Iron Dames

Did You Know?

• Sarah Bovy became the first woman to claim a pole position in WEC history, qualifying first at both Monza and Bahrain in 2022.
• In April 2026, Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard won the Rallye Terre des Causses, the first victory in the series by a female driver since 1986.

Motorsport history

Deborah Mayer launched the Iron Dames project in 2018 to advance women in motorsport. Its first driver lineup featured Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Manuela Gostner. They entered the 12 Hours of Dubai, finishing second in the GT3 Pro-Am class and ninth overall. The team then debuted in the European Le Mans Series under the Kessel Racing banner. That season, the #83 Iron Dames car took fourth place, while the #60 Iron Lynx car placed sixth; both cars stood on the podium twice. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #83 finished ninth in its class, and the #60 finished 13th. In 2020, the team began competing as Iron Lynx. For the European Le Mans Series, they fielded Frey, Gatting, and Gostner in the #83 entry. Gatting and team owner Deborah Mayer formed the first all-female pairing in the Le Mans Cup, joined by reigning champions Giacomo Piccini and Rino Mastronardi. The team also entered two rounds of the Ferrari Challenge Europe under the name Iron Lynx – Scuderia Niki Hasler, with Gatting racing in the Pro class and Claudio Schiavoni in the Pro-Am class. An all-female lineup of Frey, Gatting, and Gostner drove at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, placing ninth in the LMGTE Am class. For the 2021 European Le Mans Series, former W Series driver Esmee Hawkey was announced alongside Frey and Gatting in the LMGTE class. However, Hawkey was dismissed before the first round after her manager, Mark Blundell, was found to have given the team incorrect licence grading. Gostner initially replaced Hawkey, then fellow W Series driver Sarah Bovy completed the season after debuting with the team in the Le Mans Cup. On November 20, 2021, Michelle Gatting became the first female champion of the Ferrari Challenge. The team and Iron Lynx also signed Maya Weug to compete in the 2021 Italian F4 Championship. Weug had a strong debut season, earning three podiums and finishing seventh in the championship. On January 12, 2022, the Iron Dames announced they would enter the GTE Am class of the World Endurance Championship for 2022, running the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo with Rahel Frey in the #85 entry. The team fielded Frey, Gatting, and Sarah Bovy in WEC, ELMS, and GTWC Europe Gold Cup. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #85 Iron Dames car achieved a best finish of 7th in class. Sarah Bovy became the first woman to claim a pole position in WEC history, qualifying first at both Monza and Bahrain. Three podiums helped the Iron Dames clinch third place in the GTE Am category. In GTWS Europe, they finished second in the Gold Cup with a class victory at the 24 Hours of Spa and a pole at Barcelona. In the European Le Mans Series, the #85 took a class victory and finished third in the LMGTE teams championship. Doriane Pin won the Ferrari Challenge dominantly, taking nine of fourteen races with thirteen podiums, ten pole positions, and eleven fastest laps. At the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain, Iron Dames became the final LM GTE class race winning team in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Their drivers – Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting, and Rahel Frey – became the first all-female lineup to win an FIA WEC race. For 2024, Iron Lynx became the de facto Lamborghini factory team in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, campaigning a single Lamborghini SC63 in Hypercar and one Huracán GT3 Evo2 each in LMGT3. Bovy and Gatting were retained, with Gatting promoted to Gold status, while Frey (demoted to Silver) was replaced with Pin. Frey returned to the driving line-up after Pin suffered broken ribs in a cycling accident before Spa. Following a troublesome campaign, Iron Lynx and Lamborghini terminated their partnership at seasons' end. The team also entered the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship with drivers Doriane Pin and Marta García, finishing eleventh in the teams' championship. In 2024, the Iron Dames expanded into rallying: Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard participated in the Rally4 class of the French Rally Championship with Sarrazin Motorsport, scoring one top-five finish in both tarmac and gravel disciplines and finishing in the top-five of the Asphalt championship. For 2025, the Iron Dames supported sixteen drivers across endurance, single-seater, rally, and karting competitions. Following Iron Lynx' manufacturer split, the project aligned with Porsche for the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, partnering with Manthey Racing to campaign a 992-edition 911 GT3 R. Porsche also hired Gatting as a factory driver. The team expanded their rally program, with Rumeau and Amblard joining the WRC2 Championship and continuing in the French Rally Championship having upgraded to Rally2 machinery. In November 2025, the Iron Dames confirmed they would be exiting from the World Endurance Championship in 2026. The team also did not enter a car in the IMSA Championship or the European Le Mans Series. Team founder Deborah Mayer stated that the project would be moving towards a mixed-gender approach by supporting individual drivers. The Iron Dames entered a car piloted by Sarah Bovy and Laura van den Hengel into the GT2 European Series. In April, Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard won the Rallye Terre des Causses, their first victory and the first victory in the series by a female driver since 1986.