Michelin Le Mans Cup: Vanina Ickx secures front row start at Le Castellet

With a strong qualifying effort, Vanina Ickx claimed second place on the GT3 grid for the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Le Castellet, as Iron Dames will aim to bounce back from the unfortunate start of the season.

Photo credits: Jan Patrick Wagner

Vanina Ickx secured second place in qualifying for the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Le Castellet, the second round of the championship, improving from sixth at Barcelona, where the Belgian veteran returned to an elite sportscar series after over a decade.

Following a full rebuild of the #83 Porsche, Marta Garcia and Vanina Ickx were back on track after the massive accident that had denied them a likely podium at the season opener in Barcelona.

In practice, the car ran smoothly and was quick once again, with Marta placing in the top three in the GT3 class, showing she was immediately back up to speed In the Thursday test, Marta was third fastest with a 2:04.509. Vanina Ickx took over in second practice and made big improvements as the team fine-tuned the setup.

The same trend continued into Friday, with Garcia clocking a 2:04.147 to go third fastest in GT3. In the Bronze test, Vanina made more progress, setting a 2:06.6 to go seventh fastest in the session reserved for Bronze-rated drivers.

On Saturday morning, it was time for qualifying, and Vanina Ickx took over the #83 Porsche for her second qualifying session in the series. Ickx’s first representative time was a 2:10.770, placing the Belgian in second position. She kept improving with all-purple sectors and went on top with a 2:07.066.

Alessandro Cozzi in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, however, managed to find a few more tenths and reclaimed the top spot with a 2:06.4, as others also began improving and dipping under the 2:06 barrier.

Ickx responded with another superb lap, including a purple second sector, and clocked a 2:06.134 to put the Iron Dames Porsche back on provisional pole with less than five minutes to go.

Lorenzo Innocenzi’s Kessel Racing Ferrari was the first to dip under the 2:06 mark, three tenths quicker than Ickx. The experienced Belgian racer improved again but remained in second.

Ickx went for one more attempt—she was significantly quicker in the first sector but lost time in the second and had to settle for second place. The new Iron Dames duo will therefore start from the front row for the first time this season.

The second round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup season is scheduled for 16:45 on Saturday, where the Iron Dames will aim to capitalize on their pace and bounce back from the dramatic start in Barcelona.