Laura van den Hengel and Sarah Bovy bring Iron Dames' first podium in GT2 Europe season finale
Laura van den Hengel and Sarah Bovy ended their 2026 GT2 European Series campaign on a high note at Portimão, securing their first podium for Iron Dames with a third-place ProAm finish in Race 1.
Laura van den Hengel and Sarah Bovy ended their 2026 GT2 European Series campaign on a high note at Portimão, securing their first podium for Iron Dames with a third-place ProAm finish in Race 1.
The Iron Dames pairing showed encouraging pace throughout the weekend in the #85 Maserati GT2, with van den Hengel delivering one of her strongest qualifying performances of the year and Bovy demonstrating very competitive speed across the round. Their first podium provided a reward for a season disrupted by misfortune, allowing the all-female pairing to close the year with the deserved silverware.
The pairing - the only all-female Iron Dames program in 2026 - began the season in the Porsche 992 Cup car, now eligible for the GT2 European Series. The Cup cars however soon proved to be severely lacking power compared to the GT2-spec machines, and the duo managed to switch to the Maserati GT2 at Spa-Francorchamps, where they immediately demonstrated podium potential despite their limited experience with the car.
Their return to the Porsche at Misano yielded a fourth-place ProAm finish in Race 2, despite the car's performance disadvantage. Back in the Maserati at Zandvoort, van den Hengel delivered one of her strongest qualifying at her home circuit, but a gearbox failure in Q2 meant that the duo could not even take the start of Race 1 - and a further technical issue in Race 2 prevented them from capitalising on their speed at the Dutch venue.
Portimão therefore represented an important opportunity to turn their speed into a tangible reward, with Bovy also returning to a circuit where she had set the ELMS LMGT3 pole record in 2024, and where van den Hengel had scored her first win in GT racing last year in GT Cup Europe.
The Iron Dames made an encouraging start to the weekend in Friday's opening practice session. Bovy took the wheel first and immediately placed the #85 Maserati near the front, setting a 1:45.427 to go second overall and lead the ProAm field by less than two tenths of a second. Van den Hengel took over and progressively lowered her lap times, getting progressively closer to the 1:46s pace.
The session was briefly interrupted by a red flag with 20 minutes remaining. The Iron Dames remained second overall and at the head of ProAm when the session resumed, with Bovy returning to the cockpit.
The Belgian immediately found further pace, posting a purple second sector before improving to 1:45.299. A late incident involving the #294 Mercedes brought the session to an early conclusion; Van den Hengel and Bovy ultimately finished fourth overall and second in ProAm, in a promising first session.
Saturday's second practice session provided further encouragement. Van den Hengel began behind the wheel and quickly set a lap already faster than her best effort from the previous day. Bovy took over and lowered the benchmark further, recording a 1:45.072 to move the Maserati into third in ProAm.
Bovy continued to improve, first setting a 1:44.8 before finding another two tenths and moving into third overall with a purple first sector. Van den Hengel returned for the latter part of the session and immediately resumed her progress, improving into the 1:46s. The Dutch driver completed a productive run as the Iron Dames ended practice third overall and in ProAm.
Qualifying took place in sunny conditions on Saturday afternoon at the Algarve, with van den Hengel taking responsibility for the first segment. She initially moved into second in ProAm before improving to 1:46.973, following a red flag caused by the #27 Lamborghini, which had gone off and sustained suspension damage. A second interruption followed when the provisional ProAm pole-sitting #77 Ligier hit the guard rail at Turn 1, requiring barrier repairs.
Van den Hengel ultimately secured second in ProAm and eighth overall, marking one of her strongest qualifying performances of the season and giving the team a promising starting position for the opening race.
Bovy took over for Q2 and initially recorded a 1:45.7, placing second in class. As the times continued to fall, she improved to 1:44.4 before breaking through the 1:44 barrier with a 1:43.957, which briefly placed her second in ProAm and inside the overall top three. However, the lap was cancelled for track limits. Despite one final attempt to improve, Bovy could not better her earlier benchmark, ending the session fifth in ProAm and seventh overall. Although the final classification did not reflect the full potential of her pace, the Iron Dames headed into Sunday's races with highly encouraging prospects.
Sunday hosted both races of the season finale, with van den Hengel taking the start of the opening contest. Following the withdrawal of the #77 Ligier after its heavy accident in qualifying, the Iron Dames effectively lined up on the ProAm class pole position. However, BoP changes ahead of the races made the Maserati's task a bit more challenging against its rivals.
After two formation laps, the race got underway, but van den Hengel found herself boxed in and delayed as she accelerated away, dropping to fifth in ProAm. The Dutchwoman quickly settled into the race, looking for opportunities as Philippe Prette and Max Grip battled ahead. On lap three, she executed an excellent move on Grip's KTM, completing a switchback through Turns 2 and 3 to regain the position.
Van den Hengel then began closing on the sister Maserati of Pampanini, applying pressure through the opening corners. With the #898 KTM of Grip also close behind, she initially opted against a move into Turn 1, but the battle soon developed in her favour. Grip passed Pampanini on the main straight on the following lap, and van den Hengel seized the opportunity to clear the Dinamic car as well, moving into fourth in ProAm and finding some clear air in which to push.
The Iron Dames driver immediately settled into the 1:48s and continued to run consistently, but the race was soon interrupted when the #62 Ginetta of Lawrence Tomlinson stopped on track. The team reacted quickly, bringing van den Hengel into the pits from fourth just before the safety car was deployed. It was a well-executed stop, allowing her to complete a hard-fought opening stint before handing the #85 Maserati over to Bovy.
The safety car period reshuffled the order as the field worked through its pit stops. The #110 Mercedes of Kuhne remained out longer and cycled into the lead before eventually stopping on lap 13, having effectively gained a lap. When the order settled itself, Bovy was running third in ProAm and eighth overall.
With 15 minutes remaining, the safety car caught up with the actual race leader, Moritz Wiskirschen, allowing the field to bunch together before racing finally resumed on lap 18, with approximately eight minutes left on the clock.
Bovy immediately went on the attack but found herself alongside Hartling's #111 Mercedes through Turns 1, 2 and 3. The Belgian defended firmly, braking later to retain her position, but Hartling ran wide at Turn 4 and passed the Iron Dames Maserati off track. The Mercedes driver was subsequently handed a 10-second penalty for the move.
Bovy then focused on finding a way past the #89 KTM of Marioneck while also having to defend against Nil Montserrat's Mercedes in the ProAm battle. Although she remained stuck behind the KTM, the Iron Dames driver kept close enough to the cars ahead as the closing laps unfolded.
As the field crossed the finish line and the time penalties were applied, van den Hengel and Bovy were promoted to third in ProAm and seventh overall, securing Iron Dames' first podium of the 2026 GT2 European Series season - providing a significant reward after months of hard work. With the #1 Maserati of Prette ineligible to score points that weekend, the pairing additionally collected the points awarded for second place, strengthening their final championship tally.
Just a few hours later, the Iron Dames returned to the grid for the second race, with Bovy taking the start from fifth in ProAm and seventh overall. Starting on the inside line, she held her position into Turn 1 but was soon vulnerable to several rivals. The Belgian came under pressure through the following corners, losing momentum as the NM Racing Mercedes and CMR Ginetta moved ahead, dropping her to 12th overall and ninth in class after the opening lap.
Bovy responded with a 1:47.3 on her first timed lap before improving to 1:47.1, keeping close to Montserrat's #115 Mercedes and Simpson's #62 Ginetta as she began her recovery. When Kofler's KTM slowed with a puncture, she moved up to eighth and immediately attacked again, passing Montserrat at Turn 5 to take seventh in ProAm.
With clear air ahead, Bovy found further pace, consistently lapping in the 1:46s and pulling away from the Mercedes behind. She remained on the attack and, by lap ten, had moved ahead of the #110 Mercedes of Wiskirschen, climbing to sixth in ProAm and closing on Simpson's Ginetta as the pit window approached.
Bovy extended her stint once the stops began, maintaining sixth in class with a consistent run of 1:46s before bringing the Maserati into the pits on lap 16. Van den Hengel took over for the second stint, with the team also serving the success penalty from Race 1. The Dutchwoman rejoined sixth in ProAm, initially in clear air, but faced a gap of approximately five seconds to the sister Dinamic Maserati of Pampanini.
Van den Hengel began chipping away at the deficit, gaining a second on lap 19 and continuing to push. As she closed in on Pampanini, a collision between Rokos and Grip at Turn 5 brought out the safety car with 11 minutes remaining. The neutralisation gave van den Hengel another opportunity to close the gap, while Pampanini also had a 10-second penalty to serve.
Unfortunately, much of the remaining stint unfolded under yellow flags. The race eventually returned to green for a one-lap restart, but the final phase quickly descended into chaos as the leaders passed the safety car before it could return to the pits.
Van den Hengel was overtaken by the #115 Mercedes before the safety car line, with the two cars then making side contact. The Dutchwoman showed great car control to save the car and immediately fought back, passing the Mercedes into Turn 1, only to receive further contact at the rear of the #85 Maserati. The #115 Mercedes would later receive a post race penalty for overtaking before the line.
Delayed by the incident, she still managed to rejoin and continue to the chequered flag, ultimately finishing eighth in ProAm. It was a disappointing end to the race after the pairing had shown competitive pace throughout the weekend, but it could not overshadow the achievement secured earlier in the day.
The Portimão finale brought a challenging season to a more satisfying conclusion for van den Hengel and Bovy; after battling with a power deficit in the first half of the season and learning a new car, the Iron Dames finally secured their first podium of the year and ended the championship seventh in the ProAm standings with 78 points, leaving Portugal with a tangible reward for their persistence and an indication of what they could achieve when reliability and opportunity aligned.
