Iron Dames re-ignite European Le Mans Series title challenge at Spa

Across the penultimate weekend of August, the Iron Dames were back in action at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, with Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy, and Célia Martin returning to the cockpit for the fourth round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and Marta García and Vanina Ickx resuming their Michelin Le Mans Cup campaign.
In the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy, and Célia Martin kick-started the second half of their campaign with the 4 Hours of Spa and resumed their pursuit of the 2025 LMGT3 class title at the Belgian circuit.
In a wet Qualifying session on Saturday, Célia showed promising pace to line up inside the top five and capitalised on her position to move into the podium places by snatching third at the start.
She continued to work her way forward over the opening hour and quickly claimed second before a series of Full Course Yellow and Safety Car periods led to regular pauses in action.
After 90 minutes of running, Célia successfully secured the LMGT3 class lead and handed the car over to team-mate, Sarah Bovy, at the end of the second hour.
Sarah resumed her home race in second place after losing the lead on the pit lane and slipped to third at the start of the third hour but quickly settled into a rhythm to strengthen her position on the podium.
With 70 minutes remaining, Michelle Gatting stepped into the cockpit but was unfortunately relegated to eighth. The Dane drove a clinical final stint to return to the top three but was forced to pit at the end of the penultimate lap for a final splash of fuel which relegated the #85 crew to fourth at the line.
By finishing fourth, Michelle, Sarah, and Célia progressed to second in the LMGT3 championship fight, just one point adrift of the lead. The season will resume with the 4 Hours of Silverstone on 14 September 2025.
We crossed the line in P4 after running inside the top three for most of the race. Clearly P1 and P2 were out of reach today, but I think we’ve been giving a good fight to the rest of the field and at the end, we can be very proud of the performance. We made no mistakes, there were no penalties, no contact, nothing. It was a proper Iron Dames race. We will come back, and I’m telling you, we’re still fighting for that championship!
Sarah Bovy
Also at Spa, Vanina Ickx and Marta García returned to the Michelin Le Mans Cup for the first time since the second round of the 2025 season at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.
For her home event in Belgium, Vanina performed well in Qualifying to start from third and vaulted into the lead at the start of the two-hour race after avoiding a four-car accident on the first lap.
Over the course of her stint, which was disrupted by a handful of Safety Cars, Vanina successfully maintained the lead before handing the wheel over to Marta at the half-way point.
The 2023 F1 Academy champion delivered a spirited defensive drive over the final hour, and despite facing pressure from behind, held on to finish in third to deliver the #83 crew with its first GT3 podium of the 2025 season.
Vanina and Marta will be back in action on the 13 September for the penultimate race of the 2025 Michelin Le Mans Cup season at Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom.
I was still wondering if it was the right decision to come back, but I have no doubts about it now. It’s an amazing feeling to be back racing at Spa-Francorchamps with a high-performance, especially alongside Marta, who did a phenomenal job throughout her stint. Finishing on the podium in front of my children and home crowd was incredible. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Iron Dames for this unique opportunity and to Deborah specially, Sarah, as well as to the entire Huber Proton team for doing a fantastic job.
Vanina Ickx