IRON DAMES COMPETE FOR THE TOP SPOTS IN FIERCE FIA WEC 6 HOURS OF FUJI

The Iron Dames FIA WEC trio of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting showed pure determination and rapid speed once more in the penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji Speedway, but their efforts yielded fifth place on a day where silverware was very much a possibility.

The spectacular Mount Fuji overlooks the Fuji Speedway, and set a remarkable backdrop for the penultimate round of the season. For qualifying, Sarah took the Lamborghini Huracán LMGT3 Evo 2 into Hyperpole, and followed that up with securing fourth on the grid with a time of 1 minute 41.265 seconds.

The Belgian ace held her position at the start of the race and gained a spot after the United Autosport McLarens in front made contact with each other. She held a gap of a handful of seconds to the leading TF Sport Corvette until a Virtual Safety Car prompted a change in strategy.

Sarah handed over to Rahel, and in and around pitstops, was sat firmly in the top six. She made a move on the #59 McLaren to take the lead, but the McLaren benefitted from a short Full Course Yellow. The Iron Dames at this point were in contention for at least a podium finish.

Michelle took the wheel for the final two stints. Unfortunately, a second Virtual Safety Car allowed the Iron Dames’ rivals to benefit from a pitstop, resetting the strategy and dropping the magenta Lamborghini down to seventh. When the race resumed for the final 90 minutes, her time in the car was spent mostly in an exhilarating battle with the #31 BMW and the #78 Lexus.

Determined, and with fresh tyres for the run to the flag, Michelle pushed on and raced up to fifth. Despite cutting the gap to the leader by half in the final part of the race, and re-passing the #59 McLaren, the Iron Dames once more missed out on a podium finish due to poor luck.

Irrespective of the result, the trio had shown a great performance between them and all proved once more that they can race at the very front of the LMGT3 field.

In addition to racing at the track, the Iron Dames have built a special bond with Japan over the years. This connection continues to strengthen with each visit. The team has earned a loyal and passionate fanbase in the country, with supporters always eager to cheer them on both on and off the track in the most unique ways.

This year, the team further deepened their relationship by embracing a Japanese tradition – taking on the climb of Mount Fuji ahead of the race. The climb was not just a tribute to the awe-inspiring landscape that framed their race at Fuji Speedway, but also a way to bringing them closer to the heart of Japanese culture and people. The enthusiasm of the Japanese fans has become a driving force, fuelling their determination to push even harder.

We had a lot of action today. We saw a lot of overtaking, a lot of incidents, it was super interesting to drive and I hope also to watch. For us, we had a steady race, we finished in the top five which is important for us to collect points and I’m very happy. We all delivered a very good performance, Sarah, Michelle myself and the team. The pitstops were all very reliable. So all in all in terms of the performance we can be happy.

Rahel Frey