Alexandra Asmasoebrata (Allida Alexandra)

Alexandra Asmasoebrata, also known as Allida Alexandra or Andra, is an Indonesian driver who competed up to international Formula Renault level. 

After four or so years of karting, she first stepped up to single-seater racing aged 16, taking part in the 2004 Formula BMW Scholarship shooutout in Spain. She was not among the winners and did not make her competitive debut until the following year. Her first races were in 2005, when she did some rounds of the China Formula Campus series, winning her class.

She first drove in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge in 2006, aged eighteen. She was 24th overall after participating in seven races. The best of these was her last one at Shanghai, where she was ninth overall. The following year, she did six races, starting at Zhuhai, Sepang and Beijing. Her best finish was a fourteenth place at Beijing.

In 2008, she reappeared in AFR. She was twelfth this time, with a best finish of fifth at Zhuhai, in her first race of the season. This was one of four top-ten finishes she had that year, the others being an eighth and two ninths at Shanghai and Sepang.

For most of her career, she combined Formula Renault and karting. The following year, she was third in the 

A shorter season in 2009 meant that eighth was her best finish, also at Zhuhai, a feat she bettered in 2010 with a fourth place at Zhuhai. She was eighth in the championship. By then, the series was being held entirely in China. 

In 2011, she drove in both the Asian Formula Renault Challenge and Formula Pilota in China. It was her best season yet; she was third in Formula Renault with five podium finishes, four thirds and one second, at her favoured Zhuhai. 

Unfortunately, she only entered four races in 2012: three rounds of Asian Formula Renault. Her finishes were two sevenths, and two DNFs. 

She bounced back in 2013, taking part in six Asian Formula Renault races and earning two thirds and four fourths. She was fourth overall. 

In 2014, she was set to race in Asia Formula Renault again, but does not appear to have competed. A long lay-off followed, where she had three children among other things. She returned to the tracks in 2026, racing in the Mandalika Kartini race, a women's championship held at the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia. There were seven other entrants in Krida Agyas. Alexandra was third.

Alexandra is the daughter of former Indonesian racing driver and politician, Alex Asmasoebrata. It was him who first took her karting and she is open about how this helped her during her own career.

(Image copyright Alexandra Asmasoebrata)

Diana Rosario

Diana Rosario is a racer from Macau who is best-known for her efforts in single-seaters, and later, sportscars.

As there is only one circuit in her home country, which is a street circuit and therefore not usually in use, she had to cross the border to race, in China and further afield in Asia. 

Her first time in a single-seater was in 2004, when she was 20. She took part in the Formula Racing Development training school following several successful years of karting in Macau. In order to gain more experience, she worked at kart circuits after school. Her career almost came to a premature end in 2000 when a 16-year-old Diana broke her collarbone during karting practice, but she later credited the experience with helping her mature as a driver.

In the early part of her career, she concentrated on single-seaters, sticking to championships promoted by FRD. She entered the 2005 Formula Campus Challenge in China, driving for the Perfect Beauty team. After eight races, she was unplaced. A few years later, she would return to the Ford-powered series, finishing second in 2009 and winning the title in 2009. Her 2009 victory was by 38 points over her nearest rival, La Wai Lung of Hong Kong.

She competed sporadically in Asian Formula Renault from 2008, with a best finish of fifth overall in 2011. The championship was run in China and her best result came at Zhuhai, where she was fourth.

At the same time, she was developing a parallel career in sportscars. She competed at the prestigious Macau Guia race meeting in 2010 and was 22nd in the Macau GT Cup, driving a Ferrari F360. Presumably in the same car, she took on the Zhuhai rounds of the Asian GT Series, finishing second and third. Her second run in the Macau GT Cup in 2011 gave her an 18th place, competing against Chinese driver Rose Tan Ying. Eduardo Mortara was the winner.

She committed fully to sportscars in 2012. The GT Cup was not her best event and she was 25th in a Ferrari F430, but her two races in the Asian GT Series were enough for eighth in the championship. Further afield, she took the Ferrari to Sepang for a round of the Malaysian Super Series, finishing eleventh in the GT class.

In 2013, she was linked with a drive in the Asian Le Mans series, but does not appear to have competed. 

Later, in 2018, she made a comeback in the Asian Blancpain GT Series, driving a Mercedes GT4 for Craft Bamboo Racing. Her best finish was fourth at Ningbo, alongside team-mate Naomi Ran Zhang. She had shared the car with James Tang earlier in the season.

She has not raced since then.

(Image from "Indigenous Species" by Susana Chan)

Helga Heinrich (Steudel)

Helga Heinrich, formerly known as Helga Steudel, is a German driver and motorcyclist, originally from East Germany. 

She started out in motorcycle racing in 1959, aged 20, having learned to ride at thirteen. Six years later, she became the first female rider to win a major race, at the Sachsenring. To this day, she remains the only woman to win there on two wheels. She continued to win at other circuits, usually on a 125cc MZ RE. Despite her obvious talent, women found it very difficult to be granted licenses for international racing by the FIM, so she had to stay within club competition. Her two-wheeled career ended in 1967. 

After her marriage to Dieter Heinrich, she switched to cars in 1970, using a DDR-made Melkus RS 1000 sports racer to begin with. Without a major sponsor, she took on three jobs to affford her racing, including working in a paint factory and on her family's farm.

Being an Eastern Bloc sportsperson, she competed within the Communist countries almost exclusively. Schleizer Dreieck, in East Germany, was her commonest haunt. She achieved many top-ten finishes throughout the 1970s, in the RS 1000, and later, a Spyder and a Formel Easter single-seater. As well as races, she competed frequently in hillclimbs. 

Schleiz was the scene of her first major race result, a fifth in the 1971 Bernauer Schleife race for Melkus RS 1000 cars. Ulli Melkus, from the family who had created the cars, was the winner. The following year, she seems to have competed outside Germany for the first time, taking the Melkus to Most in modern Czechia, then the Soviet Republic of Czechoslovakia. She was eighth at Most and then seventh at Piestany, in modern Slovakia, before returning home to come sixth at Schleiz.

For 1974, she switched to the Spyder Krug, another sports prototype made in the GDR. She continued to race in Czechoslovakia, although she does not appear to have visited other Eastern Bloc countries to compete. The Spyder does not seem to have been the most reliable of cars and she rarely finished this year. It was more successful in hillclimbs, with a best result of fifth at Bautzen in the GDR. That said, she had her fair share of non-finishes in speed events as well.

Another season in the Krug was mostly spent in hillclimbs. Her best result was fifth again, this time at Torun in Poland. By now, she had a sponsor, Malimo knitwear. She only used the Krug for half of the season in 1976, switching between it and a Spyder Scharfe. The Scharfe was the better car and she was third at the Annaberg hillclimb in the GDR in it. It was a car she would return to over and over again until 1980, although she did score two more third places in a Spyder Tschernoster in 1977, at Annaberg and Schwarzenberg. In hillclimbs, she also used a Lada and a later Melkus MT77 on occasion.

Her circuit racing appearances became more sporadic towards the end of the 1970s. In 1979, she was twelfth in a race at Ostrava in Czechoslovakia, driving the Spyder Scharfe. 

She first retired in 1984, only making one more appearance in 1992. However, in 2007, she came out of retirement again, initially for historic events, but more recently, in modern single-seaters. 

In 2013, she raced a Formula Renault in the ESET Eastern European championship, at the age of 75. Prior to this, she had won a hillclimb championship in 2010. The year before, she competed in a GDR-built Formel Easter Estonia 25 in the GLP Pro Series. She had raced in this Soviet single-seater championship more than 20 years earlier, when she was the only woman to take part.

Although she does not appear to have raced since 2016, she still remains Germany’s oldest female racing driver, having been active until the age of 75. Her last races were in the Carbonia Cup at the Slovakiaring, driving a Formula Renault.

(Image copyright Helga Henirich)

Natalia Kowalska

 

Natalia Kowalska is a Polish driver best known for racing in the revived Formula Two championship in 2010. 

Her F2 campaign came after sitting out the 2009 season due to lack of funds. Her best finishes were a ninth and tenth at Algarve and she was 19th overall. 

Prior to this, she did a part-season in the 2008 Formula Star Mazda championship in the USA, managing one tenth place at Mosport out of four finishes. She was driving for John Walko Racing, having taken over from Filipina driver Michele Bumgarner.

Her American sojourn was only her second year of circuit racing. Her first was in 2007, when she had a part-season in Northern European Formula Renault and two races in the Formula Renault Eurocup. She managed to score a few points in the former. 

In 2011, she drove in Formula Two again, but only took part in four races due to injuries sustained in the previous season. She had crashed three times in 2010. Further neck injuries from a road traffic accident meant that she did not compete in 2012, although a prospective GP3 drive was mentioned in Polish media.

She was involved in karting in 2016, mentoring and instructing younger drivers. Her own karting record is quite impressive, with a Polish ICA title in 2005 and two Junior ICA runner-up spots in Polish championships in 2002. She followed a fairly normal single-seater path, switching from karts to cars at 17.

In 2019, she attempted to qualify for the W Series and reached the second round of assessments, but was not chosen to race. Shortly after, she said on social media that she had only entered to see if she was still competitive and did not think she would get through.

She has since returned to working with young karters.

Gabriela Jilkova

 

Gabriela Jilkova is a Czech driver who is best known for her successes in sportscars, although she has raced in many disciplines. She is known on social media as “QuickGabi”.

In 2012, she jumped straight from under-18 karting to Formula Renault, taking part in three rounds of the Northern European zone championship, at Most. Unfortunately, she did not finish any of them. She was only 17 at the time.

Her next step in her senior career was some sportscar racing in the Netherlands. She was third in two races in the Superlight section of the 2013 Supercar Challenge at Assen, driving a Czech-built Praga-Renault. This was combined with senior karting in the ROK Cup.

She was sixth in the 2014 ROK Cup senior world final. In between karting, she competed in a Formula Renault once more in Eastern Europe, as part of the Formula Car championship. Her best solo result was ninth at the Hungaroring. In a two-driver race at the same track she was fifth with Robert Haub. 

She did not do much actual racing in 2015, although she did take part in some drifting. Although she completed the driver evaluation course for the Audi TT Cup at the start of 2016, she did not actually race the TT, going with a Renault Clio instead. She did some rounds at least of the Central European Zone D4-2000 series, enough for third in the championship, and made some appearances in the Central European Clio Cup, scoring an eleventh and a sixth at the Red Bull Ring. 

Another part-season in the Clio Cup followed in 2017, for at least part of the season. 

In 2019, she worked as a test driver for the Gumpert RG Nathalie Race project, developing the track edition of the Nathalie fuel-cell car. She also did two races in the 24H GT Series in a KTM X-Bow, partnering Milan Kodidek. They were sixth at Brno. 

In 2020, she tried out unsuccessfully for W Series; the championship ended up being cancelled anyway due to coronavirus. She started sim racing with some success, using the screen name “QuickGabi”.

Having not raced competitively for a couple of seasons, Gabriela would have been forgiven for stepping back, but her break was just around the corner. In a reversal of fortunes, she joined the Zakspeed team for the GT Winter Series, driving a Mercedes AMG GT3. She was second and third in the first three races at Portimao, then won the next two outright from pole position to secure the title. 

This led to a race seat with the team for the 2021 ADAC GT4 Cup in Germany, sharing the same car with co-driver Robert Haub. They were fifth in the first round at Oschersleben, earning their first podium with a third place. A little later, they were second and sixth at Zandvoort. The remainder of the season was not as successful, but they held on to eighth in the championship.

The same driver pairing tackled the FARA Miami 500 at Homestead, driving a Praga. They won the race.

Another season in a Mercedes in the ADAC GT4 Cup and European GT4s with Robert Haub followed. They did not repeat their podium finish in 2022, but did manage a fourth place in each of their championships. The European GT4 fourth was at Spa, in the Pro-Am class, and the GT4 Cup fourth was at Zandvoort. They were also fifth at Imola in the European series.

Driving for a different team on a different continent, Gabriela travelled to India at the end of the year for the Indian Racing League, a street circuit-based single-seater championship. She drove for the Goa Aces team, sometimes sharing a car with Polish driver Kevin Mirocha for the feature races. Her best finishes were a pair of second places at Hyderabad, which was a relief after a chaotic beginning to the season, involving a race being cancelled and serious reliability problems with the motorcycle-engined car. She was tenth in the championship.

Her 2023 season was split between France and Germany. She was part of an all-female team put together by Matmut for the FFSA GT Cahmpionship. Her team-mate was Lucile Cypriano. They were third in the GT4 Pro-Am class, with a best finish of second at Val de Vienne. This was one of six podiums they achieved in their Toyota Supra.

In Germany, she raced a Duqueine car in the Protoype Cup, winning one race at Zandvoort with Xavier Lloveras. She was ninth in the championship after two more podiums. In addition to this, she did one race in the NLS, driving an Aston Martin Vantage. She and her two team-mates were sixth.

She did a full season of the GT4 European Series in 2024, partnering Cindy Gudet in a Toyota Supra. They were sixth overall in the Pro-Am class, with a best finish of third at Paul Ricard. Gabriela was also invited by Porsche to test their Formula E car at the end of the season, as part of the Women's Test. This led to a role within the Porsche team for 2025, as a sim and test driver.

She and Cindy stayed together with the Matmut team for 2025, racing the Supra in the GT4 championship. They were fifth in the Pro-Am Cup and their results included third places at Paul Ricard, the Nurburgring and Barcelona, plus seconds at the Nurburgring and Misano. Their finishing record was good and they were fairly consistent with their results.

For the winter season, she rejoined the Indian Racing League, driving for the Hyderabad Blackbirds this time. At the time of writing, she and her Indian team-mates are leading the championship.

(Image copyright Gabriela Jilkova)

Julia Pankiewicz

Julia Pankiewicz is a Polish single-seater driver. She is most famous for racing alongside her identical twin, Wiktoria.

Julia and Wiktoria both came to prominence competing in Italy, in Formula 4. Twin female drivers have never before raced in such a championship, although they had previously competed against one another in Eastern European Junior Rotax. Julia was usually the faster driver.

Julia graduated from karting at the start of the 2015 season. She raced for the Swiss RB Racing team with Wiktoria. She had a best finish of fourteenth, achieved twice at Misano. Her final championship position was 33rd. She clinched the series’ women’s trophy after Wiktoria had to sit out the last rounds of the season, having suffered a serious accident at Adria. This was the end of the Pankiewicz twins as a sister act, although Julia continued her career.

In 2016, she did a few races in the Formula Renault Eurocup, as well as Formula Renault NEC. Her best result in the Eurocup was nineteenth at Aragon Motorland, one of three races she did there. She did slightly better in the NEC series, with a thirteenth at Hockenheim and 27th overall. Although she was not really competitive, she had a decent finishing record and was rarely last. Lando Norris was that year’s champion. 

Her 2017 season was based around the Eurocup, with only a couple of guest spots in the NEC series. Her best Eurocup result was fifteenth at Monza, and she was 30th overall. Her NEC races at Monza yielded the best results of her career: a seventh and tenth place.

Her team boss Mark Burdett described her as “a pleasure to work with” but her career petered out after 2017. She appears on the entry list for the 2018 Euroformula Open Winter Series, driving for the leading RP Motorsport team, but does not appear to have raced. 

(Image from www.motorsport.v10.pl)

Ai Miura

Ai Miura has been a stalwart of the Japanese Formula 3 championship since 2014.

She has been racing since 2011, when she was still an Osaka University student. She began in club Formula FJ and scored an eighth place at Suzuka in her first-ever race. This followed several years of both junior and senior karting. 

She spent the next two seasons competing around Japan in Formula Challenge, a Formula Renault series. In her debut season, she did not crack the top ten, managing one eleventh place at Fuji, but in 2013, she achieved three ninths and two tenths, all at Fuji, as her best scores. She also made some guest appearances in an F4 car and finished as high as fifth. 

In 2014, she progressed into the National (N) class of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship and performed well, with one class win at Suzuka and several more podium places. She was fourth in class as well as getting her name in the records as the first female winner in Japanese F3. Her debut win could easily have been in the opening round at Suzuka; she started very rapidly from third but could only hold on for a third spot. She had to wait until the following day for a win.

As well as conventional, petrol-engined cars, Ai also races solar-powered vehicles, and won the Suzuka Solar Car Race six times, between 2009 and 2015. Other years have yielded class wins and a runner-up sport. She was part of the Sangyo Osaka University team. 

In 2015, she raced in Japanese F3 again in the National class and was second at the end of hte year, with three wins and thirteen second places. She was on the class pace from the first race at Suzuka, where she finished eighth and won class N. A battle with Ryo Ogawa followed and his six-race winning streak meant that Ai was not quite able to catch him, in spite of two further wins. 

She moved up to the main class in 2016 and was a consistent top ten finisher. Her best finish was eighth, at Fuji, and she almost got into the points. 

In 2017, she was eighth in the championship, with a best finish of fourth, at Okayama. She picked up an additional top-five with a fifth place at Fuji later in the season. 

She continued in Formula 3 in 2018 and was a regular top-ten finisher, albeit in the lower reaches of the top ten. Her final championship position was eleventh, just behind her team-mate. 

On paper, 2019 panned out in much the same manner, with seven top-ten finishes. However, she had to sit out some of the rounds after incurring an injury, crashing during the fifth race of the season at Fuji. She came back for the final two races at Okayama and finished tenth in both.

During the disrupted 2020 season, she made a surprising move into the all-female Kyojo Cup, which uses small Vita sportscars. She won the three-round series from 2019 vice-champion Miki Onaga and experienced sportscar racer Anna Inotsume. She won one race and came second and third in the other two.

Eventually she did get back to Japanese F3, now running to Formula 3 Regional regulations. She was third in her first race at Motegi and then fourth twice at Okayama, finishing eleventh in the championship. 

2021 started with a change of direction; Ai entered the Japanese TCR series for a part-season in both the Saturday and Sunday series. She was driving for Dome Racing in a Honda Civic. Her best result was a second place at Autopolis in her only Saturday outing. She also managed a third at Sugo in one of the Sunday races.

Away from single-seaters, she did some sportscar racing, making guest appearancs in the Super Taikyu series between 2020 and 2022. Her cars have included a Leuxs and a Toyota Supra. She did the full season in 2022, driving a Nissan Fairlady for FKS Team Fukushima. They were fourth in their class championship with two third places.

She won another Kyojo Cup title in 2023, from Miki Onaga.

In 2024, she made one appearance in Super Taikyu in the Fairlady, sharing with Max Salo and others for the Fuji 24 Hours. They were second in class.

The theme for her 2025 season was single-seaters, mostly F4 Japan. She was part of the Bionic Jack team and did a full season. Unfortunately, this was not a great success, and her best result was a 15th place at Fuji. She actually did better on her two guest appearances in Formula Regional Japan; she entered the second Fuji meeting with her own team and was fourth and fifth.

She works (or did work) in motorsport, acting as a PR person for Exedy Racing Clutches. Her first two F3 seasons were with their racing team. 

(Image copyright ai-miura.com)

Bianca Steiner

Bianca Steiner is an Austrian driver who has competed across Europe in almost all categories of single-seaters. 

She began racing in 2004 in Hungary, in the E-2000 Championship for 2000cc single-seaters. Despite being only fourteen years old at the time, she came fourth, driving a Formula Renault. 

She was ninth in 2005, and that year, she branched out into Formula Junior in Italy, driving for the Hungarian Szsasz team. At that time, Italian Formula Junior was a Formula Renault 1600 series. This arrangement continued in 2006, and she was tenth in the championship. As well as the Italian Junior series, she entered a Formula Renault Winter series. Never scared of ccs or horsepower, she even did a few Italian Formula 3000 races with the Coloni Rookies team. She was ninth and tenth at Misano, the closing rounds of the season.

For 2007, her programme was more focused, and she now had her own team. She drove to a disappointing 31st place in Italian Formula Renault, and made a few outings in the Eurocup at the Hungaroring. 

In 2008, she moved to the Northern Europe Championship, but did not fare much better. 

After four races back in the Italian championship in 2009, with a best finish of fourth, she appears to have left the series. She also did some hillclimbing in a Formula Nippon car in 2009. She had borrowed the car from a French driver called Lionel Regal, who died in 2010.

A long time on the sidelines followed while Bianca and her family saved money for a more powerful and better car.

In 2018 she made a comeback in the BOSS GP series for major single-seaters. She drove an ex-Timo Glock Dallara GP2 car in five rounds and scored one podium, a third at the Red Bull Ring. From the very beginning of the season she had been on the pace, finishing fourth in only her second race. She was eleventh in the championship. 

In the same car, she did the first two rounds of the 2019 Maxx Formula series at Zandvoort, finishing fourth and third. She had followed her Top Speed team-mate Veronika Cicha to the new championship.

Her 2020 plans were affected by the coronavirus crisis, but she did manage one outing in BOSS GP. Her GP2 car took her to a eighth place at Brno. She entered the first two 2021 BOSS rounds but had to withdraw, then missed the rest of the championship.

In 2022, she returned for the first four rounds, again competing in the Formula Car class in the GP2 car. Her best finish was fifth at the Red Bull Ring and she was eighth in the championship.

(Image copyright noen.at)

Sharon Scolari

Sharon Scolari is a Swiss driver who races in the Formula 3 Regional European Championship.

Most of her racing career has been in the Lotus Cup in Europe.

She began her career in Legends in Italy, in 2011. As there is no legal petrol-powered motorsport in Switzerland and Sharon is an Italian speaker, this was a logical choice. She was fifteen years old, and won the Rookie class. Legends would be her racing home for three seasons. Her best finish in the overall championship was fourth.

Between 2014 and 2017, she raced a Lotus Elise, initially in the Italian Lotus championship. She was fifth overall. After a year’s break, she stepped up to the European Cup, and was thirteenth overall, third in the Open class. Her best results were three seconds and a third, and she secured her first class win in the last round at Le Mans. This was the end product of a difficult learning year that began with a non-classified finish at Hockenheim, through a first top-ten at Paul Ricard, a penalty at Brands Hatch for an incorrect start behind a safety car and her first class victory in the last race of the season.

In 2017, she raced in the Lotus Cup again, and was ninth, second in the Open class. She came close to an Open class championship, winning nine times, but had to settle for second behind David Harvey.

She raced in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup in 2018, for a part-season, and managed a best finish of second at the Nurburgring. She was eleventh in the championship; her results were better in the second part of her season. The year was interrupted by a crash at Spa, which put her out of the second Spa race and the Hungaroring rounds. It does not seem to have deterred her in any way and she came back stronger. Her team, ScoRace, was run by her family and was described by an onlooker as “her and a mechanic”.

At the end of 2018, Sharon applied to take part in the all-female W Series and was selected for the first assessments in January 2019. She did not progress beyond the initial stages and expressed her frustration on social media, claiming that she had been one of the fastest drivers on the final “Race of Champions” test and had not gone through. She also claimed that participants were prevented from knowing or sharing the reasons for their rejection.

Not long after, she put her W Series woes behind her and signed up for the Formula Regional European Championship, which uses the same Tatuus Formula 3 car. Her ScoRace team was partnered by the Italian Viola Formula organisation.

It was a tough learning experience, but Sharon posted her first top-ten finish at Paul Ricard, the first round. Her best finish, sixth, was also achieved at Paul Ricard. A couple of races sat out due to car damage did not help, but she remained hopeful and determined. She was 18th overall.

Due to both the coronavirus crisis and funding problems, she was not able to race in 2020.

(Image copyright Sharon Scolari)

Valeria Carballo

Valeria Carballo (Valeria Vanessa Carballo Berroteran) is a Venezuelan driver who raced single-seaters in Europe for several seasons.

Initially, Valeria was based in Italy. She made her debut in Italian Formula Renault in 2011, driving for Team Costa Rica. After a difficult year with a string of DNFs in the middle, she was seventeenth in the championship, with a best finish of eighth, at Misano. This was one of two top-ten finishes that year, the other being a ninth at Monza. Team Costa Rica fielded five drivers over the season and only one, James Adams, was Costa Rican.

Whilst in Italy, she also raced in Formula Abarth, in the Italian and European series. She did not enter enough races to make any impact. All of her Formula Abarth outings were as part of Team Costa Rica.

In 2012, she tackled the European F3 Open championship, after a couple of races in the winter series, at Paul Ricard. Her finishes in the Trophy itself were not overly impressive, apart from one seventh at Monza, but she did quite well in the Cup class, earning many top-ten finishes. She was a team-mate to Tatiana Calderon at Emilio de Villota Motorsport, although they were racing in separate classes.

Her second season in Euro F3 started with the Winter Series, in which she scored one seventh place. In the series proper, she was part of the Campos team. It was a better season for her, or more consistent than before, with five top-ten finishes, the best being seventh, at Portimao. This was enough for twelfth overall. She was the highest-placed of the three Campos drivers, above Artur Janosz in thirteenth and Denis Nagulin in 19th.

Valeria’s career ended in 2014. Like several other Venezuelan racing drivers, she had been sponsored by PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company. Pastor Maldonado was the highest-profile of these, and Milka Duno was among their number. At the end of 2013, PDVSA suspended its motorsport sponsorship programme and stopped paying all drivers competing abroad. This was due to certain individuals using the sponsorship programme to obtain large quantities of foreign currency. It is not known whether Valeria was one of these drivers.

(Image from http://www.euroformulaopen.net)

Osmunde Dolischka

Osmunde Dolischka rose through the European single-seater ranks during the 1990s, after winning a regional karting title in 1994. She was one of a small group of women who came within touching distance of a Formula One career in the 1990s.

She was a latecomer to motor racing. Prior to 1994, she had competed in alpine skiing and was Austrian champion in the giant slalom. Even then, she showed signs of versatility and competed in water-skiing as well as the more traditional alpine form.

In 1995, she raced in the German Formula Ford championship, winning the last round, at Salzburg and finishing seventh overall. She was third in her state championship.

Formula Ford was followed by Formula Renault in 1996. She was second in her first race, at Zolder, and picked up another win part-way through the season.

Her progress faltered in 1997 when she moved again into Formula Opel. Her single season in the category was hit by a series of car problems and she was unable to finish higher than twelfth place.

In 1998, Osmunde got her career back on track. She raced in Formula 3 in central Europe, driving for the Fritz Kopp team. Her first races were at the A1-Ring and she was fifth and ninth. Two non-finishes at the Sachsenring came next, but then she managed a fourth at Most. Later in the season, she picked up another two fourth places at Most, having bounced back from another DNF. A second visit to the A1-Ring and a trip to Brno gave her two second places, the best of her season. She was third in the second race at Brno. Her last race of the season was at Hockenheim, where she was fifth. She was third in the Formula 3 Austria Cup, in her first F3 season.

Her form was impressive enough to attract the attention of Peter Sauber, who wanted to run her in Formula 3000. However, her biggest sponsor, Fujitsu-Siemens, pulled out in favour of her rival, Claudia Steffek, making this impossible. Osmunde and Claudia had fought it out on the track all year in F3, with Osmunde the more accomplished driver. Claudia was sixth in the championship and had a best finish of fourth. Fujitsu-Siemens opted for Claudia anyway, possibly due to her being younger and driving an older car. Her career stalled as suddenly as Osmunde’s did, a couple of years later.

1998 was her only season in Formula 3. She continued to compete in 1999, in the ADAC VW New Beetle Cup. Saloon cars were a new experience for her. She was eleventh in the championship.

That year, she also raced a Porsche 993 GT3 in endurance races. The results are not forthcoming. This marked the end of her circuit racing career. She had always had some money for her racing from family business interests, but without a sponsor, she was unable to continue at the level of which she was capable.

She attempted a comeback as a rally driver, in 2007, but crashed her VW Golf on her first event, and thought better of it. The accident happened on the first stage of the Ostarrichi Rally. It was one of a series of crashes on the stage and part of the rally was cancelled.

Osmunde is still involved in motorsport, running a kart hire firm and supporting her daughter’s karting career. Jorden was born in 2004 and has competed at a high level since the age of nine. She made her debut in cars in 2021.

(Image from vn.at)

Julia Ballario

Julia in Star Mazda

Julia Ballario is an Argentine driver who competes in both single-seaters and touring cars, at home and in the USA.

She was born in 1992, in Marcos Juárez near Cordoba. Her father was a racing driver who had competed in Formula Renault. Taking advantage of rules allowing very young drivers to race as seniors, he got her start in senior motorsport in Formula Renault in Argentina, in 2007, competing in the Plus series. This followed six years of karting.

2007 was a learning year, and although she was not among the frontrunners, she was nominated for a driver award. Detailed results for Julia in 2007 are not widely available. The Formula Renault season itself was shortened that year, due to the death of a competitor.

It was another learning year on the tracks in 2008, but she got on the leaderboard, finishing thirteenth. She was driving for the Baypal Scuderia team. They kept her on for 2009, and she was thirteenth again.

In 2010, she entered both the Plus and secondary Interprovencial series, finishing fourteenth in both.  Judging by her points tally in both, her performances were roughly equivalent. Detailed results are no longer readily available, as before.

2011 started with Formula Renault, driving for the Baypal Scuderia again. She took part in the first four rounds of the Argentine championship, with a best finish of fifth, at Alta Gracia. After that, she took her first steps in saloon racing, driving a Renault Clio in Class 2 of the Argentine National Touring Car Championship. This was somewhat of a baptism of fire for Julia, who finished two of her four races, and had a best finish of 19^th at Posadas. Undeterred, she signed up for the last three Buenos Aires rounds of the Turismo Carretera Pista Mouras series, in a Chevrolet. Her finishes were slightly better, with a fifteenth her highlight. At about the same time, she rejoined Formula Renault for the last two races of the season, adding another top-ten to her tally, a sixth at Marcos Juárez, her home track.

Julia’s career was now at something of a turning point. She chose to pursue tin-tops further in 2012, and was signed by the HRC Pro-Team for the TC2000 championship in Argentina. This was only the second time a female driver had raced in the series, after Delfina Frers in 2000. In an interview, she admitted that she might not be able to progress beyond Formula 3 if she persevered with single-seaters. This was a move which paid off, as she was on the pace very quickly in her Peugeot 307, describing it as easy to drive. Her second race, at Rosario, led to a fourth place, and although the season was marred somewhat by DNFs and one disqualification, she was a regular top-ten finisher, and managed her first podium at Salta, in third place. She was fifth in the championship.

Although she had proved a success in touring cars, she still harboured hopes of a single-seater career, perhaps outside Argentina. Her season began in the popular Top Race tin-top series, driving a Ford Mondeo for Schick Racing. Again, it was a steep learning curve, and she managed a thirteenth place at Junin as her best result, from five races. Mid-season, she travelled to the USA to compete in Formula Star Mazda, the entry-level series for the “Road to Indy”. She was driving for the Juncos Racing team, who were running three cars that year. This followed a series of tests in late 2012, in which she performed well. Julia’s four races showed promise, with three top-tens: a seventh at Trois Rivières, and ninths at Trois Rivières and Mid-Ohio.

Her second series of Star Mazda, in 2014, led to better results, the best of these being a fourth place, at Houston, on a wet track. Still with the Juncos team, she had eight top-ten finishes, and was eleventh in the championship. There were three female drivers in the series that year, and Julia was the best of them.

She returned to Argentina for the Top Race series in 2015, and was second in the Copa Damas, just behind Violeta Pernice. Her car was a Chevrolet Cruze, and she was thirteenth in the overall championship. If it had not been for a few DNFs mid-season, she would have been higher up the rankings; she scored three podium positions, including a second place at Río Cuarto.

She also did some TC2000 races in a VW Vento, making guest appearances at Buenos Aires in May. She was fourteenth and seventeenth.

In 2016, she raced a Mercedes for the 3M Racing team, in Top Race. It was something of a topsy-turvy year for her. She won two races, at Chaco and Rio Cuarto, the first of these from pole. At Rio Cuarto, she recorded the fastest lap. However, for the rest of the season, a fourth place at Concordia notwithstanding, she struggled for pace, and did not reach the top ten. Still, she was eighth overall in a competitive series.   

Her 2017 Top Race season was a disappointment. She ran in the V6 class with the GT Racing team, driving a Chevrolet Cruze. Her best finish was a tenth place at San Juan, her seventh race of the season, but this was her last event of the year. She pulled out due to a lack of sponsorship.

She attempted to get her career back on track in 2018, entering the first five Top Race rounds in a Volkswagen. Sadly, she only finished two, both in 15th place. In a different car, a Chevrolet, she made a guest appearance in Argentine Turismo Carretera, at Buenos Aires. In another car again, a Ford, she did the Olavarria round of the TC Pista Mouras series, finishing in sixth place.

She managed two Top Race events in 2019, driving a Mercedes. Her results were a twelfth at Rio Negro and fourteenth at San Nicolas. 

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

Female Single-Seater Drivers Around the World: Argentina

Maria Jose Lorenzati in 2013

In the past ten years, a number of female drivers have come through the junior single-seater ranks in Argentina. Some remain in open-wheel racing, whilst others moved into saloon-based competition. This post consists mainly of material split from the Single-Seater Drivers of the Americas post. Julia Ballario now has her own post.

Maria Abbate - Argentine driver who started in motorsport in 2007, at the age of 27. She contested two races of the Argentine Formula 4 (Formula Renault) championship. In 2008, she entered more races with the Casalins team, and was 17th in the final standings. The following year, she continued with Formula 4, driving for Scuderia Ramini, but could only manage 28th after a disastrous season with one finish. She also guested in the GT2000 Championship, driving a Scorpion, and scored her first career podium, a second at Olavarria. For 2010, she switched to saloon competition in the Top Race Junior series, and scored a best finish of twelfth at Salta, in her Ford Mondeo. She returned to GT2000 in 2011, in a Honda, but only appears to have driven a part-season, scoring no points. Her activities since 2010 have been curtailed by an injury she picked up during the Top Race season, and she has apparently retired.

Lucila Diaz – races in Formula Renault in Argentina. She made her debut in the Formula Renault Plus series in 2015, making two guest appearances at Río Cuarto. Her best finish was a thirteenth place. This seems to have been her first season of racing as a senior; from at least 2012, when she was sixteen, she was active in karting in Argentina. In 2016, she was 31st in the Formula Renault championship, after contesting six races. The best of these was at Cordoba, where she was eighth. She earned praise in 2016 for her improvement. She returned to karting in 2017.

Dahiana Jaciura - Argentine driver who appears to have started her major career racing in the 2017 Formula 4 Nueva Generacion championship. She entered the La Plata rounds and had a best finish of 23rd. She did not do any more races for personal reasons until 2018, when she returned to the APAC 1.4 Series, a Renault-powered prototype series she had raced in since at least 2014. More recently, she has been working as an engineer for the Vitarti Girls all-female team in Top Race.

Maria Jose Lorenzati - Argentine driver who has competed in Formula Renault since 2008. She began in the Interprovencial series, and was thirteenth overall, after some visits to the top ten. In 2009, she improved her finishing position to sixth. She maintained this position for the 2010 season, as well as stepping up to the more competitive Formula Renault Plus. In this championship, she was eighth. In 2011, she only managed to enter five races, and her final position suffered badly. She switched to touring cars in 2012, driving in the Argentine Turismo Nacional series in a Renault Clio. After six races, she was 32nd in the championship, with a best finish of fourteenth. As well as this, she had one guest run in Formula Renault Plus, although she did not finish. In 2013, she ran a limited schedule, with two races in TC2000 in a Peugeot 308. She also took part in one Mini Cooper Challenge race. The following year, she returned to TC2000, in a Fiat Linea. Her best finish was ninth, at Parana, and she was 24th overall. In 2015, she raced a Renault Fluence in TC2000, for a part-season, and was 28th overall. She was recently described as Argentina's most successful female driver. Language barriers have prevented more detailed investigation of her career. 

Ana Paula Morales – raced in Formula 4 in Argentina in 2011, when she was eighteen. She took part in eight rounds of the series, and had a best finish of thirteenth, at La Plata, towards the end of the season. She was 41^st in the championship, the first woman to race in Formula 4. Since then, she does not appear to have competed in circuit racing, although she may have done some karting.

Maria Jimena Oviedo – raced in Formula Renault in Argentina, in 2013 and 2014. Both times, she did part-seasons, driving for the Barovero Racing Team. Out of both seasons, her best finish was eleventh, in 2013, at Cordoba. In 2014, she managed a best of fourteenth, at La Rioja, and was 29^th in the championship. She started karting in 2006, and did some saloon racing in a Fiat 128 before moving into single-seaters, in 2013.

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

Violeta Pernice

Violeta Pernice races touring cars in her homeland, Argentina. Most of her career has been spent in the Top Race tin-top series.

Her first steps in senior motorsport were, initially, down the path of single-seaters. Her first races were in 2007, in a Formula Renault car. She entered Formula Renault Metropolitana in 2008, also known as Formula 4. It was a promising debut, driving for the Crespi Junior Team. Towards the end of the year, she was second and third at Buenos Aires, and she was sixth overall in the championship.

Despite having a year of Formula Renault experience under her belt already, Violeta Pernice was still one of her country's youngest drivers when she first took part in the Top Race Junior saloon series in 2009, only sixteen years old. Her best finish in her first season was seventh, at Comodoro Rivadavia, driving a Chevrolet Vectra. This was by far her best result, in a season containing too many DNFs. She had begun the year in Formula Renault, and was not doing too badly when she decided to change track. At La Plata, she had been ninth.

A seventh, this time at Interlagos, was the highlight of her 2010 season also, which was marred by a string of DNFs and non-starts. Her car was an Alfa Romeo 156. Most of the time, she was just out of the top ten. Her Junior campaign was a part-season, leading to 30^th place in the championship, but the combined 2010-2011 Top Race championship gave her 25^th. She did not manage another top ten, but did finish thirteenth on four occasions.

In 2012, she switched to a Fiat Linea for the Top Race Junior series. This gave her her first Top Race podium, a second at Alta Gracia. After nine rounds from eleven, she was fifteenth overall. In addition to her second place, she was eighth twice, at Rosario and Oberá.

In 2013, her main car in Top Race was a Mercedes. Her best result was eighth, at Chaco, and she was 19th overall. Her season was disrupted by her contract with her regular team, Motorola, ending about half-way through. However, in the Top Race NOA event at Rio Hondo, she was second, after starting on pole. Her car was a Chevrolet Vectra.

The following year, she changed her car for a Chevrolet Cruze, and entered Top Race again. The championship had gone through one of its semi-regular restructurings, and she was now in the top V6 class. She posted three top-ten finishes: seventh at Rosario and Mar de Ajó, and ninth at San Luis. Again, she suffered some DNFs, and this seems to have put her out of one race completely, but this season was a little more assured than before. Her final position was fifteenth. She also travelled to Uruguay, to make a guest appearance in the Sonic Racing Cup Damas, a women-only series for the Chevrolet Sonic.

In 2015, she drove the Cruze again in Top Race, and was the winner of the Ladies' Cup, ahead of five other female drivers. Her season began with a Ladies’ Cup win on International Women’s Day. She was twelfth overall, with a best finish of fourth, at Parana, and nine other top-ten finishes, including a fifth at Concepción. This was a great season for more reasons than one: this year, Violeta was driving for her own team, VP Racing.

At the beginning of 2016, it was all-change again. Violeta started her first season in the Argentine Touring Car (TN) Championship, driving a new car, a Peugeot 207, in Class Two. She was racing for the Percaz team. This proved to be a very difficult year for her, with too many non-finishes and a lack of pace. Her best finish was ninth, at Posadas, but she was only 38th in the championship. 

Violeta is known in Argentine racing circles for her distinctive pink-liveried cars, and has earned several nicknames, including “Penelope Glamour”.

(Image from https://twitter.com/violetapernice)