Exclusive: Michelle Gatting recalls tearful Le Mans debut and Iron Dames project growth

Michelle Gatting recalled her tearful Le Mans 24 Hours debut with the Iron Dames and described the growth of the all-female driver project.

The Iron Dames project is currently one of the leading and lasting motorsport organisations promoting female driver talent.

As of this year, they have the highest count of drivers in their roster – 16 – across various series and disciplines including the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA, European Le Mans Series, GT World Challenge Europe, to name a few in sportscar racing.

The project began their sportscar racing endeavours at the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours, as Gatting told Motorsport Week about her emotive event debut along with the unforeseen growth of the project.

Gatting has been one of the key figures in the Iron Dames having taken on most of their pursuits in sportscar racing.

The 31-year-old joined fellow Iron Dame Rahel Frey in six consecutive starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“It was my first 24 Hours of Le Mans,” she said.

“A huge achievement back then, obviously the biggest achievement in my racing career, coming there with an all-female line-up with a new project in the motorsports environment.

“The attention on us was huge, enormous.

“I remember on the starting grid before the race started, we were sitting together, Rahel [Frey], me and Manuela [Gostner], our line-up.

“We were all wearing our sunglasses and the tears were falling down on our cheeks because it was such a proud moment and there was a lot to take in.

“I also got the tattoo on my arm two days before I left for the race with the 24 Hours of Le Mans logo and the quote saying, ‘If you can dream it, you can do it,’ because it was obviously just a huge achievement.”

Public reception of the Iron Dames initiative

The Iron Dames were not the first effort with ambitions to bring female talent to Le Mans, having contributed to the 66 female drivers who have starred in the historic race.

Gatting remembered a largely positive reception to Deborah Mayer, the founder of the Iron Dames initiative, though underlined by public skepticism due to the unsuccessful attempts of previous alike female driver projects.

“I don’t think there were so many expectations to begin with because you have seen female projects before that were there for one year and then you never saw them again.

“And this was also very important for me, personally, that it was not going to be a project like this.

“I quickly realised together with Deborah [Mayer] that it was not going to be a project just for one year.

“So the first year I remember being in the paddock, I knew a lot of the drivers already. But people were a bit skeptical.

“And if I go to now, we are very well-respected and very well-known in the paddock.

“We have drivers that are coming to shake our hands when they see us, the Hypercar drivers. You know, there’s a lot of respect amongst the other drivers towards us and the project.

“And this was something that had to be done over years.

“… The first year we finished P9 no mistakes from the team, from the drivers, and basically we’ve done that ever since… [and] so far never had a DNF.”

Mayer as a leader for the Iron Dames

Mayer founded the Iron Dames in 2018 before taking on motorsport with her female driver-focused project.

She served as President of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission from 2022 to 2024 having been fuelled by her passion for female representation in motorsport and has lead the Iron Dames drivers throughout the project’s seven-year existence.

“Deborah is a very strong, empowering woman and she’s a very kind person,” said Gatting.

“She is taking us in like we are her own. She’s protecting us really, like we are her own.

“And this is very special.

“Obviously I’ve been on the project since day-one, so I have shared a lot of moments together with Deborah.

“Good and bad, strong and let’s say weak moments. We have been through it all.

“We [Iron Dames] are all very similar because she’s very determined, she’s very strong-willed.

“When she has an idea, she goes for it. When she has a goal in her head, she will do everything she can to reach it.

“I think this is very important that the mentality is more or less the same between all the drivers and the riders.”

Seeing Iron Dames in different race cars

For the 2025 racing season, the Iron Dames announced their partnership with Porsche for all of their GT3 racing efforts.

Gatting became an official Porsche driver as part of the news, as she teased what this meant for her and the Iron Dames project.

“This is very important for me,” she said on the achievement.

“A huge personal goal that I’ve worked very hard for many years to achieve and I also don’t hide the fact that the goals are bigger than that.

“My dream is to continuously be an Iron Dame, but hopefully within the next year to get the chance to share a car together with male drivers, with male factory drivers, as an Iron Dame continuously.

“This is the next goal. This is the next step that the Iron Dames will also be expanded and you will see more Iron Dames maybe in different cars, still having an Iron Dames-branded suit or Iron Dames logos, but you will see us more as individuals with male drivers and so on.”

Earlier this week, the ‘Supported by Iron Dames’ initiative was launched to bring three female drivers – Emma Chalvin, Laura van den Hengel and Ava Lawrence – to be nurtured by the Iron Dames across the GT racing, rallying and karting disciplines the trio represent.

Aiming towards a main championship title

The Iron Dames won their first European Le Mans Series race at the end of the 2022 season, followed by their maiden victory in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship – also at the season finale.

“I think for the project, the next goal that would be for all of us to win a championship,” Gatting said, “We have shown that in WEC, we’ve shown it in Le Mans that we can withstand the pressure.

“… Now it’s about consistency and to prove to the environment that we can also win the championships because that’s the hard part in the end, is to be consistent enough over a year to gain enough points to win championships.

“… They [Manthey Racing ] won the championship, they [also] finished P2, they won Le Mans.

“I know it’s not just a goal for me, but it’s also a goal for my teammates that we win a championship.”

The recent Qatar 1812 km marking a difficult start to the season for the Iron Dames having taken 13th place in the LMGT3 category as Gatting anticipated beforehand their #85 Porsche 911 LMGT3.R was “probably not going to be standing on top of the podium.”

This was due to address Manthey’s dominant form last year during what was the first season of the LMGT3 category.

Sixty-two hours of racing remains in the WEC schedule whilst Proton Racing will assist in the remainder of IMSA’s Endurance rounds and the upcoming the ELMS season.

The Le Mans 24 Hours on 14-15 June will mark another chance to better their fifth-placed finish last year and their best-ever of P4 in 2023.

READ MORE: Five key storylines from the WEC Qatar 1812 km