Iron Dames’s Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy and Rahel Frey on the podium after winning the 8 hours of Bahrain. Photo credit: Iron Dames via Twitter.
As the 2023 World Endurance Championship came to an end with the 8 hours of Bahrain, the Iron Dames finished their series with their first ever win. Making history as the first ever class win by an all-female line up, the win also brought a close to the era of the LMGTE AM class.
The team came into the weekend in second place in the overall standings. A small lead of just 6 points over the AF Corse in third place overall meant that a good result was essential if they wanted to secure second place in the championship.
A strong effort by Sarah Bovy put the #85 car in pole position for the race on Sunday having clocked in the fastest lap in qualifying the day before. The result gave the Iron Dames their third pole of the season, tying with championship leaders Corvette Racing for most poles in the season. Crucially for the team’s battle for second, the pole position also gave an extra point, extending the gap to third to 7 points.
As with any endurance race, the advantage achieved from obtaining pole is minimal to the ultimate race result. This is a fact the Iron Dames know all too well. Across the previous 18 races in the last 3 years, the team took 4 pole positions but were unable to convert any of them to a win. The closest the team came was in the 6 Hours of Monza in 2022 where the team started on pole but came 2nd, missing out on the desired win. The work to ensure a win would have to come in the 8 hour long race.
As the race start got underway, Sarah Bovy again took the reins, navigating an incident-packed first corner to ensure the car kept out of trouble. Given the hot temperatures, tyre management was crucial. The team’s sister car the Iron Lynx #60 overtook for the lead in the early stages but Bovy nursed the tires well to maintain second place prior to handing over to Michelle Gatting for the mid stage of the race. Gatting continued Bovy’s management and composure, maintaining the gap and position.
Following a final stint by Bovy, Rahel Frey took to the #85 car for the first time in the race. By now, the Iron Lynx #60 car had been able to develop a significant lead given the use of silver driver Matteo Cressoni and gold driver Alessio Picariello as their bronze driver, Claudio Schiavoni, was unwell at the start of the race. Unfortunately, Schiavoni was unable to recover in time for the Iron Lynx team to meet the mandatory bronze driver time and the car was forced to retire.
The retirement promoted the Iron Dames into the class lead but with over 2 hours of the race still to go, the top spot on the podium was still all to play for. Michelle Gatting returned to complete the final stint of the race. The car had good pace and continued tyre management as the race approached the final stages. As teams underwent their final pit stops, the Iron Dames returned to racing with just a 1.2 second lead and found themselves under immense pressure from the D’Station Aston Martin #777. Gatting’s composure prevented a late-stage heartbreak as she resisted pressure to stabilise the gap before building it further.
Crossing the finish line 5.5 seconds ahead of second place, the team took their first ever win in the Championship and cemented their place in history to become the first all female line up to take a class win in the World Endurance Championship. Bovy, Frey and Gatting also became the final winners of the LMGTE AM which is set to be replaced by the GT3 category next year.
Heading into history with a final win! ❤️ Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey topped the podium for @IronDames_ for the first time in @FIAWEC in the very last GTE race. A huge congratulations to the team and all our #PorscheCustomerRacing teams that competed – we couldn’t… pic.twitter.com/oa23ROxQXj
— Porsche.CustomerRacing (@Customer_Racing) November 4, 2023
The win comes as the Iron Dames have begun to expand their reach beyond the world of racing. The Iron Dames collection, the team’s line of merchandise, is set to release on November 6th while it was announced in September that the project would also expand with an equestrian team.
No official announcement has been made regarding the Iron Dames return in 2024 but the team and drivers have teased there is more to come with announcements expected within the next few months.
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