In the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), the Iron Dames drive a Proton-supported Porsche 911 GT3 R. In the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA SportsCar Championship, they rely on an Iron Lynx-supported Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2.
How do the cars differ? Rahel Frey says the first big difference is not the cars themselves, but the structure of the companies: “If you compare the power of the two manufacturers, Porsche is obviously much ahead, you must not forget that. Lamborghini is a small team, but the Huracan has great potential.”
It is a fast car that loves an aggressive driving style. “We simply have to work on reliability. This aspect plays a fundamental role in endurance racing”, he says, referring especially to the WEC. This was demonstrated, among other things, by the bitter retirement at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in the fight for the lead.
Tyre management is more important than in the DTM, where the Huracan is enjoying a very successful phase. “In the WEC we have five sets of tyres per race, which means you have to do at least a double stint on one tyre.”
The BoP is also organized differently: “We drive with power management via torque sensors.”
Here too, we are not at the starting point yet. “Porsche has more options because it started development earlier. We can make a comparison because we drive both cars.”
In the DTM, SRO has prioritized classification over classic parameters. This gap is difficult to recover in the WEC.
“But we are working hard on it at home,” Frey replies, approving this new torque-sensing technology and appreciating the system: “The data is tracked directly. There is complete and total control.”
Under ELMS fährt Rahel Frey einen Porsche 911 GT3 R
Photo: ELMS/Marcel Wulf
This also affects the driving style: “In the DTM, for example, you can see that many drivers take the kerbs too lightly. We can’t do that.”
This is because curb impacts are a difficult problem for energy management through torque sensors.
“Every time we hit a curb, the driveshaft takes a hit. The sensors recognize this as a spike and reduce the power output to stay within the energy limit. Otherwise, we get a penalty.”
As a driver, you can influence this a lot by driving calmly and engineers are also called into play because they can provide support through many parameters.
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