Iron Dames becomes the first all-female line-up to take victory at TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.
Iron Dames becomes first all-female line-up to take victory at TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.
Today (august 1st 2022), Italian racing team, Iron Lynx, has once again made history, with the Iron Dames becoming the first all-female line up to take victory in the GT era of the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.
Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Doriane Pin scored a significant win in the Gold Cup category, finishing three laps ahead of their nearest rival, meaning the Dames are now leading their championship class.
Starting eleventh place in class, the #83 machine gradually carved through the field, taking the lead in the middle of the night, with 18-year old Doriane helping build an impressive lead during the first ever night stint of her racing career.
After managing to avoid the incident and drama throughout the race, the experience of Sarah, Michelle and Rahel, with the help of Doriane, managed to gain 32 places overall and win dominantly.
In the Pro class category, it was the #71 car driven by Antonio Fuoco, Davide Rigon, and Daniel Serra that showed strong and consistent pace throughout to achieve a hard-fought podium in third place, gaining six places from their starting position. The team also took crucial points in the six- and twelve-hour intervals to help their cause in the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup championship.
James Calado, Nicklas Nielsen, and Miguel Molina guided the #51 car to ninth place, even briefly leading in the early hours of the morning. After starting in eleventh place, a gain of two places brings some points for the team that finished runner-up at the last race in Paul Ricard last month.
Iron Dames Project Founder, Deborah Mayer, said: “This is an historic moment for the Iron Dames. They have achieved yet another milestone for women in motorsport and this is something I am very happy about.
“This unprecedented victory shows the evolution and development of the project. We race to inspire and demonstrate further that hard work allows you to achieve your dreams.
“Dedication, professionalism, an amazing team and a lot of passion are the key ingredients to success. I would like to thank the drivers and the whole team for this extraordinary achievement.”
Iron Lynx Team Principal, Andrea Piccini, said: “Today it is a very important day for women in motorsport. Everyone here at the team are so proud of the Iron Dames and what they have achieved. Scoring their first victory as a team at 24 Hours of Spa, they made history and can now push on and progress even further.
“The girls drove very well without making mistakes and always had a great race pace. In particular, we were surprised by Doriane, who at her first experience in a 24h race managed the pressure well, even at night.
“The engineers and mechanics didn’t miss a beat during the race, and made all the right choices in terms of strategy and executing a series of exceptional pit stops.”
“Antonio, Daniel, and Davide fought very hard to take an overall podium, and it helps with our fight in the championship. We returned here this year after taking the win last year, and we remained in the fight for most of the race, so we can be very happy with the result.
“The #51 car of James, Miguel, and Nicklas also showed race winning speed through the race, and they were in the fight at the front through the majority of the race. The team will take positives from this and keep pushing with both cars as we continue this fight for the title.”
The GT World Challenge Endurance Cup continues at the 3 Hours of Hockenheim on 4th September 2022.
