HEARTBREAK IN TEMPESTUOUS TEXAS IN FIA WEC LONE STAR LE MANS

Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Célia Martin kick-started the second half of their FIA World Endurance Championship season in Austin, Texas, for the 2025 edition of the six-hour Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas.

Célia represented the trio in a wet Qualifying session on Saturday and showed clear pace but was forced to start from 17th in the LMGT3 class due to an ill-timed yellow flag and track limits violation during her final push lap of the session.

The rain continued into Sunday and Célia started the race which, due to extreme conditions, got underway behind the Safety Car. The caution period ran over the opening 60 minutes of the race before the Red Flag was shown, just before the start of the second hour.

Due to different refuelling strategies in the LMGT3 field, Célia resumed the race in seventh when running recommenced behind the Safety Car, 40 minutes on from the start of the Red Flag, but when the green flag waved, she immediately made progress to take sixth.

Debris on track caused the Safety Car to make a brief reappearance, and following the restart, Célia pitted to hand the car over to Rahel who rejoined the race in 11th at the start of the third hour.

Over the next 30 minutes, the Swiss racer drove an impressive stint to work her way into the podium positions, although when the rain worsened in the fourth hour, she started to slip down the order to fifth.

The penultimate hour started under Virtual Safety Car and full Safety Car conditions, and Rahel took advantage of the pause to pit, with Michelle stepping into the cockpit for the final run to the flag.

The Dane resumed the race in fifth and was a consistent presence inside the top five. With the track drying rapidly during the closing hour, Michelle decided to pit for slick tyres with just 34 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, rain and debris on track from earlier in the race caused a blockage in the radiator of the #85 car, resulting in a sharp rise in engine temperature. Michelle tried to finish the race but was forced to stop two laps before the end for safety reasons.

RESULTS

Michelle, Rahel and Celia: DNF (LMGT3)

“Unfortunately it was a DNF at Lone Star Le Mans. We started well and we had a very good strategy despite the rain, the Safety Cars, and the Red Flag. We were fighting inside the top five for a long time but towards the end, we experienced some cooling issues because debris had blocked our radiator. This meant that we were unable to cool our engine and it was painful to retire so close to the end. The sister car had more luck which is great, but today hurts because we were there for a top five. But this is how it is, this is racing, and now our focus goes onto the next one.”

Célia Martin

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