Gatting Excited to Discover Manthey “Secrets” in Rookie Test

Michelle Gatting says she is excited to discover Manthey’s “secrets” in this weekend’s Bahrain FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test, in what could be a prelude to the Iron Dames team joining forces with Porsche next season.

As revealed upon last week’s publication of the entry list for the one-day test on Sunday, Gatting will drive the LMGT3 title-winning Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R along with Gillian Henrion and fellow Iron Dames member Celia Martin.

It comes amid strong speculation that Iron Dames and Manthey are poised to join forces for 2025 after a difficult season for the all-female squad with Lamborghini machinery.

Speaking in the pre-event press conference in Bahrain, Gatting said the test outing with Manthey “could be something exciting for next year”, although she stopped shy of confirming that Iron Dames will be linking up with the German outfit.

Although the Porsche is not new to Gatting, who shares a 911 GT3 R in the European Le Mans Series with her regular WEC teammates Sarah Bovy and Rahel Frey, the Danish driver subsequently told Sportscar365 that she is eager to discover exactly what has made the Manthey squad to team to beat in LMGT3 this year.

“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to test for Manthey, which has always been one of the top teams as long as I have been a driver,” Gatting told Sportscar365.  “We visited the factory last week to do a seat for this test and it’s on a different level.

“I’ve been lucky to race for Iron Lynx for six years, but to try something else is also exciting. It’s a different mentality and a different way of working.

“I’m hoping to learn some of their secrets and how they have made such a difference this year compared to all the other teams.”

Pressed further on Iron Dames’ plans for 2025, Gatting added: “Hopefully the test will go well and it can lead to something for next year.

“At the end of the day it’s about performance and what the stopwatch says. We have shown with the Iron Dames that we are not just about one brand only, the last two years we have been with both Lamborghini and Porsche [across the WEC and ELMS].

“We have also mixed up with Iron Lynx and Proton, so we are open to opportunities, but nothing is decided yet.”

Bronze-rated Martin’s chance to try out the Manthey Porsche comes as Bovy looks poised to be promoted to a Silver driver grading for 2025.

“I don’t want to comment on Sarah’s classification, but for sure Celia is rated Bronze, and testing for Manthey is a great opportunity for any driver,” she said.

“I never shared a car with her, but she joined the Iron Dames program in the Michelin Le Mans Cup this year, and we have a lot of fun together. She could be part of the crew next year, she fits the program very well.”

Gatting Reveals Frustrations With Lamborghini Unreliability

As well as discussing the prospect of trying out the Manthey Porsche on Sunday, Gatting spoke in the press conference about the frustrations that she and her Iron Dames teammates have suffered during the 2024 campaign.

Two DNFs, combined with a number of other problems, have served to leave Gatting and Bovy down in seventh in the LMGT3 drivers’ standings ahead of this weekend’s finale.

“This year the issues have been mainly reliability with the car,” explained Gatting. “We had issues that we didn’t expect to have – small things at pitstops, not being able to get the wheel nuts off and losing too much time.

“In Sao Paulo a small rubber brand broke and we had to retire for reasons that were unexpected.

“The sister car, the No. 60 Iron Lynx car, has run smoothly the whole year without any issues, but somehow the bad luck and reliability issues followed our car.

“In such a championship where the competition is so high, it’s simply not possible to fight for the championship when you have slow pitstops or DNFs.”