Michelle Gatting makes Carrera Cup Scandinavia return at Mantorp Park with fourth place finish
Michelle Gatting made a competitive return to GT racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia at Mantorp Park, more than a decade after her previous appearance in the championship, progressively closing in on the front runners and ultimately securing a fourth-place finish in Race 2.
Michelle Gatting made a competitive return to GT racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia at Mantorp Park, more than a decade after her previous appearance in the championship, using a guest entry to return to sprint racing in a weekend that saw her progressively close the gap to the front and ultimately secure a fourth-place finish in Race 2.
The Danish star, who has been part of the Iron Dames project since its inception and has built a highly experienced résumé across some of the world's most important endurance races, has faced a very different 2026 season after the all-female organisation scaled back its sportscar commitments. Gatting has so far been able to compete in only two major sportscar events, beginning with the 2026 Dubai 24 Hours before returning to action at the 24 Hours of Spa with Rutronik Racing Porsche.
At Spa, Gatting showed class podium-contending pace throughout the race, running third for much of the night in the Bronze Cup before a lengthy repair for a technical issue during the final hours dropped the team to seventh in class. With the reduction in Iron Dames' programme leaving its drivers searching for alternative opportunities, the Carrera Cup Scandinavia guest entry provided Gatting with a welcome return to GT racing.
Her Porsche 992 GT3 Cup also stood out visually, carrying a special livery created to celebrate Porsche Motorsport's 75th anniversary and paying homage to the iconic "Pink Pig" Porsche 917/20 that competed in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Gatting progressively worked her way towards the front throughout the practice sessions at Mantorp Park, improving with each outing while steadily closing the gap to the established Carrera Cup Scandinavia field. That progress continued into qualifying: Gatting initially recorded a 1:15.5 to move into sixth place before improving significantly to a 1:14.906, which placed her eighth on the grid for Race 1. It was her first qualifying session in the championship since 2014, and left her just four tenths of a second from pole position. Gatting continued to improve in the second qualifying session, lowering her benchmark to 1:14.593 and securing seventh place on the Race 2 grid.
Race 1 took place on a damp track on Saturday morning, creating particularly challenging grip conditions for the field. Starting eighth, Gatting made a good launch and immediately settled into the opening sequence of corners, although the tricky conditions produced drama further down the field. Isabell Rustad was squeezed onto the grass and spun on the exit of Turn 2, making contact with another car in the process and prompting the deployment of the Safety Car.
Gatting remained eighth under the neutralisation, with the field regrouping ahead of the restart on lap four. Once racing resumed, Gatting immediately went on the attack, focusing her attention on Gustav Krogh. The fight at the front of the field was extremely close, with the top eight running together in one train and very little separating the cars.
As the race progressed, Gatting increasingly found her rhythm and became quicker with each lap. She recorded a 1:15.9 and repeatedly applied pressure to Krogh ahead, while maintaining approximately a one-second advantage over Theo Jernberg behind. Despite the pressure, the tight nature of the circuit made overtaking difficult, and Gatting was unable to find the opening required to make a move.
She ultimately crossed the finish line eighth, completing her first Carrera Cup Scandinavia race with a solid result after her return to the sprint-format.
Gatting started the second race from seventh and once again she made a strong start, immediately looking for an opportunity into Turn 2, but with the field tightly packed she had to slot into position and retained seventh place. She subsequently slipped behind Persson but remained attached to the cars ahead, using the slipstream and continuing to search for an opportunity.
The Danish driver remained patient while maintaining strong pace, eventually finding her first breakthrough on lap eight when Bergström dropped back and Gatting moved back into seventh.
From there, she continued to pressure Persson throughout the race. The pace was strong, but overtaking remained difficult.
Gatting's persistence finally paid off with five minutes remaining and the race approaching lap 20. She found the opening she had been looking for and completed the move for sixth place.
Once she had clear air, Gatting was able to pull away from the car behind and began closing on Krogh ahead, gaining approximately half a second. The gap to the next car, however, remained around ten seconds, leaving insufficient time to challenge further before the chequered flag.
Gatting therefore crossed the line sixth, having moved forward from seventh on the grid and produced another strong performance in only her second race of the weekend. The result subsequently improved further following post-race penalties, with three cars ahead receiving 10-second penalties for jump starts. Gatting was therefore classified fourth, giving her an impressive top-four result in her Carrera Cup Scandinavia return and wrapping up a weekend in which she had steadily closed the gap to the established front-runners.
Beyond the competitive side of the weekend, Mantorp Park also provided Gatting with an unusual experience away from the track. She shared the Porsche Racing Experience entry with Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, describing the three-day event as memorable. The Swedish royal family was also present at the circuit on Saturday, with Princess Sofia, their three sons and King Carl XVI Gustaf joining the event.
"First time at Mantorp Park and my first Carrera Cup race since 2014", she explained, "so it’s been a while. The field is seriously competitive, full of young talented drivers, but I kept closing the gap all weekend and absolutely loved being back in proper sprint racing. Standing starts, close fights and no time to breathe," Gatting said.
"I spent three great days with Prince Carl Philip of Sweden plenty of laughs, but also a very serious approach to the racing", she added.
Gatting thanked Porsche Sweden for the opportunity, describing it as a "special weekend, on and off track" and expressing her hope of returning next year.
