Sarah Bovy

Sarah Bovy
Bovy in 2023
Nationality	Belgian
Born	(1989-05-15) 15 May 1989 (age 35) Liège, Belgium
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season	2021
Current team	Iron Dames
Racing licence	FIA Bronze
Car number	85
Starts	23
Wins	1
Poles	7
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	2nd in 2023
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 2021–2024 Teams Iron Dames (2021–2024) Best finish 4th (2023) Class wins 0

Sarah Bovy (born 15 May 1989 in Liège^[1]) 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.

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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4][5]

In 2019, Bovy applied for entry into the women's only Formula Regional 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.^[6]

In 2021, Bovy would join the Iron Dames to compete in the opening rounds of the Michelin Le Mans Cup alongside Doriane Pin.^[7] 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.^[8][9]

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.^[10][11] 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.^[12][13] 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.^[14][15]

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.^[16] 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.^[17] Despite not scoring pole in Portugal, a clean race enabled the #85 team to take their first podium of the year, finishing third.^[18] 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.^[19] 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.^[20]

^* Season still in progress.

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

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2021	Iron Lynx	Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Am	332	36th	9th
2022	Iron Dames	Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Am	339	40th	7th
2023	Iron Dames	Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting	Porsche 911 RSR-19	GTE Am	312	30th	4th
2024	Iron Dames	Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	LMGT3	279	32nd	5th

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

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

^* Season still in progress.

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sarah Bovy.

• Profile at Driver Database
• Official website