Iron Dames endured a challenging FIA WEC season opener at the 1812km of Qatar, battling an uncompetitive BoP but showcasing strong team spirit to finish P13.
Iron Dames completed the first race of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season in an extremely challenging weekend at Lusail International Circuit, that saw the all-female team—debuting its new driver trio—crossing the finish line in P13 at the 1812km of Qatar.
In what was arguably one of their most difficult rounds, the season opener turned out to be hardly a race for the new Manthey-operated team, which returned to Porsche machinery across all its racing programs in 2025: the two Porsche 911 GT3 R cars had little chance of competing with other manufacturers due to a particularly restrictive Balance of Performance that significantly hindered the Porsches in the LMGT3 class.
BoP is a crucial tool for ensuring fair and exciting competition, allowing multiple manufacturers to compete at what is today the pinnacle of sports car racing and playing a vital role in the rising popularity of endurance competitions across the world.
However, when performance discrepancies extend beyond tenths and hundredths of a second to over three seconds per lap—with Pro drivers struggling to match the pace of some bronze-rated competitors—it is evident that something went wrong.
Despite the difficult circumstances, the Iron Dames drivers should be commended. Célia Martin—making her FIA WEC debut after just one year of GT3 competition—alongside Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey, pushed through the 10-hour race, using the event as a test session to better understand the car and prepare for the upcoming rounds. With little more than the sister Porsche as a reference, they remained motivated and determined.
Both Gatting and Frey delivered strong, consistent stints, running lap times comparable to the #92 Manthey Porsche, despite the team being unable to fight for a better result due to factors out of their control.
The performance gap was already evident in the practice sessions, where the team worked hard to optimize the car’s setup despite the power restrictions and additional weight imposed on Porsche. Furthermore, a new FIA WEC driver ballast compensation rule left Iron Dames particularly disadvantaged, as they carried an extra 20kg due to their drivers’ combined weight.
The long-awaited FIA WEC season opener was preceded by the official Prologue collective test one week earlier, giving all teams the opportunity to fine-tune their setups. This race marked Iron Dames' first outing under Manthey Racing, championship-winning operation with extensive Porsche experience. It was also Célia Martin’s first race at this level, stepping in as the new bronze-rated driver after only one year of GT3 competitions, following Sarah Bovy’s reclassification - the latter present in Qatar in a mentoring role for Martin.
The all-female trio showed progress throughout the sessions, running P13 and as the top Porsche in the first official practice, followed by P14 in FP2, once again leading the Manthey duo. Gatting improved the team’s best lap in FP3 to 1:56.229, ahead of the first qualifying session of the season.
For 2025, FIA WEC introduced a revised qualifying format in LMGT3, requiring two drivers to set pole position. The bronze-rated driver will continue to qualify in Q1, then the top ten would advance to Hyperpole, where the silver driver would take over.
On Thursday, Martin took part in her first-ever FIA WEC qualifying session. With relatively cold track temperatures, extra tyre warm-up was needed and all cars hit the track immediately at the start of the 12-minute session, with the first laps serving as warm-ups.
Martin’s first timed lap was a 1:58.444, with Darren Leung setting the early pace in the #95 United Autosport McLaren. Martin improved on her second flying lap, setting a personal best of 1:57.796. She found further gains on lap three, clocking a 1:57.156, placing her in P14—just 0.7 seconds behind Ryan Hardwick in the sister Manthey Porsche.
Despite a strong effort, Martin was unable to improve on her final run and finished 15th in her first-ever WEC qualifying session, missing out on the top-10 cutoff by eight-tenths of a second.
Friday was Race Day for the 2025 WEC curtain raiser, and Célia Martin started the race from P15 in the LMGT3 class.
At lights out, Martin settled into P16, ahead of the two Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMGs and running similar lap times to the #92 sister Manthey Porsche, which was just a few seconds ahead in the clean opening laps.
She gained a position when Petru Umbrarescu went off in the #87 Akkodis Lexus and had to pit with damage. Maintaining a strong pace comparable to Ryan Hardwick in the sister Porsche, Martin overtook Derek DeBoer’s Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin, moving up to P14 just before the first Full Course Yellow for debris 40 minutes into the race.
The Iron Dames Porsche pitted on lap 26 from P14 after a clean first stint from Martin. She remained in the car, took on fresh tyres, and rejoined the race. However, shortly afterward, she came under investigation for a FCY procedure infringement and was handed a drive-through penalty.
Despite the setback, Martin improved her lap times, setting a personal best of 1:59.3 and settling back into P15. Despite the penalty she retained her position ahead of the #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes. After completing 52 laps and nearly two hours in the car, Martin finished her first-ever FIA WEC double stint and handed the car over to Michelle Gatting, as more teams switched to their Pro drivers.
Gatting immediately dipped under the 1:59 mark, setting a 1:58.6 and logging consistent lap times. However, the team was now nearly a minute behind the rest of the pack. On lap 66, Gatting improved further with a 1:57.5 before another Full Course Yellow was deployed due to the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Ian James beached in the gravel.
Taking advantage of the caution, Iron Dames pitted the #85 Porsche for refueling, retaining P14. A full safety car period followed before the restart, but just as the race went green, it was quickly neutralized again due to debris caused by the two Cadillac Hypercars colliding at the restart.
Once the race resumed, Gatting continued improving her pace, setting a new best lap for the team at 1:57.221. She completed a consistent stint before Martin returned to the cockpit on lap 89. Martin found her rhythm again, running steady two-minute lap times. However, on lap 99, an unfortunate incident with the Alpine Hypercar of Charles Milesi cost the team some time.
As Milesi attempted to pass the BMW Hypercar, with Martin caught in between, he made contact with the #85 Porsche; Célia had to pit for a damage assessment but was soon back on track, retaining P14, though now a lap down on the #88 Proton Ford Mustang.
A subsequent FCY was deployed for debris caused by the contact, as nightfall began to set in. Martin's second stint showed significant improvements, particularly in the final sector. She broke the two-minute barrier, eventually clocking a personal best of 1:58.9. After nearly three hours behind the wheel, she pitted, handing over to Rahel Frey from P14.
Frey ran a solid stint, waiting for an opportunity—which came under the next safety car period when she received a pass-around, regaining a lap. Shortly afterward, the #77 Mustang of Bernardo Sousa caught fire, forcing another safety car intervention. Frey picked up a position, moving into P13 at the 5-hour, 20-minute mark.
Once racing resumed, Frey consistently lapped in the 1:57s, just a few tenths off Gatting’s best time, as the race entered its final four hours. She continued improving, setting a fastest lap just one-tenth shy of Gatting’s best. On lap 178, Frey completed a double stint, handing the car back to Michelle Gatting with 3 hours and 30 minutes to go.
The gold-rated driver, now also Porsche official driver, further lowered the team's best lap to 1:57.125 before settling into a 1:58 pace. The Iron Dames Porsche remained in P13, around a minute behind the #92 sister Manthey Porsche in what was proving to be an extremely difficult race for the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Gatting pitted for a scheduled stop on lap 206 and stayed in the car.
Over the next stint, Gatting maintained strong pace, at times matching or even surpassing Riccardo Pera’s Porsche. Running a solitary race, she remained focused and delivered a solid final stint before handing the car back to Rahel Frey with 1 hour and 37 minutes to go.
The Swiss driver continued pushing despite the challenging circumstances for the #85 team, never giving up and reaching the required silver driver time. She pitted on lap 259 for fresh tyres and rejoined the race as it entered its final 30 minutes.
Frey’s pace improved in the closing stages, dipping under the 1:58 mark with a 1:57.5 before settling into a consistent low 1:58 rhythm. In the final minutes, she was matching the pace of Platinum-rated Richard Lietz, with the two Porsches running 12th and 13th in the LMGT3 class. After 10 grueling hours, Rahel Frey took the checkered flag in P13, completing the 1812km of Qatar.
“To be honest, I really enjoyed my last two stints with the Porsche, it was such a pleasure to drive the car", Gatting commented. "Every single lap was great fun. When the call came for the driver change, I was downright sad. I really thanked the engineers afterwards for the car!"
"I have absolute faith in them and the team. From that point of view, I am happy, even with my own performance", she continued. "In terms of performance, we are not quite where we want to be yet. But that will develop. We will take the positive aspects with us.”
The season opener proved to be a difficult race for Porsche in the LMGT3 class, with BoP heavily penalizing both 911 GT3 R cars, leaving them out of the points and struggling for pace. However, the Iron Dames trio displayed their trademark fighting spirit and will aim to bounce back stronger at the next round—the 6 Hours of Imola on April 20.
Comentarios