Michelle Gatting

Michelle Gatting is a Danish driver who has won races in single-seaters and saloons. In 2019, she entered Le Mans for the first time.

She began racing in 2011, after winning two Danish karting titles. A Formula Ford was her first senior racing car and she wasted no time in getting on the pace, finishing fourth in her first race. During the second half of the season, she was a constant presence on the podium and won her first race at Sturup. She was third in the championship.

In 2012, she moved to the VW Scirocco-R Cup in Germany, supported by the FIA Women in Motorsport commission. This was the first of two seasons in the series. She was eleventh in her first year, and fourth in the Junior standings after one class win. She also drove a Scirocco in the Merdeka Endurance Race in Malaysia, but did not finish.

Her second season was much more successful and she became one of the championship’s quickest drivers, managing four podium finishes. These were a third and three seconds early in the season. She was fifth overall.

In 2014, she moved into sportscar racing, and raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany. Her best result was 15th, in Oschersleben. Towards the end of the season, she did two rounds of the International GT Open. She was eleventh in one race at Spa in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

She did not race competitively in 2015, but she did test a Thundersports car, with a view to entering the championship in 2016. Her debut Thundersports season in 2016 was a good one; she scored one win, at Bellahoj, as well as two second places, finishing eighth in the championship. Her car was a Dodge Challenger.

2017 was another strong season, with seven podium finishes and seventh in the Thundersports championship.

In 2018, she raced a BMW in Supertourisme in Denmark, continuing her good run of form. She was third in the championship with three wins, at Rudsborg and Padskogen.  

Later in the season, she joined the Kessel team for the Gulf 12 Hours, having proven her mettle in big-engined, powerful cars. Kessel was running an all-female team. They were second in class and sixth overall. This led to an offer of a drive in Europe with Kessel, including the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team, consisting of Michelle, Rahel Frey and Manuela Gostner, is supported by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.

The FIA WiM also supported Michelle in joining another all-female team for the Sepang round of the Asian Le Mans Series, in a Ligier LMP3 car. Her team-mates were Margot Laffite and Katherine Legge. They were running as part of Keiko Ihara’s R24 team, which had two female-crewed cars in the race. Michelle’s team was eighth in the LMP3 class.

Michelle was initially named as a candidate for the inaugural W Series women’s Formula 3 championship, but dropped out in favour of joining the Kessel team and racing at Le Mans. She was one of the Kessel "Iron Dames" with Rahel Frey and Manuela Gostner. They scored the first finish for an all-female team at Le Mans itself for about ten years, ahead of the "sister" Iron Lynx car of their male team-mates. Although the Dames were troubled by their share of car-related difficulties in the European Le Mans Series, they still managed second places in class at Silverstone and Paul Ricard, leaving them fourth in the GTE class overall.

The Iron Dames entered the Gulf 12 Hours again in 2019 and were closing on third place with Michelle in the car. A collision with a backmarker who did not let the faster car through in time put them out of the race.

Driving solo, Michelle did some rounds of the Denmark Super GT championship, driving an Oreca-powered prototype. She won twice at Bellahoj and also picked up a fourth at the same track.

The Iron Dames returned in 2020. They entered the ELMS and although it was not an easy season, they were fifth in the GTE class with three third places at Paul Ricard and Monza. Once more they out-scored their Iron Lynx "brothers".

The three Dames were 34th overall when Le Mans finally ran in September and were eleventh in the LMGTE Am class. This was a second straight finish for the team.

By herself but still part of the "Iron" setup, Michelle did part of the European Ferrari Challenge in Italy. She won the Trofeo Pirelli at Misano and was second at Misano and Imola. Despite only doing half of the season, she was sixth overall.

She also tried out touring cars in the Danish TCR series, driving a 309 for the Peugeot team. Unfortunately she did not finish her two races at Jyllandsringen.

2021 was her best year yet. The Iron Dames ran her in WEC, ELMS and the Ferrari Challenge. Driving an Iron Lynx "Scuderia Niki" 488, she won the first round of the Ferrari Challenge at Monza. Two more wins and a long string of pole positions and podiums meant that she won the championship outright.

Her three WEC outings included a class 13th place at Le Mans with Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy, 36th overall. They also competed in the Portimao and Monza rounds. The Iron Dames team was ninth in the ELMS LMGTE championship after two third places at Portimao and Spa, with Michelle at the wheel.

She also made some appearances in the FIA Endurance Trophy, in the Iron Dames Ferrari.

The Dames stayed together in 2022. Michelle did five of the six rounds of the WEC for the team, with Doriane Pin and Christina Nielsen subbing for her and Sarah Bovy at Spa. Their best finishes in the large GTE class were two seventh places at Monza and Fuji and they were 14th overall. 

The season included Le Mans itself. It was far from an easy race for Michelle, Rahel and Sarah, but they were the leading Iron Lynx Ferrari crew and finished 40th, seventh in the GTE Am class. 

It was in the European Le Mans Series GTE Trophy where they really shone. The season began with a fourth a Paul Ricard that was almost a debut podium. They were second in the fifth round at Spa, then won the final race at Portimao, their first win. The Dames were third in the championship.

They went one better in the Gold Cup section of the Fanatec GT World Challenge, finishing second. This time, they were second at Paul Ricard and won at Spa.

The three main Dames stayed together for 2023, helped out by Doriane Pin. The established team had a pair of new cars: a Porsche 911 for WEC and a Lamborghini Huracan for IMSA and the Fanatec GT World Challenge. WEC and the Porsche proved to be the best combination, winning the LMGTE Am class at Bahrain at the end of the season. A third at Portimao earlier and some solid fourth places helped them to second in the class championship, in the final season of LMGTE competition. They were fourth in class at Le Mans after running much higher for much of the race but losing ground in the last few hours.

The Dames's IMSA season was limited to four rounds. Michelle and Rahel were 18th in the Daytona 24 Hours and eleventh at Sebring. They also raced at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta, in commons with many other GTD teams who did not run the full season. Sebring remained their best finish. 

Their GT Wold Challenge season was affected by an early retirement from the Spa 24 Hours, which counted for three of the six point-scoring rounds. Their best result was 28th place overall at Monza, the first race of the season.

Michelle was an integral part of Iron Dames for WEC season in 2024, as well as most of the ELMS championship and some IMSA rounds. Although the Dames - Michelle, Rahel and Sarah - had their share of DNFs in their Porsche, they picked up a historic LMGT3 class win at Imola, and then a second place in the season-ending Algarve race. They were fourth in the LMGT3 championship.

For her other racing efforts, Michelle drove a Lamborghini Huracan, beginning with the season-opening Daytona 24 Hours. The Dames were sixth in the GTD class, 25th overall, assisted by Doriane Pin. The original trio did not finish the Sebring 12 Hours, or the Watkins Glen IMSA race, dropping out after an accident.

The Lamborghini took Michelle and Sarah to eighth place in the LMGT3 class of that year's WEC. Rahel and Doriane did not do a full season with them. Michelle, Sarah and Rahel were fourth in class at Le Mans, 32nd overall, one of their best class finishes. They were also fifth at Spa, after taking the LMGT3 pole, and fifth at Fuji. 

(Image copyright Kessel Racing)

Women Drivers in National Sportscar Racing: the Nordic countries

Heidi Frydenhaug

This post consists mainly of entries split off from the Women Drivers in National Sportscar Racing post. The Nordic countries have produced several women drivers for their domestic sportscar series in recent years, both in one-make championships like the Ginetta Cup, and in the popular Thundersports category.

Jenna Brorsson - Swedish sportscar driver. The Porsche Carrera Cup of Scandinavia was her home in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. She came seventh in 2004, despite only entering four rounds, and sixth in 2005. After a break in 2006, she switched to the Swedish Ginetta Cup in a G20, winning a race in 2007 and coming third in the championship. Although she could not repeat her race win in 2008, she was never out of the top ten, apart from one retirement. Her best finish was third, at Falkenberg, and she was sixth in the championship standings. She also takes part in historic events: her earliest motorsport experiences were in her father's Lotus Cortina, and she competed internationally in a Porsche 962 in 2005. 

Heidi Frydenhaug – Norwegian driver who races in the Danish Thundersports Championship (DTC), in a Ford Mustang. 2016 was her second season in Thundersports; she was 22^nd in the 2015 championship, with a best finish of ninth, at Rudskogen. In 2016, she almost got into the top ten at Rudskogen and Aarhus, but her season was badly affected by a string of DNFs in the middle. She was 23rd overall. She combined Thundersports with the Citroen DS3 Cup in 2017, and was reasonably competitive in the DS3. She finished in the top ten in seven of her ten races, and was eleventh overall. Previously, she raced in the Seven championship in Norway, and was the winner of the Junior Rookie Cup in 2010, at the age of 21. She began her senior racing career in 2009, in the Seven, after ten years of karting. In between racing the Seven and the Mustang, she drove a Renault Clio in the Norwegian GT4 championship.

Linda Johansson - Swedish driver who began her senior racing career in 2005, in the Swedish Renault Junior Cup. She was eleventh overall in a Renault 5. After a break where she returned to karting for a while, she reappeared in 2010, in the Ginetta G20 Cup. She was immediately in the top ten, and had a best finish of sixth, at Kinnekulle. She was eighth overall. Her second G20 season did not go quite so well, with several DNFs and only eleventh in the championship, although she managed to better her top finish to fifth, again at Kinnekulle. Her 2012 season was curtailed due to pregnancy, although she rejoined the G20 championship and posted seven top-ten finishes, including a fourth, at her favoured Kinnekulle track. She was seventh overall, despite missing almost half of the season. In 2013, she raced in the Swedish Clio Cup. Her best finishes were two fifth places, at Karlskoga and Ostersund, and she was normally in the top ten. She was ninth overall. In 2014, she had a very good year in the Clio Cup, with a win at Göteborg, and four other podiums. She was fourth in the championship. She does not appear to have raced in 2015, but she returned in 2016, to contest the Swedish Clio Cup. She was sixteenth in the championship, with a best finish of eighth, at Skovde. Since then, she has raced a CrossCar in the Nordic rallycross championship. 

Kirsi Kangas - has raced Porsches in her native Finland since at least 2011, when she took part in some national-level GT racing in a 997, in the mixed Avon GT and Porsche GT championship. In 2012, she raced in both her club’s Porsche GT Racing Cup, and the Finnish GT3 Cup, in a 997 GT3. She was eleventh in the club cup and sixth in the GT3 Cup, with several seventh places as her best finishes. In 2013, she raced in the GT3 Cup again, which was part of the Finrace championships. She did not do as well as in 2012, partly because the field was much larger this year, and finished fourteenth overall. Her best result was eleventh, at Ahvenisto. She was active in Porsche club motorsport in Finland in 2014, and was quite successful, earning a number of runner-up spots. 

Molly Pettit - Norwegian driver who races a Ford Mustang in Scandinavia. She began in the Norwegian GT championship in 2009, in a Nissan 200SX, which she used for several seasons. After changing it for a Toyota Altezza in 2012, she was second in the GT4 class. In 2013, she switched to stock cars in the Mustang, competing in Thundersports. In her first season, she was eleventh in the Danish championship, with a best finish of seventh, at Padborg, and second in the Norwegian series. In 2014, she continued this arrangement. She was fifteenth in the Danish championship, and made one appearance in the Northern European championship. In 2015, she raced in Danish Thundersports again. However, her season was cut short by a massive accident in the second race. For 2016, she moved into the Danish Supertourisme championship. Her best finish was seventh, at Padborg, and she was fourteenth overall. 2017 panned out in a similar way, with a championship 17th and a best finish of sixth, at Rudskogen. As well as her own racing, she got a job as a TV reporter for the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

(Image copyright HF Racing)