Rahel Frey-Iron Dames-Iron Lynx (part 3/3).

Last part of our interview following

-        Rahel Frey story and ambitions at Le Mans (part 1/3)

-        Rahel Frey’s career as a professional driver (part 2/3)

CRR: You started driving for Iron Dames in 2019.

Rahel Frey: Yes, the 12 hours of Abu Dhabi was our first race under the lead of Deborah Mayer.

CRR: What is the genesis of the Iron Dames adventure?

📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022.

Rahel Frey: It was a personal idea of Deborah Mayer who was racing in the Ferrari Challenge and GT3.  She realized she had to learn more about car racing and there were but few female racers. From the beginning, Deborah wanted to support women in motorsport; not only as drivers but in all aspects of our sport; engineering, managing, … That is why she created the project Iron Dames.

It already gave us the possibility as drivers but also female managers, engineers, and mechanics to be part of several championships. There are quite a few females in our team.  

Deborah strongly believes every woman can be part of motor racing. We say “driven by dream”: when you have a dream, work for it and the chance that the dream becomes reality becomes much higher.

It is thanks to her idea and courage that we can run under the project “Iron Dames”.

CRR: How were you linked to it?

Rahel Frey: I simply got a phone call. They wanted to have an all-female lineup and were looking for female drivers with a GT racing track record. Giacomo Piccini called and explained the project. I immediately agreed to join the team.

The first two years were a bit complicated because I was still linked to Audi Sport. I was only allowed to drive GTE, no GT3 because I was driving GT3 for Audi.

After two years, I quit the job at Audi Sport because I saw that Iron Dames was growing very quickly. It is a long-term project not only about drivers, but also to change the mentality in our sport. It is on us to make that females can compete at the highest level. As drivers of course because we are representative but also in all profiles in motorsport.

CRR: You became project manager of the Iron Dames project. You must have a good connection with Deborah Mayer.

📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 6 Hours of Monza 2022.

Rahel Frey: Yes, we have the same mentality, I trust her, and she trusts me.  I’m not only a driver but also a loyal person; I see and understand what is needed as I have been through the process. I would have loved to have more support. We have very young female drivers who are very fast, it is on us to guide them, to bring them to the right people at the right time. This mentality, I share with Deborah. We understand drivers' needs and strengths, and the different situations. We help them build the right surrounding to be successful. One needs a whole package to be successful in motor racing.

CRR: You are responsible for the drivers’ part of the project. Who oversees the technical part of the project?

Rahel Frey: We are linked to Iron Lynx. The technical support is done by Iron Lynx. Andrea Piccini, who was a racer himself, is responsible for Iron Lynx. It is his responsibility to build and manage the technical team. We are a whole family.

CRR: You became a gold driver. Is that not a poisoned gift because it limits your driving time?

📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 6 Hours of Monza 2022.

Rahel Frey: Absolutely. On one side, it is an honor, on the other side, it is quite painful as we carry extra weight in the car and my driving time is limited to 45 minutes. I was used to making double stints. When they call me to come back in box, I’m always surprised it is already finished! That is something we must deal with.

The 24 hours races are nevertheless the best races for us as Gold drivers because we are quite free in total time driving during the race whereas the Bronze drivers have a minimum and a maximum time of driving.

CRR: In 2021, Iron Dames had different lineups: Legge, Gostner, Gatting, and Bovy as codrivers. Why so many changes?

Doriane Pin (second from left), joins Sarah Bovy (right), Michelle Gatting (left) and Rahel Frey to become first all-female entry at iconic TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa since 1997. 📷 © a courtesy of Iron Lynx.

Rahel Frey: It happens from time to time, especially during COVID. Finding a replacement for female Bronze drivers is very complicated, also for Silver drivers. Sometimes, we have new contacts with a girl and want to see how she is doing. As we have no tests during the season, we must use the race to see what she is capable of. It is a rather complicated process. The target is to maintain the same lineup during the entire season but in the last two years, it was not possible simply due to the COVID situation.

CRR: You are part of the Woman FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.

Rahel Frey: Yes, I am managing the “detection cell” supporting Deborah Mayer.

CRR: What made you so committed to getting women into car racing?

📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps test day 2022.

Rahel Frey: Own experience! Ten or fifteen years ago it was a different world. It got trendy in the last two years. I see an enormous change as everyone wants to get a female driver. We are speaking with different manufacturers, and different organizations looking for female racers. I don’t know enough fast girls who can compete at the necessary level. The girls are not ready to accept the challenges; I have seen how difficult it is and it does not need to be that difficult. It is just, in the end, to do the job on track, but to do the job on track we have to help with the rest off track.

CRR: How come there are so few willing to go through those challenges?

Rahel Frey: Car racing needs a lot of experience. If you start in a championship, you are building your experience on the spot, but it is already too late! The trend is good but having the quantity is not what we are looking for. That is why we need to help them as soon as possible. Women might be more emotional which is not wrong, but I have learned in DTM that you have to control yourself to be able to control the situation. That is exactly what I try to teach to the younger generations. That is a point where we, as women, can improve. I have experienced so many times that we can handle it but we have to learn it. One needs also to learn what is needed to go fast AND to communicate with anyone in the team. Especially as a girl. It is on us to help them understand quicker what they need so that they are able to communicate earlier on what they want, what they need.