After securing their second Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 title at Portimão, Italian squad Iron Lynx also won their first European Le Mans Series title after Matteo Cressoni, Miguel Molina and Rino Mastronardi won the final race of the season in Portugal.
In a highly competitive category, the Italian-Spanish trio took podium finishes at each of the six rounds, with three wins, two seconds and one third place finishes.
Cressoni and Mastronardi also secured a podium at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing third in the LMGTE Am class with 2020 FIA F2 Vice Champion Callum Ilott, who was standing in for Miguel Molina as the Spaniard was competing in the LMGTE Pro category for Ferrari.
The season started at Barcelona. The race started with Rino Mastronardi taking the lead at the start and then having a battle with the sister 488 of Paolo Ruberti.After some hard-fought laps, Miguel Molina brought the no80 Ferrari home to take the chequered flag at his home event.It was also the first ELMS victory for Iron Lynx.
At the Red Bull Ring the team recorded a third-place finish, their worst result of the 2021 season. Matteo Cressoni took the lead at the start but heavy rain halfway through the four race shook up the order and Miguel Molina finished the 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring behind the no88 AF Corse and the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488s.
At Le Castellet the no80 Iron Lynx Ferrari recorded its second victory of the season. The Italian team had to work hard for this win, with Rino Mastronardi only getting into the lead halfway through the race after the early running was made by the no95 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage. Cressoni and then Molina consolidated the lead handed to them by their Italian teammate and Molina took the chequered flag for the second time in 2021.
At Monza and Spa-Francorchamps the team scored back-to-back second place finishes to head into the final race of the season with a 20-point advantage over the no88 AF Corse Ferrari of Alessio Rovera, Francois Perrodo and Emmanuel Collard.
The no80 Iron Lynx Ferrari qualified in a lowly seventh place for the final race of the season but at the start Rino Mastronardi moved rapidly through the field to take the lead on lap 2.
The no80 Ferrari was either leading or at the sharp end of the battle throughout the entire race and Miguel Molina was able to hold off a determined late challenge from Felipe Laser in the no93 Proton Competition Porsche to take the third win of the season and secure the 2021 ELMS LMGTE Driver and Team titles.
CLICK HERE for the 2021 LMGTE Championship Standings
