Delfina Frers

Delfina and Marily Schwander

Delfina Frers is an Argentine former actress and model, who has raced saloons extensively in South America.

She has been racing since the mid-1990s, starting out, as many Argentine female drivers did, in the Copa de Damas women-only series. She won her first Copa de Damas race in 1994, during her first season in the competition. Her car was a Nissan Sentra. She took part in the Copa for the next couple of seasons.

Her first major experience of mixed-sex motorsport was the 1997 TC2000 championship, in an Audi-engined Ford Escort XR3. She was not normally among the frontrunners, although she claimed at least one second place in the Light category, at San Juan. After her second TC2000 season, in 1998, she was 21st, in a different Ford Escort, with a more standard Zetec engine.

Later on, in 2000, she made some guest appearances in TC2000 in a Honda Civic, but this was the end of her involvement. She entered 42 TC2000 races over four years, picking up a few points in 1998. Over four years, she picked up twelve class podium finishes. Unfortunately, she is more remembered for some spectacular crashes, including a multiple roll at San Juan in 1997. She was never seriously injured.

After that, she went back to Ford power for the 2001 Fiesta Ladies’ Championship, in Brazil, finishing sixth overall. This championship was organised by Maria Helena Fittipaldi for AMPACOM, the Brazilian women’s motorsport association. Delfina does not appear to have been quite at the level of Suzane Carvalho and Maria Cristina Rosito, but she was on the pace, and scored at least a couple of fourth places. Interestingly, she shared a background in showbusiness with Suzane, and they both got into motor racing quite late. They had shared an Aldee for the 1997 Mil Milhas in Brazil, finishing eighth overall. This was their second attempt at the event, having gone out in 1996, in a team with Marisa Panagopoulo.

A break followed, but she came back in 2004, driving in one round of the Top Race series, in Argentina. She took part in the Mar del Plata race, in a Chrysler Neon, as the first woman to enter the series. At this time, she was already a grandmother.

In 2008, she also guested in the TC NOA series, although details of this are hazy - she only did a part-season, and it is not clear which car she used.

In 2010, she got back behind the wheel again, in the Fiat Linea Cup. She was 22nd in the Alta Gracia race.

After that, she seems to have switched to rallying for a few years, navigated by Marily Schwander. The pair drove an Alfa Romeo Giulietta TI in the 2010 Argentine Historic Grand Prix, a historic long-distance rally. The following year, Delfina did some modern rallies in a Subaru, including the San Antonio Areco Rally.

After her retirement from motor racing, she remained involved in sport, and was the director of the cycling Tour Femenino de San Luis, after taking a competitive interest in cycling and triathlon. In 2016, she managed the Xirayas women’s international cycling team.

(Image from http://www.rectaprincipal.com.ar)

Suzane Carvalho

Suzane Carvalho is a former winner of the South American Formula Three Championship (B class), in 1992.

She got quite a late start in motorsport, only taking it up in 1989 when she was 26. Previously, she had been an actress and model, starting out as a child model, and had achieved some fame and notoriety in her home country of Brazil.

Despite its unorthodox timescale, her racing career progressed in the normal way, beginning with karting, then junior single-seaters in the form of Formula 1600 in 1990. She did some of her race training in Canada, and also competed in Formula 2000 there.

She took her first steps in Formula 3 in 1991, with a part-season in the SudAm championship. In 1992, she contested the full SudAm F3 series for the first time, and won the B class on her first attempt.

As a result, she was invited to test a Larrousse Formula One car, but she did not have the funding to do so. This would have made her one of a very small and select group of women who have driven current F1 machinery.

She carried on in F3, although results are proving hard to find. Photos exist of her and Maria Cristina Rosito posing next to a Formula Chevrolet car in 1993, which suggests that they raced each other at some point that year. She did at least some of the SudAm championship in 1994, and one or more races in 1997. Throughout her single-seater career, she was usually short of money and 1992 was the only full F3 season she completed.

As well as F3, she took advantage of any opportunity to race. Between 1993 and 1997, she did four Mil Milhas races at Interlagos, with a best finish of third in 1993. She was driving a Stock Car-spec Opala. Her second attempt, in 1994, she was ninth, driving a Japamovel with a Brazilian-Japanese team. She sat the race out in 1995, but returned in 1996, driving an Aldee TTE prototype as part of an all-female team, with Delfina Frers and Marisa Panagopulo. They did not finish. In 1997, she drove the Aldee to eighth place, with Delfina Frers.

In 1995, she began racing touring cars seriously. She raced in the Copa de Damas women’s championship in Argentina, winning three times. However, her achievements were not fully recognised as she was not eligible for the championship, for some reason.

The following season, she tackled mixed competition, in the Carioca Touring Car Championship. Her first year in the series consisted of four races, three of which she won. Her first full season, in 1997, was not such an immediate success. She earned one pole position and was often near the front, but she had to contend with some very “physical” driving from her male rivals, and incurred some DNFs. Her car for this part of her career was usually a Nissan Sentra.

In 1998, she came to the UK to take part in Formula Palmer Audi and the Vauxhall Vectra Challenge. Her FPA season consisted of four races, and she managed to pick up a few points. She was 25^th in the championship. That year’s winner was Justin Wilson.

Suzane’s own career highlight happened in 1999. She was invited to the USA to race in the Indy Lights Panamericana series, and was able to put together a budget for five races, mostly in Mexico. For the next year, she picked up sponsorship from UOL, and had a best finish of second.

Sadly, she did not get her big break in American oval racing, and returned to Brazil for the 2001 season. That year, she was a racewinner in the Campeonato Brasileiro Ford Fiesta Femenino, a women-only one-make series for the Ford Fiesta. She battled with Maria Cristina Rosito throughout the season, but Maria emerged as the victor.

Her last major competitive activity was four rounds of the Brazilian Clio Cup in 2002, although she did come out of retirement for a guest appearance in one round of the 2011 Sud-Am F3 championship. She did two races at Jacaperaguá, earning a class win and third, and a seventh and sixth place overall.

Since then, Suzane has worked on establishing her own driving school, for both driving and motorcycle riding. She also works as an automotive journalist and broadcaster, often testing new cars, on screen and in print.

(Image source unknown)

Women in One-Make Series: South America

Manuela Vasquez in 2010

One-make racing series are popular in South America. Due in part to initiatives such as Formula Hyundai Femenina (Argentina) and the Brazilian Fiesta Championship, quite a lot of women have competed in them in the last 20 years. Marisa Panagopulo now has her own post. 

Lorena Blanco – best known for racing in Fiat one-make championships in Argentina. She started off in the Fiat Linea Cup in 2010, entering the last few rounds, following some previous historic racing. She had another part-season in 2011, and made it into the top twenty on four occasions. The Linea series crossed over to using the Punto Abarth in 2012, and she improved her best finish to fifteenth. That year, she was the team-mate of a returning Marisa Panagopulo. A full season in the Punto in 2013 gave her two fifteenth places, and 24^th overall. A final part-season in the Punto, in 2014, had her finish fourteenth, three times, and end up in 32^nd place overall. In 2015, she did another part-season in the Punto series, and was 31st in the championship. Her best finish was 17th, at La Pampa. This arrangement continued in 2016, and her best finish improved to fourteenth, at Trelew. She was 36th overall. 

Renata Camargo - races in the one-make Hyundai Copa HB20 in Brazil. Her best result in 2020 has been an eighth place in class at Goiania. This was her first season in the championship. In 2021, she raced a Volkswagen Voyage as part of the 3 Girls team with Luciana Klai and Fernanda Aniceto. They took part in the Mil Milhas Brasileira, finishing 21st overall and second in class. In 2022, she did a part-season in the HB20 series, finishing fourth at Goiania and Velo Citta. She won one race in the Paulista Marcas e Pilotos championship in 2023, at Sao Paulo. In 2024, she does not appear to have raced much, although she tested a TCR car in December. She also competes in drag racing, using a VW Golf, karting and drifting. She is best-known as a motoring TV presenter in Brazil and is not to be confused with the millionaire businesswoman Renata Camargo Nascimento.

Carolina Canepa - Uruguayan driver who races in saloons and trucks. She started out in 2013 in the Chevrolet Sonic Cup in Uruguay, a one-make series. She was eleventh in her first season, with a best finish of sixth. A women-only version of the championship ran in 2014, and Carolina was third, behind Carolina Larratea who finished one place above her in the 2013 series. She went back to the main Sonic Cup draw in 2015, and won her first race, at Rivera, towards the end of the season. She was sixth overall. Her 2016 Sonic Cup season was similar, with one win and a sixth spot on the leaderboard. This was her last season in the championship before transferring to Formula Truck in 2017. She was part of the “Woman’s Racing Team” with Maria Cristina Rosito. Her truck was a Volvo, and she steadily improved over the season, with two sixth places at Londrina her best results. She was sixth in the championship. After a year off, she raced a Chevrolet Sonic again in 2019, in Class 2 of the Uruguayan touring car championship.

Juliana Carreira - began racing in 1998, in a Vauxhall Corsa, participating in regional one-make races. She was involved in the women’s Corsa championship in 1999, and the later Fiesta version in 2001. In 1999, she also took part in four Corsa Metrocar (a mixed Corsa one-make series) races, finishing in the top five in three of them. She also raced in a Clio Cup in Brazil at some point. She is from a racing family, and drove in the 2003 Mil Milhas Brasileira with her brother, Luiz, and Denis de Freitas and Jose Venezian. They were 15th, in an Audi RS2G. Later, she also did some Stock Car racing, in 2006. She works in fashion and the media in Brazil. 

Maria José Castro - raced in the 2017 Toyota Yaris Cup in Costa Rica, where she is from. Unusually, she races alongside her father, Marco, who shares her car. At the time of writing, she has not yet got into the points, although she only has half of the chances of most other drivers, due to her car-sharing. The Yaris Cup was her first experience of racing in cars, although she has done some karting in the past.

Thaline Chicoski - competes in the Shell HB20 Cup in her native Brazil. She shares the car (a Hyundai one-make) with Pedro Perdoncini and the pair joined the 2020 championship for the second round. In 2021, she was eleventh in the championship, with a best finish of third at Interlagos. She also made some appearances in the Mercedes-Benz Challenge AMG Cup. In 2022, she was tenth in the Elite class of the HB20 Cup, with three top-five finishes. She continued to race in both categories in 2023, scoring three podium finishes in the HB20 Cup. She was eighth in the championship. For 2024, she moved back to the AMG Cup, picking up a second and third place at Gioiania. She was eleventh in the championship. In December, she made one guest appearance in the Brazilian National Touring Car championship, but did not finish. Thaline has been active in motorsport since 2010, when she was 19, although this has mainly been in karting and she has not been able to run full championships. Despite this, she has won at least two regional championships.

Francisca Cortés – raced in the Chilean Trofeo Nissan Sunny in 1990. She was the first female driver to take part in the series, and one of Chile’s first female racing drivers. Although she never managed a podium position, she did achieve some top-ten finishes, and one pole position, at Antofagasta. This was overshadowed by the death of another driver during the race itself. The final championship standings for this series are not forthcoming. Francisca does not appear to have raced since then.

Carolina Eiras – did two seasons in the Fiat Linea Cup in Argentina, in 2010 and 2011. Her 2010 season is chiefly remembered for a spectacular crash into a lake at the Resistencia circuit, after which she was helped to safety by spectators. Her best finish was thirteenth, at Alta Gracia. In 2011, she did not complete as many races, managing three 19^th places out of four starts. She is a former Olympic skier.

Julieta (Juli) Fernández - one of the front-runners in the Argentine Mini Challenge in 2013. She was third overall, just missing out on an actual win, but with two podium finishes and two podium positions. She did manage to win some at least one training race. This was her first experience of saloon car racing, although she did do some GT racing in 2009, aged 18. She drove a new Crespi prototype in the GT 2000 series for Oyikil Motorsport, although she did not finish her race. In 2010, she was linked to a drive in Formula 4, but she did not have the budget to compete. Previously, she was active in karting in Argentina for many years, and may have also competed in Formula 1100 briefly. In 2015, she took part in the Top Race championship, driving a Chevrolet Cruze. She almost reached the top ten a couple of times, finishing eleventh at Rosario and Olivarria. She was 25th overall. In 2017, she made a guest appearance in the Argentine Turismo Pista series, driving a Fiat Uno. She entered the Buenos Aires round but did not finish. 

Sabrina Formal - Costa Rican driver who races in the Toyota Yaris Cup in her home country. In May, her best finish was ninth overall. At 20, 2017 was her first experience of senior motorsport, although she did do some national-level karting when she was much younger. Her brother is also a racing driver.

Michelle de Jesus - Brazilian driver who has been competing since 2006. She started out in her regional championship in São Paulo. By 2010, she was second overall in the championship, a best-ever finish for a female driver. The following year, she moved into national-level competition, driving in a few rounds of the Brazilian Petrobras de Marcas Cup (in a Toyota Corolla) and the Mercedes Benz Grand Challenge (in a C250 CGI). As she only did a couple of races, she did not do enough to make her mark on the final standings. She returned to the Grand Challenge in 2012, this time mounting a full campaign. Her car was the same, run by the Pink Energy team. She was ninth overall, with a best finish of fifth , at Rio de Janeiro. For 2013, she changed marques, moving to the Mitsubishi Lancer Cup. She achieved her first podium, at third at Velo Città, on her way to another ninth overall finish. Early in the season, she also made her first trip to Europe, to participate in one round of the Euro Racecar series, at Dijon. She was thirteenth, in a Chevrolet Camaro. In 2014, she stayed in South America, competing in truck racing, and the Marcas e Pilotos Cup. Her car in the Cup was a Corsa, and she does not appear to have completed a full season. She was 25th in Formula Truck, after a part-season, and had a best result of eighth, at Brasilia. In 2015, she was registered for Formula Truck, but does not appear to have actually raced. 

Carolina Larratea – Uruguayan driver from a motorsport family, who has been racing in the Chevrolet Sonic Cup since 2013. She was tenth in 2013, with a best finish of second, at El Pinar. In 2014, she scored her first outright win in the Cup, in the last round. This race was doubly notable in that two female drivers started on pole and second place. Carolina won the Sonic Ladies’ Cup. She continued to race a Chevrolet Sonic in 2015. Her season began very well, with a pair of wins at El Pinar, and she was second in the championship. She made the podium again in 2016, in third place. In 2019, she made a triumphant return to the circuits and won the Auvo-class Super Sonic championship, another one-make Sonic series. She won five races. 

Bia Martins - Brazilian driver who races in the HRacing Cup, a one-make series for the Hyundai HB20. She was one of the leading rookie drivers in 2023 and scored some overall top-ten finishes. She had previous experience of the car from a 2021 guest appearance in a previous HB20 one-make championship. In 2025, she will tackle the Brazilian touring car championship. Most of her career has been spent in karting as both a child and a senior, although in 2020, she also raced in Formula 1600 at Interlagos. She began racing karts seriously in 2017.

Graziela (Zizi) Paioli - Brazilian driver who has raced in two different one-make championships. In 2007 and 2008, she had part-seasons in the Brazilian Clio Cup. In 2008, she finished tenth at Santa Cruz, her first Clio Cup top ten, and was 21st in the championship. After some time out, she returned to competition in 2011, in the Mercedes Benz Grand Challenge. Her car was a C250 run by her family team, Paioli Racing, as always. Her best finish was fourth, at Santa Cruz, and she also finished in the top ten on five more occasions. She was eleventh overall. Her father, Marco Paioli, is also a racer, who runs the team with Graziela’s mother. Graziela herself became a mother in early 2013, explaining her absence from the track. 

Paola Traverso - seems to have begun racing in 1996, in Formula Hyundai Femenina. She was one of the leading drivers, and won races. In 1997, she was a race-winner again in the Copa Damas, an all-female one-make series which used the Vauxhall Corsa. She may also have raced in a mixed Corsa one-make series, and won races there. She competed in all three seasons of the Copa Damas, and was a front-runner in all three.

(Image from http://masguau.com/)      

Campeonato Brasileiro Ford Fiesta Feminino (Brazilian Women’s Ford Fiesta Championship)

One-make spec Fiesta

The championship ran for one season, in 2001. It was promoted by Maria Helena Fittipaldi, former wife of Emerson Fittipaldi, in her role as head of the Brazilian women racing drivers’ club, AMPACOM. It was one of her most visible achievements, and the second championship she organised, after a similar series for the Vauxhall/Opel/GM Corsa in 1996. This time, tighter controls on preparation and tuning were exercised, in order to promote a level playing field.

The series consisted of nine races, spread across seven meetings, as a support to the Brazilian Pick-Up Championship. The cars were identically-prepared Ford Fiestas, with 1600cc, 16-valve Zetec engines, similar to those in use in Ford one-make series elsewhere.

Maria Helena Fittipaldi

There were initially 16 entrants, but problems with sponsorship meant that not all of them completed the season, and others were brought in to keep numbers up. A mix of experienced and novice drivers took part, and it appears that experience won the day - Maria Cristina Rosito, who had been competing in stock cars and endurance racing since the late ‘80s, seems to have been the champion. Danuza Moura, who would go on to race trucks, and Suzane Carvalho, who also raced extensively in Brazil, were race winners. Many of the drivers had also participated in the earlier Corsa championship, which Danuza Moura won. Several went on to race in mixed championships, with many ending up in stock cars and truck racing.

Entry List

Maria Cristina Rosito

Juliana Carreira

Patricia de Souza

Mara Feltre

Suzane Carvalho

Alexandra Silva

Andrea Borghesi

Patricia Vega

Maria Cristina Moreira

Peggy Ann Bauer

Laurimele Pagy

Luciana Sarkis

Renata Rabelo

Andrea Klotz

Anita Caldas

Danuza Moura

Delfina Frers

Helena Deyama

Carmen Fontes

Carolina Hanashiro

Anita Negrão

Soledad Derfler

Bia Crestani

Tatiana Bandeira

(Image from www.sonico.br)