First race and first win for the Iron Lynx-run Ferrari 488 GTE in the European Le Mans Series, crewed by Rino Mastronardi, Matteo Cressoni and Miguel Molina. Also on the Catalan podium was the Spirit of Race team Ferrari with Duncan Cameron, Matthew Griffin and David Perel, which crossed the finish-line in third position.
The challenge. The success in GTE class for Mastronardi, Cressoni and Molina on the Barcelona track came after a head-to-head with the #77 Porsche, with Ferrari managing to grab the lead immediately after the Safety Car had exited the track, having been deployed due to an accident in the early stages of the race. Mastronardi handled the task of the first stint and remained behind the wheel until the 37th lap before handing over the controls to Cressoni. The concluding stretch was left to Molina, who took the Ferrari 488 GTE right through to the chequered flag.
The tussle with the #77 Porsche also involved another Iron Lynx car, the #60 Ferrari with Claudio Schiavoni at the wheel. The two cars bashed and bumped in a very closely-fought battle, but the Porsche managed to defend the second position and hold out until the finish-line. The #60 crew, which also included Paolo Ruberti and Giorgio Sernagiotto, eventually went on to place fifth.
Meanwhile, the remaining step of the podium was occupied by the #55 Ferrari belonging to Spirit of Race with Cameron, Griffin and Perel rotating the driving chores in a masterful display. The third Iron Lynx team car, featuring the all-female crew made up of Michelle Gatting, Manuela Gostner and Rahel Frey, missed out on the podium by a whisker. The latter was entrusted with the final sprint: the Swiss driver picked off position after position to ascend from seventh to fourth place. Seventh place, in the end, went to the #66 Ferrari driven by Jody Fannin, Andrea Fontana and Rodrigo Sales for the JMW Motorsport team.
Next round. The second date of the European Le Mans Series is scheduled for May 15 and 16 in Austria at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.