Léna Bühler makes history at Le Mans with first overall win in Michelin Le Mans Cup
- RACERS
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
"I think we deserve it because in Barcelona and Paul Ricard we had a very good speed. I don't even know what to say, but I feel happy to win" - Léna Bühler made history at the Circuit de la Sarthe by becoming the first woman to win a race outright in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, claiming a spectacular overall victory during the Road To Le Mans. Here are her thoughts after the achievement.
Léna Bühler made history at the Circuit de la Sarthe by becoming the first woman to win a race outright in the Michelin Le Mans Cup. The Swiss driver claimed a spectacular overall victory during the Road To Le Mans double-header—the flagship event of the championship, held in support of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It marked her first win in prototype racing and came on only her third race weekend in the category, after coming close to both podiums and victories in the earlier rounds of the season.
Bühler had already impressed in her first outings in the LMP3 class, showing pace and composure well beyond her sportscar experience; the former F1 Academy race winner and vice-champion—who also competed in Spanish F4, F4 UAE, Formula Regional Asia, and three partial campaigns in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine—transitioned to endurance racing in 2025, as she joined 23Events Racing, operated by AF Corse, and teamed up with fellow LMP3 rookie Matteo Quintarelli in the #50 Ligier JS P320.
From the outset, the duo proved to be a strong pairing: in the season opener, they topped every session before the race, with Bühler fastest in practice and Quintarelli on pole. Despite Bühler being spun at Turn 1, they fought back to finish fourth. In round two, they were again in podium contention when a late penalty dropped them to ninth—though Bühler’s pace remained one of the standouts in the field.
"It's a little bit different because the car is heavier than the Formula 3, but I feel much better in this car", she explained about her switch to prototypes from single seaters. "Every time I go out in the car, I feel better and better. I just enjoy when I drive it and the time is there, so it's nice."
Round three would be the biggest stage of the year: the Road To Le Mans event on the weekend of the 93rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A dream venue for any driver and the perfect opportunity for Bühler to once again showcase her rapid adaptation to prototype machinery. The week began with free practice, where the #50 23Events Racing Ligier continued to be among the pace-setters.
In FP1, Bühler and Quintarelli set the fifth-fastest time with a 3:52.646, with Bühler particularly consistent. In FP2, Bühler started the session at dusk and set purple sectors before handing over to Quintarelli, who clocked a 3:50.504 to go fourth fastest overall.
"It's the first time for me here in Le Mans, so I need to discover the track", she told us. "A lot of drivers know already this track, but it's an amazing track for me to learn. Indianapolis and Porsche corners are a great feeling."
Rain overnight and into the morning created a tricky drying track for qualifying. In Q1, multiple red flags however interrupted proceedings before anyone could set a flying lap. Incidents for the #84 ANS Motorsport LMP3 and #58 GG Classics Ligier delayed the session, and a third red flag—triggered by David Fumanelli’s Kessel Racing Ferrari—ended it with no times on the board.
Q2 started in similar fashion, with a red flag after just three minutes. After a 20-minute stoppage, only four cars managed to set a lap before another red flag brought an early end. Bühler, who had not yet completed a lap, was classified with no time. It was later decided that the FP1 times would set the Race 1 grid and FP2 would determine the Race 2 starting order, placing Bühler P5 for Race 1 and P4 for Race 2.
Race 1 got underway with a busy first corner as several cars cut the Dunlop chicane, and Bühler initially held fifth while the leading trio battled. The safety car was then deployed before the end of the opening lap following contact between the #4 Nielsen Racing LMP3 and the #12 WTM by Rinaldi car, which sent the former into the gravel at Indianapolis. During the neutralization, Bühler unfortunately had a trip to the gravel and dropped to tenth, but resumed the fight after the restart one lap later.
The green flag waved and chaos continued, with a R-Ace GP LMP3 spinning. Bühler, momentarily down to P11, regained her rhythm and climbed back into the top ten. On lap 4, she began to close the gap to the #25 Reiter Engineering Ligier and picked up ninth when the #53 Bretton Racing Ligier suffered a puncture. She advanced to eighth soon after and continued to set competitive times in the 3:53s before pitting at the end of lap 6.
Quintarelli rejoined P12 but moved up to P11 as other teams pitted a lap later. The Italian showed strong pace, overtaking the CLX Motorsport Ligier and breaking into the top ten. He soon caught and passed Bence Valint in the #25 Reiter LMP3 for eighth place and began chasing Rik Koen’s Team Virage entry.
Though he closed the gap, time ran out before he could launch a final move. However, multiple post-race penalties for pit stop infringements promoted the #50 car to seventh at the flag—in another strong result despite a slower pit stop, as more valuable championship points were secured.
Saturday morning brought Race 2—the second and final one-hour contest of the weekend—on the day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans itself. Léna Bühler lined up from P4 and immediately made a stunning start.
As chaos erupted at Turn 1—with one of the Team Virage prototypes spinning across the track—Bühler seized the moment to jump up to second and began hunting down the leading Forestier Racing Ligier of Frédéric Rousset. Moments later, the safety car was deployed after multiple incidents at the Dunlop chicane involving both LMP3 and GT3 cars.
Following two full laps behind the safety car, the race resumed with 42 minutes to go. Bühler executed a clean restart and began extending her advantage over third-placed Thibault Antonel in the M Racing Ligier. By lap 3, she had opened a gap of over three seconds and stayed within 1.5s of leader Rousset—who was under investigation for his role in the lap one contact. Bühler maintained a strong pace, running consistent 3:56s, and held her position solidly in second throughout her stint.
As the pit window opened, she held off a charge from Antonel before pitting with 30 minutes remaining and handing the car over to Quintarelli. The Italian rejoined ahead of the M Racing Ligier—now driven by Vladislav Lomko—and managed to create some breathing space. However, a safety car was soon called after a heavy crash for the #11 Van Der Steur Aston Martin and a stoppage for Fumanelli’s Ferrari.
Racing resumed with ten minutes to go, but the green flag lasted just seconds before the #37 CLX Motorsport Ligier of Theodor Jensen spun into the pit wall, triggering another caution. Quintarelli had managed a great restart and briefly pulled a gap before the field bunched up again.
When racing resumed for a final one-lap shootout, Quintarelli faced pressure from the hard-charging #85 R-Ace GP Ligier of Hugo Schwarze, who had leapfrogged several cars in the pits and now sat right on his tail. The two battled side-by-side through Arnage, but Quintarelli held firm in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel. He defended aggressively through the Porsche Curves and fended off a final attack at the Ford Chicane, crossing the finish line to take 23Events Racing’s first-ever victory in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
After a brilliant opening stint and bold start that moved her from fourth to second, Léna Bühler became the first woman ever to win a Michelin Le Mans Cup race outright—an historic achievement on the biggest stage for sportscar racing.
"This race I managed to have a good start, keep a good pace, and finally we win", Léna summarized after the historic achievement. "I think we deserve it because in Barcelona and Paul Ricard we had a very good speed. I don't even know what to say, but I feel happy to win."
The result vaulted her to fourth in the championship standings with 33 points, just 14 behind the leaders, as the series now heads to Spa-Francorchamps for round four on August 23, before tackling Silverstone Portimao in her title hunt...
"I know Spa and Portimao", she said. "I never drove at Silverstone before, but I will do a lot of simulator, so it will be okay."
"We will see, but for sure we will keep pushing until the end and do the best to win the championship."
