Adrienn Vogel

Adrienn Vogel is the 2020 European Ladies Rally Champion. She is from Hungary and began her motorsport career on circuits, before switching to rallying.

She first came to prominence in the 2012 Lotus Ladies' Cup, and all-female racing series held in Eastern Europe and based in Hungary. The cars were Elises. She was quite late getting started, turning 30 at the end of the year. The Lotus Cup was not her first experience of motorsport, but it was quite high-profile. During the same season, she also raced in a one-make series for the Suzuki Swift. She was not among the frontrunners and finished 16th in the championship.

In her second attempt at the Lotus championship in 2014, Adrienn was second overall after winning four races, at the Red Bull Ring and the Slovakiaring. Only a disastrous first round at Oschersleben prevented her from winning the title, which went to her fellow Hungarian, Adrienn Bende. The same year, she made a guest appearance in the Hungarian round of the Maserati Super Trofeo, sharing her car with Anita Toth. They were tenth in the first race after Adrienn worked her way up from 20th place.

As well as sportscar activities, she was still active in the Swift Cup, on and off. In 2013, she improved her championship position to thirteenth. She carried on with it after the demise of the Lotus Ladies' Cup, which folded due to disputes with the Hungarian motorsport federation. By 2016, she was one of the leading Swift drivers. She won one race and was second twice, finishing fourth in the championship.

She switched her allegiance from Suzuki to Kia in 2017, joining their Lotos one-make series on track. The Polish arm of the marque was happy to have an all-female two-car team, with Petra Krajnyak taking the second Picanto. Adrienn was ninth in the championnship.

She entered the KIA Platinum Cup in 2018, another one-make series for the Picanto, this time based in Poland. 

Her second season in the Platinum Cup ended with one of the best drives of her career. She had crashed out of the first race, at Monza, due to contact with another driver, and had to start at the back. After a good start, she battled her way up the grid and was only narrowly beaten to the win by Dawid Borek, who overtook her on the final straight. This was her third podium finish of the year and she was fifth in the championship.

At the same time as her circuit racing career developed, rallying was also part of her competition schedule. Her first rally as a driver was back in 2014, driving a Suzuki Ignis. Unfortunately, she got as far as the superspecial on the second day ofthe Szilveszter Rallye before her car's half-shaft broke. She had tried co-driving the year before, sitting beside Egon Burkus in a Lotus Exige.

As a Kia driver, she returned to this Christmas asphalt event in 2017 and finished seventh overall, just ahead of Petra Krajnyak. 

The Kia Picanto proved quite a decent rally car and Adrienn entered quite a lot of rallies in it in 2018, normally sprint events. Her best finish was probably her seventh place in the Magyarboly Kupa, from 23 finishers.

Rallying became her primary focus in 2019. As well as more home events in the Picanto, she did her first rallies outside Hungary, the Perger Muhlstein Rallye in Austria and the Platinum Janusz Kulig and Mariana Bublewicza Memorial Rally in Poland. For both of these events, she drove a Ford Fiesta. She was 35th and 38th respectively. She was also in the Fiesta for her first attempt at Rally Hungary, a European Championship round. This led to a 41st place finish, second in the ERC women's standings.

She began 2020 with a run in the Picanto in Croatia, finishing 24th in the Delta Snow Show. However, most of the year was spent in the Fiesta, taking on the European ERC3 championship. After a second warmup in the Rally Bohemia in Czechia, she and co-driver Anett Notheisz were ready for the first round of the ERC, the Rallye di Roma Capitale. They were fourth overall and the first female crew. Rally Hungary was part of the ERC that year and she was 31st, with another Ladies' award. Her third ERC Rally, the Canary Islands event, ended in electronic failure after the fourteenth stage, when she was lying 50th. In a year affected by the worldwide Covid 19 crisis, this was enough for seventh in the ERC3 championship and first in the Ladies' standings.

Domestic rallying still figured in her plans and her best overall result was an 18th place in the Nyiregyhaza Rally.  

The Hungarian championship was her main home in 2021, although she did find the time and budget for the ERC rounds in Rome and Barum in Czechia, as well as her home ERC event. Rally Hungary was the best of the three: she was 30th overall in the Fiesta. 

At home, she rallied both the Fiesta and a Peugeot 208. The Fiesta was the quicker of the two cars, and she earned a tenth place in the Kazincbarcika Rally in it. This was quickly followed up with 15th in the Nyiregyhaza Rally. Outside Hungary, her best result was an eleventh place in the Kulig and Bublewicza Memorial Rally, in Poland. The Peugeot, in Rally4 spec, came out for some Hungarian rallies early in the season.

She competed more extensively in Czechia in 2022, although the Fiesta wasn't the most reliable this year. Her only major finish was a 39th place in the Kowax Valasska Rally ValMez. Her only other finish in it was a 42nd place in the ADAC 3-Staedte-Rallye in Germany.

The Peugeot was her car for the Hungarian championship. Her top-twenty finish on the Therwoolin Zemplen Rally, a 17th place, helped her to fourth in the 2WD class. She was also fourth in the Hungarian one-make championship for the 208.

2023 was similar, although she was driving the 208 exclusively now. She earned top-twenty finishes in three Hungarian rallies: 19th in the Salgo Rallye and the Mecsek Rallye, and fourteenth in the WHB Gyor Rally. On her way to another fourth in the 2WD class, she picked up three class stage wins. Rally Hungary was more of a challenge, but she was still 33rd from 62 finishers. In the same car, she finished two Czech rallies, including a 40th place in the Barum Rallye Zlin.

After 2023, she stepped back from active competition, although she is still involved in driver training and media, as well as other winter sports. She has been voted Hungary's female driver of the year more than once.

(Image copyright Adrienn Vogel)

Natya Soodeen

Natya Soodeen is a rally driver from Barbados who started competing seriously in 2020. After a debut at Vaucluse Raceway in 2019, her first rally was delayed due to the coronavirus crisis. She managed to spend time training in Sweden and the USA before the King of the Hill Rally in October.

Her car was a BMW 318 Compact E36 and she was entered into the Barbados championship’s BimmaCup. Co-driven by Justin Sisnett all season, her best finish was a 24th place in the BRC Winter Rally. She was third in the BimmaCup. Her first entry into the Sol Rally Barbados ended early on, as she rolled her car.

In 2021, she concentrated on rallysprints in Barbados. Her best overall finish in the BMW was 21st, in the MCBI/BRC Sprint. As well as rallies, she won a national autocross championship.Away from active competition, she was elected head of the Women in Motorsport committee for Barbados.

In 2022, she rallied the BMW quite extensively in Barbados, with a best finish of 21st in the BRC Winter Rally. She had a new navigator in Tammy Nelson, having wanted to compete with a woman co-driver earlier. Sadly, she did not finish the Sol Rally Barbados again.

She got rid of the Sol Rally Barbados albatross in 2023, taking the BMW to 39th overall with Sameisha Williams.  It was an exciting year for her; she scored her first top ten in a single-venue stage rally in Barbados, and she also had her first overseas event. The Martinique Rally Tour was part of the French championship and she was fourteenth overall, winning the ladies' award.

She continued to compete extensively in 2024, aking the BMW to Martinique again. This time, it developed mechanical problems and she retired on stage 13, near the end of the second leg. She and Sameisha finished the Rally Barbados again, in 58th place, not helped by a penalty.The BRC Winter Rally was her best event again and she was 25th.

After so long with the BMW, it must have been a big change to switch to Peugeot power at the start of 2025. Natya's new car was a Peugeot 208 R2. She had an inauspicious start, failing to finish the season-opening BRC Shakedown Rally. The reason was prosaic; she was having trouble depressing the clutch fully. A month later, clutch pedal adjusted, she was finishing Rally Barbados, in 48th place from 67 finishers. She was then 18th in Martinique.

A series of class wins in sprint events in Barbados followed, leading to a class championship at the end of the year. She brought the BMW out again for the BRC Winter Rally, but did not finish.

She continued to rally the Peugeot in 2026.

Before turning to motorsport, Natya represented both Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago in equestrian events until she was suspended by sporting authorities, for reasons that were never made clear.

(Image coypright Natya Soodeen)

Gisela Blume

Gisela (left) with Petra Schuster

Gisela Blume drove in European rallies in the 1980s. She was a contemporary and rival of the similarly-named Rena Blome. 

She began rallying as a co-driver, in 1978. She sat alongside Gunter Lehmann for some German events in his Datsun Cherry before spending another season with Heinz-Walter Schewe. It was in 1980 that she got behind the wheel herself, combining some outings as a driver in a Ford Fiesta with more co-driving. Her own navigator was Petra Schuster, who sat beside her for most of her career.

Gisela won the Coupe des Dames in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1981, driving a Peugeot 104. She was 56^th overall. She, Rena Blome and Waltraud Wunsch were the only non-French drivers in that particular car; Gisela finished considerably higher than 115th-placed Rena and Waltraud in 88th place.

The same car and driver was entered into the Acropolis Rally, another World Championship round, but did not finish. A sister car driven by Waltraud Wunsch was another non-finisher. Rena and Waltraud took their Peugeots to some other WRC events in 1981, but Gisela only did two. She spent the rest of the season in the German championship, driving the Fiesta and finishing ninth in her class. Her best overall result was a 15th place in the ADAC Wiking Rallye, a tarmac event.

Another run in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1982 ended in transmission failure, this time driving a Ford Escort XR3i. However, this did not set the tone for the rest of her German rally season. By March, she was back inside the top twenty with a 19th place in the mixed-surface Rallye Trifels, ahead of Rena Blome again. A thirteenth place and class win followed in the Lubeck Rallye. Three further top-twenty finishes ensued, then a career-best eighth in the first running of Rallye Deutschland, again ahead of Rena.  

Her final year of major competition was 1983 and she used two different Ford Escorts: the XR3i and an RS1600i. The XR3i gave her the best results, including 15th place in the Westfalen-Lippe Rally and 19th in the Saarland Peugeot-Talbot Rally. In September, driving the RS1600i, she attempted Rallye Deutschland again, but did not finish. 

If her career had not have been so short, Gisela probably would have been in line for the Peugeot Germany seat in the 205 T16 that eventually went to Michele Mouton. She had proved herself the equal of the better-known Rena Blome, and a quick learner in different cars.

She died in 2015, at the age of 60.

Dorothy Patten

 Dorothy Patten was a British driver who mainly competed in rallies, but also raced before and after the war. 

Her origins are rather obscure and “Dorothy” was not her real given name. It is likely that she was originally named Alice Minnie Patten and had come from a working-class background. Both of her parents died before she was ten and she and one of her sisters were sent to St Mark’s Home for Girls, a domestic science school where Minnie trained as a maid. 

A 1939 summons for speeding close to Brooklands in the name of Dorothy Minnie Patten, in her car, seems to prove her identity. 

Alice Minnie Patten was born in 1906 in Flintshire. As a teenager, she worked as a housemaid in a surgeon’s house, but at some point in the 1920s or early 1930s, she seems to have come into some money and moved to the south of England.

She got her start in motorsport very early, in 1933. Her first car seems to have been an Alvis, which she drove in that year’s Alpine Rally, finishing fourteenth in class and 53rd overall. She tried again on the 1934 Alpine but does not seem to have finished. 

Starting from John O’Groats, she tackled her first Monte Carlo Rally in 1935, still with the Alvis. She was 79th overall.

Another of her early cars was a British Salmson, which was the first she used for circuit racing. She was second in the Unlimited Standard Sports Car class for women in the 1936 Brighton Speed Trials in it, narrowly beaten by Kay Petre in a Frazer Nash. The following year, she raced it at the Crystal Palace circuit, finishing third in an Unlimited Sports Car handicap at the United Hospitals and University Motor Club meeting.

She drove the Salmson in the 1936 RAC Rally and the 1937 Monte Carlo Rally. The same, or a similar, car, also finished the 1938 Monte. This car belonged to Rainer Dorndorf. It took her to a 43rd place in the 1937 Monte, from 81 finishers. Some results lists have Dorothy entered as a co-driver to Rainer Dorndorf in a Salmson in the 1938 Monte and crashing out, but this sounds unlikely given her own entry.

She was named as a car entrant for R.E. Dorndorf's special-bodied Darl’mat Peugeot in the 1939 Sydenham Plate. This was a car that Dorothy didn’t race much herself at the time, although she used it in rallies. Her first major result in it was probably an eleventh place in the 1939 Paris-St. Raphael Rally. She was fourth in Class B, for drivers with no previous podium finishes.

Later, she married Rainer Dorndorf, a German based in Ireland, and began styling herself “Baroness von Dorndorf”, although her husband does not appear to have held such a title. As a British national married to a German, she was briefly interned during the war, although she was soon cleared of being any risk and released. By 1942, the pair had divorced and Dorothy was apparently engaged to Captain Anthony Ryan. They never actually married. It was claimed in the Tatler that Rainer Dorndorf had died in a hunting accident in 1938, but this was untrue. In 1947, she did remarry, to David Treherne. 

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Dorothy was able to resume her career after the war. She entered the speed trials held at Elstree Aerodrome in April 1946, taking the Peugeot to a class win. She covered the quarter-mile course in 22.8s.

The following year, she went back to the Brighton Speed Trials, but could only manage 17th in class and sixth-fastest lady. Her only circuit race in this car seems to have been a three-lap contest at Goodwood in 1948, although her finishing position is not recorded.

She died in 1975, aged 68.

Thanks to Adam Ferrington for information.

Sarah Rumeau

 

Sarah Rumeau is a French rally driver who had her first season of competition in 2021, finishing thirteenth in the French junior championship and winning a French women’s title. 

Her entry into rallying came after a single year spent racing a Caterham in France. This brought her to the attention of the FFSA’s Rallye Jeunes programme, which produced Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier. She made the final of its selection event and was the best female driver. Initially, she wrote off rallying as unaffordable for her, but she managed to put a schedule together for 2021.

She started off in a Ford Fiesta but switched to a Peugeot 208 in September. Her first rally in it was the Mont Blanc-Morzine Rally, and she was 67th from 163 finishers. It was in this car that she had her best finish of the year, a 22nd place in the Antibes-Cote d’Azur Rally with a Junior class win. The Fiesta was not as quick as the Peugeot. She managed one of her four women’s class wins on the Rallye Aveyron-Rouergue Occitanie, but her results were notably not as strong.

Her new car for 2022 was an Opel Corsa Rally4. She began her year with a Coupe des Dames in the Rallye Le Touquet - Pas-de-Calais, finishing 40th out of 124 crews with Julie Amblard, her regular navigator. Another ladies’ win was supplemented with a second place in Rally4 in the Rhone Charbonnieres event, 25th overall. This was one of four Rally4 runner-up spots she earned in 2022, helping her to second in the 2WD Tarmac championship and also in the Amateur Trophy. Her best overall finish was a 22nd place in the Rallye d’Antibes - Cote d’Azur, although she was a consistent top-25 finisher this year, sometimes in events with a longer list of finishers.

Her plans for 2023 included moving on to a Rally3-spec car, but she remained with a Rally4 Peugeot, as well as an Opel Corsa-e Rally, an electric car in a one-make series. She travelled throughout Europe with the Corsa-e and was competitive, finishing fourth in the championship. Her best finish was third, in the Rallye Mont-Blanc-Morzine. In the Peugeot, a 208, her best finish was 23rd in the Terre de Vaucluse Rally.

At the start of 2024, Sarah and Julie were picked up by the Iron Dames team as their first rally drivers. They entered the French Tarmac and Gravel championships in a Ford Fiesta Rally2. Sarah's pace instantly improved and she was sixth in her first event in the car, the Rallye Nationale de la Cote Fleurie. She was a consistent top-ten finisher on both surfaces, with a best finish of fifth, achieved twice in the Aveyron Rouergue-Occitanie and Terre de Lozere rallies, one asphalt and one gravel. Her final championship position in both championship was sixth and she picked up another ladies' trophy.

In 2025, she competed again for the Iron Dames in a Citroen C3 Rally2, taking on the World Championship this time. She and Julie took on five WRC rallies, beginning with the Monte, where they were 20th overall, from 62 finishers. Their next entry was Portugal, where they were 27th, on a very rough rally where about a third had to rejoin under SuperRally rules. Sadly, SuperRally was unable to help them on the Acropolis or Sardinia rallies, where mechanical gremlins forced them out. They finished their last WRC round, Finland, in 34th place.

Away from the WRC, they were really effective in the French gravel championship, scoring fourth places in the Terre de Decouverte, Terre d'Aleria and Terre de Causses rallies. Two further top-tens put them in fifth in the championship. They were also sixth in a round of the French Tarmac championship, the Rallye du Var. Away from the Citroen, they tried out a Toyota Yaris in the Fiorio Cup in Italy and finished fourth.

Although they were easily the highest-finishing female crew in French rallies as a whole, the championship structure and their choice of events meant that their results often did not count for the French women's championship. Sarah was sixth in the standings.

Prior to her motorsport career, she played handball competitively.

(Image copyright Sarah Rumeau)

Rosine Chauffour

 

Rosine Chauffour, also known as Rosine Chauffour-Robinet, is a multiple regional title-winning rally driver from France.

She has been competing as a driver since 2004, after co-driving for her father for three seasons. In 2004 and 2005, she rallied a Peugeot 106 in her local area of Limousin and was regional champion in 2005. 

The 106 was sold and upgraded to a 206 in 2006, which was initially used for circuit racing. She enjoyed the experience but preferred rallies, and therefore set about converting the 206 to rally spec.

She returned to the stages in 2007, usually partnered by Audrey Kuss, who would be her main co-driver for the next two seasons. Her best finish in this car was probably a 27th place in the Rallye Regional de la Vallee de la Benaize in 2008. The same year, she did two French National rallies, the Pays du Saint-Yrieix and Foie Gras et de la Truffe events, finishing 41st in both. 

After another car upgrade, she was local champion once more in 2009. Her 206 was an RC model and she used it for five seasons. The Rallye Regional des Genets was probably her best event in the first year, giving her a 23rd place and third in class. 

In 2010, she continued her progress, and qualified for the Finale of the French championship in the Pays-Basque. 

For 2011, she switched to co-driving for Pierre Lerosier, only contesting a few events as a driver in the 206. In one of these, the Rallye Vienne et Glane, she was 26th from 52 finishers. 

She returned to driving in 2012, driving in the Finale des Rallyes in Gap with Pauline Boyer. This followed an eight-round programme of asphalt rallies in southern France.

She used the same car in 2013, in regional events again, with Emeline Massie. Her best result was 30th, in the Rallye Regional Vienne et Glane. Another Finale in Oyonnax followed and she was 97th overall, winning the ladies’ award.

The same driver pairing was very active again in 2014, and their best rally was the Vienne et Glane event again, in which they were 26th. Rosine featured strongly in the A8 class, with three runner-up spots, and was fifth in the French Ladies' standings. The Peugeot had now been exchanged for a much newer Citroen DS3, a car she would remain loyal to for several seasons. 

This year was the first time she had driven in the rain and she admitted that the standard of competition was higher than what she was used to. 

She did not fare as well in a larger Ladies class in 2015, and was tenth, but she finished all eight of her rallies that year, driving the Citroen. Her best result was 23rd in the Pays Gentiane Rally, and she also won her class in the Vienne et Glane Rally, finishing 28th overall. 

She was seventh in the 2016 French Ladies' championship, after only entering one counting rally, the Rally of Limousin, which she crashed out of. IShe won her class in the Vienne et Glane event, and was 46th overall. Her best overall result was 21st, in the Cieux-Monts de Blond regional rally. 

Still in the same car, she won her class in the 2017 Rallye du Limousin and was 17th in the Cieux-Monts de Blond Rally. This was her first top-twenty finish. 

After a layoff, she returned for the 2020 Rally Regional Vienne et Glane, finishing 70th in the DS3. This expanded to three rallies in 2021, with a best finish of 37th in the Cantal Regional Rally. Her co-driver in the DS3 was now Patricia Bayard, a long-term navigator to her father in the 1990s. Their partnership continued into 2022 and yielded a class win in the Rallye Regional Jean-Pierre Champeau.

She continued to rally the DS3 in 2023, winning her class at the Vienne et Glane Regional Rally and finishing 39th overall.

Away from motorsport, Rosine is a politician representing the Uzerche region of France.

(Image from francebleu.fr)

Marie Baus-Coppens

 

Marie Baus-Coppens is a French driver who has spent most of her career in one-make series in Europe.

She began racing in 2010, aged 19, after some time karting in France. She entered the F4 Eurocup, but did not score any points, having a best finish of 16th at Catalunya and Spa. Sticking with F4, she drove in the French championship in 2011, and did slightly better, managing a thirteenth spot at Pau. 

In 2012, she switched to saloon cars, in the form of the Peugeot RCZ Racing Cup, and fared much better. She achieved five top ten finishes, including a fourth at Magny-Cours, and was tenth overall. 

She continued in the RCZ Cup in 2013, but only made a few appearances in the RCZ Cup as well as some guest appearances in the 208 Cup. This meant that she was unable to make much of an impression on the championship tables in either.

In 2014, she switched allegiance from Peugeot to SEAT, an arrangement that lasted for the next three seasons.

She first raced in the SEAT Leon Eurocup in 2014. Early in the season, she was eighth at the Nürburgring. For the rest of the year, she could not match this, and she was 20th overall. 

In her second season she could only manage a fourteenth place at Barcelona as her best result. She also missed one race, at Monza, due to damaging her car in an accident in Race 1. She was 24th overall. 

A third Eurocup season started more promisingly, with a ninth and eighth at Paul Ricard. She earned two more tenths during the season, and was 19th, after missing the first four races. 

2017 was a quiet season for her; she did two races in the Peugeot 308 Cup, at Magny-Cours, and was 13th and 15th. 

It was both a return and a step up for her in 2018. She raced a SEAT again, but in the European and Benelux TCR championships.

She was not especially competitive in the European series but finished seventh in the Benelux edition, with two fourth places at Catalunya. 

She stuck with the European series in 2019, still in the JSB Competition Cupra she had raced previously, and had a similar season. The following year, she moved into the Ultimate Cup Series, racing a Peugeot in the Challenge GT Sprint championship. Since then, she has raced much less.

(Image copyright SEAT Sport)

Pauline Dalmasso

Pauline Dalmasso is a rally driver and co-driver who has been in the driving seat since 2018, although she has been navigating for slightly longer. Both she and her sister Charlotte have won the French ladies’ rally title.

Her first car was a Ford Fiesta R2T and she competed in National and Regional-level events in France, concentrating on asphalt rallies. 

Her first three rallies ended in crashes but she managed a best finish of 29th in her first year, in the Rallye Terre de Lozere. 

She added gravel rallies to her repertoire in 2019 and it proved a good move. She won the French ladies’ championship in 2019 with three event victories in the Antibes-Cote d’Azur, Criterium de Cevennes and Var rallies. However, a tarmac event was her best overall finish again; she was 25th in the Coeur de France Rally, driving a Peugeot 208 this time. Lucile Cypriano was the top female finisher, a couple of minutes ahead. 

Her two ladies' wins in 2020 were not enough to keep her crown although she would have done better had she finished her third event, the Coeur de France Rally. The season was curtailed by the global coronavirus crisis. Her car was a 208 again.

She did a combination of gravel and tarmac rallies in 2021 and had a best finish of 23rd in the Antibes-Cote d'Azure Rally, from 57 finishers. In February, she did her first rally outside France, the Rally Ronde del Canavese in Italy, although she did not finish. This was one of ten events she did that year.

During the winter season, she competed in the G Series ice-racing championship in Andorra. She was driving a Renault Clio in the Challenge Clio Ice Trophy class and she was eleventh in the championship. She reached one A final in the third round, finishing seventh.

Her first rally of 2022 was in a new car, a Rally5-spec Renault Clio. It gave her a 32nd place in the Rallye Regional des Roches Brunes. For the Le Touquet Rally, she was back in the Peugeot. She announced that this would be her primary car for the season. She was tenth in the French Tarmac championship, with a best finish of fourteenth in the Rallye Coeur de France. This was one of two Rally4 class wins for her and co-driver Marine Delon, the other being a 20th place in the Rallye Regional de la Vesubie.

She carried on with the Rally4 class, using a Peugeot 208 for most of 2024, apart from one outing in an Opel Adam for the Rallye du Var, where she was 72nd, from 112 finishers. Her best result in the 208 was fourteenth in the Rallye National des Roches, with a second in class.

The Roches event was her best in 2025 also. This time, she was driving a Rally4 Opel Corsa and she was sixth overall, with Manon Deliot. She did two other Tarmac rallies in this car, but with nowhere near the results. She also used to 208 for the Rallye Vosges-Grand Est, but its engine expired.

Her sister is French ladies’ champion, Charlotte Dalmasso. The pair competed together in 2016, with Pauline in the co-driver’s seat. Their best finish was a seventh place in the Rallye Regional de la Croisette. 

(Image copyright Pauline Dalmasso)

Clementine Lhoste

 

Clémentine Lhoste is a French driver who specialises in ice racing, having won against both women and men.

She first came to prominence in the Andros Trophy during the 2015-16 season, winning the “Ice Girls” ladies’ trophy. This was a one-make series for Sprint Car cross-buggies. After a slow start to the season, she became a dominant force, winning six Superfinals and finishing fifty points ahead of her nearest rival, Aurore Louison. This was her first full season of ice racing, although she had taken part in some Trophée Féminin races the previous year. At sixteen, she was the youngest driver to race in the Andros Trophy. 

She was supported in her early racing attempts by Dominique Dubourg, himself an Andros regular. 

Her second full Andros Trophy was contested in the Electric car class, with the Loxam team. The entire championship is now electrically-powered, but it was then a separate one-make class and relatively new. She was seventh, with a best finish of fifth at Alpe d'Huez. 

Another season in the Electric class followed at the end of 2017, as Loxam’s only electric entry. She was sixth overall after a consistent set of races. The following year, she earned her first podium, a third place in the qualifying race at Isola 2000.

Moving on after the entire championship went electric, she was seventh in the Elite class during the 2019-2020 season, with a best finish of second at Val Thorens. Although Ice Girls no longer ran as a separate category, Clementine regained her Andros Coupe des Dames this year. This was her first year as a member of Sylvain Pussier’s team, driving alongside Pussier himself.

The following year, she was fourth in Elite, driving for Sylvain Pussier Competition. She won three rounds outright at Lans en Vercours and Val Thorens, finishing ahead of multiple women’s champion, Margot Laffite and just three points behind third-placed Natan Bihel. Pussier himself won the class championship, despite having the same number of wins as Clementine.

The Pussier team used the Loxam electric Peugeot 208 for the 2021-22 season. Clementine had her share of troubles, not always qualifying well, but she won the Superfinal of the Isola 2000 round outright on her way to a fourth place in the championship. She was second in the Lans en Vercours round, but then had an indifferent Super-Besse weekend, meaning that she could not catch Bihel for third.

She remained part of the Pussier set-up for the 2022-23 season as one of their Elite drivers, sharing the car with Jimmy Clairet. It was a frustrating year for her as she often struggled for pace in the Peugeot and she lost her Ladies' crown to Margot Laffite. 

She did train with the French RX Academy for young rallycross hopefuls in 2019, but prefers to compete on the ice in winter rather than the mud in summer.

(Image copyright Le Progres/DR)

Olga Thibault

Olga Thibault was one of France’s most successful female rally drivers in the 1930s.

She was the winner of the 1935 Paris-St. Raphael Rally, driving a Peugeot. This was one of two events she won outright that year. The other was the Rallye de Berck-Plage, three months later. 

The Paris-St. Raphael was not her first win, either. She was the victor in the Circuit d’Endurance de Haute-Normandie, held in 1934. Eleven drivers finished the event without penalties.

Her career began in 1932, with that year’s Paris-St. Raphael as her first rally. Only a couple of months later, she was fourth overall in the Circuit d’Orleans, winning the 1100cc class. Her car was a Peugeot 301, whose marque she would stick with throughout her five-year career. From her first year in rallying, she was a popular figure in the newspapers, who were keen to promote her victories.

Among her favourite events was the Dieppe Rally, which she contested four times. Her best finish was eleventh in 1935. This was her best year all-round in motorsport: as well as her two wins, she was second in the Rallye du Touquet-Paris Plage and third in the rally held as part of the Fetes de Paris. This was won by Rene Le Begue.

The Berck-Plage event was another favourite, which she entered three times: in 1933, 1935 and 1936. It was her last major rally and she won its Coupe des Dames in 1936.

Olga competed almost exclusively in France, but she did cross the border into Belgium for the finish of the 1934 Liege-Rome-Liege Rally. She and her co-driver Rouxel were eleventh.

(Image copyright Marianne)

Lilou Wadoux

 

Lilou Wadoux is a French driver who competes in sportscars and saloons. She is supported by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.

She raced a Peugeot 208 in a one-make series in France. She began in 2017, when she was only 16 years old and required special permission as she did not have a road traffic license. This was after only a couple of seasons of karting, mostly recreational.

In her first year, she was eighth in the Peugeot Sport championship, and second in the junior standings. Her second part-season in a Peugeot was in the 308 Racing Cup. She scored four to-ten finishes, with a best result of fifth at Paul Ricard. 

In 2018, she was one of 15 elite female drivers invited to Navarra for an assessment in both sportscars and single-seaters, held by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission. 

She ended up competing in European TCR in 2019, driving a Peugeot 308, but her season ended after three rounds when she barrel-rolled her car at Spa. She had started reasonably well with a 19th place at the Hungaroring.

Later in the year, she made a couple of guest appearances in the French Clio Cup. The second of these yielded a third place at Paul Ricard.

Her 2020 season was based in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup, driving an Alpine A110. She was seventh in the championship after a steady season, with three fourth places as her best results. These were achieved at Magny-Cours and Portimao.

A second Alpine Cup followed in 2021. This time, Lilou was one of the front-runners from the start, finishing third and second at Nogaro. She earned podium finishes at every circuit the championship visited, five from the first eight races of the season. Her final position was third, after a debut win at Estoril which she followed up with a second place.

Her best moment of the year was probably her victory in the Porsche Sprint Challenge race that supported the Le Mans 24 Hours. This was a guest appearance.

Her Le Mans support victory was upgraded to an actual Le Mans 24 Hours start in 2022. She was signed up to the Richard Mille LMP2 team with Charles Milesi and the pair were joined by World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier for Le Mans. Driving the same Oreca-Gibson prototype as the rest of the field, Lilou had a best finish of eighth, achieved three times at Spa, Fuji and Bahrain. She was ninth at Le Mans itself. This equated to twelfth in a competitive championship.

She stayed with WEC in 2023, but moved with Richard Mille's sponsorship to an AF Corse-run LMGTE Ferrari 488. Her team-mates were Luis Perez Companc and Alessio Rovera. Their season got a shaky start with a non-finish at Sebring and their early exit from Le Mans was a disappointment, but a second place in class at Portimao and a class win at Spa helped them to eighth in the championship. 

Lilou and Luis made a guest appearance at Watkins Glen for the IMSA round there, driving an LMP2 car and finishing sixth in class. She also joined a different AF Corse line-up for the the Spa 24 Hours and the Barcelona round of the GT World Challenge Europe. She was 26th in the Spa race, in a Ferrari. A late-season entry into the Indianapolis GT World Challenge America race for the Conquest team did not go to plan and the team's Ferrari 296 did not complete enough laps to be classified.

Her 2024 season was split between the US and Japan. Driving for the Ponos team, she was part of a two-driver squad for Super GT, using a Ferrari 296 in the GTEAm class. It was a year of reliable finishes, but nothing spectacular, with sixth being her best finish, at Suzuka. She and team-mate Kei Cozzolino were twelfth overall.

In the States, she joined up with Richard Mille again for some rounds of the IMSA championship. Sharing an LMP2 prototype with Luis Perez Companc, Nicklas Nielsen and Matthieu Vaxiviere, she won the third round at Watkins Glen. This came after finishes at Daytona and Sebring. She returned for the final round at Petit Le Mans at was sixth in class.

At the end of the year, it was announced that Lilou would be racing in Japan, in the Super GT championship. However, this did not pan out and she withdrew before the first round. Instead, she joined the Richard Mille-sponsored AF Corse team, driving their Ferrari in the European Le Mans Series. Her team-mates were Riccardo Agostini and Custodio Toledo. It was a good year for them and they were second in the LMGT3 class, with class wins at Paul Ricard and Silverstone. At Le Mans itself, they were eleventh in class and 43rd overall.

AF Corse also ran cars in IMSA that year, and this time Lilou was in the sister car to her ELMS team-mates, driving alongside Simon Mann, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Kei Cozzolino. They were 24th in the GTD class, but that didn't tell the whole story. It was a part-season, and Lilou led her team-mates to a class win at Petit Le Mans, the season finale. They were 26th overall and ahead of several GTD Pro cars.

(Image copyright Leandre Leber/Gazettesports.fr)

Nabila Tejpar

 

Nabila Tejpar is a British rally driver who mainly competes in Europe. She has won several women’s awards in the European Rally Championship.

She began rallying in 2015 in a 1600cc Proton Satria, after she had finished university. She did four single-stage rallies and had a best finish of 22nd, on the Wethersfield Stages. Even at this early stage, she looked beyond her home country and drove a DAF 55 in the Eifel Rally Festival, held near the Nurburgring. At this event, she drove alongside her father Aziz, who was in a Ford Escort. Both Nabila’s father and grandfather are or were rally drivers, with her grandfather Aziz Sr active in his adopted homeland of Kenya. The DAF was among the cars he used in the early ‘70s.

At the start of 2016, she took a big leap forward in her career and entered the British Rally Championship, competing in the Junior championship. Her car was a Ford Fiesta R2. Although it was not her best overall finish, the Circuit of Ireland was probably her best rally; she was fourth in the Junior rankings, and won a European Ladies award for her 43rd place finish. She was eighth in the British Junior championship at the end of the season. 

Driving the Fiesta, she was British Ladies' Champion in 2017, and fifth in the Cadet class. She entered her first Wales Rally GB and finished in 65th place. Her best overall finish was a 15th place in the Nicky Grist Stages. She carried on with her forays into Europe, entering the Ypres Rally and finishing 88th.

For 2018, her focus switched to the Iberian Peugeot Rally Cup, which offered prize money, although her best result of the year, a 15th place, came from the Ulster Rally. Her Iberian campaign included WRC rallies in Spain and Portugal. She was the leading female driver in the Catalunya Rally, finishing 41st from 53 in her 208. Her Portugal entry was only for the National event. Back at home, she was 43rd in the Wales Rally GB.

A pan-European campaign in the 208 followed in 2019, which left her second in the ERC ladies' standings. Again, she tackled the Iberian WRC rounds, earning a 31st place in Portugal this time. She was 40th in Catalunya but had to pull out of the GB event as her co-driver Richard Bliss was unwell. As well as Spain and Portugal, she travelled further east into Europe this year, entering the Polish and Barum Czech rallies.

Her 2020 programme was based in Portugal, where she used the Peugeot in three events, the best of which for Nabila was the Alto Tamega Rally, in which she was 31st. The season was curtailed by the coronavirus crisis. Later in the year, she also tried out a Proton Iriz R5 car at the Goodwood Speed Week. 

In June 2021, she made her ERC debut in the Iriz. Her first event was the Rally of Poland. The first three stages went well and she was running in 37th place, but she rolled the car and had to retire. Although she was not seriously injured, she had to pull out of the Rally Liepaja and Rome Rally to allow time for the car to be repaired and for her and her co-driver Matt Edwards to be fit.

Nabila first competed in the Proton as co-driver to her father in 2019, when he drove it as the course car for the Eifel Rally Festival.

(Image from essex-tv.co.uk)

Alexandra Hammersley

 

Peugeot 203 in rally trim

Alexandra Hammersley was a French driver who entered both races and rallies. Her British name came from her husband, who was also a rally driver.

She was a regular in rallies in France and Europe in the 1950s, often with her daughter, Genevieve, as her navigator. 

In 1950, she co-drove for her husband in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally. She entered the event for the first time in 1951, sharing a Peugeot with Ginette Francois-Sigrande.

Genevieve first joins her mother later that year. In 1951, they were 40th in the Tour de France, driving a Peugeot 203. In the 1952 Tour, they were 50th. 

They entered the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally together, but retired shortly after the start when Genevieve Hammersley was hit by a bicycle. They had arrived on time from their start point at Lisbon but the accident happened at Cannes, not far away. Genevieve was taken to hospital.

The same year, they were 19th overall in the ADAC-Rallye Travemunde and second in the Paris-St. Raphaël, driving a Lancia Aurelia. This was her second go at the women-only rally, having finished sixth in the Peugeot in 1951. 

An outing in the Aurelia for the Alpine Rally ended in retirement. Driving the Peugeot 203, the mother-daughter team finished 72nd in the Tulip Rally, starting from Paris.

In 1951, Alexandra was also sixth in the Bol d’Or endurance race in Paris, driving a Peugeot 1.5. She only raced occasionally on circuits.

She disappears from the entry lists after 1953. Other than the accident to Genevieve, Alexandra’s career went largely unremarked-upon in the French press. Her origins and later life are a mystery and no photos of her have come to light.

Christine Giampaoli Zonca

 

Christine Giampaoli Zonca, also known as Christine GZ, is best known as being one of the first drivers in the debut season of Extreme E, an electric off-road championship.

Christine competes under an Italian license, despite spending her early childhood in India and mainly competing in her adopted home of the Canary Islands. She also studied engineering in the UK. Her career encompasses stage rallying and buggy-based off-road rallying. 

Her first rally appears to have been the Corralejo-Majanicho Rallysprint in 2013, although she did not even get to the start in her self-built VW Golf as the rally was cancelled. Throughout her career, she has used her training to work on her own cars

She returned in 2014 and her first event was the San Bartolomé slalom. Christine, the only non-Spanish entrant, was 25th overall, driving a Toyota Corolla. She states on her website that the Corolla was the car that made her want to take up rallying. It remained her favoured car in 2014 and her first stage rally, the Tierra Isla Verde Rally, gave her a fourteenth place with a class win. She achieved two more top-twenty finishes in the Canary Islands and was 18th in the islands’ gravel championship, with a class win. In slaloms, she did even better, with a best finish of fourth in the Isla de Lanzarote-Tinjo event. She was 16th overall in the Canary Islands Gravel championship and won the 2WD class.

2015 had more of the same. She combined slaloms and stage rallies again and achieved her first top ten on the stages, a ninth place in the Isla de los Volcanes Rally. Her car was the Corolla. She entered five rallies that year, but was plagued by car trouble, and only finished two of them. Slaloms were a happier hunting ground and her best finish was fourth again in the Lanzarote-Tinjo slalom. During the season, she was signed up by the Spanish motorsport association for a two-year development programme, supported by Peugeot. Her first event in a Peugeot was the Rallye de Tierra at Malaga, but she retired due to mechanical failure.

In 2016, she started the year with slaloms in a Subaru Impreza. This had been her road car until she converted it herself to Group N spec. Her first event of the year was the La Candelaria - Tias event and she was second overall. Later, she did the Isla de los Volcanes event in it, finishing fourteenth. Her Peugeot deal led to several drives in an R2-spec 208, including a run in the WRC Rally Catalunya. She finished 49th overall. Her best finish in the 208 that year was a 16th place in the Ciutat de Valls Rally, one of the first asphalt rallies she had tried.

She was the top female driver in the Spanish gravel championship and third in the Junior class, as well as third in the overall Spanish women's championship. Away from Spain, she did her first international rally in a Ford Fiesta: the Bianco Azzurro Rose‘n’Bowl event in San Marino. She was 31st.

In 2017, she rallied four different cars, including the Impreza, a Fiesta R2 and two different Peugeots. She entered the Rally of Catalunya in a Peugeot 208, but did not finish. As well as stage rallies, she was very active in off-roading, having joined the US-based Dynamic Racing team. Her events included the Mexican Baja 500 and the Californian Baja 1000, driving a SxS buggy. A year that began with plans to contest the European Rally Championship ended up bringing her into another motorsport world and she showed promise, with a best finish of tenth.

Off-roading became her focus in 2018, although she did enter a Can-Am Maverick buggy into some Spanish gravel rallies too. She was eighth in the Ciutat de Tarrega rally and 15th in the Ralli Vidreres de Terra. In pure off-road competition, she was active in America again, but she also tried her first FIA Cross-Country World Championship rallies in Portugal and Spain. She was tenth in the Baja Portugal.She switched teams to the Avatel setup for European events in 2020, although the coronavirus crisis prevented a lot of events from happening..

After spending 2019 and part of 2020 in Spanish off-roading, she was announced as a driver for the Xite Hispano-Suiza team for Extreme E, an electric eco-conscious off-road championship which features male-female teams. She was signed alongside rallycross driver Oliver Bennett. They were fifth in the Desert XPrix in Saudi Arabia then sixth in the Ocean XPrix, held at Lac Rose in Senegal. These were their best results of the season; although Christine got progressively quicker as the year went on, the team struggled. She was announced as the 2022 female driver for Veloce in January.

As well as Extreme E, Christine contested the 2021 Iberia Cup for cross-country rallies. She won the T1N class in the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura, driving a Toyota Hilux.

Her time with Veloce in Extreme E started badly with a broken foot in qualifying for the season-opening Desert X-Prix in Saudi. She was replaced by championship driver Hedda Hosas. The long gap between rounds one and two meant that she was able to return for the second round in Sardinia, but she and Lance Woolridge could only manage eighth. They did not reach any finals this year and both drivers were replaced for the final round in Uruguay, with Christine taking over as championship driver. 

She started 2023 as a driver for Carl Cox's team, who had bought out Xite. Together with Timo Scheider, she managed on third place in the first Scottish race, but their car was not fit to race the next day and they dropped out. Christine was replaced by Lia Block for the rest of the season, although she did deputise as championship driver for the last two rounds. 

Much of the rest of 2023 was spent preparing for her first attempt at the Dakar in 2024. She joined the TC Racing team in a Can-Am SSV, partnered by Ricardo Torlaschi. They did not finish.

There were no more Extreme E rounds in 2024, although she was one of the series' championship drivers for the first two races. 

Extreme E ended during 2025 and was replaced by the hydrogen-powered Extreme H, which uses a very similar format. Christine was signed by Jenson Button's JBX team with Tommi Hallman. 

(Image copyright Extreme E)

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.