Breaking Boundaries: Meet This Year’s Iron Dames FIA WEC Line-Up

The FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) kicks off this week with its first race in Qatar. For the fifth consecutive year, Iron Dames will be competing in the gripping championship which features iconic races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Iron Dames entered WEC in 2021 and, two years later, they made history by becoming the first all-female team to secure a victory in the championship. The team made up of Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey was also the first-ever Iron Dames line-up to secure a win for the side - a moment to go down in the history books!

Denmark’s Gatting and Switzerland’s Frey are returning to the refreshed line-up in 2025. They will be joined by French driver Celia Martin, who’s set to make her FIA WEC debut following last week’s Prologue. Iron Dames will be partnering with endurance racing team Manthey for this season and has enforced their cooperation with Porsche through a new initiative to help develop more female talent.

So, let’s get to know the three drivers who will be driving for the all-female outlet this year…

The 2025 Iron Dames FIA WEC line-up is made up of Celia Martin, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey Image Credit: Iron Dames

Michelle Gatting

Michelle Gatting cemented her place in motorsport history when she became the first woman to win the Ferrari Challenge Europe Trofeo Pirelli championship in 2021. 

Like many other drivers, she started her motorsport journey with karting, in 2006. She finished as a runner-up twice in the German karting championship. Eventually, she moved to formula racing in 2011 and competed in Danish Formula Ford, in which she finished third. The 31-year-old joined Iron Dames in 2020.

In 2022, Gatting won the 4 Hours in Portimao in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and the Gold Cup’s 24 Hours of Spa.

Gatting wrote even more history when she crossed the finish line first in Bahrain in November 2023, bringing Iron Dames its first-ever win and making it the first all-female team to win a race in the LMGTE Am category of WEC.

At the end of 2024, Gatting was signed on as a contracted driver for Porsche, as part of the initiative they have with Iron Dames.

This will be the seventh year that Gatting is getting herself involved in FIA WEC. One race that she's really looking forward to is her seventh 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Michelle Gatting is in her seventh season with Iron Dames Image Credit: Iron Dames

Rahel Frey

Rahel Frey also formed part of the team that won the 8 Hours of Bahrain with Iron Dames in 2023. 

The Swiss driver has been involved in motorsport since 1998, starting her career in karting. Eventually, she moved on to formula racing and became the first woman to win a German Formula 3 race in 2007.

However, her racing career really took a turn in 2011, when she joined Audi Motorsport and started racing in DTM. She joined the Iron Dames project back in 2018 and has an active role in it to keep creating more opportunities for other women in motorsport.

Frey isn’t your average racing driver. Growing up, her father ran a car dealership and was also caring for her brother and sister. He helped Frey get involved in karting, however, they couldn’t afford to get her into car racing. Frey is a hard worker who even though made it to the highest level, she is still involved in the family business which her brother and sister help run.

The 39-year-old driver looks over the accounting side of the business. She explained in an interview with Car Racing Reporter how she is constantly looking for something to work on. She believes that hard work truly does pay off, and her important role with Iron Dames is something which keeps her very motivated.

Rahel Frey joined the Iron Dames project back in 2018 Image Credit: Porsche

Celia Martin

Celia Martin is making her debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year and, for her, a dream come true. Her main goal was to make it to the highest level of GT Racing and here she is with Iron Dames in her maiden season.

Unlike most drivers, Martin didn’t start off her career in karting. She hasn’t been involved in the motorsport scene for that long either, having entered the field in 2017 when she moved to Germany. Martin moved countries to pursue a career in motorsport and it all kicked off at the age of 27, at the Nurburgring. She earned a Level A permit at the German track and joined WS Racing’s “Only Girls” Project in 2019, the year she enjoyed her first full season in motorsport.

As she gained more experience, she also worked with Jaguar and became a test driver for the Land Rover at the Nurburgring. 

Martin joined the Iron Dames project last year and raced in FIA WEC’s feeder series, the Michelin Le Mans Cup. She also raced for the team in the Asian Le Mans Series and now feels ready to join Gatting and Frey in making more history for the Iron Dames in FIA WEC.

Celia Martin is in her maiden season in WEC with Iron Dames Image Credit: Iron Dames

The FIA World Endurance Championship kicks off its season with Qatar 1812km on February 28. It will take place at the Lusail International Circuit and the time limit duration for this race is 10 hours. Previously, this race was called 6 Hours of Qatar. 

There are several channels that you can watch the race on. If you live in Europe, Eurosport platforms will be showing the race in most countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Residents in North America will be able to watch the race on digital channel MAX while Canadians can enjoy highlights on CityTV+. As for those in South America, you can catch the action over on YouTube while if you live in Brazil, BAND will broadcast the race for free. Those in the Asia-Pacific region can watch the race on Eurosport while Japanese residents can catch it on J Sports 3. Eurosport India will show a feature of the race while Australians can watch the race on the online channel StanSport. Residents in the Middle East can watch the race on beIN Sports 6 while if you live in Africa, you can find the race on SuperSport. Make sure to also join our broadcast channel on our Instagram to receive live updates.