The women of the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours
- RACERS
- Jun 11
- 5 min read
From the main race to the support races: as the Le Mans week unfolds, several female drivers have genuine chances to fight at the front of their classes. Here are the women behind the wheel at the legendary circuit for the biggest week in motorsport.
While the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans features fewer female competitors than some recent editions, the quality of talent represented throughout the event remains exceptionally high. From established endurance racing stars to emerging prospects as well as race winners across the support categories, women continue to play a significant role during motorsport’s most prestigious week.
At the center of attention are two of France’s brightest racing stars: Doriane Pin and Lilou Wadoux. Both arrive at Le Mans with strong credentials and realistic ambitions of fighting at the front of their respective classes.
One of the highlights on this year’s entry list is undoubtedly Doriane Pin, who returns to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the first time since 2023.
Pin has rapidly become one of the most highly regarded young female racers in the world. After making her mark in sports cars with the Iron Dames programme, she added to her resumé an increasingly successful single-seater career, claiming the F1 Academy championship in 2025 before making her return to endurance racing.
In 2026, Pin has enjoyed a superb start to her campaign in the European Le Mans Series, regularly battling for victories and collecting podium finishes in the LMP2 Pro-Am class. For Le Mans, she will enter the ultra-competitive LMP2 category with Duqueine Team, sharing the #30 Oreca 07-Gibson with Richard Verschoor and Julien Andlauer.
Her previous Le Mans appearance came in 2023, when she raced for PREMA Racing in LMP2 and gained valuable experience in her first start at the legendary endurance classic, competing at the front of the class before an unfortunate DNF.
Pin has already made headlines this week. During Wednesday’s opening sessions she immediately emerged as the benchmark in LMP2, topping both Free Practice and Qualifying.
Joining Pin among the French stars is Lilou Wadoux, whose rise through the endurance racing ranks continues across several top-rated GT championships.
The Ferrari factory team has become one of the most competitive female drivers in international sports car racing, having competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA, ELMS and GT World Challenge around the world - having also secured the 2025 IMSA Endurance Cup title.
At the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours, Wadoux returns to AF Corse’s Richard Mille-backed programme in LMGT3, sharing the #150 Ferrari 296 GT3 with Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini. The trio has been among the leading contenders in the European Le Mans Series and will be hoping to translate that form onto the biggest stage of all.
Last year, Wadoux just missed out on a top ten in class, after charging forward with one of her trademark stints at the beginning of the race. It will be Lilou's fourth participation at Le Mans, her third in GT3.
Beyond the main event, several female drivers will also compete in the support races that form an integral part of the Le Mans week. One of the biggest stories comes in the Michelin Le Mans Cup’s Road To Le Mans event, where Swiss racer Léna Bühler returns to the circuit where she made history twelve months ago.
In 2025, Bühler in fact became the first woman ever to win outright in Michelin Le Mans Cup, in one of the most memorable performances on her debut year in LMP3 prototypes.
Now competing for R-Ace GP alongside Zack Scoular in the LMP3 Pro class, Bühler returns with a new team and a new challenge. The Swiss racer, inaugural F1 Academy vice-champion, has made an impressive transition into prototypes in 2025 and quickly became one of the most promising female talents in sportscars racing. In the opening rounds of the 2026 season, Bühler was once again on the podium in Barcelona.
Joining Bühler in the LMP3 field is Hong Kong racer Denise Yeung. A mother of three and in her 50s, Yeung will make history entering her first Le Mans Cup round after building experience in touring cars and GT races across Asia – including participations in the all-female Kyojo Cup and in Chinese F4.
AT the Road To Le Mans, she competes with one of the category’s strongest organisations, Team Virage, sharing an LMP3 Pro-Am entry with experienced teammate Theo Micouris, with the duo potentially representing a competitive pairing.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil championship makes its first-ever appearance at Le Mans this year, creating a unique opportunity for Brazilian drivers to race at one of the world’s most famous circuits.
Among them is Antonella Bassani, who continues to make headlines in the Porsche one-make series.
The Brazilian talent has been a regular front-runner in both Porsche Sprint Challenge Brazil and Porsche Carrera Cup in the new 992 car, entering the 2026 season carrying momentum after positive top five finishes in the previous rounds.
Le Mans represents a completely new challenge for Bassani, but also one of the biggest opportunities of her career.
The Ferrari Challenge support race also features two female competitors.
One of the veterans of the Ferrari Challenge paddock, American driver Lisa Clark makes her debut at Le Mans; a regular competitor in both Ferrari Challenge North America and Ferrari Challenge Europe, Clark has become a familiar presence in the series, particularly in the Shell category.
Joining her is Melissa Kozyra, who regularly competes in the Shell AM category in North America. For Kozyra, the 2026 event marks her first appearance at Le Mans.
Despite relatively limited racing experience compared to many of her rivals, Kozyra has shown impressive progress throughout her racing career, showcasing steady improvement and increasing confidence behind the wheel.
French racer Cindy Gudet was also in action at Le Mans during the Ligier European Series support event held last weekend. Competing in the JS2R category alongside Nathan Huet, Gudet overcame qualifying difficulties to fight back through the field to secure a Pro-Am podium finish.
While the absence of the Iron Dames from this year’s Le Mans entry list means the race lacks one of its most popular all-female team, the 2026 edition still offers numerous compelling stories.
Pin’s remarkable start to the week has already made her one of the drivers to watch, while Wadoux can never be ruled out in LMGT3.
The depth of talent may be spread across multiple categories rather than concentrated in the main race, but the opportunities remain significant; as the Le Mans week unfolds, several female drivers have genuine chances to fight for podiums and personal best achievements — with hopefully even more female participation joining the paddock in the years to come.
