IRON DAMES VICTORIOUS AT IMOLA

It was a successful weekend for Iron Dames, with LMGT3 success in the European Le Mans Series, a season-best result in the French Rally Championship, and victory in the Longines Global Champions League.

European Le Mans Series

After taking a third consecutive pole position in the European Le Mans Series, Iron Dames stormed to a hard-fought victory in the Four Hours of Imola, with the #85 crew of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey, and Michelle Gatting delivering the team with its second ELMS win after Portimao in 2022.

Sarah, who claimed pole position on Saturday, started the race but unfortunately lost the lead on the opening lap after being overtaken by the #59 Aston Martin Vantage of Derek Deboer. The Belgian remained resilient, however, and quickly reclaimed first position 10 minutes into the race before opening a 12 second advantage.

After losing the lead to the #59 in the pitlane at the end of the first stint, Sarah again fought forward to reclaim first place at the start of the second hour and built up a strong advantage before handing the car over to Rahel with two hours and 25 minutes remaining.

Rahel rejoined the race in fourth but picked off her LMGT3 rivals one by one to retake the lead at the mid-point, but received a 10-second time penalty at the start of the penultimate hour for a Full Course Yellow infringement.

The Swiss racer served this penalty when she entered the pitlane for the final time with 47 minutes remaining. Opting for a strategic fuel-only pitstop, Rahel gave the wheel to Michelle, who set out to seal victory after resuming the race in the lead.

Running with old tyres, however, Michelle faced immense pressure from behind but remained firm, and by fending off countless overtaking attempts from Valentin Hasse Clot in the #59 Aston Martin, sealed a spectacular victory.

As a result of the win, the #85 crew now holds third place in the LMGT3 Standings, only three points adrift of first. The 2024 European Le Mans Series will resume on 25 August with the Four Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

French Rally Championship

In the French Rally Championship, Iron Dame Sarah Rumeau scored the best result of her rally career with fifth overall at Rallye Aveyron Rouergue – Occitanie, eclipsing her previous personal best finish of eighth.

In Round Five of the French Rally Championship, Sarah and her co-driver, Julie Amblard, showed great potential from the off, guiding their Ford Fiesta Rally2 to eighth place overnight in an ultra-competitive field.

In the face of rain on Saturday, Sarah’s pace only improved as she started to rise up the order and sealed a stunning fifth place after setting the second-fastest time on the final stage of the weekend.

To crown a triumphant weekend, the Cannes Stars Powered By Iron Dames secured victory in Monaco to regain the top spot in the Longines Global Champions League. Pink is more fashionable than ever!

With Round Three of the 2024 European Le Mans Series complete, Iron Dames will face a busy week ahead, with nine drivers in action on several fronts around the world.

Sarah, Rahel, and Michelle will head to Brazil for the sixth round of the 2024 World Endurance Championship season, the Six Hours of São Paulo, while Michelin Le Mans Cup drivers, Celia Martin and Karen Gaillard, and the French Rally Championship duo of Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard will make their first appearance at the iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Finally, Doriane Pin will return to the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine alongside Marta Garcia for the fifth round of the 2024 season at Mugello.

I had a good battle with Derek [Deboer] at the start. He took a bit more risk than me, but I managed to find an opening after he made a mistake, and I retook the lead. I was then able to open a bit of a gap, but he got lucky with the Full Course Yellow in his first pitstop. That meant I had to do the job all over again, and I got it done just before another Full Course Yellow. For me, racing is about fighting, and we had a good battle which I really appreciated. Winning on track is the best feeling you can have and I’m super proud of the entire team today. We did the best job we could have done, both on the track, and off it.

Sarah Bovy

Today is a race we can be very proud of because we showed once again that regardless of the circumstances we are in, we always try to do our best. We proved that again today. We didn’t break under immense pressure, and this makes me very proud. The race was very intense from start to finish, but we had a brilliant car to work with and I’m super proud of the entire team.

Rahel Frey

The final stint was incredibly intense, but I got into the zone very quickly and I felt at one with the car. In that situation, it was basically all or nothing and Valentin [Hasse Clot] but a lot of pressure on me. It was difficult at times, but I kept cool, and I knew that I had Sarah and Rahel with me, and the whole team behind me. Winning is such a good feeling, and it gives us the boost we needed this season, especially after a few races which haven’t gone our way.

Michelle Gatting