Laura van den Hengel becomes first woman to win in GT Cup Europe
- RACERS
- Apr 29
- 7 min read
"It was everything we worked for" – In a stellar debut for Burgers Motorsport by HWM, Laura van den Hengel made history by becoming the first woman to win a race in GT Cup Europe, securing ProAm honors in Race 1 at Portimão, in a truly rollercoaster weekend.
In a stellar debut for Burgers Motorsport by HWM, Laura van den Hengel made history by becoming the first woman to win a race in GT Cup Europe, securing ProAm honors in Race 1 at Portimão.
The Dutch racer, entering only her second full-time season in car racing, battled until the very last corner for overall victory as well, ultimately finishing just a few tenths short after a spectacular defensive drive in the closing stages—holding off everyone except silver-rated Ian Rodriguez.
Van den Hengel, enrolled in the new “Supported by Iron Dames” programme in 2025, immediately proved to be one of the top bronze-rated drivers in her GT Cup Europe return. Also starring in a brilliant second qualifying session, she was second-fastest in class and inside the overall top ten—consistently battling at the front of the ProAm classification and making impressive progress over the weekend.
It was the definition of a rollercoaster weekend for van den Hengel, at a circuit famous for its nickname due to its undulations and demanding layout.
After a near-perfect opening round—where Laura and her new teammate Paul Meijer led every session until Saturday—the final race brought the other side of motorsport: Van den Hengel was hit at the start and sent into the pit wall in a heavy crash that ended her race. Fortunately, she was unhurt.
There were, however, plenty of highs and valuable learning opportunities from the GT Cup Europe season opener, as Burgers Motorsport immediately made a statement in the Dutch team’s first-ever outing.
Founded earlier this year in technical partnership with Hans Weijs Motorsport, the squad stepped up its involvement after sponsoring Laura in the previous season. Teaming up with former single-seater star and current Porsche Carrera Cup racer Paul Meijer, the duo were undoubtedly the pair to beat at Portimão.
Pre-event testing showcased promising pace from the drivers of the #7 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, now featuring a spectacular new livery and, for the first time, the iconic Iron Dames logo.
Meijer topped Thursday’s sessions, while van den Hengel made steady improvements—her afternoon session in particular showing promise.
The trend continued on Friday: the duo topped the first official practice session, with Meijer setting a 1:45.754—the only driver under the 1:46 mark. The team looked strong, leading both the ProAm and overall classifications. Meijer set his lap early in the session before van den Hengel took over; she improved her personal bests and dipped into the 1:48s despite traffic and track limits, marking clear progress from Thursday.
In FP2, Van den Hengel then set her best lap of the weekend so far with a 1:47.892. A brief red flag interrupted running, but in the final minutes, Meijer returned to the car and posted a 1:45.9 lap that was then deleted for track limits. On the next attempt, he repeated the performance with a 1:45.989—the only car under the 1:46s—putting Burgers Motorsport back at the top.
Later that evening, Free Practice 3 was dedicated to bronze-rated drivers. Van den Hengel used the session to gain additional track time and, despite a few more laps deleted for track limits, she clocked a 1:48.114 on older tyres. The time placed her fourth in ProAm and capped off a day of big improvements and encouraging pace ahead of the first race day.
"I knew I was still learning, there was a lot to do from my side" – the always self-critical driver commented about her progress over the sessions, where she focused on learning from her experienced teammate. "I still need to reduce the gap a little bit quicker, so that's something I have to take for sure."
On Saturday morning, under sunny skies, Paul Meijer was behind the wheel for the first qualifying session of the GT Cup Europe season. Meijer immediately set all-purple sectors and topped the timing sheets with a 1:45.023. On the next lap, he improved to 1:44.260, building a gap of over half a second to second-placed Bugliotti. He pushed once more with a clean lap and clocked a remarkable 1:43.793—the first time under the 1:44s mark. He then pitted and remained unchallenged as the session was red-flagged with five minutes to go due to Luca Franca’s Porsche stuck in the gravel.
No one could improve after the restart, and Burgers Motorsport by HWM secured pole position on their debut. For the first time, van den Hengel’s car would line up from overall pole.
A few hours later, it was time for the first 50-minute race of the season. Paul Meijer started from pole in the #7 Porsche, sharing the front row with Nathan Brauns (Q1-Trackracing) and Gonçalo Fernandes (top Silver class entry). Stienes Longin, in the #11 Q1-Trackracing Porsche, was second in ProAm and P8 overall.
Meijer got a brilliant launch, cleared the field, and began building a gap. There was a spin for Leonov, but the Volcano Motorsport Porsche rejoined, and the race remained green.
Lapping in the 1:45.7 range, Meijer was the only driver under 1:46 and steadily pulled away, gaining around half a second per lap over Brauns.
By lap 9, the lead had grown to over 5 seconds and reached 7 as the pit window approached. The #7 Porsche was fastest in every sector. With 30 minutes to go, the first pit stops began. Stienes Longin pitted from fourth overall, handing over to Nicolas Saelens. On lap 16, Meijer pitted with a nearly 30-second advantage and handed the car to Laura van den Hengel.
Van den Hengel had a strong outlap and rejoined with a 15-second margin to Saelens, now second in ProAm and third overall. Despite silver-rated Zaenen and Saelens gaining ground, Laura's consistent lap times maintained the gap around 10 seconds as the race entered the final 15 minutes.
While Saelens battled Ian Rodriguez for third overall and went wide into Turn 1 while defending, Van den Hengel capitalized—perfectly navigating traffic and stabilizing her gap. With six minutes to go, the margin remained close to 10 seconds. Rodriguez then caught Zaenen for second overall in Silver, further aiding Van den Hengel’s chances. With Saelens suffering from tyre degradation, Laura gained a few more tenths with stronger consistency.
"In the race I eventually found the good rhythm", van den Hengel recalled. "Paul is super competitive and super quick, so he brought it home. The pressure was on me, because the difference between bronze and silver is normally quite big, so to maintain your place is super difficult."
She set her best lap on lap 26 in 1:48.790, and with Rodriguez catching quickly, she followed it with a personal-best second sector and a 1:48.480 on the penultimate lap. On the final lap, Van den Hengel put in a heroic defensive effort to hold the overall lead.
"Knowing Ian Rodriguez, who was also my former teammate – he did a pole in ELMS in LMP2, that's one of the highest levels in the world", Laura explained, as she had to deal with one of the fastest drivers in the championship in the final laps. "So, yeah, you know that's a big pressure there. He kept it clean, and I made a mistake."
Though Rodriguez got past at the very final turn, Laura crossed the line just six tenths behind, securing the ProAm victory, second overall, and making history as the first woman to win a race in GT Cup Europe.
After celebrating a historic first win, van den Hengel returned for qualifying on Sunday morning to set the grid for Race 2. She opened with a banker lap good enough for P3 in class. A strong lap of 1:48.2 took her to second in ProAm, and she further improved with a 1:47.106—her best of the weekend. Unfortunately, both times were deleted for track limits, dropping her back to P4. Despite running on used tyres, she kept pushing and delivered a stunning 1:45.9 to reclaim P2 in class and P9 overall—a massive lap with tyres way past their peak.
She pitted with two minutes left, securing second in ProAm and a spot on the fourth row of the overall grid. Fabio Babini took class pole in the #78 Tsunami RT Porsche, with overall pole going to Dieter Svepes in the #911 Porsche.
"Q2 was good", van den Hengel explained. "The field is getting closer and closer, and the level is higher than ever. We never expected to squeeze a lap like that, not being in the [tyre] peak. So, yeah, it was awesome, I had the good following of Babini, that helped me a lot, and it was just the right momentum. It was a clean lap, and I just had fun in there."
In the afternoon, van den Hengel started Race 2 from second in ProAm and ninth overall, following her standout qualifying. Unfortunately, her race ended seconds after the start: Lars Zaenen made contact with the #80 Ferrari, which sent his Porsche into van den Hengel’s #7 car, launching her into the wall. The safety car was deployed immediately. Thankfully, Laura was unhurt—but her race was over before it truly began, caught in an unavoidable incident where she was complete bystander.
It was an incredibly unfortunate end to an otherwise breakthrough weekend. The young Dutch driver proved she belongs at the front of the field—clearly one of the fastest bronze-rated drivers, composed under pressure, and a race winner worthy of the pink Iron Dames logo she proudly carries.
"It was everything we worked for," she concluded.
The Burgers Motorsport team also impressed on their debut; the Dutch outfit will return stronger at Spa-Francorchamps in three weeks, determined to continue their ProAm title chase.
