Karen Gaillard makes debut in Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe with learning weekend at Valencia

Karen Gaillard made her Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car debut at the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe round in Valencia, where the Iron Dame focused on gaining experience and learning the car ahead of her main programme in Carrera Cup France.

Photo credits: Iron Dames

Karen Gaillard made her Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car debut at the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe round in Valencia, Spain, where the Iron Dame focused on gaining experience and learning the car.

Gaillard, 23, joined the groundbreaking all-female team in 2024, making her GT3 debut in the Michelin Le Mans Cup. She had an impressive season of development, finishing sixth in the championship with two top-five finishes and a podium to her name, sharing the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 with bronze-rated Célia Martin.

The Swiss driver, who has also competed in the Ultimate Cup, 24H Series, and Mitjets, had the biggest opportunity of her career to date last month, when she joined the main Iron Dames lineup for the first time at the iconic Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Sharing the #85 Porsche with Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey, and Michelle Gatting, Gaillard impressed with strong, consistent stints.

In November 2024, she made history by becoming the first woman to win a Porsche Junior shootout, securing a seat for the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup France.

The final rounds of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe therefore provided the perfect opportunity to get up to speed with the tricky Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car - which features less aero than the GT3-spec car as well as no ABS - in a highly competitive environment, racing with the well-established French team Schumacher CLRT.

The Sport Division class of the one-make series featured a strong 27-car grid, including drivers preparing for their full 2025 campaigns on the Porsche pyramid, many with extensive experience of the car.

Racing at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit—a track she had never raced on before—Gaillard approached the weekend as a learning experience, aiming to improve with each session.

And her progress was indeed evident during the Thursday and Friday test sessions, where she made significant gains, consistently reducing the gap to the overall top 20.

By Saturday morning's qualifying session, Gaillard was ready to take another step forward in her first competitive weekend in the 992 Cup car. She quickly dipped into the 1:36s, matching her best lap times early in the session. A few minutes in, she set a new personal best of 1:35.2 before improving further to a 1:35.108, placing her 24th overall and sixth among rookies.

After pitting for a fresh set of tyres, she returned to the track for the final 10 minutes of the session. With a strong final effort, Gaillard clocked a 1:34.978, securing 24th overall and seventh among the rookies.

Photo credits: Iron Dames

RACE 1

A few hours later, it was time for the first race of the weekend—and Karen Gaillard’s first-ever race in the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. Lining up in P25, her main goal was to gain as much experience as possible.

As the lights went out, she got off to a strong launch, immediately finding herself in close battles with several experienced Porsche drivers: Karen gained two positions early on before Thomas Kangro spun out before the end of the first lap, allowing her to pick up another spot as the race was neutralized.

Under the safety car, Gaillard ran in 22nd overall and fifth in the Rookie class. The race resumed with 22 minutes to go, with Flynt Schuring leading Kas Haverkort and Ariel Levi in a tight battle for the top three, though Schuring remained in control at the front.

Gaillard was chasing Alexander Reimann, who had dropped down at the restart, but soon came under pressure from Mees Muller. On lap 5, Muller made a move, and Charl Michel Visser followed through, dropping Karen to P24.

Despite this, Gaillard continued improving her lap times, setting a personal best while staying close to Visser. The two drivers were evenly matched, pulling away from Luciano Martinez behind. By lap 10, Gaillard was closing the gap, lapping a few tenths quicker than the cars ahead.

One lap later, she made a decisive move and overtook Visser, now setting her sights on catching Muller as she pushed towards a top-five finish in the Rookie class.

Gaillard's race pace remained strong, however overtaking was notoriously difficult at Valencia. Many drivers were receiving track limits penalties, but Karen kept her race clean while staying close to Muller.

Unfortunately, with just two minutes remaining, a spin on lap 16 dropped Gaillard to the back of the pack. It was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise positive race, where she had shown significant improvements in pace and consistency.

She rejoined and ran the final two laps notably quicker than the cars just ahead, eventually taking the checkered flag in P26. While the result was disappointing, there were plenty of positives to take from her performance.

At the front, Flynt Schuring overcame a five-second penalty for a jump start, taking advantage of a close duel between Levi and Haverkort to cross the line six seconds ahead to win Race 1 at Valencia.

Photo credits: Iron Dames

RACE 2

Just a few hours later, Gaillard was back on the grid for the second and final race of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe weekend, another 30-minute plus one lap contest. Starting again from P25, she had another strong launch. Meanwhile, at the front, Schuring and Haverkort were engaged in another thrilling duel for the lead.

A couple of cars spun in the opening laps, but everyone managed to continue. Karen briefly moved up to P24, but Anthony Imperato overtook her on lap 2, dropping her back to P25 and seventh in the Rookie class.

By lap 3, Gaillard had settled into a rhythm, logging competitive lap times and closing in on Imperato. She needed to clear the Ombra Racing Porsche quickly, as she was running a few tenths faster, but finding a gap proved challenging. Nonetheless, she remained within half a second of her rival.

As the race progressed, Gaillard continued improving her sector times, but Imperato responded with his best laps as well. Meanwhile, she built a five-second gap to the car behind and focused on making forward progress.

With 10 minutes to go, the race remained relatively clean as most positions settled. However, by lap 14, Gaillard was once again gaining ground. Her lap times remained consistent in the 1:36s, while the three cars ahead began to struggle.

A three-car battle in front resulted in Nick Ho spinning, allowing Gaillard to gain P24 on lap 16. At the same time, she was increasing the pressure on Imperato—the two separated by less than a tenth of a second across the line.

In the final minute of the race, another unfortunate issue dropped her back to P26, losing positions to Ho and Martinez. Refusing to give up, she continued pushing on the final lap, significantly faster than Martinez ahead; she nearly completed the pass but ultimately crossed the line just one-tenth behind, finishing the weekend in P26.

At the front, Flynt Schuring secured back-to-back victories, this time with a dominant drive, checking out early and building an eight-second lead over Levi and Haverkort.

"First weekend done in the GT3 Cup", Kaillard commented. "I'm disappointed, because I race to be fast and I made mistakes, but I know it's part of the process."

While the final results were not what Gaillard had hoped for, the weekend provided invaluable experience.

"I directly started with a race, it's not easy and I don't know the car, so it's good for the experience because though we make mistakes we learn", she continued.

"The positives, I had a lot of fun with this car so now we will debrief to understand the mistakes, don't make them again and it will be better and better and I'll be ready for the first race in the Carrera Cup France."

Gaillard gained crucial mileage in a highly competitive field and had the opportunity to refine her racecraft in the sprint format—a major adjustment from her endurance racing background. She will return to the series for the final round in Barcelona, Spain, in a week's time.