AUTO – Commission supported female crew secures 24 Hours Le mans entry

Manuela Gostner, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting will line-up on the starting grid in their Ferrari 488 GTE, the first time in 10 years that an all-female crew has competed in the event on the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe.
“This is a dream come true for the mission and objectives of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission,” said its President Michèle Mouton, who won the Prototype 2L category at the 1975 Le Mans. “For nearly 10 years we have been working to promote the place of women in our sport and to try and open doors that will give female racers equal opportunities to demonstrate they have the talent to compete at the highest level. Kessel Racing has really embraced our philosophy and it is a real pleasure to be associated with such a professional team.
“To have secured this entry to Le Mans is absolutely fantastic, and not easy, and a real step towards our goal of getting women on the podium at the most iconic event in endurance racing.

I have to say a big thank you to the ACO for their support, and of course Kessel Racing for their faith in Manuela, Rahel and Michelle. The hard work really starts now, but with the official ELMS test and two race meetings before Le Mans, I am convinced the girls will use this preparation time wisely and be more than ready for one of the most significant races in their careers.”
Deborah Mayer, who was instrumental in making the Kessel Racing project possible, and who will be the Team Manager, added: “I am very honoured and proud that both the FIA WIMC and ACO have supported our project to realise this dream. It’s the start of a wonderful and lasting adventure.”
This year’s 87th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is the finale of the 2018-2019 Super Season of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Kessel Racing crew will be competing in the hotly-contested LMGTE Am category which has 18 secured entries.
As well as its history-making Le Mans entry, the trio is also entering the record books elsewhere in endurance racing – as the first all-female crew to compete in the European Le Mans Series.
The crew, which will again compete with Kessel Racing in a 488 GTE Ferrari, teamed up for the first time at last year’s Gulf 12 Hours race in Abu Dhabi and claimed second in the GT3 Pro-Am category and sixth overall from a field of 33 cars competing at the Yas Marina circuit. Now they’ll join forces in Europe for the full six-round ELMS season.
“We had a full test day and long free practice sessions, where the performance was not bad at all,” said Manuela Gostner of the team’s debut. “I was very confident that if we can manage to avoid problems in the race, we can achieve a good result. But when we climbed on to the second step of the podium, I was very proud and happy.”
Gostner adds that the women’s strong result was a key factor in gaining a full season programme this season.
“I didn’t know exactly what Kessel Racing had in their mind after Abu Dhabi,” she said. “I hoped that what I showed during the race week was enough to continue a collaboration in some way. But when they told me about the project in the ELMS I could hardly believe and was incredibly happy.”
For Michelle Gatting the chance to race in the endurance series and at Le Mans is a dream come true. “Kessel Racing and Deborah Mayer have completely turned my career upside down, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity. For me it’s a dream coming true to get back to the big international race tracks, and with such a professional team. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
Rahel Frey was also quick to pay tribute to Mayer. “What she has, together with her family and Kessel Racing, is simply amazing and we can’t thank her enough for this great opportunity.”
The women’s first chance to repay Mayer’s faith comes at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet on 12-14 April and for Frey the goal is clear.
“The target is to always do a good job and be consistent  – consistent would be good! That is the only way to steadily improve, become a frontrunner and make younger girls look up to us as role models.”