Sarah Bovy (born 15 May 1989 in Liège) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

female racing driver. She has recently competed with the Iron Dames team in multiple series, including the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Interco ...

and at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

Biography

Following two years in karting, Bovy began her racing career as a Formula Renault Academy driver in

Formula Renault 1.6 Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

Belgium. Former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

driver

Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Boutsen (born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One. He competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix (163 starts), winning three rac ...

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 The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has hel ...

before falling back into a part-time endurance campaign in 2016. The next two seasons would see her align with

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–199 ...

, 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 The 2018 Total Spa 24 Hours was the 70th running of the Spa 24 Hours endurance race. It was also the fourth round of the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and was held on 28 and 29 July at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Entry li ...

. In 2019, Bovy applied for entry into the women's only

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...

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 The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, ...

where she failed to start with technical issues; again in Misano following injury for regular driver

Emma Kimiläinen Emma Elina Kimiläinen (born 8 July 1989 in Helsinki) is a Finnish racing driver. She currently competes in the W Series. Biography Motorsport Kimiläinen entered professional motor racing in 2005, competing in the Northern European Formula Fo ...

, finishing 12th; and also in the final round of the championship at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hos ...

, 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 The Le Mans Cup, previously the GT3 Le Mans Cup and currently known as the Michelin Le Mans Cup under sponsorship, is an international sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club ...

alongside

Doriane Pin Doriane Pin (born 6 January 2004 in Paris) is a racing driver from France. She is the reigning Ferrari Challenge Europe champion and is competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. Career Karting Having started ...

. The same year, she would also drive in two rounds of the

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gro ...

, before being introduced into the team's WEC roster for the final four rounds of the campaign, replacing

Manuela Gostner Manuela Gostner (born 19 May 1984 in Bolzano) is a racing driver from Italy. Biography A member of the Gostner family synonymous with Ferrari Challenge competition, Manuela entered the European championship with encouragement from her brother Da ...

. The following year saw the Belgian team up with

Rahel Frey Rahel Frey (born 23 February 1986 in Niederbipp, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss Audi factory racing driver. She has competed in such series as Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, International Formula Master and the German Formula Three Championship. Fre ...

and

Michelle Gatting Michelle Sophie Gatting Brændstrup (born 21 December 1993 in Århus) is a racing driver from Denmark. She currently competes in the European Le Mans Series. Racing record Career summary † As Gatting was aguest driver she was ineligible for ...

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 The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

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 Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. 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 The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their ...

as well as finishing third overall in the ELMS, as a Bovy pole position was converted to victory at the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has its ...

. 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 Porsche 911 RSR-19 is a racing car developed by Porsche to compete in the LM GTE category of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest sanctioned FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and the GTLM class, of the International Motor Sp ...

. 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 Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, a clean race enabled the #85 team to take their first podium of the year, finishing third. Further top five finishes followed at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

and

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

, 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

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 Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

) (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

(

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

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(

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

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(

) (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