Iron Lynx will take off from the 12th, 13th, and 18th spots on the grid for the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In qualifying, the team produced a strong qualifying effort, with the 61 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 managing to secure immediate access to the first Hyperpole session and the 62 car joining it after a competitor was disqualified for a technical infringement.
For Martin Berry, this marked his second consecutive Hyperpole-making appearance at Le Mans following his positive 2025 debut, while Abdulla Al-Khelaifi led Team Qatar by Iron Lynx to a historic result. Relatively new to the pinnacle of endurance racing, Qatar has successfully made its grand entrance on the world stage, earning its place among the best competitors in endurance racing.
After the solid form achieved in Qualifying, the team was back competing in an extremely tight Hyperpole 1 session, featuring the top-15 cars in the field from the day before. Lining up behind the wheel of the 62 car, Julian Hanses posted a solid lap time to take P12, and while he didn’t manage the top ten, he was only fractionally away from the cut, missing it by one tenth of a second. Al-Khelaifi and Hanses will compete with Giuliano Alesi, who joined the team as the Platinum-rated driver and will make his first start in his home country’s marquee event.
Angolan Rui Andrade set the 13th fastest lap of Hyperpole 1. He was also extremely close to the pack in front in a session where minor hiccups or variables can make for several positions gained. Andrade and Berry will be relying on a fast and experienced teammate like Mercedes-AMG Performance driver Maxime Martin.
The 79 car, shared by Johannes Zelger, Matteo Cressoni and Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver Lin Hodenius will take off from P18 in the great race. Zelger had a remarkable session, lining up as a Le Mans rookie. The Italian made up several spots from his position early and eventually vaulted into the top-20, grabbing a promising starting position for twice-around-the-clock race.
As a next step, the world-famous Le Mans Drivers’ Parade will bring the combinations through a stellar drive between the city streets and hundreds of thousands of fans on Friday. A well-deserved night of rest will then pave the way for the excitement of Race Day, with the start set for its traditional 16:00 slot.
Andrea Piccini – Team Principal & CEO: “I think we can be satisfied with what we achieved, having two cars into Hyperpole and seeing Johannes produce such a strong pace in Qualifying. We would have obviously liked to be into the top-10 and to take part into Hyperpole 2, but we stay focused on our race pace and execution, which can make a huge difference over 24 hours. We have found a good operating window for our cars, and now we have to work on executing together. We look forward to the start!”
Maxime Martin – Driver, Car 61: “We ended up 13th in the Hyperpole 1 session, which isn’t a bad result overall. However, qualifying doesn’t have the greatest importance in a 24-hour race, and I think we can have a strong race pace. It’s what we focused on during free practice, and we will see what will happen after Saturday.”
Julian Hanses – Driver, Car 62: “It’s been a special moment for me, not many people can say that they have qualified at Le Mans, and to do it in a Hyperpole session makes it even more special. I didn’t manage to achieve Hyperpole 2 in the end, but I was happy with my performance. I improved and learned a lot about myself and my driving, and maybe in the future I will do something different to be even faster. This is the highest level of motorsport and a few hundredths of a second can make the difference, with multiple cars covered by a tenth. We need to push to the absolute limit and this is what we are here for.”
Abdulla Al-Khelaifi – Driver, Car 62: “It was a very very tight qualifying session. I’m honestly very very happy for the team and I really wanted them to have their chance to do Hyperpole. Just to compete in Le Mans is a historical achievement for Team Qatar, but to go to Hyperpole it’s an even greater extra and I’m really happy about it.”
RACE DETAILS
Drivers car 61 LMGT3: Martin Berry (B) – Rui Andrade (S) – Maxime Martin (P)
Drivers car #%62 LMGT3: Abdulla Al-Khelaifi (B) – Julian Hanses (S) – Giuliano Alesi (G)
Drivers car 79 LMGT3: Johannes Zelger (B) – Matteo Cressoni (S) – Lin Hodenus (S)
