Le Mans 24H: Sarah Bovy runs as high as third in 4 hour-Safety Car phase

A heavy rain storm during the night resulted in a four-hour safety car phase, where Sarah Bovy ran as high as third before alternating with Michelle Gatting.

Photo credits: FIA WEC / DPPI

A heavy rain storm during the night resulted in a four-hour safety car phase, where Sarah Bovy ran as high as third before alternating with Michelle Gatting.

Strong runs by Gatting and Rahel Frey in the first hours of the night brought the Iron Dames Lamborghini back in contention for a top five; the feared rain, though, disrupted over one sixth of the race, as the safety car bunched up the pack at the half-way point.

Sarah Bovy took the helm of the #85 Huracan at the 12th hour mark, and then completed an entire triple stint behind the pace car.

The storm in fact continued in barely drivable conditions for almost four hours; from seventh in LMGT3, Sarah Bovy climbed up to fourth when her rivals pitted for either driver changes or brakes service.

In such conditions, alongside the visibility issue, the biggest challenge was to keep the focus at slow speed, following the headlights of the car ahead for the longest time.

Most of the teams had brought back their bronze-rated drivers to reach their minimum driving time – which meant that Bovy could have taken on the challenge to the Manthey Porsches and the Heart of Racing Aston Martin once the race had resumed.

The morning light made a shy appearance at around 6am and, as darkness dissipated, hopes for a restart were put on hold once again when a new rain shower hit.

Sarah Bovy continued to hold fourth position until a pit stop for Heart of Racing, which promoted Iron Dames to third.

With 8 hours and 33 minutes to go, Bovy handed over to Michelle Gatting, as rain stopped and teams anticipated a restart. And, almost four hours later, the pass around indeed started; now eighth-placed, Iron Dames’ Michelle Gatting will be in charge of the restart, with eight hours to go in the 2024 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours.