Le Mans Cup: Iron Dames just miss out on podium in promising performance at Le Castellet

After a brilliant qualifying, Iron Dames' Marta García and Vanina Ickx fought at the front of the Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 field at Le Castellet in the second round of the season, once again showing podium potential—only narrowly missing out due to an unfortunate first-lap contact.

Photo credits: Iron Dames

Marta García and Vanina Ickx fought at the front of the Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 field at Le Castellet, which hosted the second round of the season—and the second race together for the new Iron Dames duo: Marta García, transitioning from single-seaters, and Vanina Ickx, returning to the cockpit after a long hiatus from the sport.

After a remarkable qualifying session that saw her secure a front-row start, Ickx battled for the GT3 lead—but contact on the first lap proved costly. A drive-through penalty forced the team into recovery mode. Nevertheless, Marta García maximized the outcome with a fourth-place finish, managing the damage sustained in the earlier collision. She secured a solid haul of points and completed her second GT3 race just outside the podium.

In her GT3 debut at the season opener in Barcelona, García had been leading before she was hit by a competitor, sending the #83 Porsche into the barriers. The 22G impact caused the car to catch fire, and García was unable to exit via the driver’s door. Fortunately, marshals acted swiftly to extract her, and she was later cleared of major injuries after precautionary checks in hospital.

Following a full rebuild of the #83 Porsche, García and Ickx returned to the track at Circuit Paul Ricard, determined to bounce back from the dramatic crash that had denied them a likely podium.

The car ran smoothly during practice and was once again competitive, with Marta placing in the top three of the GT3 class. In Thursday testing, García went third fastest with a 2:04.509. Vanina Ickx took over in the second session, making big improvements as the team continued to refine the setup.

That progress continued into Friday: García clocked a 2:04.147, once again third fastest in GT3. In the Bronze Test, Ickx posted a 2:06.6, placing seventh among the bronze-rated drivers.

On Saturday morning, it was time for qualifying. Ickx was back in the car for her second qualifying session in the series. Her first representative lap, a 2:10.770, put her in second, but she continued improving with purple sectors and moved into provisional pole with a 2:07.066.

Alessandro Cozzi in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari responded with a 2:06.4 to retake the top spot as the times began to fall below the 2:06 mark. Ickx answered with a superb 2:06.134 to regain provisional pole with less than five minutes remaining. Lorenzo Innocenzi in the Kessel Racing Ferrari then became the first to dip below 2:06, three tenths clear of Ickx, who improved again but remained second.

On her final attempt, Ickx went purple in sector one but lost time in the second sector and ultimately settled for second place. The Iron Dames would start the race from the front row.

Photo credits: Iron Dames

The second round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup got underway under sunny skies on Saturday afternoon, promising another exciting battle across the classes.

The start was chaotic, with debris flying on the main straight; Vanina Ickx made a strong launch and challenged the pole-sitting Kessel Racing Ferrari of Innocenzi.

The Belgian managed to pass later on the first lap, but with heavy traffic from LMP3 cars, she was forced to take the inside line. Unfortunately, contact occurred, causing damage to the Iron Dames Porsche. Several LMP3 prototypes spun, triggering the deployment of the safety car.

Despite the damage, Ickx continued and held second in class as the race was neutralized.

Ten minutes later, racing resumed and Ickx wasted no time retaking the GT3 lead from Innocenzi. But a small error—running wide at Le Beausset—allowed Innocenzi to slip back past. The GT3 lead trio remained tightly packed.

The #29 LMP3 prototype lost a large piece of bodywork on the Mistral Straight, bringing out a second Full Course Yellow, followed soon after by a third FCY for more debris—all within the first 20 minutes.

At the next green flag, Ickx set purple sectors in pursuit, but Innocenzi had gained time under caution.

Vanina closed the gap, with Cozzi still behind her—although the latter was under investigation for failing to follow race control instructions during FCY. A fourth neutralization was triggered when Fabrizio Broggi’s Ebimotors Porsche was hit by the spinning #58 GG Classics LMP3 car of George Nakas. Marshals quickly cleared the track and the race resumed.

However, Ickx was then handed a drive-through penalty for the Lap 1 incident. While Innocenzi retained the lead, the penalty dropped the Iron Dames Porsche to fifth in GT3.

Approaching mid-race, Ickx pitted again, this time to hand over to Marta García. A slight misalignment in the pit box meant the car had to be wheeled back straight before García could jump in.

Photo credits: Iron Dames

After the pit cycle, Andrea Belicchi led for Kessel Racing, followed by Eliseo Donno for AF Corse and David Fumanelli in the second Kessel Ferrari. García emerged in fifth, three seconds behind the #11 Code Racing Development Aston Martin of Van Der Steur—but under pressure from the charging Motorpark Mercedes of Dunner, who overtook on lap 23.

García set the car’s best time with a 2:05.575 and began to close in on Van Der Steur. Ahead, the #33 Kessel Ferrari—then running third—was handed a drive-through for an FCY infringement.

Drama unfolded with 45 minutes to go when the #26 Bretton Racing LMP3 car of Gregoire De Sybourg caught fire and stopped on track. De Sybourg safely exited the car, and a full safety car bunched up the field once more—which was good news for Iron Dames, with García now back in contention.

At the restart with 36 minutes to go, several GT3 cars were hit with penalties, including leader Eliseo Donno and Dunner. García capitalized and moved up into fifth.

Back in the 2:05s pace and faster than a couple of cars ahead, Marta reeled in the top four, who were closely fighting for position.

However, García was also handed a five-second penalty for an FCY procedure violation. The young Spaniard held on to fifth but was now under pressure from Donno, who was gaining rapidly.

With Fumanelli—already penalized earlier—receiving another drive-through, García moved into podium contention as the race entered its final 15 minutes.

Dunner and Fumanelli served their penalties, and Marta climbed into third on lap 44—but she needed to maintain over a five-second gap to Donno. Ahead, Rory van der Steur took the GT3 lead from Belicchi, with García now just 2.7 seconds adrift, but Donno was setting purple sectors.

Donno capitalized when García ran slightly wide at Le Beausset and passed her for third, then overtook Belicchi for second. García closed back in on Belicchi in the final laps but ultimately had to settle for fourth, with her penalty not impacting the final result.

It was nevertheless a strong showing and another step forward from Marta García, who dealt with damage and an imperfect car to take the chequered flag for the first time in a GT3 race—showing clear podium potential once again.

The series will now head to Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, for its flagship event in support of the 24 Hour race on 13-14 June.