Carole Vergnaud

Carole Vergnaud is a French driver who was a member of the Citroen works team for rallies. She won the 1986 Mille Pistes Rally outright, in a Citroen Visa with Marie-Claude Jouan as co-driver.

She got her start as a rally driver via the Citroen Total Trophy, a rally competition for women organised by Citroen France. She had been co-driving occasionally since 1982 and competed in the Swedish Rally twice.

The qualifying stages were held in 1983, with the main competition phase held through the 1984 season, using identical Citroen Visas. Carole, the youngest driver at 21, was joint fifth, having won one round, the Mille Pistes Rally. The women's trophy was run as a class in the rally, and Carole was 18th overall.

Her first international rally as a driver was in 1985. She entered the Monte in a Citroen Visa, driving for the French junior team. She did not finish, and she did not get to the end of her second World Championship rally, the Tour de Corse. The car's clutch failed. Later in the year, she tried again, entering the Sanremo Rally and the RAC Rally. She did not finish either.

Away from the international scene, she fared better, although the Visa did seem to suffer from a variety of problems. She was fourth in the Rallye de la Baule in June, then ninth in the Rallye Terre de Charente, showing her skill on both tarmac and gravel. A second gravel event, the Terres de Beauce Rally, gave her a seventh place.

A first international finish still eluded her in 1986; she retired from the Swedish Rally after the Visa's gearbox went. However, after that disappointment, she had a superb run in the French gravel championship, beginning with a fourth place in the Terre des Bruyeres Rally. Her first podium came a couple of months later, when she was third in the Terre de Provence Rally. The results kept on coming, with a second place in Terre de Charente event, then her Mille Pistes victory. Sadly, another international outing in the Hunsruck Rallye in Germany ended in retirement, and the Citroen was less reliable in the second half of the season. She scored on more podium; a second place in the Rallye Terre des Cardabelles. At the end of the year, she was fourth in the French gravel championship.

Spurred on by her 1986 successes, she attempted the European rounds of the 1987 World Championship. After Henri Toivonen's horrific accident in Corsica in 1986, regulations had changed considerably, leaving the Group B Visa largely ineligible. Carole and seven other French drivers were unclassified in that year's Monte due to this. After some revisions, the car was allowed to compete in the Swedish Rally, and Carole was 24th. The rest of her WRC campaign ended with a series of DNFs in Portugal, Greece and Finland, with the car unreliable once more.

A surprising avenue for another victory had opened up that year, spurred on by the Group B situation. Citroen entered Carole and the Visa into the Atlas Rally, a rally-raid event, against dedicated off-road vehicles. She managed to win a stage outright.

The Visa was retired for 1988, replaced by the Citroen AX, running in class A5. The Citroen works team entered Carole into the Portugal, Sanremo and UK WRC rounds, but again, it wasn't to be. She finished one, the RAC Rally, in 41st place, after crashing out of the earlier two. Her Sanremo accident was a lucky escape. She had come off the road on a sharp turn with a steep drop to one side, and had only just climbed to safety when Jean-Marc Dubois and Robert Moynier crashed their Citroen at the same spot, killing both.

Her final season as a driver was 1989. She stayed in France, supported by the Citroen team for at least some of her rallies. The AX ran in a few different configurations, the most successful of these being a class A2 version, which gave Carole an eleventh place and a class win in the Rallye Alpin-Behra. This was one of three finishes this year, the others being a twelfth place in the Rallye des Garrigues, and 24th in the Tour Automobile de Nice.

As well as rallying, Carole raced Citroens on the track with some success. She competed in the 1987 and 1988 French Touring Car Championship, driving a works Citroen EX. She was third in at least one race in 1988, at Rouen-les-Essarts.

After almost an entire career spent in Citroen machinery, she entered the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1991, driving a Toyota 4Runner with Nanouk de Belabre. They were 73rd overall.

Later, she did some ice racing in the Andros Trophy, in 1992 and 1995. 

(Image copyright Citroen)

Liliana de Menna

Liliana de Menna was a stalwart of the Italian touring car scene who was active between 1963 and 1994. 

Her first efforts were in races for small-engined saloons, when she competed under the name of "Liliana" in the hope that she wouldn't worry her family. She had got into motorsport after visiting the Vallelunga circuit with friends who raced; throughout her career, Vallelunga would remain her favourite circuit. She had seen world karting champion Susy Raganelli testing with her father and decided to try it for herself.

She won a saloon championship in her first year of racing, winning nine races outright. Her car was a 600cc Fiat 500 Montecarlo. 

The following year she won Class 2 of the Coppa Carotti hillclimb. She did several hillclimbs during her career; the Italian touring car championship was a combination of hillclimbs and circuit races at the time. In 1968, she finished the Cesano-Sestriere climb, in the middle of a group of Giannini Fiat 500s, as well as winning her class in the Bolzano-Mendola event.

She was the Italian ladies' champion in 1968. Her marriage to Italo Cantera did not slow her down and the pair even raced together in the Vallelunga 2 Hours one year. 

Some time at the end of the '60s, she had a daughter and took a lengthy hiatus from motorsport. She stopped attending race meetings because she didn't enjoy them without being able to compete herself. It wasn't until the late '70s that she came back. According to her, Giancarlo Naddeo asked her to join the Renault 5 one-make series, and she agreed. She also raced in single-make series for the Fiat 127 and MG Metro. This was the car she shared with her husband.

One-make racing led back to the Italian Touring Car Championship in the 1980s. In 1989, she raced at Pergusa in a Renault 5, coming 11th. She was then tenth at Vallelunga. For the second Vallelunga round, she shared an Audi Europa-run VW Golf with Michele Rayneri, but did not finish. 

She even raced for Lella Lombardi's team in the Italian Supertouring series in 1991, using a Ford Escort for the Pergusa 2 Hour race. Her team-mate was Walter Santus and they finished 18th. Earlier in the season, she had raced a Toyota Corolla in the Trofeo Mario Angiolini at Monza. 

Later in her career, she raced sportscars, including a Nissan 300ZX in 1992, which she used for that year's Vallelunga 6 Hours. She and Francesco Ramacciotti were 2st overall. In 1994, she entered the Italian Supercar GT championship in a Mazda RX-7, driving solo.  She was disqualified from the first meeting at Monza, but won her class twice at the next round, held at Magione. Her overall results were a fifth and fourth place. The next race she appeared in was round 5, at Varano, but she could only manage one twelfth place.

She raced in America for the first time in 1999, more than 30 years after she made her debut, when she did some rounds of the all-female Women's Global GT series, driving a Panoz Esperante. Her programme consisted of two guest appearances. 

She died in 2021.

(Image from Il Messaggero)

Elizabeth Kleinschmidt

Elizabeth can be seen briefly in her Oldsmobile Cutlass, at the back of the grid, at the start

Elizabeth Kleinschmidt raced sportscars in the USA in the 1970s and '80s, almost always alongside her husband, Charles, also known as Chuck. It isn't clear when she began competing, but it was probably after her marriage.

She entered a few big races between 1979 and 1981. In 1979, the Kleinschmidts plus Leroy Dickson drove an AMC Spirit to 22nd in the Daytona 6 Hour race. Elizabeth was slated to drive in the 1980 event, but did not start. In 1981, she entered the Sebring 12 Hours with Charles and Al Levenson, driving a Chevrolet Corvette. They started, and were classified finishers in 70th place, despite being withdrawn before the end. This was due to a freak accident in the pitlane, when Charles was hit by another car and injured. Elizabeth never raced again, and Charles only entered one more race in 1984.

In between, Elizabeth entered the 1980 Kelly Girl Challenge, driving solo in an Oldsmobile Cutlass. This championship ran alongside IMSA and offered prize money for female drivers finishing in the top ten. That year, she was up against Kathy Rude and Judy Stropus, as well as eventual champion Gene Felton. She scored at least one top-ten finish. 

Gisela Blume

Gisela (left) with Petra Schuster

Gisela Blume drove in European rallies in the 1980s. She was a contemporary and rival of the similarly-named Rena Blome. 

She began rallying as a co-driver, in 1978. She sat alongside Gunter Lehmann for some German events in his Datsun Cherry before spending another season with Heinz-Walter Schewe. It was in 1980 that she got behind the wheel herself, combining some outings as a driver in a Ford Fiesta with more co-driving. Her own navigator was Petra Schuster, who sat beside her for most of her career.

Gisela won the Coupe des Dames in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1981, driving a Peugeot 104. She was 56^th overall. She, Rena Blome and Waltraud Wunsch were the only non-French drivers in that particular car; Gisela finished considerably higher than 115th-placed Rena and Waltraud in 88th place.

The same car and driver was entered into the Acropolis Rally, another World Championship round, but did not finish. A sister car driven by Waltraud Wunsch was another non-finisher. Rena and Waltraud took their Peugeots to some other WRC events in 1981, but Gisela only did two. She spent the rest of the season in the German championship, driving the Fiesta and finishing ninth in her class. Her best overall result was a 15th place in the ADAC Wiking Rallye, a tarmac event.

Another run in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1982 ended in transmission failure, this time driving a Ford Escort XR3i. However, this did not set the tone for the rest of her German rally season. By March, she was back inside the top twenty with a 19th place in the mixed-surface Rallye Trifels, ahead of Rena Blome again. A thirteenth place and class win followed in the Lubeck Rallye. Three further top-twenty finishes ensued, then a career-best eighth in the first running of Rallye Deutschland, again ahead of Rena.  

Her final year of major competition was 1983 and she used two different Ford Escorts: the XR3i and an RS1600i. The XR3i gave her the best results, including 15th place in the Westfalen-Lippe Rally and 19th in the Saarland Peugeot-Talbot Rally. In September, driving the RS1600i, she attempted Rallye Deutschland again, but did not finish. 

If her career had not have been so short, Gisela probably would have been in line for the Peugeot Germany seat in the 205 T16 that eventually went to Michele Mouton. She had proved herself the equal of the better-known Rena Blome, and a quick learner in different cars.

She died in 2015, at the age of 60.

Janis Taylor

Janis and Del Russo Taylor in 1983

Janis Taylor raced sportscars in the 1980s, in the USA.

She was from Denver, but settled in Florida. Her father had been an automotive enthusiast and she had grown up around fast cars, dabbling in the drag racing scene in her youth. In a 1983 interview with the Poughkeepsie Journal, she described buying her own first car at "15 or 16". It was a Triumph Spitfire and she worked on it herself.

Her first year of major competition was 1980, when she drove an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV in the Sebring 12 Hours. She and her two team-mates, including her husband, Del Russo Taylor, did not finish. Del Russo married Janis in 1974 and was an experienced racer.

Her second attempt, in 1981, was as part of an all-female team in the Alfetta, with local drivers Carol Cone and Pat Godard. The team only had one male member, a chief mechanic who was allergic to oil. Two of the crew were air stewardesses. They had serious problems in the qualifying race, but managed to get onto the grid for the 12 Hours. Sadly, the car expired on the first lap, with Janis at the wheel.

For the next two seasons, she mostly drove a Buick-engined Chevron GTP prototype in IMSA events, often sharing with Del Russo. She was named as the car owner in 1981. Their best result together was a 29th place in the Mid-Ohio 500km, from a 15th-place start.

Her activities included the Sebring 12 Hours, which she entered twice more in 1982 and 1983, once in the Chevron and once in a Ford Pinto, driving for different team owners and finishing once in 1982, in the Pinto.

As well as some outings with Del Russo, she drove different cars in the IMSA-supporting Kelly American Challenge, including a Chevrolet Camaro in 1983.

In 1984, she switched to a Pontiac Firebird owned by Walter Johnston as her main car. Her best result was 21st, in the 1984 Riverside 6 Hours. A 1985 Daytona entry in the Firebird went ahead without her in the driving line-up, which consisted of Del Russo, Bob Lee and John Hayes-Harlow. After this, she disappears from the entry lists.

(Image copyright Poughkeepsie Journal)

Vicki Smith

Vicki Smith raced sportscars up to international level in the early 1980s. 

She credited her interest in motorsport to her stepfather's Porsche, which she described herself as "crazy about" as a child. Her parents refused to support her racing endeavours until she had finished her education, probably hoping that she would forget about the whole thing. After dropping out of a journalism degree, she got herself a racing license in 1979 and set about finding a car. During her short career, she did not own any of the cars she raced in major events, depending on team owners to offer her drives. Fortunately, she was a Florida native and the Daytona and Sebring circuits were within easy reach.

Her first big race was the 1980 Sebring 12 Hours. She shared a Porsche 911 with car owner Klaus Bitterauf and James Moxley, and they finished 24th, seventh in the GTU class.

In a completely different car, an all-American AMC AMX, she tried the Sebring classic again in 1981. Again, she was sharing the car with its owner, Bob Lee, plus Tom Alan Marx. They just about got to the finish in 42nd place. This was the second time she had competed alongside Lee, having shared a Ford Maverick with him at the Daytona 6 Hours the previous year.

Her partnership with Bitterauf and his "Klaus Haus" team continued, on and off. In 1982, she was 25th at Daytona, driving a Porsche 911 and 22nd at Sebring. The Klaus Haus team, consisting of Vicki, Bitterauf and Scott Flanders, contested four more IMSA events that year, with a best finish of 17th, at Charlotte.

Driving an Audi 80 for a different team in the Mosport 6 Hours, Vicki was 16th with Edgar Doren and Peter Aschenbrenner. 

During the 1983 season, she switched between the Klaus Haus Porsche and a Pontiac Firebird. Her best finish was another 16th, at Miami, in the Firebird. This was a solo drive. With the Klaus Haus team, she competed at the big Daytona and Sebring races, plus the 500km of Road Atlanta. She did not finish at Daytona or Sebring, but was just about classified at Road Atlanta, in 35th place.

She continued in 1984, driving different cars. One of these drives was her first-ever outing in a Group C prototype. She drove an Aston Martin-engined Nimrod NRA/C2 at the Daytona 24 Hours, sharing with Jack Miller (the team owner) and Carlos Ramirez. They were classified 49th, although they did not finish. The Nimrod project was not hugely successful and the NRA/C2 had a poor finishing record. Vicki never drove it again, although she did join Bitterauf in his 911 once more for that year's Sebring 12 Hours. They did not finish.

This was Vicki's last major race appearance. She was linked to a Lola T616 drive in the 1987 Sebring 12 Hours, but did not compete. From 1985, she was a member of the PPG Pace Car team which followed Champ Car.

One rather alarming footnote in her career was a short relationship with driver and later, convicted serial killer, Christopher Wilder. After he was shot by police in 1984, she claimed that she "never had a clue"about his proclivities.

She became more and more interested in motorcycles after 1985, working as a racetrack photographer and becoming a respected expert on Ducati machines.

Olympic Speedqueens

 

Divina Galica (left) and Ann Moore

Many Speedqueens have achieved success in other sports. Here are five of the best-known Olympian female racing drivers. This is in no way an exhaustive list.

Divina Galica was a downhill skier who competed in four winter Olympics between 1964 and 1992, in the downhill and slalom skiing events and later, speed skiing, a demonstration discipline. She attempted to qualify for three grands prix between 1976 and 1978 and enjoyed success in Group 8 single-seaters, truck racing and sportscars. Her introduction to motorsport came through a Shellsport celebrity race for sportspeople.

Showjumper Ann Moore also got into motor racing through the Shellsport organisation and its celebrity events. As an equestrian, she won a silver medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, riding her horse Psalm. Her racing career was short, beginning with one ladies' race in 1975 and six further outings in a Formula Ford 2000.

Belgian swimmer Chantal Grimard made a surprise switch to touring cars in the 1980s. She first raced in the Belgian championship in 1985, driving a VW Golf, before appearing in the 1986 Spa 24 Hours in a Toyota Corolla. This was part of an all-female team. She also did some rounds of the French F3 championship in 1987 before retiring. As a swimmer, she had entered four events at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Swiss sportscar racer Lilian Bryner was another equestrian, competing at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. As a racing driver, she was the first woman to win the Spa 24 Hours in 2004, driving a Ferrari 550. She had won the GT class the year before, finishing second. She has raced multiple times at Le Mans and has World Sportscar Championship wins in a Ferrari 333 prototype.

Carole Montillet of France won a gold medal in downhill skiing and also had a decent career in rally raids after her retirement. She won the all-female Rallye Aicha des Gazelles rally raid in 2011 and 2012, after class wins in the quad class in 2004 and 2005. In 2007, she took part in the Dakar, driving a Nissan, but did not finish.

Suzie Brailsford

 

Suzie Brailsford competed in rallycross in the UK in the early 1990s.

Her career began in the summer of 1989, driving a Mini in the Minicross class. She was in her mid-20s and working as cabin crew for British Airways, which she used as a promotional talking point.

She raced a Vauxhall Nova in a one-make championship class of the British championship in 1990 and 1991. The 1990 edition was the first one-make series in British rallycross, apart from Minicross. 

The Nova and Suzie proved capable of good laps. At Lydden in July, she won a heat and was the fourth fastest in the championship, but she could not keep up the momentum through the other heats, with rain not helping matters. Among her rivals was boxer Barry McGuigan. By December, she had improved and was into the second day of heats at Brands Hatch, despite some rain, but contact with another driver put her out of the final. In between, she finished fifth at Cadwell.

In 1991, she won a race at Lydden Hill, but was later disqualified. She was announced as a driver for the 1992 series and did at least some of the races, including one at Lydden in April.

From the beginning, she was sponsored by Texaco. In 1992, she was part of a public competition organised by the company. The winner, Joyce Robertson, won herself a Renault Clio by guessing how far Suzi could drive the car on 7.5l of Texaco fuel.

She also raced a Nissan Sunny at some point, possibly a little later. In 1998, she made a comeback and competed in autocross in Suffolk, driving a Mini which she shared with Tim Compson, another former minicross competitor. 

(Image copyright Farnborough News)

Corinne Armagnac

 

Corinne (far right) with (L-R) Sandrine Nahon, Muriel Osimeck and Giovanna Amati, 1990

Corinne Armagnac raced single-seaters in France in the 1990s, then switched to tin-tops after taking a break to have children.

Born in 1962, she is the daughter of sportscar racer Paul Armagnac, the youngest of four girls. Her life began tragically; her mother died in childbirth and her father was killed in a crash at the Paris 1000km, held at Montlhery, when she was only a few months old.

She competed in Formula Ford 1600 in France between 1987 and 1993. She seems to have done part-seasons in the French championship, at least to begin with. At the time, the French FF1600 series had qualification races known as the “Loctite Trophy”. The top 28 would progress to the main draw. Corinne was usually part of the Loctite Trophy field.

In 1988 she was part of the Faster team alongside Pierre de Thoisy.

In 1990, she was the team-mate of Sandrine Nahon and drove a Van Diemen RF89. Sandrine was the faster of the two, despite being barely out of her teens. At that year’s Pau Grand Prix, she was pictured in a French magazine alongside Sandrine, Giovanna Amati who was competing in Formula 3000 and Formula Renault racer Muriel Osimeck, four women who were in action at the same meeting. 

Relations between Sandrine and Corinne were not always completely straightforward; Corinne was supported by Loctite as their featured female driver, despite Sandrine’s superior pace.

In 1993, she returned to the championship, for some rounds at least. Her race results and even her championship positions are not forthcoming. 

In 2001, she came out of retirement to drive in the Peugeot 306 Cup, after taking a long break to have a family. At some point, she also raced in a Citroen Saxo one-make series.

(Image copyright Pyrenees Presse, posted by Autodiva member “nahonenleretour”)

Female Rally Drivers Around the World: the Netherlands

 

Most of the entries in this post were previously part of other posts relating to European rally drivers.

Angelique Aufderhaar (pictured) - usually rallies a Ford Escort RS2000 in the Netherlands, with frequent outings in Germany. She has been active since at least 2008 and for the first couple of seasons, she used a MkI Escort. Her best results have been on different versions of the Hellendoorn Rally, with a twelfth place in the 2019 Hellendoorn Historic event her highest finish. In 2013, she was also thirteenth in the Hellendoorn Short Rally. Other cars she has rallied include a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV, which she used on and off between 2018 and 2021. In 2022, she concentrated on German events, in the RS2000. She did two Dutch rallies and one German event in 2023, finishing the Rallye Ostwestfalen in 38th place. In 2024, she finished one rally in the Escort, finishing 46th in the Legend Boucles a Bastogne event in Belgium.

Lieke Bouman (Dautzenberg) - driver and co-driver active since at least 2001, when she co-drove for her brother, Bob Dautzenberg. Since then, she has won rallies as a navigator with different drivers. As a driver, she favours small cars, most recently a Renault Clio but also a Renault 5 and a Nissan Sunny. She specialises in shorter sprint rallies, usually in the Netherlands or Belgium, but often in Germany as well. Her best result has been an eighth place in the 2017 Twente Short Rally, driving a Honda Civic. This helped her to the Dutch ladies’ title that year. More recently, she was ninth in the 2019 JUMBO Short Rally, driving a Clio. She returned to competition in 2022 after a break and was 26th in the GTC Rally, in the Clio. 

Louk Heidendahl – Dutch driver who was active in the 1960s. She was a regular on the Tulip Rally, and first entered in 1960, driving a DKW Junior with Ida de Fouw. The same pairing were 29th in 1961, this time driving a Saab 96. In 1962, she was fourth in the Ladies’ standings, and 59th overall, in the Saab, with erstwhile driver, Diana van Strien, on the maps. It was back to the DKW in 1963, but a change to an Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce in 1964 brought her a pleasing 25th place. In 1965, she moved over to the co-driver’s seat, with Joop Heidendahl, in a Mercedes. She seems to have stopped rallying after that.

Marieke van Kamperdijk (Rietveld) - rallied a Peugeot 206 in the Netherlands in 2017. She was runner-up in a Dutch ladies’ championship held that year and got her season off to a strong start with an eighth overall in the Zeebodem Short Rally. She was also thirteenth in the Centraal Nederlands Short Rally. Her only rally outside the Netherlands was the Gronegau event in Germany. Despite her relatively strong debut year, she does not appear to have competed again. 

The Countess von Limburg-Stirum (Marie) – competed in rallying before and after the Second World War. Her first attempt at the Monte Carlo Rally seems to have been in 1937, co-driving a Ford with Miss van Vredenburgh. They were fourth in the Coupe des Dames rankings. Driving herself, with von Vredenburgh on the maps, she was twelfth in the 1949 Monte, and won the Coupe des Dames, still in a Ford. The Ford was brought out again for the 1950 Monte. The Countess got to the finish in 131st place, assisted by Mrs. Stahl Wytema. In April of that year, she was part of a four-woman team in a Ford Vedette, in the Tulip Rally.

Diana van Strien – Dutch driver who competed in the Tulip Rally on at least three occasions, between 1960 and 1962. The first two rallies were as a driver, in a Renault Gordini, and she was co-driven by Truus van der Voorst Vader. In 1962, she was the co-driver to Louk Heidendahl, another Dutchwoman, in a Saab 96. Diana was from a motorsport family, and the 1960 Tulip Rally was not her first involvement with the sport. She is recorded in 1957 as taking part in the Vaals hillclimb, a round of the Dutch Touring Car Championship, in a Ford Taunus. She was second in class, and defeated her mother, whose name is not given. Diana may well have co-driven for her mother in rallies at about this time.

Titia Westerhof - Dutch driver active in the 1970s and early 1980s. She almost always drove an Opel Kadett, although she did try out an Opel Ascona and a  Renault 5 towards the end of her career in 1980. She entered the Tulip Rally three times, beginning as a works Opel entry in 1977. Her best year was 1978, when she won the Netherlands National class and finished 23rd overall. Her best outright finish came during the same year: she was eleventh in the AMAC International Rally. Mainly, she competed in the Netherlands, although she also entered some Belgian rallies, including the 1979 Condroz event, and one Swedish rally. The Sjuharadsnatta Opel Rally Jamboree was held on snow, as opposed to her favoured asphalt.

(Image copyright Lars Smook/tubantia.nl)

Lisa Caceres

 

Lisa Caceres raced sportscars and saloons in the USA in the 1980s. She is probably most famous for winning races in the SCCA Endurance Series in 1987, with Desiré Wilson. 

They won the Sears Point race, in a Saleen Mustang. Lyn St. James and Donna Sue Landon were also members of their team, and they raced together throughout 1987 in endurance events, with Molly Elliott filling in with Desire was unavailable.  

She had driven a Saleen before, in 1986, sharing with Steve Saleen himself and Alice Ridpath in the SCCA Endurance championship. She was 21st in the Longest Day of Nelson 24-hour race and 15th in the 6 Hours of Road Atlanta. A slightly different team, including Skeeter McKitterick, was twelfth in the 24 Hours of Mosport, with a class win. The final race of the year, at Mid-Ohio, resulted in a 17th place. 

In June 1985, she entered the IMSA Firestone Firehawk race at St Louis, double-driving in two different Camaros with Les Linley. This was her first appearance in a pro-level race after a few seasons of production car competition.

That year, Lisa drove a Chevrolet Camaro in at least one IMSA race, at Riverside, running in the GTO class. She did not finish, but was classified 41st despite crashing out after a tyre blowout. Her car was struck by two other cars, leaving her with a broken jaw, three cracked ribs and a broken bone in her foot.

In a 1986 interview, she described how she had first started racing in 1982. She had been watching action at Sears Point and was asked by one of the Bob Bondurant racing school instructors whether she wanted a ride in a racing car. The experience inspired her so much that she signed up with the racing school as soon as she could.

Later, in 1996, after some time racing jet skis and karts, she drove a Chevrolet Lumina in the Pro GT-America series. 

As well as competitive motorsport, she works as a driving instructor, particularly in karts, and has done some screen driving stunts. 

(Image copyright The San Francisco Examiner)

Susan Tucker-Peake

 

Susan and Maralyn Tucker-Peake with one of their trophies

Susan Tucker-Peake raced between 1966 and 1989, starting in club saloon races in the UK and progressing as far as the European Touring Car Championship. 

She won two rallycross races in 1972, in a Ford Anglia, and was the winner of the 1975 Ladies’ Shellsport Escort Championship. 

Although she raced a wide variety of cars throughout her sporting career, she was probably most associated with saloon cars, spending some time racing in the no-limits Special Saloon championship in the ‘70s. In 1973, she raced a Ford Escort with Graham Goode, against the likes of Gerry Marshall. She continued to race in this series until at least 1975, driving an Escort.

Trying yet another discipline, she partnered Maggie Anderson in the 1975 Avon Tour of Britain. Their car was a Renault 11TS entered by Renault Elf Racing, who were running Maggie in their one-make Renault 5 series.

This was combined with regular appearances in the Ladies’ Shellsport Escort Championship. Despite not winning a race, she won the first championship in 1975, ahead of Divina Galica. Divina was the 1976 winner, with Susan in second. She was fourth in 1977.

In 1977, she drove a Renault 5 herself in most of the British Touring Car championship, which led to a works drive with Skoda in the 1978 ETCC. She and Petr Samohyl contested four rounds together in a 130 RS, with a best finish of 21st at Brno. The car was not reliable and this was their only finish. 

After her ETCC adventure, Susan bought a Brabham BT21 F3 single-seater and rebuilt it with her husband. 

During the 1980s, she raced in Formula 4, and in a number of relay races for the BWRDC.

Her earliest motorsport experiences were in trials, competing with her sister Maralyn in their father’s self-built Tucker Nipper car.

After retiring from active competition she served as the President of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club. In 2003, as Susan TP-Jamieson she wrote Women in Motorsport from 1945 with Peter Tutthill, a book chronicling female drivers since the war.

(Image copyright classictrials.co.uk)

Jenny Birrell (Nadin)

 

Jennifer Birrell raced sports and saloon cars in the 1960s and 1970s, competing in the fore-runner of the BTCC and the Sebring 12 Hours.

As Jenny Nadin, she started motorsport through rally navigation, chiefly for Pat Moss. She sat beside Pat for a season with Ford, driving a Cortina GT, in 1963. Their best results together were a seventh place in the RAC Rally and sixth in the Acropolis. She and Pat had met in showjumping competitions, both of them having an equestrian background.

Not long after, she took the wheel in rallies herself, encouraged by Pat’s husband, Erik Carlsson. She started out with a Mini in the British championship, then branched out. Her international outings included a run in the RAC Rally in 1966, driving a Hillman Imp, and a trip to the 1967 Monte in a Ford. 

Rallying brought her into contact with racer, journalist and event organiser Nick Brittan, who became her manager. In 1967, he persuaded her to enter the British Formula Vee championship, which was making its UK debut that year. She surprised everyone by putting her car on pole and then winning at Silverstone. Nick Brittan had overtaken her on the line and led for most of the race, but a late spin put her ahead. 

There were accusations at the time that the Volkswagen team had orchestrated Jenny’s win for publicity. Formula Vee had launched a week after Formula Ford and a first win for a woman was a valuable talking point. Some claimed that Nick had planned to pull over and let Jenny through. Others claimed that both of the official Volkswagen cars had illegally-tuned engines. No wrong-doing was discovered and the win stood.

Still, she was second in the 1967 Formula Vee Championship in her first season of racing, weathering a crash at Silverstone and scoring more podium finishes. She continued to race in the series in 1968, but she did not do as well and had two rather serious crashes, at Mallory and Thruxton.

By 1970, she had married Scottish driver Graham Birrell and was racing a Ford Escort as Jenny Birrell. She won at least one race at a club meeting at Croft and made her British Saloon Car Championship (the precursor to the BTCC) debut. Her first race was in the wet at Silverstone in 1971 and she finished tenth, despite a puncture at the start.

Later, she drove in America for the first time. She was part of the all-female Ring Free Oil Team for the 1971 Sebring 12 Hours, with Rosemary Smith and Janet Guthrie, driving a Chevron B16. Jenny practiced in the car but did not actually race. Rosemary and Janet did not finish. 

For 1973, she was competing in the Castrol Production Saloon championship, driving a Simca Rallye. It was in this car that she made her next BSCC appearance in 1974, finishing eighth at Mallory. Later in the season, she did several more races in a Chrysler Avenger, earning a ninth place at Ingliston.

In 1975, she joined another all-female team and finished the Spa 24 Hours in a Triumph Dolomite, with Christine Beckers and Marianne Hoepfner. They were 24th, eighth in class. The car was sponsored by “Butch Tailor”, a Belgian menswear fashion brand. Back in the UK, she was team-mate to Bernard Unett for the BSCC, driving an Avenger. The pair often battled for class honours. Jenny’s best overall finish was fifth, at Oulton Park. The Halesfield Motors team also ran Jenny in that year’s Avon Tour of Britain, with another Avenger.

Rallies then became the focus of her career. She had been competing in British and Irish events on and off alongside her circuit-based activities, but she rallied more intensively later.

She was still entered British rallies between 1973 and 1974, using a Simca. In 1977, she was sponsored by Century Oils and drove a Triumph TR7 in the British championship. Her best finish was a 28th place in the Burmah Rally.

After a lengthy break from the stages, she reappeared for the 1983 Ulster Rally in a Talbot Sunbeam, co-driven by Gabriel Konig. She was 47th. Another Talbot, a Samba, was her preferred car for a season in Ireland in 1984, taking in events in both Eire and Northern Ireland, as well as the Manx Rally. Later, she switched to a Peugeot 205 and scored her best result of the season, a thirteenth place in the Killarney Rally of the Lakes.

The 205 took her through another season in the UK in 1985, and also her first trip to Turkey. She was third in the Rothmans Bravo Rally. This in turn led to a part-season in the 1986 Turkish championship, which yielded a fifth place in that year’s Bravo event.

For the next two seasons, she took part in the Maestro Challenge in the UK, driving an MG Maestro. After that, her career begins to wind down; she drove a 205 on the 1990 Ardennes Rally and then had a final run in the Manx Rally in 1992, driving a Lancia Delta Integrale.

The later part of her competition career coincided with a successful period in motorsport administration, working for the British Touring Car Championship and the National Formula Ford series, among others.

(Image from racingteamvee.com)

Kaori Okamoto

 

Kaori Okamoto is a Japanese driver and former actress who raced touring cars both in Japan and internationally in the 1980s and 1990s. 

She was strongly associated with Toyota cars, and often drove for the TOMS team from the very beginning of her career.

Her first season was in 1986, she drove a Toyota Corolla in the All-Japan Touring Car Championship. She was 23 years old and still acting at this point. Her car was sponsored by Wacoal, a Japanese bra manufacturer, and she initially shared with different European drivers. Eje Elgh and Beppe Gabbiani. Teaming up with Elgh again later in the season, she had her best finish alongside him, a twelfth place at Sugo. Her early experiences led to a decision to concentrate on motorsport and work only on Japanese TV projects.

By 1987, she was competing in the World Touring Car Championship for TOMS, in a Corolla, with Hideshi Matsuda. They did not finish the Spa 24 Hours, but were 30th in the Fuji 500km. For the Japanese championship, she was sponsored by Leyton House. Her co-driver was Hideshi Matsuda and they were eighth in their first race together at Sugo. This was their best finish in a disappointing season plagued by DNFs.

In 1988, she raced  a similar car in some European and Asia-Pacific championship events. A second attempt at the Spa 24 Hours led to another DNF, as did most of her entries in the All-Japan Championship, usually with Morio Nitta as her team-mate. 1989 was another indifferent year, with her best result an 18th place at Tsukuba.

The Spa 24 Hours became one of her favourite events and she was entered seven times between 1988 and 1994. For the first few editions, she drove a Corolla, and it was in this car that she scored her highest finish: twelfth in 1989. An MR2 in 1992 and 1993 was not quite as successful and only got her as high as 24th in 1992. Her final attempt was in a Carina and she did not finish. Her most frequent co-drivers were Keiichi Suzuki and Morio Nitta. 

Other than that, she mainly concentrated on the Japanese touring car championship, completing most of the season in 1990 and 1991, driving a Corolla for the TOMS/Fujitsu Ten team, and later the FET team. By this time, the Corolla was not the most competitive and could not get anywhere near the dominant Nissan Skylines. Her best result during this period was a fourteenth place in the 1991 Suzuka 500km. 1991 was her last season in the championship.

In 1991, she also entered the Dakar Rally, in a Toyota. She became the first Japanese woman to finish the event when she crossed the line in 49th place. A return to the dunes in 1992, in another Toyota Landcruiser, gave her a 71st spot.

A cancer scare caused her to turn away from motorsport in 1994. This was the second in a few years and she did require treatment this time.

For more information on Kaori: https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/motorsport-kaori-okamoto-actor-businesswoman-race-car-driver/

(Image copyright TOMS)

Sandrine Nahon

 

Sandrine Nahon raced single-seaters in France up to Formula 3 level in the 1990s.

Her single-seater career began with Formula Ford in 1988. After reaching the finals of the Volant Palmyr Formula Ford driving school at Ledenon, she won the “Premier Pas” series for newcomers and was fourth in the “B” class of the main French championship.

She continued in 1989 and 1990, driving for the AMEF and Graff teams. She won at least one race at Montlhery in 1989 and was second in the Federal Trophy on the strength of this. She was second in the B championship the following year. 

Her earliest racing exploits had been in karting from the age of 11, winning ten championships at club and national level between 1981 and 1987. In 1987, aged 17, she also tried rallying, co-driving for her father, Christian. Later, she did try a couple of rallies as a driver, including the 1990 Monte Carlo Rally. She drove a Ford Sierra Cosworth and was 82nd, from 112 finishers.

Christian Nahon was instrumental in Sandrine’s career development. Her early enthusiasm started to turn into real talent in a Formula Ford and Christian sought to push her further into the limelight. In 1989, when she was still only 19, he attempted to broker a seat in a Courage prototype for Le Mans, but another driver pulled out and it did not happen.

Christian had worked for Renault and run the company’s southern African operations; Sandrine was born in Zambia. After impressing in Formula Ford, she was offered drives in Formula Renault, but preferred to go the Formula 3 route. Christian was in negotiations with a major oil company sponsor for his daughter but could not agree terms and the firm went with another female driver instead. This meant that Sandrine’s F3 efforts were largely self-financed.

She moved up to Formula 3 in 1991 and joined the French championship as a private entry. Despite a reliable car, she struggled for speed and ran at or close to the back of the grid. Her best result was probably a 20th place at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, ahead of Bernard Cognet and Marc Rostan. 

She returned in 1992 for a part-season, driving the same Reynard 903, but did not get into the top ten. The 903, not one of Reynard’s most celebrated creations, was less reliable this year: the engine failed at Albi and a throttle problem put her out of the Coupe de Bourgogne at Dijon. Her best result was an 18th place at Magny-Cours.

As well as the French F3 championship, Sandrine drove her Reynard in French hillclimbs, winning at least three Coupe des Dames awards in 1991 and 1992.

Afterwards, she took a break from circuit-based competition, before reappearing in 1994 at the wheel of a Peugeot 905 Spider. She was team-mate to Cathy Muller and finished sixth in the Spider Cup in France. This was not her first experience with a Peugeot. In 1989, she had raced a 309 in a French one-make series.

Another hiatus followed, chiefly due to the death of her father in 1995.

1998 appears to have been her last year of competition, when she took part in some Formula Ford 1800 races, winning at least one round of the French winter series. She had raced on and off in this formula since 1996, when she returned to the tracks with the support of her partner, Frederic Martin. After this, she hung up her helmet at the age of 28.

Frederic Martin has shared a lot of information about Sandrine on the Autodiva forums, for which I am grateful.

Caty Caly

 

Caty Caly (sometimes Cathy Caly) is the winner of five French Ladies’ Rallycross titles. 

Her first car was a Simca Rallye 2 which she started racing as a teenager in 1983, having been a fan of rallycross for some time. 

Her first women’s title came at the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf in 1985. 

After her first success in rallycross, she tried her hand at stage rallying in 1986, driving a Citroen Visa Mille Pistes. These Group B cars were popular in French rallying at the time and there were several female exponents of the brands after the 1984 Citroen Visa Total Trophy. 

It proved a short diversion. Caty had an accident on the Mille Pistes Rally itself and injured her neck after just a few events, bringing an end to her rally career. Her best finish had been a 28th place in the Terre de Charente Rally. This had followed another scare at the beginning of the year, when Caty attempted her first Paris-Dakar. She was driving a six-wheel-drive Mercedes 190GE with Christian de Leotard when they crashed on a night section in Niger midway through the rally. Caty was rescued by French pop singer and Dakar enthusiast Daniel Balavoine in his own aircraft and taken to hospital. Two days later, he crashed the aeroplane and died.

Later, she drove for Audi, after their redundant Group B rally cars were put into rallycross service in 1987. Her trademark on-track was a bright pink colour scheme, with black trim, carried through into her racewear. She raced an A2 in Division 2 of the French championship, earning a best result of third at Pau.

This was her last full season in the Audi for a few years. She still raced it in French rallycross occasionally, as well as a Peugeot 205 T16 and another Citroen Visa. Towards the end of the 1980s she combined part-time competition and work, developing business interests in automotive paintwork and an agency supplying promotional staff.

She won another Ladies’ championship in an Audi Quattro in 1993, following her return to regular competition. With the same car, she retained her title in 1994 and finished 15th in the overall championship.  

In 1995 and 1996 she racked up her final two ladies’ championships in a Citroen ZX. She was driving for the Dupuis team, which was supported by Citroen itself. She was ninth in the 1995 championship and fourth in Division 1, with two outright podium positions, a second and a third.

Her second Coupe des Dames as an official Citroen driver included four third places from seven rounds.

She was fourth in the Tourism class, as the ZX had been reclassified during the 1995-96 off-season.

At this time, the ladies’ championship was relatively competitive. Carolyn Boniface was Caty’s principal rival. 

Citroen ended its rallycross programme in 1997. Rather than trying to compete with the factory rallycross teams, she moved into sportscar racing. She started with the Ferrari 355 Challenge in 1997 and raced in this one-make series across Europe in 1998. Having got to grips with the car, she was second at Oschersleben and third at Spa. She raced the 355 in the Magny-Cours round of the 1999 French GT championship, sharing the car with Florence Duez. They were 31st in both races, seventh in GT4.

Driving solo, Caty also raced in the Porsche Supercup and picked up a couple of podiums, including a second place at the Hungaroring. The car suited her and a 996 became her preferred car for French GTs. She used two different models in 2000, one her own and one run by Perspective Racing. 

She continued to race a Porsche in French GTs in 2001, but as part of Team Kalliste. She normally partnered Jean-Claude Andruet, although her best result was at Pau, where Franck Legorce deputised. They were ninth overall. She planned one more race with Kalliste in 2002, sharing the 996 with Philippe Brocard, but did not actually start.

Her final French GT season was in 2003, back in a Ferrari. She drove a 360 Modena for the Auto Palace team, sharing with Steeve Hiesse. They were normally midfield finishers, although they were fairly strong in the GT class and earned two podium places. One of these was a class second that came along with a ninth place overall.

Throughout her career, Caty was a regular in ice races, like many rallycross drivers. She competed in the Andros Trophy every year between 1992 and 1999, in several different cars, including a Mini, Citroen, Lancia and Mercedes. She also raced on the ice at Chamonix at least once. 

Her last full season of competition was in 2004, when she raced in the French Supertouring Championship in an Opel Astra. She was 18th in the final standings. After that, she made occasional appearances for the next two years alongside TV work for the championship.

She made a comeback in 2013, driving in two rounds of the Euro NASCAR stock car championship in France. Her car was a Chevrolet Camaro and her best finish was tenth at Nogaro.

A recent article in La Nouvelle Republic described her as a “former racing driver”.

(Image copyright Sun Star)

Geunda Eadie

 

Geunda Eadie raced in the BTCC in 1980 and was the winner of the Fabergé Ladies' Fiesta Challenge in 1979.

The Fabergé Challenge was a female-only talent search sponsored by Faberge’s Kiku cosmetics brand and the Radio Times. It featured both racing and rallying and was open to complete novices and experienced drivers alike. Geunda fell into the latter camp.

Since 1972, English-based Scot Geunda had co-driven for Sandy Lawson, who worked in the BMC competitions department. Their first major outing together was the 1972 Scottish Rally, in a Mini. Later in the year, Sandy acquired a DAF 55 and Geunda co-drove for her in it on that year’s RAC Rally. It was the first of three RAC events they did together.

She also took part in circuit racing at club level. This included the ladies’ races organised by John Webb, under the Shellsport banner. She took part in a couple of rounds of the Shellsport Ladies’ Escort Challenge in 1975, driving a Ford Escort Mexico and achieving midfield finishes. 

Later, she entered a Shellsport women’s race at Oulton Park in 1979. The cars were racing school Talbot Sunbeam Tis and Geunda defeated future Formula hopeful Desire Wilson and six other women.

The previous year, she had entered the Fabergé Challenge and beaten almost 2000 other hopefuls in regional trials. These involved straightforward driving tasks as well as more off-the-wall challenges like driving around a quarry blindfolded. The championship itself ran through 1979. Near-standard yellow Ford Fiestas were provided by local dealerships and each driver was paired with a co-driver for the six rally rounds, either chosen herself or assigned. Geunda’s navigator was the experienced Dilys Rogers.

Geunda won through her consistency, rather than spectacular wins. She appears to have done better in the rallies than the races, although the results lists are incomplete. The rallies were BTRDA rounds, with the Challenge running as its own class. Reactions to the women were mixed, although they became known as the “Yellow Perils” due to their yellow cars and Penelope Pitstop’s “Perils of” cartoon.

She won the first rally, the Dukeries Rally in March and was second in the Lakeland Stages a fortnight later. Her second event win was in Wales in the summer, when she topped the Fiesta standings in the Rali Bro Myrddin. She was second or third in each of the other three rallies.

The first part of her prize drive was a run in the RAC Rally in a works-supported Fiesta. She was co-driven by fellow “Yellow Peril” Flip Kerr, as Dilys Rogers was competing alongside Judy Simpson. Geunda sadly did not finish as she went over the time limit.  

Her season in the BTCC was something of a trial. Although she fared well in her class at times, the car was unreliable. She endured several DNFs and withdrew from some of the rounds. Her best class finish was third, which she earned at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix support race. Her best overall finish was ninth at the start of the reason, at Mallory Park.

At the end of the year, she retired from motorsport to start a family. Although her competition career was over, she stayed involved professionally, working for the Jim Russel Racing School at Snetterton. She was the chief instructor on its skid pan from at least 1978, when she put Daily Mirror journalist Paul Hughes through his paces for an article. Among her other students is said to have been a young Ayrton Senna, to whom she taught skid control.

As Geunda Palmer, she appears to have been involved in some way in the 1985 Esso Ladies’ Formula Ford race held at Snetterton, run by the Jim Russell school.

Geunda came out of retirement in 2010 to co-drive for Conor Kelly on the TNR Tour of the Sperrins. The car was a Ford Escort and she helped Conor to 81st place.

(Image copyright projectbobcat.com)

Monique Delannoy

 

Monique Delannoy became the first female driver to compete on the Dakar in the Car class, in 1980. She drove a Peugeot 504 with Catherine Bonnier, but they did not finish. 

Prominent among the car’s sponsors was the famous Moulin Rouge of Paris. 

This was the first of five runs in the desert classic. In 1981, she used a Mercedes 240 jeep and was 25th, with Bernadette Sacy. The following year, she drove a Volkswagen Iltis with Alain Bodard, but again did not finish. 

Another run in an Iltis in 1983, this time as a navigator to her husband, Jean, gave her a 38th place. Co-driving again, she assisted Nicole Maitrot, a former motorcycle competitor, to 16th place in the 1984 Dakar in a Mitsubishi Pajero run by two Ligier F1 team personnel. The two women formed the lightest team on the entry list at 90kg between them. They won the Ladies’ Cup and the diesel class. 

Jean Delannoy also competed that year in a separate Pajero.

The Delannoys may well have met through motorsport. They raced together in the first season of the Coupe de l’Avenir for Simca-derived small sportscars in 1976 and had been involved in sportscar racing since at least 1973.

Monique later raced in the Leyland Trophy in France, with Bernadette Sacy. This was a one-make series for British Leyland cars, in 1978.  

Monique made a brief return to the circuits in 1984, racing a Crossle in a non-championship French Formula Ford race. She was 19th in one race at Ledenon. 

(Image copyright motor-lifestyle.com)