The Iron Dames are one of the most influential brands in women’s motorsport today. The Italian based team began their mission in 2019, and aim to support and inspire young women within motorsport.
Rahel Frey, from Switzerland, is one of the key women within the Iron Dames project, and enters cars into WEC and IMSA. When she’s not racing, she’s helping the next generation of Iron Dames to fine tune their skills, and maximise their speed. Recently, Frey has been training the Dames for the Michelin Le Man Cup.
“What we try to do is create a training platform for new Dames,” says Frey.
“The Michelin Le Mans Cup is one little part of that idea that we can train new GT drivers.”
Rahel began her motorsport journey through karting when she was 12, following her dream whenever she could. Eventually, Frey found a Swiss mentor to invest in her single-seater career.
“There was only one option,” says Rahel. “You take the phone and you call everybody. You get €1000 here, a little bit more there. So you just have to try to find the foundation.”
Since her efforts in karting, Rahel has climbed the ladder. From racing in German F3, and then in DTM for Audi from 2011 to 2012, Rahel eventually joined the Iron Dames project in 2018.
Whilst breaking into the scene was a monumental challenge, Rahel believes that the pressure on new drivers is at an all-time high.
“Today, I see the young kids in go-karting, they have personal coaches, they have a dedicated fitness program.
“It’s insane. The expectations for drivers have increased massively. The young ones, they need to perform and develop in a very, very short time. But clearly, they also have a lot more possibilities.”
The Iron Dames is one of these possibilities for aspiring female racers. The project is the fastest-growing opportunity for the development of female talent in motorsport, and is much more than just the endurance team they are known for. In fact, they also have cars in F1 Academy, the FFSA Rally and ELMS, alongside a range of karting series.
“People didn’t really know what to expect from the Iron Dames. But I think now, after these five years, people really start to understand well. This will have a big impact.”
Rahel claims that this shift in attitude from outsiders has been influenced not only by hard work and lightning-fast performance but also from the simple passage of time.
“People need time to understand what’s behind [the project]. As we give time to ourselves, we also have to give time to the people to understand,” she says. “So yes, it’s a matter of time. It’s also a matter of time until we see a female again in Formula 1.
“There are also some key factors, let’s say some key successes, which helped us a lot. They really put Iron Dames on a different level – set a new benchmark.”
Such successes include victories in-class at the 8 Hours of Bahrain in 2023, 2022’s 24 Hours of Spa, 4 Hours of Portimao as well as their LMGTE pole position in the 6 Hours of Monza. On top of all that comes Michelle Gatting and Doriane Pin’s individual Ferrari European Challenge titles in 2021 and 2022.
Over five years, Iron Dames have given women opportunities to race at a level that simply didn’t exist before.
But Rahel knows it takes much more than just cars on the grid to get girls into racing. Women need to have the same opportunities to develop from a young age that men do.
Luckily, the Iron Dames channel much of their resources into their ever growing young driver programme.
“I organise scout camps and then I try to develop contracts for new Dames” she says. “Then I put together the training programs for young Dames on the physical and mental side. Plus the [personalised] driving program, negotiate with teams for who they drive, what races, what series.”
“When we do scouting camps, what we say is when you join is that you drive for the possibility to inspire us. We want to be inspired too. We want to see the sparkling eyes, we want to see speed, we want to see character.”
The reality of training girls from the ground up is that it takes time. If we want to see more on the grid as soon as possible, aspiring drivers need to take the initiative.
It’s another good thing that the Iron Dames have that one covered too.
“Unfortunately there are not enough girls for the level we need. So we’re so open to people reaching out to us, pitching themselves to us.
“The best example is Sarah Bovy. It was during lockdown, we had drivers catching Covid and also we needed a new bronze driver. So I went to the list, which was very difficult and, suddenly we found Sarah.
“I don’t know how it went exactly, but she presented herself to me. I called her up and said, look, if you can make it to Barcelona within the next day, you’re in. She made it.”
With multiple projects in the pipeline and a drive to change racing, Rahel has some simple words about the new world she and Deborah are helping build.
“Just – dream big. Dare to dream big and chase your dreams. Clearly, you need to work hard for it, but reach out to people. Don’t be shy. Just go for it and the chance it’ll happen will be much higher. This is what we stand for.”
Rahel Frey is a testament to the power of perseverance. Having carved her own path through a tight-knit sport, she’s now helping pave the way for the next generation. With the Iron Dames project continuing to grow and a 12-driver strong lineup, the female presence in motorsport is still in its infancy.
So, as Rahel says, dream big, chase your dreams, and don’t be afraid to reach out. The racetrack might just be calling your name.
