Iron Dames’ Gatting Becomes Porsche Contracted Driver

Porsche has announced that Michelle Gatting will become one of its contracted drivers next year as part of a wide-ranging tie-up with the Iron Dames project.

The newly-announced ‘Porsche X Iron Dames’ alliance will see the German manufacturer work closely with the long-running Iron Dames initiative for “several years” on developing female talent, according to a Porsche press release.

Its stated aim is to connect Porsche’s young driver program, including its national one-make series, with that of the Iron Dames to “create a path for young talents from karting to top professional sport”.

The formal tie-up between Porsche and Iron Dames follows the latter’s switch from Lamborghini to Porsche equipment in the FIA World Endurance Championship for 2025 with support from this year’s LMGT3 title-winning team Manthey.

Newly-confirmed Porsche works driver Gatting will spearhead the WEC lineup alongside Rahel Frey and new Bronze-rated driver Celia Martin.

The Iron Dames will also take on campaigns with the Porsche 911 GT3 R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series in association with Proton Competition.

Gatting and Sarah Bovy, who was recently promoted to Silver status, will feature in the lineups for all three series, joined by Frey and Karen Gaillard in IMSA and by Martin in the European and Asian Le Mans Series.

“Porsche stands for a culture of equal opportunities and diversity,” commented Porsche motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach.

“Encouraging women to get involved in motorsport and then supporting them in open competition is something we value highly. In this context, we’ve seen that the Iron Dames project is well-structured and was very successful in recent years.

“Since our customer teams have already celebrated victories with the Iron Dames, we’re now taking the next logical step.

“We’re very confident that the collaboration in all series will reap excellent results and we can highlight our contribution to supporting female racing drivers with victories and podium finishes.”

Iron Dames founder Deborah Mayer added: “It’s an honor to join forces with such a renowned brand as Porsche Motorsport, who share the same goal of leaving a lasting legacy in motorsport while driving forward progress.

“By 2025, we aim to set new benchmarks together, to empower women in endurance racing, support upcoming female drivers, change perceptions and inspire the next generation.

“‘Porsche X Iron Dames’ provides more than a fresh impetus for women in motorsport, it sends a powerful message that every dream is worth pursuing, no matter how ambitious.

“I look forward to seeing Celia, Michelle, Rahel and Sarah racing Porsche cars all over the world again and to seeing the ‘Every Dream Matters’ movement flourish with them.”