Iron Dames

The Iron Dames are an Italian-Swiss auto racing and equestrian team founded by French businesswoman Deborah Mayer.^[1] They are based in Zug, Switzerland, and primarily participate in sports car racing. They are a subsidiary of the DC Racing Solutions parent company, which runs motorsport teams Prema Racing and Iron Lynx.^[2][3]

Iron Dames was founded in 2018 by Deborah Mayer with the goal of supporting and promoting women in motorsport. Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Manuela Gostner became the projects' first drivers, competing in the 12 Hours of Dubai and placing second in the GT3 Pro-Am class (ninth overall).^[4]

The team made their debut in the European Le Mans Series, racing under the Kessel Racing name.^[5]

In the European Le Mans Series, the #83 “Iron Dames” car placed 4th and the #60 "Iron Lynx" placed 6th, with both entries standing on the podium twice over the season. In the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #83 placed 9th in class, and the #60 placed 13th in class.

2020 marked the first year of the team competing under the Iron Lynx name. In the European Le Mans Series they fielded the trio of Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Manuela Gostner for the #83 entry. Gatting and team owner Deborah Mayer teamed up for the Le Mans Cup, the first all-female pairing in the series, and were joined by reigning champions Giacomo Piccini and Rino Mastronardi.^[6] The team entered the Ferrari Challenge Europe for two rounds, under the name Iron Lynx – Scuderia Niki Hasler. Michelle Gatting competed in the Pro class, while Claudio Schiavoni competed in the Pro-Am class.^[7]

The team entered a car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the all-female line-up of Frey, Gatting, and Gostner, who placed 9th in the LMGTE Am class.

Former W Series driver Esmee Hawkey was announced alongside Frey and Gatting to contest the 2021 European Le Mans Series in the LMGTE class, however the Briton was fired before the first round after her manager Mark Blundell was discovered to have provided the incorrect licence grading to the team.^[8] Hawkey was initially replaced with Gostner before fellow W Series outcast Sarah Bovy finished the season after making her debut with the team in the Le Mans Cup. On November 20, 2021, Michelle Gatting became the first female champion of the Ferrari Challenge.^[9][10][11]

The team and Iron Lynx signed Maya Weug to compete in the 2021 Italian F4 Championship.^[12] Weug had a successful debut season with three podiums and finished the season 7th in the championship.

On January 12, 2022, the Iron Dames announced that they would enter in the GTE Am class of the World Endurance Championship for 2022. They ran the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, with Rahel Frey in the #85 Iron Dames entry.^[13] The Iron Dames began racing under their own license, fielding a team of Frey, Gatting, and Sarah Bovy in WEC, ELMS, and GTWC Europe Gold Cup.^[14] The team began supporting drivers in F4 and karting, with Maya Weug representing the team and entering select ADAC F4 rounds, as well as a full season in Italian F4 alongside Ivan Domingues and Nicola Lacorte.^[15]

They entered a car in the LMGTE category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a best finish of 7th in class for the #85 Iron Dames car.^[16] Sarah Bovy became the first woman to claim a pole position in WEC history, qualifying first at both Monza and Bahrain.^[17][18] Three podiums in the series helped the Iron Dames clinch third place in the GTE Am category.^[19] The Iron Dames finished the GTWS Europe season in second in the Gold Cup, with a class victory at the 24 Hours of Spa and a pole position at the final race in Barcelona.^[20] In the European Le Mans Series, the #85 took a class victory, and eventually finished third in the LMGTE teams championship.^[21] Doriane Pin took a dominant victory in the Ferrari Challenge, winning nine of fourteen races, with thirteen podiums, ten pole positions, and eleven fastest laps.^[22]

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.^[23]

For 2024, Iron Lynx became the de facto Lamborghini factory team in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship – Iron Lynx campaigned a single Lamborghini SC63 in the Hypercar, whilst both programs fielded one Huracán GT3 Evo2 each in the LMGT3 class. Bovy and Gatting were retained, with Gatting promoted to Gold status, whilst Frey (demoted to Silver) was replaced with Pin – the Swiss saw her driving duties reduced as she took on a greater role within team management.^[24]

Frey returned to the driving line-up after Pin suffered broken ribs in a cycling accident before Spa.^[25]

Following a troublesome campaign for both entries in WEC, Iron Lynx and Lamborghini terminated their partnership at seasons' end.^[26]

For 2024, the team entered into the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship with drivers Doriane Pin and Marta García. The team finished eleventh in the teams' championship.

For 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.^[27] The partnership scored one top-five finish in both tarmac and gravel disciplines and finished in the top-five of the Asphalt championship.

For 2025, the Iron Dames supported sixteen drivers across endurance, single-seater, rally and karting competitions.^[28]

Following Iron Lynx' manufacturer split at the end of 2024, the Iron Dames project aligned with Porsche for the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, partnering with Manthey Racing to campaign a 992-edition 911 GT3 R.^[29] This coincided with Porsche hiring Gatting as a factory driver.^[30][31]

The team expanded their rally program for 2025, with Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard joining the WRC2 Championship and continuing in the French Rally Championship having upgraded to Rally2 machinery.^[32]

In September 2023, Iron Dames announced an expansion into the world of equestrian sports, acquiring Global Champions Tour team Cannes Stars to compete in the show jumping discipline for the 2024 season.^[33][34]

For 2025, Iron Dames Equestrian doubled the size of their squad by acquiring the Monaco Comets outfit.^[35]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

† Shared results with other team

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† Did not finish the race, but was classified.

† Ineligible to score points.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

• Iron Dames' official website