IRON DAMES MARKS ALMS DEBUT WITH CHARGING RACES

Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Célia Martin took to the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, in the Porsche 911 GT3 R for the debut of the Iron Dames in the highly-competitive Asian Le Mans Series.

In Qualifying for the 4 Hours of Sepang, Célia Martin placed 21st in GT Class for Race 1 and 20th in GT Class for Race 2. Following this, Célia was ready to push and extract the maximum out of the car. 

Race 1: 4 Hours of Sepang

The Iron Dames made a great start to the weekend, going from 21st to 13th in a display of their ability and potential.

Iron Dames debuted in the Asian Le Mans Series on Saturday for the first race of the double-header. Lining up on the grid in 21st for the team’s debut, Célia was the first of the drivers to take to the wheel of car #85, the Porsche 911 GT3 R. As well as being her first time driving in the ALMS, this marked Célia’s first race as part of the core Iron Dames team following her introduction into the programme earlier this year.

The opening stages of the race were intercut by several Safety Car periods and flags. On Lap 12, under the Virtual Safety Car, Célia came in for a quick pit stop, where car #85 was refuelled and had a new set of tyres fitted. 

Though the opening stint was challenging, Célia did an excellent job of staying out of incidents and, in doing so, made up four places. In what was Célia’s first GT3 endurance race, with a hugely competitive field, she demonstrated her talent and made a promising start.

The team opted to pit again during a VSC period, coming in for fuel, tyres and a driver change. Célia handed the reins over to Sarah Bovy for Sarah’s first race following the announcement that she is now a Silver-graded driver.

During Sarah’s strong stint, she did an amazing job in gaining places and joining the battle for a position in the top 10. 

With just over an hour to go, the team made a full pitstop and a final driver change. Now, it was Michelle Gatting’s turn to take the wheel. In her first race following the announcement that she is a contracted Porsche driver, Michelle gave it her all and was on the charge to climb through the grid. 

When the chequered flag fell, the team was classified in 13th in the GT class and were looking forward to Sunday for Race 2. 

Race 2: 4 Hours of Sepang

Continuing their remarkable journey in Malaysia, the Iron Dames had an excellent race in which they climbed from 20th to seventh, showcasing the skill of this new line-up.

Lining up 20th in the GT Class, Célia made an outstanding start to Race 2, gaining six places on the opening lap. Doing well to avoid early-race incidents, Célia had climbed to 12th by Lap 4. 

Dark rain clouds loomed over the circuit during the early stages. An hour into the race, on Lap 26, rain began to hit the track. 

The team’s first pit stop came on Lap 29, with Célia handing the wheel over to Sarah Bovy following an impressive stint in hot and humid Malaysian weather conditions. 

In the early laps of her stint, Sarah’s strong performance enabled her to climb four positions, running in ninth by Lap 35. At the midway point, with two hours to go, Sarah had made up more places and was running in sixth.

Due to weather conditions, certain parts of the track had spray, and significant rain continued to come down with roughly one hour to go. The changing conditions showcased the incredible strategy management of Sarah and the team who gained positions throughout the race. 

Pitting from fourth after an excellent drive, Sarah handed over to Michelle for the final stint.  

Shortly after, a Red Flag came out as a result of treacherous weather conditions. The race finished under the Red Flag due to a lack of improvement, meaning the Iron Dames finished seventh in GT, scoring valuable points. 

Concluding the weekend, the historic debut of the Iron Dames marked an opportunity for our incredible drivers to continue to spread their inspirational messages globally to other women pursuing their own dreams around the world.

The positive impact of the Iron Dames will continue with the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series on February 8 and 9 for the 4 Hours of Dubai.

This is the end of our first race weekend in the Asian Le Mans series. I think there are a lot of positives to take out of it. The first race was very difficult for different reasons, in terms of strategy and incidents. In the second race, the weather made it tricky. At the end of the day, we climbed up the ranking in both races, especially on Sunday when we started P20 and ended P7. It was a really good effort from all the team. We could see that the drivers improved their performance throughout the week. It’s looking very good for the rest of the championship. We cannot wait to be in Dubai next year.

SARAH BOVY

It is over unfortunately under a Red Flag, so I think we lost some chances to be close to a podium, but that is racing and we can learn from it. I made a good start and climbed positions, but I struggled a lot with the heat so this is something to work on in the future. I’m happy that Sarah took over and did an amazing job, especially in tricky conditions when the rain came. She made some great calls. Unfortunately, Michelle couldn’t race due to the Red Flag which was a shame, but this is racing. We’ll be ready for the next one.

CÉLIA MARTIN