Sarah Bovy (born 15 May 1989 in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

) is a Belgian female racing driver. She has recently competed with the

Iron Dames The Iron Dames are an Italian-Swiss auto racing and Equestrian sports, equestrian team founded by French businesswoman Deborah Mayer. They are based in Zug, Switzerland, and primarily participate in sports car racing. They are a subsidiary of th ...

team in multiple series, including the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

and at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

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 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver

Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Alain Boutsen (; born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver, businessman and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Boutsen won three Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Boutsen competed in ...

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 (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

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. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...

, 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 71st 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 Regional Formula Regional (FR) is an FIA-approved moniker for certified regional one-make Formula Three championships with the concept being approved during the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in December 2017. The first series under new regulations w ...

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, a ...

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 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 hosts ...

, 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

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) is a French List of female racing drivers, racing driver who is part of the Iron Dames programme and the Mercedes Junior Team. She is currently competing in 2025 F1 Academy season, F1 Academy and the 2025 Formul ...

. 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 Stéphane Ratel Or ...

, 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 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. ...

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 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 (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. 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 CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

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

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

. 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 Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, 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 (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

and

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, 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

^* Season still in progress.

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) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

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 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup 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 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 21st-century Belgian sportswomen Manthey Racing drivers