At the 4 Hours of Imola, the third round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series, Matteo Cairoli dreamed of a podium finish until the final minutes of the race, before a penalty dashed his dreams of glory. After a long run in the top three, the Como native had to settle for fourth place in his home race, still achieving his best result of the season after the unfortunate races in Barcelona and Le Castellet. Over the weekend at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Matteo once again took to the wheel of the #9 Iron Lynx – Proton Oreca 07, competing in the LMP2 class, sharing the wheel with Jonas Ried and Macéo Capietto.
During free practice, the crew began to familiarize themselves with a track characterized by scorching temperatures, with asphalt temperatures reaching 60°C. The Iron Lynx – Proton car finished both sessions in the top five; however, conditions changed dramatically before qualifying, with a heavy downpour delaying the start of official practice by over an hour. Capietto took the lead in qualifying, and with the track continuing to dry until the end of the session, the Frenchman managed to secure a solid third place on his final lap.
As usual, the initial phase of the race saw Ried take control of the car. The German was able to quickly move into second place at the first braking point; during the first stint, he then slipped to fifth place, but remained close to the leading group. An accident involving four cars forced the marshals to display the red flag at the end of the first half hour of the race, but after a 20-minute interruption, rain arrived at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari at the restart. Ried did well to maintain high concentration, bringing the car back to the pits after an hour and a half of racing in fifth place. Matteo then took his place in the #9 Oreca 07, attempting to quickly adapt to a slippery and difficult-to-manage track.
Despite the difficult conditions, the Como native demonstrated his true worth, being among the fastest on the track and recovering to second place once the pit stops were completed. Cairoli then completed his effort with 70 minutes to go, with Capietto finding himself in third place at the start of the final hour of the race. Unfortunately, a drive-through penalty handed out to the Frenchman with just 15 minutes to go for a violation committed under the virtual safety car put an end to Cairoli’s dreams of glory. The #9 car thus slipped off the podium, finishing the 4 Hours of Imola in fourth place.
Despite the bitter end to the race, this was the best result of the season for the Iron Lynx – Proton crew, who scored points for the first time in 2025, moving up to tenth in the standings. The next round of the European Le Mans Series will be held in Belgium, with the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps scheduled after the summer break on August 24th.
Matteo Cairoli
“It was a really tough weekend, with conditions changing dramatically over the course of the weekend. I’m clearly disappointed by the penalty that prevented us from finishing on the podium, a result we fully deserved given our performance. We still scored important championship points, and racing with the cheering of our fans here in Imola was incredible. I’m grateful to the team and my teammates for the work they did over the weekend, and I’m sure the next race at Spa will bring us great satisfaction.”
