Iron Dames make strong GT2 Europe debut as Bovy and Van den Hengel show great promise against GT2 machinery in Monza
- RACERS
- 13 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Laura van den Hengel and Sarah Bovy opened the new Iron Dames GT2 European Series programme with a highly encouraging Monza debut, maximising their technical package compared to the more powerful GT2-spec cars to score solid points in ProAm through consistency and racecraft from both drivers.
The opening round of the 2026 GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli marked the beginning of a new chapter for the Iron Dames project, which returned to international GT competitions with an exciting new driver pairing in Laura van den Hengel and Sarah Bovy.
Iron Dames made its return to an all-female GT programme with its debut in the SRO rapidly growing GT2 European Series, continuing its commitment to developing female talent at a high level of sportscar racing.
Van den Hengel and Bovy combined great consistency and the traditional Iron Dames fighting spirit to secure valuable ProAm points in a highly promising weekend at Monza, maximising their technica package against much more powerful GT2-spec machinery. Van den Hengel immediately impressed on her series debut with remarkable stints, including an epic start, while Bovy's experience proved invaluable in managing tricky race situations and bringing home solid results.
Van den Hengel enters the main Iron Dames programme following a breakthrough 2025 campaign in GT Cup Europe, where she became the first woman ever to win a GT Sport-sanctioned championship title by claiming the Pro-Am crown. Having progressed remarkably quickly from karting to GT racing, the Dutch racer has emerged as one of the most promising Bronze-rated female drivers in international competitions.
Alongside her is Sarah Bovy, one of the most experienced members of the Iron Dames family. A veteran of the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, GT World Challenge and IMSA; Bovy made history as the first woman to secure a pole position in the FIA WEC and has race victories in WEC, ELMS and the 24 Hours of Spa on her résumé. Few drivers could offer a better combination of experience and mentorship, as van den Hengel takes another significant step forward in her career.
Sarah and Laura pilot the #85 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup run by SP Racing in partnership with Dinamic; the car competes under invitational regulations rather than as a full GT2-homologated entry and while it provides a familiar platform for both drivers, the raw ower difference was particularly on display at Monza, with the high-speed Italian circuit heavily favouring the more powerful GT2 machinery.
Despite that disadvantage, the opening weekend proved highly encouraging. Through consistency, racecraft and strong race execution, van den Hengel and Bovy collected valuable Pro-Am points and demonstrated the potential of the new programme.
Track action began on Thursday with the official pre-event paid test. However, valuable running time was significantly reduced after a heavy accident involving one of the Maserati entries required extensive repairs to the barriers. The session was eventually not resumed.
The first official one-hour practice session saw Sarah Bovy take to the track first in the #85 Porsche.
Already on her second lap, Bovy briefly placed the Iron Dames entry fifth overall and third in class. She soon improved into the 1:49s with a 1:49.754 before continuing to lower the benchmark.
The challenge facing the Porsche package however quickly became apparent. Compared to the GT2-spec Mercedes entries, the car was losing over 1.5 seconds in the opening sector alone due to the significant top-speed deficit. Nevertheless, Bovy continued extracting performance from the package, lowering her time to 1:48.974 before improving again to a 1:48.743, placing the Iron Dames Porsche ahead of the sister SP Racing entry.
With 21 minutes remaining, Laura van den Hengel took over driving duties. The Dutch racer immediately impressed, particularly in the first sector, where she was only a few tenths slower than her vastly more experienced teammate.
Van den Hengel recorded a 1:49.743 and steadily built confidence throughout her laps. The session ended with the Iron Dames Porsche classified eighth in Pro-Am.
In FP2, the team shifted focus towards longer runs on older tyres. Both drivers continued to show competitive pace relative to the package: Bovy matched her earlier pace with a 1:48.973 despite tyre degradation, while van den Hengel also made further progress as the team concentrated on race preparation.
Van den Hengel was then entrusted with Q1 for her first GT2 European Series qualifying session.
An early red flag caused by the #89 KTM stranded in the gravel interrupted the session, but once action resumed the Dutch driver steadily improved with every lap. She soon broke below the 1:50 barrier and continued finding significant chunks of time.
Her final run was particularly impressive: Van den Hengel delivered major gains in sectors one and two and appeared on course for an even stronger result before encountering traffic in the final sector. The delay likely cost her over a second.
Even so, she secured 17th overall, finishing ahead of the other Porsche entry and several GT2 Am competitors while claiming seventh in the Pro-Am class.
Sarah Bovy then took over for Q2 and immediately clocked competitive times. She quickly recorded a 1:49.0 before improving into the 1:48 range and eventually lowering the benchmark to a 1:48.5, placing the car 14th overall.
A second red flag with three minutes remaining disrupted the final stages of the session. Although the session resumed, Bovy was unable to improve on her final attempt. She ultimately secured 15th overall and seventh in Pro-Am, completing a solid qualifying performance for the new Iron Dames pairing, with the GT2-spec cars setting lap times significantly quicker than the GT World Challenge GT3 cars.
Race 1 marked Laura van den Hengel's first GT2 European Series start and quickly became one of the highlights of the weekend. Starting 17th overall and seventh in class, the Dutch driver produced a remarkable opening lap: navigating the notoriously tight first chicane, she avoided chaos ahead, reacted perfectly to a rival braking too late behind her and carved her way through the pack.
By the end of the opening corners, van den Hengel had climbed all the way into sixth overall and was leading the Pro-Am class, gaining ten positions in a spectacular start.
She defended strongly through the second chicane and settled into an impressive rhythm before the first safety car was deployed at the end of lap one after the #898 KTM stopped on track.
The race resumed on lap three with 41 minutes remaining. Although one of the faster GT2-spec Mercedes quickly reclaimed a position on the straight, van den Hengel had little chance to defend against the superior power and slotted into third in Pro-Am.
She then delivered one of the strongest defensive drives of the race, holding another Mercedes behind for an entire lap before De Martin eventually completed the pass at Turn 1 on lap four.
Another safety car was triggered on lap five after the #73 Ferrari of Michellier became stranded in the gravel following contact with Kuhn's Mercedes.
By this point, van den Hengel remained third in class and comfortably inside the overall top ten.
It had been a remarkable opening stint for the Dutchwoman: despite competing against significantly faster machinery, she consistently defended her position smartly, without taking risks, found very competitive lap times and kept several GT2 cars behind.
The race restarted on lap eight as the pit window approached. Van den Hengel gained another overall position to run ninth before pitting one lap later from third in class after what was arguably one of her best drives.
Sarah Bovy took over, with the pink Iron Dames Porsche rejoining fifth in class behind the #62 Ginetta of Tomlinson after the pit stops.
Bovy immediately settled into the race with lap times in the 1:49.9 range but slipped behind both Pisani and Calamia, dropping to seventh in class by lap eleven.
She then started a lengthy battle with the #24 Lamborghini of Freymuth; although clearly quicker through the corners, the Porsche's straight-line speed made overtaking extremely difficult - but Bovy continued producing consistent 1:49.8 laps while simultaneously defending from a Mercedes and a KTM.
Eventually Kofler's KTM found a way through, dropping Bovy to eighth in class with 14 minutes remaining. Refusing to give up, Bovy responded with one of the race's finest overtaking moves. In a tense battle involving three cars and multiple corners, she swept around the outside of Freymuth at Parabolica in a spectacular move to gain an overall position, though she remained eighth in class. She then stayed firmly attached to Kofler's KTM ahead.
A small mistake at Lesmo 2 with eight minutes remaining saw Bovy briefly drop a wheel through the gravel, though she rejoined safely without losing any positions.
Penalties ahead soon worked in the team's favour. The #8 Maserati received a penalty, promoting Bovy back to seventh in class and 13th overall. Later, Pisani was penalised for a short pit stop.
By the chequered flag, Bovy had climbed to 12th overall and sixth in Pro-Am.
It was a highly encouraging result for the first race of the new Iron Dames programme: Van den Hengel's opening stint combined with Bovy's experience and race management resulted in valuable championship points.
Sarah Bovy got behind the wheel for the start of Race 2, lining up 15th overall and effectively sixth in Pro-Am following the recategorization of a competitor.
The opening lap proved tricky; boxed in through Turn 1 battling down Monza's long straights, Bovy lost a few overall positions but crucially kept it clean.
Further drama arrived on lap two when Potty's Maserati developed problems on the main straight. With cars scattering in all directions, Bovy was forced into last-second evasive action, taking to the grass to avoid contact.
She successfully avoided the incident but suffered minor splitter damage and dropped to 18th overall and eighth in class.
As a few competitors pitted, the Belgian recovered a position and settled into a steady rhythm. Improving to a 1:50.2, she remained glued to the rear of the Lamborghinis of Iogna and Freymuth.
The Lamborghini ahead repeatedly held her up, making progress difficult despite her superior pace through the corners.
The race remained green despite the #10 KTM of Erdem ending up in the gravel in the gravel, and as pit stops approached, Bovy continued to improve, lowering her lap time to 1:50.0 on lap 11.
With some competitors beginning their pit stops, she cycled as high as 13th overall before producing a 1:49.8 as she pushed hard, while continuing to put pressure on the #24 Lamborghini Huracan that held her up.
The Iron Dames Porsche pitted on lap 16 from 11th overall and seventh in class. Just before entering pit lane, Bovy executed a superb overtake to finally clear the Lamborghini that had delayed her throughout the stint.
Unfortunately, a technical issue during the stop cost the team almost 15 seconds. Van den Hengel took over and immediately demonstrated impressive pace among the bronze drivers.
She rejoined seventh in class and 15th overall and was already within one second of Bovy's pace while rapidly closing on the cars ahead.
The Dutch driver delivered a sequence of highly consistent laps, running in low 1:50s and steadily reducing the gap to the #27 Lamborghini of Berthet.
Lap after lap she gained more than a second, in a spirited drive despite the margin that had found herself battling after the pit cycle.
By lap 25, she set the car's best first sector and soon produced a 1:49.873 - just two thousandths of a second slower than her teammate's best.
On the final lap, van den Hengel overtook Berthet's Lamborghini to claim 15th overall and seventh in Pro-Am.
It was arguably one of the strongest stints of her career to date. Without a safety car to compress the field and help close the gap to some of the class rivals ahead, there was little more the Dutch driver could realistically have achieved. Yet the team's performance showcased the strength of both drivers and the promise of the programme.
While the raw results may not fully reflect their achievement at the Temple of Speed, the Italian weekend offered ample reasons for optimism. The Porsche 992 GT3 Cup was clearly not in a position to compete against the more powerful GT2 machinery, yet van den Hengel and Bovy consistently maximised the package available to them. Their racecraft, consistency and ability to stay out of trouble allowed them to score valuable Pro-Am points and establish a strong foundation for the season ahead.
With circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps, Misano, Zandvoort and Portimão expected to reduce the impact of straight-line speed, the prospect of fighting much closer to the class podium appears increasingly realistic.
The next opportunity arrives in just three weeks' time when the GT2 European Series heads to another legendary venue: Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit that also serves as home ground for Sarah Bovy.
