Wadoux: GTE-Am Win Proves Girls Race Just as Well as Boys

Lilou Wadoux was “very proud” of her historic GTE-Am class victory in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, which saw her become the first female race winner in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Wadoux, sharing the No. 83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo with Luis Perez Companc and Ferrari factory driver Alessio Rovera, won Saturday’s six-hour enduro by a margin of 18.6 seconds over the No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

The 22-year-old Frenchwoman captured her first win in her second season in the championship, debuting last year as part of the Richard Mille Racing Team LMP2 effort.

“I am very proud of that,” Wadoux told Sportscar365.

“It is the final thing for women in motorsport and I prove that we can drive like a boy and we can do the same thing. Having the will, it is the driver. Not a woman or a boy.

“It is very good because it proved to everyone, girls do the same as boys and there is no difference between the two.”

Wadoux’s victory comes in the midst of an increase of female drivers on the world championship grid, all of which have already achieved podium results so far this season.

Doriane Pin, racing as part of Prema’s two-car LMP2 program, stood on the podium in the Sebring season opener while the Iron Dames trio of Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy finished third in GTE-Am at Portimao.

Wadoux added that she’s hopeful that her latest success will serve as an inspiration for the next generation of female racers working their way up through the ranks.

“I hope that will give some ideas to other girls who want to go karting or motorsport,” she said. “A big spirit to push and go, it is not a problem for a girl.”

After Bronze-rated driver Perez Companc took the race start, the No. 83 Ferrari first moved toward the sharp end of the GTE-Am pack with Wadoux at the wheel.

She twice fought her way past the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Zach Robichon to take the lead in class.

The decisive move came when she overtook the Canadian into Les Combes halfway through the fourth hour, which came mere moments before a safety car triggered by a collision between AF Corse’s Francesco Castellacci and Vanwall Hypercar driver Jacques Villeneuve.

“It was a good day for us,” said Wadoux.

“Luis did an amazing job and he gave me the car P5. Very good and we were very close to the other cars.

“I had a difficult first stint with a lot of problems, but after that I did the second stint and it was better.

“The car was very fast and the strategy very good and we had a safety car at a good moment and it helped us a little bit.

“When I finished my second stint, we were P1 and I know Alessio was very fast and he did an amazing job.

“It [was] easy compared to Portimao to finish with 18 seconds [advantage]. It is a very different story and a different place.”

Opening Stint “A Nightmare” for Perez Companc

Perez Companc was one of a number of drivers to start Saturday’s race on slick tires, which initially proved difficult as the track was still largely wet.

The Argentinean driver admitted he struggled through the first moments of his opening stints but managed to keep the car in one piece before handing it over to Wadoux.

“It was really a nightmare for me,” Perez Companc said.

“When my engineer told me I had to go for slick tires and it was raining a little bit I said ‘okay, I’ll try do it’.

“It was the right choice after that and the laps was really, really difficult.

I just tried to concentrate to try and keep the car on the black stuff and not [make] any mistakes because I knew that I had very good teammates, very fast, so I could deliver the car in a good way and in a good position. We could fight for a win in Spa.

“The car was really, really good, but the first lap was really, really challenging.

“When the tires got the temperature I was getting better and better and more confident with the car and I could push a little bit more.”