WEC
WEC's Iron Dames to make Porsche return for 2025 after year with Lamborghini
Iron Dames previously partnered with Porsche for the 2023 WEC season
Gary Watkins
Edited: Nov 21, 2024, 9:04 AM
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The all-female Iron Dames World Endurance Championship LMGT3 entry will switch from Lamborghini to Porsche for next season with the title-winning Manthey team.
Confirmation that the Iron Dames programme, which has so far yielded one class win and a further four podiums in the WEC, is moving manufacturers came on Thursday, the day after the Iron Lynx parent squad announced that it is joining forces with Mercedes for its 2025 LMGT3 campaign.
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The announcement means that the Iron Lynx organisation, which previously fielded the Dames car, is expanding its representation in LMGT3 from two to three entries next year.
The move was widely expected after Iron Dames WEC regular Michelle Gatting tried out in one of the two Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3-Rs at the official series rookie test in Bahrain earlier this month, along with Celia Martin.
Gatting will race the 911 GT3-R next year alongside regular team-mate Rahel Frey, the pair returning for their fifth WEC campaigns with Iron Dames.
Martin moves up to the WEC to fill the mandatory berth for a bronze-ranked driver after a season with the Dames racing a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in the Le Mans Cup on the European Le Mans Series undercard.
#92 Manthey Purerxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Gilian Henrion, Celia Martin, Michelle Gatting
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
The 33-year-old takes the place of Iron Dames stalwart Sarah Bovy, who has been upgraded to silver status for 2025.
Iron Lynx already has established links with Porsche. It switched to the German manufacturer from Ferrari for its 2023 campaign in GTE Am after the announcement that it would be partnering Lamborghini for a wide-ranging programme including the Italian manufacturer’s move into the prototype ranks in 2024 with a new LMDh.
The Dames also contested the ELMS this year with Porsche in a continued tie-up with Proton.
Iron Lynx founder Deborah Mayer said: “Returning to Porsche and collaborating with Manthey represents a new milestone for the Iron Dames. I have full confidence in Manthey’s expertise and dedication to excellence, which perfectly match our ambition to shine at the highest level.
“We are committed to writing a new chapter in the Iron Dames’ endurance racing history, demonstrating that women have their rightful place at the top of the sport and inspiring generations to come.”
#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR - 19: Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Manthey managing director Nicolas Raeder added: “We are proud to join forces with the Iron Dames in FIA WEC next year. We have always admired the project and have had many exciting but fair on-track duels with them in the past.”
Martin explained that she was fulfilling an ambition by racing in the WEC with the Iron Dames.
“When I started my journey in motorsport, I always hoped that one day I could compete in top-level GT and endurance racing,” she said. “If you had asked me for my ultimate dream, it would be this – FIA WEC and Iron Dames, and to top it off with Manthey as well, it’s really a dream come true.”
The full line-up at Manthey, which is part-owned by Porsche, has yet to be announced ahead of the scheduled reveal of the 2025 WEC entry list on Friday.
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The championship-winning line-up of Alex Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bacher, which ran under the Manthey PureRxcing banner, will not be returning.
Belarusian Malykhin has also been upgraded to silver status and will move into LMP2, beginning with a programme in the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series starting at Sepang next month.
Whether Lamborghini will be represented in the WEC's LMGT3 class next year is unclear. It appears unlikely that the Italian brand will be part of the Hypercar grid with its SC63 LMDh.
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