"We never gave up and fought back" - Iron Dames delivered a remarkable recovery at the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, overcoming an early puncture which put them three laps down to finish eighth in GTD, showcasing exceptional teamwork and determination throughout the race.

Iron Dames completed the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona with a remarkable recovery drive that saw the all-female team bounce back from three laps down following a puncture ten hours into the race, to battling for a top-five position in the final minutes, ultimately crossing the line with a highly respectable eighth-place finish.
Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy, and Rahel Frey were joined by young Swiss driver Karen Gaillard in her first race with the main Iron Dames lineup, following her debut season in GT3 machinery as part of the Michelin Le Mans Cup Iron Dames squad in 2023. Gaillard adapted exceptionally to the new challenge, racing like an experienced veteran without making a single mistake throughout the weekend, showcasing tremendous potential.
Gaillard had completed her first test at Daytona International Speedway in late November 2024 alongside Frey; she is now scheduled to compete in the French Porsche Carrera Cup, having become the first-ever woman to win the Porsche scholarship selection for the one-make series.
In the first race of their 2025 season, the Iron Dames once again showcased great pace from the start of the race build-up, leading two sessions in the Roar Before the 24 collective test.
Despite an adjustment to the Porsche BoP that added 20kg of weight and reduced the power of the 911 GT3 R ahead of the race weekend, the Iron Dames remained competitive.
They continued refining the car during official practice sessions, where low temperatures presented challenges in getting the tyres up to optimal temperature.
Nevertheless, all four drivers demonstrated promising speed ahead of qualifying and the first 24-hour race of the season.
Michelle Gatting represented the #83 Iron Dames Porsche during the GTD qualifying session. In the 15-minute session, Gatting's first representative lap placed her in P10. She later improved with a time of 1:47.2, moving up to P7. With five minutes remaining, she set a purple first sector and improved her second sector, recording a 1:46.9 lap, which placed her eighth fastest.
The Danish ace made one final attempt but was unable to improve further, finishing P11 in class. However, she was later promoted to P10 following a penalty for a competitor. It was an encouraging start for the all-female team.
“I’m not entirely happy, especially knowing that another Porsche took pole position", commented Gatting. "It’s clear I could have done better. I know where I lost time. It was just over three-tenths of a second. However, you don’t win a race in qualifying. We now know the Porsche is fast.”

61 cars, 4 classes, 24 hours of pure racing: the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona got underway on Saturday at 13:40 local time.
A spin for the #2 United Autosport LMP2 Oreca at Turn 1 caused some mayhem among the GTD classes, but everyone avoided the incident and got through cleanly.
Michelle Gatting held tenth place, leading a group of cars running very close to each other.
The Danish driver, newly-announced as Porsche factory driver, was very fast in the opening stages, running at a 1:49.1 pace. She traded positions with Hasse-Clot, with both drivers showing competitive speed straight away.
Michelle got ahead of the #12 Lexus, demonstrating very consistent pace. She settled into tenth, but then had to keep Maximilian Goetz in the #32 Korthoff Competition Porsche behind her. Over the next few laps, she managed to keep him at bay.
At the one-hour mark, the first round of pit stops began: Michelle Gatting pitted from tenth and stayed behind the wheel, rejoining in P13. She soon caught Sheena Monk's Triarsi Ferrari and climbed back into P13 on lap 42. Gatting’s pace improved after her tyres warmed up in the chilly conditions and, by lap 52, she was among the fastest drivers in GTD, chasing the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin.
Michelle started battling with Potter before pitting for the second time on lap 58, when Karen Gaillard officially began her first stint in IMSA. The Swiss driver immediately set a 1:50 pace, then clocked her first 1:49 lap in a strong start to her stint, quickly finding speed.
The new addition to the team's lineup climbed back to P11 and started catching the #19 Van Der Steur Aston Martin, steadily gaining ground. The first caution of the race came with 21 hours and 50 minutes to go, when the #11 TDS Racing LMP2 Oreca found the barriers at Turn 3. When the pit lane opened, all the GTD cars pit to refuel. The Iron Dames Porsche lost a few positions in the pits and emerged back in P16.
The green flag waved with 21 hours and 25 minutes to go: Gaillard had an stellar restart and moved up into P9 after one lap, delivering a superb performance: Karen picked up another position when the #57 Winward Mercedes dropped down, then hunted down Onofrio Triarsi in the #023 Ferrari, passing both him and Iribe to clinch P6. Once ahead, she began gaining on McIntosh in the #19 Aston Martin.
Gaillard battled with the Cetilar Ferrari of Lacorte, with the two trading positions. On lap 102, Gaillard eventually pitted after a strong stint and handed over the #83 pink Porsche to Rahel Frey.

Frey rejoined in P13, as the team lost some positions during the pit cycle. Rahel however gained a few tenths on the cars ahead, picking up a couple of positions by passing Van Der Steur and Laursen to climb into P11, closely following Lilou Wadoux. Frey settled into a solid rhythm and reclaimed a spot in the top ten.
As the fourth hour ended, the second caution of the race occurred when the Tower Motorsports LMP2 spun. Additionally, the #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing GTP of Alex Palou came to a halt and had to be towed back to the pits.
Frey was running in P10 as the sun set over Daytona and temperatures dropped. The pit lane opened for GTD on lap 130, and everyone pitted. Rahel Frey refuelled but stayed behind the wheel of the #83 Porsche, rejoining in P9 after a strong stop from Iron Dames.
The Swiss driver had a really strong restart, using her experience to snatch P7 in GTD. However, she then fell back to P12 by lap 150. Rahel completed her stint into the sixth hour of racing, handing the car over to Sarah Bovy.
The Belgian immediately set the car's fastest lap in 1:48.979, before the third full-course yellow of the race was triggered when the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin of Andy Lally came to a halt at Turn 2, leaking fluid. Most of the field pitted when the pit lane opened for GTD. Bovy pitted and rejoined in P12.
The race restarted with 18 hours to go: Bovy battled hard for the top ten, overtaking Danny Formal for eleventh. She then passed the #66 Gradient Ford, consistently lapping a few tenths quicker and ultimately finding a way past. Once ahead, Sarah continued gaining positions: over the next few laps, she climbed to sixth as cars that stayed out during the previous caution eventually pitted.
Bovy brought the car back on lap 206 after an impressive stint and handed over to Michelle Gatting, returning to the car after the opening hour of the race. With 17 hours to go, Michelle was immediately quick and improved Sarah’s best lap with a 1:48.168, setting a new team-best time on lap 210. One lap later, she became the first in class to break the 1:48 barrier, gaining several seconds per lap on Graham Doyle. Gatting overtook Doyle a few laps later.

Among the fastest drivers in class, Michelle cleared Charlie Scardina and continued her impressive pace, gaining five seconds on the Triarsi Ferrari and catching Iribe’s Ferrari. Her run was halted by a fourth FCY when the #007 Heart of Racing Aston Martin lost a wheel, causing a caution.
The top 15 GTD cars pitted under caution; Gatting pitted from eighth and emerged in third after a strong stop. Chaos ensued at the restart, as multiple cars were involved in an incident, sending the race back under caution - with the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW, #40 WTR Cadillac, #77 Inception Racing Ferrari, #73 Pratt Miller Oreca, #2 United Autosport Oreca, and #9 Pfaff Motorsport Lamborghini all caught up in the melee.
Michelle Gatting skillfully avoided the chaos, with the GTD cars remaining mostly unscathed. The race resumed with 16 hours to go and Gatting found herself in a battle for the lead with Perera and Drudi - the top three fighting as soon as the green flag waved.
However, just as she was about to challenge for the class lead, drama hit: Gatting suffered a puncture on lap 233 - possibly due to debris from the earlier crashes - and painfully made her way back to the pits, losing a lap.
Michelle rejoined the race, determined to recover despite being a lap down in P19. She now had 30 seconds to close on the Lone Star Mercedes ahead. However she recovered to P16, working hard to prevent the GTD leader from putting her another lap down. The Dane pitted for the 11th time on lap 261.
The stop was longer than expected as the crew frantically worked on the front of the car, which had picked up damage to the splitter. Karen Gaillard took over the wheel, but the #83 Porsche had also fallen three laps down. The team was back to square one, needing to rebuild their race from the ground up.
Despite the setback, Gaillard started her stint strongly. With 13 hours and 40 minutes left on the clock, a failure sent the #31 Cadillac GTP hypercar of Frederick Vesti into the wall, triggering the next FCY. Gaillard was running in P21. When the pits opened, Gaillard came in on lap 308, and Rahel Frey took over the Iron Dames Porsche just as the race went back to green.
Rahel quickly gained almost a second per lap on the cars ahead but remained 50 seconds down the road. She managed to gain ground steadily, with the Conquest Racing Ferrari and Cetilar Ferrari experiencing issues in the pits, allowing the Iron Dames to climb into P19 as the race reached its midpoint.

When Charlie Eastwood’s DXDT Racing Corvette caught fire, it triggered another caution with 11 hours and 50 minutes to go. Rahel Frey initially stayed out to regain a lap, then pitted on lap 361, still under caution. Sarah Bovy took over, now two laps down and running in P16.
Bovy started her stint strongly, consistently running laps in the 1:48 range. She defended against the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus, maintaining her position. Her pace remained competitive as she passed Tatiana Calderón and safely held P16, not under much pressure from Kyle Kirkwood. Bovy was in control and impressively consistent, proving herself in one of her first outings as a silver-rated driver.
Bovy moved into P15 when the Inception Ferrari had to make an unscheduled pit stop. The Belgian continued to shine, bringing the car back after another brilliant run with 10 hours and 35 minutes to go. A quick stop saw her rejoin ahead of several faster cars, managing the pressure well.
With 10 hours to go, a new caution came out when Tom Dillmann’s car grinded to a halt. Sarah stayed out initially, then pitted a lap later as Iron Dames recovered one lap, bringing Michelle Gatting back into the car. Now only one lap behind, the team’s efforts began to show results.
Michelle faced immediate challenges, taking evasive action when the #27 Aston Martin spun. She then resumed her chase of the #45 WTR Huracan, with Kyle Marcelli at the wheel. Gatting closed the gap steadily, logging competitive laps in clean air, as her pace was top-5-worthy.
As the race reached two-thirds distance, the team pitted for the 21st time, and Michelle Gatting handed back over to Rahel Frey, running in P15. The #83 Porsche initially struggled to bring its tyres up to temperature, but once Frey settled into her rhythm, she ran consistent 1:48 laps.
Frey delivered a strong stint, managing traffic well before pitting on lap 499. She stayed in the car and marked the team completing 500 laps.
After a double stint where she held her position, Frey handed the car over to rookie Karen Gaillard.
In her third driving shift, Gaillard continued to gain valuable experience. However, opportunities to make up ground were limited without a caution during the past four hours.
“Unfortunately, we lost significant time due to a tyre puncture and are also dealing with an aerodynamic issue involving a splitter", Gatting said mid-race. "The performance is there, but we are not gaining positions despite pushing hard. Nonetheless, we are not giving up – we owe it to ourselves and the entire project to keep fighting. It would be better, of course, if we had something more tangible to fight for.”
The next FCY did indeed come when the #04 Crowdstrike by APR Oreca overshot Turn 3 and hit the barriers. When the pit lane opened, Gaillard pitted, retaining her position.
At the green flag, cold tyres lead to multiple collisions at Turn 1: Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari went deep and collided with the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes and the #78 Lamborghini, ending in the barriers. Another caution followed.
This benefitted Gaillard, who had gained back a lap but had no time to catch the pack. The caution allowed her to restart just one lap down and moved up to P12.

Some clashes among prototypes occurred at the next green flag, but the race continued without further incidents. Gaillard managed to clear some traffic and lapped more consistently in clean air. Slowly but steadily, she gained ground and now had 37 seconds to close the gap to the #021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari.
Gaillard ended her third stint on lap 584, with Sarah Bovy taking over for the final push. Bovy’s outlap was already highly competitive, and the Belgian continued to improve her times, maintaining one of the best paces in the class. It was another impressive performance from the silver-rated driver, who pushed hard in P11, aiming to regain the lead lap.
Bovy pitted on lap 613 and stayed behind the wheel, resuming her brilliant run as she closed the gap to the rest of the pack. As the race entered the final three hours, she continued to push forward with determination.
Rahel Frey took over with 2 hours and 30 minutes to go, picking up right where Bovy left off. However, the race remained green for extended periods, offering few opportunities to make up lost ground.
With 2 hours to go, the leading LMP2 car, the #88 AF Corse Oreca, grinded to a halt at Turn 1, triggering a full-course yellow and opening new chances for the team. At the time of the neutralization, Rahel was running in eleventh. The team stayed out to get back on the lead lap, planning to pit just before going green, with Michelle Gatting slated to take over for the final push.
After 23 hours and 10 minutes of racing, 11 cars in GTD were still fighting for the win, with everything wide open: the green flag waved, and the top 10 cars were within 5 seconds of each other: Gatting held on with the pack, now back in contention.
As the final hour approached, Michelle found herself in the top 10, ahead of Arthur Leclerc, who pitted for the last time. Gatting also got ahead of James Calado, after the latter had contact in traffic and was forced to pit. Iron Dames moved up into 8th place as Danny Formal's Lamborghini encountered trouble.
More drama followed as Guven, leading in the #120 Wright Porsche, and Auer entered the closed pit lane for an emergency stop. This gave Gatting an opportunity to move up to sixth as she pitted with the frontrunners when the pit lane openìed. The green flag waved with 38 minutes to go.

The restart proved tricky for Gatting, as she lost a few positions. However, she was quick to snatch them back, passing Agostini and Hasse-Clot, and securing sixth position once again. Ahead of her, Maximilian Goetz was handed a drive-through penalty for causing contact.
Michelle continued battling with Hasse-Clot but also had to defend from Riccardo Agostini in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari; Gatting made a move for fifth on lap 709, with Lucas Auer joining the fight for the top five positions.
With just a few laps to go, Gatting intensified the pressure on Robby Foley, but Auer managed to get ahead with 5 minutes remaining. Unfortunately, this placed Gatting in a vulnerable position and, after contact, she lost out to Hasse-Clot and Agostini with only two laps to go.
As the chequered flag waved over Daytona after 24 intense hours of racing, Michelle Gatting finished eighth in GTD, completing a remarkable comeback drive.
Iron Dames, facing numerous challenges throughout the race, responded with incredible fighting spirit and determination: their perseverance paid off, securing a top-10 finish that had seemed implausible only a few hours earlier.
“Firstly, all of my team-mates - Karen in her first big international race - did an absolutely amazing job", Gatting commented. "The luck wasn’t on our side with the puncture and broken splitter that put us a few laps down, but the team was fighting the whole night and showed we never give up."
"It was a huge team effort which I’m very proud of", she continued. "I was fighting with everything I had until the very end but unfortunately contact with an Aston Martin damaged the car so we finished eighth. We’ll come back even stronger!”
Gatting’s final stint is a testament to her skill among some of the best GT drivers in the world, and the whole team performed at a high level. Rookie Karen Gaillard gained valuable experience, while Sarah Bovy, one of the most solid silver drivers on track, was consistently impressive.
With the first major race of the year completed, Iron Dames now look ahead to their other programs, with the Asian Le Mans Series next on the agenda.
"Our goal is to reach the top", concluded Rahel Frey. "Unfortunately, a tyre issue cost us a lap during the night. But we never gave up and fought back. We will keep pushing until we win.”

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