Vivian Siu

Vivian Siu (Siu Wing Man) is a Hong Kong driver who races single-seaters. 

As a teenager, she became interested in motorsport after becoming "addicted" to arcade racing games, something she did while she was mourning the sudden death of her mother when she was 16. She didn't get to race for real until she was in her 20s, after she had finished her studies at Columbia University and started working in the financial industry.

She competed in Formula 4 in 2023, beginning with the first two meetings of the Chinese championship. This was a first for a female driver to begin with, but she also managed to score points at Ningbo, finishing tenth.

During the winter season, she entered the first round of the Southeast Asia (SEA) F4 series at Zhuzhou Circuit in China, finishing sixth twice and tenth once for the BlackArts team. She switched to Champ Motorsport for the non-championship Macau support race, finishing 17th and 14th. This was a first for a female driver as well, although others had finished the Macau Grand Prix itself.

Trying something different, she entered the 2023 Asian Motorsport Championships, a tournament-based event similar to the FIA Motorsport Games. She and Li Ho Sing won the mixed pairs gold medal in Auto Gymkhana.

Since 2023, she has not raced much, although she has been the subject of a a film, "Zero to Macao".

Away from motorsport, she works in financial services in New York. Although born in Hong Kong, she spent most of her childhood in the States, returning to her home country after the early death of her mother and returning as a student.

(Image from Macao News)

Isabella Robusto

Isabella Robusto is an American driver who mainly races stock cars.

She was a member of the NASCAR Drive For Diversity scheme from the age of 12, being selected in 2016. After a long career in the junior stock car formulae, she signed a deal to race in ARCA in 2023 with Venturini Motorsports, but this was delayed due to her receiving a concussion during the last lap of a Late Model race.

In fact, she did not compete in any more stock car races in 2023, but made her debut in GT cars instead, racing a Toyota Supra in the Sonoma round of the GT4 America series. She was 16th and 20th in her two races, finishing well in the Am class. In addition to this, she did two rounds of the Toyota GR Cup North America.

She did some ARCA races in 2024, driving for Billy Venturini, and impressed during her four outings. She was second at Springfield, having started from 19th on the grid. This followed a sixth and a fourth at Phoenix and Elko. She started on pole at Kansas, but crashed on the first lap. In the Eastern series, she scored another second place at Nashville, and in the Western series, another second at Irwindale and a third at Portland. Out of six races, she finished four, always in the top ten.

In 2025, she did her first full ARCA season, beginning the year in the Venturini setup. The year didn't start very well, with mechanical DNFs at Daytona and Phoenix, but she made up for that with her first podium of the year, a third place at Talladega. Another couple of crashes followed, but she was back in the top ten at Michigan and Berlin, and the top five at Elko. Her second podium of the year, another third, came at Elko. She was third in the championship and took the Rookie of the Year award.

As well as the main championship, she did half of the East series. From three finishes, she achieved a third and two fourth places. A single outing in the Venturini car in the West championship, at Phoenix, led to another DNF.

Although her time with Venturini was very positive, during 2025 she took the decision to leave the team and join up with Rafa Racing, who were taking their first steps in to stock car competition. Returning to Phoenix at the end of the year, she was eleventh in her first race in the Rafa Camry.

Sportscars had not been forgottent in 2025. She entered the July rounds of the GR Cup at Virginia, on the same weekend as she raced in ARCA at Dover, flying interstate between the two tracks. She was ninth and seventh in the Toyota GR races and third at Dover.

She is an official Toyota development driver and also a mechanical engineering student.

(Image copyright arcaracing.com)

Zihara Esteban

Zihara Esteban is a well-travelled Spanish driver whose racing has taken her in many different directions, taking in competition on two continents and in multiple disciplines, including rallying.

She began her senior career in the Spanish Clio Cup in 2011, after several years as a successful karter, both on the domestic and international scene. Her first season was rather up-and-down, with a lot of DNFs, but she managed one tenth place, at Catalunya, and was 24th overall, third in the Ladies’ standings. 

In 2012, she spent much of the year in karting again, but she also tried out the Euro Racecar NASCAR series, recently licensed from the States. She ran at the Loire and Valencia rounds, with a best finish of thirteenth at Valencia. 

2013 continued in the same way: karting, with four races in the Euro Racecar championship, at the beginning of the season. This time, she had two top-ten finishes, tenths at Nogaro and Dijon. As before, she was competing in the second-tier Open class, driving a Chevrolet, although for different teams. 

In 2014, she did not do much circuit racing; she took part in the Maxi Endurance 32 Hour race at the Algarve track, finishing third in a SEAT Leon, and fourth in a Renault Clio, driving in two teams. 

However, her main focus was rallying, in a Ford Fiesta R2. She did seven rallies, and her best result was 15th, in the Rallye del Bierzo. That year, she did her first WRC Rally, the Catalunya event. She was 46th. 

In 2015, she rallied a Peugeot 208 in Spain. Her only major rally was the Comunidad de Madrid RACE Rally, which she did not finish. She came back to the Spanish rally championship in 2017, driving a Peugeot 208. She was tenth in the Ciutat de Valls Rally, the best result of her special stage career. Her third attempt at the Spanish WRC round gave her a 49th place; she restarted after SS10 under SuperRally rules, having had problems and then received a penalty for a jump start.

A break from competition followed, then she switched to circuit racing again, doing the Valencia rounds of the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euroseries for DF1 Racing. Her best finish was twelfth. During her time off, she developed a new strand to her career: stunts for film and TV. She performs both precision driving and physical stunts, appearing in several Spanish-language TV series. 

In 2021, she travelled to Mexico and did her first truck races in the Mikel's Trucks series. She did the first five rounds of the championship and was never out of the top ten. Her best finish was third at San Luis Potosi and she was twelfth in the championship. 

Staying in Mexico, she shifted back to touring cars, where she started. She contested the 2022 Copa TC2000, driving a Ford, and was second in her first race at Queretaro before scoring several more top-ten finishes. Only DNFs dropped her to twelfth in the championship. 

Another TC2000 season in 2023 was more successful and she won three times, on the way to championship second. This was the first time a woman had won a race in the category.

She did another season in TC2000 in 2024, but only appears to have raced a couple of times.

She did another part-season with Alessandros Racing in TC2000 in 2025. Sharing a BMW with Alex Sanchez, she contested the mid-part of the season. Their best result was a fourth place at Mexico City.

She now lives in Mexico City, where she plays padel competitively alongside her motorsport activities. She has also tried her hand at off-road competition again, taking part in a rally raid in 2025.

(Image copyright Zihara Esteban)

Nattanid Leewatanavaragul (Kat Lee)

Nattanid Leewatanavalagul is a Thai racer who competes in saloons and sportscar racing in Southeast Asia. She sometimes uses the anglicised name of Kat Lee.

Probably her most notable result was when she was third in the Thailand TCR Championship in 2017, driving a SEAT Leon. She won one race at Bangsaen, and scored four second and two third places.

Her earliest experiences of motorsport appear to be in a women-only Thai series for the Toyota Vios in 2013. She did not win, although she managed a victory the following year, and was able to use her experience to move on to the Thailand Super Series. This led to two seasons in the championship, driving a Honda Jazz for Morin Racing. She won class C in 2015 and won at least one Class B race in 2016, at Buriram. That year, she was seventh in the championship.

After her TCR success, she entered the Asian Mini Challenge and did the Thailand rounds of the Asian TCR series in 2018. Her best result in TCR was a second place at Bangsaen, driving a SEAT Leon. As a guest driver, she did not score championship points. She won at least two races at Zhuhai in China in the Mini.

She raced in the Super Compact class of the Thailand Super Series in 2019.

In 2021, she made some guest appearances in the series, driving a Honda, but was not registered for the championship.

Her first races in Europe came in 2022, when she drove another Leon for Monlau Motorsport in some of the 24H Series races. She was part of a two-car, all-Thai squad featuring Sandy Stuvik and she won the TCR class at Catalunya, finishing 16th overall. She did not finish the Algarve race, driving for the same team but with different team-mates.

After a break, she did some rounds of the 2024 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, sharing the car with Dechathorn Phuakkarawut. They were second in the Am class, with three wins and eighth further podium places. Driving a Huracan, Kat entered the Super Trofeo World Final, finishing eighth in the Am class.

In 2025 she moved back to the Thailand Super Series, racing in the Super Touring category in a Honda CRZ with Thanaroj Tanasitnitikate. They won at least one race at Sepang.

(Image copyright Lamborghini)

Jackie Astbury

Jackie Astbury was a British driver who rallied from 1933, in the UK and France. She is normally credited as "Miss J Astbury".

She drove a Wolseley Hornet in the 1933 RAC Rally, which was then held in March, and finished 70th in class 2, having started at Bath. In the summer, she used an MG Magna in the Scottish Rally, having started at the opposite end of England in Harrogate. Her first outing in the Singer Nine which became her regular car was the Ulster Rally in August. In December, she tried a lower-paced event, entering the London to Gloucester Trial in the MG. She won a silver medal for keeping 90% of her starting score.

There was more trial action in 1934, when she took part in the Colmore event in a Singer. Again, she was among the second-class award winners. Driving the Magna this time, she won a first-class award in the trial section of the Women's Automobile and Sports Association's Day in the Hills. 

The biggest brush with fame she had in 1934 was not completely related to her performance on the rally stage. She had protested the result of the Ulster Rally, claiming that she had waited for a signal to leave one stage and not received one, making her late for the Bangor time control. Her protest was upheld and she was promoted to third place, winning herself £20 and the Visitors' Cup in the Singer.

In 1934, she finished the RAC Rally in a Singer. Using the same car, she won the Thistle Cup for best Scottish-starting driver in the 1935 Monte Carlo Rally. Her final finishing position was 50th. She also won her class in the RAC Rally. In between, she competed in the JCC's Brooklands Rally, winning a second-class award. She also travelled back to France for the Criterium International de Tourisme Paris-Nice, finishing 13th behind Grand Prix driver Raymond Sommer. She was second in the Coupe des Dames standings and third in the Light Car class.

In 1936, she repeated her Monte Carlo achievements, still in the Singer, improving her final position to 40th. This was in spite of a double spin on a sharp corner, before she even left Scotland. The Coventry Evening Telegraph acknowledged that she "did well",  taking time to praise her "fair curls in immaculate order" and her "smart khaki driving suit adorned with a Scotch thistle". She took the same car to the Brooklands Rally and won another second-class award, and finished another RAC Rally. Back in France again, she entered the all-female Paris-St. Raphael Rally for the first time, and was sixth overall, behind Betty Haig and Enid Riddell.

Jackie occasionally raced on track, including a run in a ladies' race at Donington in 1935. She was second in a Frazer Nash, behind Fay Taylour in a similar car.

Her motorsport career ends in 1936, although she did present a "Perseverence Prize" at the 1937 Scottish Rally. John M Archer was the winner; this award went to a driver who had entered the rally three or more times and had never previously won a prize. A Sketch report from September 1937 says that she had been "very ill indeed", and that "motoring friends crowded round congratulating her on her recovery" at Shelsley Walsh. This would explain her abrupt disappearance.

She may also have played badminton competitively before she began her motoring career.

(Image from the Brian Goodman Collection)

Gabi Husar

 

Gabi Husar is a rally-winning driver and co-driver from Austria. In the 1980s, she was one of the leading drivers in Austrian national rallies. She was known for her brave and uncompromising driving style and skill at attracting sponsors.

Her first major rally appears to have been in the co-driver's seat, in Georg Fischer's BMW 2002 for the 1974 Barum Rally in the then-Czechoslovakia. She switched seats for 1975, entering the OASC International Rally in a little Fiat 850. With Inge Mayer as co-driver, she was 47th after a ten-minute penalty. Throughout her career, she preferred female co-drivers, the longest-standing of these being Elisabeth "Sissi" Fekonja. Others, including Silvia Dolezal, could not handle her very physical driving or her style of organisation and didn't stay long.

Early in her career, she was very ambitious and entered rallies across central Europe. In 1976, she drove the 850 in the Janner Rallye and a more powerful Fiat 128 in the Taurus Rally in Hungary. She did not finish either event. The 128 had been given to her by her mother and she wrote it off.

She then spent some time co-driving in international rallies with other Austrian drivers, including Rudi Stohl and Franz Wittmann. Wittmann and Gabi had met whilst skiing, before she switched from winter sport to motorsport, as she didn't enjoy the training involved in being a top-line skier.

In 1979 she returned to the driving seat, in a Lada 1300 this time. She was still focused on the European championship at this time and entered the Costa Smeralda, ARBO, Hessen, Colline Romagna and Barum rallies. Sadly, she only finished the Costa Smeralda event, in 26th place. A shorter season in the Lada in 1980 started to give her results, the best of these being an eleventh place in the Lavanntaler Mitternachts Rallye. This brief campaign was down to her taking time out of competition to have a daughter, Irene.

She started 1981 in a Talbot Sunbeam TI for the Janner Rallye, but then switched to a Porsche 911, which became her car of choice for the next five seasons. In it, she scored her first top-ten finish, a ninth place in the 1981 300 Minuten Rallye. Her first top-ten was followed by her first podium in 1982, a third place in the International Admonter Rallye. She followed this up later in the year with fifth in the 300 Minuten event. She was tenth in that year's Austrian championship.

Third became second in 1983, in the Badener Fruhlingsfahrt. This was one of six top-ten finishes she scored that year, including fifth place in the International Semperit Rally. She moved up one position in the Austrian championship to ninth. Her big breakthrough came in 1984, however, when she won her first rally outright. She won the Bruckneudorf Rallysprint by 27 seconds from Ernst Harrach. By now, she was also a regular top-five finisher in Austrian championship rallies, and was seventh overall at the end of the year.

There were no more wins in 1985, but she came close, and was third in the Austrian championship. She finished on the podium three times, with a best finish of second in the International Steiermark Rallye. Earlier in the year, she had also come sixth in an ERC event, the Janner Rallye. 

Gabi's first win in a full stage rally was in 1986. She won the Kaertner Varta Rallye by almost one and a half minutes from Toyota driver Alois Pfeifer, with Ernst Harrach third. Sadly, the rest of her season, although ambitious, was plagued with problems. She entered the Porsche into two more WRC rounds, the Acropolis and Portugal rallies, but did not finish either, although her Acropolis exit was not helped by spectators refusing to assist her when her car broke down. Her only ERC finish was the Janner Rallye, where she was eleventh.

Group B was cancelled after the 1986 season so her favoured Porsche became ineligible for many competitions. Her career more or less finishes here, apart from one guest appearance in 1998. Gabi came out of retirement to compete in the OMV Rallye, driving a Volkswagen Golf with Petra Prokop. She retired fairly late on after an accident.

She is from a rallying family: her family owned a garage, and both her father Sigmund and brother Jonny competed in Austrian rallies. 

(Image from motorline.cc)

Female Drivers in Saloons and Touring Cars: Spain, Andorra and Portugal

Catalina Bruguera and Oliver Campos

There are many women from the Iberian peninsula who have raced saloon cars in recent years, both in one-make and open championships. Below are some short profiles. Alba Cano  and Zihara Esteban have their own profiles. 

Ana Alvarez – raced in the Spanish SEAT Leon Supercopa, in 2006 and 2007 at least. In her first season, she did fifteen races, managing to score points once. She was 29^th in the championship. Her second season was only three races, and she was unable to challenge for honours. In between, in 2007, she raced the Leon in the Barcelona 24 Hours, and was tenth, as part of a four-driver team. She may well have entered the championship again in 2008, but the results are not forthcoming. She was certainly part of the Spanish endurance championship that year, and scored at least one third place.

Ana Barreras - races small cars in Spain and took part in the 2021 G Series ice racing championship in Andorra. She has been competing on circuits since 2017, mainly in one-make series and mostly in the Toyota Aygo Cup. She had a best finish of fourth at Jarama in 2020 and also came fourth in the non-championship Christmas Trophy, driving alongside her mother, former rally co-driver Ana Barbero. The two are racing in the Spanish Mini Challenge together in 2021. Although both of her parents competed in off-road events, Ana’s first attempt off-road was the 2021 G Series, driving a Ford Focus for Sandoval Racing. 

Catalina Burguera - competes in the Copa Racer championship in Spain. She has been active in the series since at least 2023, when she entered the Mini Cooper class. In 2024, she and Paloma Escobar won the Mini class in the first round at Valencia. Catalina was sixth overall. In 2025, she moved up to the main GT class, driving a BMW M2 with Oliver Campos. They won two rounds at Estoril and Navarra outright. She is from a motorsport family and other Burgueras also compete in Copa Racer. 

Teresa Burguera - raced in the Copa Racer series in Spain between 2023 and 2024. Her best year was 2024, when she was seventh in her class championship, driving a Mini Cooper. The 2023 season was her first in cars, and she did four races. She is the sister of Catalina Burguera, who she raced against in 2024, sharing a car with her brother, Jaime. She does not appear to have raced in 2025.  

Paloma Escobar - raced in Copa Racer in 2024. She was third in the Touring class for Mini Coopers, sharing her car with Catalina Burguera for part of the season. They won one of the first races of the season at Valencia together. She drove solo at Estoril, finishing fourth in one race. In 2023, she shared her car with Joanna Gruau, and they were twelfth in the championship, with a best finish of sixth at Valencia. This was her third season in the championship, beginning with a short campaign in 2021.

Joanna Gruau - raced in the Copa Racer championship from its first season in 2021 to 2023, driving a Mini Cooper. Her best year was 2023, when she partnered Paloma Escobar, finishing twelfth in the championship. Her best race finish was sixth, achieved at Valencia. In 2024, she raced a Vortex with Philippe Gruau in the Spanish GT championship. Her best finish was fifteenth at Navarre.

Raquel Morera Ibanez - has competed in the Renault Clio Cup in Spain since 2010. In 2010, she was eighth in the championship. The following year, she was only fifteenth, with a best finish of eighth at Catalunya, and two further tenth places. She also drove in eight rounds of the Renault Clio Eurocup around Europe, with a best finish of thirteenth, also at Catalunya. In 2012, she only seems to have managed two Clio Cup races, at Catalunya. She entered four Eurocup races in 2013, with a best finish of thirteenth again, at Catalunya. 

Ana Sainero - races in the Copa Racer championship. She first competed in the series in 2024, driving a BMW M2 in the GT class with her brother, Antonio. They won the championship in their first year, with five outright wins. Their team withdrew early in the 2025 championship after a crash in the first race of the year, but reappeared later at Navarra, where they were second twice. Ana also joined the sister car of Juan Catelan for the second race of the season, finishing fourth. Previously, Ana raced in the Spanish Endurance Championship from 2019, proving herself capable of podium finishes.

Mari Santonja - races touring cars in the Spanish championship. She drove a Honda Civic Type R and was tenth in the 2019 championship. Her best finish was seventh at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo. This was her first season of racing, although she has been working as a motorsport mechanic for longer and has also competed in rallies as a navigator.

Lydia Sempere - competes in the Spanish Touring Car championship, a TCR series. Her car in 2021 was a Renault Megane and she did the whole season, apart from the final rounds at Barcelona which she missed, due to a DNF in the first race of the weekend. Her best result was a tenth place at Aragon and she often struggled for pace. In 2022 and 2023, she raced in the Clio Cup in Spain. Previously, she was active in karting as a junior and a senior. Lydia is profoundly deaf and races with visual aids in her car which help her understand the car’s performance and when she needs to change gear.

Marta Suria - Spanish racer who has recently been active in several one-make series. In 2008, she was eighth in the Spanish Renault Clio Cup. This was her fourth season in the Cup, and her best finish. She returned to the Clio Cup in 2011, although she was less successful, only managing 23rd overall after some DNFs. In between, she was second in the Spanish Mini Challenge in 2010, with one win and several podiums. In 2012, she raced in the Clio Cup again, and was thirteenth overall after car trouble limited her participation. She also drove in two rounds of the German MINI Trophy. In 2013, she only seems to have entered two Clio Cup rounds, at Motorland in Spain. After a long break, she did four Clio Cup rounds in 2018, scoring a best finish of seventh at Catalunya and Valencia. In 2019, she entered a couple of rounds of the Spanish TCR championship. 
Marta began racing historics in 2002, and drove an Alfa Romeo GTAm for some time. In 2004, she also won a Valencia regional speed eventing championship. She also competes in rallies, both of the stage and cross-country variety.   

Amalia Vinyes - Andorran driver who competed in the 2010 SEAT Leon Supercopa, in Spain and Europe. She was thirteenth in the Spanish championship, and only completed two rounds of the European series. Previously, in 2009, she raced in the Catalunya round of the International GT Open Championship, in a Ferrari F430 GTS. She was driving with her brother, Joan, for their family team, Baporo Motorsport. At some point earlier than this, Amalia did some ice racing. For 2011, she switched to rallying, in a Suzuki Swift, and was 22nd in the Rallye de Ferrol and twelfth in the Rallye Villajoyosa. She competed in the SEAT Leon Supercopa in 2014, and finished in the top ten four times. Her best finish was fifth, at Monza, and she was 15th overall. She did half of the Supercopa in 2015, finishing four of her six races. Her best finish was eleventh, at Paul Ricard, and she was 27th overall. She raced in the Spanish Endurance championship in the SEAT in 2016, and was fifth in the TCR class, with one win. As well as this, she did a couple of rounds of the Eurocup. Sticking with SEAT and TCR, she did part-seasons in the Spanish, Portuguese and Iberico touring car championships. In 2018, she switched to off-road events, winning at least one in Spain. It was back to TCR in 2019, and she was one of the leading drivers in the Spanish series, finishing third in the TCR class with two wins. Her car was a SEAT Cupra. In 2021 she took part in the Spanish Endurance Championship, driving a Cupra. She won at least one race at Navarra. A part-season in TCR Spain in 2023 led to sixth at Estoril and eighth at Jerez, from pole. In a similar car, she did two races in the 2024 season, at Jarama, finishing eighth and tenth.

(Image from autohebdosport.com)