Sarah Bovy looking forward to Interlagos showdown
Belgian driver Sarah Bovy will be racing in Brazil for the first time at the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo this weekend. The FIA WEC last raced at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in November 2014, when the circuit hosted the season finale.
The Iron Dames driver will join her teammates Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting in the no85 Lamborghini Huracan on the back of their first victory of the season in the European Le Mans Series, winning the LMGT3 category in the 4 Hours of Imola last weekend.
The Iron Dames trio have already chalked up one WEC victory in Bahrain last November but have yet to stand on the podium in 2024. Bovy secured pole position at her home circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in May and finished 5th at the end of the race and also took 5th in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last month.
FIAWEC.com caught up with Sarah Bovy ahead of her first race on the legendary Interlagos circuit after the team took the time to go testing ahead of the event on the 12-14 July.
“It is certainly going to be challenging because the track is very old school. It's narrower and its one of those historic tracks like in Imola. We're having the Hypercars mixing with the GTs, so it's going to be something. The weather is going to be also a challenge. Because in Brazil, we know that they can have heavy rain coming out of nowhere, which actually happened when we went testing.
“I wouldn't be surprised if it is going to be another very, very interesting race to watch for the fans and it will probably keep Race Direction quite busy, I guess.”
With four races completed the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo marks the start of the second half of the season with races in South and North America, Asia and the Middle East. So how does Sarah Bovy sum up her season so far?
“We’ve been unlucky; we have missed some success. Sometimes because of mistakes and sometimes just because of pure bad luck. We really need to put everything together and to have some results. We know we can do it, we have done it in the past, we have a very strong lineup and a very strong team. We need those results, and we are working hard to get them."
Do you have a favourite corner or part of the track at Interlagos? “The track is pretty cool. The first corners are really nice, you know, going down the chicane, the fast left. It's difficult to say because we were not testing in our racing cars, so I'll have to wait and see how it feels in a GT3, but I'm pretty sure that we're going to have a good time.
“There are some nice fast corners, some challenging stuff, but I think what I'm going to like the most is probably if we have rainy conditions, because that's usually where I like to be. What I like is proper rain, not undriveable rain, but a wet track is always a nice challenge for a Belgian driver.
And with the Iron Dames programme, are you hoping to see some pink in the grandstands in Brazil?
“We'll see. Our media team has done a crazy job and we have seen pink at every single track of the season so far. I don't know if we have reached Brazil yet. But we're going to make sure that they remember us.”
