Jane Gunningham

 

Jane Gunningham was one of Britain’s leading female rally drivers in the 1990s.

She competed to British Championship level between 1992 and 1997, mainly in a Subaru Impreza and a Peugeot 306. As well as home events, she occasionally drove in Europe and the Middle East.

Born in 1974, she started rallying early, at 18. She trained at the prestigious John Haugland rally school in Norway, and was highly-regarded by her mentor. 

Her first car was a slightly unusual one; a Mazda 323. It was her main car in 1992 and 1993 and it did not bring her a great deal of success. The 1992 Vauxhall Astra Stages ended in retirement, then failed to finish her first three events of 1993, including a roll on the first stage of the Granite City Rally in Scotland. Her best event was the Midland Rally in Welshpool. She was 25th overall and sixth in class. Gaining more confidence towards the end of the year, she was 28th in the Premier Stages, from 72 finishers.

A season divided between the BTRDA in the UK and the Middle East championship followed in 1994. Jane joined up with the experienced Pauline Gullick to rally another Mazda 323 in the Qatar and Jordan Rallies. She was 19th in Jordan but her finishing position in Qatar is not recorded.

A 1600cc Peugeot 205 was waiting for her back in the UK. The clutch had failed on the season-opening Wyedean Stages, but otherwise it was a reliable car on gravel. Her best overall BTRDA result was a 31st place in the Castrol Crystal Forest Rally, but she also finished second in class on the Woodpecker Stages. Her 53rd overall sounds less impressive, but there were 141 finishers in the event. 

Away from the BTRDA series, she entered the Masters of Morden Mini Tempest Stages, finishing a career-best seventh. Her co-driver was Julia Rabbett, who would sit beside her for her first RAC Rally later in the year. She was 68th, gaining many places on the final day and making up for some early time penalties.

The British Rally Championship was the logical next step in her career. After a pre-season 21st place in the 1995 Kall Kwik Stages, she switched from a 205 to a 306 and took on her first BRC event, the Rally of Wales. She was 32nd, thirteenth in class, not helped by penalties. After the retirement of the highly-regarded Stephanie Simmonite, she took the lead of the Ladies’ points table.

Sadly, this was to be her last finish of the year, handing the Ladies’ title to Stephanie Simmonite. She retired from the other four BRC rallies, crashing out of two and suffering mechanical failures on the others.

She had more success in the 1996 British championship, ending the season 19th overall in the 306 after three points finishes. The best of these came from a 20th place on the Ulster Rally, just behind her old mentor John Haugland. She was also 22nd on the Manx Rally. 

Away from the BRC, she and her regular navigator Joyce Champion travelled to Belgium for the Ypres 24 Hours. Driving the 306, Jane was 57th and eleventh in class.

Her 1997 season began with a one-off run in a SEAT Ibiza for the Scottish Rally, but she crashed out on the third stage. The rest of the year was spent in a Group N Subaru Impreza, mostly in BRC rallies and co-driven by Stella Boyles. Once more, the Ulster Rally was her best event and she was 19th, sixth in class. This was followed by a 20th place on the Woodpecker Rally. 

Her only other WRC entry, in the 1997 RAC Rally, ended in retirement following an accident on the final day. This would prove to be her final event.

She now lives in Scotland.

Flick Haigh

Flick in 2016

Flick Haigh races GT cars in endurance events, in the UK and abroad.

She got into motorsport through a track day in 2005, when she was 21, and through her father’s historic rallying. For a long time at the beginning of her career, she was a Caterham racer. She started in the Caterham Classic Graduates series in 2007, and was seventh in her first year. In her second, she was fifth, and she won the series in 2009.

Between 2010 and 2013, she raced in the Caterham R300 Superlight Championship, finishing seventh overall in 2010 and 2012.

During this time, she also raced a Ginetta in some Britcar endurance races, as well as in the Dubai 24 Hours in 2013. She was 27th in a Ginetta G50, run by Optimum Motorsport and shared with Lee Mowle, Joe Osborne and Ryan Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe was her partner for Britcar; they won their class in a night race at Donington in 2012, despite Flick never having raced in the dark before, and almost running out of fuel at the end.

In 2014, she partnered Sarah Reader in the VdeV Endurance Challenge in France. The car was a Juno prototype. Their best overall result was ninth, at Paul Ricard, although they scored well in class. They were 39th overall, as their other results were not as good as their Paul Ricard efforts.

In 2015, Flick took part in her second Dubai 24 Hours, driving an Aston Martin Vantage for Speedworks Motorsport. She was third in the SP3 class, 29th overall, driving with Paul O’Neill, Devon Modell and Paul Gilbert. Driving a Ginetta G55 for Optimum Motorsport, she won her class in the Mugello 12 Hours, and was 16th overall, as part of a three-driver team. A similar team was 34th in the Barcelona 24 Hours.

Back at home, she made guest appearances in the GTA Cup and the Ginetta GT4 Supercup, driving the G55. In April, she entered the Donington rounds of the GTA Cup, and won the GTA class in her first race. She started the second from pole, but was seventh overall, and then did not finish. Later, in August, she tackled the Snetterton Ginetta Supercup meeting, and left with a tenth and two sixth places.

She did several international endurance races in 2016, starting with the Dubai 24 Hours, driving an Audi R8 LMS for Optimum Motorsport. She and her four team-mates were fourth overall. They were tenth in the Mugello round of the 24-Hour Series, but did not finish at Paul Ricard. A return to the track for the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup in August gave them a fourth place. In December, they were an impressive second in the Gulf 12 Hours, held at Yas Marina. This was a positive end to a strong year.

She stuck with the same car and team for 2017. Her first race was the Dubai 24 Hours, in which she was fourth in class. The other drivers were her regular team-mates Joe Osborne and Ryan Ratcliffe, plus Christopher Haase of Germany.

She was also fifth in the GT3 class of the Michelin Le Mans Cup, with three podium finishes from five races. She and Joe Osborne were third at Paul Ricard and the Red Bull Ring, and second in the season opener at Monza. They also entered the the two Le Mans races, and were ninth and fourteenth.

Her plans are more home-based in 2018. She is contesting the British GT Championship in an Aston Martin Vantage. The seat is a continuation of her long-running association with Optimum Motorsport and her team-mate is Jonny Adam.

Her first race in British GTs made history: at Oulton Park, Flick became the first female driver to win a British GT race, having started from pole. This was not only a first for a woman, but a first win for Flick the first time out in the car. She and Jonny Adam won again at Donington at the end of the year and were crowned British GT3 champions. This was the first time a female driver had won the top-level GT3 class and a remarkable achievement for a series debutant.

Flick had hoped to compete in Europe in 2019, but she was unable to raise sufficient sponsorship funds for the whole season, despite her 2018 triumph. She made guest appearances at the Le Mans rounds of the Michelin Le Mans Cup in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, finishing eleventh and sixth with Tom Gamble.

At the end of the year she took part in the GT Cup section of the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games at Vallelunga, which pitted national teams against one another. She drove a Ferrari 488 with Chris Froggatt. They finished fourth in their first race but car problems intervened after that, dropping them to tenth and fifteenth places.

She was meant to join the Iron Dames team for the 2021 Italian GT championship, but was unable to take up her seat. After a year on the sidelines, she made a three-race return to British GTs in 2022, driving a Mercedes-AMG for 2Seas. Her best finish was a third place in the GT3 class at Snetterton.

(Image copyright AdrenalMedia.com)

Laleh Seddigh

Laleh Seddigh is Iran’s top woman driver. She has won several races against men, as well as her country’s Ladies’ Championship.

Laleh was born in 1977. Her family was wealthy; her father owned several factories, including a car spares firm. She was a car enthusiast from a very early age and learned to drive at home, in the family’s yard. Some articles claim this was when she was eight, or eleven. A 2008 interview with Laleh for the German magazine Spiegel says she was thirteen.

By the time she was fourteen, she was being stopped by police and returned home, having “borrowed” her father’s car for a nocturnal excursion. Again, some sources claim this happened when she was much younger. She got her license later. As a teenager and young adult, she was very sporty and competed in athletics, equestrianism and volleyball.

Her first motorsport experience came through rallying. Her website says that she first competed in 2000, when she was 23, but details are hazy, partly due to language and information barriers. She took part in the Iranian championship between 2001 and 2005 and won the 2004 Ladies’ Championship. Part of the problem was that her activities were deemed un-Islamic by Iran’s religious authorities, and a media blackout was imposed on reporting her successes. She eventually petitioned for legitimate participation, which was granted. One fact in motorsport’s favour was that it was easy for Laleh to adhere to strict Muslim dress codes while clad head-to-foot in Nomex. In 2005, she was pictured at the start of the Arjan Rally close to Tehran, getting into her car. Her schedule involved both stage rallies and longer cross-country raids. She drove a Proton for an official team, and apparently won three rallies before 2004, from 28 starts.

In 2004, she started circuit racing as well as rallying. She used two different Protons and a Peugeot 206 over the course of five races. One of her first, at the Asadi Park stadium track, gave her a third place.

She won the Iranian 1600cc GT championship outright in 2005. Her car for the eight-race series was a works Proton.

From 2006, she was barred from competing in her own country after accusations of cheating. She was prohibited from entering the Open class of the Iranian touring car championship after her 2005 win, so she disguised her new 2400cc car as her last season’s 1600 model in order to compete. She was found out and banned.

After that, she did some training for Formula BMW Bahrain after receiving a licence there. It is not clear whether she actually raced. She is also reported to have raced a Formula 3 car in Italy. Some reports say this happened at Monza, but no results are forthcoming.

For a while, things went fairly quiet for Laleh. Her website states that she won a “ladies’ rally” organised by Tehran motor club in 2009, but further details are not available.

A film was made about her in 2012, supported by none other than Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It caused huge controversy in Iran. For one, its depiction of a Muslim woman was deemed un-Islamic and supportive of Western stereotypes. The film received a huge amount of state sponsorship, which was also criticised.

In 2014 and 2015, she entered Iran's Shiraz Rally, driving a Peugeot 206 and a Mitsubishi Lancer, respectively. She finished in 2014, in thirteenth place.

In 2015, she did some testing for the Indian Mahindra team, in their XUV500 4WD. Once more, it is not clear whether this was during or in preparation for competition.

Since then, her profile, outside Iran at least, has been lower. She has undertaken a PhD and teaches at a university, as well as speaking publicly about her motorsport experiences. In 2016, she talked of setting up a women’s racing school.

She was nicknamed “Little Schumacher” in Iran during her first brush with stardom.

(Image from http://arhiva.dalje.com)

Women in the Dubai 24 Hours

The Reiter Engineering team in 2017

The Dubai 24 Hours is an endurance race for sports, GT and touring cars, promoted by the Dutch Creventic organisation and run at the Dubai Autodrome. It is a mass-start event with multiple classes and a large field of both professional and “gentleman” drivers. It is now part of a worldwide endurance series run by Creventic.

Women drivers have been involved in every edition of the race, since its inaugural event in 2006. In 2011, Claudia Hürtgen, driving a BMW Z4 for the Schubert squad, was part of the winning team. She has scored several podium finishes in BMWs. In recent years, Swiss Chantal Kroll of the Hofor team has been the leading female driver, with four class wins and a championship class win in 2016. Flick Haigh, from the UK, has also challenged for overall honours, along with her team-mates.

For the 2006-2009 races, the data below may not be complete, as entry lists with full team listings are hard to find. Team names have been included, for those who wish to refer to the earlier results lists.

2006

Schubert Motors 3 Claudia Hürtgen/Pierre von Mentlen/Johannes Stuck/Bernhard Laber/Thomas Jager (BMW 120d) - 9th (class win)

First Motorsport Belgium Kelly Jamers/Kevin Leest/Pascal Nelissen Grade/Dirk van Rompuy (Porsche 997 Supercup) - 20th

Orbit Autosport 1 Sheila Verschuur/Mike Verschuur/Tim Buijs (SEAT Ibiza) - 25th

Realizer Team Kati Droste/Stephanie Halm/Nicole Lüttecke/Catharina Felser (Mazda RX8) - DNF

2007

Pro Speed Competition 1 Alexandra van de Velde/Rudi Penders/Franz Lamot/Stephan Schrauwen (Porsche GT3 RS) - 3rd

Team Rhinos Stefanie Manns/Marcel Leipert/Joe Schmidtler/Igor Skuz/Vitaliy Bilotserkivskyy (Ford Fiesta) - 41st

Seyffarth Motorsport Gina Maria Adenauer/Jan Seyffarth/Hannes Plesse/Christian Hohenadel/Philipp Wlazik (Porsche GT3) - DNF

2008

Schubert Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Stian Sorlie/Heinz Schmersal/Jörg Viebahn (BMW 120d) - 15th (class win)

G Force Racing Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Philippe Greish/Christian Kelders (Porsche 997) - 18th

Achterberg Motorsport Renate Sanders/Frank Wilschut/Pim van Riet (BMW 120d) - 25th

Equipe Verschuur Sheila Verschuur/Harrie Kolem/Mickey Bertram (Renault Clio) - 26th

2009

Al Faisal Racing Claudia Hürtgen/Stian Sorlie/Paul Spooner/Abdulaziz al Faisal (BMW Z4 Coupe) - 2nd (class win)

TeamA Sweden Sandra Oscarsson/Per Oscarsson/Anders Frid/Jimmy Johansson (Volkswagen Golf) - 51st

2010

Al Faisal Racing Claudia Hürtgen/Abdulaziz al Faisal/Marko Hartung/Khaled al Faisal 9BMW Z4) - 3rd

Nicholas Mee Racing 2 Corentine Quiniou/Jalal Mahmoud/Tarek Mahmoud/Greg Audi (Aston Martin V8 Vantage) - 49th

RED Motorsport Karolina Lampel-Czapka/Marco Deutsch/Martin Roos/Gunther Deutsch (Lotus Exige) - 62nd

First Motorsport 1 Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Philippe Greish/Christian Kelders (Ferrari F430 GT3) - DNF

2011

Need for Speed Schubert 1 Claudia Hürtgen/Tommy Milner/Edward Sandström (BMW Z4 GT3) - 1st

Auto Sport GT 2 Caroline Grifnée/Thierry Mulot/Fabien Vericel (Renault Clio) - 29th (class win)

Besaplast Racing Team 2 Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Rainald Mattes/Christian Leutheuser (Mini Cooper) - 30th

K&K Racing Valek Motorsport Karolina Lampel-Czapka/Michaela Peskova/Marcel Kusin/Petr Vallek (BMW 130i) - 40th

Nooren Autosport 2 Liesette Braams/Maurice Bol/Rich Pham/Sunny Wong BMW 123d) - 67th

Springbox Cyndie Allemann/Jade Handi/Amandine Foulard/Corentine Quiniou (Renault Clio) - 70th

2012

Saudi Falcons by Schubert Claudia Hürtgen/Edward Sandström/Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Faisal bin Laden/Jörg Müller (BMW Z4 GT3) - 4th

Fach 1 Auto Tech Andrina Gugger/Marco Zolin/Daniel Allemann/Martin Rogginger/Swen Dolenc (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 13th

Exagon Engineering Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Christian Kelders/Maurice Gouteyron (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 21st

Besaplast Racing Team 2 Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Fredrik Lestrup/Reinhard Nehls (Mini Cooper) - 25th (class win)

Besaplast Racing Team 1 Stephanie Halm/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Roland Asch/Sebastian Asch (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 28th

Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Raffi Bader/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 36th

Racingdivas Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Sheila Verschuur/Gaby Uljee (Renault Clio) - 39th

Gulf Team First Keiko Ihara/Yusuf Bassil/Martin Baerschmidt/John Iossifidis (Aston Martin Vantage) - 50th

2013

B2F Competition Laetitia Tortelier/Pascal Colon/Benoit Fretin/Bruno Fretin (Porsche 997) - 23rd

Racing Divas Team Schubert Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Sheila Verschuur/Gaby Uljee (BMW 320D) - 26th (class win)

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Lee Mowle/Joe Osborne/Ryan Ratcliffe (Ginetta G50) - 27th

Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 35th (class win)

Saudi Falcons Team Schubert 2 Claudia Hürtgen/Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Faisal bin Laden/Jörg Müller/Dirk Müller (BMW Z4 GT3) - 38th

GT Academy Team RJN2 Sabine Schmitz/Peter Pyzera/Alex Buncombe/Steve Doherty/Mark Schulzhitskiy (Nissan 370Z) - 43rd

2014

Walkenhorst Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Daniela Schmid/Henry Walkenhorst/Jens Richter/Ralf Oeverhaus (BMW Z4 GT3) - 6th

SX Team Schubert Claudia Hürtgen/Dirk Werner/Paul Dalla Lana/Bill Auberlen/Dane Cameron (BMW Z4 GT3) - 10th

Racing Divas Team Schubert Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Gaby Uljee/Shirley van der Lof/Natasja Smit Sø (BMW 320D) - 31st (class win)

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Jörg Hatscher/Michael Bonk/Max Partl/Ralf Oeverhaus (BMW M3 GT4) - 40th

Hofor-Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 54th

2015

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Gaby Uljee/Max Partl (BMW M235i) - 23rd (class win)

Speedworks Motorsport 2 Flick Haigh/John Gilbert/Paul O’Neill/Devon Modell (Aston Martin Vantage) - 29th

Hofor-Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Sarah Toniutti/Martin Kroll/Hal Prewitt/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 34th (class win)

KPM Racing 2 Gosia Rdest/Javier Morcillo/Tom Wilson/Lucas Orrock (Volkswagen Golf) - 51st

Frensch Power Motorsport Lisa Christin Brunner/Martin Heidrich/Reinhard Nehls/Friedhelm Erlebach (Peugeot 207) - 65th

Car Point S Racing Schmieglitz Cyndie Allemann/Daniel Schmieglitz/Axel Wiegner/Heine Bo Frederiksen/Heinz Jürgen Kroner (SEAT Leon Supercopa) - 79th

2016

Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3) - 4th (class win)

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Ryan Ratcliffe/Joe Osborne/Frank Stippler (Audi R8 LMS) - 5th

Artthea Sport Nanna Gøtsche/Martin Gøtsche/Klaus Werner/Jens Feucht (Porsche 991) - 22nd

Century Motorsport Anna Walewska/Nathan Freke/Tom Oliphant/Aleksander Schjerpen (Ginetta G55 GT4) - 24th (class win)

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Michael Bonk/Axel Burkhardt/Volker Piepmeyer/Phillip Bethke (BMW M235i) - 49th

Team Altran Peugeot Sarah Bovy/Thierry Boyer/Jérôme Ogay/Michael Carlsen/Mathias Schläppi (Peugeot 208 GTI) - DNF

Sorg Rennsport Rebecca Jackson/Ricardo Flores/George Richardson/Chris James/Ahmed al Melaihi (BMW M235i) - DNF

Car Collection Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Markus Winkelhock/Heinz Schmersal/Pierre Ehret/Peter Schmidt (Audi R8 LMS) - DNF

2017

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Ryan Ratcliffe/Joe Osborne/Christopher Haase (Audi R8 LMS) - 4th

Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3) - 7th (class win)

Zest Racecar Engineering Gosia Rdest/John Allen/JT Coupal/Philippe Ulivieri/John Weisberg (SEAT Leon TCR) - 52nd

Reiter Engineering Naomi Schiff/Anna Rathe/Marylin Niederhauser/Caitlin Wood (KTM X-Bow) - 72nd

2018
Phoenix Racing Gosia Rdest/Joonas Lappalainen/Philip Ellis/John-Louis Jasper (Audi R8 LMS) - 26th
Besagroup Racing Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovacs/Roland Asch/Sebastian Asch/Fidel Lieb (Mercedes AMG GTR) - 33rd
Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF

2019
MRS GT-Racing Gosia Rdest/Helmut Rodig/Wolfgang Triller/Yutaka Matsushima/Christopher Zochling (Porsche 991) - 18th
Hofor Racing Chantal Prinz (Kroll)/Alexander Prinz/Michael Kroll/Kenneth Heyer/Christiaan Frankenhout (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF
Hofor Racing/Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Martin Kroll/Michael Fischer/Gustav Engljaehringer/Michael Schrey (BMW M4 GT4) - DNF
ERC Sport Katarina Kyvalova/Ryan Ratcliffe/Jon Minshaw/Gabriele Piana (Mercedes AMG GT4) - DNF

2020 (race stopped at 7h due to track flooding)
MRS GT-Racing Gosia Rdest/John Hartshorne/Ollie Hancock/Jukka Honkavuori (Porsche 991) - 18th
Cicely Motorsport Katarina Kyvalova/Adam Morgan/Jon Minshaw/Adam Butel/Jake Giddings (Mercedes AMG GT4) - 37th
ST Racing Samantha Tan/John Boyd/Nicklas Wittmer/Jon Miller (BMW M4 GT4) - 38th
Heide Motorsport Rahel Frey/Heinz Schmersal/Alex Welch/Mike Beckhusen (Audi R8 LMS GT4) - 41st
3Y Technology Beitske Visser/Gilles Vannelet/Nidal Baumgartner/Petr Lisa (BMW M4 GT4) - 57th

2021

ST Racing Samantha Tan/Jon Miller/Chandler Hull/Nick Wittmer (BMW M4 GT4) - 15th (class win)

Vortex V8 Karen Gaillard/Lionel Amrouche/Philippe Bonnel/Alban Varutti (Vortex V8) - 35th

2022

SPS Automotive Performance Reema Juffali/Valentin Pierburg/George Kurtz/John Loggie (Mercedes-AMG GT3) - 9th

Leipert Motorsport Betty Chen/Jean-Francois Brunot/Kerong Li/Joel Eriksson/Brendon Leitch (Lamborghini Huracan) - 16th

ST Racing Samantha Tan/Bryson Morris/Harry Gottsacker/Tyler Maxson/Anthony Lazzaro (BMW M4 GT3) - 25th

Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing Jasmin Preisig/Fabian Danz/Constantin Kletzer/Paul Sieljes (VW Golf) - 47th

2023

S'Aalocin by Kox Racing Stephane Kox/Peter Kox/Nico Pronk/Tom Boonen/Dennis Retera (Porsche 911 GT3 R) - 21st

Wolf-Power Racing Jasmin Preisig/Ivars Vallers/Kalle Bergman/Andreas Hofler (Audi RS3 LMS TCR) - 37th

Dragon Racing Rhea Loucas/Leonidas Loucas/Bradley Ellis/Charles Hollings (Mercedes AMG GT4) - DNF

2024

S'Aalocin by Kox Racing Stephane Kox/Peter Kox/Nico Pronk/Tom Boonen/Dennis Retera (Porsche 911 GT3 R) - DNF

Century Motorsport Rianna O'Meara Hunt/David Holloway/Piers Johnson/Nick Halstead (BMW M4 GT4) - DNF

2025

Heart of Racing by SPS Hannah Grisham/Ian James/Gray Newell/Zacharie Robichon (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 10th

Haupt Racing Team Reema Juffali/Hubert Haupt/Romain Andriolo/Salman Owega (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 15th

asBest Racing Pia Ohlsson/Thomas Alpiger/Nadir Zuhour/Christian Ladurner/Mohammed al Owais (SEAT Leon) - 47th

Vortex V8 Solenn Amrouche/Lionel Amrouche/Philippe Bonnel/Gilles Courtois (Vortex V8) - DNF

Hofor Racing Chantal Prinz/Michael Kroll/Alexander Kroll/Carsten Tilke/Timo Rumpfkeil (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF

WS Racing Emely de Huis/Jeroen Bleekemolen/Keith Gatehouse/George King/Tim Pappas (BMW M4 GT4) - DNF

2026

Pure Rxcing Michelle Gatting/Max Hofer/Alex Malykhin/Alexey Nesov (Porsche 911) - 6th

Hofor Racing Chantal Prinz/Alexander Prinz/Torsten Kratz/Manuel Metzger/Maximilian Partl (Mercedes AMG GT43 - 12h

Seblajoux Racing Solenn Amrouche/Sebastien Lajoux/Enzo Joulie/Mathys Jaubert (Porsche 992) - 20th

ARMotors by HRT Performance Maya Hartge/Grigorii Burlutskii/Nick Halstead/Alex Renner/Dmitriy Shishko (Porsche 911) - 30th

asBest Racing Pia Ohlsson/Silas Pasos/Lutz Obermann/Henrik Seibel/Junichi Umemoto (Cupra Leon TCR) - 41st

asBest Racing Desiree Muller/Zaamin Jaffer/Dylan Pragji/Ragwad Sarieddine/Marco Grilil

Rossa Racing Amna al-Qubaisi/Ismail Ahmedkodjhaev/Viacheslav Gutak/Roman Rusinov/Evgeny Kireev (Rossa LM GT) - 51st/DNF

TG-RR Rio Shimono/Aimi Saito/Miki Onaga/Kokoro Sato/Rami Sasaki (Toyota GR Supra) - 53rd/DNF

(Image copyright Naomi Schiff)

Edith Weiss

Edith Weiss in Qatar in 1997

Edith is a German driver who is based in the Middle East. She is from Bavaria, and was born in 1964.

She had a slightly unusual start to her motorsport career, beginning as a team manager in German rallying, in 1985. She began competing, as a navigator, in Germany, a year later, with Rainer Scherer. They were disqualified from the one event they did together. In 1987, she returned to team management for Peugeot, and concentrated her competitive efforts on the track, in a Peugeot 205 GTi. She drove in touring car events in Germany and Czechoslovakia.

In 1990, she combined all three strands of her motorsport career, racing the 205 in endurance events, including the Nürburgring 24 Hours, organising the Peugeot Cup and navigating for Eberhart Frech and Gerhard Merz, in another 205 and a Fiat Uno.

Edith’s navigation activities in 1991 began with sitting alongside Oliver Stollner in a Golf, for the Horber Rally in 1991. Later, she did the same for Gerhard Merz in an Opel Kadett, in the Rallye de Wallonie. However, most of this year was taken up by hillclimbs, using a Peugeot 205 GTi, and circuit racing, using the Peugeot and other cars, including a BMW and a Suzuki Swift. She drove in that year’s Nürburgring 24 Hours in the Peugeot, but did not finish.

Her first Middle Eastern rally was as a co-driver to Mohammed Kaplan, in the Qatar Rally. The car was a Toyota Celica and they were third in class. However, at this point, Edith’s focus was still on circuit racing, in a Citroen AX this year, and she managed to finish the Nürburgring 24 Hours with Dieter Steinlein and Andreas Schultes.

1993 saw her move more fully into rallying, but still as a co-driver, navigating for Gerhard Merz, Carsten Wiegand and Mathias Schütt. Only Mathias Schütt, in a Toyota Corolla, managed to finish. 1994 continued in the same vein, with trips to France and Hungary as well as Germany, alongside Carsten Wiegand, Gerhard Merz and Detlef Knöppler. This gave her a mix of decent finishes and early exits due to technical issues. A highlight was her first WRC event: the Monte Carlo Rally, alongside Monika Petzold, in a Renault Clio. They crashed out. 1995 was yet more of the same, although she sat with some new drivers and did two WRC events with Stefan Reininger, in a Clio.

After another year of navigation, Edith switched seats and moved to the Middle East in 1997. Her first rally car, as a driver, was a Nissan Sunny GTi-R. Co-driven by Vren Heierli, she entered the UAE and Jordan international rallies, retiring from both with gearbox and driveshaft problems. In the Qatar Rally, she managed her first finish, with David Twiggs on the maps. They were tenth overall, third in class. A late-season run in the Dubai Rally ended on stage three with a puncture.

She aimed to continue her MERC activities in 1998, but after entering the Oman Rally, the Sunny was lost in transit, re-appearing some months later in Abu Dhabi. After this disaster, she sat 1999 out from a competition perspective, concentrating on driving instruction and VIP events. For part of the year, she moved to Daytona. She returned to competition in 2000, with one outing in the WRC Rally of Cyprus. She did not finish.

She returned to Cyprus in the Sunny in 2001, but still could not finish, going out close to the end this time. Two of her three MERC rallies also ended in retirement: Lebanon and Syria, with an overheated engine and another bad driveshaft respectively. She could not start the Dubai Rally, due to her co-driver Jacqui Healing not having the correct license.

Her 2002 programme moved away from the Middle East, with entries in Rally Argentina and the Safari Rally. She was 22nd in the Argentine mountains in a SEAT Ibiza, winning her class and the ladies’ award. Using a Subaru Impreza, she did not finish the Safari event.

The following year, she was back to MERC rallies. She did not finish the Rally of Lebanon in a Peugeot 306.

2004 was one of Edith’s busiest years for rallying. She had acquired a Skoda Octavia, running to Formula Two specification. Her first event was meant to be the Rally of Cyprus, but administrative gremlins struck again, and her car did not reach the island in time, due to a ferry workers’ strike. The following month, she went out of the Rally of Turkey with a broken steering rack, then a dispute over whether her roll cage was FIA-approved prevented her from starting the Rally of Japan. She did not have any better luck in the MERC, retiring from the Lebanon and Dubai rallies with hydraulics and starter motor problems respectively. Even a one-off co-driving effort with Wael Murjan in the UAE led to a clutch failure.

2005 contained more of the same. Edith entered seven MERC events and finished one, the Dubai Rally, in which she was tenth. Her car was a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII. To be fair, the Rally of Lebanon was cancelled, and she was prevented from taking her Lancer into Qatar through Saudi Arabia, but she still retired from the Troodos, Bahrain and Oman events, with mechanical problems. Both the Lancer and the Octavia were causing problems. The WRC-counting Cyprus Rally once more gave her a better result: first in class, and first lady driver, 39th overall. Her car was a Peugeot 306.

Homologation issues reared their ugly head again in 2006, with the Octavia and its roll cage once more. This time, Edith was disqualified from the Rally of Cyprus. The engine on the Octavia could not be replaced in time for the Oman Rally, but she managed twelfth place in the Jordan Rally, in the Lancer again. The following year, the issue with the roll cage had still not been resolved, and she was disqualified from the Rally of Lebanon. Previously, the electrics on the Octavia had given up in Cyprus. This was the last year that Edith used it.

Away from the Skoda, Edith headed back to Europe for the Rally of Italy, on Sardinia. She was driving a Renault Clio, and managed third in class, 60th overall. In the Lancer, she was fifteenth in the Dubai Rally, again the first female finisher. Her other planned MERC round, the UAE Rally, was cancelled, but she entered the Ajman Rally in the UAE itself late in the season, in the Lancer, and was eighth.

Two rather troubled seasons followed, from a rally perspective. After renting a Lancer Evo VII for the 2008 Rally of Turkey, Edith was unable to start the event proper, despite finishing the recce. Her second outing, the Dubai Rally, ended in a similar manner, after a fuel leak was not fixed in time. The following year, 2009, she entered the Elpa Rally in Greece, in a Lancer Evo VII, but did not finish. Apart from these events, she took a break from stage rallying for much of this time.

During her break, she did some rally raids in a Porsche Cayenne in 2009, including the Silk Way Rally, before returning to the stages in 2010, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 and Skoda Fabia. She drove in Portugal and Germany. In a Group N Lancer, she finished 24th in the Rally of Portugal. Her German outing, in the Fabia, was running as the 00 course car for the Rally of Germany.

During this time, she also started working as a commissar for the FIA, which is slightly ironic, given her chequered history with scrutineers and technical adjudicators.

In 2011, she stepped up her rallying activities once more. In the Acropolis, she limped to the finish in 33rd, after problems with the ECU and suspension. Her two MERC events, Dubai and Qatar, ended in retirement. Her car for all of these rallies was an Evo VIII. She also competed in some rounds of the Qatar rally championship, finishing the fourth round in eighth. She mostly drove the Evo VIII, but once tried a Subaru Impreza.

In 2012, she continued to be very busy, driving in six rounds of the Qatar Rally Championship, using an Impreza and two Lancers. She scored four top-ten finishes, with a best of third in Round Six, and was fifth in the championship. She was also 23rd in the Rally of Lebanon, and retired from the Dubai Rally, using the Evo VIII both times. In a Subaru Impreza WRX, she was ninth in the Qatar Rally.

Despite coming towards the end of her 40s, Edith continued to drive in the Qatar Rally Championship in 2013. She was second in the first round, driving an Impreza. The second and third rounds gave her two sixth places, although she only just managed to finish one, due to a broken rear axle. In between, she drove in the Qatar Rally itself, a round of the MERC, and was fourteenth, sixth in class. 

A switch to a Lancer Evo IX did not happen. Instead, Edith acquired a Nissan Patrol, and moved into rally raids again. Her biggest event was the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, in Qatar, in which she was eleventh. She later drove in five rounds of the Qatar Baja Championship, finishing fifth or sixth in each of them. 

She carried on rallying in the Qatar championship in 2014, in a Lancer Evo IX. She was third in the second round, and twelfth in the Rally of Qatar itself, which led to fourth place in the Qatar series. She also featured in the MERC again, with Vicky Psaraki as co-driver. Her best finishes were two fifteenth places, in Kuwait and Dubai. She was also 17th in Lebanon, and 25th in Cyprus. She was third in the MERC Group N standings. This was all despite her usual round of administrative troubles, including her car being sent to the wrong workshop before the Dubai Rally.

During 2014, she considered retiring, and announced that her visits to Cyprus and Lebanon would be her last, but she appears to have reconsidered this. She entered the MERC again, in the Lancer, starting with the Qatar Rally, in which she was eighth. She was eighth again in Kuwait, but was then excluded from the Shiraz Rally in Iran, due to a non-compliant seat belt in the car. A return to Cyprus was mediocre, and she was 33rd, before non-finishing in Oman and managing thirteenth in Dubai. She was tenth in the Middle East championship, and second in Group N. In between, she also contested the Qatar national rally series again, with a best finish of second. 

She did some more MERC rallies in the Lancer in 2016, although history repeated itself when the car got stuck at a Saudi border control before the Qatar International Rally. She got to the start of the Dubai Rally, but did not finish, despite finishing eighth on the first day.

Her retirement was put off for another year in 2017, as she did another part-season in the driving seat. She was 41st in the Cyprus Rally, driving a Lancer, then entered the Rally of Portugal in a Peugeot 208. She retired after the first stage.

In future, Edith has stated a wish to develop her work with the FIA further.

(Picture from http://www.motoringme.com/all-girl-teams-at-this-weekends-qatar-rally/)