Veronica Valverde

 

Veronica Valverde is a single-seater driver from Costa Rica. She has competed most recently in Costa Rican Touring Cars. 

She began racing in 2010, in Formula 2000, aged sixteen. Her best results in the four-round Formula Renault-based championship were two second places. All races were held at La Guácima, her home track, and she was fourth and sixth in the other two. This debut season was combined with karting, in which she was still eligible for the junior classes. She returned to karting in 2011, having been given a “Most Promising Driver” award  for her region by the FIA.

In 2012 she raced in the Formula Abarth class of Panam GP, for Team Costa Rica, and was ninth overall. Fourth at Ibarra was her best finish of the year. Her team-mates in this national squad-based series were Carlos Fonseca and Andre Solano. She was the highest-scoring member of her team.

In 2013, she competed in Formula Panam GP, now running under Formula 3 regulations. She had her best result at the start of the season: fifth at Monterrey after missing the first two rounds. This was one of eight top-ten finishes for her this year. She was eleventh in the championship. Earlier in the year, she had raced at Palm Beach as part of the Panam winter series, earning two ninth places. 

Between then and 2016, she did not do much senior-level racing, although she was active in karting.

In 2016, she contested the Costa Rican Touring Car Championship, for the GreatWall team. She was eleventh overall. It was a new experience for her as she had never raced a saloon car before, and she was up against her former team-mates, Carlos Fonseca and Andre Solano. 

Another lengthy period away from the circuits followed. Veronica returned to the Costa Rican karting championship, with some success. In 2019, she was offered a guest drive in the Toyota Yaris Cup which supported the CRTCC. She did one round in September, at Costa Rica’s Parque Viva circuit. Although she was fast in practice and set the third-fastest time, she was not among the top five in the race itself.

She has expanded her karting experience to esports in 2020, taking part in kart sim races.

(Image copyright Veronica Valverde)

Gigi Bettencourt-Gomes

(This is the only image of Gigi as a rally driver I could find)

It took then-Hammersmith resident Gigi a few goes before she registered her first finish, but she became a familiar name on the British one-make championship scene in 2002 and 2003.

After some club rallying in a Vauxhall Nova she gained a sponsorship deal with Shropshire Rally School, who wanted to run her and Andrea Hall in the Volkswagen Polo championship in 2002. The deal didn't quite work out and Gigi only completed a few rounds, starting her campaign on the Scottish Rally. However, she still managed to finish the season in seventh. Her best finish was third in class on the Tempest Rally that year, despite having no brakes and gear problems for several stages. This drive earned her some "rookie of the year" plaudits from observers.

Still keeping with the one-make theme, she moved across to the Ford Ka championship in 2003 with a few good class results and a much improved finishing record. She also drove in some BTRDA rallies in a with her regular co-driver Paul Hudson, including the Red Dragon Rally and the North Humberside Forest Rally.

After 2003, she disappeared from the scene, although she did some motorsport journalism and attempted to secure a drive through this.

She now lives in Guernsey, is known as Gigi Bettencourt-Davison, and competes in Ironman Triathlons. She is Costa Rican by birth.

(Image source unknown)