A weird pitlane accident that occurred at the Le Mans 24 Hours Test Day left Iron Dames driver Michelle Gatting with a fractured foot and rendered her unable to compete in the race. Gatting has provided an explanation for the occurrence.

Gatting was supposed to be the driver with the highest rating among the all-female Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R lineup, but she will now be replaced by Sarah Bovy, who has a silver rating. Bovy had decided to withdraw from the World Endurance Championship competition this season.

Gatting disclosed that what was meant to be a routine driver change turned out to be a catastrophe in the midst of a crowded pitlane after a red flag was raised. I didn't park correctly because we had the sister car in front and we had the Alpine right behind so I knew the parking position was a bit off, Gatting told Autosport in an interview.

So, we had to put the automobile on skates, and we had to move it a little bit. We carried out all of the processes in a very simple and peaceful manner; nobody was stressed out about it. "When I got out of the vehicle, I saw that Rahel Frey, who was a teammate, was not standing next to me to do the driver change. As a result, I glanced around for her. Unfortunately, at that very time, the team dropped the car, and it landed on my foot. It was totally unlucky, and there was no one to blame.

This is really a very unfortunate and unfortunate circumstance for me since I have changed drivers hundreds, if not thousands, of times in my career, and the most of those times I have done it together with Rahel.

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I've talked to a number of drivers in the paddock, and they've told me that when it happened to them in the past, some of them, it only fell on the toe. However, unfortunately, it was the chassis that impacted right in the center of my foot, and it broke my foot in three different places.

Gatting has indicated that she "did try to convince the team I could still drive, but they're not so convinced!" However, instead of Frey and Celia Martin, the team manager Bovy has been brought in to share the LMGT3 Porsche with these two drivers.

The Dane went on to say that she was especially saddened by the fact that she would not be able to participate in this year's event since she had "new motivation" as a result of the team's decision to move to Porsche gear this year. She had previously competed in the 2024 edition with a Lamborghini Huracan.

"Being a newly-signed Porsche driver, I knew I was going to Le Mans with the best Porsche team you could go to Le Mans with so it kept me so motivated to be extra prepared," she stated in addition. I made it a goal to reduce my weight as much as possible, and I've never been lighter than I am as I head into this Le Mans race. To be honest, I was actually prepared for this one, so it hurts much more than it already does. 

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I woke up today and realized that I had missed out on a significant chance. I am passing up a significant opportunity. According to Gatting, "I don't know if I could ever get over" missing out on the opportunity to compete in the 24 Hours race if the Iron Dames team achieves a high performance this time around. The Iron Dames crew finished sixth in their class in the previous year's 24 Hours.