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Five women at Le Mans: Wadoux makes return, Chadwick to debut at La Sarthe

Writer's picture: RACERSRACERS

Five women are set to tackle the 93rd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours: alongside the WEC full-time entry Iron Dames trio of Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Célia Martin, Lilou Wadoux will return in the LMGT3 class, while Jamie Chadwick will make her Le Mans debut in the LMP2 class.


Madeline Stewart, JDX Racing, Porsche Carrera Cup North America
Photo credits: DPPI/Ferrari Races/Penske Entertainment

The release of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans entry list features the addition of two big names for women in motorsport alongside the highly anticipated Iron Dames all-female team: Ferrari factory driver Lilou Wadoux will return to the legendary endurance classic with the #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, while three-time W Series champion and IndyNXT race winner Jamie Chadwick will make her first ever start at Le Mans aboard the #18 IDEC Sport LMP2 Oreca.


Iron Dames will enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the seventh time - this year in a new line up which features veterans Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey - respectively in their seventh and eighth participations - alongside newcomer Célia Martin, who made her FIA WEC debut last weekend in Qatar, and will be tackling her first ever Le Mans, as the team's new bronze-rated driver. Martin however is no endurance rookie, having raced in four editions of the mighty Nürburgring 24 Hours - where she collected a class win and four class podiums.


The Iron Dames will pilot the #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3, operated by Manthey Racing, as part of their full FIA WEC campaign.


Returning to the iconic 13.626 km-long Circuit de La Sarthe will be two more women - bringing the 2025 total up to five: Lilou Wadoux and Jamie Chadwick.


Wadoux, 23, will be tackling her third Le Mans 24 Hours, having made her debut in 2022 as part of the Richard Mille Racing Team's LMP2 squad, alongside Charles Milesi and Sebastien Ogier. Wadoux completed her first participation with a top ten in class, a remarkable ninth place finish in what was also her first ever season in LMP2.


Wadoux returned to Le Mans in 2023, in her first season as Ferrari factory driver, where she teamed up with Luis Perez Companc and Alessio Rovera in the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. Unfortunately her second participation was marked by a retirement.


Lilou will now partner bronze-rated Custodio Toledo and gold-rated Giacomo Agostini in the #150 Richard Mille AF Corse entry in the LMGT3 class.

The first ever Ferrari factory female driver will contest with the same outfit the European Le Mans Series, while also competing in Japan's premier sports car championship Super GT with PONOS Racing, and entered the opening round of the IMSA Sports Car Championship at Daytona under the banner of AF Corse in the GTD class.


One of the most accomplished female drivers in sports car racing, Wadoux has most recently competed at the highest level of GT competitions in WEC - where she became the first woman to win a race - IMSA, Super GT, GT World Challenge Europe, Intercontinental GT Challenge, ELMS.


Making her debut at Le Mans, Jamie Chadwick will be the only female driver in the prototype classes, as she takes on the new challenge with IDEC Sport, aboard the #18 Oreca.


After three consecutive titles in the all-female W Series, Chadwick graduated to IndyNXT in 2023, in her first racing season Stateside. The British talent quickly progressed over her rookie season, and eventually made a big step forward in her sophomore campaign, where she collected her first podiums, pole position and race win in Indycar's top feeder series.


Chadwick, who also scored a podium in Formula Regional European Championship and race wins in the Asian F3 championship, will be contesting her first season in prototype racing in European Le Mans Series - however is also no stranger to endurance competitions, having raced - and won in class - in two editions of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, and won in class in the 24 Hours of Silverstone. Before her switch to single seaters, in fact, Chadwick made headlines when she became the youngest British GT champion, claiming the 2015 GT4 class title.


The 93rd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is scheduled for 14 June, as round 4 of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The grid will feature sixty-two cars: 21 Hypercars, 17 LMP2s and 24 LMGT3s. 


Photo credits: DPPI
Photo credits: DPPI

 
 

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