It’s back to work time for the WEC, but before knuckling down to the serious stuff, the drivers posed for the traditional pre-race photograph at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium which officially launches the FIA WEC 2018-19 Super Season.

Le Mans Series

FIA WEC

Belgian driver and Iron Dames team member Sarah Bovy is an endurance racing poster child for tenacity. With four participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans to her credit, she continues to push the envelope all while promoting inclusion and diversity in motorsport.

At the 2024 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, Iron Dames&#39; #85 Lamborghini Hurac&aacute;n LMGT3 Evo2 shared by&nbsp;Sarah Bovy/Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey finished fifth in the LMGT3 category. The talented team had hoped for better results.&nbsp;Sarah Bovy: The disappointment was greater in&nbsp;2023 when we just missed claiming a category podium finish after leading the race for a time. This year, we steadily climbed the standings as our competition made mistakes. We didn&#39;t have the pace, so it was hard to vie for a more positive result. In the end, we were extremely proud to place the car in the top 5. Naturally, it makes us want to return and do better.

Bovy and Iron Dames don&#39;t limit their&nbsp;efforts to just the track. They also devote their time to inspirational projects. This year, their &quot;Every Dream Matters&quot; initiative&nbsp;aimed to&nbsp;promote&nbsp;inclusion and value&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/le-mans-students-design-livery-for-iron-dames-lamborghini-58681" target="_blank">the dreams of children from the Michel Ange public elementary school in Le Mans</a>. Bovy:&nbsp;Initially our project focused on boosting the image of women in motorsport, but we knew we could do more. We wanted to become more inclusive and reach everyone. That is why we founded this project. We had the tremendous honour of meeting students who shared their dreams through drawings. They were goofy,&nbsp;very funny and ambitious, but they were always dreams that matter. All of these drawings were then transformed into patterns using AI&nbsp;to create the livery of our car. We are very pleased with the way the public has embraced&nbsp;this project and our livery.

<h2>2025: A New Chapter</h2>

After joining&nbsp;Iron Dames as an amateur driver in 2021,&nbsp;Bovy is on the cusp of taking&nbsp;a decisive step in her career&nbsp;in 2025. Next year, she will compete as a professional driver for the first time.&nbsp;Bovy:&nbsp;Thanks to the support I have from the team and my teammates, as well as&nbsp;the experience I have gained, I have grown. This is a new dream I am about to realise after&nbsp;taking part in the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. I have always tried to be as professional as possible in my racing career. In 2025, I intend to prove I can also become a competitive professional driver.

Bovy is more than simply a talented driver. She proudly serves as an ambassador for women in a largely masculine&nbsp;sport, and a source of inspiration for all those who dare to dream big. With her presence on the track and involvement in initiatives like &quot;Every Dream Matters&quot;, she is opening doors for a new&nbsp;generation and helping dreams come true.

With 2025 in her sights, Bovy seems more determined than ever to push the boundaries and see&nbsp;her name among the great figures of motorsport.

Sarah Bovy: the rise of a passionate and committed Iron Dame

With back to back wins in 2023 and 2024, Ferrari solidified its comeback at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Between the challenges caused by changing weather conditions, a daring race strategy and an exhilarating rivalry with Toyota, the Italian team did not disappoint at the 92nd running of the race.

<h2>Combat in the Rain</h2>

The&nbsp;92nd&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans was constantly threatened with rain, adding a healthy dose of difficulty and requiring drivers to take additional risks. Miguel Molina, driver of the winning #50&nbsp;Ferrari 499P, especially remembers his nighttime stint: I was stuck behind the safety car for four hours. That was the toughest stint for me in those conditions in the middle of the night. You have to stay awake and not make any mistakes. I tried to keep busy talking with my engineers to avoid falling asleep. The rain is often a factor at the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans.

In such&nbsp;conditions and moments of uncertainty, clear communication with engineers and driver experience level are crucial.

<h2>A Suspenseful Finale</h2>

Like in&nbsp;2023 when&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/how-a-12-volt-battery-almost-put-a-stick-in-ferraris-centenary-spokes-58138" target="_blank">a 12-volt battery almost derailed the Italian carmaker&#39;s race</a>, the #50&nbsp;Ferrari&#39;s last stint was a nail-biter. Nicklas Nielsen, at the wheel heading to the chequered flag, describes the typical pressure: To win this race without some level of&nbsp;suspense would be like winning it without gusto. Plus, the victory wouldn&#39;t feel the same.&nbsp;Despite the&nbsp;ups and downs, we are happy to have gleaned a second consecutive win in those types of&nbsp;conditions.&nbsp;Strategically, we took risks&nbsp;and nothing should have happened in the last lap. Like the other teams, we didn&#39;t execute a flawless race, but from the start we showed we could win. And I realised my&nbsp;dream of winning the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans.

A starting problem in 2023 and&nbsp;a risk of power failure in 2024&hellip;the&nbsp;Ferrari 499P seems to favour dramatic victories, but these scenarios also reflect the team&#39;s ability to keep its cool under pressure.

<h2>A Hat Trick in Store for&nbsp;2025?</h2>

For&nbsp;Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari&#39;s&nbsp;endurance racing programme, the&nbsp;two wins are resounding proof of the 499P&#39;s&nbsp;competitiveness: We returned in 2023 with the dream of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We succeeded and doubled down in 2024. That is tremendously satisfying because it was with the same car. It is a&nbsp;demonstration of our competitive level, especially with nine cars in the same final lap. It is no&nbsp;exaggeration to say the current level of endurance is very high. For the drivers, each stint&nbsp;is its own&nbsp;race.

The&nbsp;2024 running also offered moments of levity. Antonio Fuoco shares an amusing&nbsp;anecdote about&nbsp;his rivalry with&nbsp;Kamui Kobayashi, driver of the #7&nbsp;Toyota GR010 Hybrid: I think&nbsp;Kamui is one of the funniest drivers in the Hypercar&nbsp;category because he&#39;s always telling jokes. During the race, as we were in full battle mode in the Mulsanne and&nbsp;Indianapolis corners, he gave me a signal. All I can say is that it was no salut&nbsp;(laughs, Ed.). It was hilarious and we even talked about it on the podium.

Ferrari AF Corse has no intention of stopping now. The goal for&nbsp;2025 is clear: to earn a third Le Mans victory and win the FIA WEC Manufacturers title (after taking second and third&nbsp;places in 2023 et 2024).

Ferrari AF Corse: a breathtaking triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Racing drivers' gloves combine comfort, safety and performance as a true extension of the hand, a crucial component to feeling every vibration of the steering wheel as well as maintaining precise control. Jacopo Rubino, OMP representative, reveals their technological excellence.

<h2>A Direct Link to the Car</h2>

During endurance races, with drivers behind the wheel for long stretches of time, tactile feedback is essential. Jacopo Rubino, OMP representative:&nbsp;Gloves play a very important role in a driver&#39;s performance, even more so when put under stress in endurance racing. First and foremost, they must provide the best grip on the steering wheel and the best feel when using all the controls, to allow them to be operated as precisely as possible. Thanks to innovative materials and state-of-the-art design, gloves help&nbsp;drivers&nbsp;detect the smallest changes such as&nbsp;vibrations indicating tyre wear or a shift&nbsp;(even a subtle one) in the car&#39;s behaviour.

OMP, an Italian manufacturer of motorsport safety equipment founded in 1973 and based in the Genoa region, integrates&nbsp;silicone inserts in the palm to optimise grip. Ultra-light honeycomb technical fabrics also guarantee exceptional tactile feedback. These innovations offer unmatched sensitivity, essential for adjusting one&#39;s driving, even after several hours of racing.

<h2>Protection and Comfort: A Complex Alchemy</h2>

In addition to sensitivity, gloves play a crucial role in protecting hands from the risks inherent in motorsport, namely resistance to high temperatures, protection against flames&nbsp;and impact reduction. However, safety must not&nbsp;compromise comfort, an essential element in&nbsp;maintaining concentration.

Rubino: The glove must fit perfectly on the hand, and be light and breathable, without generating discomfort that can create pain and loss of concentration, affecting lap time.&nbsp;Technologies such as pre-curved fingers and&nbsp;external seams, introduced in the 1990s thanks to concerns rasied by&nbsp;legendary driver Ayrton Senna, remain benchmarks in comfort today.

Racing gloves have evolved considerably over the years. Advances in materials have made them&nbsp;lighter, more breathable&nbsp;and still able to meet the FIA&rsquo;s strict safety standards. Innovations such as angled cuts and elasticated cuffs ensure a perfect fit, reducing interference with driving.

Input&nbsp;from both amateur and professional drivers plays a central role in this evolution. At OMP, endurance races serve as a test bed to perfect the gloves, as evidenced by the models worn by teams like&nbsp;Lamborghini Iron Lynx in the Hypercar category, and&nbsp;Team WRT, Iron Lynx, Iron Dames and Akkodis ASP Team in LMGT3.

Drivers&rsquo; gloves aren&rsquo;t just about protection: they&rsquo;re an interface between man and machine. Through hours of development and innovation, companies&nbsp;like OMP strive to push the boundaries, allowing drivers to stay connected to their cars in&nbsp;the most demanding conditions. At Le Mans, where the slightest mistake can be detrimental, the&nbsp;balance between protection and feeling&nbsp;is crucial&nbsp;to translating&nbsp;performance into victory.

Drivers' gloves at the 24 Hours of Le Mans are all about comfort and protection

The French manufacturer has announced the six drivers who will represent the team in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) next season. Frédéric Makowiecki, former Porsche Penske Motorsport driver, joins the squad.

Next season, the two Alpine&nbsp;A242 Hypercars fielded by Alpine Endurance Team will be driven by&nbsp;Charles Milesi, Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg, Mick Schumacher, Jules Gounon&nbsp;and&nbsp;Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki. The first four are back to build on last season&rsquo;s progress, joined by former reserve driver Jules Gounon, promoted to a full-time role. Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki, formerly with Porsche Penske Motorsport, is the new addition to the team. The exact driver line-ups for each car and a preview of the #35 and #36 liveries will be revealed in early 2025.

Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki is a household name in endurance racing and set to begin an exciting new chapter with Alpine.

With an impressive career in a number of high-profile teams, the French driver has excelled in both the GT and Hypercar classes, boasting four podium finishes last season. This development specialist, renowned for his technical expertise and racing acumen, will be a significant asset to the team.

 
His presence will be a real benefit as the A424 enters its next phase. &ldquo;I am extremely proud as a French driver.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s something special to represent a French manufacturer in the FIA World Endurance Championship with&nbsp;the possibility of aiming for an overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, especially as Alpine has a vibrant motorsport history. I truly liked the team&rsquo;s approach and development.&nbsp;Alpine improved and excelled in its first season against very tough competition. I&rsquo;m joining humbly, but I want to contribute to the team significantly. Doing everything better than everyone else will be crucial if we are to get over the final hurdles, and I&rsquo;m already looking forward to Qatar!&rdquo;

Having secured a commendable fourth place in the Hypercar manufacturers&rsquo; world championship in the A424s inaugural season, Alpine Endurance Team is now fully focused on its second FIA WEC campaign. Drawing from the experience and achievements from the eight rounds of the 2024 season, the French brand is <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/alpine-endurance-team-firmly-focused-on-2025-59122" target="_blank">determined to&nbsp;edge closer to the front in 2025</a>.

Bruno Famin, VP Alpine Motorsports&nbsp;says,&nbsp;&ldquo;We have selected talented drivers who are not only fast but also have an exemplary analytical capacity and mindset. We are well acquainted with Charles Milesi, Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Mick Schumacher, all fully committed to the project. Our reserve driver Jules Gounon will become a full-time driver after preparing for this role over the past year. As for Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki, his experience, feedback, and race craft will all be assets that will bolster our progress. Each driver brings unique potential, with a single ambition: to improve the team and the A424 as much as possible. We have formed&nbsp;a strong, close-knit group&nbsp;to build on the foundations of our first campaign, and the commitment of our drivers, coupled with their talent, will allow us to rise to the challenges that await us in the 2025 season.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Alpine unveils its 2025 driver line-up

TOTAL 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps 2018

Showing 37 teams and 104 drivers with 28&nbsp;nationalities represented, the image captured at the foot of the legendary Raidillon hill is a first glimpse of line-up we can expect at the 86th Le Mans 24 Hours next June. 104 drivers ready to kick off their endurance 2018-19 this weekend. Set your clocks for 13&nbsp;:30 this Saturday 5 May to see the flag go down to start the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps!

Photo: FIA WEC

24H LE MANS

The World Endurance Championship (WEC) Super Season kicks off!

Related News

Sarah Bovy: the rise of a passionate and committed Iron Dame

Ferrari AF Corse: a breathtaking triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Drivers' gloves at the 24 Hours of Le Mans are all about comfort and protection

Alpine unveils its 2025 driver line-up

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