Patrizia Sciascia

Patrizia in 2004

Patrizia Sciascia was the Italian Ladies' Rally Champion in 2005. She has driven in five WRC rounds: all five San Remo rallies between 1996 and 2000. Her best finish was 32nd, third in class, in 2000.

She was born in 1971 in Sanremo. Her father was a rally driver and she was interested in the sport from an early age.

Fittingly, the Sanremo Rally was her first big international event, in 1995. Her car was a Peugeot 309 and she does not appear to have finished. She returned to Sanremo in 1996 and got to the finish this time, in 41st place. Her car was an Opel Corsa.

Her next two Sanremo Rallies, in 1997 and 1998, ended in retirement. She used a Ford Escort Cosworth in 1997, and a Renault Clio Williams in 1998. The Clio became her regular car for the next four seasons.

She continued to compete in Italian national rallies, with her annual WRC outing at Sanremo. In 2000, she finished in the top ten for the first time, coming in tenth in the Rallye Limone e dei 100,000 Trabucchi, held in Piedmont.

It went a little quieter for Patrizia for the next two seasons, but one highlight was a seventh place in the 2002 Rally Alba. She was driving the Clio and was one of 71 finishers.

In 2003, she took another step forward in her rally career with her first podium. Driving the Clio again, she was third in the Andora Rallysprint. That year, she alternated between the Clio and an Opel Astra, with the familiar Clio giving her better results. She was 19th in the Rally della Lanterna and won class N3 in May. The Astra may have been more difficult to drive, but it was in this car that she ventured back into international competition, after a break of two years. She entered the San Marino Rally, a European Championship round, and was 49th, eleventh in class.

For 2004, she settled on Cristina Biondi as a co-driver. The two had worked together on and off in 2003. Patrizia went back to the Clio as her car of choice; she only drove the Astra once, in the Rally Prealpi Trevigiane Terra. She was 39th and second in class. Again, the Clio suited her better. She was third in the Andora Rallysprint at the start of the season, and third again in the Rally del Valli Imperiesi in October. In between, she had her best-ever finish in the Sanremo Rally, which was no longer a WRC round. She was eleventh, and won class A7.

Between the end of 2004 and the start of 2005, Patrizia was announced as the winner of the “Woman in Blue” prize. Subaru Italy was keen to recruit an all-female crew for a shot at the Italian ladies’ championship, and she was judged to be a better bet than Monica Burigo, who started rallying at about the same time.

Patrizia duly won the ladies’ prize in 2005. Her car was a Group N Subaru Impreza and her best results were two fourteenth places, in the Sanremo and San Marino rallies. She was a frequent top-twenty finisher and was also sixteenth in the Mille Miglia, which had been revived as a stage rally.

In 2006, she stayed on as a Subaru Italy driver. Her programme was shorter than in 2005, but still included some of the big Italian rallies. She was 20th in Sanremo, co-driven by Samantha de Colle this time. Her best result was another third in the Rally del Valli Imperiesi. She was the leading Group N competitor.

Her contract with Subaru ended after 2006 and she returned to rallying the Clio. She was fifth in the Andora Rallysprint and contested some Italian sealed-surface events. The best of these was the Beta Rally Oltrepo, in which she was 19th. She was 27th in Sanremo.

2008 started in the same fashion. She drove the Clio in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia, finishing 23rd and 27th. This led to a ride in a Peugeot 207 S2000 car. Its first outing was Sanremo, where Patrizia did not finish. Later, she entered the Rally del Valli Imperiesi again. This was always a good event for her, and she was fourth this year.

She was fifteenth in the 2009 Targa Florio, driving the Peugeot, and later used it for the Sanremo Rally. It wasn’t one of her best Sanremo drives, but she was solidly midfield in 32nd place. In between, she had a one-off drive in the Impreza for the San Marino Rally, and drove the Clio in the Rally Friuli Alpi Orientali. Both of these yielded more midfield finishes.

After 2010, she became a very occasional driver. She picked up another Peugeot 207 seat for Sanremo in 2010, finishing 30th. It was a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) this year.

She was 15th in the Ronde di Andorra in 2011, driving a Clio. Later in the year, she won her class in the Ronde Enna, Sicily. She was sixth overall.

In 2015, she came out of retirement for a guest appearance at the Monza Rally Show, driving a Peugeot 207. She did not finish.

After another long break, she debuted a Volkswagen Polo R5 at the 2020 Rally Sanremo. The event was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. Patrizia then entered the Trofeo delle Merende a couple of weeks later. She was seventh overall, from over a hundred finishers. In a different Polo, she was sixth in the Ronde delle Valli Imperiesi, then 31st in the Rally Sanremo.

The R5 Polo came out again for the 2022 Rallye Sanremo Leggenda and Patrizia was second this time, one of the best overall results of her career. This was followed by a fifth place in the Rally di Alba. The car was then swapped for a Skoda Fabia Rally2 and she was fifth again in the Rally 1000 Miglia. Another fifth place followed in her favourite Valli Imperiesi Rally. She did one more rally in the Polo in 2023, but then got back in the Skoda for three rallies, which all ended in top tens. She was second in the Rally del Palme, one of her best finishes ever. She was also seventh in the Valli Imperiesi and ninth in the Rally Prealpi Orobiche.

Away from motorsport, Patrizia works as a lawyer. She has been involved in motorsport-related cases, including disputes with the Italian motorsport authorities.

(Image copyright Rally Company)

Burcu Çetinkaya

Burcu Çetinkaya is a Turkish driver who has competed in Europe, and in the WRC.

She began her rally career in 2005, after several years of representing Turkey in snowboarding competitions. Her first car was a Fiat Palio, and her first rally, the Hittite Rally, in which she was 45^th, ninth in class. Not long afterwards, she entered the Fiat Rally, an ERC round, and was 23^rd overall. This was her best result of the year.

After her first European championship rally in 2005, she entered her first World Championship event in 2006. She drove in the Rally of Turkey, and was 50^th overall, driving a Ford Fiesta. Another run in the Fiat Rally gave her a 21^st place, and she performed strongly in the Istanbul Castrol Rallysprint events, earning a ninth an eighth place. This year, she won her first Turkish ladies’ championship.

The Fiesta would prove to be her regular car for several seasons. In 2007, she kept expanding her horizons, and entered her first overseas rallies. She took part in four rounds of the Belgian championship, taking in classic events like the Ypres-Westhoek and Condroz-Huy rallies. She ran quite well in the Haspengouw Rally, and was 28^th overall. Mid-season, she travelled to the Czech Republic for the Barum Rally, and was 43^rd, with a class second. Her season finale was a second WRC round, the Wales Rally GB, in which she was 63^rd. In between, she still played an active part in her domestic championship, and won a second Turkish Ladies’ Cup. Her best events were the Istanbul and Yeşil Bursa rallies, in which she was fifteenth.

Her involvement with Ford deepened in 2008, when she entered the Fiesta Castrol Sporting Trophy, supported by Castrol Ford Team Turkey. Her WRC programme expanded to six rounds: Italy (Sardinia), Turkey, Finland, Germany, Spain and Great Britain. She finished all six. Predictably, the Rally of Turkey was her best event, and she won her class. She was 25^th overall. Away from home, she continued to enter Belgian rallies, with mixed results, the best of these being a 31^st place in the Rallye de Wallonie. At home, she achieved her first top-ten finish, a tenth place in the Yeşil Bursa Rally, with a class win. Another class win in the Istanbul Rally was very welcome, and helped her to twelfth in the Turkish championship, and a Class N3 title. The only real bad point of 2008 was a spectacular crash in the Ypres Rally, in Belgium.

At the end of 2008, Burcu experimented with other cars, and drove a Mitsubishi Lancer in the Istanbul rallysprints. The beginning of 2009 saw her continue to experiment, with a Fiat Abarth Grand Punto. She guested in the Italian championship, entering the Rally Adriatico with none other than Fabrizia Pons, the former co-driver of Michele Mouton. They were 39^th overall. Later in the season, Burcu returned to Italy for the Azzano Rally, on gravel, but in a Peugeot 207 this time. She was 17^th, with her usual navigator, Cicek Güney.

Despite the new cars, the Fiesta remained her main mount, and she had a second try at some of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy rounds. Poland was her best outing in the WRC, and she was 28^th, fifth in class. She retired from the RACC Rally Spain, and finished in the forties in the UK and Finland. It was in the Turkish championship that she really found her feet, with four top-ten finishes: fifth in the Kocaeli Rally, eighth in the Hittite Rally, seventh in the Istanbul Rally and ninth in the Ege Rally. Two of these were also class wins.

For 2010, she switched allegiance from Ford to Peugeot, and drove for the Peugeot Turkey team in a Super 2000-spec 207. Her schedule was a mix of WRC and IRC events, beginning with the Rally of Turkey in April. She was a career-best twelfth. Retirements from the Sardinia and Ypres Rallies followed, then a 19^th place in the Rally Vinho Madeira. Her second WRC event, Germany, ended in another retirement, before indifferent finishes in the Barum and Sanremo Rallies. Her best result of the year was in the Scottish Rally, where she was eighth, getting herself onto the IRC points leaderboard, in 37^th place. Her last IRC rally was Cyprus, in which she was fifteenth.  

In 2011, she tried three different cars: an S2000 Fiat Punto and Skoda Fabia, and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. At the start of the year, she used the Fiat in Turkish rallies. She retired from the Bosphorus and Kocaeli rallies, but was eighth in the Istanbul Rally. Her first event in the Skoda was a second visit to the Scottish Rally, but this too ended in retirement. After that, her schedule was centred around the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, as opposed to Europe, as in previous years. She did two more events in the Skoda, the Cyprus and Hittite rallies, finishing 17^th in Cyprus and fifth in the Hittite Rally. Moving on to a new “playing field” and a bigger car, she was fifth in the Dubai Rally, and third in a round of the Qatar championship.

Driving the Group N Lancer, she competed exclusively in the Middle East in 2012. She rallied a lot in Qatar, and started the year with a fourth place in the Qatar International Rally. A string of podium finishes in the Qatar championship gave her second overall, and she managed another top ten in the Middle East championship, finishing eighth in Dubai.

Her season in 2013 was quite similar, although she only finished on the podium once in Qatar, and was seventh in the championship. In the MERC, she was eleventh in Kuwait and fourteenth in Jordan, but retired from the Dubai Rally.

She did not compete in 2014, instead returning to her studies, moving to a new area and embracing religion.

In 2015, she returned to the Turkish championship, which was now the home of a few other female drivers. Her best result was ninth, in the North Cyprus Rally, and she was also tenth in the Kocaeli and Çanakkale rallies. Her car was still the Group N Mitsubishi.

She took another year out in 2016, but returned to the Turkish championship in 2017. Initially, she drove the Lancer. She only recorded one finish in it, then it caught fire on the Troia Rally. It was replaced by a Ford Fiesta. This car was more reliable. She picked up one top-twenty finish in it, a 14th place in the Kocaeli Rally.

In 2018, she entered Rally Turkey with Inessa Tushkanova as her co-driver. They were 31st in the main event and sixth in the National rally, driving a Ford Fiesta.

After a lengthy gap, she made a comeback in 2023, mainly competing in Turkey. She used both a Fiat Egea and a Renault Clio Rally3, as a well as a Mini Cooper for the Logiman Mythical Cars Rally in Italy. Her best finish was in Turkey, driving the Clio, where she was twelfth in the 100 Yil Rallisi.

She began 2024 in the Clio and was ninth in the Sarikamis Rallisi in February. After that, she teamed up with legendary co-driver Fabrizia Pons, taking on the Turkish championship and also that year's Acropolis Rally. She used a Rally2-spec Skoda Fabia and finished 43rd, after needing to rejoin under SuperRally rules. She drove a Fabia again in Italy, finishing fourth in the Trofeo Masseria Camarda class of the Fiorio Cup with Pietro Elia Ometto. In between, she also drove a Group N Subaru Impreza and a Rally5 Clio in Turkey. She ended the season by retaining her Turkish women's title.

Between 2008 and 2010, Burcu was the highest-ranked female rally driver in the world. As well as her motorsport activities, she also works as a presenter on Turkish television.  

(Image from http://www.ankarameydani.com)

Ekaterina Stratieva

Ekaterina at the 2014 Acropolis Rally

Ekaterina Stratieva is a Bulgarian driver who competes in the European Rally Championship (ERC). She has won two European Ladies’ Championships.

Her family were motorsport fans, and she was a spectator at the circuits from a young age. When she was 21, she took her first steps towards a competition career of her own, starting with hillclimbs and club circuit racing in a Suzuki Swift. She began rallying in 2006, at the age of 24, driving a Citroen Saxo in Bulgarian events. This was a brave step, and Ekaterina claims herself that being “Bulgarian and blonde” is not an ideal start to an international rally career. Not one to shy away from a challenge, one of her first rallies was the Rally of Bulgaria itself, then a European championship round. She was 25^th, and third in class. Her best result came from the Rally Victory Sofia, in which she was 22^nd, fifth in class. As well as rallies, she spent some time competing in hillclimbs in Bulgaria, winning a class championship. She used her rally car.

Her second year of rally competition, 2007, was spent in the Bulgarian championship. The Saxo was run all year by Astra Racing. Ekaterina steadily improved her rally performances, and had five top-twenty finishes. The best of these was thirteenth in the YU Rally, which was part of the Bulgarian championship, despite being held in Serbia. In the Rally Bulgaria, she was the winner of class N2, and was 24^th. Her first rally outside the Bulgarian championship, the Saturnus Rally in Slovenia, ended in a retirement on the first stage. She was 21^st in the Bulgarian championship. Away from rallying, she won another class championship in the Saxo, in the Bulgarian hillclimb championship.

In 2008, she drove a Citroen C2 R2 in rallies the Bulgarian championship. This year, she did not finish as many rallies as previously, but her final positions kept improving. She scored the first top-ten of her career, a sixth place in the Victory Rally Sofia, then followed it up with a tenth place in the Rally Tvardica, at the end of the season. Her performances were enough to get her a Pirelli Star award, which gained her entry to the ERC rounds in Italy, Croatia and Bulgaria for 2009.

She ran quite well in her three Pirelli Star rallies: she was 45^th in the Mille Miglia in Italy, 19^th in Croatia (with a class second) and 20^th in the Rally of Bulgaria itself. Her year was more international than ever before, with an entry into the Barum Czech Rally as well as the Bulgarian championship. She was 52^nd in the Czech Rally. The Bulgarian championship was a happier hunting ground; she was tenth in the Serbia Rally, and won class A6 in the Trayanovi Vrata and Vida rallies. Her finishing positions were twelfth and thirteenth respectively. She was second in class in the Bulgarian championship, and was never out of the top twenty.

Despite her partnership with her long-term co-driver, Rumen Manolov, ending after the 2009 season, Ekaterina continued to improve in 2010. She began the year with two gravel rallies in Greece, the Halkidiki Rallysprint and the Rally Thermaikou, finishing a competent thirteenth and 19^th. A rare mechanical fault put her and the Citroen out of the Serbia Rally, then she was excluded from the Rally of Bulgaria, for a technical infringement. A somewhat disappointing Czech Rally and another retirement, from the Rally Sliven, then gave way to two top-ten finishes. She was eighth in the Rally Tvardica, and then fourth in the Hebros Rally, with a class win. This was enough to score her a second in class for the championship.

2011 was very international in nature for Ekaterina. She spent quite a lot of time competing in Romania. Her best finishes were two 22^nd places, in the Clujului and Iaşului rallies. Elsewhere, she managed a class win in the Croatia Rally, finishing 18^th overall, and a sixth in the Rally Tvardica. Her 19^th place in the Yalta Rally in the Ukraine, an IRC event, gave her a class second. At the end of the year, she was second in class in the Romanian championship, and was also named their female driver of the year. She also gained a new navigator, Carmen Poenaru, who is also Romanian. Their first rally together was the Rallye du Var in France, in which they were 91^st, in the Citroen.

In 2012, her season was split between the Eastern European and western European rallies, in the C2. She entered five rounds of the IRC, in the Canary Islands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Ukraine. Her best finish was eighth, in the Yalta Rally. She was also eleventh in the Rally Sliven, the Bulgarian round. Rally Bulgaria itself, an ERC round this year, gave her a ninth place, second in class. She was tenth in the Sredna Gora Rally, and won her class. That year, she also rallied in Romania and Switzerland, although she did not finish the Rallye du Valais. She was third in the Bulgarian championship, third in the 2WD class of the ERC (sixth overall), and won their unofficial Coupe des Dames. Her performances in international rallies earned her the Richard Burns Award.

2013 was a mixed year. She entered rallies across Europe, with two eighteenth positions, in the Hebros Rally and the Açores City Rally Show, her best finishes. She was also 21st in the Tour de Corse, part of that year’s ERC. A couple of accidents, in the SATA Rallye Açores and the Sibiu Rally Romania, may have knocked her confidence. She was not quite on form, and lost her European Ladies’ crown to the Australian, Molly Taylor.

Her 2014 schedule was similar, taking in the European Rally Trophy, including the Açores, Ypres and Czech Barum Rallies. Her best result was 22nd, in the Acropolis Rally. She was 38th in the ERC Production Cup. Of interest this year were two drives in a Subaru Impreza, in the Acropolis Rally and the Rally Liepāja, in Latvia. She finished the Acropolis Rally in 22^nd, but the engine failed in Latvia. She spent the rest of the season in her trusty Citroen C2. One consolation was her first official ERC Ladies’ Trophy.

Her 2015 season continued in the same vein. She had a shorter schedule, and was committed to ERC rallies. Her co-driver this year was Julianna Nyírfás, from Hungary, a highly-experienced ERC navigator. Her best finish was 27^th, in the Circuit of Ireland, and she was also 28^th in the Brasov Rally in Romania. As before, she mainly stuck with the C2, but experimented with bigger cars. She drove the Impreza again in the Bosphorus Rally, but did not finish. A drive in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX in the Barum Czech Rally gave her a 48^th place, which was not spectacular, but enough to net her another Coupe des Dames. She ended the season as the Ladies’ champion once more.

In 2016, she did not defend her ERC Ladies' title. She competed less than before, around Europe, although she did pick up an ERC Coupe des Dames in the Barum Rally, in a C2. She was 57th overall. 

2017 looked quite similar. She drove the C2 in some Balkan rallies, and picked up a few ERC Ladies' points via her participation in the Barum Czech Rally Zlin. Her best finish was fourteenth in the Rally Sliven, a Bulgarian rally.

She only did one major rally in 2018, the Barum event. Her car was a Hyundai i20 and she finished in 65th place. She was one of six female drivers contesting the rally.

Despite a relatively short rally schedule in 2019, Ekaterina regained her ERC Ladies' title in 2019. She drove a Peugeot 208 R2 and had a best ERC finish of 28th on Rally Hungary, third in the ERC3 class.

Away from the ERC, she entered the Ihtiman Rallysprint in Bulgaria and was seventh overall.

The ERC had a short season in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis. Ekaterina only entered the Iberian rounds, driving the 208. She was 52nd in the Rally Islas Canarias but did not finish the Fafe Montelongo Rally due to mechanical problems. In Bulgaria, she was fifth in the Dryanovo Rallysprint and ninth in the Rally Tvarditsa-Elena. This was a good outcome for a year that started late, with a crash in the Serbian Rally Zlatibor.

Most of 2021 was spent rallying in and around Bulgaria and she did especially well in rallysprints, taking the Peugeot to fourth in the Dryanovo sprint and fifth in the Rallysprint Peshtera. In the Bulgarian championship, she was eighth in the Rally Stari Stolici and thirteenth in the International Rally Bulgaria. This came after a 17th place in the Evofone ESOK Rally in Turkey. 

She entered two ERC events, the first of these being the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, in which she was 66th. A one-off drive in the Rally Islas Canarias in an Opel Corsa Rally4 finished early when the car lost a wheel.

Eastern and central Europe were the focus of her 2022 activities in the Corsa. She did particularly well in Serbia, finishing fourth in the Valjevski Rally and fifth in the Rally Mionica. At home, she was fourth in the Pamporovo Rallysprint.

She mainly stuck to Bulgarian rallies again in 2023, with the Pamporovo event being her best one again: she was fourth. She was also fifth in the Rally Tvarditsa and sixth in the Rally of Bulgaria. These were among five top tens she achieved during the year. Elsewhere, she did some rallies in Romanian and one day of the Fthiotidos Rally in Greece, in which she was tenth. She was seventh overall in the Bulgarian championship.

In 2024, she had another go at the European championship, competing in Spain, Italy, Austria and Czechia, usually in an Opel Corsa, although she used a Peugeot 208 in the Canary Islands. She had her share of trouble, including a broken driveshaft in the Canary Islands and a medical emergency in Barum Czech Rally Zlin, but she also managed an 18th place in Austria's Rallye Weiz. Away from the European series, she did several more rallies in Greece, securing a best finish of seventh in the Rallye Kentavros. 

(Image from http://2014.acropolisrally.gr/)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: Belgium

Vicky van de Walle and navigator Michelle Demeestere with the Mini Cooper, in 2013

Belgium's most successful female driver, Melissa Debackere, has her own profile here.

Daisy Cols - former Belgian driver. She competed in the Belgian Division Two Championship in a Fiat Punto in 2003, as part of a team with her brother, Larry. In 2004, she continued in the Fiat and won the Coupe des Dames and Class A7 in the Boucles de Spa. She repeated her A7 win in the Rallye de Wallonie. Her career began in 1999, driving a Citroen Saxo.

Evelien de Corte – competed on and off in the Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy in Belgium, between 2011 and 2013. She began rallying at the age of 20, in 2010, in a Peugeot 106, and drove a Renault Twingo in the Moorslede rallypsrint in 2011. As a Fiesta Sport Trophy driver, her best 2011 result was 30^th, in the Criterium section of the TAC Rally. After 2011, her funding started to run out, and she only managed the Rally of Wallonie in 2012, in which she was 61^st. In 2013, she finished the Geko Ypres Rally in 53^rd place, but did not compete for the rest of the season. Her website is no longer being updated. 

Valina Dechamps - driver and  co-driver who usually competes in rallysprint and Belgian club events. She was her club’s female champion in 2011 and 2012. In recent years, she has driven a Peugeot 206 and 306. In 2006 and 2007, she competed in some major Belgian rallies, in a Toyota Yaris. She was 39th in the 2007 East Belgian Rally and 104th in the 2006 Rallye Condroz-Huy. Her club activities often seem to be in the Hannut region. On the navigation side, she sat with Sebastien Honnay in the Micky Rallysprint in 2013. She remained active as a driver in 2014, competing the Achene Rallysprint at least, in a Peugeot 306. In 2015, she rallied a Peugeot 207, but did not finish any of the events she entered. 

Aurélie Dehaye - Belgian driver, active since 2006. Her first car was a VW Polo, which she used in Belgian rallies. She continued to rally a Polo for the next couple of seasons, and by 2008, she was winning her class. Both the Rally of Wallonie and the East Belgian Rally gave her N1 wins. After a break, she returned in 2012 in a VW Golf, and immediately scored her first top-twenty finish, an eleventh in the Criterium section of the Rally of Wallonie. She carried on entering major stage rallies in 2013, but also some more rallysprints, in which she was quite successful, finishing second in the Rallye Sprint Winning and fifth in the Villersois event. She continued to rally a Golf and a VW Polo in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, she was twelfth in the Trois-Ponts Rally, in the Golf. This event was her best rally in 2016, too, and she was fifth, in the Golf. She finished in the top twenty in three more Belgian rallies in 2016. In 2017, she took a leap forward in terms of results. She picked up her first podium, a third in the Achene Rallysprint, and was fourth in the Trois-Ponts Rally. These were two of four top-ten finishes she had. Her car the still the VW. She continued to shine in rallysprints in 2018, finishing second in the Villersois event. A return to rallysprints in 2021 gave her an eighth place in the ASRT event. In 2022, she was twelfth in both the Principaute and Hautes Fagnes rallies. The Golf came out again for the 2023 East Belgian Rally, but did not finish. In 2024, she finished both the Haute Fagnes and Rallye des Cretes events in the top twenty.

Julie Devalet - won the Citroen Racing Junior Trophy in Belgium in 2013. She won her class in the three rounds that she entered: the Ypres Rally, Rallye du Condroz and East Belgian Rally. Her car was a Citroen DS3 R1. She also drove in the Luxembourg Rally, and was 30th overall. Her usual navigator, Jennifer Thielen, was Luxembourgish. Previously, she did some Belgian rallies in 2006, in a Skoda Fabia. She also navigated from 2004 onwards, and helped her partner Caren Burton to second overall in the 2013 Rallye des Trois-Ponts. In 2014, she rallied in Belgium and Luxembourg, in the Citroen. Her best finish was 43rd, with a class win, in the Rally of Luxembourg. In 2015, she switched between driving an navigation, in Belgian rallies. As a driver, she used an Opel Adam, and was 39th in the East Belgian Rally. In 2016, she did some co-driving, but her only outing behind the wheel was as the course car in the Spa Rally. In 2019, she rallied a Skoda Fabia R2 in the Herock Spa Rally, finishing 28th.

Christelle Fameree - has competed on and off in Belgium since at least 2000. She has driven or co-driven in at least 16 runnings of the Rallye du Condroz, in cars including an Opel/Vauxhall Astra and a Peugeot 106. In 2013, she was 77th, in a Peugeot 207. Apart from major rallies, she is a regular in club and lower-level events, including rallysprints. She has entered the Micky Rallysprint on several occasions, and was 41st in 2013. In 2014, she was thirteenth in the Criterium section of the Rallye de Wallonie, in the 207. Another season in the 207, in 2015, was mainly rallysprints, and she competed exclusively in rallysprints in 2016. In 2017, she tried some multi-stage events again, the Condroz-Huy and Wallonie rallies. 2018 was similar and she had a best finish of 25th in the Haillot rallysprint. She did more stage rallies in 2019, including the Wallonie and Condroz-Huy events. In 2021, she used the Peugeot in the Belgian Criterium championship, scoring one top-twenty finish in the South Belgium Criterium Rally. She carried on with this in 2022, although her results were not as strong. In 2023, she performed well in rallysprints, finishing 17th in the Zoning d'Achene event. She picked up a top-ten finish in 2024, finishing tenth in the Legend Condroz Rally in the 207. She is from a rallying family: her father and partner prepare her cars, and she is navigated by her mother, Arlette Faniel. 

Dorothée Jacquemin - rallied mostly in France and Belgium in the 1980s and early 1990s. Her earliest car was a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, which she used between 1983 and 1985. Her best result in it was a ninth place in the Rallye Internationale Charlemagne in France, in 1985. In 1987, she started driving a Peugeot 205, and in 1988, the focus of her motorsport activities switched to France. She achieved two more top-ten finishes during her career: a fifth in the Charlemagne event in 1988, and a ninth in the Picardie National Rally in 1989, both in the Peugeot. In 1992, she had one last season, and rallied a Citroen AX Sport in Europe, including a run in the Manx International Rally in the UK. She was 35th. Between 1989 and 1992, she was ladies’ champion of France in Division 2. Her husband, Jean-Marie Jacquemin, was also a rally driver. Much earlier, Dorothée occasionally acted as his navigator.

Patricia Nijs - driver and co-driver who has moved between the two roles. She first appears in the Belgian championship in 2004, navigating for Phil Nijs. In 2006, she had a season as a driver, competing in the Belgian championship and the Ypres Westhoek Rally, a round of the IRC and European Championship. In this rally, she drove a Ford Fiesta, and was 60th overall. Her best result was 19th, seventh in class, in the Rally of Haspengouw, in a Subaru Impreza WRX. In 2013, she returned to the stages in a different Impreza, and was 22nd in the Shortrally of Suikerstreek and 19th in the Rally van Sint-Truiden. She made a one-off return in 2017, driving the Impreza in the Criterium Jean-Louis Dumont. 

Magali Schutz – Belgian driver and co-driver who has been competing since at least 2005. For most of her career, she has remained in the co-driver’s seat, but she began driving herself in 2015. Her first car was a Citroen Saxo, which she mostly used in rallysprints. In 2016, she used a Peugeot 206 and a Renault Clio, finishing most of her events. Her best result was a 39^th overall, in the Boucles Clavieroises, driving the Peugeot. She was also second in class in the Villersois Rallysprint, in the Clio. 2017 was spent doing some rallysprints in the Clio. She did two more rallies in 2021, driving a Citroen Saxo. Her best finish was 33rd in the ASRT Rallysprint. After a break, she returned in 2024, still in the Saxo, for two rallies.

Vicky van de Walle - long-time navigator who has recently switched to the driver’s seat. She has been co-driving since at least 1999, and was Hans Vancampenhoudt’s regular navigator in 2000. She also co-drove Melissa Debackere, and did a one-off rally with her in 2013. She had her first driving experience in a Mini in 2011, in the Tour of Flanders, with a Mini. She did not finish. In 2013, in another Mini Cooper, she did four rounds of the Belgian championship, plus the Rally of Luxembourg. Her best finish was 29th, in the ORC Canal Rally, which was won by Melissa Debackere. She drove the Mini again in 2014, and was 55th in the 6 Uren van Kortrijk. In 2015, she returned to co-driving, in historic rallies. 

(Image from http://www.bfo-brc.be/)

  

Female Rally Drivers after 1950: France in the 21st century

Charlotte Berton (left) and Charlène Gallier

Currently, France is home to many of Europe's female rally drivers. At any one time, there are multiple female crews on French rallies, seemingly more than in other European nations, and certainly more than in the UK. Charlotte Dalmasso now has her own post, as do Laure Jaussaud, Rosine Chauffour, Sarah Rumeau and Pauline Dalmasso.

Below are profiles of some of them. 

Harmonie Bagnol - rallies small cars, mostly in French regional events. She has been active since 2011, when she tackled the Rallye Regional Mistral in a Peugeot 205. This was replaced with a Renault Clio in 2015 and she competed in it regularly during the 2018 season. She entered fewer events in 2019, but she did score her best finishes of her career: 20th overall in the Mistral Rally, after a class win in the Sarrians regional rally. Her best finish in 2020 was a 38th place in the Vesuble Regional Rally, with a fourth in class, although she won her class in the Haute-Provence National Rally. Her overall position was 51st. She only finished one of her two rallies in 2021, a situation she repeated in 2022. In 2023, she got a new car, a Peugeot 208, which she continued to rally in 2024. She is also a regular co-driver to Sebastien Delors; the pair have competed together since 2013.

Jessy Barrat – active in French rallies since 2009. Between then and 2013, she rallied a Renault Clio, and was a regular in the Rallye des Vins Mâcon, her local rally. In 2014, she acquired a Peugeot 206 RC, and competed a little more widely. Her best overall result that year was 39^th, in the Matour Rally. Her 2015 season looked very similar, and the Matour event remained her best. She was 38^th, and fifth in the F2 class. In 2016, she scored an F2 class win on the Rallye Internationale de Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise, and was 27th overall. Her car was still the Peugeot.  In 2017, she continued to enter the 206 into her local National rallies. Her best finish was 30th, at Matour. In 2018, she returned to the Brionnais Rally for the first time in five years and picked up her best result of the year: 21st, with a class win. Her 2019 schedule was very similar and used the same car. The Brionnais Rally was her best event again; she was 20th. The car was the same for 2020, although she only entered the Hautes-Cotes Regional Rally in it. 2021 was another single-event year; she was 35th in the Rallye Regional de Matour. However, she competed more widely in 2022, with a best result of 26th in the Brionnais regional rally. This was her best event again in 2023, giving her a 28th place. The Mautour event was her best in 2024 and she was 21st, from 89 finishers.

Karine Bertarini – competes in a Peugeot 207 in the French national rally championship, in the Amateur category. In 2016, she won the Coupe des Dames in the Rallye d’Antibes-Côte d’Azur. She was 66^th overall, and seventeenth in the Amateur rankings. This was only her second rally of the year, and her fourth overall. She started in 2015, with a Citroen Saxo and a Renault Clio. Her co-driver is Emmeline Quadriga.

Delphine Brigaudeau (Libessart)  - French driver who has been rallying Peugeots in recent years. She entered many rallies in 2008 and 2009 in a 106, assisted by Caroline Potier. This car was exchanged for a 306 in 2010. Her driving career began in 2007, after starting out as a navigator. For the past three years, her performances in regional rallies have been good enough for her to qualify for the season-ending Finale of the French championship season. In 2011, she spent some time co-driving for Stephane Riehl, but she returned to the driving seat in the 306 in 2012, eager to win the Ladies' crown. However, she only seems to have entered the Le Touquet rally, in which she was 80th. In 2014, she returned to the French regional stages, in a Citroen Saxo. She entered three rallies, finishing two of them, with a best finish of 55th in the Pays de Dieppe National Rally. She is now a successful co-driver with David Salanon.

Morgane Cadet - driver and co-driver who competes on Reunion, under a French license. She has been active since 2016, starting as a navigator to Ludovic Cadet in a Peugeot 205. She began driving herself the following year, with the unusual rookie car choice of a Toyota Celica GT-4. She scored one class win in the Bourbon Rally. Since then, she has driven a Peugeot 206 and a Renault Clio, but has not managed to finish many of her events. Her 35th place in the 2021 Rallye National de Reunion was her first since 2017, and she entered the 2022 Plaine-des-Palmistes regional rally in a Peugeot 106. She spent some of 2018 co-driving Bernard Clement’s Rover 25.

Sylvie Cancellieri - has competed in France in a Peugeot 206 kit car since at least 2007. In 2009 and 2010, her co-driver was Dominique Sereni. They were very active all over the country in the French championship during those two years. Sylvie has one WRC start, the 2008 Tour de Corse, but she retired with a mechanical problem. Her co-driver then was Jeanne-Dominique Cancellieri.  

Aline Chollet – driver and co-driver active since the mid-2000s. She began as a navigator in 2005, before taking the wheel herself in 2006 in French Regional rallies. Between 2006 and 2012, she rallied a Peugeot 106, before switching to a Renault Clio Ragnotti in 2012. Her second year in the Clio was quite successful, with a series of class wins in the France Cup. The best of these was a fifteenth place in the Rallye Régional du Frontonnais. 2015 was not quite as successful, although she still remained competitive in class in the Clio, and also tackled more National-level events. She won her class in the Monts de Blond rally, and had a best overall finish of eighteenth, in the Rallye National de la Fougère. The Mont des Blonds Rally was her best event in 2016, and she was seventeenth overall. This was one of two top-twenty finishes for her that season. For most of the year, she drove the Ragnotti Clio, although she did drive a Renault Twingo in the St Emilion national rally. Among the drivers she has sat alongside is Sophie Micheneau. She concentrated on driving in 2017, and was rewarded by two class wins, in the Pays-Basque and Vienne et Glane rallies. She was 16th overall in the former. Her car was the Clio. Her results continued to improve in 2018, with a fourteenth in the Cieux-Monts de Blond Rally and a tenth place in the Cotes de Garonnes event. 2019 was a shorter season with a car change part-way through; she swapped the Clio for a Peugeot 106 in which she finished 36th in the Agora-Thiberien Rally. Back in a Clio, she entered the Bordeaux Aquitaine Classic event in 2020, although she did not finish. She did finish the three National and Regional rallies she entered in 2021, as well as the two further events she did in 2022. Her best result was a 34th place in the 2022 Rallye Regional de Matour. She did two different rallies in 2023, winning her class in the Sequanie regional event. This programme was expanded to five in 2024.

Clara Couval – rallies a Renault Clio Ragnotti in France. She normally competes in Regional events, and has been active since 2014, when she scored a class win in the Ajolais Rally. Her 2015 season was a busy one, with twelve rallies. The best of these was probably the Rallye Régional des Vallées, in which she was 18^th, and second in class. This was her third top-twenty finish of the year. She also won the Ladies’ class in the Coupe de France finals, finishing 60^th overall. In 2016, she was still rallying the Clio. It was another busy season, and her results continued to improve. She finished in the top twenty three times, the best of these being a twelfth place in the Vallée de l'Ognon regional rally. The car was still good in 2017, and helped her to four top-twenty finishes and two class wins. She returned in 2019 after a season away, a much improved driver. She was a regular top-20 finisher in the Clio and her best result was eleventh in the Haute Saone Regional Rally. This momentum was not carried through to 2020; she did not finish either of the rallies she entered. The same unfortunately happened in 2021 and 2022. 

Manon Dauphin - active in French rallies since 2015. She has always driven a version of the Renault Clio, most recently a Rally5-spec car. In 2023, she won the Rally5 class in the Rallye Regional de la Fourme Ambert and the Rallye National des Monts Dome. In the latter, she was 27th overall, one of the best finishes of her career. She was also 24th in that year's Pays d'Olliergues regional event, from 112 finishers. Her first car was a Clio III RS, and she used in the 2015 Noix de Firminy Regional Rally, finishing 101st.  

Marine Delon – driver and co-driver who competes in French national and international rallies. She has been active as a driver since 2014, usually driving either a Suzuki Swift or a Peugeot 205. Her best overall result has been a 69^th place, in the Vaison-la-Romaine Rally. She was driving the 205. As a co-driver, she has been a regular in French rallies since 2010, including navigating on the Monte Carlo Rally twice, in 2015 and 2016, sitting beside Charlotte Dalmasso and Jérémy Fargier respectively. In 2016, she did some more rallies as a driver, in the 205. She finished one of her three events, the Vaison-la-Romaine regional rally. She stuck to co-driving between 2017 and 2020, although she did enter two rallies in 2020, driving a Peugeot 206. She used the same car for a further outing in the Bas Vivarais Regional Rally. 

Edith Deroy – rallies normally in the northern parts of France. In recent years, her car has been a Renault Twingo. In 2015, she competed almost every week during the rally season, with a best finish of 34^th, with a class win, in the Ardennes Rally. It was one of twelve class wins she achieved that year. She began rallying seriously in 2008, after several years as an occasional co-driver. Her other cars have included a Peugeot 205 and Citroen Saxo. In 2016, she was still competing in northern France in the Twingo, with a best finish of 35^th, in the Dieppe-Normandie Rally. She scored five class wins. In 2017, she did four rallies in her usual area, scoring four class wins in the Twingo. This dropped to two rallies in 2018, with two class thirds. In 2019, she only entered the Eperney Vins de Champagne Rally. 

Coralie Desaint Bouville – has rallied a Citroen AF GTi in France since 2008. She is a Tarmac specialist whose schedule each year takes in the Le Touquet, Marquenterre and de la Lys rallies. In 2016, she won the Coupe des Dames in the Rallye Le Touquet, and was second in class. She was 67^th overall. The best result of her career came on a rare trip to the Rallye du Ternois, in 2012. She was 46^th. The Ternois event was also her best in 2018, when she was 55th, and in 2019. In 2023, she also entered the Boulonnais Rally, finsihing 114th. Previously, she was active in hillclimbs, in a Mini. 

Margot Dupuy - rallies a Renault Clio in France. She had her first car, which was in Rally5 spec, from at least 2020 to the beginning of 2022, when she crashed out of the Rally Le Touquet. After that, it was replaced by another Rally5 Clio. Her best finish was in 2022, when she was 41st in the Rallye d’Antibes Cote d’Azur, until she beat this by one place in 2023, finishing 40th in the Rallye Coeur de France. She is from a rallying family and her father Frederic Dupuy sometimes co-drives for her.

Monique Ehrensperger – active since at least 2001. She has always driven a Mitsubishi Lancer, starting with a Group N Evo III and moving on to a Group A Evo V in 2006. She favours tarmac rallies. Her best season has probably been 2014, when she won class A8 in the Rallye d’Epine Mont du Chat, finishing 62nd overall. This was backed up by three class seconds. Her best overall finish was 44^th, in the Ain-Jura Rally (she was fourth in class). In 2015, she managed another class win in the Mont Blanc-Morzine Rally, and was 117^th overall. 2016 was affected by mechanical failures on the Lancer, and Monique also pulled out of two rallies for personal reasons. She won her class in the Bornes National Rally, and was 45th overall. In 2017, her car was more reliable, although she did not score any more class wins. The Lancer continued to be temperamental in 2018 and she only finished three of her six rallies. She experimented with an Evo IX in 2019 and was rewarded with a 28th place in the Ardeche Regional Rally. The experiments continued over two rallies in 2020 and she finished the Mont Blanc-Morzine event. She stuck with the Lancer for 2021, competing in both France and Switzerland. In 2022, driving the same car, she managed a 42nd place in the Rallye National des Vins Macon. She used the same car in French tarmac rallies in 2023 and 2024.

Julie Galpin - driver and co-driver in France, in a Citroen C2. As a co-driver, she partners Olivier Bacle in the IRC, and other major events. As a driver, she competes in the French championship, where she has been active since at least 2008, when she drove a Team FJ Mitsubishi. In 2009, she was part of the Citroen Racing Trophy in the C2-R2 category, and she has stayed with the marque ever since. She and Anais Faussabry were the first all-female crew in the Rallye Le Touquet. In 2010, she took part in more French rallies with Amélie Arrivé, including the Le Touquet and St. Emilion events. In 2011, she continued to rally the C2, with a best finish of 33rd, third in class. She switched to a Fiesta for the Rallye du Var, but was only 108th. She also co-drove for Olivier Bacle in some bigger events. Her father is Jean Galpin, a regular on the French scene. In 2013, she co-drove for him after two years out, due to pregnancy. In 2014, she did some rallies in a Citroen DS3, and achieved a third in class in the Vallée du Cher National Rally. She was 41st overall. In 2017, she made a brief comeback on the Vins de Chinon et du Veron Rally, in the DS3, but did not finish. Another single-event outing happened on the 2020 Fougere Regional Rally and she was driving a Peugeot 106. She tried out a Citroen Saxo for the 2022 Lochois regional rally, finishing 73rd. 

Danielle Gamba - rallied a Citroen Visa GTi in 2010. She came second in her region’s Ladies’ rally championship, after a series of solid, if unspectacular finishes. Among the rallies she entered were the Rallye du Chasselas, Rallye du Quercy and the Rallye des Thermes. Her co-driver was usually Alexandre Gamba, although Marina Perel stood in on occasion. Danielle and Alexandre have returned to the stages in 2011, still in the Visa, and continue to compete in their regional championship. She was still driving the Visa in 2012, as well as a Peugeot 205 GTi, entering mainly regional rallies. She rallied the Visa again in 2013, and entered the Rallye Regional des Thermes, which she did not finish. 

Elodie Gines - driver and co-driver who has been active since at least 2006, using several different small cars. Her first one was a Renault Clio Williams, which was then replaced by an RS Clio that she used between 2007 and 2011 and a Citroen Saxo. She has been most successful in a Peugeot 208, which she rallied between 2019 and 2021. Her best finish has been 17th in the Rallye National de l’Epine-Avant Pays Savoyard. In 2022, she went back to a newer Clio, running in Rally5 spec. She was twelfth in the French Tarmac Championship, with a best finish of 23rd in the Rallye National. This included a class win and a ladies’ class win. For 2023, she switched between the two cars, earning her best finish in the Peugeot: tenth in the Rallye Regional du Pays de Faverge. She also tried out an RGT-spec Alpine A110 Rally for the Rhone Charbonnieres Rallye, and was 46th overall form 84 finishers. She stuck with the 208 for 2024, earning a top-twenty position in the Pays de Faverges regional rally. She was 20th overall and first lady.

Claire Gotti (Hocquaux) – rallied Citroens in France between 2009 and 2014, normally in her home state of Alsace-Lorraine. Between 2009 and 2011, she used a Saxo. After a break, she returned in 2014 with a C2. Her best result seems to have been a 37^th place in the Lorraine National Rally in 2011. She was second in class. Before switching to the driver’s seat, she navigated for other drivers from 2002. 

Laetitia Guiraud - competes in French national rallies on asphalt, always using a Peugeot. She started rallying seriously in 2010, driving a 205. This appears to have been written off in the 2011 Vins du Gard National Rally. She returned in 2015 with a 106, which she is still using in 2020. Her best result in this car has been a 38th place in the 2018 Cigalois National Rally, an asphalt event in which she normally runs well. She occasionally enters French Tarmac Championship rallies, including the 2018 Criterium des Cevennes, in which she was 58th and second in class. Her best finish in 2021 was in the Camisards Regional rally; she was 65th overall. This improved to a 35th place in the 2022 Rallye National Montaigne Noire. She did not better this in 2023 but did win Clas N1 in two events. She continued to compete extensively in French Tarmac rallies in 2024.

Camille Henry - drove in French rallies in 2004 and 2005 in a Peugeot 206 XS. Her best result was 12th in the 2004 Rallye Montagne Noire. She was also 17th in the 2005 Rallye des Vins at Macon, driving the same car.

Clarisse Jacquot - rallies a Peugeot 106 in France, mostly in regional events. She began in 2022 and had a best finish of 66th in the Brionnais Regional Rally. This is usually her best event. In 2024, she took part in her first international rally, the Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise Rally. It was shortened to a single day due to a French election and she was 78th, second in class. Her car has always been the 106. 

Pascale Jaffrennou (Pottecher) – former judo and jujitsu champion in France who took up rallying and racing in the 2000s. As a rally driver, she mostly competed in the Suzuki Rally Cup in France, driving a Swift. She first entered the series in 2007, but only really did a full calendar in 2009, when she was eleventh in the Cup. Her best event was the Rallye de Touquet – Pas de Calais, in which she was 60^th overall and sixth in the Suzuki Rally Cup. Her last event seems to have been the Terres de Catalunya Rally in Spain, in 2012. Between 2014 and 2016, she did some circuit racing in the Twin Cup, an all-female championship for the Renault Twingo in France. She did another season in the Twin Cup in 2017. In 2022, at the age of 60, she entered her first Dakar Rally, in the Light Prototype class. 

Sophie Laurent – 2015 French Ladies’ Rally Champion. She always drives Peugeots, having started rallying in 2013 in a 306. Her best finish that year was 27^th in the Rallye National de la Pleine, and she also scored a class win in the Rallye Vosgien. In 2014, she competed in an impressive eighteen rallies, in the 306. She achieved two more class wins, in the Pleine event and the Rallye Régional des Vallées. Early in 2015, she upgraded the 306 for a 207, and embarked on a programme of mostly national rallies, plus a run in the Tour de Corse. She won the Tour de Corse Coupe des Dames, finishing 61^st overall. Due to the step up in competition, her overall finishes this year were not quite as high. She did manage a 26^th place in the Pays de Montbéliard Regional Rally. Still in the 306, she did a mix of national and regional rallies in 2016. Her best finish was 28th, in the Luronne National Rally, and this was combined with a class win. The 306 was not as reliable in 2017. Her best finish was 24th in the Vallee de l'Ognon Rally. She did not finish three events mid-season. In 2018, she only did two rallies, finishing one, the Jura regional event. She was 29th. In 2019, she did two rallies in the same car, finishing 48th in the Sel Regional Rally. She made a comeback in 2023, still in the 309, and was 36th in the Rallye Regional des Vallees, her best rally of five. In 2024, she was back to full-time competition in the Peugeot.

Katia Marcq - active in French rallies since at least 2014. From 2017, she has rallied a Subaru Impreza GT Turbo. She was second in the French ladies’ championship in 2017, with Aurelie Crepin on the maps. Her best result in the Impreza has been a 39th place in the 2018 Boulonnais National Rally, followed by finishing 45th and third in class in the Le Bethunois National Rally, out of 88 finishers. She drove the Impreza in two asphalt rallies in 2020, and three more in 2021, finishing the Rallye National Le Bethunois in 79th place. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, she competed quite widely in the Impreza in France, in both regional and national events.

Sophie Micheneau - has been rallying in France since 1997, first as a navigator. She began driving seriously in 2007, first in local events in the south of France, then much farther afield. From the start, she won Coupes des Dames, and was a contender in her class. Her overall finishes were midfield, although she was not immune to car trouble. In 2010, her best finish was a 24th place in the Rallye de Bonaguil, with a class win and a Coupe des Dames. Her car since 2007 has been a Citroen Saxo. She is mostly navigated by Marie Noëlle Ratier. In 2011, she drove in six regional and national rallies in France, and won her class in the Rallye National Pays Basque. In 2012, she continued to rally the Saxo, although her activities were limited after she broke her hand on the Rallye des Vins in Macon. She has also driven in the Rally Aïcha des Gazelles twice. In 2013, she did at least some French national or regional rallies in the Saxo, including the Rallye Macon des Vins.    

Tiphaine Parent – rallies a Renault 5 Turbo in Regional and National events in France. Her first rally was the Rallye National du Suran, in 2013. She did not finish. The following season, she finished six of the eight rallies she entered, and had a best finish of 65^th, in the Rallye Régional Ruppéen. She continued to compete in 2015, with navigator, Charline Dichamp. Late in the season, she rallied a Renault Clio instead of the 5. Her season in 2016 looked quite similar, although she was much quicker. Her best finish jumped up to a 38th place, in the Rivière Drugeon Regional rally, driving the Clio. She had a similar season in 2017, in the Clio, but also managed her first top-thirty finishes: 30th in the Rallye Centre Alsace and 29th in the Rallye National du Sel. In 2018, she rallied the Clio extensively around France. The Rivière Drugeon was her best rally again and she was 32nd. She continued her form in 2019 and had a best finish of 27th in the Sel Regional Rally. She also rallied in Switzerland for the first time in the Criterium Jurassien. She did one rally in 2023, the Bas-Vivarais Regional event, but did not finish. Tiphaine also acts as a co-driver.

Morgane Partal - competes in rallies on Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian ocean. She normally drives a Suzuki Swift but has used a Citroen C2 on occasion. She began her career in 2017 and used both cars in her debut season. Her best finish was 28th in the C2, in the Bourbon Rally. The Swift was her preferred car in 2018 and she scored class wins in the Denis Hoarau and Bourbon rallies. Her best 2019 result also came in the Citroen: 40th overall and a class win in the Tour Auto Reunion National Rally. This improved to 18th in the 2021 Ronde National de l'Est. She switched to a Rally4-spec Peugeot 208 in 2022, scoring four top-twenty finishes. She continued to rally the Peugeot in 2023, although she did use a Rally5 Clio for her final rally of the year. This was the Rallye National des 1000km de la Reunion, in which she was 24th, her best finish. This was improved to an 18th place in the Ronde National de l'Est. Morgane is usually co-driven by one of her sisters, Laurence Partal or Julie Hospital.

Myriam Peretti – active in French rallies since 2013. She is based in Corsica, and her first rally was the Rallye National de Corte, in a Peugeot 106. She continued to rally in Corsica throughout 2014, and was rewarded with four class wins, as well as her first top-ten finish, a third place in the Mare et Machja National Rally. In 2015, she raised her sights even higher, entering her first WRC Rally, the Tour de Corse. She was 80^th overall, second in class A6 and third in the Women category. In 2016, she was strong in the National de Corte and the Vallée du Prunelli rallies, in the 106. She was seventeenth and thirteenth respectively. In 2017, she managed class wins in the Giraglia and Paese Alaccinu Rallies, although she did not finish as highly as she had done before. The Giraglia was the best of the two rallies she did in 2018. She finished 22nd and won her class. In 2019, she mostly stuck with the Clio and earned two class wins, a thirteenth and 16th place in the Centru di Corsica and Giraglia events. She did two events in 2020 in the Clio and a Citroen Saxo, then entered her first Monte Carlo Rally for 2021, driving a Ford Fiesta. She also entered a second WRC roiund, the Rally of Sardinia, but did not finish. In 2022, she did one rally, the Aiacciu Corsica National event, in a Citroen Saxo, but did not finish. In 2023, she did four mainland rallies, finishing two. Her usual navigator is Elodie Masson, who has been with her from the start.

Caroline Potier - co-driver turned driver who is active in rallies in northern France. She has been driving since 2010 and navigating since 2007. Her normal car is a Peugeot 205 GTi, although she has also rallied a Renault Clio. She has driven in the Boulonnais Regional Rally five times and it is her best event; she scored a career-best 35th place in the 2017 rally. Her usual co-driver is Marie Laine.

Angélique Le Roi - rallies a Peugeot 106 in asphalt events, in the French National series. She appears to have begun in 2013, and her first major event was the Rallye Régional de Fourmies et Avesnois, in which she was 50th overall, and fourth in class. In 2014, her best result was 44th, achieved in the Rallye Régional du Boulonnais and the Rallye National du Ternois. At the Boulannais event, she also scored a win in class A6. Despite finishing in a lower position on the Rallye Régional Routes Picardes, she managed another class win. She won Class A6 twice in French rallies in 2015, driving the 106, in the Envermeu and Picardie rallies. Her best overall result was 37th, in the Normandie Rally. The 106 was her car again for 2016, and she entered seven rallies, finishing five of them. In 2018, she made a small comeback and entered two events in the 106. She expanded her programme to four rallies in 2019 and won her class in the Porte Normande and Marquenterre events. Neither of her two 2020 outings led to a finish. After a break, she returned in 2022 and did six rallies in northern France. She took 2023 off, but returned in 2024. Her navigator is Patrice Wisniewski, who is also French.

Charlotte Rongiconi - driver and co-driver, seemingly active since 2008. When driving, her car is usually an F2-spec Peugeot 205. With different co-drivers, she has entered several rallies in France during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, usually based on Corsica. She started off as a navigator to Charles Rongiconi in a Talbot Samba. They occasionally swap seats. In 2010, Charlotte also navigated for Xavier Quilici in a Peugeot 306, an arrangement which continued into 2011. She drove a Peugeot 106 in French regional rallies in 2012.  In 2013, she seems to have gone back to navigation again, with Pierre Antoine Guglielmi. 

Laura Salini – Corsican driver who rallies a Peugeot 106 in French rallies. She started in 2013, in Corsican rallies, but did not finish any of her events. She had a better year in 2014, still based in Corsica, the highlight of which was a fifth place in the Rallye National Mare e Machja. She continued to compete in Corsican rallies in 2015, as well as making one journey to the mainland for the Rallye Fleurs et Parfums at Grasse. She drove a Citroen DS3 in preference to her Peugeot, but did not finish. In 2016, Laura and Myriam Peretti co-drove for one another, in the 106. Laura won her class in the Tour de Corse, and was 39th overall, in a Suzuki Swift. In the 106, she won her class in the Paese Aiaccinu, and was 31st in the Ronde Nationale de la Giraglia. In 2017, she shared her Citroen Saxo with Myriam Peretti on several occasions, and also co-drove for Myriam in her Peugeot. The pair, with Laura at the wheel, won their class in the Mare et Machja Rally. She won her class again in the 2018 Tour de Corse, finishing 40th overall. This was her second of the year, after a class win and 20th in the Cote des Nacres Rally. She continued to rally the Citroen on Corsica and the mainland in 2019, winning her class in the Sartenais-Valinco Rally. In 2021, as well as co-driving with Myriam, she did some Italian rallies in a Citroen C2. The best of these was the Rally Terra Sardo, in which she was 31st. Using both the C2 and a Saxo, she did a few Italian and French events in 2022. In 2023, she shared driving and co-driving duties with Myriam Peretti, with Laura taking on most of the Corsican events in a series of Citroens and a Peugeot 306. In 2024, she acquired a Citroen DS3, which she used for some rallies, but she only finished one.

Sabrina Sanchez - has rallied mainly in the south of France since 2002, when she was 22. Together with navigator Loriane Forgues, she is a regular Coupe des Dames winner in the rallies she enters, as well as often winning class A7. There are usually about five female crews on these events. Up to 2007, she drove a Peugeot 205, but after 2008, this has been replaced by a 206. Her best overall finish seems to be an eleventh place in the 2011 Rallye du Pays Cathare. She also scored two class wins in 2011. In 2012, she took part in five French championship events, one as co-driver to Maude Crepin. She did not have the funds to compete in 2013. 

Delphine Schlennstedt-Cretin - active in French rallies since at least 2004, always driving French cars. She began competing quite extensively in 2015, driving a Citroen AX GTI. For the next couple of years, she was a leading class N1 driver and scored class wins in the 2015 Viviers-Pays Haut National Rally and the 2017 Lorraine National Rally. Towards the end of 2017, she experimented with a Peugeot 106 and a Renault Clio, which she continued to rally in 2018, before settling for a Citroen Saxo. Her best result in this car has been a 35th place in the 2018 Nancy Regional Rally, from 55 finishers. The Lorraine Rally was her best in 2019 and she was 51st, third in class. Her best result improved to 40th for 2020, with a class second in the Rallye National Centre Alsace. She won her class in the Nancy and Vallee de l'Ognon Regional rallies in 2021. In 2022, she added two more class wins to her tally, in the Vosges-Grand-Est and Centre Alsace rallies.

Stephanie Valcourt – rallies a Peugeot 106 in French regional events. Her first season in major rallies seems to have been 2014. In 2015, she was very active in the France Cup, although her small Class N2 car was nowhere near fast enough to challenge for overall position. Her best result was 67^th, achieved at the Côte Roannaise Rally and the Pays d’Olliergues Rally. The Matour Rally gave her her best class finish, a ninth place, although she was 89^th overall. In 2017, she only did one major event, the Coutillerie et du Tire Bouchon Rally, in the 106. 

Lucie Vauthier - had her first season of French rallying in 2012. Her car was a Citroen C2 R2 Max. She entered three French tarmac championship rounds, with a best overall result of 67th, in the Rallye Le Touquet-Pas de Calais. She was 43rd in the French Tarmac standings. Earlier, she was 75th in the Rallye Région Limousin-Lac de Lassivière. Sadly, Lucie died following an accident in the Rally des Vins Maĉon, her third Tarmac Championship event. 

Stephanie Verne - competed in French rallies in 2009 and 2010. Her car was a Peugeot 205 and her co-driver was Audrey Minery. She also drove in regional events around Vosges in 2008 and 2009 in the same car, but with different navigators. She has qualified for the Finale of the French championship three times, in each year of competition. Her best results were Coupes des Dames, as her F2 Peugeot was not powerful enough to challenge for the major honours. She does not appear to have competed much in 2011, but her name was back on the entry lists for 2012, for the Rallye de Meuse at least. She did some regional rallies in 2013, in the 205, with a best finish of 77th in the Rallye National Vosgien. She entered the Vosgien event again in 2014, in the 205, and was 80th overall, in the National section. She also competed extensively in Regional events in France, securing three class wins and a best finish of 44th, in the Lorraine Rally.  In 2015, she won her class in the 14 Juillet Rally, in the 205, and was 74th overall. She scored another class win in the Vosgien event, and was 71st. 

Fabienne Vergnes - active in French rallies since 2011, always driving a Peugeot 106. She competes on both tarmac and gravel. 2015 was probably her best year, and she spent it mostly on gravel. Her best result was a 62nd place (out of 87) in the St-Geniez-d’Olt Rally, with a class third. She was second in class in the Terre des Cardabelles Rally, but was 64th overall. In 2016, she mainly rallied on tarmac, but did not finish any of her events, due to mechanical problems. She had a new Ford Fiesta in 2017, but an accident on the Aveyron-Rouergues Rally seems to have curtailed her season.

Vanessa Verry -  has been rallying on and off since 2001. To begin with, she combined navigation in local rallies with slalom events. From 2001 on, she co-drove in local rallies with Laurent Corbineau. In 2011, she started taking stage rallying seriously, and began driving herself, in a Peugeot 106. In 2013, she achieved her first small victory: a class win in N2, and 19th overall, in the Rally National Coeur de France. In 2014, she entered the France Women Cup, driving a Renault Twingo. This class runs in French national rallies. Her best finish is second, in the Rally Le Touquet - Pas-de-Calais, and she was 72nd overall. Her best overall finish was 41st, in the Bretagne National Rally. Despite some retirements this year, she was third in the French Ladies' standings. She drove a Peugeot 208 in 2015, and won her class in the Sud De France Rally. She was 32nd overall. This was her best result. In 2016, her best result by far was a seventeenth place in the Val de Sevre Rally, driving a Renault Clio. She used a Peugeot 206 for the rest of the season. 2017 was an underwhelming year for her. She survived a fire in the Clio on the Rallye du Touquet unscathed, but had a shorter season than before. 2018 was another short season, with a best finish of 22nd in the Rallye de la Vie, driving a Peugeot 208. She drove three different Peugeots in 2019: the 208, a 206 and a 106. In 2020 she tried another Twingo and won her class in the Rallye Regional de la Vie. 

Allison Viano – rallied a Citroen Saxo in French regional rallies, in 2015. Her best events were the Roches Brunes and de la Croisette rallies, where she won her class. She was 44^th in the Roches Brunes, and 40^th in the de la Croisette Rally. Her co-driver was Mylène Icard. Prior to this, she had acted as a navigator to Alain Viano, since 2012. In 2016, she teamed up with Katia Lesser and Cecilia Choi in the Saxo. Her best finish was 24th, in the Pays de Grasse National Rally. She was the 2017 French ladies' champion, driving a Ford Fiesta. Her best event was the Rallye du Limousin, in which she was 41st, with a Ladies' class win and 16th in the French tarmac championship. In 2018, she defended her French ladies' title. Her usual car was the Fiesta but a one-off run in a Peugeot 208 in the Croisette Rally gave her her best finish: 20th. 2019 was a mix of regional and national rallies in the Fiesta, a Citroen DS3 and an R2-spec Citroen C2. The DS3 was the fastest and gave her a career-best finish of eighth in her favoured Croisette Regional Rally. She earned a third French ladies' title in 2020, mostly driving a DS3 but with some rallies in a Peigeot 208. She was also second in the French Tarmac 2WD championship. 2021 was a busy but less successful year, with a best finish of 34th on the Rallye Regional du Haut Pays Nicois. She also won her class on the Antibes and Coeur de France rallies. Her car for 2022 was a Rally5-spec Clio, which she used extensively in tarmac rallies in France. Her best finish was 18th in the Rallye Nationale Pays de Grasse. This was improved to 17th in 2023, at the wheel of a Rally4-spec Clio. This became her main car for an extensive season, before being upgraded to a Rally3 Clio in 2024, which she had a couple of outings in. The best of these was the Pays des Maures regional event, where she was 20th and first in class.

Sabine Virly - French driver active at regional and national level since at least 1992. She has driven Peugeots almost exclusively since 1999, starting with a 205 then using a 206 between 2007 and 2019, when she switched to a smaller 106. Her first car was a Talbot Samba. The 206 has probably been her most successful car; her best result in it has been 27th place in the 2017 Rallye National des Vins de Vouvray. She won her class in this event in 2016. As of 2024, she is still rallying in France.

(Image from http://www.opel-motorsport.com/)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: Spain

Isabel Ramos

There are not many Spanish drivers on my list as yet, but this may change in the future. Information about the Spanish Ladies' Rally Championship can be found here. Emma Falcon now has her own profile. Portuguese drivers can now be found here.

Ana Arche - drove for the Fiat team in 1996. She won the ladies’ award on the Monte Carlo Rally in a Cinquecento, co-driven by Arielle Tramont. She was 61st overall. The year before, she had navigated for Ana Barbero in a similar car, but retired. This was in edition to a full season in the Spanish Cinquecento Cup, and the European Cinquecento Challenge. Later, in 1998, she co-drove for Miguel Fuster in a Peugeot 106 Maxi, in the Spanish championship.

Ana Barbero - rallied small cars in Spain and Europe, mainly in the 1990s. After some early events in a Citroen Visa and Renault 11, she used a Citroen AX between 1991 and 1993, the most fruitful part of her career. Her best result was a second place in the Tino Cao Memorial Rally of Naron. Later, she was part of the Fiat Cinquecento Rally Challenge in Europe. This included her only WRC outing, the 1995 Monte Carlo Rally, where she was disqualified for her car having the incorrect ride height. Her daughter Ana Barreras now competes in ice racing and as a rally co-driver.

Angelica Camacho Pellon - runner-up in the Spanish women’s rally championship in 2016. She was mostly driving a Toyota Aygo, and it was her first season of serious rallying. She won the Ladies’ class on the Rally de La Nucía Mediterráneo, finishing 48th overall. Her best rally was the Rallye Ciutat de Xixona, in which she drove a Dacia Sandero, instead of the Aygo. She was 24th overall. In 2017, she rallied an Aygo in the Spanish Gravel championship, and won another Ladies' championship. Her best finish was 38th, in the Rallye Tierras Altas de Lorca. Another run at the Spanish Gravel championship in the Aygo gave her a best finish of 26th in the Circuito de Navarra, on her way to another Spanish ladies' championship. She also sampled a Hyundai i30 in the La Nucia-Mediterraneo event.

Andrea de la Fuente Lopez - Spanish driver who mainly competes in the Madrid area. She has been active since at least 2017 and drives a Suzuki Swift, although not always run by the same team. During a relatively short career, she has picked up a string of top-twenty finishes in the Madrid championship. The best of these has been a seventh place in the 2019 Rallye Norte de Extremadura. In 2018, she was twelfth in the Rally de Arganda del Rey. She entered the Ciutat de Gandia Rally in 2020, finishing 23rd and winning her class. Her best 2021 finish was a 27th place in the Disputacion de Avila Rally, from 58 finishers. In 2022, she did just one rally, the Rallycrono Ciudad de Cordoba, then another rallysprint in 2023. Her favoured surface is asphalt.

Hortensia Hernández – drove in Spanish rallies in the 1970s, mostly in the Canary Islands. She took part in the all-female rallies of the period, as well as mixed events. Her first big rally was the Rally Primavera-Las Palmas in 1973, a round of the Spanish women’s championship and an all-female event. She was seventh in a Hillman Imp. Later, between 1974 and 1978, she drove a Simca Rally II, and was eleventh in the mixed Rally Isla de la Palma in 1978. When she competed away from Gran Canaria, it was normally in women-only rallies, with some exceptions. In 1974, she was fourth in the Tenerife Rally, and was also fourth in the Spanish ladies’ championship. In 1975, driving a Simca, she won the Ladies’ Cup in the Rally of Spain, a mixed event. This led to a third place in the womens’ championship. Hortensia is still active in rallying, and was still competing in classic events, in a Talbot, in 2013.

Paloma Landete - winner of the Spanish women’s rally championship in 1978, driving a Chrysler Avenger. She entered eight of the 14 rounds of the Spanish rally championship, with a best finish of twelfth in the Rally of Maspalomas in the Canary Islands. She also entered the Rally of Portugal in the same car, with the same co-driver, Matilde Garcia de Oro. In 1976 and 1977, Paloma acted as co-driver for Nuria Llopis, who also won the Spanish women’s championship.

Virginia de León - Canary Islander who rallies a Fiat Punto in her home islands. 2014 appears to be her first year of competition. Mostly, she has taken part in slalom competitions in her rally car, and her best finish has been eleventh , in the Los Caracolitos event. Her best rally finish has also been eleventh, in the Rally Ciudad de Puerto del Rosario. She retired from her other gravel rally, the Rally de Antigua. In 2017, she was back in action in a Skoda Fabia. Her best finish was 17th in the Isla de los Volcanes Rally. This was one of three top-twenty finishes for her this year. She could not quite match that in 2018, with a best finish of 21st in the La Vega Nueva Rallysprint. In 2019, she was eighth in the Canary Islands Skoda Fabia Cup, with a best finish of 17th in the Ciudad Puerto del Rosario Rally. Rallysprints were her best events again in 2020 and she scored an eleventh place in the Naviera Armas Slalom. She ran well on gravel in 2021, finishing sixth in the Rally de Tierra Isla Verde. After a break, she began competing again in 2024, scoring two tenth places, in the El Matorral Slalom and the Rally de Antigua. Her car was the Fabia.

Milagros Ortega - winner of the Spanish women’s rally championship in 1971. She was driving a Renault 8 with Yolanda Maruri and won two of the championship’s four events. In 1972, she drove a Renault 12 in mixed competition, taking part in the Firestone Rally in Spain, but her result is not forthcoming. She only appears to have entered one women’s rally that year, the Saibil event, in which she was second. She was joint seventh in the championship.

Ruth Ortega Macias - rallied in Spain between 2017 and 2019. Her first car was a Peugeot 206 but it was quickly replaced by a Dacia Sandero which became her main car for the next two seasons. Most of her rallying was done on asphalt, but she did one season on gravel in 2019 and her best result was probably a 56th place in the Terra da Auga Rally. She became a mother fairly recently and too a break from the stages, but she was back rallying the 206 in 2021, in the Galician championship. In 2022, she acquired a Citroen C2 GT for tarmac rallies, but did not finish any of the four she entered. The C2 was replaced by a historic Fiat Seicento in 2023, and she finished on rally in it: the Rally Rias Altas Historico. In 2024, she did not finish the same event in the Fiat, but did manage to finish the Rallye Cidade de Naron in a Peugeot 208. She was 36th overall.

Monika Munoz - driver and co-driver from Spain, active since 2012. She started as a co-driver before moving to the driving seat in 2013. Her car since then has been a Citroen ZX. She mostly competes in rallysprint events and her best result has been a 24th place in the Aramaio event in 2020. Her best stage event has been the Rally Goilurrak, in which she finished 25th in 2020 and 2021. She has also finished 45th in the Gernika Rally, in 2020. After spending most of 2022 in the ZX, she drove a Peugeot 208 in the Villa de Llanes Rally, finishing 50th. Back in the ZX, she was 30th in the 2023 Aramaio Rallysprint, winning her class. In 2024, she did quite a lot of rallies in the ZX, mainly rallysprints, finishing two of them.

Helena Taberner – active in Spanish rallies since at least 2010. Among her early cars was a Peugeot 205, which she used in between 2010 and 2014. It was replaced by a Citroen Saxo in 2015. She competes in the Catalunya rally championship, driving for the Motor Club Sabadell team. Her best result in 2015 was a 28^th place in the Aviá Open Rally. She rallied the Saxo again in Catalunya in 2016, earning another 28th place in the Ciutat de Valls Rally. 

Nuria Viñas – three-times winner of the Spanish women’s rally championship, between 1972 and 1974. She used a BMW 2002 Ti, and was especially effective in the women-only rallies organised in Spain in the early 1970s. By this time, she had been competing for quite a while, and before her BMW, she had rallied in a Fiat-Abarth 600, taking part in the Costa Brava Rally in 1967, and finishing 18^th overall. Hers was a lengthy career, and she was still active in motorsport in 1978, driving a Ford Escort in hillclimbs in Catalunya. 

“Yolanda” (Simonetta Garih) – rather mysterious Spanish driver of the 1970s, whose full name is not usually recorded. She won the Spanish Ladies’ Rally Championship in 1974, driving a Mini Cooper. This seems to have been her first major season of competition. She was a leading figure in the Spanish women’s rally scene of the time, winning many events. She was third in the 1976 championship. As well as the women-only rallies popular in Spain at the time, she also entered mixed competitions. She was eighth in the Rallye Ciudad de Oviedo in 1974, in the Mini, and fourteenth in the 1975 Rallye Principe de Asturias, driving a Saab 96. Later, she was fifteenth overall in the Rally of Spain in 1977. Her car was a SEAT 1430. That year, she was third in the Ladies’ championship. This improved to second in 1978.

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