Meet the women who took on the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2026 |

It’s been over a week since the legendary 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, and we still can’t get over how the race and support races unfolded, as well as the incredible feat of the nine women who drove around the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans over the race weekend.

Doriane Pin and Lilou Wadoux both returned to the prestigious race, with Pin taking part in the ultra-competitive LMP2 category. Wadoux returned to the race with AF Corse’s Richard Mille-backed programme in LMGT3.

Beyond the main race, six women took part in support races, with Swiss racer Léna Bühler returning to the circuit in the Michelin Le Mans Cup’s Road To Le Mans event with R-Ace GP, alongside Zack Scoular, in the LMP3 Pro class.

Denise Yeung joined Bühler in the LMP3 field. The Hong Kong racer and mother of three made history by entering her first Le Mans Cup round, having gained experience in touring cars and GT races across Asia.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil championship made its first-ever appearance at Le Mans this year, creating a unique opportunity for Brazilian driver Antonella Bassani to race around one of the world’s most famous circuits.

American driver Lisa Clark and Melissa Kozyra both made their Le Mans debut in the Ferrari Challenge. French racer Cindy Gudet was also in action at Le Mans during the Ligier European Series support.

Jamie Chadwick also became the first woman racer to drive a Hypercar on the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans on Test Day.

Race: 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

Pin took part in the ultra-competitive LMP2 category with Duqueine Team, sharing the #30 Oreca 07-Gibson with Richard Verschoor and Julien Andlauer.

Returning to Le Mans for the first time since 2023, Pin was hoping to capitalise on an impressive European Le Mans Series campaign, securing podium finishes in LMP2 Pro-Am competition.

From the opening practice session, it was clear that Pin and her team topped the first practice session with a 3:35.248 lap, seven tenths clear of their closest rival, #14 TDS Racing Oreca. Their momentum continued through the qualifying session, with Pin setting a lap time of 3:34.662, half a second clear of their closest rival.

Pin finished in first place in her class and advanced the team to Hyperpole. In Hyperpole 1, Verschoor set a lap time of 3:34.386, securing fifth place and advancing to the final Hyperpole shootout.

Andlauer drove the car for Hyperpole 2 and immediately challenged for pole position, finishing the session in sixth place, meaning that the team started sixth on the LMP2 grid.

Andlauer was the first to drive during the race, and quickly moved forward into fifth place through the first few corners, quickly charging into third place. During his stint, Andlauer continued to overtake drivers, moving up to second place and matching the leader’s pace.

By staying out longer than their rivals during the first pit stops, the team opted for a different strategy and managed to inherit the class lead by lap nine.

Pin took over driving three and a half hours into the race, and she immediately delivered a very impressive stint, becoming one of only a few drivers to run laps consistently under 3:40.

By the end of Pin’s first stint, the team had an almost 40-second advantage over their closest rivals by lap 66. Pin remained in the car for a second consecutive stint and rejoined in second after pitting but quickly regained the lead.

During Pin’s second appearance, she matched the pace of Nico Müller and the Inter Europol challengers. Andlauer, Verschoor and Pin continued rotating through the cockpit while consistently remaining at the front.

At the 18-hour mark, Pin led by nine seconds after a safety car and into the next few driver swaps and pit stops.

Then disaster struck with just over three hours remaining: Verschoor suffered a front brake disc failure approaching the Mulsanne chicane, and the Dutch driver was forced to stop the #30 Oreca by the side of the circuit, ending their race.

For Doriane Pin, this weekend marked a significant achievement on the grandest stage of endurance racing, a moment that had the potential to make history. Although the official results indicate a retirement, that detail does not do justice to the remarkable performances shown throughout the event.

Race: 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

Team: AF Corse’s Richard Mille-backed programme

Wadoux returned to the race with AF Corse’s Richard Mille-backed programme in LMGT3, sharing the #150 Ferrari 296 GT3 with Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini.

The Richard Mille Racing Ferrari showed pace in practice amid a super-tight field, with just 1.6 seconds covering the entire field.

Custodio Toledo was on qualifying duties, making good progress over the session, but ultimately finished 20th in class, missing out on the Hyperpole.

Toledo started the race but slipped to 22nd through the opening corners. Over the first stint, he made progress and climbed as high as 13th before handing the wheel to Riccardo Agostini. Wadoux climbed into the car for her first stint six hours into the race, as night was descending and they had already moved into 11th place.

Her first lap came within touching distance of the car’s best time of the race. As she finished her first stint, the team was in contention for the top ten.

Wadoux returned to the car with eight hours left on the clock and once again became one of the fastest Ferrari drivers on track. In the closing stages of the race, the team were just outside the top ten. The Ferrari picked up positions as rivals were forced to pit with ten minutes to go.

With three minutes to go, Agostini stayed out and inherited eighth place, crossing the line in 8th place in the LMGT3 class.

Race: Michelin Le Mans Cup’s Road To Le Mans

Swiss racer Léna Bühler returned to the circuit with R-Ace GP, alongside Zack Scoular, in the LMP3 Pro class. Last year, in the same race, the Swiss driver wrote her name into Michelin Le Mans Cup history by becoming the first woman ever to claim an outright victory in the championship.

Returning with a new teammate, Bühler went into the race weekend full of hope, but the weekend immediately took a turn for the worse during the qualifying session.

While Bühler was at the wheel of the #86 R-Ace GP Duqueine, the car lost a wheel, destroying any chance of a good qualifying position. Slow zones and interruptions prevented her from putting together a meaningful lap, and she ended up qualifying 25th.

Determined to put in a good performance and make up for qualifying, Bühler set out strong and managed to keep out of trouble throughout the opening lap chaos, with multiple incidents unfolding throughout both the LMP3 and GT3 fields.

Halfway around the opening lap, she had already moved from 25th to 13th in class, gaining twelve positions in less than half a lap.

The #50 23Events Racing car made contact with the rear of Bühler’s Duqueine at Arnage, but she managed to escape without incident and continued on and by the end of lap four, she had climbed all the way to ninth position.

After pit stops and penalties, Bühler was up in eighth place after six laps, but bad luck was just around the corner. After dropping to ninth due to brake issues, Bühler was struck from behind, damaging the rear of the #86 Duqueine. She was forced to pit and had a lengthy stop, losing two laps during the repair.

Zack Scoular took over the car and rejoined in 21st position. He managed to gain some positions before he crossed the line in 13th place after a drive-through penalty for track limits violations.

Race: Michelin Le Mans Cup’s Road To Le Mans

The real estate professional Yeung, in her 50s, became the first Chinese woman to compete in the Road to Le Mans series.

The Hong Kong racer and mother of three gained experience in touring cars and GT races across Asia.

Competing for Team Virage alongside Theo Micouris, unfortunately, they were unable to start the race after having to withdraw from the race after Yeung picked up an injury earlier in the weekend.

They showed strong pace in qualifying and were on for a shot at pole, but a Full Course Yellow on their final lap put an end to the opportunity.

Race: The Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil championship

Antonella Bassani had an exceptional weekend at the Circuit de la Sarthe, demonstrating one of her best performances of the season. She finished in a remarkable second place, securing her first-ever Carrera Cup podium at this iconic circuit.

2026 was the debut of the Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil championship, around the Circuit de la Sarthe as a support series.

Bassani immediately embraced the 13.6-km circuit and finished sixth overall in FP1, just two seconds away from the fastest time. During the second practice session, Bassani explored the track’s boundaries, learning and maximising ahead of the race.

During the qualifying session, Bassani established herself very quickly as a frontrunner and remained inside the top five for the majority of the session, but slipped into P8 after several of her rivals improved on their final runnings.

Bassani started eighth in Race 1 and remained there through the opening stages of the race. After an early yellow flag, she found herself in eleventh place. During the first few laps, Bassani managed to capitalise on others’ mistakes and quickly found herself in sixth place.

Her pace indicated that she was worthy of a top-five finish, and in the closing stages of the race, she tried to close down, but it wasn’t quite enough. She crossed the line in seventh but was promoted to sixth after a post-race penalty.

Bassani started Race 2 with a great opportunity after inheriting pole position for the reverse grid race – her first pole position in the series. She defended her position well at the start of the race but dropped to third after running slightly wide.

She immediately went on the attack, closing in on the top two through the safety car restarts. Bassani made a decisive decision to launch an attack on Paludo on lap six and secured second place.

She closed the gap down to one second as the race entered its final lap but crossed the line in second place, securing her first-ever Porsche Carrera Cup podium.

Experienced Ferrari Challenge driver Lisa Clark returned to the international scene, competing in the Shell category with the #130 Pellin Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge. Having previously participated in both the North American and European championships, Clark brings a strong background in Ferrari Challenge racing.

In Race 1, Lisa Clark completed a clean race and crossed the line 11th in the Shell category.

Clark was classified 13th in the Shell category in Race 2, completing a valuable learning weekend at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Melissa Kozyra had a successful debut weekend at Circuit de la Sarthe, finishing in the top ten of her class as the Ferrari Challenge took centre stage in the support program for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.

During the final laps of Race 1, she consistently gained ground, advancing to 12th place with a powerful push in the last lap. By the time the chequered flag fell, Kozyra was just shy of breaking into the top ten in Shell-AM.

Melissa Kozyra was classified tenth in Shell-AM in Race 2, securing a top-ten finish on her first appearance at Le Mans. While she could not fully convert the excellent pace shown in practice and qualifying into a podium challenge, the result still represented a strong debut at one of the most demanding circuits in world motorsport.

Race: Ligier European Series

French racer Cindy Gudet was also in action at Le Mans during the Ligier European Series support event held last weekend. Competing in the JS2R category alongside Nathan Huet.

After a series of post-race penalties, including the disqualification of the initial race winner, the results were reshuffled, promoting Gudet and Huet to eighth place overall in the JS2R category while retaining their third-place finish in ProAm.

Despite starting deep in the field, Gudet’s impressive opening stint and Huet’s steady performance contributed to M Racing securing another podium in ProAm at this renowned event on the Ligier European Series calendar.

Jamie Chadwick drove the #17 GMR-001-Hypercar around the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans for the first time on Test Day, becoming the first woman racer to take the wheel in the top class of endurance.

As reserve driver for the Genesis Magma Racing Hypercar programme, she got to drive five laps around the circuit.