24h Le Mans
Wednesday 24 January is International Women's Sports Day. An appropriate time, then, to look back at the female drivers who made a mark on the 2023 endurance season.
On 29 April 2023, at the tender age of just 22, Lilou Wadoux made motorsport history at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps by becoming the first woman to win a FIA World Endurance Championship race. Wadoux, partnered by Luis Pérez Companc and Alessio Rovera, triumphed in the LMGTE Am class in the #83 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo fielded by Richard Mille Racing Team AF Corse. After stressing the importance of her teammates’ input, the Frenchwoman confided: “Being the first woman to win a round of the WEC was something that had been going through my mind since 1000 Miles of Sebring when I saw how competitive we were. I hope that this achievement will inspire other women who have been reluctant to get involved in motorsport to give it a go. We are all capable of fighting it out at the front of the field. Whether you’re a man or a woman, when you’re behind a wheel, you’re a driver.”
Wadoux’s performances saw her rewarded with the chance to drive a Ferrari 499P Hypercar – the car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary – at the FIA WEC end-of-season Rookie Test in Bahrain.
In 2024, the Ferrari works driver will compete in the Japanese Super GT championship at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 entered by PONOS Racing.
Last season, the 19-year-old French driver shared the wheel of Prema Racing’s #63 Oreca 07-Gibson with Mirko Bortolotti and Daniil Kvyat in the LMP2 class of the FIA WEC. Previously, Pin had built a solid reputation competing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, the European Le Mans Series and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. But it was her success in the 2022 Ferrari Challenge Europe (nine wins in 14 races) that thrust her into the limelight.
The Pocket Rocket, as Pin is affectionately known, immediately made a mark in the FIA WEC by taking a brilliant third place in class at the 1000 Miles of Sebring. This outstanding performance was followed by a fourth and a fifth place at the 6 Hours of Portimão and the 8 Hours of Bahrain respectively.
Pin will switch disciplines in 2024 as her star continues to rise. By earning a place in the F1 Academy, she will compete in a full single-seater campaign and will also join the Mercedes F1 development programme.
After Wadoux’s feat earlier in the season, Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting followed up by becoming the first all-female driver line-up to win a FIA WEC race in the closing round of the 2023 season, the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
The Iron Dames dominated the LMGTE Am class in a thrilling climax to the campaign. Benefiting from a perfect tyre strategy, the three drivers kept clear heads amid the mounting pressure to put in an immaculate performance.
This maiden victory almost came about at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary but fate decided otherwise. The Iron Dames bided their time before making history, at long last, in the concluding round of the 2023 season. “This first victory [...] gives full vindication to the project itself and to the passion, the dedication, the hard work of all the people within the team,” said Deborah Mayer, the founder of the Iron Dames project. “The Iron Dames project was founded with the belief that women could excel in a male-perceived world as motorsport.”
After showing remarkable pace over several seasons, the Iron Dames had proved well before this race that that belief was no pipe dream. “We’ve been really hard for this and it’s finally here – our first win in FIA WEC,” said a relieved Bovy after the race. “The wait was long, but we are all super happy.” Frey went on to measure the significance of the team’s win: “Thanks very much to all our competitors [...] to keep the pressure high. I think we proved today that we do not crack easily under pressure. To get this win now after five years is really emotional, and we will use it as momentum [...] for 2024. What we always aim for is to make the team stronger. I also hope this experience is seen by the younger generation.”
There are not many sporting events where women and men compete on an equal footing. Endurance, however, has always enabled and encouraged such diversity. “They [the Iron Dames] are proving that dreams have no barriers if you give yourself the means to make them come true. May this day inspire other women around the world to never give up on what they believe in,” Mayer concluded. On the back of that win, the Iron Dames finished the season as runners-up to Corvette Racing in the chase for the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams, ahead of AF Corse.
In 2024, the Iron Dames will take to the track in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in the new LMGT3 class.
