Marta García, Vanina Ickx secure maiden Michelin Le Mans Cup podium at Spa
- RACERS
- 1 day ago
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Marta García and Vanina Ickx claimed Iron Dames' first podium finish of the season in the Michelin Le Mans Cup after a remarkable performance for the duo, who battled at the front of the GT3 class throughout the two-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. It's García's first podium in GT3 machinery, achieved on only her third start.
Marta García and Vanina Ickx claimed Iron Dames' first podium finish of the season in the Michelin Le Mans Cup after a remarkable performance for the duo, who battled at the front of the GT3 class throughout the two-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps for the fourth round of the season. It was García's first podium in GT3 machinery, achieved on only her third start.
It was a deserved reward for García, whose bad luck had prevented her from collecting the results she should have earned up to this point.
Making her debut in GT3 in 2025 after graduating from single-seaters, inaugural F1 Academy champion Marta García joined Iron Dames in 2024, contesting the highly competitive FRECA while also making her sportscar debut in the Ligier European Series. In just two rounds, she secured two wins and was then promoted to the Iron Dames' Michelin Le Mans Cup program for 2025, alongside Vanina Ickx, who returned to competitive racing after over a decade.
In their first round at Barcelona, the duo immediately proved competitive. García was leading the GT3 class when she was hit by a competitor and sent into the wall at full speed, with the #83 Porsche, operated by Proton Huber Competition, catching fire. García was helped out of the car by marshals and, after precautionarily spending the night in hospital for checks, was luckily uninjured.
At the following round at Paul Ricard, Vanina Ickx showcased outstanding speed and claimed a front-row start. Misfortune, however, struck again, as a contact in the opening stages of the race resulted in a penalty for the duo, and García salvaged a still positive fourth place.
More heartbreak followed at Le Mans, the flagship event of the series and support race to the legendary 24 Hours. A health issue for Ickx meant that the duo were forced to withdraw from the race and skip the third round.
Returning to racing for the second half of the season, Ickx and García tackled the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Vanina's home track where she has plenty of experience from her decorated endurance career – and where García had also proved quick in both FRECA and the Ligier European Series.
Marta soon showed good speed while still adapting to the car in opening practice. She clocked a 2:18.992, the fifth fastest time in the GT3 class, before Ickx took over for the bronze collective test, reserved for bronze-rated drivers. Vanina impressed with an incredible performance, leading the session by 1.6 seconds with a 2:18.231 lap.
In second practice, the team continued fine-tuning the car setup, with García looking to make some adjustments. It was another positive session: again fifth fastest, with a 2:19.593 lap, as the Iron Dames duo showed podium-contending pace.
Qualifying for the GT3 class got underway on Saturday morning, with Vanina Ickx, as the bronze driver, behind the wheel. Rain arrived before the session, which was slightly delayed for track repairs from a previous series. The Belgian Iron Dames driver, racing on home soil, aimed to carry the momentum from her highly positive practice day.
Her first timed lap was a 2:43.119 to place second in GT3 in tricky conditions. Ickx then improved to a 2:39.904 and climbed back to fourth after briefly slipping to fifth. With three minutes to go, the #33 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Murat Cuhadaroglu spun but managed to rejoin without the need for a red flag.
Vanina found big time in sector three and went on provisional pole with a 2:39.373 – however, Lorenzo Innocenti soon grabbed the top spot. Cozzi in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari also improved, and Innocenti retook pole. Ickx eventually finished third, setting a personal best of 2:39.118, just shy of the front row. It was still a very positive starting position.
On Saturday afternoon, the fourth round of the season went green for the two-hour race. Vanina Ickx took the start of the Iron Dames Porsche from third in class.
In GT3, chaos unfolded at the Bus Stop chicane at the start with a multi-car collision. Ickx went all the way through the escape road but survived the melee, emerging in the class lead. She immediately mixed with the back of the LMP3 field and held the top spot in class over the #11 Code Racing Aston Martin of Philipp Sager and the #33 Kessel Ferrari of Murat Cuhadaroglu.
The safety car was deployed after four GT3 cars tangled. At the restart, 15 minutes into the race, Ickx retained the lead before a new neutralization when the #30 CD Sport Duqueine suffered an engine failure up the hill at Eau Rouge.
Green flag conditions resumed with 1h17m to go. Vanina retained the lead in class, carefully managing the LMP3 traffic ahead while keeping Sager and Cuhadaroglu at bay. By lap 12, the Iron Dames Porsche had built a one-second margin over the #11 Aston Martin.
Ickx set a 2:20.958, a new GT3 best lap and over a second per lap quicker than the Aston. The two leaders began pulling away from the rest of the GT3 field. The Aston Martin stopped with 1h08m to go as pit stops began.
Ickx pitted on lap 15 with just over an hour remaining, handing over to Marta García after a near-perfect opening stint with the fastest lap in class by a clear margin – the only car in the 2:20s.
García rejoined with a good gap in the lead, while cars behind battled for position, allowing the Iron Dames Porsche to breathe. Van Der Steur and Fumanelli in the Kessel Racing Ferrari emerged as the closest pursuers: Fumanelli cleared the Aston Martin and then attacked García, taking the lead at Turn 9. García kept it clean and smartly slotted into second.
Finding her rhythm, Marta set a 2:20.766 and improved the car’s best time. She now had Van Der Steur and Dunner to keep behind, with Donno also on a charge and joining the group. The Spaniard kept her cool, improving her personal best by half a second, while Dunner loomed large in her mirrors. She however continued to defend well.
Despite hard defending, the smallest error allowed Dunner to get a better exit and take second into Pouhon. Behind García now was Eliseo Donno, the fastest driver in class at the time.
Dunner, however, was handed a drive-through penalty for track limits.
A Full Course Yellow was deployed for debris on the Kemmel straight after an LMP3 car lost a large diffuser piece. The neutralization gave García some breathing space, and she retook second when Dunner served his penalty as soon as the race returned to green. Marta managed the restart well, extending her margin by a couple of tenths and keeping Donno behind with consistent laps.
García was extremely competitive, building her gap to Donno to over three seconds by lap 32.
It was a massive effort from the Spaniard, but with 10 minutes left on the clock, danger returned in the form of Lukas Dunner. Recovering from his penalty, he passed Donno for third and then, with unmatched pace, cleared the Iron Dames Porsche as well. Marta nevertheless held onto third.
After a perfect run from Vanina Ickx and a remarkable second stint from Marta García, the Iron Dames secured third place and celebrated their first podium in the 2025 Michelin Le Mans Cup – and García’s first in GT3 racing.
“I was still wondering if it was the right decision to come back, but I have no doubts about it now," commented Vanina Ickx. "It's an amazing feeling to be back racing at Spa-Francorchamps with a high-performance car, especially alongside Marta, who did a phenomenal job throughout her stint."
It was a just reward for the progress made by Ickx and García after overcoming bad luck earlier in the season. The duo is now determined to carry this momentum into the final rounds – the next one at Silverstone on 12-13 September.