Michelle Gatting Porsche official driver in 2025

Porsche and Iron Dames are proud to announce that they are joining forces to strengthen their commitment to empower dreams in motorsport and beyond. Porsche X Iron Dames brings together two passionate and successful forces, recognised around the world for their strong values, passion for performance and mission to shape the future. With an emphasis on both sporting excellence and a sense of purpose, Porsche X Iron Dames: Because Every Dream Matters promises to have a lasting impact on the world of endurance racing and society at large.

A Shared Vision: Empowering Dreams

Combining the commitment, experience and strengths of Porsche and the Iron Dames can only be a winning formula, as each has already demonstrated its ability to be a pioneer, to create opportunities for women to thrive and succeed in a perceived male-dominated environment and inspire the younger generations to dream big. The motto “Driven by Dreams” has long been at the core of Porsche’s vision, while Iron Dames has championed “Women Driven by Dreams,” inspiring the next generation through leading by example. “Porsche X Iron Dames” will serve as a catalyst for further breaking down barriers and turn dreams into reality.

Performing at the Pinnacle of Endurance Racing

This milestone is also of great sporting significance for both brands, building on a shared history of success, including the historic first win by an all-female driver team in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the season-ending race in Bahrain in 2023 and most recently in 2024 at Imola in the European Le Mans Series.

Starting in December 2024, Iron Dames will compete at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R in four major international endurance racing championships: the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), IMSA Sportscar Championship, European Le Mans Series (ELMS), and Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS). 

The Iron Dames’ 2025 line-up will feature some of the most talented and experienced female drivers, partnering with top-level expert racing teams to continue their reach of new heights.    The driver line-ups and racing team will be as follows:

• Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS): Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy, Celia MartinProton Competition

• FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC): Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey, Celia Martin Manthey racing

• IMSA SportsCar Championship: Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey Sarah BovyProton Competition

• European Le Mans Series (ELMS): Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy, Celia MartinProton Competition

In addition to the team participation in four top-level series, two Iron Dames also occupy a very special place in the Porsche family. Michelle Gatting is promoted to driver under contract with Porsche, a testament to her exceptional talent and progress year on year and a major step forward in her professional career. Marta García (Spain) successfully tested the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team's Porsche 99X Electric last month, which bodes well for new opportunities for women in the series. Karen Gaillard, recently named Junior Porsche Carrera Cup France 2025, will be part of the Iron Dames crew for the 24 Hours of Daytona and has everything it takes to be one of the project's future GT talents.

Shaping the Future

There are also plans to closely link the project with the German sports car manufacturer's proven and tested junior development programme. The aim here is to interlink the national development programmes in the Porsche one-make cups, the central Junior programme by Porsche Motorsport and the recently launched ‘Iron Dames Young Talents’ programme. Ideally, this will create a pathway for young talents from karting to professional motorsport.

Looking Ahead

The 2025 season is set to deliver groundbreaking achievements that will strengthen both brands' legacies and open new doors for women in motorsport. Together, Porsche and Iron Dames are poised to inspire future generations and lead the charge for a more inclusive racing world because Every Dream Matters.

Deborah Mayer, Iron Dames project founder said: “It's an honour to join forces with such a prestigious brand as Porsche Motorsport, that shares the same ambition of leaving a lasting legacy in motorsport while driving progress. The Iron Dames project has always been rooted in the power of dreams to shatter barriers and our journey is not just about competing at the highest level but also proving that the racing world holds a place for everyone with passion and determination. Together, we aim to set a new course for empowering women in endurance racing by 2025, developing future female drivers, reshaping perceptions and inspire the next generation. Porsche X Iron Dames is more than a new momentum for women in motorsport, it's a powerful statement that every dream, no matter how ambitious, is worth pursuing. I look forward to seeing Celia, Michelle, Rahel, and Sarah around the world racing with Porsche again and the 'Every Dream Matters' movement growing with them.”

Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “Porsche stands for a culture of equal opportunities and diversity. This diversity manifests itself in various dimensions, including age, origin and gender. And we firmly believe that diverse teams are more successful, even or even more so in motorsport. In recent years, we have found the Iron Dames project to be highly structured and very successful. Now that our customer teams have already celebrated victories together with the Iron Dames, we are taking the next logical step. We are very confident that the collaboration will produce outstanding results in all series and that we can underpin our contribution to the promotion of women and girls in motorsport with victories and podium finishes.”