The Iron Dames are an Italian-Swiss auto racing and equestrian team founded by French businesswoman Deborah Mayer. They are based in Zug, Switzerland, and primarily participate in sports car racing. They are a subsidiary of the DC Racing Solutions parent company, which runs motorsport teams Prema Racing and Iron Lynx.
Motorsport history 2018 Iron Dames was founded in 2018 by Deborah Mayer with the goal of supporting and promoting women in motorsport. Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Manuela Gostner became the projects' first drivers, competing in the 12 Hours of Dubai and placing second in the GT3 Pro-Am class (ninth overall).
2019 The team made their debut in the European Le Mans Series, racing under the Kessel Racing name.
In the European Le Mans Series, the #83 “Iron Dames” car placed 4th and the #60 "Iron Lynx" placed 6th, with both entries standing on the podium twice over the season. In the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #83 placed 9th in class, and the #60 placed 13th in class.
2020 2020 marked the first year of the team competing under the Iron Lynx name. In the European Le Mans Series they fielded the trio of Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Manuela Gostner for the #83 entry. Gatting and team owner Deborah Mayer teamed up for the Le Mans Cup, the first all-female pairing in the series, and were joined by reigning champions Giacomo Piccini and Rino Mastronardi. The team entered the Ferrari Challenge Europe for two rounds, under the name Iron Lynx – Scuderia Niki Hasler. Michelle Gatting competed in the Pro class, while Claudio Schiavoni competed in the Pro-Am class.
The team entered a car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the all-female line-up of Frey, Gatting, and Gostner, who placed 9th in the LMGTE Am class.
2021
European Le Mans Series Former W Series driver Esmee Hawkey was announced alongside Frey and Gatting to contest the 2021 European Le Mans Series in the LMGTE class, however the Briton was fired before the first round after her manager Mark Blundell was discovered to have provided the incorrect licence grading to the team. Hawkey was initially replaced with Gostner before fellow W Series outcast Sarah Bovy finished the season after making her debut with the team in the Le Mans Cup. On November 20, 2021, Michelle Gatting became the first female champion of the Ferrari Challenge.
Italian F4 The team and Iron Lynx signed Maya Weug to compete in the 2021 Italian F4 Championship. Weug had a successful debut season with three podiums and finished the season 7th in the championship.
2022
On January 12, 2022, the Iron Dames announced that they would enter in the GTE Am class of the World Endurance Championship for 2022. They ran the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, with Rahel Frey in the #85 Iron Dames entry. The Iron Dames began racing under their own license, fielding a team of Frey, Gatting, and Sarah Bovy in WEC, ELMS, and GTWC Europe Gold Cup. The team began supporting drivers in F4 and karting, with Maya Weug representing the team and entering select ADAC F4 rounds, as well as a full season in Italian F4 alongside Ivan Domingues and Nicola Lacorte.
They entered a car in the LMGTE category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a best finish of 7th in class for the #85 Iron Dames car. Sarah Bovy became the first woman to claim a pole position in WEC history, qualifying first at both Monza and Bahrain. Three podiums in the series helped the Iron Dames clinch third place in the GTE Am category. The Iron Dames finished the GTWS Europe season in second in the Gold Cup, with a class victory at the 24 Hours of Spa and a pole position at the final race in Barcelona. In the European Le Mans Series, the #85 took a class victory, and eventually finished third in the LMGTE teams championship. Doriane Pin took a dominant victory in the Ferrari Challenge, winning nine of fourteen races, with thirteen podiums, ten pole positions, and eleven fastest laps. 2023 At the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain, Iron Dames became the final LM GTE class race winning team in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Their drivers – Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting, and Rahel Frey – became the first all-female lineup to win an FIA WEC race.
2024
WEC For 2024, Iron Lynx became the de facto Lamborghini factory team in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship – Iron Lynx campaigned a single Lamborghini SC63 in the Hypercar, whilst both programs fielded one Huracán GT3 Evo2 each in the LMGT3 class. Bovy and Gatting were retained, with Gatting promoted to Gold status, whilst Frey (demoted to Silver) was replaced with Pin – the Swiss saw her driving duties reduced as she took on a greater role within team management.
Frey returned to the driving line-up after Pin suffered broken ribs in a cycling accident before Spa.
Following a troublesome campaign for both entries in WEC, Iron Lynx and Lamborghini terminated their partnership at seasons' end.
Formula Regional
For 2024, the team entered into the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship with drivers Doriane Pin and Marta García. The team finished eleventh in the teams' championship.
Rallying For 2024, the Iron Dames expanded into rallying - Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard participated in the Rally4 class of the French Rally Championship with Sarrazin Motorsport. The partnership scored one top-five finish in both tarmac and gravel disciplines and finished in the top-five of the Asphalt championship.
2025 For 2025, the Iron Dames supported sixteen drivers across endurance, single-seater, rally and karting competitions.
WEC
Following Iron Lynx' manufacturer split at the end of 2024, the Iron Dames project aligned with Porsche for the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, partnering with Manthey Racing to campaign a 992-edition 911 GT3 R. This coincided with Porsche hiring Gatting as a factory driver.
Rally
The team expanded their rally program for 2025, with Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard joining the WRC2 Championship and continuing in the French Rally Championship having upgraded to Rally2 machinery.
2026 In November 2025, the Iron Dames confirmed they would be exiting from the World Endurance Championship in 2026. The team also did not enter a car in the IMSA Championship or the European Le Mans Series. Team founder Deborah Mayer stated that the project would be moving towards a mixed-gender approach by supporting individual drivers.
The Iron Dames entered a car piloted by Sarah Bovy and Laura van den Hengel into the GT2 European Series. In April, Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard won the Rallye Terre des Causses, their first victory and the first victory in the series by a female driver since 1986.
Equestrian history 2024 In September 2023, Iron Dames announced an expansion into the world of equestrian sports, acquiring Global Champions Tour team Cannes Stars to compete in the show jumping discipline for the 2024 season.
2025 For 2025, Iron Dames Equestrian doubled the size of their squad by acquiring the Monaco Comets outfit.
2026 Janne Friedericke Meyer-Zimmermann has left the team Iron Dames in June 2026.
List of Iron Dames members Motorsport
Current
+ Driver Began Current series Titles as Iron Dames driver Rahel Frey 2019 TBA None as Iron Dames driver Michelle Gatting 2019 TBA Ferrari Challenge Europe - Trofeo Pirelli (Pro) Sarah Bovy 2021 GT2 European Series None as Iron Dames driver Doriane Pin 2021 European Le Mans Series Ferrari Challenge Europe - Trofeo Pirelli (Pro)F1 Academy Natalia Granada 2023 F1 Academy None as Iron Dames driver Sarah Rumeau 2024 French Rally ChampionshipFrench Gravel Rally ChampionshipWRC2 Championship None as Iron Dames driver Julie Amblard 2024 French Rally ChampionshipFrench Gravel Rally ChampionshipWRC2 Championship None as Iron Dames driver Célia Martin 2024 GT3 Revival Series None as Iron Dames driver Karen Gaillard 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Italy None as Iron Dames driver Mia Oger 2024 WSK Karting (OKJ)Champions of the Future Academy None as Iron Dames driver Victoria Farfus 2024 Ginetta Junior Championship None as Iron Dames driver Marta García 2024 TBA None as Iron Dames driver Luna Fluxá 2024 F4 Spanish Championship Champions of the Future Academy - OK-N Vanina Ickx 2025 TBA None as Iron Dames driver Lisa Billard 2025 F1 Academy French F4 Championship None as Iron Dames driver Angelina Simons 2025 WSK Karting (OKJ)Champions of the Future Academy None as Iron Dames driver Laura van den Hengel 2025 GT2 European Series None as Iron Dames driver Emma Chalvin 2025 Opel Corsa E-Rally Cup None as Iron Dames driver Ava Lawrence 2025 British Champions of the Future Academy None as Iron Dames driver Alexandra Vateva 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany None as Iron Dames driver
Former + Driver Years active Series participations Titles as Iron Dames driver Manuela Gostner 2019–2021 European Le Mans Series (2019–2021)FIA World Endurance Championship (2021)Le Mans Cup (2021) None Maya Weug 2021–2022 Italian F4 Championship (2021–2022)ADAC Formula 4 (2021–2022) None Katherine Legge 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship (2021) None Christina Nielsen 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (2022) None Aurelia Nobels 2023 Italian F4 Championship (2023) None
Equestrian
Current + Rider Years active Sub-team Angelica Augustsson-Zanotelli 2025 Monaco Comets Natalie Dean 2024–25 Cannes Stars Katrin Eckermann 2024–25 Cannes Stars Sophie Hinners 2024–25 Cannes Stars Inès Joly 2025 Monaco Comets Ioli Mytilineou 2025 Monaco Comets Anastasia Nielsen 2025 Cannes Stars Jeanne Sadran 2025 Monaco Comets Jörne Sprehe 2025 Monaco Comets Sanne Thijssen 2024–2025 Cannes Stars Edwina Tops-Alexander 2025 Monaco Comets
Former + Rider Years active Sub-team Kim Emmen 2024 Cannes Stars
Current motorsport results
24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Entrant No. Car Drivers Class Laps 2019 Kessel Racing 83 Ferrari 488 GTE Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Manuela Gostner LMGTE Am 330 39th 9th 2020 Iron Dames 85 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Manuela Gostner LMGTE Am 332 34th 9th 2021 Iron Dames 85 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting LMGTE Am 332 36th 9th 2022 Iron Dames 85 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting LMGTE Am 339 40th 7th 2023 Iron Dames 85 Porsche 911 RSR-19 Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting LMGTE Am 312 30th 4th 2024 Iron Dames 85 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting LMGT3 279 32nd 5th 2025 Iron Dames 85 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Célia Martin LMGT3 334 48th 16th
European Le Mans Series (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Drivers Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pos. Pts 2019 Kessel Racing Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Manuela Gostner Ferrari 488 GTE LMGTE LEC MNZ BAR SIL SPA POR 4th 68 2020 Iron Lynx Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Manuela Gostner Ferrari 488 GTE Evo LMGTE RIC SPA LEC MNZ POR 4th 61 2021 Iron Lynx Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Ferrari 488 GTE Evo LMGTE CAT RBR LEC MNZ SPA POR 7th 50 2022 Iron Lynx Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Doriane Pin Ferrari 488 GTE Evo LMGTE LEC IMO MNZ CAT SPA POR 3rd 70 2024 Iron Dames Sarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) LMGT3 BAR LEC IMO SPA MUG POR 4th 65 2025 Iron Dames Sarah Bovy Michelle Gatting Célia Martin Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) LMGT3 BAR LEC IMO SPA SIL POR 4th 62
FIA World Endurance Championship (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)