Cindy Gudet

Cindy Gudet is a championship-winning French hillclimber who has made the jump from speed events to sportscar racing.

Her background is predominantly hillclimbs, although not exclusively. She made guest appearances in rallies and in ice racing for several seasons before making the switch to sportscars on circuits in 2024.

She has been successful in hillclimbing since 2017, winning six national titles in production sportscars, most notably a Revolt 2P0 prototype. In 2023, she signed up for the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, a single-make rally championship based in Germany, running as an official FFSA Academy entry with Cecile Marie as co-driver. Sarah Rumeau, a future French champion and Iron Dames driver, was also selected. After a guest appearance in the Rallye Regional de Quercy, driving a Peugeot 106, she was tenth in the Opel class in her first event in the car, the Rally Sulingen. Her best result of the year was a sixth place in her home Opel event, the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est. Her final position on the e-Rally Cup leaderboard was eighth, after six to-ten finishes.

As well as the ADAC series, she did another French regional rally in a Peugeot 208 R2, finishing the Savoie-Chautagne National Rallye in 29th place, from 58 finishers.

Her circuit career began in 2022, although on ice rather than on asphalt. She was invited to contest the Andros Stars ice racing series, which used electric cars and was open to selected guest drivers only, from the worlds of motorsport, other sport and celebrity. This seems to have been her first experience of driving on a track with other cars around her. She must have impressed Yvan Muller's team, which took her on for the 2023-2024 season as a driver in the Elite class. This was the last running of the Andros Trophy.

In 2024, she raced on the circuits, entering the GT4 European Series in a Toyota GR Supra, sharing with Gabriela Jilkova. Their car was run by Matmut Evolution, Jerome Policand's team, which had been taking steps to support female talent in the past season or so.

They were seventh in their class, with two podium finishes, a third place in Round 1 at Paul Ricard and another third at the season finale in Jeddah.

Driving solo, Cindy was fifth in the Ligier European Series, with her best finish being second at Portimao. She did almost the full season, only missing the Spa races, driving for the M Racing team. She was their highest-placed finisher in the squad.

She and Gabriela were signed again to race in the Supra in the 2025 GT4 European Series. She will also do another season in the Ligier. 

(Image copyright Cindy Gudet)

Rebecca Jackson

Rebecca Jackson is best known for racing Porsches in the UK, and for her “Project Le Mans” plan.

She grew up around motor racing, having been introduced to the sport as a baby by her dad. However, she was never a junior karter and only started competing once she was an adult, with her education finished. After university, she ran her own car sales business, which she started in 2007. For fun, she drove her Subaru Impreza on track days. She set up her own Youtube channel, in which she posted her own car reviews of vehicles she was selling. This was the start of her media career, which progressed in tandem with her racing ambitions.

Her first Porsche was a 924, in 2011, which she raced in the BRSCC’s Porsche championship. The car had cost her £5000, the proceeds from the sale of the Impreza, and was pretty basic. She was eighth overall. Her best finish was fifth, at Oulton Park.

Having gained valuable experience, she was fourth in 2012, having scored her first win at Snetterton, as well as a second and third. That year she also raced a Toyota MR2. Quite early in her career, she picked up a reputation as a wet-track specialist, having prevailed in a number of wet races.

For 2013, she swapped the 924 for a production-class Boxter, remaining in the same championship, but a different class. She won the class comfortably, and was 19th overall, six places above her nearest Boxter rival.

2013 saw her launch “Project Le Mans”, a four-year plan that would end with her racing at Le Mans. She used the Autosport International Show to canvass support. To begin with, this was in the form of spare parts, but she did get some cash sponsors on board.

In 2014, she planned to move into the Race Spec Boxter class, the highest level of Porsche  club competition. However, she opted for the Cartek Roadsports Endurance Series, a production-based championship, run by the 750MC. Her best results were two fifth places, at Snetterton and Silverstone, and she struggled a little with non-finishes and development issues with the Boxter. However, her performances were enough to earn her some good Class B finishes, including a second at Snetterton. Later in the season, she drove in the Birkett Six Hour Handicap Relay, as part of Team Turtle Wax, all driving Porsches or Ginettas. They were fifth on handicap, and 22nd on scratch, winning their class. Turtle Wax became her principal sponsor for the next three seasons.

Rebecca moved a little further up the Porsche racing ladder in 2015, with a view to a Le Mans seat in 2016. For this, she needed some top-level GT3 experience, which the GTUK championship provided. She was sixth in the GTB class of the GTUK series, driving a Porsche 997 Carrera Cup car. Her best result was a third place, at Donington, and she was normally in the top five. Although she was still in a Porsche, this was the most powerful car she had raced yet.

Another of her 2015 activities was her RecordRoadTrip, sponsored by the RAC and Audi. The aim of the trip was to visit as many countries as she could on a single tank of fuel. She was assisted by Andrew Frankel, and the car, an Audi, had a special enlarged fuel tank. The pair set a Guinness-ratified world record, having travelled most of the way round Europe.

Later in the year, she did another road trip, the Track 2 Track Challenge. Rebecca and Russian racer Natalia Freidina travelled around the UK and Eastern Europe and raced each other on circuits along the way, including some forgotten F1 tracks.

She spent most of 2016 in the GT4 European Series, driving a KTM X-Bow in the Pro class for the Reiter team. Her best finish was fifth, at Pau, and she was 20th overall. This was her first experience of a sports prototype. She also paid another visit to Dubai for the 24 Hours, but did not finish in the Sorg Rennsport BMW 325i.

This was the final year of her Project Le Mans plan, and true to her word, she raced at Le Mans. She did not compete in the 24 Hours itself, but in the Road to Le Mans support race for LMP3 cars. She drove a Nissan-engined Ligier to sixteenth place, with her By Speed Factory team-mate, Jesus Fuster. This was only the second time she had driven the Ligier. The first time was a month earlier, at Paul Ricard, where she raced in a round of the VdeV championship, finishing sixth.

In 2017, she raced in the UK Mini Challenge. The best circuit for her was Oulton, where she scored her best results, a 12th and 14th place. She was 19th in the championship.

She did not race in 2018. Although she kept it quiet for a long time, she finally announced that she was pregnant with twins towards the end of the year. She returned to the motorsport arena in late 2019, offering her services as a sponsorship coach and advisor.

Away from actual racing, she is a motoring journalist and broadcaster who writes for The Telegraph’s motoring section, among other publications.

(Image from www.rebeccaracer.com)

Inès Taittinger

Inès at Le Mans

Inès Taittinger is best known for her appearance at Le Mans in 2016. She mostly races sportscars in her native France.

She made her debut in 2009, driving a Ligier prototype in the VdeV championship, at Magny-Cours. This was her only race of the year, and she was 22^nd, driving the car with her father, Hugues. They were sixteenth in class. She had been encouraged by her godfather, Philippe Alliot, who had let her drive a Ferrari a few years earlier.

She continued in this car in 2010, supported by the Blue One team, and scored her first points at Aragon. She entered five races that year. In the first race, at Jarama, she and Hugues finished, but were unclassified. Inès did not race at Mugello, but was eleventh overall at Aragon, tenth in class. Another non-classified finish followed at Lédenon, then a line-up change for the Paul Ricard race gave her a fourteenth place. Olivier Dupard partnered her instead of Hugues. Back together with her father, she did not finish at Dijon. Blue One entered two Ligiers at Magny-Cours, and  Inès was seventeenth, with Philippe Alliot and David Tuchbant. The last round, at Estoril, led to another DNF.

In 2011, she remained in VdeV, driving another Ligier JS51 for two rounds, for Springbox Concept this time. She and Amandine Foulard were nineteenth overall at Dijon, seventh in the Open class. At Magny-Cours they were tenth and third in class, one above Hugues in a similar car.  

Driving for a different team, she also raced a Formula Renault in the VdeV series’ Monoplace (single-seater) Challenge, at Magny-Cours. She took part in three races, with a best finish of seventeenth.

Away from VdeV, she drove in the SPEED Euroseries for Springbox, partnering Amandine Foulard in a Ligier again for four rounds, at Paul Ricard and Silverstone. Their best finish was seventh, at Paul Ricard, and they were 49^th in the championship.

2012 proceeded in a similar manner, with Springbox, although the car had been updated to a Ligier JS53. She raced at Dijon and Paul Ricard, sharing the car with Amandine Foulard and Jonathan Cochet respectively. She and Amandine were twentieth, but Inès and Jonathan Cochet did not finish. In the SPEED Euroseries, she entered the Paul Ricard and Spa races, four in all. She was eighth at Paul Ricard and ninth at Spa, leaving her in 37^th in the championship.

For 2013, she returned to VdeV full-time, in the modern Endurance Challenge. Her car was a Norma prototype, run by CD Sport, and her team-mate was Kvin Bole-Besancon. She started well, qualifying second at Catalunya, and finishing in eighth place. Despite qualifying quite well at Mugello and Paul Ricard, she did not finish at either circuit. She and her team-mates were then sixth at Dijon, and an impressive third in the Aragon 12-hour race. Inès finished the season with a sixth at Magny-Cours and a fifteenth place at Estoril. She and Kvin Bole-Besancon were eighth in the championship.

As well as a full season in VdeV, she took part in the TTE touring car series, which confusingly has a prototype class. She won one race at Albi in the Norma, and was third in a six-hour race at Magny-Cours. Proving that she had a taste for real endurance, she drove in the Fun Cup 25 Hours at Spa, as part of a six-driver Kronos Racing team that included Margot Laffite.

She drove the CD Sport Norma in VdeV again, in 2014. Her season started well enough with ninth at Barcelona. By the fourth round, at Dijon, she was really getting into her stride, and was third overall. She was then a disappointing 23^rd at Aragon, where she had run so well the year before. A little later, she was back on the podium at Magny-Cours, with second place. Her inconsistent but not bad season was enough for thirteenth in the championship. 

2015 was the year that she started setting her career sights higher. She stated her aim to race at Le Mans in 2016. For the past few seasons, she had been working on her fitness and stamina, which had paid off in VdeV. Grabbing any chance she could for a Le Mans race seat, she signed up for a racing reality TV show called “Race to 24”, where the prize for the winning driver was to compete at the Sarthe classic. The show never made it into production, but Inès used the publicity generated to raise her public profile, with several TV appearances. This made her a more attractive prospect for sponsors, especially when public reaction to her was very positive.

She did do some racing in 2015, competing for CD Sport in VdeV, in the Norma again. Barcelona was a forgettable race for her and her team-mates, and Mugello was slightly more encouraging, despite being far from what Inès was capable of doing. Things improved at Dijon with an eighth place, but then she did not finish at Paul Ricard. The season ended well, with sixth place at Magny-Cours and tenth at Estoril. She was 23rd in the championship.

Everything changed at the start of the 2016 season. Inès left the CD Sport set-up and joined Pegasus Racing. Her former team-mate, Amandine Foulard, had been part of the team for some time a few seasons ago. She would be racing a Nissan-engined Morgan in the LMP2 class, both in the European Le Mans Series and at Le Mans itself. Her team-mates were Léo Roussel and Rémy Striebig. In interviews, she stated that her aim for 2016 was to learn, and it was certainly a tough beginning to the season, when the car only lasted 90 laps at Silverstone, after setting some strong times. She was twelfth at Imola, again setting very competitive lap times. The Austrian round was another disappointment, retiring after 123 laps. A seventeenth place at Paul Ricard was a little more promising. Her best finish in the LMP2 class was eighth, at Estoril, and she was 21st in the championship.

Inès’s individual performance at Le Mans itself was barely criticised, but during one of her stints, the Morgan caught fire, meaning a risky trip back to the pits and instant retirement. Still, she was the only Frenchwoman to race that year, and her profile was higher than ever, which bodes well for future sponsorship.

In October, she returned to the VdeV series for two races, in the Norma. She was eighth at Magny-Cours, and seventeenth at Estoril. 

She did not come back to Le Mans in 2017, but she did race in VdeV again, in the Norma. It was a competent year, with a best finish of fifth at Jarama. Portimao, where she was sixth, was her other best circuit.

At the start of 2019 she attempted to resurrect her career via the all-female W Series, but she was rejected after the first selection event.

She did get back on track in 2021, racing in the Le Mans Cup. Her car was a Nissan-engined ADESS-03 Evo LMP3 prototype run by Revere Racing. Her only appearance in the car was at Le Mans,

Throughout her racing career, she has supported the French charity, Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, which helps children born with heart defects. This is a cause close to her own heart, as she was born with cardiac problems herself. This has not stopped her from pursuing a sporting career at the highest level.

(Image copyright Frédéric Veille)

Female Drivers in French GT and Sportscar Racing

Amandine Foulard

Domestic sports and GT racing series in France have attracted a decent number of women drivers in recent years. The VdeV championship for historic and modern sportscars in particular has usually had a healthy Coupe des Dames category. Inès Taittinger now has her own post. 

Caroline Barclay - Frenchwoman who raced a BMW Z3 M Coupe in the French GT Championship in 1999. Her co-driver was Michel Coencas. She was not particularly successful in her racing attempts. As well as GTs, she took part in the Andros Trophy ice-racing championship. She is better known as a film actress.

Lucy Brecht - raced a Porsche in Europe between 2000 and 2009, mainly in the Pierre Martinet Trophy in France. Initially, she drove in club races as part of a family team. In 2006, she started to be more competitive, and earned herself a test with Pouchelon Racing for the European GT3 series, although she did not end up driving for the team. Her biggest achievement is a win in the Pierre Martinet Trophy, in 2008, at Dijon. Her car was a Porsche 993. In 2009, she drove a Porsche 996 in the Estoril 6 Hours, the last round of that year’s VdeV series, and won her class. She does not appear to have raced since then. 

Capucine Caillet – had her first major racing season in 2014. Most of it was spent in the VdeV series, in the Funyo Cup. Driving a Funyo 5 prototype, she was 40^th in the Funyo Cup, and 26^th in class B. She also tried out two other VdeV categories. Driving a Caterham, she made a guest appearance in the Historic Enurance Proto Challenge. In more modern machinery, a Radical, she did one race in the Endurance GT Challenge. As these were one-offs, she did not feature in the end-of-season tables. Away from VdeV, she raced a Porsche 968 in the Trophée Tourisme Endurance, at Spa. Her team-mate was Alain Giavedoni, and they were ninth overall. Capucine has stated that she wants to try as many different cars and series as she can.

Melanie Cazzani - 2003 French Caterham racing champion. Prior to this, she raced Citroen Saxos on the circuits and took part in ice racing, sometimes using a powerful Metro 6R4. In 1998, she drove in the French GT Championship for a few rounds, and scored her first big overall result in Caterhams: a second place. Between 1998 and 2001, she drove Formula Renault 2000 events, as well as racing a Caterham with increasingly good results. Other disciplines were not forgotten; she was 16th in French GTs as well as winning her title in 2003. In 2005, she returned to Caterham racing in the Cosworth Masters, driving in some rounds with Francois Salhien. They were third at Monza. The following year, she did two races in the Peugeot RC Cup, but did not score any points. 

Aurélie Chamaraud - has raced in France since at least 2002. Her usual car is a Porsche 996 Cup, which she shares with her father, Pierre. In 2002 she did contest the French GT Championship alone, but since then, she has been part of her family team. In 2006, they competed in the French GT Championship and also entered the joint British/French championship rounds. Their best finishes were a 17th at Pau and a 19th at Albi. The following year, they drove their Porsche in some Formula VdeV rounds, with midfield finishes. Aurelie also took part in the Peugeot 207 Sprint Challenge, coming 20th after a couple of visits to the podium. In 2008, Aurelie and Pierre won their regional racing championship. In 2009 and 2010, Aurelie raced in the Peugeot 207 endurance championship, sometimes solo, but sometimes with Pierre. The pair raced together in the Trophée Tourisme Endurance. They drove a BMW 130i, and were 15th in Class 3. In 2015, she managed her family team in the Peugeot 208 Cup. The following year, she and Pierre raced in the TTE saloon series, in a BMW M3. They continued in this series until 2020. 

Laura Chatelain – raced in the 2014-2015 Andros Trophy, as the only woman driver in the Electric class. She was eleventh overall, scoring points in the later rounds. During the 2014 summer season, she raced in the Caterham Academy in France, and this seems to have been her first championship as a driver. In 2015, she raced in the Mitjet 2L championship, in France. She returned to racing Caterhams in 2016, and scored several podium positions in the Roadsport class of the French Caterham Cup. She raced in Roadsports again in 2017, and was second in the championship behind her father. She moved up to the 420R class as well as tackling Roadsports races in Europe. She performed most strongly in Roadsports. In 2019, she raced in the Caterham Cup in Europe, including a four-hour enduro at Portimao. 

Amandine Foulard - French driver who competes in historic and modern sportscars. She began racing in 2010, driving a Porsche 996 in the ROSCAR section of the VdeV championship. Her first award was the VdeV ladies’ championship. She continued in ROSCAR in 2011, with a best finish of third at Lédenon and a fastest lap at Dijon. This gave her another VdeV ladies’ award. In a different car, a Ferrari 430, she drove in two rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series, finishing one of them: a third place at Monza. In yet another car, a Ligier prototype, she entered four rounds of the SPEED Euroseries with Inès Taittinger, driving for the Springbox Concept team. Their best finish was seventh, at Paul Ricard. She continued to race a Ligier for Springbox in 2012, driving with Philippe Alliot. Their best finish was fifth, achieved at Catalunya and Dijon. Away from sportscars, she also raced a Clio for Springbox at the 2011 Dubai 24 Hours, but did not finish. Her co-drivers were Cyndie Allemann, Jade Handi and Corentine Quiniou. She continued to compete in the SPEED Euroseries in 2013, finishing tenth in the championship, still in the Ligier. Her best finish was fourth, at the Hungaroring. She also made some appearances in two VdeV championships, in the same car, but was less successful. 

Nathalie Genoud-Prachex – races a Lotus 2-Eleven in Europe. In 2012, she became the Lotus Cup Europe’s first female driver. This was her first season of racing, having only driven on track days previously. In 2013, she was twelfth in the championship, after a steady year with a good finishing record. 2014 was similar, and she was fourteenth overall. She had another steady, if unspectacular, season in 2015, finishing 23^rd overall. 2016 was her fifth season in the series, and she was 26th. This improved to 14th in 2017, driving for a new team. She remained in 14th place for the 2018 season, then improved to tenth in 2019, with a ninth place at Assen as her best finish. She was a top-ten regular in 2020, finishing a career-best seventh at Zolder. In 2021, she was fifth in the championship.

Anne-Sophie Nourry - has raced Porsches in France since 2006. After starting her motorsport career in Caterhams in 2001, winning the Coupe des Dames, she spent two seasons in the Peugeot 206CC Cup. In 2005, she did some GT racing in an MG, before joining her family’s Porsche team. Her main championship has been the French (FFSA) GT series, in which she posted a GT3 class win in 2006. As part of the championship, she also did one race in the British GT championship. In 2007, she also won the Val de Vienne Porsche club race. She continued in GTs in 2008, as well as running in a couple of Carrera Cup races. Anne-Sophie and her father and co-driver Michel won at least one FFSA event, at Dijon. The following year, they moved to the Modern GT section of the VdeV endurance championship, and drove a few races in a Porsche 997. Still driving for the family team, but in a 996 this time, Anne-Sophie made some guest appearances in the French GT Championship in 2010. 2011 was a more productive year for her: she was the VdeV Ladies' champion through the modern endurance class, driving the Porsche. She also tried her hand at rally navigation in France, which she continued in 2012. She also continued driving for Nourry Competition in the Porsche, in the VdeV championship. In 2013, rally navigation seems to have been her main motorsport activity, and this continued in 2014. She did do at least some circuit racing, including a Club Porsche meeting at Spa, where she won one race, and was fourth in another. In 2016, she continued as a navigator to Anothony Cosson, in a Porsche, helping him to win three rallies. She also did a couple of rallies herself, in a Citroen C2. In 2017, she entered the Saint-Germain-La-Compagne Regional Rally, but crashed out. 

Corentine Quiniou - daughter of Carol Quiniou. She has competed in a number of disciplines, including the Peugeot THP Spider Cup in 2008, in which she came fifteenth. She drove a Chevron B16 in the 2007 VdeV series with her father, Michel, leading races at Jarama and winning their class at Barcelona. They were fifth overall. In 2008, she won the French Classic Endurance Racing championship in a different Chevron B16. She returned to the championship in 2009, but only participated in some races. She is recorded as scoring one podium place. In 2010, she did a race of the Toyo Tyres 24 Hour series in Dubai. She was eighth in class SP3 in a Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin Vantage, driving with the Lebanese Greg Audi and Jaleel and Tarek Mahmoud. In 2011, she was set to race again in Dubai, but did not appear. As well as circuit racing, she participated in the 2006 Dakar in a Toyota, with Florence Bourgnon. Since 2002, she has driven in the all-female Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, winning it in 2006 and 2007. However, she was accused of cheating in 2010 and disqualified. This seems to have affected her chances elsewhere in motorsport. In 2014, she followed her mother into historic racing, and raced a Chevron B16 in the Le Mans Classic. 

(Picture from http://www.endurance-info.com/2011_BES/Amandine1.jpg)