The Iron Dames still want to be protagonists in the FIA World Endurance Championship, which will open the new era of the LMGT3 Class in 2024.
Winners of the last event of last season in Bahrain, the Iron Lynx girls are preparing to face their first adventure in the series with Lamborghini, which they began to discover during 2023.
Doriane Pin will take Rahel Frey's place in the crew of the Huracán GT3 EVO2 shared with Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy; The latter took part in the meeting with journalists, including Motorsport.com, without hiding her ambitions.
“We are very excited for the new season, with Doriane joining me and Michelle in the lineup. One of the best things is the calendar, there are some beautiful and crazy tracks, rich in history, on which we can't wait to go”, says the always smiling Belgian, who in the last week went with her teammates to Sebring to carry out the final tests before flying to Qatar.
“The preparation is going very well, the fact of having a team dedicated entirely to the GT3 program will make everything much easier, as engineers and mechanics will be able to concentrate better on the same car.”
“During the year we will also continue in other activities with different brands, apparently we like to complicate our lives a little! But joking aside, we are very excited and a lot of work awaits us, and we can't wait to be in Qatar”.
#83 Iron Dames, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2: Sarah Bovy, Doriane Pin, Michelle Gatting
Photo by: Iron Lynx
In the WEC the long-awaited victory finally arrived at the wheel of the Porsche GTE in the last race of the past season, while settling in behind the wheel of the Lamborghini took longer as the car from Sant'Agata Bolognese was decidedly different from the others.
“Last year was not an easy season, but the good results obtained gave us the motivation and the desire to do more. We fought for the podium until the end and we know that you can never relax in a competition like that of the WEC”.
“In 2024 there will be a new category, with teams, drivers and brands making their debut, so we have no idea now how we might fare. We will have to wait for the first laps in Qatar to understand, the only thing we can count on is the mutual knowledge between us, the preparation we do and the capabilities of the team”.
“We have to approach the season with this mentality because there are some very strong cars entered, as well as driver lineups that will make life difficult for us. We know we are competitive as demonstrated in the past, we have to start from here.”
#83 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2: Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy, Doriane Pin
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
Bovy breathed a sigh of relief over the winter as it looked set to upgrade to the Silver licence; by asking for a review in the FIA, for 2024 it once again obtained confirmation among the Bronze, which will allow it to still be part of the World Championship.
But as the 34-year-old from Liège explains, in LMGT3 we will above all see the experience of those who have been driving this type of car for a long time, and that a type of license is not always a reliable identity card to reflect the real value of the driver.
“I'm happy that the Bronze drivers are still allowed in the WEC, I myself am and it's nice to be in a championship that I see a bit like the Olympics of motorsport. Unfortunately, not all series we can race in, so it's nice that this allows it to pilots with various types of experience”.
“There are some who have ambitions to become professionals, others who perhaps started late or didn't have enough funding in their career; there are various reasons why someone may have the Bronze license, which puts you in a position caught between 'to be judged good or bad when you race in a World Championship.”
“Personally I have been racing in this championship for a few years and I have seen that the dividing line is very thin. I have had some good battles in both the WEC and ELMS, as well as other series, against drivers from different licenses; I have noticed that there are some Bronzes which can be even better than the PROs, the level grows more and more every year, the battle is always alive until the end and I'm happy that it can be like this this year too.”
“I believe that the solution of having a lineup with Bronze-Silver-Gold/Platinum can keep the battles open until the end, with the Bronzes getting ever closer to the best and the cars becoming a little easier to drive for everyone” .
“I hope that the Bronzes continue to be part of this world, we all know that motorsport is very expensive and there is always a need to find economic support somewhere.”
“There are teams that alone cannot afford to participate at these levels, so they are looking for private drivers to help enter the cars. We are aware that the rules of the game in this world are like this.”
“Personally I have already seen all the new Bronzes in the championship and I can't wait to fight against them in Qualifying and at the start of the races; for me they are all drivers and that's it, without making any distinctions according to their level, and I will fight at same way against anyone who comes before me.”
#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR – 19: Sarah Bovy
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
The other big news concerns the entry list, which has risen to 18 cars from 9 different brands, balanced by a Balance of Performance which, together with the skills of the various crews, will guarantee very hard-fought and uncertain races.
“Having many different manufacturers fighting both for the championship and at Le Mans in the two categories allows us to attract more enthusiasts and fans. It's a very positive thing for our sport, I experienced it before becoming a driver, when I was a simple fans, so I understand how exciting it can be to be part of this new era of endurance racing.”
“There are more and more people who follow the races and us drivers, also due to the diversification of the grid. Many brands represent an additional challenge for the teams and crews, with a BoP that we will have to learn to manage depending on the track. Some of these are new for everyone, others we have never faced with the current GT3s and with these regulations.”
“I think the BoP will make everything very balanced and it will be even more tiring to always be consistent. The team and drivers who manage to always be in the Top5 could be rewarded at the end of the season”.
#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR – 19: Sarah Bovy
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Finally, there will also be a lot of fun with the Qualifying, with the new format that will see the best 10 compete in the Hyperpole; from this point of view, Bovy has always been one with a very heavy and enviable foot, and by maintaining the Bronze classification she will once again be able to put on a show in the timed trials. And not only…
“My teammates hate me, since in recent years it has always been my turn to qualify! But joking aside, in 2023 I fought a lot against Ben Keating and I expect there will be a close fight in 2024 too.”
“Having also raced in the GT World Challenge, I have noticed that the Bronzes are always much more in contention for the top in ELMS and in the WEC, and this year many really strong ones have arrived. I expect good and hard-fought Qualifying, but let's remember which is just the first step of a race weekend.”
“You gain 1 point for the championship, but a Pole doesn't have a big impact on the result at the checkered flag, so I will try to continue having fun and enjoying Qualifying, always trying to give my best. But I don't think it will be easy at all. , so I will try to be ready to reward the trust of my team.”
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