LÉNA BÜHLER Makes History as First Woman to Win Michelin Le Mans Cup Race

June 17, 2025

• LÉNA BÜHLER shattered barriers at Circuit de la Sarthe, becoming the first woman to win a Michelin Le Mans Cup race outright in her brilliant second-place opening stint that set up teammate Matteo Quintarelli for the victory. The Swiss driver’s aggressive start moved her from P4 to P2 through Turn 1 chaos, then held that position with consistent 3:56 lap times before handing over a race-winning car—proving her transition from F1 Academy to prototype racing was anything but a fluke.
• This breakthrough came on only her third LMP3 weekend, but we’ve been watching her build toward this moment all season. Her #50 23Events Racing Ligier topped every session at the opener before a Turn 1 spin cost them, then showed podium pace again at round two before a late penalty dropped them to ninth. The pattern was clear: speed was never the question, just catching the breaks.
• The victory launches BÜHLER to fourth in championship standings with 33 points, just 14 behind the leaders with three rounds remaining. Her matter-of-fact response—”I think we deserve it because in Barcelona and Paul Ricard we had very good speed”—perfectly captures someone who knows this win was earned, not lucky. Next up: Spa-Francorchamps where she already has track knowledge, then the title hunt continues at Silverstone and Portimao.

23events racing, circuit de la sarthe, lmp3, michelin le mans cup