Iron Dames: The All-Female Project

From racing to equestrian sport, Iron Dames is building a strong and global platform for all female athletes. Here is everything you need to know about them.

(Image credit to Iron Dames)

After a successful racing career the french racing driver and businesswoman, Deborah Mayer, founded the Iron Dames project in 2018 with the goal to help, support and inspire more women to get into the world of sports, along with the sister project Iron Lynx.

Iron Dames made their debut in 2018 at the 12 hours of Dubai race, with the all-female lineup: Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Manuela Gostner, where they placed second in the GT-3 Pro-Am class and ninth overall.

In 2019 they continued with this driver lineup, while trying to establish their roots in GT-racing. They competed in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) under the name Kessel Racing. The Iron Dames #83, placed 4th and the sister project, Iron Lynx #60, placed 6th. The famous all-female trio at Iron dames, managed to secure 39th overall and 9th in the LMGTE Am class at the 24 hours of Le Mans that year.

The same year they collaborated with FIA through the FIA Women In Motorsport Commission.

The following year in 2020, they raced for the first time under the name Iron Lynx. Here they competed at the ELMS, including the 24 hours of Le Mans again, and the Ferrari Challenge Europe. Michelle Gatting took place in both, while also taking part in the Le Mans Cup,where she teamed up with Iron Dames founder, Deborah Mayer, making them the first all-female pairing in the series.

With a slightly different lineup in the 2021 season, having replaced Manuela Gostner with Esmee Hawkey and later Sarah Bovy, Iron Dames finished another season in the ELMS. Iron Dames also took part in the Ferrari Challenge Europe again, where Michelle Gatting managed to secure the championship and became the first female to ever do it.

In 2021 they also welcomed Doriane Pin, Maya Weug and Katherine Legge to the team. Maya Weug managed to get a season in Italian F4 with the team, finishing 7th overall.

The season in 2022, was a breakthrough year for Iron Dames, by becoming the first all-female crew to win in the ELMS, securing multiple podiums in their debut-season in World Endurance Championship (WEC), Sarah Bovy becoming the first woman to get pole position in WEC history, a best finish at the 24 hours of Le Mans with a 7th in class and winning the Gold Cup in 24 hours of Spa.

Their driver, Doriane Pin, secured the championship in the Ferrari Challenge Europe after a dominant season with nine wins and 13 podiums and later winning the prestigious FFSA VOLANT D'OR award.

(Image credit to AutoHebdo)

The more recent trio, Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy, competed in the  International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), GT World Challenge Europe (GTWC) and WEC in 2023. They became the first all-female team to win in the WEC world championship and finished 2nd overall in the standings.

Doriane Pin kept showing strong results for the team, becoming the first woman to start from LMP2 pole position and later being named ‘Revelation Of The Year’.

In September 2023, the Iron Dames project launched the new all-female show jumping team in the most important FEI show jumping events around the world. 

The Iron Dames project was also slowly starting to make their entry into the karting world, by introducing Natalia Granada, as the first karter in their program.

That following year in 2024 they continued being competitive by competing in WEC, IMSA, ELMS and Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS), including two poles and three top-five finishes in WEC and four poles and a victory in ELMS, as well as welcoming many new faces to their team.

Iron Dames made their debut in single-seaters that same year, by having Doriane Pin, who was also having her debut in the all-female racing series F1 Academy and one of the new additions to the team, Marta García, behind the wheel in the white and pink Iron Dames car in the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA). Here the team finished 11th overall in the standings.

The project also expanded by moving into the world of rally as well. Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard made their debut with the team by taking part in the Rally4 class of the French Rally Championship and finishing in the top-five.

Having their first full-season in equestrian sport, they had a dominant season by winning the Global Champions League (GCL) overall title and becoming the first all-female team to win it.

In 2025 they were supporting 16 athletes across endurance, single-seater, rally and karting.

One of the most standout results - amongst many -  from the 2025 season, was Doriane Pin who secured the F1 Academy championship title in her last and second season there.

Iron Dames continued to compete in the most competitive endurance racing series in the ELMS, the Michelin Le Mans Cup (MLMC) and WEC after a manufacturer switch to Porsche.

At the same time, in equestrian sport Iron Dames kept confirming their spot amongst the elite, by finishing 2nd in the GCL and each rider individually shining and slowly establishing themselves.

Having been announced in November 2025 that they had their last season in WEC, you won’t be able to see Iron Dames in the 2026 WEC season, but they will keep expanding and getting more women into the world of sports.

Article written by Laura Friis