GREAT PODIUM FINISH FOR THE IRON DAMES TO ROUND OUT 2024 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES SEASON

The Iron Dames completed their season on the European Le Mans Series bill with an exhilarating event at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Racing across the three championships on the programme, there was promising speed shown from each of the six Iron Dames throughout the weekend in ELMS, Michelin Le Mans Cup and the Ligier European Series.

European Le Mans Series

The #85 trio entered the final round in an intense championship contest with nine teams in mathematical contention for the title. After their season of extreme highs and lows, the team could take the title only with a strong result and other teams’ scores going their way.

Sarah was on formidable form by the time Qualifying came around. The Belgian ace stormed to her fourth pole position of the season by a comfortable margin over the rest of the opposition with a time of 1 minute 42.408 seconds, also earning a critical championship point in the process and putting the #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the strongest position for the four-hour race ahead.

This set the theme of the opening half of the race as well. Despite several Safety Cars and Full Course Yellows, cars spinning or shedding parts in front of her, Sarah was able to open up a useful advantage to the cars behind before handing over to Rahel.

Rahel did a fine job of managing the gap to the cars behind as the strategies started to shake out, before another Virtual Safety Car with around an hour to go. The entire LMGT3 field pitted, including the Iron Dames with Michelle behind the wheel to the chequered flag.

The field was bunched for the run to the finish. Michelle kept the pack behind until the final moments of the intense race, which featured more Full Course Yellow periods. With second, the team moved up the order to fourth in the standings in the ultra-close championship, just a single point away from the top three.

Michelin Le Mans Cup

Karen Gaillard and Celia Martin completed their first season with the Iron Dames in the Michelin Le Mans Cup in Portugal with promising pace in a very disrupted weekend. Qualifying was shortened due to barrier damage, leaving the #83 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 fifth on the grid.
 
Celia started the car and ran very well at the start, picking up a place in and around multiple race interruptions. Shortly before the pitstop window opened, there was a long Safety Car and the entire field pitted. Karen was behind the wheel to the flag until the end.
 
She battled hard against the opposition in and around more interruptions but dropped a few positions and finished seventh at the race’s conclusion under Full Course Yellow conditions.

Ligier European Series

After a schedule clash for the previous round, Marta García was back behind the wheel of the #85 Iron Dames by M Sport JS2 R for the finale and she picked up where she left off at Spa-Francorchamps.
 
Marta qualified third for both races. The first race did not go the way of the Spanish driver, despite the strong pace. After losing out at the start, her recovery was halted after contact forced her into the gravel and requiring assistance to recover. After making it to third early on, she dropped a lap and could only manage seventh.
 
Race two also did not entirely go Marta’s way, but her steely resolve was without question. She was into second early on, before contact with the #31 sent her into a spin and down a position. Despite that, she regained the lost ground, passed the #31 for the lead and built a sizeable advantage which was nullified by a Safety Car. She had no issues on the restart and controlled the gap at the front to round out her partial season with a dominant second win.

Testing opportunities for the Iron Dames

For some of the Iron Dames, they will continue to be very busy over the coming days. At the ELMS test on Sunday after the event, Celia, Marta and Karen will all be behind the wheel for a run in the Porsche.
 
Marta will also be in action in the FIA Formula E World Championship’s all-woman test on 7 November at Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia with the Porsche factory outfit, the team which took the Drivers’ Championship last season.
 
These tests highlight the progression opportunities for the Iron Dames drivers across a number of motorsport disciplines including on the top level of the European and world stages.