitely one of the attractions Jerry. I potentially would have added this car from a year earlier if it had secured a better result. That’s a very good looking model, indeed! Exactly as we've come to expect from Spark Julio. Not a car that stands out in the field visually, but finishing ahead of the veterans from Dempsey-Proton is quite a feat. I like that it’s not plastered all over with sponsor decals and the model is of the usual high quality. I have quite a few Dempsey Proton Porsches in my collection Tom, so it was nice to add something a bit different. Not a bad looking car for an evo beetle Put big wheels and a spoiler on just about anything and it will look better Paul. Not a bad looking car for an evo beetle He, he, he, he.... I must admit I'm usually concentrating on the Proton Porsches when watching WEC races as they are more than likely the ones harassing the 488s! The simple livery works on this one, although I hope they have cleared the papaya orange with McLaren . Don't know where the Ferraris were in 2022 Martin, but they weren't harassing anyone in GTE Am. I had to go all the way down to 6th in class just to add one to my collection for last year.
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Post by jager on Jul 29, 2023 22:22:05 GMT -5
If black beetles aren’t your thing, maybe a white version is more to your taste. Weathertech sponsored cars have been appearing at Le Mans since 2016. For the first three years, they cycled through a variety of teams including Proton Competition, Scuderia Corse, Keating Motorsport and JMW Motorsport. However, from 2019 onwards, WeatherTech Racing was formed to run their cars. Throughout their history, the man most closely associated with WeatherTech Racing has been American racing driver Cooper MacNeil, the son of WeatherTech owner David MacNeil. However, Cooper is not just the son of a wealthy businessman and has proven to be a talented amateur racing driver, winning the GTD class at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 hours of Sebring twice and the Petit Le Mans races three times. MacNeil Jnr has also been on podium for the GTE Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, taking two third place finishes in 2017 and 2018 driving a Ferrari 488. However, the team switched to Porsches in 2021 with an unsuccessful crack at the GTE Pro class, before returning to the GTE Am class for 2022 with the car shown here. For 2022, Cooper MacNeil was joined by 2018 Le Mans GTE Am winner Julien Andlauer and Thomas Merrill, a rising star from the US Trans-Am series. They qualified 10th in class, putting them 49th overall. Despite the slow qualifying, they had good race pace and gained eight places in the first hour, which eventually saw them move up to 37th position to be challenging for the class lead in the next hour. They held that lead for much of the first third of the race and after 9 hours of racing had built up a class lead of a minute-and-a-half.  At the halfway point, the #79 WeatherTech Porsche lead the #99 Hardpoint Porsche, followed by two Aston Martins, the #98 Northwest AMR and #33 TF Sport entries. However, in the 14th hour the #79 Porsche had fallen from its class lead to third in GTE Am, half a minute behind the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin which had taken the class lead. In the end, two spins for Thomas Merrill in the #79 Porsche just before the end of the 16th hour and another in the 21st hour allowed the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin to take the class win, with the #79 Weathertech Porsche finishing 2nd in class and 35th overall though still on the same lap as the class winner.   Car : 2022 #79 Porsche 911 (991) RSR Team : WeatherTech Racing Drivers : Julien Andlauer (FRA)/ Cooper MacNeil (USA)/ Thomas Merrill (USA) Qualifying : 49th Result : 35th (2nd in GTE Am) Model : Spark (S8651) |
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