Angelique Detavernier

 

Angélique Detavernier is an endurance racing specialist from Belgium.

Although she has been involved in motorsport from a young age, including as a driver manager, she only began racing in 2013 after winning a karting competition. She first raced in the VW Fun Cup in Belgium. 

For most of 2014, she raced a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, mainly in the Dutch Supercar Challenge. Her best results were two third places in the GTB class, at Zolder and Assen. In the same car, she was fourth in the Zolder 24 Hours, with Miguel Vandereyt, Frederic Vervisch, Louis-Philippe Soenen, Francois Bouillon and Patrick van Glabeke. 

As well as the Porsche, she raced a Maserati in the Maserati Trofeo, finishing tenth at Spa and fourteenth at Abu Dhabi. She also returned to the Fun Cup and managed a pole position. 

In 2015, she had a second try at the Zolder 24 Hours in a Porsche 997. Driving as part of a four-driver team, she was 24th, and third in class. She was slated to enter the European rounds of the Maserati Trofeo this year and contested the Paul Ricard and Red Bull Ring rounds. Her best result was a twelfth place at Paul Ricard. At some point, she did some more Fun Cup racing, starting once from pole, and at least one Supercar Challenge race. 

Her third Zolder 24 Hours in 2016 gave her a debut top ten: a seventh place in a Porsche. In another two firsts, she raced an Audi R8 LMS in a couple of VdeV races and a Mercedes AMG in the Nurburgring round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. She was also third in a Fun Cup race in Dubai, 

In 2017 she did another couple of Blancpain Endurance races, driving an Audi R8 LMS. She was fourteenth in one GT Sports Club race at Spa, and did not finish the other. 

She had another guest outing in the car in 2018, again at Spa, in the 24H Series. She and her team-mates were eleventh in their class. This was in addition to a strong season in the GT Sports Club series, driving a Ferrari 488 rather than the Audi. She was eighth in the championship with a best finish of fourth, at the Hungaroring.

Having proved herself as a driver, there were more major races in different cars for her in 2019, firstly driving an AMG Mercedes GT4 in the Blancpain Endurance Series and the European GT4 Challenge. She was second in class at Zandvoort in the GT4 Series and third in class at the Nurburgring. She also did one Blancpain race in a Boutsen-Ginion BMW M6, finishing 22nd overall and fourth in class, and another in a Lamborghini Huracan. This time, she was fifth and tenth overall at Circuit de Catalunya.  

The worldwide coronavirus crisis curtailed motorsport severely in 2020 and Angelique did not race. In 2021, she added another string to her bow, doing three out of seven rounds of the Belcar championship in a Norma prototype and finishing third at Hockenheim and Zolder. 

Her focus switched from Belgium to France in 2022, racing a GT4-spec Audi R8 LMS in the FFSA GT championship. Her best result was a third place in the Am class at Magny-Cours. Her team-mate was Sebastien Rambaud.

She stuck with prototypes in France for 2023, racing in the Wolf Thunder Series and scoring at least one podium. Moving to Italy, she competed in the Italian Sport Prototype Cup in 2024, driving an Aprilia-engined Wolf. Hert best finish from four races was a fifth place at Monza. 

She is better-known as a model and was previously in a relationship with Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

(Image copyright Angelique Detavernier)

Caroline Grifnee

Caroline Grifnée was a driver and team manager from Belgium.

She first made her mark on the scene when she drove for the Daikin team in Belcar in 2005 and 2006, with Alexandra van de Velde. In the first year, she was a third driver in a BMW Mini, but she replaced team leader Vanina Ickx in 2006. Their car was due to be a Ferrari 360, but a heavy practice crash and loss of a sponsor meant this was changed to a BMW 120d. 

The team also took part in some Dutch Supercar rounds and won their class at Spa. 

Belcar was not her first racing adventure. She had begun competing in a 2CV in 2000, which she raced until 2002. One year, she was part of the winning team for the Spa 2CV 24 Hours. She also took part in the 2003 Toyota Yaris Cup in Belgium.

After leaving the Daikin set-up at the end of 2006, she concentrated on her career at Renault Sport, moving from logistics to project management for the Renault Sport experience.

Back in a car on the international stage, she drove a Porsche 997 GT3 for Speed Lover at the 2009 Dubai 24 Hours. Her team-mates were Jose Close, Victor Rodrigues and Jim Michaelian. They did not finish. 

In 2009 and 2010, she competed in Renault one-make series, including the Renault Megane Eurocup in 2010. Unfortunately, her time in the Megane series was ended by a massive crash at Silverstone, which observers note she was lucky to survive. The car flipped five times and lost most of its bodywork, but Caroline walked away from the accident needing only precautionary treatment.

In 2011, she drove again in the Dubai 24 Hours, winning Class A2 in a Renault Clio as part of the iOpener team. She raced in the Endurance section of the Clio Cup the following year.

Apart from a course car run in the 2013 Criterium Jurassien in a Renault Twingo, alongside Margot Laffite, she did not actually compete much for a few years. Her work at Renault led to occasional guest appearances like the Jurassien rally.

After 2014, she took to historic racing. The first historic car she drove was a Porsche 911 in the Le Mans Classic, and she was 31st in Plateau 4. Her co-driver was Carolyn Twaites. 

In 2017, she raced a Chevron B16 at Spa, part of the FIA Masters Historic Sportscar Championship. She was 17th. In 2018 and 2019, she continued in historics, racing the Chevron at Le Mans and also a Ford Escort and Porsche 911 around Europe. The MkI Escort was a favoured car for a few seasons and a video of her racing at Paul Ricard in 2019 became a Youtube hit, earning her plaudits for her impressive car control. She finished sixth in class from 23rd on the grid, with a class win.

She raced the Chevron at Estoril in the 2020 Classic Endurance race, finishing second in class. 

As a team manager, some of her most noted successes were drivers she helped through the DAMS Formula Renault 3.5 team. Among them was 2014 winner Carlos Sainz Jr.

She followed DAMS into Formula E in 2015 and was part of its management team for two teams’ and one drivers’ championship, alongside Alain Prost. After the 2017 season, she left to found her own track day company, Historic Track Day by Caroline, specialising in events for historic cars.

Caroline died suddenly in February 2021. The remaining “By Caroline” track days planned will take place.

Sarah Bovy

Sarah (left) on the BRCC podium in 2012

Sarah Bovy is a Belgian driver who competes in Europe, and is based in Belgium.

She started her senior motorsport career in 2004, in the Formula Renault Academy. She was just fifteen years old, and reached the final on her first attempt. The following year, she joined the Belgian Formula Renault 1.6 championship, and scored two podiums. She was driving for Thierry Boutsen’s team. Sadly, her funding ran out after only three races.

Although she had showed promise in single-seaters, it was saloon cars that she initially gravitated towards. Her first Spa 12 Hours was in 2006, and she was 18th in a Renault Clio. She also took part in the 10h Zolder race and the BTCS 25 Hours in the Clio, as part of a multi-driver team. For the 12 Hour event, she was a guest driver in the Speed Action team. This was after another guest spot in the Belgian Legends championship, which gave Sarah a win. At the end of the season, she was named as the Belgian female driver of the year.   

In 2007, she took a step up, and moved into international sportscar competition. She drove a Gillet Vertigo Streiff for Belgian Racing. Sharing with the experienced Renaud Kuppens, she was 34^th in the Spa 12 Hours. The pair were joined by Bas Leinders for the Spa 24 Hours, but did not finish. Sarah was 18 years old, and one of the youngest people to have driven a sportscar on the Spa circuit. She had also only just passed her road driving test.

For the next two seasons, she undertook testing and development work in a variety of different cars, supported by Gravity Sport Management. She did not do any competitive racing.

At the start of 2010, Sarah was back in a sportscar, driving a Porsche 996 in the first round of the Belcar championship, at Zolder. She and her team-mate, “Brody”, were 26^th. She tried to qualify the Porsche for the Spa 24 Hours, but could not manage. Later, she returned to the Belgian Touring Car Championship (BTCS) and drove a Mitsubishi Lancer for the first time. She did two races with Jean-Pierre de Wauwer, and was 18^th in the championship after one podium finish. Her BTCS programme included the Spa 12 Hours, and she was seventh. Round-the-clock enduros were something of a theme for 2010, as she also raced in the VW Fun Cup 25 Hours, held at Spa.

In 2011, she was meant to race a Ginetta for JHR Developments in the British GT Championship, but the deal fell through. Instead, she carried on with development work for Formula 3. For the past couple of seasons, she had spent time helping to develop a number of cars. For a change, she competed in the Rally Televie in a Porsche Cayman, and towards the end of the year, she was one of the finalists for the FIA Women in Motorsport Scirocco-R Shootout. She did not win the Scirocco Cup prize drive.

In 2012, it was back to sportscars, and she drove a McLaren MP4-12C in the Spa 24 Hours with Boutson Ginion Racing. The team consisted of Sarah, Marlène Broggi, Jérôme Thiry and Massimo Vignali. They did not finish. For the rest of the year, she was involved in the BRCC series, in a GC10 V8 BMW. She was second in her class of the Long Races championship, as part of a rotating squad of drivers for the GC team.  

In 2013, she raced the GC10 in the Dutch GT championship, finishing eighth in one race at Spa and fifth in another. She was twelfth overall in the BRCC Long Race category, with two class wins, and won the Silhouette ProEvo class. She also became the first woman to race an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, in the Spa 24 Hours, but she did not finish.

In 2014, the Long Race series was dropped, and she did not take part in the BRCC.  

2015 was mostly spent in the Renault Sport Trophy. She drove a Renault RS in some races at Spa. She was third in a Prestige (sprint) race, and fourth in an Endurance race. Her team-mate was Michela Cerruti. Away from Renault, she drove a works-supported Peugeot 208 in the Hankook 24h Series, for Team Altran. She raced at Mugello and Brno. The Brno 12 Hours gave her a class win, and 14^th overall, driving in a team of three. A different team, including Sarah, did not quite get to the end of the Mugello race.

She did some more endurance racing in a Peugeot 208 in 2016. At the start of the season, she contested the Dubai 24 Hours, but did not finish due to mechanical issues. She had more luck in the Silverstone 24 Hours, where she was fourth overall, with a class win. Her team was Altran Peugeot, and she was part of a five-driver squad. 

Most of her season was spent racing a Lamborghini Huracan in the European Lamborghini Super Trofeo. She was fourteenth in the Pro-Am class, and her best race result was thirteenth, at Spa.  

She raced the Huracan again in 2017, entering the Spa 24 Hours, which ran as a round of the Blancpain GT Series. She was sixth in the Amateur class. 

The Huracan came out again for the 2018 Spa 2 Hours. Sarah and her three team-mates were second in the Group N class, 47th overall. 

In 2019, she is part of a revolving cast of female drivers in an R24-run Ligier LMP3 in the Asian Le Mans Series. She and Stephane Kox were seventh at Shanghai in January.

The 2019 summer season was spent as part of the all-female W Series. Sarah was chosen as a driver but only as a reserve, so she only made two starts. She was meant to start her home Zolder race as it was her birthday, but her car caught fire on the startline. She was dropped from W Series in 2020. Later, she confessed that she did not fit particularly well in a single-seater due to her height. 

Motor racing as a whole was affected by the coronavirus crisis in 2020. Sarah announced towards the end of the year that she was going truck racing with the Lion Truck team in 2021. She did one race at Nogaro to try out the MAN truck.

As well as putting together her truck deal, she did five races in the French Ligier JS Cup for spec sportscars. She shared the MT Racing car with Thierry Petit. They were 25th in the championship. 

Returning to sportscar racing proved a wise move. Sarah was asked to join the all-female Iron Dames team for 2022, racing their Ferrari 488 in the WEC and other championships. 

She was one of the main squad for that year's WEC and made her debut at Le Mans, finishing ninth in the LMGTE Am class and 36th overall with Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting. The same trio tackled the Monza and Bahrain rounds with a best class finish of eighth.

Alongside Manuela Gostner and Doriane Pin, she also piloted the Ferrari in the first three rounds of the Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 championship, although a practice crash meant that she was unable to start at Catalunya. She was second at Monza and third at Paul Ricard.

In addition to this schedule, she and the Iron Dames found time to make guest appearances in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and the Italian GT Championship, in the Ferrari, plus rejoining Rahel and Michelle for two rounds of the ELMS. They earned two third places at Spa and Portimao in the ELMS.

She was a main driver for the Iron Dames in 2022, doing five of the six WEC rounds in the Ferrari. The WEC season started slowly, with tenth in LMGTE at Sebring and then a slightly disappointing twelfth at Le Mans, but three LMGTE Am-class podiums followed at Monza, Fuji and Bahrain, taking them up to fifth in the class championship.

The same team picked up even more podiums in the Fanatec GT World Challenge, winning their class at Spa after finishing second at Paul Ricard on the way to championship second. Another win followed in the ELMS, the final race of the season at Portimao, following a second at Spa. They were third in their class championship.

Sarah stayed a core member of the team for 2023. They had two new cars: a Porsche 911 for WEC and a Lamborghini Huracan for IMSA and the Fanatec GT World Challenge. WEC and the Porsche proved to be the most effective, winning the LMGTE Am class at the season-ending Bahrain race. A third at Portimao earlier and some solid fourth places helped them to second in the class championship, in what was the final season of LMGTE competition. They were fourth in class at Le Mans after running much higher for much of the race but losing ground in the last few hours.

The Dames's IMSA season was limited to four rounds and Sarah only did two of them. Michelle and Rahel were 18th in the Daytona 24 Hours and eleventh at Sebring. They also raced at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta, in common with many other GTD teams who did not run the full season. Sebring remained their best finish. 

Their GT Wold Challenge season was affected by an early retirement from the Spa 24 Hours, which counted for three of the six point-scoring rounds. Their best result was 28th place overall at Monza, the first race of the season.

Sarah's fourth Le Mans was in a new class, LMGT3, and in a new car, a Lamborghini Huracan. She and her Iron Dames team-mates Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting were fifth in class and 32nd overall. 

She raced the same car in that year's WEC and finished eighth in the LMGT3 championship. As well as their Le Mans result, they were fifth at Spa and Fuji. Across the Atlantic, the Dames entered five IMSA rounds in the Lamborghini, helped by Doriane Pin for the season-opening Daytona 24 Hours. They were sixth in class in that race, 25th overall. Sarah then got a puncture in qualifying for the Sebring 12 Hours, meaning she did not set a time, but the Dames got on the grid, only to retire with accident damage. After a break, they rejoined the championship for Watkins Glen, Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans.

Sarah's best results came in the European Le Mans Series, driving a Porsche 911 with Rahel and Michelle. They won the LMGT3 class at Imola and were second at Portimao, with Sarah setting the pole time for their class on four occasions. They were fourth overall.

2024 was Sarah's last season in WEC with the Dames, as her FIA driver classification changed and she became ineligible to compete at the same level as the other Dames. She was moved to the Asian Le Mans series squad for 2025, driving a Porsche with Michelle and Celia Martin.

Before joining the Iron Dames, Sarah had planned a season in the French truck racing championship. She does not appear to have taken part.

She is the daughter of Quirin Bovy, who raced touring cars in Europe in the 1970s and 1980s.

(Image copyright letihon.be) 

Women in Belcar

Kelly Jamers in 2009

Belgium’s premier endurance championship has attracted a good number of female drivers since the 1990s. International sportscar racer Vanina Ickx had some of her early experience in the series, and Alexandra van de Velde and Caroline Grifnee have also competed further afield.

The championship was originally for touring and GT cars together, but its focus has shifted more towards sportscars in recent years, becoming a GT championship in 2007. Its blue riband event was the Zolder 24 Hours race.

Belcar has now been superseded by the Belgian Racing Car Championship (BRCC). Until 2013, the Zolder 24 Hours was part of it, but it now runs as a stand-alone event.

The following drivers have all competed in Belcar or the BRCC. Most of them are Belgian nationals.

Danique Aelaerts – competes in drifting in Europe, but has also done some circuit racing. She began her drifting career in 2009, and had her first circuit races in 2013, in a Mazda MX-5. She raced in that year’s Zolder 24 Hours in the Mazda, as part of the “Racing Stars” women’s team, who had come together for a TV programme. Her co-drivers were Veerle Bammens, Eveline Maes and Anke de Dauw. In the Endurance section of the Belgian Racing Car Championship, she drove a Porsche 996 with Sarah Ganser and Karen Vaes. They were 17^th in the first round, at Zolder, but Danique was replaced by Charlotte Maes for the rest of the season. In 2014, she took part in the Zolder 24 Hours again, in a Porsche 996. She was eleventh, assisted by Karen Vaes, Gideon Wijnschenk, Bart van Haeren and Filip van Eename. She has also done some historic rallying in Belgium, in a 1983 Alfa Romeo GTV6. Most of 2016 was spent drifting and doing film stunt work, before a leg injury in October curtailed her activities. 

Peggy Aerts - Belcar sports class racer in 2002 and 2003. Her car was a KS Motorsport BMW M3. In 2002, her best finish was 20th, accompanied by Michael de Keersmaecker and Jacques Morlet. They were first in the TA class. Her 2003 team-mates were Werner Moonens and Jurgen Lippens. Their best result was fourteenth in the Zolder 24 Hours. Peggy does not appear to have competed since then.

Kata Bozo - raced alongside Ines Lammens in the Skylimit Yokohama BMW in 2016. She is Hungarian, but lives and works in Belgium. 2016 was her first season and included the Fun Cup 25 Hours and Zolder 24 Hours, in which she was fifth in class (32nd overall). She was one of the older drivers in the team at 20. Ines and Kata won the Belcar Ladies’ Trophy in 2017, and were third in their class. In 2018, Kata raced in the team’s other BMW E90 for the first event of the season, but switched to VGL Racing and their Saker prototype for the 24 Hours of Zolder. She and her team-mates were 19th overall and sixth in class and Kata retained her Ladies' title. She also raced in the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup in Belgium. She raced the Saker again in 2019 but only completed half of the season due to funding issues. In 2021, she raced a Fiat 500 in Belcar with Gilles Puelings. She tested an electric ERA single-seater in 2022 at the Hungaroring, then did some racing in the Belcar Skylimit Sprint Cup. She was involved in an accident at Zolder in July and advised to take a break from racing due to blood pressure problems. In 2023, she announced her retirement.

Carla Brackx - popular touring car driver from Belgium. She competed in Belcar between 2000 and 2002, before apparently leaving the motorsport world to concentrate on business interests. For all three seasons, her car was a BMW E36 Compact, usually run by Mienwest, but in 2002, the Jim TV team. She scored some top-three finishes in the TB class. The Zolder 24 Hours was her best race, and she scored her best-ever overall finish of 20th there in 2002. Her co-driver for all three seasons was Pieter Vierpoort. She was the Ladies’ champion in 2002. In 2012, she made a comeback of sorts, and appeared at a track day at Spa.

Frederike Cassiers - winner of the Belcar Ladies’ Trophy in 2001, driving a Porsche 993. Her team-mates were Philip Daelemans and Marc Meuwissen. Her best result was a tenth place, fourth in class, in the Zolder 24 Hours. Mostly, she finished in around 23rd place. 2001 appears to have been her only year of major competition.

Joyce de Troch - raced a Porsche in Belcar, on and off, between 1998 and 2002, with consistent lower-midfield finishes. In her first year, she did two races at Zolder, driving a 911 with Walter Grootaers and Patrick Schreurs, including the Zolder 24 Hours. She was partnered by Paul Moonen in 2001. Their car was a Coast Racing 993. Joyce was fourth in the Ladies’ standings. She and Moonens stayed together for the 2002 season, driving for Coast and Ham Car Tuning. Their best finish was 28th, twelfth in class, at Spa. Away from the track, Joyce is an actress and TV presenter.

Audrey van Ham – raced a Porsche in Belgium. From about 2010, her name starts to appear in starting lists for Belgian historic events, including the 2010 Belgian Historic Cup at the Zolder 24 Hours, and the 2011 Spa Summer Classic. She has also raced more modern machinery, and was part of a Skylimit Yokohama team for the 2013 Zolder 24 Hours. Her team-mates were Karen Vaes, Jo Lammens and Charlotte Maes. They were twelfth overall, driving a Porsche 996. In 2020 and 2021 she led an all-female team in the DNRT series, driving a BMW. The team was sponsored by Christine Le Duc, a sex toy retailer of which Audrey was a director. They returned in 2022 and won a class championship, then in 2023 they were eighth in the Netherlands 24 Hours. In 2024, she raced a historic BMW 530i in the Netherlands. Audrey got into motorsport through her father, who also races historics.

Kelly Jamers - another Belgian racer. She raced in Belcar in 2003 and 2005. Her 2003 car was a BMW M3, and she was fourth in class TA. In 2005, she drove a Porsche GT3. She has taken part in the Zolder 24 Hours twice, and her best result was sixth, in 2004, driving the GT3. She used a similar car for the 2006 Dubai 24 Hours. Aside from endurance racing, she has competed in one-make series for Renault, Toyota and the Mini Cooper. She began her career in a Clio in 1999, before campaigning a Megane in 2000, with one eleventh place. She moved to the Toyota Yaris Cup for two seasons in 2002 and 2003, with a best overall result of thirteenth. The Mini Challenge was combined with her other commitments in 2004 and 2005, which included a class win in the Belgian Touring Cup, driving a Porsche 993. In 2009, she made a comeback, driving a Porsche in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Endurance Cup.

Stéphane Kox - races saloons and single-seaters in the Benelux countries. She is the daughter of Peter Kox, and they teamed up in BMW 235I with three other drivers to win the 2015 24 Hours of Zolder. Her run in the 24 Hours was part of a season in the BMW 235 Racing Cup in Belgium, which she won outright. That year, she scored two second places in the same car, in the Assen rounds of the Supercar Challenge. In 2016, she did some races in the VdeV Endurance championship, driving a Porsche, and took part in the 24 Hours of Paul Ricard in a Mercedes. In 2017, she raced an Audi TT at the Imola 24 Hours, but did not finish. She also took part in two European GT4 races, driving a KTM X-Bow. Her best finish was fifth, at Misano. She did best in the VdeV Endurance series in a Ligier, recording two second places. In 2018, she did not do many major events but she did drive a Ligier at Shanghai for one round of the Asian Le Mans Series, as part of an all-female R24 team. She started racing in 2013, in ADAC Formel Masters, and was sixteenth in the championship, with a best finish of eighth, at the Slovakiaring. 2019 was a quiet year, beginning with the driver assessments for the all-female W Series. Stephane got through three stages of testing but pulled out after being named as a reserve driver. She did another round of the ALMS for R24 at Buriram and was seventh in the LMP3 class. In 2021, she raced a Toyota Supra in the DTM Trophy, picking up four top-ten finishes including a seventh at Hockenheim. She was 15th in the championship. Most of 2022 was spent as a TV motorsport presenter, but she also raced for the Saalocin team in a Porsche 911. She and her team-mates Peter Kox and Nico Pronk raced in the Asian Le Mans Series and in the Bahrain round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. They reconvened in 2023 for the Dubai 24 Hours, finishing 13th in class. The team tackled two rounds of the 24H Series Middle East Trophy in 2024, driving the Porsche.

Ines Lammens - began racing in Belgium in 2016, when she was 16. In her first year of racing, she tackled the 25 Hour Fun Cup race and the 24 Hours of Zolder, driving a BMW for Skylimit Yokohama Racing. She raced in the revived Belcar series in 2017, alongside Kata Bozo and Jo Lammens, who is her father. She and Kata won the Ladies’ Trophy. They were third in their class overall. The team raced in Belcar in 2018 as AR Performance. They were ninth overall and third in class. She raced with the Kempen team in the 2022 Zolder 24 Hours, driving a Porsche.

Linsy Lanssens - raced in Belcar. She drove a Lotus Elise in the 1999 and 2000 seasons with Christophe Tuyttens. Their best result in 2000 was 33rd, at the Zolder FIA GT round. In 2001, she shared a BMW E46 with Alexandra van de Velde. Their best overall performance was 22nd in the Zolder 24 Hours, although they were third in class at Spa also. In 2002 she changed teams again, to the KS Motorsport operation. She and Michael de Keersmaecker did two races together in a BMW M3 E36, repeating Linsy’s best result of 22nd. She was then replaced by several other drivers. In 2004, she re-appeared as a guest driver in the Mini Challenge. More recently, she has competed in three-day eventing.

Charlotte Maes – races in endurance events in Belgium. In 2013, she took part in the BRCC Long Race series, after some races in the Fun Cup and in the Renault Clio Cup. She was competing as part of the Skylimit Yokohama Ladies team, with Sarah Ganser and Karen Vaes. Their car was a Porsche 996. She did not do the full season, but stepped in to replace Danique Aelaerts. Her best result was 15^th, at Spa. She also raced in the Zolder 24 Hours, as part of a mixed Skylimit team with Karen Vaes, Audrey van Ham and Jo Lammens. They were twelfth overall.

Sigrid Maes - races in Belcar for JuSi Racing. Her car for 2018 was a BMW 120D, which she raced as part of a three-driver team in the Endurance championship. She and Jurgen Vermeulen are the “Ju” and “Si” in the team name. The team was formed by the pair at the end of 2016, and their first race was that year’s Zolder 24 Hours. She was with the team for the 2023 Zolder 24 Hours. Sigrid had done track days before starting her career with Vermeulen. The team also occasionally competes in the Fun Cup.

Hanne Terium - Dutch driver racing in the 2018 Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup. She recorded a top-ten finish in its first race at Zolder. Previously, she raced a BMW E90 in both Belcar and the Dutch Supercar Challenge. She was part of the AR Performance team for that year’s Zolder 24 Hours, as team-mate (but not sharing cars) to Ines Lammens and Kata Bozo. She raced for EMG Motorsport in Dutch Supercars and was ninth in Supersport Division 2, driving solo. This was her first season of racing, although she comes from a motorsport background and raced karts from the age of 12. Her second season was something of a let-down, with six non-finishes from twelve races. She was third in the Junior standings. 

Lieve Thiron - raced in the sports class in Belcar between 2000 and 2003, finishing as runner-up in the Ladies’ standings in 2001 and 2002. She normally finished mid-field. As part of Belcar, she has also competed in some bigger sports races, such as the Spa and Zolder 24 Hours. In 2000, she was fourteenth in the Zolder 24 Hours, thirteenth in 2001 and tenth in 2002, although she did not finish in 2003. All the time, her class results improved as well. She was usually part of a family team with her husband Dirk Geerinckx and later, their son Matthieu. Their car was either a Porsche 996 or 993 GT3.

Karen Vaes – races in the BRCC and the Zolder 24 Hours, in a Porsche 996. She participated in the Long Race championship of the BRCC in 2013, for the Skylimit team, and was 23^rd overall, with Sarah Ganser. Her best finish was fifteenth, at Spa. In August, she also raced in the Zolder 24 Hours for the first time, and was twelfth, with Audrey van Ham, Charlotte Maes and Jo Lammens. In 2014, she raced at Zolder again, and was eleventh, second in class. Her team-mates were Danique Aelerts, Filip van Eename, Bart van Haeren and Gideon Wijnschenk. She is also very active in the drift scene, in a BMW M3 E36.

(Image from http://www.heusden-zolder.eu/)

Vanina Ickx

Vanina in 2009

Belgium is the unlikely home of many female motorsport stars. One of the most famous is Vanina Ickx. Although her father is Formula One and sportscar legend Jacky Ickx, she came in to motorsport almost by accident. Whilst studying biology at university, a friend who went to the same gym as Vanina became pregnant. This friend had a sponsored drive organised in BMW's Compact Cup, and knowing Vanina's family background, asked her if she wanted to drive in her place. This was 1996, and Vanina's career had begun. In her first race she finished last, but she was undeterred and competed in the Compact Cup for two seasons, with a best finish of fourth. Her first Spa 24 Hours was in 1997, and she drove a BMW Compact run by the Fina Junior Team, with Kate Rafanelli and Florence Duez.

In 1998 she switched to the Belgian Procar series, first in a BMW 320i, and then in a more reliable Renault Megane. She was rewarded with a third, in a European race at Spa. At the end of the season, she was eleventh. At her second attempt at the Spa 24 Hour touring car race in 1999, she was fifth in the same car. She returned to BMW power for the 24 Hours of Zolder, and was third in class.

2000 saw a considerable hike in horsepower for Vanina, when she competed in the Ferrari 360 Challenge. She won at her home track of Spa and claimed fastest laps there, at Brno and at the A1-Ring in Austria. She was third at Brno and fourth at Magny-Cours. During this time she was also racing in America, in Formula Ford 2000. She racked up three wins, one pole position and a second before funds ran out. That was not all for the season though; Belgium's Belcar series beckoned, plus a drive to fifth in the Lamborghini Trophée, third at the Spa 24 Hours in a Peugeot 306 and a crack at the Nürburgring 24 Hour, with an all-female team in a Honda S2000. For a complete change, she also did some ice-racing in the Andros Trophy, and navigated her father to eighteenth place in the Paris-Dakar rally, one of her proudest achievements.

The Dakar opened the season for 2001, with Vanina in the driving seat this time, in a Toyota Land Cruiser. She was in demand as a test driver, and tried out for many formulae that year. She gained a seat with the elite Larbre Competition team for Le Mans, in their Chrysler Viper, but crashed out. She later admitted graciously that the car was much faster than she was used to. Another try at the Spa 24 Hours followed, in a Porsche 996, with Christophe Tinseau, Xavier Pompidou and Tim Verbergt. They did not finish.

More Porsche power brought another win in 2002. Vanina and her sister Larrissa were outright winners of the Rallye des Princesses in a 911. The Rallye is a classic event for female drivers only. She drove another 911 to eighth place in a Porsche Cup race.

She continued her rallying with a 24th place on the Dakar. Her sportscar outings were limited to a drive in a Vertigo Streiff in the Spa 24 Hours, alongside David Saelens and Renaud Kuppens. She kept her racing hand in with some very competitive Rotax Max karting, and a return to tin-tops in the Toyota Yaris Cup. This gave her some strong top-ten and five finishes. A couple of high-profile guest drives also came her way; she was eighth in a Porsche Carrera Cup race at Magny-Cours, and sixth in the VW Fun Cup 25 Hour race at Spa.

It was back to Le Mans in 2003. A more experienced Vanina drove a Porsche 911 to 27th place, with Sebastian Bourdais and Roland Bervillé. She returned to the famous track again for the Le Mans Story historic racing festival later in the season, where she was tenth in a classic Porsche. It would have been three visits but for an illness; Vanina was all set to drive the Chamberlain TVR Tuscan with Amanda Stretton and Liz Halliday, at the Le Mans 1000km, on the Bugatti circuit. She lost her place in the team to fellow Belgian, Fanny Duchateau.

She also returned to the Larbre squad for the Spa 24 Hours, driving with Jean-Luc Blanchemain, Pertti Kuismanen and Stefano Zonca. She was unlucky again, as the quartet went out with a blown engine. A trip to the Spa Ferrari Days event was much more productive, and Vanina went away with a second and third place in her races. To round off the season, she raced at Estoril in the Formula Renault V6 single-seater championship.

2004 was a busy year for the Belgian racer. She was third in the Oman Desert Express rally raid in a Nissan Pathfinder, navigated by Florence Bourgnon. She signed to contest the Le Mans Endurance series and returned to Belcar, sharing Daikin Racing's new Mini Cooper with Alexandra van de Velde. The duo were ninth overall in class TB, with a best finish of second in class after some initial reliability issues. They raced throughout Belgium and also at the Nürburgring.

Vanina's three LMES rounds were a mixed experience. She was part of a rotating driving squad at T2M Racing, in their Porsche 996 GT3 Cup. Her first outing was alongside fellow Speedqueen, Keiko Ihara, and Wolfgang Kaufmann, at Monza, which resulted in a DNF. At this meeting, Vanina had already driven in the supporting Formula X Sport race, and was third. Her Nürburgring partners were Paul Daniels and Thierry Rabineau, and they managed 30th position. Reunited with Rabineau for the Spa race, she was 22nd, assisted also by Christophe Tinseau.

As well as her full-series racing commitments, the Belgian racer took part in a great number of guest drives, usually at her home circuit of Spa. Back in her Porsche 996, an entry into the Spa 24 Hours, an FIA GT round, brought a tenth place finish and a class win. The Pirelli Ferrari Challenge was another good move, as she won in her 360 Modena. Sticking with Porsches, she was thirteenth in a Supercup race and fourth and fifth in two BTCS events. Remarkably, she took part in three 24-hour races at Spa that season: the Spa 24 Hours, the VW Fun Cup 25 Hour (32nd place) and even a round-the-clock race for Citroen 2CVs.

In 2005, Vanina continued to build on her progress in European sportscar racing. She was hired by the British Rollcentre Racing team for their assault on the LMES and Le Mans itself. She proved to be more than up to the challenge, and handled the Dallara-Judd LMP900 extremely competently. At Le Mans itself, she regularly set faster lap times than her team-mates Martin Short and Joao Barbosa. As a team, they began well, and ran as high as second, before a lengthy pitstop dropped them out of the running. They eventually finished eighteenth.

The LMES was a much greater success. Vanina, Martin and Joao were third at Spa, Monza and Silverstone and fifth at the Nürburgring, battling against the dominant Audi R8s. It was only a poorer eighth place at Istanbul that dropped them out of the title running. They settled for third.

With the LMES over, Vanina jumped ship for the last three rounds of the FIA GT championship. She was back racing for the Gillet Vertigo Streiff team, and more competitive this time. In the Chinese race at Zhuhai, she and Bas Leinders were thirteenth overall, with a GT2 class win. She repeated this feat in Bahrain with Renaud Kuppens, 20th overall this time. The same pairing could not finish in Dubai.

Belcar had not been forgotten either during this busy year. Vanina was reunited with the Daikin Mini and Alexandra van de Velde for selected rounds. The duo started from pole and claimed an outright victory in the Touring Class at the New Racing Festival of Zolder, 20th overall. In August, they were third in class at the 24 Hours of Zolder, accompanied by Gaby Uljee and Caroline Grifnée. This was Vanina's third 24-hour race of the year, following Le Mans and an attempt at the Spa 24 Hours in a 996 GT3, which ended in retirement for her and her three team-mates.

Not content with this busy schedule, Vanina also found time for trips to Germany for guest drives in the Porsche Supercup and the SEAT Leon Supercopa.

2006 began with a return to classic rallying. The Ickx sisters renewed their driving partnership in the Legend Boucles de Spa event, manning a Porsche 911. They were eighteenth overall. Not long after this, Vanina was signed by the Midland Audi team to race in the DTM touring car series. The announcement followed a rare joint on-track appearance by her and her father, testing the DTM car.

Vanina's DTM results were not brilliant, and her time in the championship must have been trying. The Midland car was a 2004-spec Audi A4, and so lagged behind the newer models somewhat. However, she managed to keep the pace with team-mate Jeroen Bleekemolen, who replaced Olivier Tielemans. She was 15th at Hockenheim, 16th at Lausitz, 18th at Oschersleben, thirteenth at the Norisring, 18th at the Nürburgring, 16th at Le Mans and eleventh at Hockenheim, her best result. The other three rounds resulted in DNFs.

Surprisingly to some, she returned to the DTM in 2007, this time as part of the TME team. Her car was a 2005-spec A4. It was another forgettable year. She was 15th at Hockenheim and Lausitz, 17th at Brands Hatch, 19th at the Nürburgring and 18th in the season finale at Hockenheim. The other five races ended in retirement, one before the race had even begun.

She walked away from the DTM at the end of the year and returned to sportscars and rally raids. The year began with the Tour of Senegal, and Vanina was all set to drive in another Dakar, until it was cancelled at the last minute. It is unclear how much of the Tour took place either.

The main part of her season was taken up with the Le Mans Series. She was back with Rollcentre Racing and their Pescarolo-Judd, as well as her old team-mates Joao Barbosa and Martin Short. Duncan Tappy, Charles Hollings and Mikael Forsten also joined them throughout the year. They were tenth at Barcelona and seventh at Monza, from 18th on the grid. The Nürburgring was less forgiving, and the team suffered technical difficulties, but they were still ninth. Spa was another frustrating race, plagued with car problems, and gave them another ninth, although Vanina beat her own lap record in the process. They were eighth at Silverstone, with Vanina on the last leg.

In between, Vanina drove at Le Mans once more, for Rollcentre. Her team-mates were Joao Barbosa and Stephan Gregoire. They were eleventh overall, first privateers home and fourth in the petrol car standings.

She also accepted a drive in the BTCS Spa 12 Hours, sharing a Delahaye Racing Silhouette Megane Trophy, with David Loix and Frederic Bouvy. They won the race comfortably. In the mood for more endurance, Vanina and Frederic Bouvy joined Alexandra van de Velde in a Red Bull Ferrari 430 for the Zolder 24 Hours. They could not manage a win, but were fourth overall, second in class.

Historics had not been forgotten either. Vanina attended the Le Mans Classic and drove in the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix. Her car was a 1971 Ford Escort.

2009 was a much quieter year. Vanina entered three major events: Le Mans, the Spa 12 Hours and the Nürburgring 24 Hours. She joined the Creation team for Le Mans, teaming up with Jamie Campbell-Walter and Romain Ianetta, in a Judd-engine Creation CA07 LM1 prototype. They were 24th, 15th in class. Vanina was somewhat disappointed, but stated that it was always good to finish a 24-hour event.

Spa was better, although she did not repeat her 2008 win. Vanina, Frederic Bouvy and Christian Kelders piloted the Megane to second overall. This assisted the team of Bouvy and Kelders to a BTCS championship win.

Her car for the Nürburgring classic was a “green” VW CNG Scirocco, run by VW Motorsport. She was 17th overall, first in class, aided by Thomas Klenke, Peter Terting and Klaus Niedzwiez.

In 2010, she focused on the Le Mans Series. Driving a Lola-Aston Martin LMP1 prototype for the Signature Plus team, with Pierre Ragues and Franck Mailleux, she was seventh at Le Castellet, thirteenth at Spa, third at Algarve, 23rd at the Hungaroring and sixth at Silverstone. She finished the season in joint fourth place, with her team-mates.The same team entered Le Mans itself, but retired during the 19th hour.

As well as the Le Mans 24 Hours, Vanina also drove in the Le Mans Classic. She was demonstrating a fully-electric racing car produced by Citroen.

For 2011, sportscars remained her priority. She drove a Belgian Racing Ford GT in the FIA GT1 championship, experiencing a mixed season. The GT's reputation is a fragile car was borne out by five retirements. Vanina's best round was Silverstone, where she was seventh and ninth. She was only 33rd in the championship.

Once more, she entered Le Mans, driving for Kronos Racing, with Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin. Their car was a Lola Aston Martin B09/60. They were seventh overall.

For charity, Vanina entered the 25 Hour Fun Cup race at Spa. She was fifth overall, with Maxime Soulet, Nico Verdonck, Pascal Mathieu and Stephane Lemeret. They were driving an M&Ms sponsored car for Make A Wish, with each driver representing an M&M colour. Vanina was Miss Green.

She was also in action at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, driving a gas-powered VW Scirocco GT24-CNG. Along with Chrisptoph Niedzwiedz and Thomas Klenke, she was seventeenth, and won the class for alternative fuel cars. Vanina takes a keen interest in green fuels in motorsport; later in the year, she drove in the World Solar Challenge in Australia, for solar-powered vehicles. Her car was a Umicore Imagine.

In 2012, she was set to contest the European Le Mans Series, but did not, for reasons unknown. She announced her retirement from competitive motorsport in April 2012, for undisclosed reasons. She enrolled in business school, and became a mother in April 2013.

After retiring from professional driving, Vanina has occasionally competed, mostly in historic racing, such as the 2014 Le Mans Classic, which she entered in a Ford Shelby Mustang. She has also raced in the Fun Cup again, at the Nürburgring, driving with Marc Duez. In 2013 and 2014, she took part in the Stars Rallye Télévie, a celebrity motorsport event which appears on Belgian television.

Despite claiming that she really had retired for good and was only involved in motorsport in an administrative capacity, Vanina put on her driving shoes again in 2017. She was one of a group of invited drivers who took part in the Audi TT Race of Legends. The race, the last-ever TT Cup event held, was won by Frank Stippler. Vanina was seventh.

Earlier in the year, she had taken part in the Fun Cup 24 Hours as part of an Ickx family team: Jacky, Vanina and Larissa, plus their younger half-siblings Joy, Romain and Clement. She also tested a Formula E car at a promotional day.

She travelled to the USA for the Pikes Peak hillclimb in 2018, driving a Gillet Vertigo special with Tony Gillet.

When not driving fast, Vanina has also broken records on microlights and ski slopes, competed in triathlons and raced motorcycles. She has also sung live on stage with Francophone performer Khadja Nin, who is her stepmother. In 2015, she tried cycle racing, taking part in a relay race in Northern Finland during the Midnight Sun season, in suppport of skin cancer charities. She received her pilot's license in 2018 and continued to be involved in aviation in 2019, as well as riding some of the stages of the Tour de France on her bicycle.

After a long lay-off from international racing, she announced her return to the circuits in 2025. She was signed by the Iron Dames team for the Michelin Le Mans Cup, alongside Marta Garcia. Their car is a Porsche.

(Image copyright Anthony Megevand)

Sylvie Delcour

Sylvie on the BTCS podium

Although not a household name outside her own country, Sylvie Delcour of Belgium is one of her homeland's most decorated domestic drivers. Born in Verviers in 1975, she took up club racing at nineteen.

After two years of club competition, Sylvie took her first steps in the Belgian Procar touring series. Her first big race was in 1997, the Spa 24 Hours, which was then a race for saloon cars. Driving a Renault Clio Williams, she was third in the class for small group N vehicles and 25th overall, not a bad first attempt. For the rest of that year, she drove her Clio in the Renault Clio Eurocup.

It was back to Belgian Procars in 1998, where Sylvie teamed up for a part-season with Vanina Ickx. They shared a BMW 320i run by the BMW Fina Junior Team and achieved mixed results, until Vanina left the team to join Renault. Sylvie entered the Spa 24 Hours again in the same car, coming fourteenth this time.

Still in the BMW, Sylvie persevered with the Procar championship in 1999 and started to show her mettle. She ended the year as champion of Division Two and scored her best finish in the Spa 24 Hours to date: seventh overall and second in class.

It was time for something completely different for the following season. Sylvie got involved with the Volkswagen Fun Cup, an endurance championship for space-framed VW Beetles. With her team-mates, she was fully on the pace and came second in that year's standings, an achievement she repeated in 2001.

That year, the VW was not Sylvie's only car. She was also campaigning a Citroen 2CV in national events with considerable skill. At that year's Belgian 24 Hours of 2CV she and her team were fourth, and at the five-hour Dijon 2CV race she was the winner. Earlier in the year, the increasingly-versatile Sylvie had tried her hand at rallying, too. Driving a 1400cc group N VW Polo, she was 26th overall and second in class.

Her career continued in the same vein in 2002. She was fourth in the Belgian Fun Cup and retained her runner-up spot in the European Fun Cup. In the 2CV she fared even better, driving hard in a big field of cars and walking away as Belgian 2CV champion.

Mid-season, she was called back to the Spa 24 Hours, now an FIA sportscar race. She was snapped up by PSI Motorsport to drive a Porsche 996 Supercup alongside Loïc Deman and Philippe Tollenaire. The trio were 21st overall and fifth in their class.

2003 was a hectic but highly rewarding season for Sylvie. She had teamed up with Fanny Duchateau and Sabine Dubois as the "Rain Tyre Ladies" the previous year in the Fun Cup, and the partnership they had proved very hard to beat this year. The three women swept the board of Fun Cup titles, being crowned Belgian and European champions, and winners of the arduous 25-Hour race at Spa. This was a good tactical drive, making use of safety car periods well.

Back at Spa, Sylvie was again doing the 24 Hours as part of FIA GTs. Her car this year was another Porsche, a 996 GT3 Cup belonging to Land Motorsport. Her co-drivers were Loïc Deman, Christian Land and Peter Scharmach. They were a fighting twelfth overall, with a class win, another win to add to Sylvie's haul.

In addition to all these wins, she still found time to compete in the Clio Cup, gaining a best finish of third. At the end of the season, the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium awarded Sylvie its Ladies' Trophy and more importantly, the Casque d'Or (Golden Helmet) for outstanding achievement.

2004 was another busy year. Sylvie's main focus was the BTCS touring car championship. Her car this year was a tube-framed silhouette BMW, which obviously suited her driving style; her results were five thirds, a second and three wins, making her the series champion on her first attempt.

Yet again, she entered the Spa 24 Hours, driving an EBRT Lotus Elise with Jose Close, Lino Pecoraro and Philippe Menage. They were 21st overall and 3rd in class, although not classified at the end of the race. A month later, Sylvie returned to Spa for the Le Mans Endurance Series, where she was sharing a G-Force Pilbeam LM2 car with Philippe Haezenbrouck and Frank Hahn. There was more disappointment here, as the car did not make it to the end of the race. In between the two major Spa events, Sylvie also fitted in a trip to Zolder for the 24-hour race there. She was the fourth driver in the Daikin all-female team of herself, Vanina Ickx, Alexandra van de Velde and Fiona Leggate. They won the Ladies' Trophy in their Mini, despite finishing well down the order.

There were better results for the woman from Verviers in the two rounds of Formula X Sport she took part in. At the Nürburgring round, she came ninth and third and in Dubai she was fifth and sixth. Her results were enough to give her sixth in the championship. She also tested a works Courage C65 sports prototype at Magny-Cours, with a view to entering Le Mans in 2005. To round off another good year, she was awarded a rare second Casque d'Or and the RACB Trophée Féminine.

In the end, Sylvie did not start at the classic French race with the Courage team, although she was named as a reserve driver. 2005 was a much quieter year for her all round, mainly focused around the BTCS. She had moved up a class in the championship and was now driving a Porsche 996 Supercup. She was not as successful as she had been in the BMW and her best result was second at the BTCS 12 Hours of Spa, driving with David Loix. The 24-hour version was less of a triumph though; the Gillet Vertigo that Sylvie was driving with Bas Leinders, Renaud Kuppens and Jérôme d'Ambrosio did not give them a finish. The Belgian Racing machine was fast but unreliable and fragile.

For a complete change, Sylvie also took part in the Yamaha Girls Raid, a motorcycle cross-country rally for women in Morocco.

2006 saw the Belgian woman take another step into the rally-raid world. This time she entered the Rally Aïcha des Gazelles, a women-only event across North Africa, using a similar route to the later stages of the Paris-Dakar. She had an experienced co-driver in Corentine Quiniou, and they were sixth overall.

The BTCS had not been forgotten either. A Toyota Yaris was Sylvie's mount for the Spa 12 Hours. She was 24th overall and the winner of class T1. She also took part in the 24 Hour 2CV race and the Fun Cup 25 Hours. Here, she teamed up again with Corentine Quiniou.

She took part in more rally raids in 2007. Sylvie and Corentine entered the Trans African Classic together in a Toyota HDJ80. They were contesting the Classic class and had hopes of a win. At the end of the event, they were eighth, with one stage win and the Ladies’ award.

The BTCS had not been forgotten either. Sylvie finished third in class S2 after a series of strong finishes, including at least one win. Driving a Street Machine Solution F with Yvon Decour and Jean-Claude Meert, she was seventh in the Spa 12 Hours.

In 2008, she was absent from the BTCS. She entered one rally raid, the Trans Tunisia, on a Bombardier quad. It is unclear whether the event actually took place, and if so, where Sylvie finished. Since then, she has taken off-road riding training in Costa Rica and entered a number of rally raids on a KTM motorcycle, starting with the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, and moving on to mixed events in Libya and Tunisia.

In 2011, she drove a Dacia Duster in the Rallye des Gazelles, and won the Eco Driving Award for the lowest fuel consumption. They were second overall. She continued to enter the Gazelles event until at least 2014.

(Image copyright Tom Symons)

Stephanie Boden

Stephanie is a multi-talented sports and single-seater racer from Belgium. She has raced in Formula Ford, Formula Renault and Belcar. Her single-seater exploits took her to Holland and the UK, between 2001 and 2003.

2001 was her first full year of senior competition, after six years of karting. Aged seventeen, Stephanie drove in the Benelux Formula Ford 1800 championship, with a best finish of fifth, and made the trip to the UK for the season-ending Formula Ford Festival. This arrangement continued in 2002, and she continued to gain experience. In addition to this, she also took part in her first Zolder 24 Hours, driving a Porsche 993 for Rally Team Titanic, with Jean-Pierre Verhoeven and Andre van Hoof. Both were Formula Ford contemporaries of hers. They were fourteenth, and second in the Guest class.

In 2003, she shifted her single-seater attentions to Formula Renault, competing in the Netherlands mainly. She also did two rounds of the Formula Renault Eurocup, and visited the UK once more for the Winter Series there. Although she did not make it into the top five, she performed well in an end-of-season consolation race. Her best results came in the Dutch championship, where she was ninth.

Belcar had not been forgotten either. Stephanie joined forces with Alexandra van de Velde in the Daikin team, driving a BMW E46. They were 26th at Spa and 45th at Zolder.

She stuck with Belcar for 2004, moving back to her previous Speed Lover team with Jean-Pierre Verhoeven and Frank Doring. The car was a similar Porsche 993 to the one she drove in 2002. They were 16th at Spa, but did not finish the Zolder 24 Hours. 2004 was also her last year of single-seater competition. She drove in the Benelux Formula Renault championship and was ninth, after establishing herself as a regular in the top ten.

2005 was taken up with Belcar. She returned to Speed Lover for the Zolder 24 Hours and drove a Porsche 996, but did not finish. She also joined up with Daikin again for the Spa 1000km in their Mini Cooper, but did not get to drive.

Driving for Flandria Rent Racing with Chris Mattheus, she tackled the whole Belcar season in 2006. Their car was a Porsche 996. They started strongly with a sixth and a class win in the first Spa race, but did not finish the next round at Zolder. Another top-ten beckoned in the Zolder Midsummer meeting; Stephanie and Chris were eighth and second in class. The Lausitz round was a disappointment, yielding a 20th place, but the Zolder 24 Hours gave them a battling 17th, supported by Laurent Nef and Arjan van der Zwaan. Driving as a pair again, they were eleventh at the Spa Racing Festival. Only in the last round, at Zolder, did they fail to finish. This season gave Stephanie the Belcar Ladies’ award.

In 2007, back with the Daikin team, she and Alexandra van der Velde contested the some rounds of the ADAC GT Masters and the Belcar championship in a Dodge Viper. They were 9th in the Spa 12 Hours, their best result. As well as this, they were 20th in the first Belcar race at Spa, and eleventh in a GT race at Donington.

It is unclear whether Stephanie has raced at all after 2007. The Daikin team appears to have disbanded at about this time.

(Image from http://www.racingworld.be/)

Gaby Uljee

Gaby as a Racing Diva

Born in the Netherlands in 1976, Gaby started racing at eighteen. The first championship she entered was the Dutch Citroen AX GTI Cup in 1994. She raced Citroen hot hatches for four years, working through the make's driver development scheme and winning races on the way. Her best finish was second overall in the Saxo Cup in 1998.

It was time to move on to bigger things in 1999, so Gaby raised some funds and competed in the Alfa Romeo 156 Challenge one-make series. After a learning year in the popular championship, she became a real contender in 2000, ending the season in fourth place overall.

People had started taking notice of the Dutchwoman now, and 2001 saw her taking another step up the racing ladder. Returning to French power, she drove in the Dutch Touring Car Championship in a Renault Clio. She usually managed to finish the races but was unable to make much of a mark on the top ten until the last meeting of the season, when she finished fifth and eighth. The second race was an excellent recovery drive after being involved in an incident with her boyfriend Tim Coronel's car.

She returned to the DTCC a much improved driver the following year. Still in the Clio, she was fifth in the points at the end of the year, after some excellent finishes. She was third twice at Zandvoort, and generally finished in the top five throughout the season, apart from the Nürburgring race, where she could only manage tenth. The opposition was of a high calibre: Tim Coronel, his F1 tester brother Tom and sportscar star Jeroen Bleekmoelen, to name a few.

Sponsorship for the DTCC was not forthcoming for Gaby in 2003, so she stuck with Clios and raced in the Clio Cup instead. She gained a few reasonable results, but the lower horsepower and crowded grids were obviously not to her liking.

She did not return to the DTCC the following season. However, there was no shortage of guest drives available in 2004. Gaby drove a new Mini at the Nürburgring round of the German Mini Challenge, but again the Ring was not kind to her and she failed to finish the second race, having come ninth in the first. Her other outings included a return to Alfas in the Alfa Romeo 147 Challenge race at the Marlboro Masters F3 meeting at Zandvoort. She also tried her hand in some rounds of the Benelux Racing League, a championship for Ford Mondeo touring cars and Benelux-based racers.

2005 saw a return to a full racing programme for Gaby. She registered for the Light division of the Benelux Racing League again and showed herself to be one of the best, coming second in the final standings after a string of impressive wins, including both legs of a double-header at Zandvoort.

Sticking with the Benelux countries, she also crossed the border to Belgium, to join the Daikin team for two major Belcar races. At the popular Zolder 24 Hour race, she helped bring the Daikin Mini home 22nd overall, third in class TB, assisted by a crack all-female squad of Vanina Ickx, Alexandra van de Velde and Caroline Grifnée. For the Belcar Masters later in the year, Gaby and Alexandra started from pole in class TB and were third again, 25th overall. A guest drive in the SEAT Cupra Endurance championship netted her a win at Assen.

In the 2006 season, Gaby returned to the BRL, hoping to repeat her 2005 triumphs. However, she only competed in four races in her Ford Focus, and was a lowly 18th overall. Later in the season, she drove in the Belcar 24 Hours again for Daikin. The team’s BMW 120d, driven by Gaby, Alexandra van de Velde, Caroline Grifnée and Stephanie Halm, went out of the race during the twelfth hour.

At the beginning of 2007, she took on a totally different challenge, in the form of the Paris-Dakar Rally. Her first attempt at the desert classic gave her 46th place, and second rookie team. The car was a Bowler Wildcat and she was navigating for Tim Coronel.

The main season was once again focused on the BRL. Gaby took part in fourteen races, winning two of them and placing in the top three on five occasions. She was runner-up again at the end of the year. In addition to this, she returned to the SEAT Cupra Cup for two guest races, teaming up with the TV presenter Rob Kamphues.

For 2008, it was time for a slight change of scenery. Gaby left the BRL behind and took up a place in the well-subscribed Toerwagen Diesel Cup. She drove alongside Paulien Zwart in the Coronel Girlz Racing team, run by their partners’ family. The car was a BMW 120d, similar to the one Gaby had raced previously in Belgium. The pair were third in the final standings after finishing in the top three on four occasions.

Gaby had intended to enter the Dakar again after its cancellation in 2008, and she managed to secure a drive as navigator to Michel de Groot, a former motorcycle competitor. Their car was a McRae enduro special and they ran as the Dutch Vicking team. They were 39th and winners of the T3 class.

Gaby and Michel also competed together in the Netherlands shortly afterwards, sharing a car for an early round of the VW Endurance Cup.

Gaby and Paulien continued with diesel power in 2009, but drove for separate teams this time. Gaby moved to the Orbit team with Liesette Braams. Despite some technical hitches, they were regulars in the top ten, with one podium finish to their name. They were seventeenth overall.

She continued in the Diesel Cup in 2010, driving for Equipe Verschuur this time. Her team-mates were Liesette and Luc Braams and their car was an updated BMW 123d. They were much more competitive than in 2009, winning one race and finishing in the top three in two others. Gaby was seventh in the drivers' standings.

As well as circuit racing, she tried out a bioethanol-fuelled Nissan 350Z for the Exotic Green Rally, a rallysprint. This was her first attempt at a stage rally, although by now, she had entered two Dakar Rallies.

After a year on the sidelines in 2011, Gaby returned to the circuits in 2012. She was part of the Dutch Racingdivas team for the early-season Dubai 24 Hours, and finished 39th in a Renault Clio Cup. Her co-drivers were regular cohorts Liesette Braams and Sheila Verschuur, plus Paulien Zwart and a returning Sandra van der Sloot. Going by her Twitter feed, it looked as if Gaby was preparing to compete in touring cars in the Netherlands also, and she obliged with three races in the Burando Production Open, in a BMW 123d. Her three Easter appearances, sharing a car with Liesette Braams, gave her a fifth, a fourth and a win.

The Divas planned to race together again in 2013, beginning with the Dubai 24 Hours. Driving a Schubert BMW 320D, they were 26th overall, with a class win. The Divas also appeared at the Rotterdam City Races, a sprint event on a street circuit. Unfortunately, these seem to be the only appearances the Divas did make.

Gaby was still involved with Racing Divas in 2014, who had secured some innovative sponsors, partly through "selling" the pink hearts which will form part of their livery. They planned to race again, but once more, their participation was restricted to the Dubai 24 Hours. Driving a BMW 320D prepared by Schubert Motorsport, Gaby was part of a Diva team that won Class A3T. The other drivers were Paulien Zwart, Sandra van der Sloot, Shirley van der Lof and Natasja Smit Sø. They were 31st overall.

In 2015, Gaby, as part of Racingdivas, contested the Dubai 24 Hours, in a BMW prepared by Bonk Motorsport. She was 23rd overall, with a class win. 

The Divas did not enter the Dubai 24 Hours in 2016, partly due to key team member, Liesette's ongoing battle with cancer. Gaby drove for the Allied Racing Team in the Competition102 GT4 European series, in a BMW M3. She did a part-season, and had a best finish of fifth at Zandvoort.

Gaby returned to the European GT4 championship in 2019, driving a McLaren 570 for Equipe Verschuur. She scored three podium places in the Am class, at Brands Hatch, Misano and Zandvoort, which was enough for fifth in the class championship. 

She raced two different cars in 2020: an Equipe Verschuur McLaren 540C for a round of the Dutch Winter Endurance Series, then a BMW 240i for Day V Tec 240. She and her team-mates Tim Coronel and Jan Jaap van Roon did the Hockenheim 16 Hours, a double eight-hour race. They won the TCX class in both parts, finishing ninth and eighth overall.

The Equipe Verschuur McLaren was upgraded to a 570S in 2021 and Gaby did two rounds of the ADAC GT4 Championship in it, as part of a joint Verschuur/Las Moras team. She was 16th and fourteenth at Zandvoort.

(Image from www.racingdivas.nl)

Alexandra van de Velde

Alexandra in 2004

Gent-born Alexandra decided that she wanted to race cars at the age of fifteen. Her father is Christian van de Velde, team owner and driver in Belgium. Most of the family have worked within Van de Velde Racing at one time or another.

Alexandra was eighteen when she made her first actual steps in the world of motorsport, entering the Starters Cup novice championship at her home circuit of Zolder. She continued in this series in 1998 and steered her BMW Compact to seventh in the up to 2000cc class.

Staying around Zolder for the time being, Alexandra enrolled in the circuit's Touring Cup in 1999. She was driving one of her father's cars, a BMW 323. Having learnt the track well in the Starters Cup, she won the class for cars up to 2500cc, with three individual class wins. Overall, she came fifth. That year, she also took part in her first Zolder 24 Hours. Partnered by Vanina Ickx, she was 16th overall and third in class.

The winning did not stop in 2000, either. Now in a BMW M3, Alexandra won her class again, this time the up to 3000cc group. On her second attempt at the Zolder 24 Hours, she was 21st, fourth in class. At this point, she was still combining racing with her legal studies at university.

After a couple of guest drives with Christian in Belgium's big race series, it was time to move up to Belcar full-time in 2001. Still with her family team, Alexandra teamed up with Linsy Lanssens, who had been a Belcar regular for the last couple of seasons. Their car was another BMW, an E46 GTR.

The season got off to a very slow start and the pair recorded DNFs in the first three races. Alexandra sat out one of the Spa rounds, leaving Christian and Linsy to finish 34th. Christian replaced Linsy for the last round, and the father-daughter duo were 45th.

Alexandra continued to race with her father in 2002. They were still in the E46, which was running much more reliably by then. The first race of the season was a welcome success: a class win at the New Race Festival, 24th overall. They were 32nd at the Spa Belpro meeting and 34th at the Nürburgring, before teaming up with Andy Jaenen for the Spa Euro meeting, and coming 22nd, third in class.

An accident put Alexandra out of the Zolder 24 Hours for the first time, but she bounced back at the Spa Racing Festival. Driving a Porsche 993 for a change, she was 30th. In a reversal of fortunes from her early career, Zolder was something of a bogey track for her that year. She and Andy Jaenen failed to finish the last round of the season there, in Andy's last race as a professional. Despite a couple of upsets, Alexandra was twelfth in the overall Touring standings, seventh in class TB, fourth in the Junior class and third in the Ladies rankings.

Although she remained in the same car, Alexandra got a new team-mate in 2003, in the shape of Kelly Jamers. The engine size of the BMW had been increased, and the duo were contesting class TA, for touring cars over 3000cc. They were 24th at the New Race Festival, 27th at the Nissan World Series meeting at Zolder and 28th at Spa Belpro. For the Spa Euro race, they were joined by Christian and finished 28th again. The van de Velde/Jamers partnership had been scoring steady fifths or thereabouts in class TA, showing much more consistency.

The van de Velde team for that year's Zolder 24 Hours consisted of Alexandra, Kelly, Christian and another young Belgian, Stephanie Boden. Unfortunately, they failed to finish again. Stephanie Boden took the place of Kelly Jamers for the last two rounds of the season. She and Alexandra were 26th at Spa Belpro, but did not finish the Zolder Masters.

As well as her Belcar achievements - fifteenth in Touring, seventh in class TA, fifth Junior and second Lady - Alexandra found time for the Mini Challenge, in which she was tenth. It proved useful experience, as the team, now sponsored by Daikin air conditioning, had acquired a BMW Mini S3 for use during the 2004 season. She was reunited with her old team-mate, Vanina Ickx.

From the beginning, when the car went out of the New Race Festival, there were reliability issues with the Mini. It was untested at this level of competition and Alexandra and Vanina could not finish four of their events. However, when the car was running well, it was quick, and its class positions showed it. The pair were third in class TB at the Nürburgring (29th overall) and class runners-up at the Nissan World Series meeting (two 28th places). At the Zolder 24 Hours, they just made the finish, but scooped the Ladies' award anyway. They were assisted on this occasion by Sylvie Delcour and Britain's Fiona Leggate. Alexandra made a return visit to the UK with Fiona, where they raced in a Britcar event at Donington together. They were second in Class Four in Fiona's works MG ZR 190.

The team ended the year fourteenth in Touring, ninth in class TB and first in the Ladies' standings. Alexandra scored her third Ladies' Trophy of the season in the Mini Challenge, despite only coming 18th overall.

The "Daikin Racing Girls" stayed together in 2005, along with their Mini. Their season began with a bang, in the form of a maiden class win for the Mini at the New Racing Festival. They were 20th overall. This was followed up with a second in class (42nd and 29th at the LMES meeting at Spa), and two thirds (25th at the Belcar Masters and 22nd in the Zolder 24 Hours). Extra championship points were accrued for the two pole positions they achieved at the Racing Festival and the Belcar Masters. The only real downer was a DNF at the Brands Hatch round, and a return of last year's mechanical gremlins, resulting in a non-start at the Spa Euro race. The Ladies' Trophy was awarded to Alexandra and Vanina for the second year running and Alexandra was a career-best sixth in Touring, fourth in class TB.

2006 meant a number of changes. Vanina Ickx left the team after being signed up to contest the DTM, which left Alexandra with Caroline Grifnée and Gaby Uljee as team-mates. Both had shared the Mini with her for the Zolder 24 Hours, and Gaby had filled in for Vanina at the Belcar Masters. The Mini was put up for sale and replaced by a Ferrari 360. This was the team's first attempt at the Belcar sports class.

Sadly, the Ferrari was a short-lived investment. Caroline Grifnée crashed heavily in it during the New Race Festival and wrote it off, causing an abrupt change of plan. Thankfully, Caroline was not hurt.

Daikin Racing reappeared at the Zolder 24 Hours with a new car, a diesel-powered BMW 120d. This was the same car that Claudia Hürtgen was using to good effect in Procar races. The team was Alexandra, Caroline, Gaby and German Steffi Halm. It was Steffi's turn to crash out this time, although the car was not seriously damaged.

Alexandra and Caroline returned to the fray a little later, at the Spa Racing Festival. They were entered in the Dutch Supercar event, rather than Belcar, and the change suited them; they won the Sports class convincingly. A return to Belcar for the last race of the season gave them a 29th place.

After the let-down of 2006, Alexandra received a well-earned change in fortunes at the start of 2007. She contested the 24 Hours of Dubai in January, and finished second in class A6 and a brilliant third overall, her first big podium place. She was driving a Porsche 996 RSR for Prospeed with Rudi Penders, Franz Lamot and Stephan Schrauwen. The team had had to battle with electrical problems in qualifying and then fight their way to the front.

Her fortunes in Belcar were also improving. This year, the team invested in a Dodge Viper SRT10, in an attempt on the series' premier class. Alexandra, along with her returning team-mate Stephanie Boden, was 20th in her first race and eleventh in the next, at Donington. At the Spa 12-Hour event, she started on pole and ended in ninth place. She was unable to compete in the next round, and although the Daikin Viper finished the Zolder 24 Hours in 15th, Alexandra is listed as "did not drive". She returned for the Francorchampagne event at Spa, finishing 21st. Unfortunately, the last round of the year ended in a DNF.

In 2008, she remained in Belcar, but broke the habit of a lifetime and joined a different team. Alongside Vanina Ickx, she joined forces with Frederic Bouvy and Damien Coens of Francorchamps Motors, driving a Ferrari F430 GT3. The foursome were fourth in the Zolder 24 Hours. Although this was her only Belcar outing, it was the most successful of her career.

Alexandra does not appear to have raced seriously since then, for reasons unknown.

(http://www.marshals-vdhb.be/)