Célia Martin storms to pole position at Silverstone in mixed weather

In tricky drying conditions at Silverstone, Célia Martin mastered the wet track in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche, securing pole position with a stunning 2:11.819 lap—earning a crucial extra point to draw level at the top of the championship standings.

Photo credits: Iron Dames

Just a few days after the heartbreak of a late technical issue at COTA that denied them a podium finish in the FIA World Endurance Championship's Lone Star Le Mans round, the Iron Dames responded in style in the European Le Mans Series at Silverstone.

The all-female team of Célia Martin, Michelle Gatting, and Sarah Bovy secured their first ELMS pole position of the season, thanks to a stellar qualifying performance by bronze-rated driver Célia Martin in tricky mixed conditions.

The weekend started on a positive note, with the team quickly showing speed on a Silverstone circuit that returned to the ELMS calendar for the first time since 2019 and was therefore new to most of the grid. In testing, Martin, Gatting, and Bovy made it clear that they would be contenders, with Gatting topping the opening practice session with a 2:00.112 lap. Martin then completed the bronze test, placing sixth fastest, before the team continued fine-tuning the setup during Friday’s changeable weather conditions, again finishing sixth in FP2.

On Saturday, qualifying was held in damp but drying conditions after rain showers just before the session. All competitors started on wet-weather tyres, with Martin entrusted with qualifying duties for the #85 Iron Dames Porsche.

Martin’s first representative lap was a 2:19.2, putting her seventh, but she soon found more pace and vaulted to the top of the timesheets with a 2:14.811 with just under seven minutes to go. As the track improved rapidly, Martin Berry in the #63 Mercedes went quicker with a 2:12 lap, but Célia immediately responded with another push, setting the fastest second sector and improving to a 2:13.006—just two tenths off provisional pole.

While most of her rivals opted to pit for fresh tyres in the drying conditions, Martin boldly stayed out on her older wets. In the final minute, she delivered two purple sectors and crossed the line with an outstanding 2:11.819, becoming the only driver to dip under the 2:12 mark. The lap gave the Iron Dames pole position by almost a full second and secured a crucial extra point in the championship, bringing them level at the top of the standings.

Célia Martin's superb run gave the Iron Dames their first pole of the ELMS season, as well as much-needed boost after recent misfortunes.

The 4 Hours of Silverstone will get underway on Sunday at 12:00 local time, with the Iron Dames starting from the best possible position as they continue their championship challenge.