Jenny Birrell (Nadin)

 

Jennifer Birrell raced sports and saloon cars in the 1960s and 1970s, competing in the fore-runner of the BTCC and the Sebring 12 Hours.

As Jenny Nadin, she started motorsport through rally navigation, chiefly for Pat Moss. She sat beside Pat for a season with Ford, driving a Cortina GT, in 1963. Their best results together were a seventh place in the RAC Rally and sixth in the Acropolis. She and Pat had met in showjumping competitions, both of them having an equestrian background.

Not long after, she took the wheel in rallies herself, encouraged by Pat’s husband, Erik Carlsson. She started out with a Mini in the British championship, then branched out. Her international outings included a run in the RAC Rally in 1966, driving a Hillman Imp, and a trip to the 1967 Monte in a Ford. 

Rallying brought her into contact with racer, journalist and event organiser Nick Brittan, who became her manager. In 1967, he persuaded her to enter the British Formula Vee championship, which was making its UK debut that year. She surprised everyone by putting her car on pole and then winning at Silverstone. Nick Brittan had overtaken her on the line and led for most of the race, but a late spin put her ahead. 

There were accusations at the time that the Volkswagen team had orchestrated Jenny’s win for publicity. Formula Vee had launched a week after Formula Ford and a first win for a woman was a valuable talking point. Some claimed that Nick had planned to pull over and let Jenny through. Others claimed that both of the official Volkswagen cars had illegally-tuned engines. No wrong-doing was discovered and the win stood.

Still, she was second in the 1967 Formula Vee Championship in her first season of racing, weathering a crash at Silverstone and scoring more podium finishes. She continued to race in the series in 1968, but she did not do as well and had two rather serious crashes, at Mallory and Thruxton.

By 1970, she had married Scottish driver Graham Birrell and was racing a Ford Escort as Jenny Birrell. She won at least one race at a club meeting at Croft and made her British Saloon Car Championship (the precursor to the BTCC) debut. Her first race was in the wet at Silverstone in 1971 and she finished tenth, despite a puncture at the start.

Later, she drove in America for the first time. She was part of the all-female Ring Free Oil Team for the 1971 Sebring 12 Hours, with Rosemary Smith and Janet Guthrie, driving a Chevron B16. Jenny practiced in the car but did not actually race. Rosemary and Janet did not finish. 

For 1973, she was competing in the Castrol Production Saloon championship, driving a Simca Rallye. It was in this car that she made her next BSCC appearance in 1974, finishing eighth at Mallory. Later in the season, she did several more races in a Chrysler Avenger, earning a ninth place at Ingliston.

In 1975, she joined another all-female team and finished the Spa 24 Hours in a Triumph Dolomite, with Christine Beckers and Marianne Hoepfner. They were 24th, eighth in class. The car was sponsored by “Butch Tailor”, a Belgian menswear fashion brand. Back in the UK, she was team-mate to Bernard Unett for the BSCC, driving an Avenger. The pair often battled for class honours. Jenny’s best overall finish was fifth, at Oulton Park. The Halesfield Motors team also ran Jenny in that year’s Avon Tour of Britain, with another Avenger.

Rallies then became the focus of her career. She had been competing in British and Irish events on and off alongside her circuit-based activities, but she rallied more intensively later.

She was still entered British rallies between 1973 and 1974, using a Simca. In 1977, she was sponsored by Century Oils and drove a Triumph TR7 in the British championship. Her best finish was a 28th place in the Burmah Rally.

After a lengthy break from the stages, she reappeared for the 1983 Ulster Rally in a Talbot Sunbeam, co-driven by Gabriel Konig. She was 47th. Another Talbot, a Samba, was her preferred car for a season in Ireland in 1984, taking in events in both Eire and Northern Ireland, as well as the Manx Rally. Later, she switched to a Peugeot 205 and scored her best result of the season, a thirteenth place in the Killarney Rally of the Lakes.

The 205 took her through another season in the UK in 1985, and also her first trip to Turkey. She was third in the Rothmans Bravo Rally. This in turn led to a part-season in the 1986 Turkish championship, which yielded a fifth place in that year’s Bravo event.

For the next two seasons, she took part in the Maestro Challenge in the UK, driving an MG Maestro. After that, her career begins to wind down; she drove a 205 on the 1990 Ardennes Rally and then had a final run in the Manx Rally in 1992, driving a Lancia Delta Integrale.

The later part of her competition career coincided with a successful period in motorsport administration, working for the British Touring Car Championship and the National Formula Ford series, among others.

(Image from racingteamvee.com)

Nicole Drought

Nicole Drought is an Irish driver who mostly races saloon cars. She was the first female driver to win a round of the C1 Challenge in 2019.

Nicole first came to prominence racing touring cars in the Irish championship (ITCC). Her car was a Honda Integra, which runs in the Touring class. She started saving up for the car herself when she was 16.

2015 was her first year of serious competition, although she is from a motorsport family (mostly involved with rallying.) Her season got off to a shaky start with a crash in her first race, but she was soon on the pace. Her best finishes were a pair of second places, and she was second in the Touring class at the end of the season. As well as the Honda, she was invited to race a Porsche 944 at the Classic Car Live meeting, and finished fourth. 

She carried on in the ITCC with the Honda in 2016, in the Production class. After leading the Production standings for part of the season, she was fourth on the final leaderboard. She picked up her first win this year in the second round, at Mondello Park, crossing the line eight seconds in front of her nearest rival. She had been pushed off-track in the first race but still finished second in class. Her momentum was interrupted in later rounds due to car trouble.

Her first trip to the UK mainland was a run in a Global GT Light at Anglesey this year. As one of her first activities with the Sean Edwards Foundation, for which she is an ambassador, she also tested a Porsche GT3 at Paul Ricard.

A deal to run in the 2017 CSCC New Millennium Series in a Ginetta seems to have fallen through. She spent some of the season as a brand ambassador for Nissan, having reached the last eighteen of the NissanGenNext competition. She missed out on a prize drive.  

In 2018, she competed in Endurance Trials with a Nissan Micra. She was the Class 1A Endurance Trial champion in 2018 and defended her title in 2019 with several wins. On track, she raced in the 2018 Stryker sportscar series in Ireland, having first raced the Lotus Seven lookalike in 2017.

She also came to England for her first Citroen C1 endurance race for Preptech UK in 2018, with whom she would win the following year.

In the middle of 2019, she became the first female driver to win a round of the Citroen C1 Challenge, sharing with Colin Edwards at Anglesey. The pair were in the lead for a good proportion of the four-hour race, having started from eighth, and Nicole was 21 seconds ahead of her nearest rivals at the finish. Nicole and Colin raced together again at Snetterton but were only twelfth this time. 

She also raced in the Stryker Challenge and continued in Endurance Trials. Shortly after her C1 victory, she drove a Formula 1 car for the first time in a demonstration at Mondello Park. The car was an ex-Derek Daly March 811, as raced in 1981. It has a Guinness livery and was shipped over to Ireland especially by its owner John Campion. She also drove a Jordan owned by Campion in a private test in February, alongside James Roe Jr.

Nicole is a founding member of Formula Female, which was started by hockey player Nicci Daly. In March 2019, she challenged 20 of Ireland’s top sportswomen to beat her lap time around Mondello Park in her Stryker.

She moved to mainland UK to compete in 2020, driving a Porsche 718 Cayman in Britcar with CJJ Motorsport and the Valluga team. Her team-mates were Sean Doyle and Lorcan Hanafin. She was sixth in the championship and second in Class 4. Her best overall finish was fifth at Croft, in the first race of the season.

In 2021, she made one guest appearance in Britcar with the Motus One team, driving a Hyundai TCR car. She won her class at Silverstone with Danny Krywij.

Although she did not contest any full championships in 2022 either, she tried out some new disciplines, including historics. She demonstrated a Lola T70 at the Mondello Park Historic Festival, as well as racing a 1855 MGA. In England, she raced a Lotus Elise in the 750MC Club Enduro series and a Mini Cooper in the BRSCC Mini series, although not all of these outings was successful. She also raced in the C1 Cup and was third in her class in the Race of Remembrance, driving the C1.

Rallycross was her biggest new adventure. She raced a Renault Clio in both the Irish and British series.

She went back to the circuits in 2023, competing in the MSVR EnduroKa series. She was instantly on the pace and won her second race at Oulton Park. This had followed one-off drives in the Clubsport Trophy (in a Mini) and in a Group C Spice-Hart sportscar at the Mondello Historic Festival. It wasn't even her first win of the year: she won the Clubsport Trophy race at Donington after making a late deal. She also raced the C1 again.

Competing again in the UK and Spain, Nicole won the MSVR Trackday Championship in 2024. Her co-driver was Justin Roberts and their car was a Honda Civic. The pair were never out of the podium places. This followed a second Irish Open Clubman rallycross title for Nicole.

(Image from tipperarylive.ie)

Gabriel Konig

Gabriel with her Modsports MG

Gabriel Konig (not Gabrielle) was a much-travelled Irish driver who competed off and on from 1962. She was most successful in MG Midgets and a Chevrolet Camaro, winning 18 races in different series, at club and National level mostly.

Living at her mother’s Beaulieu House near Drogheda, she learned to drive very young; at ten, she was able to drive a tractor. She was a regular spectator at motor races with her mother, attending events at Dundrod and Curragh. She earned her driving license at seventeen, then four years later, began racing. By this time, she was married to Mark Konig, another racing driver and car builder, and living in London. Her first racing car was a Lotus Elite. A Lotus Elan soon followed. She rarely raced in her home country, but was a regular face on the scene in England, and also in continental Europe. In 1964, she was twelfth in the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood, in the Elan. The following year, she shared the Elan with Mark for the Nürburgring 1000km, driving for the WJ Moss team. They did not finish due to gearbox problems. That year, 1965, she entered the Autosport Championship in the Elan. Later in the year, she raced a much more powerful Ferrari 250 GTO at Silverstone, but crashed out.

In 1966, she took her first race win, driving a Hillman Imp. This was a National-level race at Mallory Park. This year, she returned to smaller cars, and was rewarded with results that went with her level of experience.

After a quiet 1967, during which she may have raced an Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite, she was taken on by John Brittan’s team in 1968. The car she was given was an MG Midget, and she raced in the Modsports series. This style of competition suited her well, and she ended the year with fifteen class wins. One of her best overall results was fourth at Mallory Park, with a win in the 1150cc class. The year before, she had been a member of the Ring Free Oil “Motor Maids” team in the USA, and had travelled to America for the Daytona and Sebring sportscar races. However, she seems to have been a reserve driver, and did not get to race. Her winning year in 1968 must have gone some way to making up for that.

Her first international win came in 1969. She was first at Fassberg in Germany, driving an Austin-Healey Sprite. The Brittan MG was still competitive, and she travelled to Italy to race in the Mugello Grand Prix, with Garo Nigogosian. They were 31^st, fifth in class, from 65 finishers. Also in Italy, Gabriel and Mark did the Targa Florio together, in the Nomad MkII. This car had been designed and built by Mark, and was powered by a BRM F1 engine. Sadly, an accident caused by a puncture put them out of the event on their third lap.

1970 was another year affected by accidents. Gabriel did not do much racing at all this year, as she suffered broken vertebrae in an accident in Brazil. She had been driving in a Formula Ford race at Sao Paulo, and crashed when the steering on her car failed. She was not permanently injured, but had to take almost a year out to recover.

Early in the following year, she returned to UK club racing as part of the “Carmen Curls”, an all-female team who raced a Royale in Formula F100. They were sponsored by Carmen hairstyling products, and Tina Lanfranchi was the team manager. Formula F100 was a poorly-supported series which folded at the end of the year and the Carmen Curls disappeared with it.

In 1972 her career went international again, with her first attempt at the Spa 24 Hours. She drove a Chevrolet Camaro with Marie-Claude Beaumont, a driver with considerable experience of both Chevrolet power and endurance racing. Sadly, they did not finish, due to a loss of oil pressure.

Despite her experience, Gabriel liked the car, and bought it to race for the 1972 season. She competed in the Irish Group 2 championship, now that motor racing had grown in her home country. At the end of 1972, she had it shipped to Guyana, where she would live and race for the next twenty years.

One of her first sporting appointments was joining the BOAC Speedbird team, which took British-based racers to the Caribbean, in partnership with the Guyana Motor Racing Club. Gordon Spice was one of her team-mates. She won at least two races in the Camaro at the South Dakota track in Guyana, and was second at Bushy Park in Barbados.

Among the cars that she raced during her Caribbean years was a Byldenstein Vauxhall Viva, built as a sister car to Gerry Marshall’s famous “Old Nail”. In this car, she won at least one race at Waller Field in Trinidad, in 1976.

During her time in Guyana, she raced again in Barbados. She was part of the group of enthusiasts initially responsible for bringing UK-based drivers to Barbados for its annual rally, something which continues to this day.

Gabriel was one of the founder members of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club, one of the first group of drivers to be invited to join. In 1968 and 1972, she received awards from the BWRDC for being the highest-achieving female driver in the British Isles.

She also rallied in the UK more recently, doing some classic events in a Ford Escort, among other cars, including a Hillman Imp and an Austin A40. In 1997, she entered the Tour Auto in France, driving a Vauxhall GT. Latterly, she owned her own motor museum at Beaulieu, based around a collection of her own racing cars.

She died in January 2013.

(Image from http://www.backroads.ie/forums)

Emma McKinstry

Kenny and Emma McKinstry

Emma McKinstry is a second-generation Northern Irish driver, a daughter of Kenny McKinstry. She is the only female McKinstry to compete seriously in motorsport, although her sister, Susan, has navigated for their father.

Her usual car is a Subaru Impreza, and her favoured surface seems to be Tarmac. She has driven in a variety of Irish and UK events, including the WRC Rally Ireland.

Her earliest rallying experience was co-driving for her father in the 2002 Lurgan Park Rally. The car was a Subaru Impreza WRC, and they were second overall.

Before the Impreza, the first car she drove herself in competition was a Peugeot 106. She used this car in both stage rallies and club hillclimbs. Her first major event, the International Ulster Rally, ended in retirement, but she was not put off, and returned the following year, to finish 24^th, and third in class. She also finished the Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally, in 58^th place.

For 2005, she had a new car, a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI. She handled the hike in power well, and captured her first top-twenty finish, an eighteenth place in the Kirkistown Eurocables Stages. Later in the season, she was 20^th in the Galloway Hills event, and in between, she drove in her first Rally of Ireland. She acquitted herself well against an international field of drivers, and was 24^th overall, out of 43 entries.

2006 was Emma’s busiest rallying year yet. Encouraged by her Rally of Ireland finish, and with some god sponsors behind her, she entered the British National Championship, and crossed over to mainland Britain for the first time. In Scotland in March, she was fourteenth in the Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally, and fifteenth in the Ulster International Rally. Her usual car this year was the Mitsubishi, but the Ulster rally was her first outing in a Subaru Impreza, meaning that she joined a very elite group of female drivers who have rallied WRC cars in anger. Back in the Lancer, she was eleventh in the Park Systems National Stages, and tenth in the Moonraker Forestry Rally, another visit to the Republic of Ireland, a first top ten, and proof that she could cut in on gravel as well as tarmac. She had started the year with her second Rally of Ireland, and was 21^st overall, in the Lancer.

She adopted the Impreza, run by McKinstry Motorsport, full-time in 2007. Her competition programme took in rallies in both parts of Ireland. She achieved three top-ten finishes, all on gravel this year: ninth in the Limerick Forestry Rally, sixth in the Cork Forestry Rally, and sixth in the Killarney Forestry Rally. She was just outside the top ten in the Lurgan Park Rally, in eleventh. Her third Rally of Ireland, running this year as a World Championship round, gave her a 35^th place.

Gravel was her preferred surface in 2008, and the top ten finishes continued. She was sixth in the Limerick Forestry Rally. Sadly, mechanical problems put her out of the Ulster Rally. The Impreza, in the hands of works Subaru WRC drivers, has always been more of a gravel car.

2009 was mainly spent on tarmac again. Her best result was sixth again, achieved at both Kirkistown and Bishopscourt. This year, she was Northern Ireland’s top female driver.

It was a much quieter year for Emma in 2010, with not much in the way of modern stage rallying. She did get out in historic competition, however, driving a Sunbeam Avenger. This was her first experience of driving a historic rally car, although she had navigated for her father in a MkII Escort previously. She entered the Circuit of Ireland, an event she had previously taken part in in modern machinery.

In 2011, she won the McKinstry Motorsport Rally Time Trial, driving an Impreza. This was her first outright win. Her season in the Northern Irish championship had several other highlights, including a fourth place in the Kirkistown Stages, seventh in the New Year and Lurgan Park rallies, and eighth in the Bishopscourt Stages.

In 2012, she was ninth in the McKinstry Time Trial, in an Impreza. This was another rather quiet season, with a ninth spot in the Hankook Down Rally as a highlight.

She was quite successful in 2013, with a fourth, fifth and ninth overall in Irish rallies. The ninth place came in the Ulster Rally, her highest finish in this particular event. For the Turkey Run Tarmac Stages, she stepped away from the Impreza, and drove a Proton Compact instead, but did not finish.

Her best 2014 finish was fourth, in the Winter Stages Rally. She was also sixth in the McGrady Insurance Bishopscourt Stages, and seventh in the Lurgan Park Rally, all in the Impreza. This was enough for tenth place in the Northern Irish championship, and another Northern Ireland Ladies’ award.

Emma continued to rally in 2015, although she was not officially contesting any championships. Her best result was fourth, in the New Year Stages Rally, a regular part of her rallying calendar. She was also seventh in the Kirkistown Stages Rally.

She rallied two different Imprezas in 2016. Starting with her previous '01 model, she was fifth in the Pacenotes Rally Magazine Stages Rally, the first round of the Northern Irish championship. In the summer, she rallied her father's '08 Impreza WRC, and was immediately third in the Tyrone Stages, another asphalt rally. She also won her class. In October, she had another outing in the '08 car, and was thirteenth in the Down Rally. 

2018 consisted of just the one rally for Emma. She was fourteenth in the Down Rally, driving the '08 Impreza.

Her comeback in 2020 was in a new car: a Ford Fiesta R5. Her two outings gave her two top-ten finishes. The first was a fifth place in the Bishopscourt Stages and the second was a seventh in the Kirkistown Stages. Both of these were relatively large events with 50-plus finishers.

She entered the 2021 Ulster Rally in the Fiesta, finishing 33rd. A couple of 2022 outings in the same car netted her a ninth place in the Race&Rally Stages and twelfth in the Kirkistown Stages. The Kirkistown Stages was also her best event in 2023, when she was 14th. 

She was still rallying the Fiesta in 2024, winning her class and the ladies' prize in the Northern Irish championship. Her best event finish was sixth, in the Tyrone Stages Rally. 

(Image copyright William Neill)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: UK & Ireland, Part I

Lola Grounds (right) and Mary Handley-Page (left)

Because of the large number of post-war female rally drivers from the British Isles, I have had to split this post into two halves. As ever, drivers are arranged alphabetically. Louise Cook now has her own post, as do Frankie Bogg, Jane Gunningham, Jean Denton, Chrissie Ashford, Lorna Snow, Janie Eaton, Sheleagh Aldersmith and Eleanor Allard.

Nikki Addison - driver and co-driver who rallies a Peugeot 106 in Scotland. She has used the same car since 2017 and normally works with the same co-driver, Rachel Matheson. Her best result so far has been a 21st place in the 2022 Kinloss Stages Rally. A year earlier, she was 23rd in the Annabelle Tennant Milltown Stages. The 106 was replaced by a Honda Civic part-way through 2023, which she rallied throughout 2024. As a co-driver, she has been active since 2015, sitting alongside a number of drivers including Bill Hamilton and James Munro.

Linda Allen - Scottish driver from Oban. She first competed in the Scottish Championship in a Vauxhall Astra, and campaigned one of these cars in the 2004 and 2005 Scottish championship. She moved on to a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4 in 2006, winning the Ladies’ award on the Snowman Rally and finishing 21st overall.

Jo Ashfield - one of the Rootes team's female driving squad in the 1950s. She was both navigator and driver, and sat alongside Mary Handley-Page, among others. In 1956, she was one of a team of lady Standard drivers, and drove a Vanguard in the Monte Carlo Rally. Her co-driver was Francoise Clark. The two had previously driven a Ford Zephyr in Monte Carlo in 1955. Jo appears to have been active since at least 1950.

Holly Bailey - British rally driver who competed in the BRC Stars of the Future junior rally series for two seasons, in 2005 and 2006. The sponsor for her Renault Clio and MG ZR was tights manufacturer Pretty Polly. As well as rally driving, she has co-driven in club rallies, and participated in many sprints and autotest events. Early in her career, she used her own road-going Nova. More recently, she has been involved in promotional road rallies for electric cars, alongside various celebrities. She has also done some navigating. After a long break, she returned to the stages in 2013, for a charity rally for Help For Heroes, but did not finish. Her car was her old ZR. She co-drove for John Taylor in 2014, and Ian Rix in 2015.

Kim Baker - rallied in the UK in the 2000s and 2010s, using cars including a MkII Escort. Her best season in the Escort was 2018, when she was 17th in the Greystoke Stages and then 18th in the Trackrod Historic Cup, winning her class. This was one of four class wins that year. A part-season in the 2014 British championship included a tenth place in the Pirelli Rally. Earlier in her career, she usually drove a Peugeot 205. Her debut was in 2013 at the wheel of a SEAT Ibiza, co-driven by Paul Heath.

Glenda Boyle - winner of the 2005 "Women in the Hotseat" Rally Challenge. She rallied a Peugeot 106 around the UK and Ireland in 2006 as her prize-drive . Part of her competition programme was the “Stars of the Future” class of the British Championship. She did some Irish rallies in 2007 with the Peugeot. In 2008, she drove a Honda Civic and appears to have entered more Irish events, including International rallies. She made a stronger return to Irish rallying in 2009 and 2010, driving the Civic with Kylie Boyle. In 2011, they were 30th in the Circuit of Ireland. She entered the Irish Tarmac Championship in 2012, and was 24th in the Donegal International Rally. She did at least some Irish rallies in 2013, including the Donegal Rally, in the Civic. She entered the Donegal Rally again in 2017, in the Civic, but did not finish.

Nicola Brown - beginner rally driver in the MG Scholarship series in 2004. She entered several BRC and National-level rallies, usually managing to finish. She did not compete again for many years, but made a small comeback in 2017. She drove a Peugeot 205 on the Somerset Stages, and was 55th overall. In 2018 and 2019, she rallied a BMW E36 Compact in the Plains Rally.

Faye Campey - drove a Peugeot 106 in the 2002 World Cup Rally. Since then, she has driven and navigated in endurance rallies in the UK, such as the Lombard Rally. Usually, she acts as a navigator, rather than driving herself.

Caroline Carslaw - Scottish driver who has been competing since 2012. Her first car was a Ford Fiesta, which she continues to rally, and she drove in two tarmac events in Scotland during her first season. In 2013, she competed in the full Scottish championship, with a best finish of  40th in the GWF Energy Merrick Stages. Her main highlights were class wins in the Border Counties and Speyside Rallies, which led to her championship title in Class 7. She was also Scottish Ladies’ Champion. In 2014, she drove in the British and Scottish championships. Her best finish was fifth in the British Rally Challenge section of the Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally. In 2015, she mainly competed in Scotland, although she did come down to Cumbria for the Malcolm Wilson Rally, and Wales, for Rally GB. She managed a class win in the Speyside Stages, and was 43rd overall. In 2016, she mostly rallied the Fiesta in Scotland, although she did try out a Subaru Impreza for the Kingdom Stages. She won the Class 7 Scottish title. She rallied in the Impreza in 2017. Her best result was a 36th place in the Riponian Stages. Her car for 2018 was a Ford Fiesta R2 and she mostly competed in Scotland. The same was true in 2019 but her calendar was longer and her results better. Her best finish was 20th overall in the Grizedale Stages. 

Laura Christmas - rallies an original Mini Cooper in the UK, usually in single-venue events. She began in 2020 and she was 46th in her first rally, the Rex Pet Hotel Flying Fortress Stages. Her best result in an extensive 2021 season was a 35th place in the Harold Palin Memorial Stages. She did some rounds of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship, including the Dukeries, Cadwell and Snetterton rallies. In 2022, she did three more tarmac rallies, finishing two. Her only result in 2023 was a 34th place in the Rixy Stages. She did two more rallies in the Mini in 2024Her career began in the co-driver’s seat in 2019, sitting alongside Mark Peterson.

Miranda Clegg - drove a Ford Ka in a couple of British Championship rallies in 2002. She drove in the Pirelli Rally with Julie Cole, coming 19th in the one-make section.

Rose-Anne Clinton - rallied in the UK in the 1970s. Details of her career are sketchy, but she entered the 1976 RAC Rally in an Opel Ascona with Sven Kolkin. They do not appear to have finished. Later, she was a competitor in the Faberge Fiesta Challenge for women drivers, navigated by Maggie Greenland. She was not among the event winners. She has now died.

Sarah Cohen - rallied in the UK in the late 1970s. She was part of the Faberge Fiesta Ladies’ Challenge in 1979 and performed relatively strongly in the rally rounds, as well as being quite a decent circuit racer in her yellow Fiesta. Her co-driver in the Fiesta was Dorothy Selby-Bothroyd. At the same time as she was active in the Faberge challenge, she was rallying a Ford Escort in BTRDA events with John Harmer. Her best result in this car seems to have been a 60th place in the Plains Rally. She later married Harmer.

June Conway - rallied a number of smaller cars in the north of England in the 2000s. She used two different Peugeot 106s between 2002 and 2006 and a Suzuki Swift in 2008. The best of her published results was a 37th place in the 2003 Cadwell Park Stages. Her co-driver was always Vivien Young. Their cars were not always the most reliable; the Swift’s suspension gave up during its first outing on the 2008 Armstrong Massey Rally.

Sally Cooper - rallied in Europe in the early 1960s. She drove a Sunbeam in the 1961 RAC Rally, with a “Miss P Block”, and does not appear to have finished. In 1962, she entered the Monte Carlo Rally with Rosemary Smith, who was appearing in her first international event. Her car was a Sunbeam again. She may well have competed in other rallies, and possibly did some navigation as well.

Amanda Cornforth (Smith) - British driver who began her rally career in 2006, usually in a Ford Ka. Along with Jayne Auden and Shelly Taunt, she was part of the “Babes in the Wood” rally team. She finished the season 56th in the MSA English Rally Championship. For 2007, the team went their separate ways, although Amanda co-drove for Jayne Auden on a couple of rallies. She was very competitive in the BTRDA 1400cc championship and was often in the top three. In 2008 she tackled the British Rally Championship and continued to develop her career as a motorsport PR and sports writer. In 2009 and 2010, she entered some club rallies with her father, Derek, driving the Ka. In 2012, she returned to the stages for some BTRDA rallies, including the Trackrod clubmans' event. In 2013, she drove in three BTRDA events, finishing two of them (the Trackrod Rally and Dukeries Rally) in 51st place. She drove the Ka in a series of British rallies in 2014, usually on forest stages. Her best result was a 34th place, on the Malton Forest Rally. She was second in class. In 2015, she rallied the trusty Ka again in events in northern England and Scotland, including the Jim Clark Reivers Rally. Her best finish was 23rd, in the Riponian Stages. Mid-season, she teamed up with Jayne Auden again, as her navigator, for the Phoenix Stages. She stuck to selected northern events again 2016, in the Ka, with her father as co-driver once more. Her best finish was 51st, in the Trackrod Rally. She did one rally in 2017: the Riponian Stages, and returned to the event in the Ka in 2019. 

Amy Cox - competes in Northern Ireland and Eire. Her most recent car is a Skoda Fabia S2000, in which she has scored three top-ten finishes since 2017. The best of them were two sevenths in the 2018 Turkey Run Stages and Tour of the Sperrins. She previously rallied Ford Escorts and earned her first top-ten in the 2011 Ulster National Rally, finishing sixth. Her favoured surface is asphalt.

Liz Crellin - perhaps best-known as a navigator, who sat beside Pat Moss-Carlsson in her later career. Earlier, Liz was a driver in her own right, and won the BTRDA Silver Star driver's championship in 1968 and 1969. Driving a Mini Cooper S, she won the Ladies' Cup on the 1970 RAC Rally. Again, with Pat Wright, in a Mini, she took part in the 1971 RAC Rally, but did not fare as well. After that, she returned to the co-driver's seat in international events, sitting alongside Eeva Heinonen, among others.

Jean Crossley - rallied in Europe in the mid to late 1960s. In 1965, she entered an MG 1100 in the Tulip and Monte Carlo rallies. She did not finish either of them, and went over the time limit in the Tulip event. She followed the same schedule in 1966, with the same car. This time, she managed to finish the RAC Rally, in 63rd place. Her co-driver was Henry Dodd. She does not appear to have finished the Tulip Rally. Margaret Lowrey-Mackenzie was on the maps this time. In 1967, she made another attempt on both rallies, and seems to have finished both. She was 61st in the Tulip Rally, and 119th in the RAC Rally. This looks to have been her last season of international rallying.

Jenny Davies - competed in the UK in the late 1990s. She was a works Proton driver in the British Championship in 1998 and 1999. In 1996, she drove a Class A Peugeot 306 in the Mintex National Championship, scoring one third place in class. She was less active the following year, entering the Peugeot for a few Mintex rounds. Her first season in the British championship with Proton resulted in one third place in class. Her 1999 results have proved difficult to find.

Lyn Dimelow - 1995 ANWCC Rally champion. She drove a Peugeot 205 in the 1996 Mintex National Rally Championship, winning Class B11 and finishing eighth in Class B and 45th overall.

Aisling Dooris - Irish driver competed in the Irish and British championships between 2000 and 2004. Between 2000 and 2002, she usually drove a Suzuki Swift. She won several Coupes des Dames in both the UK and Ireland, as well as awards for Class A5, and was fairly competitive in the Irish Tarmac Championship. More recently, she has been involved in the administration side of rallying.

Melanie Fitzgerald-Smith - Irish driver who sometimes drove an ex-works Hillman Imp. She used this car on the 1969 Scottish Rally. Later, in 1971, she entered the RAC Rally, again, driving a Hillman Imp. It is likely that she competed in Ireland more extensively, and she is recorded as entering a rally in Galway in 1975, driving a Hillman Avenger.

Tonya Fortune – Irish driver competing in the Irish National championship. She began her career in 2013, in junior rallying. Her first car was a Vauxhall Corsa, and her best result was a fourteenth place in the Junior section of the Raven’s Rock Rally. After one senior rally in the Corsa, in 2014, it was changed in for a Honda Civic, which she continued to rally in 2015. Although her overall finishes were modest, Tonya managed a class win on the Tipperary Stonethrowers Stages Rally, and was 66^th overall. She was 31^st in the championship, after taking some gambles with rallies held the other side of Ireland to her home. In 2015, she contested the Irish National championship again, in the Civic, and scored three class seconds. Her best overall result was a 63rd place in the Skibbereen Rally, which was one of her runner-up spots. As well as rallies, she has also competed in hillclimbs in Ireland, in her rally car. In 2016, she rallied the Civic in Ireland again. Her best finish was a class win in the Volkswagen Wexford Stages. She was 50th overall. She did some more Irish rallies in 2017, and managed a 27th place in the Carlow Stages. 

Daphne Freeman - driver and co-driver, mostly in the 1960s. One of her earliest outings was the 1959 Monte Carlo Rally, navigating for Mary Handley-Page in a Sunbeam Rapier. Later that year, she co-drove Pauline Mayman’s Morgan on the RAC Rally. In 1961, she navigated for Mary Handley-Page and Pauline Mayman again on the Monte, in another Sunbeam Rapier. The following year, she drove an Austin in the RAC Rally, with Elizabeth Jones on the maps. In 1963, she was back navigating, for Valerie Pirie this time, in a Ford Cortina, on the RAC. She also did some circuit racing and partnered Jean Aley in a Mini in the 1962 Nürburgring 500km. They did not finish.

Debbie Garlick - campaigned a Vauxhall Astra and a Peugeot 205/106 in British rallies, in 1995 and 1996 respectively. In 1996, she contested the Mintex National series for the Shropshire Rally School team, scoring points in class N1, the Coupe des Dames and the Junior driver category. She was killed in the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Debbie Gilliver - rallied a Peugeot 205 and a Vauxhall Nova in British rallies in the late 1990s. She entered the 1997 Rally GB in the Nova, but retired on Stage 23. The same car was used in some BTRDA championship rounds in 1998. Debbie’s navigator was usually Linda Craske.

Pam Haggie - competed in the UK from 1959. For her first season, she used an Austin A40, and drove in club rallies in Cheshire. In 1960, she exchanged this for a Ford Anglia 105e. She was rewarded with tenth in the White Horse Rally and a career-best third in the Mini Miglia Rally, navigated and coached by Don Barrow. Later, still in the Anglia, she entered the RAC Rally with Sheila Taylor. They retired after a collision with a team-mate’s car. After that, her name seems to disappear from the entry lists. She was a hairdresser by trade.

Gilly Handley - rallied in Britain in the 1990s, usually in a Vauxhall Corsa. She was National Ladies' Rally Champion in 1997 and 1998 and took part in one WRC round, the 1999 Rally GB, coming 52nd. Her career began in 1993, first in historic rallying with her father, then in a modern Metro. She mainly drove in BTRDA rallies, but also took part in some British Championship events from 1995 onwards.

Anne Hay - rallied in the UK in the early 1980s. She was part of the same group of drivers who had come through the Faberge Fiesta Challenge, although she did not compete in it herself. Most of her rallying was in Scotland, including a run in the 1986 Scottish Rally. For this event, she drove an MG Metro and unfortunately retired with an oil pressure problem. Among her other cars was a Talbot Sunbeam, which she drove in the 1981 Granite City Rally, finishing 51st and fourth in class.

Sue Hedley - competed in National level rallies in the UK, as well as finishing the RAC Rally in 1998. She was national Ladies’ champion in 2001 and 2002, driving a Vauxhall Nova. This was modified to run on LPG for the 2002 season. She was set to be the first person to rally an LPG-powered car in the British Rally Championship, but the deal fell through. She later drove a Vauxhall Astra in British events.

Melissa Heijink - rallied a Skoda Felicia in the UK in 1997. She finished the RAC Rally once, the same year, in 88th place. She and Anna Tait got their chance in Group N Felicias as the winners of Silverstone Rally School’s LadyQuest. Both cars were supported by the Skoda works team. Melissa entered at least two other British rallies in the Mintex championship, including the Panaround Rally. She does not appear to have competed since.

Linzi Henderson - Scottish driver who began in junior rallying in 2012, in a 1000cc Peugeot 107. She was 16, but this was not her first rally experience - she co-drove for her father, Walter Henderson, in at least one event, in 2011. She moved up to senior competition in 2013, at 17, and continued to use the Peugeot. It finished one of the three rallies she drove it in, the Stobart Rail Pendragon Stages. She was 51st. Her best result of 2013 was a seventh place in the Albar Kames Trophy Rally, a single-stage asphalt event. She was driving her father’s Subaru Impreza. For 2014, she acquired an MG ZR, and drove in the Scottish championship, on both tarmac and gravel. Her finishing record was much improved, and she was often the fastest female driver. Her best overall result was 38th, in the GWF Energy Merrick Stages, and she was third in class. She was quite active in the Impreza in 2016, mostly in Scotland. Her best finish was 29th, in the Grampian Stages. In 2019, she rallied a Ford Fiesta and had a best finish of 15th in the Galloway Hills Rally, winning her class. At the start of the season, she took a Rover 220 on the Knockhill Stages with Jane Nicol. Her only event in 2020 was the Snowman Rally, although she crashed the Fiesta. She drove an Escort RS2000 in the 2021 Argyll Rally, but did not finish. Another Fiesta was her chosen car in 2022 and 2023, although she did try out a MkII Escort in the 2023 Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally. 

Octavia Hopwood - rallied a Volkswagen Golf around the UK in 2016, normally competing on tarmac. 2016 seems to have been her first season. Her best outright finish was a 34th place in the SMC Stages, in April. She was ninth in her class. In 2023, she came back in a BMW E30, finishing 66th in the Mike Sones Memorial AGBO Stages. Away from the stages, Octavia works as a wildlife TV presenter, and has been a stunt performer and competitive climber.

Lynda Hughes (Morgan) - UK driver who competed in two Safari Rallies, in 1989 and 1991. She was twelfth on both occasions and she won class A6 in 1989. Her cars were a Nissan March and Daihatsu Charade respectively.

Linda Jackson - competed in UK rallies, mostly in the 1970s. She drove in the RAC Rally in 1973 and 1975, finishing 69th in 1975. Her car was a Ford Escort both times and her navigator in 1975 was the Swedish actress Leena Skoog. In between, she drove the Escort in the 1974 Tour of Britain. Linda began rallying in 1967, according to a 1974 newspaper article, although she only started “getting results” in 1971.

Joan Johns - drove in European rallies in the late 1950s, as main driver and co-driver. She was sixth on the 1956 RAC Rally in an Austin A90 Westminster, and finished the Monte Carlo Rally in the same car, co-driven by Pat Moss. In 1957 and 1958 she co-drove a series of MGs with Nancy Mitchell. They won the Coupe des Dames on the 1957 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally and finished the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally.

Toni Kelly – Irish driver who has finished the Rally of Ireland twice. The first time was in 2007, when she was 66^th, with a win in class A7, driving a Honda Civic Type-R with the experienced Gemma Price. The second time was in 2009. She won class A7 again, but was a respectable 21^st overall. In between, she rallied the Civic in Northern Ireland, in 2008, with a best finish of eleventh in the Circuit of Ireland International Rally. She crashed out of the Rally of Ireland, and had to take six months out of competition to recover. Her last competitive outing seems to have been in 2011, when she was 69^th in the Donegal International Rally, in the Civic, with a class win. After ten years out, she returned to the stages in 2023, driving a BMW 318 in a single-stage event in Barbados. Since 2012, Toni has been running her own driving school, and has worked as a TV presenter on Ireland’s RPM motorsport show. 

Becky Kirvan - winner of Silverstone Rally School's LadyQuest in 2006. Her prize drive was a series of supported entries in British rallies in an MG ZR, in 2006 and 2007. After a break from competition, which she spent building a car and rental business, she returned in 2010, driving a Nissan Micra. She contested the BTRDA Rally First championship. She won the BTRDA Ladies' Championship, despite destroying her car on her penultimate event. In 2011, she moved up to the BRC Challenge, driving a Ford Fiesta ST, and won its Ladies' award. She also entered, and finished, her first Wales Rally GB, in 39th place. She sat out the 2012 season to look after her new baby. In 2017, she made a small return, finishing 55th in the Trackrod Forest Stages. Her car was a Fiesta.

(Image copyright Robert Grounds)

Under-17 Racing Series

Jamie Chadwick

During the past ten years in the UK, several full-size championships for junior drivers aged fourteen to seventeen have emerged. Girls have been involved from the start, and have found varying degrees of success, up to and including championship wins.

This is a list of drivers who are most known for, or have only competed in, racing series designed for the under-17s. Due to space constraints, this only includes full-size car racing and not karting.
Junior Rallycross racers can be found here. Charlotte Birch, Abbi Pulling, Esmee Hawkey, Sarah Moore, Irina Sidorkova, Lydia Walmsley, Emily Linscott, Alisha Palmowski, Ella Lloyd and Katie Milner have "graduated". Sophia Floersch now has her own post.

Flame Airikkala - began her career in cars at the start of 2023, when she was 16, racing in the Fiesta Junior championship. This followed a junior karting career. Her first races were at Snetterton and she was 18th and 15th. The Croft round gave her a 20th and 14th place. By the end of the year, she was a podium finisher. In 2024, she competed in both single-seaters and tin-tops, taking in rounds of the Formula Nordic championship and the electric Mini one-make series, the Nxt Gen Cup. Flame is the granddaugher of Finnish WRC rally winner Pentti Airikkala and rally driver Kirsti Airikkala, who settled in the UK. She has also represented her school and county at chess and indoor rowing, alongside her brother Finn.

Nina-Jo Atkinson - raced a Saxmax Citroen Saxo in 2006 and 2007, starting at the age of fourteen. She scored a few top-ten finishes towards the end of her time in the series. In 2008, she moved up to the Mini Challenge, despite being still only sixteen years old. She is noted for having driven the Nürburgring at speed when only fourteen. As well as circuit racing, she has done some rally navigation.

Lydia Austen - one of the first girls to take part in Britain's then-leading junior car racing series, T-Cars, in 2001. She raced for two full seasons. Her results were not spectacular, but she proved herself capable of holding her own on the track. She suffered a couple of nasty on-track accidents but always kept going, holding out for a finish. For 2002 she was considered good enough for the new Zip Formula junior single-seater category, and managed to put together a sponsorship deal. Unfortunately, the deal fell through and Lydia has been absent from the national racing scene ever since.

Lexie Belk - raced in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship in 2022. She was fourth in the championship after a fairly consistent season with good reliability. Her best finish was fifth, which she achieved twice at Knockhill. In 2023, she did the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, before joining the GB4 grid for the final rounds of the year at Donington. Previously, she and her sister Freya were active in karting, with the younger Lexie winning some junior titles. In 2023, she raced in the Ginetta GT5 championship in the UK, finishing sixth in the Pro class. She was third twice at Donington. Switching makes, she raced in the UK Radical Cup in 2024, with a best finish of fourth, at Donington again.

Sophie Byrne - raced in the Irish Ginetta Junior championship between 2011 and 2013. Her results improved every year, from eighth in 2011 to third in 2013. After moving up to senior competition, she acquired a Ford Fiesta XR2 which she raced in the Future Classics championship in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, as Sophie Austen-Byrne, she travelled to Silverstone for the BWRDC’s Race for a Record women’s handicap.

Megan Campbell - Northern Irish driver who raced in the Irish Ginetta Junior championship between 2015 and 2017. She was fifth in the 2017 series, having only been out of the top five when she did not finish twice at the start of the season. She made steady progress over her three seasons, with a tenth and a seventh in 2015 and 2016.

Pippa Coleman – did a season of Ginetta Junior racing in 2009. She was a competent, if not quite consistent driver, who did not compete for the full season. She managed six top-ten finishes, the best of these being two sixth places, at Thruxton and Rockingham. Her 2009 campaign followed a run in the 2008 Winter season. She does not appear to have raced since then.

Christie Doran - had her first season of full-sized motorsport in 2011, aged fifteen, in the Ginetta Junior championship. Despite a fairly large-scale media campaign in her favour, she only managed to compete at the Knockhill meeting. She was thirteenth in her first race and did not finish her second. Despite her age, she occasionally carries out road tests for the Scottish Sun, under the tutelage of her father, Jon. In 2012, she had support from the Scottish Sun for another race season, but she does not appear to have secured the additional funding she needed. Instead, she moved into historic racing, in a Triumph TR8. She was quite effective in the Scottish Classic Sports and Saloon series, finishing tenth overall. The next two seasons were spent in the Scottish BMW Compact Cup, which was a mixed experience, and she had to miss some of 2014 after a big crash in the first round. In 2015, she raced in England, in the VAG Trophy. Her car was a VW Golf. After a steep learning curve, she finished the season with three third places. As well as racing, she was part of an initiative that offers training and racing opportunities to injured service personnel. In 2016, she did her second VAG season, and scored three wins, putting her in the running for the Class B title. She raced the Golf again in 2017, but only for a part-season. This was due to badly damaging her car in a crash at Rockingham. Her best finishes were a pair of seconds at Thruxton, and she was third in the Class B championship. In 2018, she did some rounds of Britcar in the Golf, but her season was restricted by budget issues.

Katrina Ee - began racing in Ginetta Juniors in 2025, aged fourteen. She is from Hong Kong and also of Malaysian descent. So far, her best result has been a 21st place at Donington. She is a member of David Coulthard's More Than Equal development programme, after being scouted as a karter in Asia. She competed internationally in karting in 2024. 

Virsavia Goltsova - part of the Goltsova Racing team with her mother, Natalia Goltsova. She began racing in 2017. Her first race was the Kazan round of the Russian Junior Touring Car Championship. She was 16th then 13th in a Lada Kalina, as part of a three-car Goltsova Racing team. Her best overall results in the series were two eleventh places at Smolensk. In September, she was third in a two-hour endurance race at Kazan. She did a part-season in the Junior championship in 2018, driving a Kalina, and had a best finish of tenth at Kazan. 2019 was similar, with three races in the Junior championship. 2020 was something of a disaster; she was eleventh twice at Igora Drive then did not qualify for the two Kazan rounds.

Alicia Goundry - had her first season in cars in 2017, at the age of fourteen. She was competing in the Junior Saloon Car Championship for MMR Racing. Her season started steadily, but she found some speed at Croft and took the first of her two third places. Previously, she raced karts from 2013, as part of the “Goundry Girls” team with her two younger sisters, Tilly and Sienna. Alicia and Tilly competed in the 2016 National Super One series.

Ashley Gregory - junior saloon racer who moved up to senior competition in 2023. In three seasons of Junior Saloon Car Championship competition between 2019 and 2021, she won one race at Knockhill in 2021 and two further podiums at Mallory Park in 2020. Previously, she raced Ministox on short ovals from the age of ten, winning three championships. After ageing out of the JSCC, she returned to short ovals and won some F2 Stock Car races. She signed up to contest the Mini Challenge in 2023 and became a top-ten contender, but penalties dropped her to 22nd in the final standings. She was tenth in the 2024 championship, with a best finish of fifth at Brands Hatch.

Jamie-Lea Hawley - raced in the Renault Clio Cup Junior series in the UK in 2018, with the Finsport team. She did her first season in a car in 2017, in the Ford Fiesta Junior championship. With only a little karting experience, it was a steep learning curve for her, but by the end of the season she was almost finishing on the podium; she was fourth in the last race at Donington. This was enough for tenth overall in the championship.

Emma Laddiman - competed in some Saxmax races in 2008, after taking a year out from expected motorsport activities due to injuries. She now works for Barwell Motorsports.

Abby Lock - began racing in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior championship in 2017, when she was 14. She had not had any prior competitive experience before that. She returned for a longer part-season in 2018, and had a best finish of sixth at Thruxton. She was ninth in the championship. She was named Driver of the Day at Rockingham in 2018. In 2019, she had another season in Fiesta Juniors, which was hampered by very small grids. She tried to move up to senior competition in 2020, but was hampered by the coronavirus crisis. She was meant to compete in the Lotus Elise Trophy in 2021, but only managed one round.

Ceol Lynch - Irish driver competing in the Junior Saloon Car Championship in the UK. She began racing at 14 in 2021, although her part-season was not a success, with just one finish from six races. In 2022, she did record more finishes, the best of these being a pair of 18th places at Anglesey, but her year was affected again by a string of DNFs. Her record improved in 2023 and she was 24th in the championship. She repeated the result in 2024. She is the daughter of B*Witched singer Edele Lynch and the niece of racer and Boyzone singer Shane Lynch.

Mia Morgan - started racing in Ginetta Juniors in 2007. She returned to the series for a part-season in 2008, improving slightly on her 2007 results.

Nadja Olbrisch - German driver who raced in the 2021 Tourenwagen Junior Cup. This was her second season in junior motorsport, having entered the NATC junior series in 2020, aged 15. She drove a Chevrolet Cruze and a BMW 318, winning two races in the Chevrolet at Lausitz and Oschersleben and finishing third in the championship. Her time in the Junior Cup, which uses the Ford Fiesta, was not as fruitful and she has a best finish of eighth. Her second season in 2022 was better, with a fifth place at Oschersleben her best rsult on the way to eighth overall. She previously competed in a Rotax kart in Germany between 2013 and 2015, with some success. 

Emma Pascall - raced in the UK's T-Car series in 2004 and 2005. A serious accident limited her participation in 2004 and she was a solid, rather than competitive, finisher. She does not appear to have continued in motorsport after 2005.

Amy Scarisbrick - has competed in both junior and senior categories. She ran a whole season of Saxmax in 2006, before using the same Citroen Saxo in the 750MC Stock Hatch championship in 2007. Her results were unspectacular, but she managed to hold her own against experienced drivers. In 2008, Amy concentrated on her education and did not race. She now works as a sports broadcaster on local radio.

Jasmine Shaw - raced in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior series in 2022, racing a Ford Fiesta against other teenagers. This was her first year of car racing. She was tenth in the championship after completing all of the rounds except for Croft, although this counted as her dropped score at the end of the year. Her best finish was a fifth place at Cadwell in the middle of the season. She was driving for the 20Ten team and continued to do so in 2023. Her results were stronger in 2023, with several top tens, and she was 18th in the championship. In 2024, she raced an F3 car in Monopostos, but crash damage put her out of the championship.

Julia Strukova – Russian driver who made her circuit racing debut in 2015, in the RSKG Junior championship, a saloon series for 14-17 year olds. Her car was a VAZ, and she was second in the championship, winning two races at Kazan. For the rest of the season, she was rarely off the podium. As she turned 17 in 2015, she had to move up to senior motorsport in 2016. She joined the Russian National Touring Car Championship, driving a Kia Rio. At the end of the season, she was eleventh in the championship, with a best finish of sixth, at Kazan. She had another season in the Kia in 2017, recording a best finish of seventh, at Smolensk. 2018 was quite similar, with three top-ten finishes and a best of fifth at Grozny. Prior to 2015, she was involved in rally raids.

Liona Theobald - began circuit racing in 2021, entering the Ginetta Junior Winter Series before taking on the main 2022 championship with Assetto Motorsport. Her best overall result so far has been a 14th place at Croft. At the end of the season, she stepped up to the senior Ginetta GT5 Challenge at Donington, finishing tenth once and twelfth twice. She was sixth in the GTP class in 2023. In 2024, she raced in the GT Cup, with a best finish of second at Silverstone. Her car was a Ginetta, shared with James Townsend. Before Ginettas, she took part in autosolo events in a Mini, having learned to drive at the age of 11 at Brands Hatch. 

Lilly Zug - former karter who switched to cars in 2021, aged 15. After testing a Formula 4 car in 2020, she chose to join the new Tourenwagen Junior Cup in her native Germany. Her car for this one-make series is a Volkswagen Up! She improved quickly over the season and had a best finish of fourth at Hockenheim. At the end of the season, she was sixth in the championship. Previously, she was one of the selected drivers for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s Girls on Track training camps, but did not make the final group for an F4 drive, partly due to her age at the time.

(Image copyright Jakob Ebrey)