Rahel Frey: "A big step for everyone" 🎥
ENTERING THE WEC Iron Lynx enters the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with its Ferrari women's team and Rahel Frey as leader. In addition, she will be competing in two other championships and interesting projects. The professional film shows Rahel Frey from her best side at home in Aedermannsdorf, where she helps out in her parents' Volvo garage, and at the race track [...]
The professional film shows Rahel Frey from her most beautiful side at home in Aedermannsdorf, where she helps out in her parents' Volvo garage, and at the race track with Iron Lynx - worth seeing even for those who don't understand English!
Among the 33 teams permanently registered for the 2021 World Endurance Championship (WEC) (see starting list published today here), there are several with Swiss drivers (including Sébastien Buemi, Fabio Scherer and Neel Jani) and one female driver: Rahel Frey. So far, the soon-to-be 35-year-old professional driver has driven exclusively in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the highest level of a world championship.
Iron ladies under French management
For 2021 and beyond, Team Iron Dames is expanding the program. It is led by the ambitious Frenchwoman Deborah Mayer. She makes or made her money in the high finance sector and is passionate about motorsport as a driver and manager with her partner Claudio Schiavoni, who also races. Her preference is for the Ferrari brand.
As an FIA ambassador for "Women in Motorsport," Mayer set the best example by founding an all-women's team within the Iron Lynx Academy from Italy two years ago. Since then, it has been formed by Rahel Frey from Switzerland, Michelle Gatting from Denmark and Manuela Gostner from Italy.
A virtue out of necessity
In 2019, she had her Ferrari 488 GTE supported and fielded by Kessel Racing from Grancia TI, and last year by Iron Lynx from Italy. Highlights so far have been several podiums in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and two good ninth-place overall finishes at Le Mans in the strongly contested LMGTE-Am category, in which each team must consist of at least one bronze or silver driver alongside (hired) professionals.
With her track record in Formula 3, DTM and GT3, Frey is the most experienced of the three Iron Dames and therefore also a kind of team leader. As last year's fourth-placed team in the standings, they were no longer guaranteed a grid spot at Le Mans 2021 and only moved up to the starting field last fall due to cancellations by qualified teams, so Mayer and Schiavoni entered two Ferraris in the 2021 WEC. The factory subsidiary AF Corse will be the partner team for operations and support.
The largest class
There's no question that the Solothurn native is looking forward to the new task, especially since she gets to take responsibility for the Iron Dames' car. A total of 13 LMGTE-Am teams are entered in the 2021 WEC.
Rahel Frey: "It's terrific. The World Championship is an absolutely huge step and a challenge for all of us. I know the WEC teams from Le Mans. The level is higher than in the ELMS. We'll have to fight."
Boss as racing partner in the GT3 Ferrari
Under the same Iron Lynx application, Schiavone will also start with two of his compatriots in a second Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. According to Frey, the long-term goal is for Deborah Meyer to also join them as a driver in the future.
Rahel Frey: "For this reason, I will also compete with Deborah in the Michelin Le Mans Cup on a GT3 car and prepare her for Le Mans. In addition, we Iron Dames will also compete again in the ELMS. The team will grow, already in 2021! There's a lot more to come..."
Also still with Audi Sport
Rahel Frey is still a member of the Audi Driving Experience and, as a driver, of the Audi Sport customer racing factory squad. However, she has not yet planned any concrete races, especially as there is not much time left for this with the three parallel programs of the Iron Dames.
Where she allows, she plans to continue supporting Audi customer Bernhard Henzel and his Team RaceIng in VLN races and the Nürburgring 24 Hours as a driver and personal coach on the Audi R8 LMS GT3.
WEC to start in Portugal instead of the USA in 2021
Due to the ongoing Corona pandemic and travel restrictions, the 2021 WEC season will not kick off at Sebring in the US state of Florida in March but on the first weekend in April at the Algarve Circuit in Portimão.
