Karen's Gaillard High-Speed Journey: From Karting to Race Car Driver with Iron Dames!

Karen's journey started when she was just ten years old, watching a karting race in which her father played a part. She remembers there were two girls who were around the age of 14 who were racing, and that's when she realized that the sport was accessible to women. At that moment, she realized that she wanted to get into the sport. It took a few years, but she entered her very first karting competition at age 17 at the Swiss championship.

The person that inspired her a lot was Ayrton Senna. "I am too young to have been able to see him racing, but I saw a lot of videos, films, and also read books about him," she says. "But honestly, I don’t really have one idol because I prefer to take the positive from every driver I see."

Photo by Davy Delien. Race week in Circuit Nevers Magny- Cours

She has an incredible racing career that continues to expand! She spent two years in karting and subsequently won the AutoScout24 & CUPRA Young Driver Challenge in 2019, in front 1500 drivers. After her victory, she transitioned to cars in 2020. That year, she participated in two TCR races and several races with Vortex, continuing into 2021. Additionally, in 2020, Karen won the Filière Endurance selection, a racing driver school at Le Mans. She then competed in the Mitjet 2L FFSA championship for the 2022 season before advancing to the Prototype category the following year with DIMAB Motorsport by ANS. In the 2024 season, she raced in the Prototype again and made her GT3 debut with the Iron Dames.

Throughout her time racing, she has a lot of memories. But if she had to pick one that is more of a challenge, it would be the AutoScout24 & CUPRA Young Driver Challenge in 2019. "Because this is really where everything started and this allowed me to take the step into cars," she says. "So, this was really the moment where everything changed. It was a big opportunity, and I was a bit surprised to win it because, at the beginning, we were 1,500 drivers." "To be the winner was a special feeling."

Race week in Mugello Circuit.

She gets ready for a race both physically and mentally by working with various coaches who assist her in preparing correctly. Previously, she engaged in many sports from the time she began karting because she genuinely loves sports. properly. "When I'm at home, I do one or two

sessions a day," she says. "I go to the gym for strength, I cycle for cardio and I also do boxing, which is a very complete sport." "In winter, I like to go ski mountaineering." "And for mental preparation, I also have a coach with whom we call when necessary."

Round in Le Mans

Her typical race day routine begins when the team arrives at the track. The drivers usually have a briefing with the engineer about the run plan for the session or the strategy for qualifying and the race. "If it is the first day of the race week, we do a radio and seat check to ensure that everything is still fine since the last time," she says. Before driving, she does a little warm-up and some reflex exercises with tennis balls or lights. Then, she will read the notes that she took in the last session or watch a video from one lap. "After the session, we do a complete debrief with the engineer again about how the car behaved, the setup changes we can make, and we watch the video and the data about the fastest lap I did to see where I can improve." "And then we start again the same for the next sessions."

"It’s a big opportunity to be part of the Iron Dames project," she says. Driving the GT3 car in the Michelin LeMans Cup was a pleasure. With her highlight was racing in Road to Le Mans on the legendary track. "The 24 Hours race is my target, and this brings me closer to it," she adds. "I discovered the track during the opening races and supported my teammates during the 24 Hours race. It’s a special feeling to be there!"

She copes with the intense pressure and the high stakes during a race by having a mental health coach, as mentioned earlier, which helps her a lot. "Especially this year because it is a big difference to race with the Iron Dames," she says. She remembers her first race with them in Barcelona, when the public was not allowed during the week for the free practices. "I prepared myself a lot by imagine how it will be to race with them but I completely forgot the fact that the Iron Dames have a lot of support with all the fans." On Saturday morning, when she reached the track, she approached from behind the truck. As she passed the tent, she noticed people waiting in front of us. This was strange, for her because she wasn't prepared. "At this moment, I realized that I was part of this team and what it really means," she says.This was a significant step this year."Before it, I raced in little championships where nobody recognized me or maybe just 2-3 times."

"This weekend was difficult for me in terms of pressure and my mental coach

helped me a lot," she says. "Thanks to the good work we did together, I, honestly, since then, never felt pressure this year again and was able to race with a free mind."

With Celia Martin on the podium at Le Castelle round.

This year was her first time in GT3, so she still has a lot to learn. With every driver, there come challenging times throughout their career. For Karen, she had one of her biggest challenges, which was to manage the tire pressure during her stint in the race, which is about one hour. "Because in the Nova NP02 Prototype for example, we don’t have this challenge as it is very light," she says. "In the GT3, in a few races I started on a really good pace during the first laps matching the pro’s lap times and then I was struggling from the half stint till the end." "So, this is a point I still have to work on "But it will come with the experience, I am confident."

Explaining the thought process behind making split-second decisions on the track is challenging because it is instinctive."So many things can happen and at this speed you have to react very fast," she says. "This is why racing drivers train their reaction time and the ability to think at different things at the same time." "And it’s important to know the specifics rules of the championship that you are doing to know exactly what you can do or not when something happens."

She and the team collaborate to achieve peak performance by maintaining communication, as it is crucial to engage with teammates, engineers, mechanics—everyone on the team plays a vital role in making it function effectively. "Before driving we do a briefing so we all know what the target is and what we have to do," she says. "During the session, we have the radio to speak together with the engineer and the mechanics hear us as well." The engineer can help the drivers by identifying the sector where we are losing time and need to focus, or by letting them know when we are the fastest so they are aware."He helps with the traffic, especially in the Michelin Le Mans Cup where we are two different categories driving together, so, he tells us when a LMP3 is coming behind," she said. "And as a driver we can tell him how the car behaviour is, the tyres pressures and things like this so during the free practice we can stop to do a change if needed."

She really doesn’t do nothing special after a race. "I like to read the report sent to me by my engineer and I also do my report for him, she says." "I like to understand what I could have done better and what I have to work on to be better the next time."

"Then I usually do a few laps on the simulator to see if after the race week I do a better lap than before." "And then I already start to prepare the next race, I do sport and all the work I

have to do for my partners for example."

How she balances the demands of her racing career with personal life is honestly not the best example because her main target for now is to become a professional racing driver, so for the moment, she puts all her energy into it and sacrifices her whole life for it. "Many people are telling me that I should take more rest," she says. "But you know, I want to do everything I can to reach my goal." "And like this, if really it doesn’t happen, I will have no regrets!"

Advice would that she would offer to someone looking to pursue a career in racing is "I would say that it is a difficult sport because there are many things that do not depend on you." "But trust yourself, trust the process, give your best everyday and never ever give up because with passion and hard work, everything is possible!"

Wishing her all the best in her upcoming journey next year with the Junior Porsche Carrera Cup France and her future career!