Those Magnificent Women in Their Flying Machines

Five women entered Le Mans this year, with debutants Lilou Wadoux and Doriane Pin bringing the number of women to have entered The Great Race in its 100-year history to 66. This means that not only would you not be able to fill this year’s grid with all the women who have ever entered Le Mans – you couldn’t even fill LMP2. If this statistic was a racing team it would be Andrea Moda because at some point you can’t help but think someone is doing this on purpose. Thankfully, it appears that progress is being made thanks to programmes such as the Iron Dames, and sportscar racing’s newfound popularity in general, meaning more seats are available and more of those seats are being filled by women. Yes, it’s true that 2020 and ‘21 had 6 drivers, as a result of the Richard Mille Racing team choosing to run an all-female team of Flörsch, Calderón, and Visser, but I believe the 5 drivers this year are indicative of a brighter future.

There was only one closed garage that had a queue for photos on the post-race track walk – The Iron Dames. (The garage wasn’t closed because they’d retired, but because their box was near the podium, and they didn’t want to be interrupted by the crowds of people watching the ceremonies). Their successes in ELMS and Ferrari Challenge Europe in recent years, along with their appearances in WEC and IMSA this year, have meant an explosion in their visibility and popularity. They’ve also performed a dark-arts ritual for gaining popularity and success previously employed by Ferrari’s F1 team in the 80s and 90s, Peugeot’s Group B squad, and the French military in the late 1850s – obtaining the services of a small French person.

Doriane Pin is very quick behind the wheel of a racecar. Seemingly any racecar. After dominating the Ferrari Challenge Europe series last year with Iron Dames in partnership with Scuderia Niki Hasler, winning 9/14 races and only finishing off of the podium once (in 4^th). She’s debuted in the WEC in LMP2 at the age of 19 with a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 programme in IMSA and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. Her WEC debut wasn’t bad debut at all – with her and her Prema teammates Mirko Birtolotti and Daniil Kvyat finishing 3^rd at the first round at Sebring leading that race and the next race at Portimao. The results haven’t quite been what she would want this year – with luck seeming to conspire against them at every turn so far this year (and I’m writing this mere hours after she crashed on her third lap in the car during the 24 Hours of Spa) but the speed is clear and present (she set the car’s fastest lap on her second lap).

Her future seems very bright no matter where she races when LMP2 disappears from the WEC at the end of the year– her two PREMA teammates are already signed on to the Lamborghini Hypercar next year and she definitely has a shot at that seat – but even if Prema and Iron Lynx opt for more experience and she’s forced to look elsewhere all evidence suggests she will excel. She’s a young driver progressing quickly up the ranks, but at the moment she appears to have the speed to stay ahead of the hype train.

Now, with all of this eulogising of Doriane, it seems strange to say that the Iron Dames have found their greatest success so far this year in the one series in which she doesn’t drive for them, but such is racing. The Iron Dames, the name for the all-female Iron Lynx squad, is run by former racing driver and current head of the FIA’s Women In Motorsport commission Deborah Mayer and currently has them undertaking GT races in IMSA, WEC, and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (rolls off the tongue…). Their drivers Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Sarah Bovy (with Doriane joining them for the races which require 4 drivers) starting off with a bang by beating Keating to pole at the Sebring race meeting and following it up with a podium at the next round at Portimao.

After their 4^th place at Le Mans, agonisingly close to a podium and having led much of the race, they sit 3^rd in the GTE Am Championship, albeit that Corvette Racing have 133 points to 2^nd place ORT by TF’s 59 points and the Dames’ 56. Heading into Monza and the second half of the season, they’ll be hoping they go one better than their two seconds places last year and take their first WEC victory in their Porsche 911 RSR, while every race in their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in IMSA gains them experience and understanding ahead of its use in WEC next year following their switch to GT3.

No matter their results this season, the future looks good for the Iron Dames. Iron Lynx are partnering with Prema to run the Lamborghini LMDh programme and will be the factory Lamborghini GT3 team in WEC, so we could see the Dames running full cars in both categories in the next few years. They’re also beginning to nurture their own young talents, with 15-year old Natalia Granada joining the Dames this year and receiving karting mentorship them, as well as 2022 ‘FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars’ winner Zoe Florescu Potolea receiving mentorship from Gatting as well, thanks to Mayer heading both projects. This doesn’t just help the Iron Dames, but racing in general, as the more women get into motorsport the deeper the talent and richer the racing community becomes.

But the 5^th women to drive in this year’s Le Mans 24 has no association to the Iron Dames, instead with the manufacturer they have just left – Ferrari. Lilou Wadoux drives for the Richard Mille AF Corse team alongside Luis Pérez Companc and Alessio Rovera. Together, they’ve either finished 1^st, 2^nd, or retired and so became the first women to win in WEC ever when she took to the top step at Spa. If they can finish races in the second half of the year, they can definitely challenge for the top spots in the GTE Am championship. Plus, with AF Corse running the Ferrari Hypercar programme, and Wadoux herself the first female Ferrari factory driver, there is every possibility we could see her in a 499P in years to come.

So, the current women in WEC are a strong foundation and every success they achieve will only inspire more young girls to get into motorsport (as long as WEC publicise it!) -things are looking good. But, obviously, 5 women in a full-time grid of 114 drivers is not good enough and with the WEC dropping LMP2 next year the transition from GT3 to Prototypes will be more difficult for all drivers, unless they run dual programmes in ELMS or IMSA, there is still work to be done to ensure these current steps are built upon and women are given the opportunities their talents deserve in all classes. All in all, girls rock.