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What do you want to be when you grow up?
An astronaut chef. A jet pilot. A dancer. A racing driver.
Children's imaginations know no bounds, and their dreams can sometimes seem like distant, elusive concepts. But seeing them portrayed in one of the most eye-catching liveries in international motorsport this year may make them seem more real. Because, as Iron Dames' 2024 Le Mans project says, “Every dream matters.”
Ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the first female drivers in endurance racing took to social media to ask their fans, “What did you want to be when you were a child?” They then visited an elementary school in Le Mans, France, where they asked the children to draw their dreams for the future and explained the story of Iron Dames as “women chasing their dreams.” With the help of AI, the drawings were transformed into a livery that symbolizes the Iron Dames philosophy.
“I want to show my kids that whatever your dreams are, everything is possible in life,” said Michelle Gatting, one of three women piloting a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2. “As long as you have a dream, a vision in your head of what you want to achieve, that's already a big thing.”
Who are the “Iron Dames”?
Six years ago, former racing driver Deborah Mayer founded Iron Dames to show that women could get involved in motorsport at any level, “to prove that women can compete at the same level as men in motorsport,” Gatting said.
“This is about empowering women, easing the barriers to entry they face in the male-dominated world of motorsport, promoting inclusivity and making investments to help develop young talent. But this is also about competing and winning, a project that will last for years to come, not just a momentary success.”
Gatting was one of the original members of Iron Dames, joining in 2019 when the band didn't even have a name.
“The project was basically nascent,” she says. “Deborah had it in her head during the project.” Gatting received an email about testing what was then a Ferrari. It was the kind of offer he couldn't refuse.
Gatting's motorsport journey began by chance. The Danish native was on holiday in the south of France with his family at the age of seven when he hopped into a go-kart. Knowing very little about motorsport, Gatting began to incorporate it into his life. “When I was younger, I only dreamed of being a Formula One driver and was probably a bit more naive,” Gatting said. As time went on, he realised motorsport was about more than just F1. “My vision changed and for me, I wanted to be an endurance driver.
“I wanted to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
Endurance racing is quite different from mainstream racing like F1 or IndyCar. Instead of driving a set distance, endurance racers drive as far as they can within a pre-set time limit. Because endurance racing is so demanding, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) allows teams to split the race into multiple stints and swap drivers in the cockpit.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the pinnacle of the WEC. Part of motorsport's Triple Crown, the race sees 62 cars and 184 drivers across multiple classes compete over 24 hours on an 8.5-mile (13.6 km) course.
In 2019, Iron Dames gave Gatting a chance, and she is now preparing for her sixth 24 Hours of Le Mans. “This project changed my life, my career. I always wanted to go professional and make a living from it, but only a handful of drivers in the world get that opportunity.” But it wasn't easy to reach the pinnacle of endurance racing. Gatting sacrificed her teenage years, and although she has no regrets, she was also plagued by financial problems. At one point, she missed a season because she “didn't have the money,” and “basically every year I was begging people and sponsors for money to go and race.”
Every dream is important. 💗
We turn your childhood dreams into reality, come race with us Follow Round 4 @FIAWEC.
Every dream is important. We are here to prove it. They will become our lucky charms and symbolize our determination to nurture… pic.twitter.com/gPSc57Aqnz
— Iron Dames (@IronDames_) June 3, 2024
The other two in the driver line-up for Le Mans 2024 are Sarah Bovi and Rahel Frey, who will replace the injured Dorian Ping.
Frey is one of the OG members of Iron Dames, along with Manuela Gostner. Brothers Giacomo and Andrea Piccini (the latter is team principal at Iron Lynx, the Iron Dames' service provider) approached her given Frey's level of experience. She started out in go-karts in 1998, moving to single-seaters a few years later and winning a German Formula 3 race in 2007.
“They asked me to come on board because they were looking for a female racer who already had good experience in endurance racing and who could essentially join, mentor and lead a crew of female drivers,” Frey said.
It was through Gatting and Frey that Bovi, the third member of this year's Iron Dames Le Mans 24 Hours driver line-up, found out about the project – the Belgian driver had met the two women and learned about the project's launch through social media.
“At the time, I thought, 'Oh, this is an amazing project that I can't be a part of,'” Bobby says. “My first reaction was, 'Oh, I wish I could be a part of it, but it's too late now.'”
Still, Bobbi, who started racing in fair karts, followed them on Facebook and Instagram. She continued her career, competing in the Spa 24 Hours and the inaugural season of the all-women's W Series in 2019. But when she realised the team might be short on drivers in 2021, she sent an email asking if she could fill the hole. Spoiler: the answer was yes.
Make your childhood dreams come true. ðŸ’
Iron Dames Followwe encourage you to dream big. One day, young girls today will be racing at this iconic venue. And that could be you. https://t.co/o21ZEFaRjL#World Economic Forum… pic.twitter.com/I9qckS1cVV
— Iron Dames (@IronDames_) June 5, 2024
“It's important to stress that it's never easy and I think everyone in Iron Dames has worked very hard, I'm sorry, to get to this level,” Gatting said. “And I'm so pleased that what we're doing now with this project, although it may not be easy, is giving young girls the opportunity to get involved in projects like this at a very young age. I hate to think what would have happened to me if I had had that opportunity when I was eight years old.
“But with this project we are changing the world of motorsport.”
“Women Driven by Dreams”
When the Iron Dames are on the track, it's hard to miss them.
No, it's not because she's a woman; it's because of the car's color. Bobby explains that the design originally had a black or navy blue base with pink details. “Once we started seeing good results and felt like we had a bit more industry appeal, our media team came back and said, 'Look, next year we're reversing the colors. The car is going to be pink with black details.'”
But it wasn't just the bright pink car: the racing suits and shoes too, with the team going all-out in a color that has long been considered feminine.
“The point is, pink is not a silly color. Pink is not a color you hate,” Bobby said. “Pink is the color we grew up with. We're kids of the '90s and in the '90s, pretty much everything for girls was pink, so why hate it or say it's a color you hate? We don't agree with that. We say that if you love pink, pink can be a very powerful color.”
Before joining the Iron Dames, if someone had asked her to wear a pink suit to a race, Gatting would have quickly refused. “I didn't want people to see that I was a woman driver,” she says. But now? “I wear it with pride,” she says, later showing off the hot pink polish on her fingernails.
But there's an element of pressure with pink: It's bright pink and it's hard to blend in with the pack. “We all looked at each other and were like, 'Wow, OK, we've got to win a race with this car or we're going to look stupid,'” Bobby said.
In 2022, the Iron Dames competed in LMGTE Am, the top class of GT racing, and finished third in the WEC with 93 points. The following season they went one step further, finishing second with 118 points. In both seasons, the Iron Dames also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the same lineup as this year, finishing seventh in 2022 and fourth in 2023.
As time went on and they moved up the ranks, they became more comfortable with the color of the car, which Bobby saw as “something that represents our flag and our country.” It's a source of pride for them. As Bobby pointed out, they've won in pink and other colors. More recently, they've won races in the WEC, making history in the series by winning the LMGTE Am season finale in Bahrain last year as the all-female crew.
“We don't feel like color defines us anymore,” Bobby says. “We just wanted this project to stand out more.”
And it's becoming more noticeable: There are queues for autograph sessions at racetracks and women are finding their merchandise is becoming more visible in the paddock, especially among male fans.
“They're really rooting for us and the fact that this is something to take seriously,” Gatting said, “but people really respect us for what we've accomplished and everything we do. Every time we race, we want to prove that we're not just here to run around and compete.”
“We're here for one purpose only: to win.”
Gatting gets goosebumps and gets emotional when she talks about their impact, thinking about all they've achieved and grown over the past few years: “We're top-class professional racing drivers, competing against the best male drivers in the world, and people don't look at us weird anymore.”
And it all started with a decision to follow a childhood dream. After all, that's what Iron Dames is all about: women driven by dreams. Iron Dames is much more than just these three women. The project is heavily invested in motorsport with other drivers such as Dorian Ping and Marta Garcia, but Iron Dames is also involved in equestrianism. The whole project currently consists of 45 people, including those in behind-the-scenes roles such as marketing.
This weekend, Gatting, Frey and Bovi will be part of one of the biggest moments in motorsport – making kids' dreams come true on the race track, and fulfilling their own dreams at the same time.
“What started as an idea to promote women's motorsport and get more women involved has now become much more than that,” Bobby said, “It's empowering women all over the world to stand up and fight for the dreams they want to achieve.”
(Main Image: Photo courtesy of Iron Dames, Design by Dan Goldfarb/Athletic)