Kirsti Airikkala

 

Kirsti Airikkala rallied in Finland from 1968 and throughout most of the 1970s. She was twice runner-up in the Finnish ladies’ championship.

One of her first cars was an Isuzu Bellett, which she used in her first attempt at the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1968.  Her navigator for her early rallies was multiple Finnish ladies’ champion Eeva Heinonen. They were 24th in the 1000 Lakes, having already scored a 21st place in the Itaralli that year. Both Kirsti and her more famous husband, Pentti Airikkala, drove Isuzu cars at the time.

Her second 1000 Lakes Rally was in 1969, driving a Renault Gordini with Ulla Mäkelä. She drove in the event four more times, in 1971, 1972, 1975 and 1976. In 1970 she took time out from rallying to have her son, Niko Airikkala.

Her best result was a 24th place in 1972 and she also won her class in 1975, both times driving Opel cars with Tarja Takanen. Her 1972 car was a Kadett, which was updated to an Ascona in 1975.

She also scored a class win in the Arctic Rally in 1972, and was a career-best 18th overall in a European championship event, driving an Opel Kadett. In Finnish rallies, she bettered this, also in 1972, finishing fourteenth overall in the Tott-Porrassalmi Rally.

Her most frequent navigator was Tarja Tarkanen, but she also had Ritva Rossi sitting beside her at different times. For the 1976 Mantta 200-ajo Rally, she was co-driven by Marianne Avomeri, another Finnish woman better known as a driver with a famous partner, like Kirsti herself. She would later marry Markku Alen.

In 1974, she also tried her hand at co-driving, partnering Jill Robinson in the 1000 Lakes Rally, in an Alfa Romeo. 

Kirsti never competed outside Finland, but she did settle in England with Pentti after her retirement. She stayed in the UK after her divorce from Pentti.

From a rallying family, Kirsti’s younger brother is Timo Jouhki.

(Image copyright LAT Images)

Jonna Eson Brådhe

Jonna Eson Brådhe is a Swedish rally driver active since 2010. She is the third generation of female drivers in her family, after her grandmother Margot and mother Liz.

She started as a teenager navigating for her father Johnny, and began rallying a VW Golf in youth events in 2010, aged 16. 

In 2011, she was Sweden’s top female youth rally driver. Her co-driver was her mother.

She earned her driving license in 2012, and used it to enter Swedish club rallies in a Peugeot 309, with mixed results. The Peugeot was soon replaced by a Subaru Impreza, which was faster, and scored her some decent positions in the Class C Cup. This was a welcome diversion from her roll on the Kolsva Rally in the Peugeot; she had been on course for ladies’ award when she crashed.

She got the hang of the 309 in 2013 and finished her first Swedish championship rallies. Her best finish was 54th place in the East Swedish Rally and she also finished the Uppsala Rally. It was this year that she came to the attention of Uppsala Rally winner Ramona Karlsson, who recruited her into her female driver training programme alongside six others. This lasted for a couple of seasons.

Later, she had her first taste of WRC power, albeit as a co-driver,  in a Skoda Octavia, in which she and Nils Jensen were 17th in the Fixussprinten  rally. 

Jonna became more consistent in the 309 through 2014, picking up more Swedish Championship finishes in the Uppsala and South Sweden events. This was her last year with this particular car.

In 2015, she travelled to the Middle East for the FIA Women in Motorsport Qatar Desert Challenge, competing against other elite female drivers for a spot in the Sealine Desert Challenge. She was not one of the winners. Back in Sweden, she had a new car, a Ford Fiesta which she used for the Swedish Junior Championship. She was ninth in her class at the end of the year and her best finish was probably a 46th place in the Rally Uppsala, out of 64 drivers.

Her second season in the Fiesta brought her mixed results. Her first rally of the year, the Rally Bilmetro, ended early due to a lost wheel and a broken driveshaft put her out of the LBC-Ruschen. In between, she was 34th in the Ostersund Winter Rally and secured her best-ever career finish, 21st in the Rally Gotland. Her preferred South Swedish Rally was the scene of a career-best 33rd in a Swedish Championship event before the car was updated to an R2-spec machine. Her best result in it was a 22nd place in the Violenrallyt.

Her car for 2017 was a Peugeot 208, another R2 car. She was sixth in her class in the European Rally Trophy championship, with a best finish of 27th, in the East Sweden Rally. She also won her class in the SM Vaakuna Rally, in Finland. This was her first overseas event, the first of two rallies in Finland that year. The second was the Real Park Lake City Rally, in which she was 48th.

In 2018, she entered her first Rally Sweden in the 208, finishing 47th. This was her first World Championship rally. She also competed in Germany, taking part in the International Lausitz Rally and coming in 49th under Superrally rules. She was third in the OT2WD class of the Swedish championship at the end of the year, winning 10,000 krona. 

She continued to compete in Sweden in 2019, still driving the 208. Her best finish was a 20th place in the Rikspokalen rally, from 167 finishers.

Despite restrictions on rallying due to coronavirus in 2020, Jonna remained busy, driving an R5 Mitsubishi Mirage. She was fifth in the Rally Sweden Lockdown, behind Mattias Ekstrom. Her best result was a third place in the Backeforssnurren event, a sprint rally. Mid-season, she was fourth in the Kvallsrallyt.

In 2021 she continued to perform well in the Mirage. She was fourth in the JR Motorsport Pokalen, winning her class, then was fourth again in the Gastabudstrofen Light. In August, she entered the Rally Killingen, a round of the Swedish championship. She finished 36th out of 94, fifth in class.

Another year in the Mirage was mostly spent in rallysprint events, with considerable success. She was sixth in both the Skilling 5 and Karlskronapokalen, both gravel rallies. These were two of five top-ten finishes she earned in 2022. Her only international trip was to Germany for the Lausitz Rally, where she was eleventh and won her class. 

She mostly stayed within Sweden in the Mirage in 2023. Her best result was a second place in the Bjorn Waldegards Minne, a gravel rallysprint with 88 finishers. In September, she did one Finnish rally: the SM Ralli Kokkola. She and co-driver Jesper Samuelsson had an off and did not finish.

2024 was a mixed year, marred by a non-qualification for the SM Veckan Sprint Rally, going over the time limit at the LBC-Ruschen event and crashing out of the Rally Nykoping, but she also had some great finishes in the Mirage. She was second in the Hasselasvangen snow rally, from 40 finishers. Later in the year, she was third in the Lovdansen gravel event, from 70 finishers.

(Image copyright svtplay.se)

Eeva Heinonen

Eeva Heinonen was the Finnish Ladies’ Champion four times, between 1971 and 1974.

Born in 1946, she had quite an early start to her rally career, taking on her first major rallies as a driver in Finland in 1969. She had been navigating for longer, however, from at least 1965. In 1968, she sat beside Kirsti Airikkala in an Isuzu Sport.

She drove an Opel RK on the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1969, but did not finish.

The RK was a car she used for most of the early part of her career. She scored her first 1000 Lakes finish in it in 1970, when she was 25th.

At this stage of her career, she was still only competing within Finland. Her first Finnish ladies’ title was in 1971. With it came her first top-twenty finish, a 17th place in the Salpausselkä Rally.

Her first overseas event was the 1972 RAC Rally. She drove a Volvo 142 for the works team and had a British co-driver, Liz Crellin. She was 29th and beaten to the Ladies’ award by Marie-Claude Beaumont by less that two minutes. Opel driver Marie-Claude was Eeva’s regular rival for Coupes des Dames.

Marie-Claude never went near the 1000 Lakes, which was at that time dominated by local drivers, so Eeva faced less of a challenge for the Ladies’ Prize there. She was 20th overall, and this counted towards her second Finnish Ladies’ Trophy. That year, she also had her first top ten finish, coming tenth in the Arctic Tunturi Rally.

Her best international result was 18th, on the 1973 1000 Lakes Rally. She was driving a Volvo, as she usually did during the second half of her career.

She picked up another works drive for Volvo at the 1973 RAC Rally and went one-up on her French rival, Marie-Claude Beaumont. Although Eeva was only 32nd on the stages, Marie-Claude had to retire in her Opel Commodore. This international Coupe des Dames was in addition to a third Finnish ladies’ title that year.

Her 1974 season may have been curtailed by pregnancy; Ford’s Tony Mason offered her a Ford drive at the RAC Rally, which she was unable to take up. This could have been for 1974 or 1975. Tony Mason’s own writings suggest it was 1974, but it could have been either.

She was able to compete in the Arctic Rally at the end of January 1974, finishing 24th, but this was followed by a break until June. Her shortened season proved enough to retain her Ladies’ crown in Finland, but she did not get to square up to Marie-Claude Beaumont again. Domestically, her best results were two 18th places in the Kalakukko and Länsirannikon rallies, both of which had in the region of 50 finishers.

Eeva’s last season of rallying was 1975, and she finally got herself a Ford drive. She drove an Escort RS in three Finnish rallies. Her best finish was 15th in the Arctic Rally. Her season ended in March, so a pregnancy is a possible reason.

She later married Saab driver Pertti Lehtonen. In recent years she has appeared at classic motor shows in Finland. Like her countryman Ari Vatanen, she had a sojourn in politics, running for local office in the mid-1980s.

(Image from http://suomenmuseotonline.fi)

Milla Mäkelä

Milla Mäkelä is a Finnish driver who has spent the early part of her career racing for Mtec in Formula Ford.

She has been active in motorsport since 2009, when she was 16. She always races for her family’s Mäkelä Racing team. The team builds the Mtec Formula Ford chassis for a number of teams in Scandinavia.

Her first races were in the Finnish Formula Ford Zetec championship, although right away, she took part in two Northern European Formula Ford races as well, in neighbouring Sweden. This would be her standard season pattern for most of the next couple of seasons.

In 2010, she was on the pace in the Finnish Formula Ford Junior Championship, and finished the season in tenth. Her brother and team-mate, Miikka, had use of the 2010 Mtec chassis for part of the season and was third. Milla used the ‘09 car. Again, she guested in the NEZ championship, for two races.

In 2011, she concentrated solely on the Finnish championship and recorded a tenth place. She was still using the ‘09 car.  

The following year, she scored her first podium finish, a third at Alastro, and was fifth overall, one behind her brother Miikka. Milla achieved another two top-five positions, at Alastro and Ahvenisto. She was finally driving the ‘10 Mtec and feeling the benefit.

Mid-season, she raced at the NEZ meeting at Karlskoga, and finished two out of three races, in twelfth and fourteenth.

In 2013, she was ninth again in the Finnish championship. However, her three Swedish races in the NEZ series were enough to give her ninth in that championship, her best yet. She was driving the ‘12 Mtec car.

She raced again in the Finnish series in 2014, and was normally a midfield finisher. She scored another podium finish, a third at Alastaro, and was fourth in the championship.

In 2015, she made the jump from midfielder to leading driver in Finnish Formula Ford, despite missing some of the races. She scored three second places, and one third, and was fifth in the championship. For the second part of the year, she also raced in Danish Formula Ford and earned one sixth place, at Spa.

Another Finnish FF season in 2016 was rather patchy, although she did earn herself two third places at Kemora.

In 2017, she switched to saloon racing, in the BMW Xtreme Cup. This ended up only being a part-season, and she was 17th overall. Her best race result was fifth at Ahvenisto.

She stayed involved with Formula Ford through the championship’s shorter Formula SM series, run over three rounds. She scored a third place at Alastaro, despite brake problems. Mäkelä Racing ran two BMWs for two two-driver teams.

In 2018, she remained involved in the Mäkelä Racing team, but did not appear to be competing regularly. She applied to take part in the all-female W Series Formula 3 championship for 2019 but was not selected.

Her W Series disappointment did not deter her. She raced a Chevrolet Camaro in the NEZ V8 Thunder series, finishing fifth after a season that included a podium finish in her first season of sportscar racing.

Despite not much motorsport happening in many places in 2020, she got to race her new car in V8 Thunder. The Mercedes CLK took her to two fourth place in the first two races at Botniaring, although Milla and them team had persistent trouble with fuel sensors and fuel feed. The problems were worse at Alastaro and she could only manage an eleventh and seventh place. She was sixth in the four-race championship. 

In 2021 she was one of the leading V8 Thunder drivers and although she could not quite challenge for the outright championship, she was in line for second until the final rounds at Alastaro. This was partly down to a technical problem, which meant she had to steer one-handed. She was third overall.

She acted as the championship chairman in 2022, as well as racing the Mercedes. The championship was dominated by Toni Lahteemaki, but he elected not to contest the final rounds and Milla took both wins, securing second in the championship after a string of podium finishes.

For the first time in several years, Milla only did a part-seaso in 2023, finishing sixth in the championship. An accident at Ahvenisto lost her any chance of another title and her team had also spent a lot on an engine rebuild. She returned in 2024, in the Mercedes, and was third again. 

(Image copyright Milla Mäkelä)

Marketta Oksala

Marketta Oksala is three-times Finnish Ladies' Champion, winning her titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977.

She was a six-times entrant of Rally Finland, with a best result of 22nd, in 1976. Her car was a Lada 1300.

Her best result in all of her eight WRC outings was 17th, in the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally, in an Alpine-Renault A310. She was competing as part of the all-female Team Aseptogyl, alongside Christine Dacremont and Colette Galli in a Lancia Stratos. Marketta was partnered by the experienced Yvonne Pratt (Mehta), rather than her usual navigator Pirjo Pynnä.

1974 seems to have been her first season of international rallying. She was 28 years old at the time. Earlier, she raced a Ford Capri on the circuits in Finland, as part of the Teboil junior team. One of her team-mates in the Finnish state oil company’s squad was Ari Vatanen.

She did one season in the Finnish rally championship in 1973, driving an Opel Ascona. She scored two top-twenty finishes in the Helsinki Rally and the Pohjola Rally. Her first 1000 Lakes ended in a 24th place.

Her first overseas rally was the 1974 RAC Rally. She drove a Hillman Avenger but did not finish. This came after a second season in the Finnish championship, driving a range of cars: Fiat 124, Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Opel Kadett. She only managed one finish, a 31st place in the Kalakukkoralli.

The Avenger became her favoured car for 1975. She won the first of her Finnish ladies’ titles with three Coupes des Dames, including one on her third 1000 Lakes Rally (she was 36th overall). Her best result was a 16th place in the Hankiralli. Away from Finland, she competed in one ice rally in Sweden, the Polar Bergslagsrallyt.

Her second Finnish ladies’ title came at the wheel of a somewhat unlikely car: a Lada 1300. This rather underpowered car nevertheless gave her her best-ever 1000 Lakes finish. She was the third Lada driver to finish and the second of the 1300cc cars. Her 21st place was the best overall result she had all season.

She also put together a string of six ladies’ awards and finished top of the women’s leaderboard, 20 points ahead of her nearest rival, Marja-Liisa Korpi.  

1977 was an inconsistent year for Marketta. She began the year with her Monte Carlo  adventure as part of Team Aseptogyl, which was a one-off drive. She then switched to a Ford Escort Mexico and then an Escort 2000 for Finnish rallies. She was the top lady on both the Hanki and Mantta events, but was not quite as high up the overall leaderboard as she could be. A switch to an Opel Kadett led to another top-twenty finish on the Itaralli in June. She was 19th.

Although she won more ladies’ awards, her overall finishes in the Kadett were indifferent and she retired from the 1000 Lakes and Nokia rallies. In November, she accepted another international guest drive in the Tour de Corse, in a Toyota Celica, but she did not finish.

Team Aseptogyl called for her services again for the 1978 Monte. This time, they were running diesel-powered Citroen 2500 CXs. Neither Marketta nor her team-mates Marianne Hoepfner and Christine Dacremont finished.

1978 was a short season, and her last one on the stages. The Nortti team ran her Kadett for the Hankiralli, then she drove a Mercedes 300 D for her final attempt at the 1000 Lakes. The Mercedes was another diesel car. She won the diesel class from Hans Sevelius’s VW Golf and was 36th overall.

After her retirement, she retained her interest in rallying and was a regular spectator at the 1000 Lakes.

(Image from http://suomenmuseotonline.fi)

Emma Kimilainen

Emma Kimilainen (Liuski) is single-seater and touring car driver from Finland.

The early part of her career was spent in single-seaters, after beginning karting at the age of three. She first raced cars in 2005, in Finnish Formula Ford, coming second overall and winning a string of rookie awards.

As well as the Finnish title, she was also fifth in the Northern Europe Formula Ford Championship, and did some races in the Swedish series.

She missed out on a Finnish Formula Ford title in 2006, finishing second again, and it was an even more close-fought thing in the NEZ series. Emma was tied for points with Sami Isohella of Finland at the end of the season, but he edged her out with five wins to her four.

In 2007, she switched to sportscars and was consistently in the top three in Swedish Formula Radical. Her three wins were enough to cement her third place in the championship, as well as a runner-up spot in the National class. She was supported by Swedish ex-Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson.

She competed in German Formula ADAC in 2008, after undertaking a DTM test during the off-season for Audi. The German marque supported her in this after she was unable to get a DTM race seat.

Her overall result was tenth, with a single podium finish: a second place at Assen. Most of her finishes were in the top ten and she out-performed her Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate, Marcus Eriksson. Daniel Abt was another of her rivals.

In 2009, she travelled to the UK to race in Formula Palmer Audi, after a successful test. She was the series' fastest female driver, with two seconds and two thirds, and a fifth place overall. This came after a difficult start at Brands Hatch, the only time she finished out of the top ten. She was racing against Felix Rosenqvist, Josef Newgarden and Maria de Villota.   

She was set to return in 2010, but does not appear to have raced, although she did test for the Charouz AutoGP team.

She was not involved with motorsport for a long time after that. Partly this was due to the ever-present sponsorship problem, but she used her time away to finish her education, get married and become a mother. The result was a degree in chemistry and two daughters. She was also briefly involved in politics in Finland.

She came back to motorsport in 2014, driving a Saab 9-3 in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. She had an eventful season, crashing into Prince Carl Philip of Sweden in her first race, at Knutstorp, then crashing again, at Göteborg. One high point was a second place at Falkenberg, and she did manage some other top tens. She was eleventh overall, admitting herself that she was out of practice.

A second season in Scandinavian Touring Cars ran more smoothly, with a more consistent Emma finishing seventh overall. Her best finish was third, achieved at Mantorp Park and Anderstorp. She earned four more top-five positions and only had one DNF all season.

She raced a SEAT Leon in the 2016 STCC, but unreliability problems struck. Her best finish was a sixth place at Anderstorp. After the tenth race, she left the championship abruptly due to issues out of her control, leaving her in eleventh place. She had already missed another round earlier in the season.

For 2017, she announced that she would be taking part in a new electric racing initiative, Electric GT: this did not come together in time.

Instead, she drove a thirsty Ford Mustang in Thundercars, in Sweden and Finland. She won two of her six races in Finland, and finished the rest on the podium. She earned one podium in the Swedish series; a second at Ahvenisto.

Emma was set to race a Tesla P1000D in Electric GTs from late 2018, but it is unclear whether this happened. She did not race much at all that year.

In January 2019, she made the cut for the female-only W Series, hoping to resurrect her single-seater career. Her season was one of contrasts; she was punted off by Megan Gilkes in the opening race and later had to sit out a round due to delayed concussion, but she got stronger as the season went on, winning at Assen and finishing second at Brands Hatch. She was fourth in the championship.

The cancellation of W Series for 2020 meant that she did not race. In December, she spoke candidly on a Finnish-language podcast about the obstacles she had faced during her career and told the interviewer that she had had interest from an Indy Lights team in 2010. This team's main sponsor was a men's magazine and part of the deal for Emma was that she would have to pose topless for the magazine. She declined.

She returned to W Series in 2021 and picked up another win at Spa, mid-season. A pole position in the next race at Zandvoort could not be converted to a win and she had to settle for third. Having finished on the podium in five of the eight races, she was third overall.

She did not do as well in the 2022 W Series and did not repear her win, although she did manage a second place at Silverstone and was mostly a top-ten finisher. Her final championship position was eighth.

There was no W Series in 2023 due to its financial collapse into administration and Emma did not race. She was announced in January 2024 as one of Team Brady's pilots for the E1 electric powerboat racing series. She and her co-pilot Sam Coleman went on to win the championship.

(Image copyright Yle/Mikael Oivo)

Women Drivers in National Sportscar Racing: the Nordic countries

Heidi Frydenhaug

This post consists mainly of entries split off from the Women Drivers in National Sportscar Racing post. The Nordic countries have produced several women drivers for their domestic sportscar series in recent years, both in one-make championships like the Ginetta Cup, and in the popular Thundersports category.

Jenna Brorsson - Swedish sportscar driver. The Porsche Carrera Cup of Scandinavia was her home in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. She came seventh in 2004, despite only entering four rounds, and sixth in 2005. After a break in 2006, she switched to the Swedish Ginetta Cup in a G20, winning a race in 2007 and coming third in the championship. Although she could not repeat her race win in 2008, she was never out of the top ten, apart from one retirement. Her best finish was third, at Falkenberg, and she was sixth in the championship standings. She also takes part in historic events: her earliest motorsport experiences were in her father's Lotus Cortina, and she competed internationally in a Porsche 962 in 2005. 

Heidi Frydenhaug – Norwegian driver who races in the Danish Thundersports Championship (DTC), in a Ford Mustang. 2016 was her second season in Thundersports; she was 22^nd in the 2015 championship, with a best finish of ninth, at Rudskogen. In 2016, she almost got into the top ten at Rudskogen and Aarhus, but her season was badly affected by a string of DNFs in the middle. She was 23rd overall. She combined Thundersports with the Citroen DS3 Cup in 2017, and was reasonably competitive in the DS3. She finished in the top ten in seven of her ten races, and was eleventh overall. Previously, she raced in the Seven championship in Norway, and was the winner of the Junior Rookie Cup in 2010, at the age of 21. She began her senior racing career in 2009, in the Seven, after ten years of karting. In between racing the Seven and the Mustang, she drove a Renault Clio in the Norwegian GT4 championship.

Linda Johansson - Swedish driver who began her senior racing career in 2005, in the Swedish Renault Junior Cup. She was eleventh overall in a Renault 5. After a break where she returned to karting for a while, she reappeared in 2010, in the Ginetta G20 Cup. She was immediately in the top ten, and had a best finish of sixth, at Kinnekulle. She was eighth overall. Her second G20 season did not go quite so well, with several DNFs and only eleventh in the championship, although she managed to better her top finish to fifth, again at Kinnekulle. Her 2012 season was curtailed due to pregnancy, although she rejoined the G20 championship and posted seven top-ten finishes, including a fourth, at her favoured Kinnekulle track. She was seventh overall, despite missing almost half of the season. In 2013, she raced in the Swedish Clio Cup. Her best finishes were two fifth places, at Karlskoga and Ostersund, and she was normally in the top ten. She was ninth overall. In 2014, she had a very good year in the Clio Cup, with a win at Göteborg, and four other podiums. She was fourth in the championship. She does not appear to have raced in 2015, but she returned in 2016, to contest the Swedish Clio Cup. She was sixteenth in the championship, with a best finish of eighth, at Skovde. Since then, she has raced a CrossCar in the Nordic rallycross championship. 

Kirsi Kangas - has raced Porsches in her native Finland since at least 2011, when she took part in some national-level GT racing in a 997, in the mixed Avon GT and Porsche GT championship. In 2012, she raced in both her club’s Porsche GT Racing Cup, and the Finnish GT3 Cup, in a 997 GT3. She was eleventh in the club cup and sixth in the GT3 Cup, with several seventh places as her best finishes. In 2013, she raced in the GT3 Cup again, which was part of the Finrace championships. She did not do as well as in 2012, partly because the field was much larger this year, and finished fourteenth overall. Her best result was eleventh, at Ahvenisto. She was active in Porsche club motorsport in Finland in 2014, and was quite successful, earning a number of runner-up spots. 

Molly Pettit - Norwegian driver who races a Ford Mustang in Scandinavia. She began in the Norwegian GT championship in 2009, in a Nissan 200SX, which she used for several seasons. After changing it for a Toyota Altezza in 2012, she was second in the GT4 class. In 2013, she switched to stock cars in the Mustang, competing in Thundersports. In her first season, she was eleventh in the Danish championship, with a best finish of seventh, at Padborg, and second in the Norwegian series. In 2014, she continued this arrangement. She was fifteenth in the Danish championship, and made one appearance in the Northern European championship. In 2015, she raced in Danish Thundersports again. However, her season was cut short by a massive accident in the second race. For 2016, she moved into the Danish Supertourisme championship. Her best finish was seventh, at Padborg, and she was fourteenth overall. 2017 panned out in a similar way, with a championship 17th and a best finish of sixth, at Rudskogen. As well as her own racing, she got a job as a TV reporter for the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

(Image copyright HF Racing)

Sanna Pinola

Sanna Pinola was a front-runner in Finnish and Nordic Formula 3 during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Born in 1975, she got into motorsport at an early age, and was karting by 1983, when she was eight. Her lengthy karting career took her up to 1992.

At seventeen, she moved up to cars, and gravitated towards single-seaters. She did at least some races in Formula 4 in 1993, and drove in the Finnish Formula 4 Championship for the Sami Pensala team in 1994.

Her activities are less clear for 1995 and 1996. She remained in Formula 4 with her 1994 team in 1995, and had a heavy crash at the Botniaring, which she came through unscathed. The following year, she may have stayed with the same team, and seems likely to have still been involved with Formula 4.

In 1997, she posted at least one win in Formula 4, in the first round at Hämeenlinna. Her final championship position is not forthcoming.

Her final season of Formula 4 was in 1998. She was ninth in the championship. After that, it was time to move on to the next level.

Sanna’s next challenge was Formula 3. Her season in the Nordic championship had a steady start, with an eighth and sixth place at Anderstorp, in Sweden. By the next meeting, also at Anderstorp, she had learned the car, and scored two third places. In August, at the Jyllandsring, she finished on the podium again, and was then second in the second race. Her home races, at Alastaro, were a slight let-down, as she only finished one of them, but she was still a strong fifth overall in the championship.

A move to the Vaisanen F3 team for the 2000 Scandinavian championship did not go completely smoothly, and she missed some races at the start of the season. Throughout the summer, she struggled to reach the top three, until the Hämeenlinna race, which she won. This took her up to fourth in the Scandinavian series, and fifth in the Swedish championship.

In the summer of 2000, she became part of a tiny group of women who have driven modern Formula One cars, albeit not in a standard race setting. She drove a Minardi two-seater in a demonstration run at Kemora.

She stayed with the same team in 2001, and registered in the Finnish F3 Championship. As expected, she was immediately on the pace, and was second in her second race, at Alastaro. The first meeting at Hämeenlinna was underwhelming, but she won again on her second visit, from pole. A pair of DNFs at Botniaring was a disappointment, but she was on the podium again at Alastaro, in second place. A final visit to Hämeenlinna was a damp squib; although Sanna qualified on pole, she could only finish tenth in the first race, and did not start the second. This was only a minor disappointment, however, as she won the Scandinavian championship, and was seventh in the Finnish.

In 2002, she concentrated on the Finnish championship. This year, she was stronger than ever, and won three times, and finished on the podium on two further occasions. She was in the lead for much of the season, and would have won the championship had it not been for a crash involving Jari Koivisto, which allowed Jussi Pinomäki to leapfrog her on the leaderboard. Koivisto was third, just behind her.

After this, Sanna had a race seat fall through on her, and sadly faded from the motorsport scene. She had been set to contest the German F3 series, then the premier European F3 championship, but fraud by one of her managers meant that she lost her funding, and could not take part.

She carried on with some TV work for a little while, having been part of an MTV Finland stunt/prank show since 1999, but then retired from public life completely. She is apparently now working in a field unrelated to motorsport.

Sanna clearly had pace, and the ability to qualify and defend a lead. The ongoing debate over female drivers in Formula One would have been much more interesting, had she been able to progress further.

(Image from http://www.f1-forum.fi/vb/showthread.php?t=31036&page=5)

Female Drivers in Truck Racing

Minna Kuoppala in 1995

Women drivers have enjoyed some success in truck racing, both in Europe, especially France, and in the Brazilian Formula Truck series. Aliyyah Koloc now has her own profile. Heather Baillie, Divina Galica, Ellen Lohr and Stephanie Halm have all also competed in truck racing, in Europe.

Marcia Arcade – Brazilian driver who was the first woman to race in Formula Truck, in 1998. Her truck was a Scania, and she was not initially among the front-runners. She contested six races in 1998 and 1999. In 2001, she entered three more races, in a Ford truck, but again, did not challenge for wins. She was nicknamed “Furaçao”, or “Hurricane”.

Reinhilde Braun – German driver who raced in the European championships in the mid-1990s. Her first major season was 1994, and she was fifth in the Truck class. In 1995, driving a Mercedes, she finished eighth in the championship. In 1996, she ran her own racing team, with Sisu trucks and Minna Kuoppala as driver, with some success. Further details about Reinhilde’s career are proving hard to find. She may have also been involved in the haulage trade.

Jennifer Janiec – French driver who raced trucks in Europe between 2009 and 2011. In 2009 and 2010, she finished tenth in the French truck racing championship. In 2011, she took part in the European championship round at the Nürburgring, in a MAN. Her best finish was 16^th. Her first European outing was one of her first major truck races, in 2008. She was 17^th overall at Barcelona. In 2012, she was down as a reserve driver for the Le Mans truck race, but it is unclear whether she got to drive. She had raced at the event the year before. Previously, she raced single-seaters and small sportscars in France, including four seasons of Formula Renault, from 2007. After a long time out of the driving seat, she returned to the French and European championships in 2019, driving a Man. She raced at Paul Ricard in the French series and the Nurburgring in the European. In 2020, she made a guest appearance in the French championship at Nogaro, finishing seventh and tenth. This expanded to seven races from the twelve-race 2021 season, narrowly missing out on a top-ten finish at Albi. She improved as a driver in 2022 and did almost the whole season. Her best finishes were seventh places at Charade and the Nurburgring and she was twelfth in the championship. Another full season in 2023 gave her thirteenth place, with a best finish of seventh at Charade. This was one of several top tens she achieved during the year. In 2024, she concentrated on the French championship, finishing 18th overall. Her best race finish was eleventh at Paul Ricard. She is from a family of truck racers, and her brother, Jean-Pierre, remains active in the sport.

Minna Kuoppala – Finnish driver active in truck racing in the 1990s. She raced in the European championships between 1994 and 1998. Her first season gave her eighth in the SuperTruck class. In 1995, she was ninth in the Super-Truck class. In 1996, she drove for Reinhilde Braun’s Mercedes team, finishing sixth in the Truck class.  After a lull in competition, she was seventh in the Truck class in 1998. In 1993, she had won her class in the British championship, and was fourth in class B in the European series. Her trucks were usually Finnish-built Sisus. Earlier in her career, she raced single-seaters in Finland. In 1989, she was fifth in the Finnish Formula Ford 1600 championship. Even earlier, she competed in karting, against Mika Häkkinen and Taru Rinne.

Celine Miral - races trucks in France. She began racing in 2022, driving a Renault and a DAF in the French championship for the Bejuit team. She was 29th in the championship after a part-season and her best finish was fifteenth at Le Castellet. She had been involved in truck racing for a while as part of the Bejuit team, which is staffed by engineering students, but only took the wheel herself at the age of 45. Her first experience of driving the truck at speed was during the Paul Ricard qualifying. She did another part-season in 2023, driving the DAF, and was 31st overall. She raced a DAF again in 2024 and was 31st again after a part-season.

Laurine Orsini – races trucks in France. 2015 was her debut season, driving for her family’s team (both her father and brother are ex-truck racers). Her truck is a Mercedes Axor. Coming into the French championship with no prior motorsport experience, she was not one of the front-runners, and finished in 16^th place, with four points. Previously, she competed in eventing on her horse. She did another season in the French championship in 2016, in the same truck. Her final position was fourteenth, having scored points in two of her three races. She planned to race in 2020, but had to pull out due to problems stemming from the coronavirus epidemic. In 2021, she did the Nogaro round of the French series, finishing three of her four races.

Aline Rambeau – French driver who raced trucks in the 2000s. In 2005, she took part in the European championship, in the Supertruck class, driving a MAN race truck. She was relatively competitive, and a regular visitor to the top ten. The best moment of her season was a win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Camions. Her final championship position is not currently forthcoming. Her first season of truck racing seems to have been in 2002, when she also raced a MAN in the Coupe de France, and was third in the championship. As well as racing trucks on circuits, she also took part in rally raids, in the Truck class. She entered the 2004 Dakar in a Mercedes, and also did some other cross-country rallies. Her co-driver was Jo Adua.  

Débora Rodrigues - truck racer from Brazil. She has been competing in Formula Truck since 1998, and in recent years, has driven in rounds of  the Brazilian and South American championships. So far, she is the only woman to do so. Her best championship finish has been sixth, in 2006. She was tenth in the 2011 South American series. In recent years, her best race finish has been fifth, at Cascavel in 2012. In 2013, she managed another tenth in the South American championship, after running in both the Brazilian and SudAm series. Her race truck is always a Volkswagen. Away from truck racing, she is a TV presenter and former model. She also branched out into cars in 2013, entering two rounds of the Mitsubishi Lancer Cup. She returned to trucks in 2014, in a MAN, and raced in both championships. Her best finish in Formula Truck was a seventh place, in Buenos Aires. She was 16th in the championship. In 2015, she was twelfth in Formula Truck, driving a MAN. She mostly finished in the lower half of the top ten. This improved to ninth in 2016, with a best finish of fourth, at Campo Grande. She had a dramatic crash during her 2016 season and does not appear to have raced in 2017. In 2018 she raced in Copa Truck, finishing twelfth. She was third in the 2019 championship after picking up three third places. 

Lenka Vlachova – Czech driver who did a season of European truck racing in 2000. Her truck was a Sisu, run by Martin Koloc’s team. Although she was not one of the front-runners in the championship, she managed to score a few points, and was fourteenth in the final standings. Lenka may have done some truck racing in the Czech Republic previously, but further information is proving hard to track down.

(Image from http://www.kauppalehti.fi/)

Eija Jurvanen

Eija and her navigator, Kari Jokinen, with the Sierra Cosworth in 1995

Eija Jurvanen was born in Finland in 1958. She seems to be rather a private lady, and not much biographical information is available about her. It is not even completely clear when she began her motorsport career.

By 1988, she was rallying in Finland, driving a Ford Escort. Results for this year are proving very hard to track down, but pictures exist of her on the Riihimaki Rally, rolling the Escort. The car is listed in some places as belonging to Eija and Ari Jurvanen, so it looks like she was from a rallying family. At various points in her career, she was sponsored by Teboil, a Finnish petroleum company with a long history of supporting rally drivers.

She started competing more seriously in 1989, when her name appears in the entry list for the Arctic Rally. She was 35th, driving an Audi 80 Quattro, co-driven by Marjo Berglund, who would be one of her most frequent navigators during her career. However, for the rest of the season, Maarit Laine sat beside her. They did the Rajd Polski in Poland together, and Eija’s first 1000 Lakes Rally. They did not finish either. She did do some other rallies in the Finnish championship, including the Nurmijarvi Rally and the NSM-Talvi Rally.

In 1990, she started competing in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, which is the car most associated with her. With Marjo Berglund, she secured her first 1000 Lakes finish, a 38th place, tenth in class.

She used the same car in 1991, and started the year with 28th in the Arctic Rally. A trip to Germany for the Rally Deutschland ended in retirement, but not long after, she bettered her 1000 Lakes result to 29th, 17th in Group A8. She must have taken part in some more Finnish rallies, whose results are not forthcoming; she is recorded as that year’s Finnish Ladies’ champion. There were a few strong female contenders during the early 1990s, such as Minna Sillankorva and Anne Vuorio, so this was a bit of an achievement.

In 1992, she made her move onto the World Rally Championship stages. With some impressive sponsorship in place, she entered seven WRC rounds, with the express aim of capturing the FIA Ladies’ title. For her first rally, Sweden, she drove a Mitsubishi Galant, and was 17th overall, running in Group N. After a gap, she drove the Group A-spec Sierra in the 1000 Lakes, and was 16th, her best finish there yet. She retired from the Rally of Australia, in the Sierra, and was beaten to the Ladies’ award by Jacquiline Dines, but as Jacquiline rarely competed outside Oceania, this did not affect her Ladies’ chances too much. She only had to start one non-European rally to qualify. A drive in the Bandama-Cote d’Ivoire Rally in a Mitusbishi Starion also ended in retirement, as it did for many of the crews, that year and other years. Back in the Sierra, she was 15th in Catalunya, one place ahead of Christine Driano, another rival. Another retirement from the RAC Rally, in the Sierra, was not enough for her to lose her official FIA Ladies’ championship. She only had to start seven events to retain her eligibility, and she retired very early on. This had also been the case in the Sanremo Rally.

After her WRC year, she went back to competing in Finland and northern Europe, still in the Sierra. In the snowy Hankiralli, she was ninth, her best result so far. She followed this up with 15th in the 1000 Lakes, eleventh in class. Much later in the year, in November, she travelled to nearby Estonia for the Saaremaa Rally. The trip paid off, as she won the event outright, and made history as the first female driver to do so. Although the Estonian championship was still finding its feet after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, this was still a win, and will have gone some way towards restoring credibility lost through her somewhat mercenary behaviour in 1992. She won by over a minute to her nearest rival, another Finn, Mikko Kallionaa, in a Mitsubishi Galant.

In 1994, she stuck to Finnish rallies, using the Sierra Cosworth. Even on the more competitive Finnish stage, her results continued to improve, with a twelfth in the Arctic Rally a decent start to the season. In the summer, she was 16th in the 1000 Lakes Rally, tenth in class. She also seems to have driven in other Finnish rallies, although the results are hard to find. As well as rallying, she did some driver training for the Teboil team, instructing other female drivers.

Things continued in the same vein in 1995, although she split her season between Finland and Estonia again. She was 17th in the Arctic Rally at Rovaniemi, then went over to Estonia for the Tallinn-Neste Rally, and was eighth. In September, she was fifth in the Lõuna-Eesti Rally. She did make a return to the Saaremaa Rally, but did not finish this time due to a broken clutch. In Finland, she also retired from the 1000 Lakes Rally. Away from international events, she took part in some more Finnish rallies, including the Talviralli in Jyväskylä.

1995 was her last year of competition, and after that, she fades from the motorsport scene, having achieved her ambition to take the FIA Ladies’ title. Her erstwhile rival, Minna Sillankorva, had re-taken her crown as Finland’s foremost female driver.

(Image from http://suomenmuseotonline.fi/)

Jill Robinson

Jill in the Alpine-Renault, in the 1972 RAC Rally

Jill was one of Britain's leading lady drivers in the 1970s. She was a regular entrant in the major British rallies, and also competed quite extensively abroad, particularly in Finland. Although she never achieved the stellar results of Pat Moss or Rosemary Smith, whose careers overlapped with hers, she was capable of holding her own on a special stage, and was able to draw upon considerable resources and contacts to support her motorsport activities.

Born Jill (Margaret) Simpson, she was part of the Simpson family who were the “Simpson” in “Clarke & Simpson”, an upmarket Ford dealership in London. Her sister, Judy, was also a rally driver, although she took it up some years after Jill. Jill herself seems to have started competing some time after her first marriage, and the birth of at least one child, a daughter.

On the international stage, she competed in the RAC Rally seven times. Her first RAC Rally was in 1969, and she drove a BMW 2002 TI with Audrey Scott. They were 58th overall and won the Ladies’ Cup. In 1970, she entered again, this time in a Ford Escort RS 1600. She would continue to drive Escorts of various kinds throughout her career. In this particular one, she is not recorded as a finisher. Her navigator was Frances Cobb. They renewed their partnership in 1971’s RAC Rally, in a similar car, but again, did not finish. The duo also did the Ypres Rally together, in an Escort RS1600 run by Clarke & Simpson. They also drove in the Dukeries Rally, finishing 49th in the Escort. That year, Jill, with local co-driver Leila Loukimo alongside, entered her first 1000 Lakes Rally, in a Twin Cam Escort. They were 42nd overall, and second female crew, behind the experienced and local Eeva Heinonen.

In 1972, Jill started her season back in Finland, for the Arctic Rally. She and Kirsti Pätiälä retired in their Twin Cam Escort. For a change, Jill drove an Alpine-Renault A110 in the Daily Mirror RAC Rally, alongside Dilys Rodgers. They do not appear to have finished.

Jill’s most famous rallying exploit came in 1973, during the Daily Mirror RAC Rally. In a Ford Escort Mexico, she was roped into driving alongside the now-disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile, which did not end well. They dropped out very early on, after performing quite poorly. That year, she also teamed up with Frances Cobb again for the Avon Tour of Britain, a Tour de France style combination of rally sections and circuit races. They drove a Ford Cortina and do not appear to have finished.

The following year, she returned to the RAC Rally with a more skilled navigator, Dilys Rodgers. They drove a Ford Escort RS1600, and were 52nd overall. Later in the year, Jill moved away from Ford power temporarily, and drove an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV in the 1000 Lakes Rally. Her navigator was Kirsti Airikkala, a British-based Finn who was married to Pentti Airikkala, another entrant into the rally. Pentti was sponsored by Clarke & Simpson, and both Jill and Kirsti would drive under Castrol sponsorship. Jill and Kirsti were 80th overall, but third in the one-litre class. They was also third in the ladies’ standings, behind her regular rival, Eeva Heinonen, and Trine Jensen.

Another attempt at the RAC Rally in 1975, assisted by Dilys Rodgers and in a Ford Escort RS1800 this time, ended in retirement again. She was part of an Avon Tyres-backed team with Russell Close. The following year, she had her best RAC Rally result of her career: 28th, and winner of the Coupe des Dames. She was driving an RS1800 with Pauline Gullick. During the summer, she made another trip to Finland, for the Hankiralli this time, driving an RS2000. She did not finish.

Her programme was similar in 1977. This time, she finished the Hankirally in 39th place, driving an RS2000 with Ian Parry. She was 47th in that year’s RAC Rally, in another Escort, with Dorothy Selby-Boothroyd. This year, she was also active in British rallies, and was part of Team Castrol in the British championship, driving an RS1600 with Dilys Rodgers.

By 1978, her career was winding down, and she only appears to have driven in one major rally this year. She was 40th in the Safari Rally in an Escort RS2000, co-driven by another experienced local, Yvonne Pratt.

In 1979, she did her last big international events. One was her debut visit to the Rally of Madeira, which she does not appear to have finished. Another was the Sunriser Forest Rally in the USA. Jill drove an ex-Rod Millen Datsun 510, with Pauline Gullick. They did not finish. This deal was partly arranged by Jill’s partner, David Sutton, a rally driver and preparation expert. Some time after this, the couple married. Jill and David sometimes competed together, and David, a former sales manager at Clarke & Simpson, was instrumental in brokering some of Jill’s drives. He took over Clarke & Simpson in 1975, which became David Sutton Cars.

In 1979, Jill’s daughter, whose name is not forthcoming, attempted to start her own rally career in the Fabergé Fiesta Challenge. She was eliminated in the preliminary rounds. Jill and David are still together, and live in Northamptonshire.

 (Photo by, and copyright of, Tony Gardiner)