Sarah Bovy

Sarah Bovy (born 15 May 1989 in Liège) is a Belgian female racing driver. She has recently competed with the Iron Dames team in multiple series, including the FIA World Endurance Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Biography

Following two years in karting, Bovy began her racing career as a Formula Renault Academy driver in Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium. Former Formula One driver Thierry Boutsen took her under his wing as part of his team, and began an association with the Boutsen-Ginion squad that saw her race in GT, touring car and silhouette racing disciplines before taking a year's break in 2014 due to a lack of funding and undertook a Bachelor of Marketing course.

Bovy returned to the sport in 2015, gaining the funding to complete a full season in the Renault Sport Trophy. She yielded a podium in her home race at Spa-Francorchamps before falling back into a part-time endurance campaign in 2016. The next two seasons would see her align with Lamborghini, contesting the 2017 Super Trofeo Europe Championship – finishing 14th in the Pro-Am class – and various endurance races in 2018, finishing second in class at the 2018 24 Hours of Spa.

In 2019, Bovy applied for entry into the women's only Formula 3 championship W Series. She was accepted as one of the series' reserve drivers, and would be called upon on three occasions – the first time in her home race at Zolder where she failed to start with technical issues; again in Misano following injury for regular driver Emma Kimiläinen, finishing 12th; and also in the final round of the championship at Brands Hatch, ending the race 19th after sustaining front-wing damage in the early laps. She scored no points and was the penultimate driver in the standings.

Iron Dames

In 2021, Bovy would join the Iron Dames to compete in the opening rounds of the Michelin Le Mans Cup alongside Doriane Pin. The same year, she would also drive in two rounds of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, before being introduced into the team's WEC roster for the final four rounds of the campaign, replacing Manuela Gostner.

The following year saw the Belgian team up with Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting to contest a full season in the LMGTE Am class of the World Endurance Championship, as well as racing in the European Le Mans Series and GTWC Europe Endurance Cup. During the WEC campaign, Bovy became the first woman to claim a pole position in the series' history, qualifying first at both Monza and Bahrain. Additionally, podiums in the final three races of the season helped the #85 Dames crew to finish third in the teams' championship. Adding to Bovy's successful year, the Dames would win the Gold Cup at the 24 Hours of Spa as well as finishing third overall in the ELMS, as a Bovy pole position was converted to victory at the Algarve.

Bovy returned to the Iron Dames roster for another WEC season in 2023, this time switching from the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo to a Porsche 911 RSR-19. The season opener at Sebring began strongly, with Bovy taking pole position, though an off by Frey which damaged the car's diffuser and floor would curtail any hopes of a maiden victory. Despite not scoring pole in Portugal, a clean race enabled the #85 team to take their first podium of the year, finishing third. Further top five finishes followed at Spa and Le Mans, where Bovy and her teammates narrowly missed out on a podium due to a slow final stop. Bovy scored her second pole of the year in Monza and led the race during the opening stint, before the team fell back to fifth by the checkered flag.

Racing record

Racing career summary

Complete W Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Le Mans Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

*Profile a
Driver DatabaseOfficial website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bovy, Sarah
Belgian racing drivers
1989 births
Living people
W Series drivers
FIA GT Championship drivers
Blancpain Endurance Series drivers
24H Series drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
Belgian Formula Renault 1.6 drivers
21st-century Belgian women
Boutsen Ginion Racing drivers
Le Mans Cup drivers
Iron Lynx drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Belgian female racing drivers
Racing drivers from Brussels
Lamborghini Super Trofeo drivers
Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers