Despite strong pace in both races, Iron Dames endured a challenging weekend in Dubai's second Asian Le Mans Series round, with a fuel issue costing them a top-10 finish in Race 1 and an early incident in Race 2 forcing them four laps down, while still displaying strong teamwork and improving synergy within the new lineup.
Iron Dames endured a challenging third and fourth rounds of the 2025 Asian Le Mans Series at Dubai Autodrome, where the all-female team, in its second outing in the series, secured a best finish of 15th in Saturday's race.
Célia Martin, Sarah Bovy, and Michelle Gatting had the pace to run within the top 10 in both races but were denied by a fuelling issue in the closing minutes of Race 1, while a first-lap incident took them out of contention in Race 2—despite a brilliant effort by the team's mechanics that got the car back on track after quick repairs.
In Saturday’s race, the trio climbed into the top 10, recovering from 14th on the grid thanks to solid stints by Martin—who had limited driving time due to a lengthy red flag—and Bovy, before Gatting cemented a 10th-place position in the final hour. Unfortunately, a fuelling issue forced the team to make an extra pit stop with just five minutes remaining, dropping them to 15th place.
Martin then found herself caught in a chaotic first-lap incident in Race 2, with no way to avoid a spinning car ahead. After quick repairs to the front of the #85 Porsche, the team rejoined the race four laps down. Despite the setback, the three drivers never gave up, pushing to the chequered flag with strong pace, ultimately finishing 23rd.
Iron Dames returned to the Asian Le Mans Series after making their debut in the championship at the Sepang season opener, where they secured a best result of seventh place in Race 2. The Malaysian round also marked the debut of the new driver lineup, with Célia Martin stepping in as the main bronze-rated driver, alongside Sarah Bovy—now taking on a new role as the team's silver-rated driver—and Michelle Gatting.
The all-female team made significant progress in Sepang, gaining several positions in both races. After qualifying 21st for the opening race, they climbed to P13 and then secured a first top-10 finish from 20th on the grid in Race 2, demonstrating strong teamwork and improving synergy within the new lineup.
While Bovy and Gatting—teaming up with Karen Gaillard and Rahel Frey—contested the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January, Célia Martin returned to the cockpit for the second Asian Le Mans Series double-header, held at Dubai Autodrome.
The team worked tirelessly from pre-event testing through the practice sessions, experimenting with different setup solutions and adapting to the evolving track conditions.
In the first official practice session, Michelle Gatting ran the pink Porsche to 18th on the timing sheets, with a best lap of 2:00.223. In FP2, Sarah Bovy and Célia Martin took over, with Bovy posting a 2:01.705, placing the Iron Dames machine 25th in a highly competitive GT3 field.
As is often the case with the team’s strategy, practice sessions focused on finding car balance and race pace rather than outright speed, with Célia Martin then tasked with qualifying on Saturday morning.
Célia Martin, continuing to progress in her first season as part of the main Iron Dames lineup, took on qualifying duties on a sandy and low-grip track, in a 28-car GT3 field.
The 15-minute session determined the grid for both races, with second-fastest lap times setting the order for Sunday’s race.
Martin initially placed P14 on her first representative lap but quickly improved. With three minutes remaining, she jumped to P7 with a 1:59.742 but still needed a strong second lap for Race 2.
A crash by the #82 AF Corse Ferrari in the final minute brought out the red flag, thus ending the session prematurely. As a result, Dustin Blattner’s #74 Ferrari secured double pole position, ahead of the #81 Winward Mercedes and the #28 AF Corse Ferrari.
Nevertheless Célia Martin had managed to post good laps and would start P11 in Race 1 as the first car outside the top 10 and P14 in Race 2, in a commendable effort for the Frenchwoman.
RACE 1
Célia Martin started the race as she lined up on the sixth row. Before the lights even went out, she gained one position as the #28 AF Corse Ferrari entered the pit lane on the formation lap. The race went green, but chaos erupted in LMP3 at Turn 1, with several cars spinning and the GT3 field forced to take evasive action.
Martin navigated the mayhem well, and completing the first lap in 13th, battling elbows-out with the #92 Manthey Porsche. She settled into a strong rhythm, chasing Ryan Hardwick, and set a 2:01.6 that made for a solid pace in the early stages.
When the Optimum McLaren of Morgan Tillbrook encountered issues and dropped down the order, Martin moved up to 12th. Caught in a large pack of cars, she found herself stuck behind slower LMP3 traffic; as LMP2 cars approached, the traffic became trickier, but Martin held her pace and stayed close behind the Manthey Porsche.
Despite being overtaken by Reema Juffali on Lap 16, Martin regained P11 by Lap 20 when Juffali served a drive-through penalty for track limits.
One hour into the race, the Safety Car was deployed after the #8 Dragon Racing Ferrari hit the barriers at Turn 6. A few laps later, the race was red-flagged for barrier repairs. Several cars had already pitted or received penalties for track limits, but Martin had kept it clean throughout the first hour. By the time the race was neutralized, she had moved up to seventh in class.
After a full hour under red flag conditions, the race restarted behind the Safety Car with two hours to go. As soon as green flag waved, most teams pitted; Martin came in from sixth, handing over the #85 pink Porsche to Sarah Bovy. A quick stop allowed Bovy to retain seventh place.
Back on track, Bovy ran solidly in the top 10, continuing the momentum despite Martin’s stint being cut short by the red flag. Bovy soon had to defend against Riccardo Pera’s Manthey Porsche; while Pera eventually got past, Bovy maintained a healthy gap to the cars behind.
She set a 2:01.0 early in her stint and soon broke under the 2:01 barrier, posting a 2:00.7—marking the #85 car’s best lap of the race up to that point.
A fierce battle between Matteo Cressoni and Riccardo Pera allowed Bovy to close back in.
She continued a steady run but couldn’t quite keep pace with the Porsches ahead and had to fend off Sbirrazzuoli’s AF Corse Ferrari. By Lap 50, the Belgian driver was running in P9.
A collision between the #55 and #81 Ferraris at the final corner brought out a Full Course Yellow to clear debris. Despite running on older tyres, Bovy maintained strong pace in the 2:02s. As the race approached the three-hour mark, the #28 AF Corse Ferrari pitted, gaining Bovy another position.
Bovy delivered an especially strong final segment of her stint, extending her run while others pitted, briefly climbing to fourth before handing the car over to Michelle Gatting.
Gold-rated Gatting rejoined in 11th and immediately set the car’s new best lap with a 2:00.112, pushing to break back into the top 10. She was faster than Alessio Picariello and steadily closed the gap to the Proton Porsche ahead. Both were also catching the #2 Climax Racing Mercedes, with Gatting proving the fastest of the trio with 30 minutes to go.
Despite navigating heavy prototype traffic, Gatting made a spectacular move around the outside of Seppänen to break into the top 10 with 23 minutes remaining. She then set her sights again on the #60 Proton Porsche ahead.
With just seven minutes left, however, Gatting was forced to pit unexpectedly, dropping out of the top 10 and falling to 15th due to a fuelling issue that hampered the Iron Dames’ efforts in the closing laps.
After an unfortunate third round, Iron Dames crossed the line in P15, in a frustrating end to what had been a promising race.
RACE 2
On Sunday morning, a sunny and warm Dubai hosted the fourth round of the 2025 Asian Le Mans Series. Célia Martin started P13 in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche, aiming to bounce back from Saturday’s result.
Martin was immediately in the thick of midfield battles but dropped to 15th. Heading down the back straight in a tightly packed group, she was unfortunately involved in unavoidable contact and had to return to the pits with significant front-end damage.
Iron Dames’ mechanics worked quickly to assess and repair the damage; despite the severity, they managed an impressive turnaround, sending Martin back out on lap 6—though now four laps down.
The race went back to green on lap 10 after a Safety Car period. Running four laps down, Martin lapped competitively in the 2:02s, now aiming to maximize track time.
Despite the lap deficit, Martin overtook several cars and displayed strong pace. She continued to collect valuable mileage, managing traffic well—an important experience for the rest of her racing commitments this year.
Even on worn tyres, she posted personal best sector times an hour into the race, in a highly positive stint despite the early setback. After 1 hour and 22 minutes, Martin pitted on lap 31 for her first scheduled stop, taking on fresh tyres and refueling.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed shortly after for debris, eventually turning into a full Safety Car period. More GT3 cars pitted for driver changes after completing their bronze-driver time. Martin, now running 24th, remained on track within the main pack.
When the race resumed, she set a new personal best lap of 2:01.389, continuing to manage her race well. She was one of the few bronze-rated drivers still in the car at this stage, making the most of crucial track time.
Another VSC was deployed when the #35 Ultimate LMP3 car of Leonardo Colavita stopped at the final corner. Iron Dames took advantage of the neutralization to pit for their first driver change, with Martin completing her first double-stint and handing over to Sarah Bovy with 1 hour and 26 minutes remaining, from 24th in class.
Bovy rejoined in P23 and effectively began her stint under racing conditions with 1 hour and 5 minutes to go. Shortly after the restart, she overtook the QMMF by Herberth Porsche of Al Ali for position, climbing to P22 on lap 70. She wasted no time, setting the team’s new fastest lap of the race with a 2:00.690.
Bovy held her own against a field filled with gold- and platinum-rated drivers, showing impressive consistency. Unfortunately, she was handed a drive-through penalty for track limits, dropping the team back to P23.
After 1 hour and 2 minutes in the car, Bovy pitted again, handing the #85 Porsche over to Michelle Gatting for the final stint. Gatting quickly improved on her teammates’ best lap times, posting a 2:00.241—several tenths faster than the #46 Porsche ahead, though it remained nearly a minute up the road.
Gatting completed 15 laps in her shortened stint, with six of those in the 2:00s range—proof that the team had once again the potential for a top-10 finish.
Despite the tough result, the race provided a valuable opportunity for the Iron Dames to continue working as a team and gather important mileage ahead of their next commitments.
Next up are the final rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series in just one week, this time at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
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