Female Drivers in the Daytona 24 Hours

Tomiko Yoshikawa at Daytona in 1993, when she raced with Desiré Wilson

The Daytona 24-Hour sportscar race is the traditional curtain-opener on the international motor racing scene, held in the last week of January, or the first week of February, each year. Only two races, in 1972 and 1974, have been cancelled or shortened.

It was first run in 1966, after four successful, shorter international sportscar races in the early season. Originally, it was part of the World Sportscar Championship, but this ceased in 1982. Between then and 1992, it was run by IMSA, then the Grand-Am Road Racing Series. It is currently sponsored by Rolex.
Women racers have taken part in most editions, in varying numbers, although sadly, fewer in the past few years. In the past, many notable women have entered, including Lyn St. James, the woman with the most starts, Smokey Drolet, Kathy Rude and Lilian Bryner. Milka Duno scored the best result in 2007 - second - and Lilian Bryner had a string of consistent top-five finishes in the 1990s. Usually, these entries were part of mixed teams, although all-female crews took part in 1966, 1967, 1977 and 1994.

Below is a list of all women drivers who have taken part, by year. In the case of a mixed team, the woman's name always comes first, for clarity.

1966

Rosemary Smith/Smokey Drolet (Sunbeam Alpine) - 30th

Janet Guthrie/Donna Mae Mims/Suzy Dietrich (Sunbeam Alpine) - 32nd

1967

Anita Taylor/Janet Guthrie/Smokey Drolet (Ford Mustang) - 20th

Donna Mae Mims/Suzy Dietrich (ASA 411) - not classified

1969

Smokey Drolet/John Tremblay/Vince Gimondo/John Belperche (Chevrolet Corvette C2) - 16th, class win

1970

Smokey Drolet/Norbert Mastandrea/Rajah Rodgers (Chevrolet Camaro) - 25th

Donna Mae Mims/Jim Corwin/Fred Pipen (Chevrolet Camaro Z) - DNF

1972

No race

1974

No race

1977

Christine Beckers/Lella Lombardi (Inaltera Ford) - 47th/DNF

1978

Janet Guthrie/Hugh Kleinpeter/Jef Stevens (De Tomaso Pantera) - qualified, but did not start

1980

Anny-Charlotte Verney/Skeeter McKitterick/Bob Garretson (Porsche 935) - 9th

Lyn St. James/Mark Welch/Tom Winters (Mazda RX-7) - 17th

Kathy Rude/Tom Nehl/Peter Kirill (Chevrolet Camaro) - 25th

Christine Beckers/Kenper Miller/Dave Cowart (BMW M1) - 47th

1981

Kathy Rude/Philippe Martin/Lee Mueller (Mazda RX-7) - 7th

Gail Engle/Philip Keirn/Bard Boand (Chevrolet Corvette) - 36th

Vicki Smith/ Sam Miller/Bob Lee (AMC AMX) - 56th

1982

Kathy Rude/Lee Mueller/Allan Moffat (Mazda RX-7) - 6th (class win)

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 25th

Desiré Wilson/Marty Hinze/Preston Henn (Porsche 935 K3) - 45th

1983

Kathy Rude/Bonnie Henn/Deborah Gregg (Porsche 924 Carrera) - 13th

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 35th

Lyn St. James/John Graham/Drake Olson (Nimrod NRA/C2) - 44th

1984

Margie Smith-Haas/Paul Gilgan/John Zouzelka (Porsche 911 Carrera) - 27th

Vicki Smith/Carlos Ramirez/Jack Miller (Nimrod NRA/C2) - 49th

Deborah Gregg/Jim Trueman/Alfredo Mena (Porsche 924 Carrera GTR) - 69th

1985

Robin McCall/Gary Baker/Joe Ruttman (Chevrolet Corvette) - 39th
Lyn St. James/Tim Coconis/Eric Lang (Argo JM16) - 68th

1986

Deborah Gregg/Mike Brockman/Steve Durst/Jim Trueman (Tiga GT285) - 47th 

1987

Lyn St. James/Scott Pruett/Bill Elliot/Tom Gloy (Ford Mustang) - 7th, class win

Deborah Gregg/Scott Pruett/Scott Goodyear/Bobby Akin (Ford Mustang) - 9th

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Jim Brown (Tiga GT285) - 16th

1988

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Jim Brown (Spice SE88P) - 43rd

Lyn St. James/Deborah Gregg/Mark Martin/Pete Halsmer (Mercury Capri) - 44th

1989

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/John Williams (Spice SE88P) - 26th

Lyn St. James/David Loring/Marty Roth (Ford Mustang Probe) - qualified but did not start

1990

Lyn St. James/Robby Gordon/Calvin Fish (Mercury Cougar XR-7) - 5th, class win

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Tomas Lopez (Spice SE88P) - 17th

1993

Tomiko Yoshikawa/Desiré Wilson/Ron Fellows/Pieter L. Baljet (Ford Mustang) - 47th

1994

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ruggero Grassi (Porsche 911 Carrera) - 15th

Kat Teasdale/Leigh Miller/John Graham (Porsche 968) - 17th

Tammy Jo Kirk/David Murry/Angelo Cilli/Anthony Lazzaro (Porsche 911) - 34th

Linda Pobst/Kat Teasdale/Margy Eatwell/Tami Rai Busby/Leigh O’Brien (Chevrolet Camaro) - 47th

1995

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ulli Richter (Porsche 911 Carrera) - 5th, class win

Margie Smith-Haas/Craig T. Nelson/Ross Bentley/Dan Clark (Spice SE90) - 62nd

1996

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ulli Richter (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR) - 4th, class win

1997

Claudia Hürtgen/Ralf Kelleners/Patrice Goueslard/André Ahrlé (Porsche 911 GT2) - 4th, class win

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ulli Richter (Porsche 964) - 22nd

1998

Lyn St. James/Jeret Schroeder/Pete Halsmer/Tom Volk (Kudzu DL-4) - 25th

1999

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Carl Rosenblad (Ferrari 333 SP) - 4th

Claudia Hürtgen/Stéphane Ortelli/Enrico Bertaggia/Robert Nearn (Porsche 911 GT2) - 25th

2000

Allison Duncan/Christian Vann/Stephen Watson/Raffaele Sanguiolo (Dodge Viper GTS-R) - 6th

Claudia Hürtgen/Hubert Haupt/Hisashi Wada/Robert Nearn/Nigel Smith/Stephen Earle (Porsche 911 GT2) - 55th

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Angelo Zadra/Marco Zadra/Carl Rosenblad (Ferrari 333 SP) - 64th

2001

Kim Hiskey/Hugh Plumb/Michael Culver (Porsche 996 GT3) - 10th

Milka Duno/David Gooding/Raffaele Sanguiolo/Stefano Zonca (Dodge Viper GTS-R) - 31st

Claudia Hürtgen/Robert Orcutt/Jürgen Lorenz/Heinrich Langfermann (Porsche 996 GT3) - 42nd

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Ulli Richter/Jürgen Alzen (Porsche 996 GT3-R) - 52nd

2002

Kim Hiskey/Randy Pobst/Steven Ivankovich/Spencer Pumpelly (Porsche 996 GT3) - 73rd

2004

Mae van Wijk/Tracy Krohn/Ron Forristall/Andres van der Dys/Armando Trentini (Porsche 993 GT3 Cup) - 31st

Milka Duno/Robby Gordon/Doug Goad/Stéphane Grégoire (Crawford DP03) - 35th

2005

Maria de Villota/Luca Drudi/Luis Monzon/Gabrio Rosa (Ferrari 360 Modena) - 24th

Milka Duno/Dario Franchitti/Marino Franchitti/Dan Wheldon (Crawford DP03) - 33rd

Mae van Wijk/Dave Gaylord/David Murry/Rod Emory (Porsche 996 GT3 Cup) - 39th

2006

Milka Duno/Dario Franchitti/Marino Franchitti/Kevin McGarrity(Riley Mk XI) - 8th

Danica Patrick/Jan Lammers/Rusty Wallace/Allan McNish (Crawford DP03) - 50th

2007

Milka Duno/Patrick Carpentier/Darren Manning/Ryan Dalziel (Riley Mk XI) - 2nd

Katherine Legge/George Robinson/Paul Dallenbach/Wally Dallenbach Jr (Riley Mk XI) - 25th

2009

Danica Patrick/Andy Wallace/Casey Mears/Rob Finlay (Crawford DP08) - 8th

2013
Melanie Snow/Madison Snow/Sascha Maassen/Marco Seefried/Klaus Bachler (Porsche GT3 Cup) - 19th

2014
Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick/Gabby Chaves/Alexander Rossi (DeltaWing) - DNF

2015
Christina Nielsen/Christoffer Nygaard/Brandon Davis/James Davison (Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3) - 29th
Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick/Gabby Chaves/Memo Rojas (DeltaWing) - DNF

2016
Christina Nielsen/Alessandro Balzan/Jeff Segal/Robert Renauer (Ferrari 458 GT3) - 20th
Sabine Schmitz/Klaus Abbelen/Patrick Huisman/Frank Stippler/Sven Muller (Porsche 911 GT3R) - 27th
Ashley Freiberg/Bret Curtis/Jens Klingmann/Marco Wittman (BMW M6) - 48th
Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick/Sean Rayhall/Andreas Wirth (Panoz DeltaWing) - DNF

2017
Katherine Legge/Andy Lally/Graham Rahal/Mark Wilkins (Acura NSX GT3) - 29th
Christina Nielsen/Alessandro Balzan/Sam Bird/Matteo Cressoni (Ferrari 488 GT3) - DNF

2018
Katherine Legge/AJ Allmendinger/Alvaro Parente/Trent Hindman (Acura NSX GT3) - 22nd
Christina Nielsen/Patrick Long/Robert Renauer/Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R) - 41st

2019
Simona de Silvestro/Katherine Legge/Bia Figueiredo/Christina Nielsen (Acura NSX GT3) - 32nd

2020

Tatiana Calderon/Katherine Legge/Rahel Frey/Christina Nielsen (Lamborghini Huracan) - DNF

2021

Katherine Legge/Christina Nielsen/Earl Bamber/Rob Ferriol (Porsche 911 GT3) - 32nd

2022

Katherine Legge/Rob Ferriol/Stefan Wilson/Nick Boulle (Porsche 911) - 37th

2023

Katherine Legge/Sheena Monk/Marc Miller/Mario Farnbacher (Acura NSX) - 22nd

Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy/Michelle Gatting/Doriane Pin (Lamborghini Huracan) - 46th

2024

Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy/Michelle Gatting/Doriane Pin (Lamborghini Huracan) - 25th

Ashton Harrison/Graham Doyle/Danny Formal/Kyle Marcelli (Lamborghini Huracan) - 42nd

Tatiana Calderon/Katherine Legge/Sheena Monk/Stevan McAleer (Acura NSX) - DNF

Lilou Wadoux/Matthieu Vaxiviere/Nicklas Nielsen/Luis Perez Companc (Oreca-Gibson LMP2) - DNF

(Image source unknown)

Milka Duno

Perhaps the last person on Earth you'd expect to be one of the world's foremost lady racers would be a Venezuelan intellectual. However, with her five master's degrees and impressive sportscar pedigree, Milka Duno is probably just that. She became the first woman to race an LM900 sports protoype in 2002, while she was plying her trade in the American Le Mans Series with Dick Barbour Racing. She and her team-mates struggled somewhat with their new Panoz-Mugen, but the results started to appear, their best being a fifth place. Towards the end of the season the team disbanded, and Milka secured a seat in the British Chamberlain squad next to Christian Vann.

In 2001, she fared better in the smaller, more familiar LMP675 Reynard-Judd in which she and John Graham scored several class wins and outright top ten and five places against LMP900 machinery. They finished the season as vice-champions. Unfortunately, Le Mans itself has not proved fruitful for Milka. She retired in 2001 and 2002 with engine trouble, after relatively promising starts.

She began her career in Venezuela in 1996, racing in the Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Cup. She was second in her domestic GT championship in 1997. The ALMS Womens' Global GT series followed for three years. Although Milka never won a race, she finished in the top five each year and scored several podium places. She was hired by Dick Barbour Racing in 2001.

As well as sports car racing, she spent a couple of years developing a career in single-seaters. A few outings in Barber Dodge and other junior formulas in the States helped the Venezuelan to claim a seat with Vergani Racing for the Nissan World Series Light Division, in 2001. Milka improved steadily, and came twelfth in the 2003 standings. Her best finishes were fifth and sixth, at Vallelunga and Eurospeedway Lausitz respectively. She also raced in the last few rounds of the Formula Nissan World Series in 2002, where cornering speeds are almost as fast as Formula One. Although she was a steady finisher, she was not really challenging for the top spots. She called a temporary halt to her single-seater activities after 2003.

Latina women are not normally associated with motor racing and Milka Duno is proud to be breaking the mould. She contested the Grand-Am sportscar series in the US in 2004, driving a Pontiac-engined Crawford prototype, in which she scored a fantastic win with Andy Wallace in the second race of the season at Miami. When the championship returned to Homestead later in the year, she won again. Added to this impressive tally was a second place at mid-Ohio and a third in Virginia.

She also raced in the ALMS again, having put together a deal with the Taurus-Lola team to race alongside Brit Justin Wilson. They were placed in the top ten of the 2004 Sebring 12 Hours before mechanical woes put them down to 22nd. At the season-ending Petit Le Mans race, they were sixth overall and first LMP2 car.

The Grand-Am series and CITGO Racing became Milka's home in 2004. The Crawford-Pontiac is the most successful car of her career, carrying her to three outright wins. The third outright victory came at the Mont Tremblant 6 Hours in Canada in 2005. On her return to the Virginia circuit she also finished in the runner-up spot again in 2005.

After a couple of indifferent Daytona 24 Hour races, Milka finally made her mark in 2006. Assisted by Scotsmen Marino and Dario Franchitti and Irishman Kevin McGarrity, she drove the Crawford to eighth overall, her best finish at the Daytona classic and a record for a woman driver.

The rest of 2006 was not a vintage year for the Venezuelan driver and her team. The first couple of races of the year led to indifferent results, and an error by an official dropped Milka and Marino Franchitti from top-ten to 17th, at Long Beach. Their luck improved at Virginia, their first time out in their new car, a Riley-Pontiac prototype. Even with a small accident, the duo were eleventh. Milka's best results were a pair of sevenths at Monterey and Sonoma. Her co-drivers were Olivier Beretta and Patrick Carpentier respectively. The Riley was quick and its drivers were able to hold good places, but a series of accidents and technical failures did not allow them to capitalise on their form and cost them wins.

During the off-season, Milka was linked to a drive in Champ Car. She tested for Cahill Racing but did not join the series. Later, an announcement was made that she would be taking part in a limited programme of IRL races for Samax Racing. This came as a surprise to many.

2007 started very brightly indeed for Milka. She beat her own best finish for a woman at the Daytona 24 Hours, coming a brilliant second in the CITGO Pontiac-Riley. Her team-mates were Patrick Carpentier, Ryan Dalziel and Darren Manning. The winners were Scott Pruett, Salvador Duran and former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya. She and Patrick Carpentier were less successful in Mexico, and were eleventh, but they were back on the pace in fourth at Homestead. Sadly, she decided to abandon the season here, and was replaced by various other drivers.

Her first season in the IRL was more of a baptism of fire. She entered seven races, including the Indy 500, and finished three, with a best finish of eleventh at Fort Worth. Concerns were raised by various people about Milka’s lack of speed, and she was even considered a safety hazard by some. However, officials gave her the benefit of the doubt in her rookie year, and allowed her to carry on.

In 2008, she drove for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, for eleven events this time. Her finishing record improved, but her overall results did not. Her best one was a single fourteenth place at Joliet. She managed her first Indy 500 finish in 19th, ahead of Bruno Junqueira. Her final position on the leaderboard was 25th and the knives were now really out for her, from a number of surprising sources. An unseemly ongoing row with Danica Patrick only made things worse for her. Away from the IRL, she was listed as a driver for Samax for the Daytona 24 Hours, but did not drive.

Her services were retained by Dreyer & Reinbold for another part-season in 2009, sharing the car with Darren Manning and Tomas Scheckter. She finished again at Indy, in 20th this time, and got to the end of most of her races. The allegations of substandard driving skills continued, although she was not punished.

Despite disappointing results and a worsening media profile, Dreyer & Reinbold took on Milka for her first full season in the IRL in 2010. She did not manage a single top-twenty finish until the Joliet Chicagoland race, when she was nineteenth, and did not qualify for the Indy 500. A series of accidents and incidents led to Milka being placed "on probation" with the IRL until the end of the season. Unless her lap times and track etiquette improved significantly, she faced being thrown out of the championship. The allegations made related to her slow pace, unorthodox racing lines and unwillingness to move over for faster cars.

Milka and her comrades were a force to be reckoned with in the Rolex Grand-Am series, with three wins, six podiums, nine top fives and seventeen top ten finishes. It is hard to understand why she was so keen to give up sportscar success for the dubious honour of being a pay-driver in the IRL. It is a shame that her continued, and mostly justified, negative press from the ovals has now eclipsed her closed-wheel achievements, which were considerable.

2010 was her last season of single-seater racing. Taking her CITGO sponsorship, she made a move towards stock cars. She had one run in an ARCA event at Daytona, driving a Toyota for Stringer Motorsports. A large, multi-car accident put her out on the sixth lap.

For 2011, she put together a deal with Sheltra Motorsports to run a Dodge in ARCA. Pre-season testing went very well, with Milka among the top ten entrants in speed tests. In the early part of the season, she showed good pace in qualifying, and started in second place at Toledo. However, she had a tendency to get involved in accidents, not always of her own creation, and had a best finish of fifteenth at Toledo, despite crashing during practice and having to use her spare car.

She had to sit out seven races mid-season after the Sheltra team pulled out, although they regrouped for the the eleventh round at Iowa. This led to a DNF. She did not better her fifteenth place for the rest of the season, although she managed to stay on the track to the end for all of them. She was eighteenth overall in the championship.

2012 began as more of the same. This season, the Sheltra car was a Chevrolet. Milka was among the fastest drivers during tests, but for the first five, this did not translate to race results. There was a marked improvement after the team took a break from ARCA, and in July, Milka earned her first top-ten finish, at New Jersey. For the next seven races in which she took part, she stayed inside the top twenty, with only one DNF at Kansas. She was 18th overall in the championship.

She continued in ARCA in 2013, this time for the Venturini team, in a Toyota. This year, she actually started to show some speed in a stock car, particularly in qualifying. Her first ARCA event, at Daytona, had her second on the grid. However, she finished 28th. At Talladega, she achieved a pole position, but did not finish. In between, she had an eighth-place finish at Salem, a new personal best. She managed another top-ten finish at Winchester, a tenth place, and a series of other top-twenty places. After 21 races, she was seventh overall, thanks to a new consistency in her driving, and a reduction in her DNF ratio.

In 2014, she moved from ARCA to NASCAR competition. Her first race was in the Eastern division of the K&N Pro Series. She was 20th at Dover, in a Toyota. Later, in a Toyota again, she made two starts in the Nationwide Series, finishing one of them in 34th. The track was Homestead, a circuit she had raced well on in sportscars. She was driving for RAB Racing and the NEMCO-Jay Robinson team. Her last race of the season was a debut outing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, for MAKE Motorsports. She was 25th at Talladega.

She does not appear to have raced since 2014, in common with many other Venezuelan drivers who lost their state-backed funding due to political issues.

(Image from http://laradiodelsur.com.ve/)

Liz Halliday

Liz with the DBR9, in 2007

Californian-born Liz came to England in her late teens to advance her sporting career. She has been a lifelong equestrian competitor, and began motor racing as a hobby in 1997, at nineteen. Her first racing car was a Datsun 510, which she used in classic events. Over the three years she raced in it, she managed to win three times.

In 2000, whilst still only 22, she exchanged the Datsun for a more modern BMW, which she entered in the Kumho BMW Championship in the UK. Her car was a powerful M3 E30, run by Mosely Motorsport. Liz progressed steadily through the rank,s and by 2002 was good enough to be named "Driver of the Season". During this time, she also entered her M3 into the EERC/Britcar Sports series. Her best results were a first and second in class at Pembrey. She was named "Driver of the Day" at the Donington meeting.

2003 started off in a similar vein, with Liz back in the M3 in the Kumho Championship. She was really beginning to pick up speed now, and won her class at the Croft round, breaking the lap record in the process. This earned her another "Driver of the Day" accolade. At Silverstone she was second in class. Away from the main championship, she picked up a class win in Britsports at Oulton Park.

Later in the season, she switched to the British GT championship, driving a Porsche 996 GT3 for GruppeM/Tech 9 Motorsport. Her first race was at Oulton Park. Nick Stavely was her co-driver, and they were fourteenth overall, eighth in the GT Cup class for smaller cars. Stavely was replaced by teenager Tom Shrimpton for the next race, Rockingham. He and Liz proved to be a good partnership, and began strongly together with an eighth place, second in the Cup class. At Thruxton, they were eleventh and fourth GT Cup finishers, but at Spa they were triumphant, winning the GT Cup class, with help from Amanda Stretton. This was the best finish for a female driver, and also the best finish for a teenaged driver. They were fifteenth in the general classification. At the last round, Brands Hatch, they were ninth, third in class.

On the other side of the world, Liz was invited to take part in her first Bathurst 24-hour race by Ian Donaldson, a racing friend and colleague. Liz, Ian and Ian's son drove their Porsche 911 GT3-RSR to seventh place overall, an excellent maiden effort for Liz.

The heroics in British GTs and at Bathurst really kickstarted Liz's sportscar career. For most of 2004 she was based back in the States, competing mainly in the Rolex Grand Am series. She missed the Daytona 24 Hours, but completed most of the season, with some good GT class finishes. Her first race of the year was Homestead, and she and Kevin Buckler got off to a flying start, coming third in the GT class and 16th overall in their Porsche 996 GT3. At Phoenix they were 26th, fourth in class, but at Mont Tremblant they slipped to eighth, 28th in the main standings, accompanied by Bohdan Kroczek this time. The same trio could only manage a 34th (tenth GT) at the first Watkins Glen round. Back to a pair, Liz and Kevin Buckler improved their position at Daytona, with another 16th place, fourth GT, a feat they repeated at Mid-Ohio, although they were fifth in class this time. Watkins Glen proved a bit of a bogey track for Liz, as she was tenth in class there again on her second visit, 29th overall. She did not enter the final three rounds of the championship, and moved across to the American Le Mans series instead, pairing up with Piers Masarati in a Porsche 911 GT3. Their first race together was Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, and they were joined by Liz's previous team-mate, Ian Donaldson, for the occasion. Following gearbox problems, they were 29th, fourteenth in the GT class. Liz and Piers fared slightly better at Laguna Seca, where they were 21st and twelfth GT, despite electrical troubles.

Liz had not forgotten European competition either. Back in the UK, she came third and fourth in a Radical SR3 at a Britsports meeting at Brands Hatch. Mid-season, she raced in the Spa 24 Hours for the Autolanda team, coming fourteenth and sixth in class in her Porsche 996. Her co-drivers were Luigi Moccia and Moreno Soli, both from Italy.

Her twin attack on the USA and the rest of the world continued in 2005. She went back to the ALMS for most of the season and really improved as a driver, as part of the Intersport team, racing a Judd-engined Lola LMP2. She had a solid start at Sebring, lasting the distance with Clint Field and Gareth Ridpath, to come in 33rd, fourth in class. Due to team plans and clashing commitments, Liz did not attend the Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Lime Rock or Portland meetings, although Intersport sent a car to some of them. She returned at Sonoma, and immediately got back into the swing of things, coming fourth and winning the LPM2 class with Clint Field. A fire meant that the duo had to settle for 23rd at Road America, but they bounced back at Mosport, winning their class again and coming fifth in the main classification. Joined by Jon Field, they kept up the momentum at Petit Le Mans, repeating their Mosport win and overall place. Their last race of the season was Laguna Seca, which was a disappointment, and ended in a 26th position and fifth in class.

In the middle of all this, the Intersport team decamped to France for Le Mans itself. This was Liz's first attempt at the classic Sarthe event. She, along with Clint and Jon Field, maintained a strong position in class, until engine troubles intervened and forced them out during the eleventh hour.

Liz was a very busy woman in 2005; as well as racing for Intersport and continuing her horse-riding career, she found time to contest the whole FIA GT Championship with Lister Racing. Her car was a Lister Storm GT, and her partner was Justin Keen of the UK. The car, although fast, tended to be unreliable, and Liz did not finish five of the eleven races: Magny-Cours, Imola, Spa, Zhuhai or Bahrain. However, when the car made it to the finish, the positions were normally good. Liz and Justin were ninth at Monza, unclassified at the Silverstone Tourist Trophy after problems, seventh at Brno, eleventh at Oschersleben, sixteenth at Istanbul and seventh again in Dubai. Most of the time, they were up against bigger teams, such as Aston Martin and Maserati, with their large development budgets.

2006 saw Liz concentrate on the ALMS, with Intersport. The team made a superb start to the season, with a second place at Sebring, along with a class win for Liz, Clint and Jon. They followed that up with another class win at Houston, coming eleventh overall this time. At Lexington they were a strong fourth overall, but the LMP2 cars were running well that day, and they were only third in class. The Lakeville race was not as good for Intersport; they were 17th and third LMP2. Salt Lake City was a better day; they were ninth and runners-up in class. Portland was even better, giving them a fifth position and another LMP2 win. At Elkhart Lake they were third in class, eighth overall, but after that their luck seemed to desert them somewhat. They were 19th at Mosport, 27th at Petit Le Mans and twelfth at Laguna Seca. In consolation for their underwhelming end to the year, they were second in the LMP2 team standings. Liz was third in the individual LMP2 drivers' table, and Clint Field was the winner.

Her return to Le Mans itself was eventful. The Lola suffered gearbox and engine trouble at multiple points during the race, but Liz and her team-mates managed to keep it going, and record their maiden finish. They were 19th, fourth in the LMP2 class. Liz's ambition now is to win Le Mans and she has proved herself a capable endurance driver there, as well as at Sebring.

In 2007, Liz drove in the European-based Le Mans Series for a different team. She was now competing for Team Modena, in an Aston Martin DBR9, a powerful and highly-competitive car. This year she began her season by finishing third in the GT-1 class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, eleventh overall. She was assisted by Darren Turner and Antonio Garcia. In the LMS proper, she was twelfth in her first race at Monza, with Antonio Garcia. The pair were joined by Christian Fittipaldi for the Valencia race, but could only manage 25th. Unfortunately, Liz parted company with the team after that.

She got to drive again at Le Mans mid-season, gaining a seat with Noel del Bello Racing, in a Courage-AER LMP2 car. She did not finish, as the car expired half-way. Her team-mates were Vitaly Petrov and Romain Iannetta.

For 2008, she returned to the Le Mans Series for one round. She drove a Creation CA07 AIM with Stephen Simpson, and was 22nd, tenth in the LMP1 class. Later in the season she took part in two ALMS rounds for the same team. She was 34th at Petit Le Mans after a crash, driving with Stuart Hall and Dean Stirling, and 17th, fourth in class, at Laguna Seca. She did not go to Le Mans this year and joined the Eurosport commentary team instead.

Since then, Liz did not competed actively for a while, for unknown reasons. She did not leave motorsport completely, and still did media commentary, driver training and mentoring.

In 2010, she finally made a return to the track, at the Silverstone Historic Festival. She was driving an Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ Coda Tronca, and a smaller GTA. She won her class in the Giulietta. Later, she raced the GTA in a HSCC meeting at Oulton Park, and was tenth in her race. At the Goodwood Revival, she raced the Giulietta once more. Both cars used to belong to her father.

After a year spent concentrating on equestrianism and media work, Liz announced her return to full-time motorsport in 2012. She contested the Lotus Cup in the UK, driving a 2-Eleven. After starting in last place on the grid in her first race at Silverstone, she battled back to second in class, fifth overall. In her other races, she was unclassified at Oulton Park and Sntetterton, fourth at Brands Hatch and eighth at Donington. She was 20th overall, after missing the European rounds.

In 2013, Liz continued with her media work, and also did some more Lotus Cup racing. The first round, at Snetterton, went well: a second place overall, and class win. However, this seems to have been her only good round. At Silverstone, she qualified, but did not race, due to mechanical problems, and at Brands Hatch, she was unclassified. The story was the same at Oulton Park. She did not appear for the rest of the season.

She did not race in 2014 or 2015, although she did commentate on Le Mans for Eurosport.

As well as her ambition to win Le Mans, Liz also has high hopes for her four-legged career. She aims to win an Olympic gold medal in eventing for the USA, making her a true double champion.

(Image from www.leblogauto.com)

Kim Hiskey

Despite having a relatively short racing career and starting fairly late, Kim Hiskey has achieved a lot. She began racing seriously in 1998, at the age of 34 and after having two children. Previously, she had dabbled in rallying as a teenager, and been an enthusiastic spectator.

Her first season was a runaway success. Entering club events in her home area of Seattle, she scooped four SCCA titles and was named the Northwest Novice of the Year and Most Improved Driver.

In 1999, she took a big step up in terms of competition, taking her Porsche 911 RSR into the ALMS sportscar championship. She entered three races in all, two for The Racers' Group and one for Fordahl Motorsports. Both Racers' Group efforts, at Portland and Laguna Seca, ended in mechanical failures. Her co-drivers included Kim Wolfkill, Kevin Buckler and John Hill.

Kim and John Hill joined Fordahl Motorsports for the last race of the season at Las Vegas. The move paid off; assisted by Steve Valentinetti, they came 24th overall, eighth in class.

Her first major race win came this year. With the aid of two other Seattle drivers, her "Crazy Redhead Racing" Porsche was the winner of the Timex 12 Hours of Thunderhill.

Kim continued her association with Fordahl in 2000, moving into the Grand-Am series with the Porsche 911 RSR. One of her team-mates was Randy Pobst, and they raced in several events together. At her first race at Phoenix, Kim and Steve Valentinetti were fourteenth overall, third in class. An eighteenth at Mid-Ohio with Randy Pobst gave her another class third on her next outing. The same driver pairing was 22nd at Daytona in a Porsche 996 Cup car. At Watkins Glen, back in the 911 RSR, they were 20th. The only real negative that season for Kim, was failing to make the start for the Road America race, partnered by Linda Pobst.

In addition to her Grand-Am activities, Kim also found time to pilot another 911 RSR for Alex Job Racing in the ALMS. She was 22nd at Portland with Douglas Hebenthal, and 20th at Las Vegas with Grady Willingham, securing another SCCA regional class runner-up prize in the process.

2001 saw a move from the 911 RSR to a 911 GT3, the fastest production GT Porsche in the range. Kim first piloted it at the Daytona 24 Hours for White Lightning Racing, alongside Hugh Plumb, Michael Petersen and Michael Culver. They were tenth, at the time one of the highest-ever finishes for a team with a female driver.

For her other races that season, Kim teamed up again with Randy Pobst and Fordahl Motorsports, now running as a joint effort with her own Crazy Redhead Racing team. It was a momentous year for the crew, as they earned two GT class wins early on, at Phoenix and Road America. They were fifth and eighth overall respectively. The Lime Rock round gave them another strong overall finish, sixth, although they were not the leading GT entry this time. They then captured the GT pole at Mid-Ohio and ended the race fourth in class, but only 16th overall.

The two Watkins Glen races were a letdown. For the first, Kim was paired with a different co-driver, Altenburg, and came 36th. Back with Randy Pobst later in the year, she hardly fared better, coming 27th. However, the season finale at Daytona gave the pair another GT class win, plus a twelfth place. This was good enough to put Fordahl/Crazy Redhead Racing fourth in the end-of-season table.

Hoping to repeat her triumphs, Kim returned to Grand-Am in 2002 for a part-season. Daytona was not a success; Kim, Randy, Spencer Pumpelly and Steven Ivankovitch limped to the end of the race and were 73rd, for Pumpelly's Zip Racing team. Things brightened up in Miami, where Kim and Randy were seventh, third in class. Reunited with the Fordahl/Crazy Redhead GT3 for the Phoenix round, they were a strong tenth. However, Kim took part in no more Grand-Am races that year, although Randy Pobst appeared in a few.

Crazy Redhead Racing seems to have vanished from the scene in 2003, along with Kim. She reappeared in 2004 to take part in some national racing, alongside some old colleagues. Fordahl and a revived Crazy Redhead Racing entered a team into the SCCA's 25 Hours of Thunderhill race, consisting of Kim, Randy Pobst, Albert Loredo, Dave Welch and Greg Fordahl himself. Driving a Porsche, they won convincingly.

In 2005, Kim took part in the SCCA Norpac championship, driving solo. She was back in the RSR and came ninth in the GT1 class. She also did some Oregon regional races, assisted by Fordahl, with decent results.

She does not appear to have raced in 2006 and her website has not been updated for a long while. In 2007 at least, she was running a custom motorsport decal business.

(Image from http://mujerestuercas-marilischwander.blogspot.co.uk/)