From their best qualifying effort of the IMSA season to showcasing top-five-worthy pace for most of the race, Iron Dames were denied a strong result at the Petit Le Mans by early damage, although their strong performance in the second part of the race provided a glimpse of their potential.
Iron Dames completed the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship with a 13th-place finish at the Motul Petit Le Mans, their fifth event of the season in North America's premier sports car championship.
Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting, and Rahel Frey were back on track Stateside less than a month after the Battle on the Bricks event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where their front-running pace was halted by a brake disc failure that eventually took the team out of contention.
The all-female team has endured a remarkably unfortunate season across multiple championships, including the FIA WEC, ELMS, and IMSA, but they have never stopped striving for improvement. This determination was evident once again at the extremely challenging 10-hour race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, a fast and undulating 4.088 km circuit located in Georgia, US.
From their best qualifying effort of the season to showcasing top-five-worthy pace for most of the race, Iron Dames were only denied a strong result by early damage to the rear diffuser, which required a lengthy pit stop for repairs.
However, all three drivers—starting with a superb Rahel Frey, who brought the car into the top three in her first stint—ran among the fastest in GTD and never gave up, even in the second part of the race when they were running several laps down.
While it wasn't the net result that the team deserved, their performance still represented a significant step forward for the #83 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, which had struggled with reliability issues in previous IMSA rounds. Nevertheless, it was running competitively at the season finale, highlighted by the win in the GTD Pro class by the sister Iron Lynx car.
Iron Dames began the Petit Le Mans event with Sarah Bovy setting the team's best lap in practice 1 with a 1:20.742, before Gatting clocked a 1:20.796 in the second practice session as the team worked on the car's balance and setup.
During Friday's qualifying session, Rahel Frey took on driving duties for Iron Dames. After an early red flag due to a collision between Serra's Ferrari and the #12 Lexus of Thompson, Frey quickly moved into the top ten, ultimately setting a 1:19.209, securing seventh in class.
This was Iron Dames' best qualifying result of the IMSA season, improving on the eighth place that Michelle Gatting achieved at the previous round in Indianapolis, highlighting a steady upward trend for the team.
The final race of the IMSA season, the prestigious Motul Petit Le Mans, took place on a sunny Saturday at Road Atlanta. Rahel Frey took the start from seventh on the grid in the GTD class after Iron Dames' best qualifying performance of the season. Frey had a strong start, quickly moving up to sixth place by capitalizing on battles between the cars ahead and slotting right behind Skeen in the #32 Mercedes.
Frey demonstrated excellent race pace, consistently running at a top-four-worthy speed while putting pressure on Skeen. Her consistent laps kept her within a second of the #32 Mercedes. When the GTD leader in the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes spun into the gravel, bringing out the first safety car just 20 minutes into the competition, the incident promoted Rahel Frey into the top-five positions.
After the restart, Iron Dames made their first pit stop on lap 18, with Frey staying behind the wheel. She rejoined the race in eighth position but soon climbed back up the order: at the green flag, Frey executed several impressive overtakes, moving past competitors like Graham Doyle's WTR Lamborghini and Montecalvo in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus, ultimately reaching sixth place.
Frey continued her charge, overtaking the GTD Pro class Dragonspeed Ferrari driven by Toni Vilander and then setting her sights on Misha Goikhberg’s Forte Racing Lamborghini. In traffic, Frey seized opportunities to pass Goikhberg, remaining cautious yet assertive, before overtaking both the Lamborghini and the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW.
Her experience and racecraft saw the Swiss racer move into third place as Giorgio Sernagiotto pitted from the lead, marking one of her best stints in IMSA this year.
As the race neared the one-hour mark, a significant crash occurred involving Ben Keating in the #2 United Autosport LMP2 car and Tommy Milner in the #4 Corvette. This incident brought out the second safety car of the race. Rahel Frey took the opportunity to pit under caution, handing over the car to Sarah Bovy after her exceptional double stint.
Bovy resumed the race in fourth place and settled into a consistent rhythm. Despite losing positions during her stint, she remained competitive, keeping the Iron Dames within the GTD top ten. She managed to avoid several incidents in the chaotic traffic of Road Atlanta, overtaking Mikael Grenier for ninth place.
However, an off-track moment on lap 75 caused damage to the rear diffuser, which dropped the Iron Dames down to 14th. Despite this setback, Bovy showed determination, regaining positions steadily and climbing back to 11th place. She engaged in a fierce battle with Heriau's AF Corse #21 Ferrari and eventually overtook him, moving back into the top ten.
Bovy also engaged in a heated duel with Graham Doyle, who was later hit by McElrea, forcing Bovy to take evasive action that cost her some positions again.
When the #9 AO Porsche of Julien Andlauer slowed, triggering a wave of pit stops, Iron Dames seized the moment to switch drivers, with Michelle Gatting taking over the #83 Lamborghini.
Gatting faced immediate challenges in the dense traffic, especially dealing with the faster LMP2 cars. A mechanical black flag for tyre operational requirements forced an additional pit stop, pushing the team down to 16th.
Despite being a lap down, Gatting remained focused and overtook Graham Doyle's #45 WTR Lamborghini, advancing to 14th position. With six hours to go, a further accident for the #2 United Autosport Oreca neutralized the race again; during this caution period, the Iron Dames team executed a pit stop for rear splitter repairs, which allowed them to rejoin the race in a more competitive state.
Although the repair cost them several laps, Sarah Bovy returned to the track with renewed pace, setting some of her fastest laps of the race and showcasing top-five speed within the GTD class.
As the race entered its final three hours, Rahel Frey returned to the cockpit, resuming the battle with relentless pace. The sun set over Road Atlanta, and Frey consistent, quick laps and kept the Iron Dames Lamborghini in the mix, despite being seven laps adrift. She expertly navigated through traffic and, with one hour and 40 minutes left on the clock, Frey handed over the controls to Michelle Gatting for the closing stints.
Gatting, now in a good rhythm, pushed hard to claw back positions, setting some of her fastest laps of the race. A late-race incident involving the #10 Acura and other GTD contenders brought out another safety car, giving Gatting the opportunity to advance up to 15th with just under an hour remaining.
In the final stages, Gatting picked up more positions and gained ground on the cars ahead. She managed a flawless restart with just 34 minutes to go, clocking competitive sector times and overtaking a couple cars that had hit trouble in the closing laps. The team's fighting spirit paid off as Iron Dames crossed the finish line in 13th place, completing a challenging race despite setbacks.
The 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans proved to be a roller-coaster race for the all-female team. Despite starting strong and displaying top-five pace throughout various stages of the race, early diffuser damage ultimately hampered their efforts. Yet, the team showcased resilience, with each driver—Rahel Frey, Sarah Bovy, and Michelle Gatting—delivering exceptional stints.
The race capped off a season marked by highs and lows for Iron Dames, beginning with a promising sixth-place finish at the 24 Hours of Daytona and then struggling with a series of misfortunes at Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Indianapolis. Although their IMSA campaign ended on a bittersweet note at Road Atlanta, the strong performance in the latter part of the race provided a glimpse of their potential.
The focus now shifts to the European Le Mans Series season finale at Portimão, Portugal, where Iron Dames will aim to record a successful conclusion of their 2024 season.
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