Rita Rampinelli

Rita Rampinelli was a Swiss driver active in the 1950s. 

She mostly competed in hillclimbs across Europe, first in a Cisitalia D46, and later, a Porsche 550 Spyder. 

The Cisitalia was a Formula 2-spec car. She drove it extensively in hillclimbs, although she does not seem to have raced it on track. Between 1951 and 1955, she was a regular top-three finisher in the class for racing cars up to 1100cc, including a second place in the 1953 Ollon-Villars climb, which was faster than the time set by bigger cars. She repeated this at the 1953 Mitholz-Kandersteg event. This hillclimb was one of her favourites; she scored another class third in it in 1955. 

She is sometimes described as the first Swiss woman to buy a Porsche, although this might mean a racing Porsche, as glider pilot Jolanda Tschudi owned one of the first ever production Porsches, as a road car. 

Before the cessation of circuit racing in Switzerland, she came fourth in the Swiss national championship twice, although details of which race series this referred to, are hard to pinpoint. It is likely that hillclimbs played at least some part.

In 1953, she drove in a sportscar race supporting the Swiss Grand Prix, at Bremgarten, and was sixth, in a Porsche 356. Driving a 1500cc Porsche, she crashed out of the Preis von Bremgarten later in the year.

She appears in the start list for a similar event in 1954, but the result is not forthcoming. 

For the summer of 1956, she bought the 550 Spyder, first racing it in the Saint Ursanne-Rangiers hillclimb in June.

As well as circuit racing and hillclimbs, she also participated in rallies, including the Monte Carlo Rally in 1954, alongside Max Brunner, a hot-air balloonist. Her car was an Opel Olympia and she just made it to the finish in 215th place, having started at Munich. Early in the rally, she was penalised for damaging the car's wing in collision with a lorry. This was probably not the first time she had entered. 

Rita was quite self-motivated in her racing career, although she was from a family with motorsport heritage. Her father, a car dealer, had competed in the 1930s. She herself was involved in the motor trade, giving her profession as "garagiste" in an interview during the 1953 Monte. 

Rita died in 2011, at the age of 88. She outlived her partner, opera singer Hansy von Krauss, by three years.

(Image copyright Berner Zeitung)

Cecilia Rabelo

Cecilia Rabelo is a Brazilian driver who began her senior career in 2022.

She was 15 years old when she took part in two rounds of the Paulista Formula Delta championship, finishing ninth and eighth.

Her first full season was meant to be spent competing in the Brazilian F4 championship in 2023, driving for the Cavaleiro Sport team. After two tenths and an eleventh in the first meeting at Interlagos, she missed a couple of meetings due to an injury she sustained in a crash at Interlagos. She returned for the fourth round at Goiania, improving over the weekend with a twelfth, eleventh and then seventh place. The series moved back to Interlagos and Cecilia surprised onlookers with two pole positions, although she could not convert these to podium finishes: she was seventh and 13th in the two races she finished. Her season finished with a disqualification, a tenth and an eleventh place. She was 15th overall.

Her second F4 season started with a move to the Bassani Racing team. The year began well with a sixth and fourth place at Mogi Guacu, as well as a ninth, although her early improvements were overshadowed by her female rival Rafaela Ferreira finishing on the podium. The fourth place remains her best finish of the year at the time of writing, although she did manage to out-perform Rafaela Ferreira in the next round at Interlagos. A series of DNFs later on did not help her. At present, she is thirteenth in the championship.

At the end of the 2024 season, Cecilia joined up with Porsche racewinner Antonella Bassani and former skateboarder Leticia Bufoni to enter the Interlagos 500km. Their car was a Porsche 991 and they were 30th overall, seventh in class. They had been running slightly higher, but a slow pitstop lost them a place. This was Cecilia's second Porsche Cup race, having entered the round at Buenos Aires earlier in the season.

(Image from blogdomadeira.com.br)

Vicki Smith

Vicki Smith raced sportscars up to international level in the early 1980s. 

She credited her interest in motorsport to her stepfather's Porsche, which she described herself as "crazy about" as a child. Her parents refused to support her racing endeavours until she had finished her education, probably hoping that she would forget about the whole thing. After dropping out of a journalism degree, she got herself a racing license in 1979 and set about finding a car. During her short career, she did not own any of the cars she raced in major events, depending on team owners to offer her drives. Fortunately, she was a Florida native and the Daytona and Sebring circuits were within easy reach.

Her first big race was the 1980 Sebring 12 Hours. She shared a Porsche 911 with car owner Klaus Bitterauf and James Moxley, and they finished 24th, seventh in the GTU class.

In a completely different car, an all-American AMC AMX, she tried the Sebring classic again in 1981. Again, she was sharing the car with its owner, Bob Lee, plus Tom Alan Marx. They just about got to the finish in 42nd place. This was the second time she had competed alongside Lee, having shared a Ford Maverick with him at the Daytona 6 Hours the previous year.

Her partnership with Bitterauf and his "Klaus Haus" team continued, on and off. In 1982, she was 25th at Daytona, driving a Porsche 911 and 22nd at Sebring. The Klaus Haus team, consisting of Vicki, Bitterauf and Scott Flanders, contested four more IMSA events that year, with a best finish of 17th, at Charlotte.

Driving an Audi 80 for a different team in the Mosport 6 Hours, Vicki was 16th with Edgar Doren and Peter Aschenbrenner. 

During the 1983 season, she switched between the Klaus Haus Porsche and a Pontiac Firebird. Her best finish was another 16th, at Miami, in the Firebird. This was a solo drive. With the Klaus Haus team, she competed at the big Daytona and Sebring races, plus the 500km of Road Atlanta. She did not finish at Daytona or Sebring, but was just about classified at Road Atlanta, in 35th place.

She continued in 1984, driving different cars. One of these drives was her first-ever outing in a Group C prototype. She drove an Aston Martin-engined Nimrod NRA/C2 at the Daytona 24 Hours, sharing with Jack Miller (the team owner) and Carlos Ramirez. They were classified 49th, although they did not finish. The Nimrod project was not hugely successful and the NRA/C2 had a poor finishing record. Vicki never drove it again, although she did join Bitterauf in his 911 once more for that year's Sebring 12 Hours. They did not finish.

This was Vicki's last major race appearance. She was linked to a Lola T616 drive in the 1987 Sebring 12 Hours, but did not compete. From 1985, she was a member of the PPG Pace Car team which followed Champ Car.

One rather alarming footnote in her career was a short relationship with driver and later, convicted serial killer, Christopher Wilder. After he was shot by police in 1984, she claimed that she "never had a clue"about his proclivities.

She became more and more interested in motorcycles after 1985, working as a racetrack photographer and becoming a respected expert on Ducati machines.

Elyane Imbert

Elyane, left, in 1953

 Elyane Imbert was a French driver who raced sportscars in the mid-1950s. 

A rather elusive figure, she first appears on the circuit entry lists in 1952, racing a Porsche in the Coupe d’Automne, held at Montlhery. The same year, she drove a Simca Sport in the Rallye Maroc.

In 1953, she and Simone des Forest drove a Porsche 356 Super 1500 together, starting with the Monte Carlo Rally. Elyane drove with Simone as navigator and they were 281st overall, from 346 crews that finished. This was Simone’s last major rally.

On the circuits, they competed in two World Sportscar Championship races: the Spa 24 Hours and Nürburgring 1000km. They were disqualified both times, once for receiving assistance. Driving solo, Elyane was fourth in the Rouen GP. The car appears to have been the same one each time and it belonged to Elyane. The pair were photographed together at both the Nürburgring and Monte Carlo.

In 1954, she returned to Morocco and was third in the Marrakesh Grand Prix. She was then third in the Circuit de Bressuire race for cars of more than 1100cc. 

She did not enter any more World Championship races. The retirement of her usual co-driver Simone may have been a factor. She did, however, do some more rallies in France that year, including the Rallye Sable Solesmes, driving for a team called “Ecurie des ecureuils”, or “Team Squirrel”. She had joined the team in February, alongside Gilberte Thirion. After 1954, she disappears completely from the entry lists.

(Image copyright Mike Copperthite)

Madeline Stewart

 

Madeline Stewart races sportscars and saloons in Australia.

She is a former junior and senior karter from New Zealand who began racing in the Super3 Series in Australia in 2019. This championship is the official third-level series for V8 Supercars and she went straight into it from karting.

The then 19-year-old drove a Holden Commodore for Brad Jones Racing and picked up three top-ten finishes. The best of these was an eighth place at Winton. She was fourteenth in the championship. 

As well as saloons, she also raced single-seaters in the bike-engined Formula 1000 series. She was sixth in her state championship, driving a Stohr F1000. She was racing against her sister Ashleigh in a Radical. 

Her 2020 Super3 season was limited to two races due to the international coronavirus crisis, but she showed promise with a pair of fourth places at Sydney Motorsports Park. The team entered her for the Townsville Tin Tops meeting the following month, using the same car. After one second and two third places, Madeline was declared the winner. 

Later, she joined the McElrea team for Super Tin Tops at The Bend, this time racing a Porsche 991 in the Super Cup class. She was fifth, finishing fifth or fourth in all three races. This in turn led to a guest spot in the Australian Super GT championship at Queensland, where she was sixth in the first race and fourth in the other two.

In 2021, she continued racing a Porsche, entering both the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge and part of the Australian Carrera Cup, for Earl Bamber's team. The hookup with Bamber was meant to begin with a run in the 2020 Asian Carrera Cup, but this was cancelled.

The Sprint Cup brought more success, with Madeline narrowly missing out on a top ten at Sydney Motorsports Park. This eleventh place was her best finish in the car; her guest appearance at Mount Panorama for the December Australian Carrera Cup meeting had a best result of 18th. It was a short season, finishing in May.

Her best race of the year was the Bathurst 6 Hours, in which she drove an HSV VXR Turbo with Chris Holdt and David Ling. They were fifth in class. 

Another Bathurst 6 Hours in a Holden Astra in 2022 followed, as well as an extensive sportscar programme. She was tenth in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, driving for the Bamber team again, with a best finish of third at The Bend. 

Before beginning the Sprint Challenge, she also made a guest appearance in a Ginetta G55 for the Fanatec GT World Challenge races at Phillip Island, finishing third twice for Griffith Corp.

For the first time, she raced outside Oceania in 2023, entering the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. She was competing in the 992 Pro-Am class and finished third, with four third places at Sebring, Barber and Mid-Ohio. She combined this with karting in Australia.

Her American adventures continued in 2024, when she moved up to the Carrera Cup, still with JDX Racing. In a large field, she was 15th overall, finishing in the top ten twice. The best of these was a seventh place at Road America.

(Image from madelinestewart.nz)

Janine Shoffner (Hill)

Janine Hill, now known as Janine Shoffner, is a British-born American driver racing mostly in Europe. She won the FIA Am GT3 class of the 2021 VLN championship, driving a Mercedes.

She first got into motorsport quite late in life, in her 40s, although adventure sports had always been part of her life. In 2000, she was a professional skydiving photographer who completed several jumps a day. She also rode motorbikes on the road and still rides horses.

After gaining her racing license in 2011, she competed in club races. She formed Team J-2 with her partner John in 2012, initially racing a Porsche and a Ford GT. A trip to the Nurburgring in 2013 led to Janine meeting the late Sabine Schmitz, who gave her some tuition in a road car around the legendary track. This in turn brought Janine and John into Sabine’s Frikadelli racing team.

In 2014, Janine was part of Frikadelli Racing’s second team in a Porsche Cayman, with Antony Ashley. They raced in the VLN, and put in some good performances, although a crash in round 12, when Ashley was driving, was a low point. 

Janine and Antony also raced a BMW E46 in the Zolder 24 Hours for Team J2, with John Shoffner and Domenico Solombrino. They did not finish. 

In 2015, Janine raced a Mazda Miata in the USA, as well as one of the satellite Frikadelli cars in the VLN. She drove a Renault Clio in the Nürburgring 24 Hours and was 93rd overall, as part of a four-driver team. She also drove the Frikadelli Porsche Cayman. 

In 2016, she continued as a Frikadelli driver, sharing a Porsche 997 in the Cup 2 class with John. The highlight of their season was probably a class second in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

She raced in the 24 Hours with Shoffner again in 2017, along with Arno Klaasen and Duncan Huisman. They were 32nd overall in a Porsche 991. In the VLN, she earned seven podium finishes in the same car. 

The team reconvened in 2018, although their season in the Porsche was disrupted by an accident involving John. As a consolation they were fourth in their class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

She raced in both the VLN and most of the International GT Open championship in 2019, for GetSpeed Performance. Her car was a Mercedes AMG GT3. She and her team-mates won their class in one VLN race and finished the 24 Hours. In GT Open, she and John were fifth in the GTAM class with two second and two third places.  

The GetSpeed Mercedes was highly successful in its class in 2020; Janine and her team-mates won their class in one VLN race and were third in another, as well as earning a class third in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. 

The GetSpeed team, featuring Janine, won the Am FIA GT3 class of the 2021 NLS, driving the Mercedes to six wins from seven races. A fourth place in class for the 24 Hour race was also impressive, as the SP9 Pro-Am category was popular that year.

The GetSpeed Mercedes was in action in the 2022 GT Open, with Janine and Moritz Kranz sharing driving duties. The team was sixth in the Pro-Am class, with one second place at the Red Bull Ring.

(Image copyright Mercedes-Benz Group Media)

Nadege Ferrier (Washer)

 

Nadege (left) with Gilberte Thirion and the Renault Dauphine

Nadege Ferrier, also known as Nadege Washer, was a Swiss driver who competed extensively in sportscar events in Europe in the 1950s. 

She began competing in hillclimbs, something she would return to throughout her career.

From 1954, she often partnered Gilberte Thirion in races and rallies, co-driving her to victory in the 1956 Tour de Corse. She had been an effective co-driver to Gilberte since 1954, when she helped pilot her Gmund Porsche 356 to sixth overall in the Randonnee des Routes Blanches in Belgium and fourth in the Soleil-Cannes Rally. The two women probably met via family connections; Nadege’s first husband Jacques Washer was a sometime rally driver and a cousin to Olivier Gendebien, Le Mans winner, team-mate and boyfriend of Gilberte for some time.

She and Gilberte shared cars, including the Tour de Corse Renault Dauphine and the Porsche 356 she drove on the 1960 Nürburgring 1000km. Their first major race together was the 1955 Mille Miglia, driving a Gordini T15S. Gilberte owned the car jointly with Annie Bousquet, who was down as the car’s entrant and had shared it since 1954, but had largely distanced herself from Gilberte by now. 

They travelled extensively together, taking the Dauphine to Sebring for the 1957 12 Hour race and finishing 35th, second in class. They were supported by the Renault factory.

She sometimes raced with other drivers, like when she and esteemed journalist Bernard Cahier contested the 1956 Mille Miglia in a Dauphine. She had intended to compete with Gilberte, but her usual team-mate decided quite late on to tackle the Italian classic by herself. Nadege knew that Cahier, another recipient of a works Dauphine, was looking for a co-driver and the pair joined forces.

The Tour de France Auto was one of her favourite events and she entered at least five times, between 1958 and 1962. Her best finish was sixth in 1961, assisted by Ginette Derolland. She excelled in long-distance multi-stage road races and was fourth in the 1959 Mille Miglia. Her car, a Porsche 356, was the first non-Ferrari home.

The 356 remained her favoured personal car for the rest of her career, at least when she was driving herself.

After Gilberte retired, Nadege continued to compete. She and Paul Frere raced a 356 in the 1959 Nürburgring 1000km, coming in 21st. The same year, she partnered the flamboyant French driver, Annie Soisbault, for the Monte Carlo Rally. Annie was part of the Triumph team that year.

The following year, she partnered Heinz Schiller, driving for Ecurie Leman. They were 16th in the 1960 Nurburgring 1000km and fifth in the 2000cc GT class. Unfortunately, the pair parted ways after the Trophee d’Auvergne at Clermont-Ferrand. Nadege had a big crash in the team’s 356B and it was severely damaged.

Back in her own Porsche, she did another Tour de France with Annie Spiers and then went on to the best result of her career: second in the Coupes du Salon at Montlhery. 

Later in her career, she also returned to hillclimbing, and was seventh in the 1961 Col de la Faucille event.

Jacqueline Evans de Lopez

 

Jacqueline Evans de Lopez was a British-born Mexican driver who competed in five runnings of the Carrera Panamericana between 1950 and 1954. 

She is most famous for her drives in a Porsche 356 in 1953 and 1954, although she was disqualified for going over time limits on both attempts. In 1953 she was excluded for the offence at Oaxaca, despite appealing the decision with the race directors. The Porsche was her own car and was painted with a tribute portrait of Argentine first lady Eva Peron, who had died in 1952.

Her best result was 37th in 1952, driving a Chrysler Saratoga. 

She used Chrysler models, a Saratoga and a Windsor, for her other two entries, finishing once in 1950, in 45th place. The car was a 1947 model and she started from 17th place to reported huge cheers. Her time was just under 36 hours and she drove the whole distance solo.

She crashed out the following year and retired due to injury, albeit not serious. Her car hit a rock close to Tehuantepec. According to contemporary press reports, her co-driver Sergio Diaz was seriously injured.

Details of other races she may have entered are sketchy. A report in the Manchester Evening News on the 17th of February 1954 describes briefly an accident where her car, a Jaguar, hit a railing in Mexico City.

At one point she claimed to be Mexico’s champion woman driver and that a cup had been named after her, although this has proved hard to verify.

She was born Grace Alice Evans Antrobus in 1915. She may have started acting while she was still in the UK and is sometimes described as having won a singing contest, or having entertained troops during the war. In 1946, she emigrated to the USA and quickly discovered Mexico on a holiday the year after. She often joked that she went for a vacation and stayed 40 years. Newspaper reports, however, suggest that she did return to live in London in the late 1950s, studying method acting at the Stanislavsky Studio in Chelsea in 1960. In 1958, she was reported to be staying in Chelsea with another Mexican actress, who had to rescue her when she was overcome by a gas leak.

Her name was often given as Evans on cast lists, although she included her married name, Lopez, on her early race entries. Her husband Fernando is normally described as being a Mexican bullfighter. They divorced some time in 1951 and some reports suggest she remarried, only to be widowed in 1956.

Away from the tracks, she was an actress in Spanish-language TV and films from 1947. This may have been her link to Eva Peron, who was also a radio and TV actress before her marriage to Juan Peron. She later played Eva Peron’s mother in a 1981 TV film starring Faye Dunaway.

She continued to act until 1986, when she made a rare appearance in a British film, Murder in Three Acts, which was set in Mexico. 

Among her other achievements were reportedly publishing her own newspaper in 1951, which is sometimes described as being a “golf magazine”. She spoke in interviews of writing songs and a play.

She died in Mexico in 1989, aged 74.

Caty Caly

 

Caty Caly (sometimes Cathy Caly) is the winner of five French Ladies’ Rallycross titles. 

Her first car was a Simca Rallye 2 which she started racing as a teenager in 1983, having been a fan of rallycross for some time. 

Her first women’s title came at the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf in 1985. 

After her first success in rallycross, she tried her hand at stage rallying in 1986, driving a Citroen Visa Mille Pistes. These Group B cars were popular in French rallying at the time and there were several female exponents of the brands after the 1984 Citroen Visa Total Trophy. 

It proved a short diversion. Caty had an accident on the Mille Pistes Rally itself and injured her neck after just a few events, bringing an end to her rally career. Her best finish had been a 28th place in the Terre de Charente Rally. This had followed another scare at the beginning of the year, when Caty attempted her first Paris-Dakar. She was driving a six-wheel-drive Mercedes 190GE with Christian de Leotard when they crashed on a night section in Niger midway through the rally. Caty was rescued by French pop singer and Dakar enthusiast Daniel Balavoine in his own aircraft and taken to hospital. Two days later, he crashed the aeroplane and died.

Later, she drove for Audi, after their redundant Group B rally cars were put into rallycross service in 1987. Her trademark on-track was a bright pink colour scheme, with black trim, carried through into her racewear. She raced an A2 in Division 2 of the French championship, earning a best result of third at Pau.

This was her last full season in the Audi for a few years. She still raced it in French rallycross occasionally, as well as a Peugeot 205 T16 and another Citroen Visa. Towards the end of the 1980s she combined part-time competition and work, developing business interests in automotive paintwork and an agency supplying promotional staff.

She won another Ladies’ championship in an Audi Quattro in 1993, following her return to regular competition. With the same car, she retained her title in 1994 and finished 15th in the overall championship.  

In 1995 and 1996 she racked up her final two ladies’ championships in a Citroen ZX. She was driving for the Dupuis team, which was supported by Citroen itself. She was ninth in the 1995 championship and fourth in Division 1, with two outright podium positions, a second and a third.

Her second Coupe des Dames as an official Citroen driver included four third places from seven rounds.

She was fourth in the Tourism class, as the ZX had been reclassified during the 1995-96 off-season.

At this time, the ladies’ championship was relatively competitive. Carolyn Boniface was Caty’s principal rival. 

Citroen ended its rallycross programme in 1997. Rather than trying to compete with the factory rallycross teams, she moved into sportscar racing. She started with the Ferrari 355 Challenge in 1997 and raced in this one-make series across Europe in 1998. Having got to grips with the car, she was second at Oschersleben and third at Spa. She raced the 355 in the Magny-Cours round of the 1999 French GT championship, sharing the car with Florence Duez. They were 31st in both races, seventh in GT4.

Driving solo, Caty also raced in the Porsche Supercup and picked up a couple of podiums, including a second place at the Hungaroring. The car suited her and a 996 became her preferred car for French GTs. She used two different models in 2000, one her own and one run by Perspective Racing. 

She continued to race a Porsche in French GTs in 2001, but as part of Team Kalliste. She normally partnered Jean-Claude Andruet, although her best result was at Pau, where Franck Legorce deputised. They were ninth overall. She planned one more race with Kalliste in 2002, sharing the 996 with Philippe Brocard, but did not actually start.

Her final French GT season was in 2003, back in a Ferrari. She drove a 360 Modena for the Auto Palace team, sharing with Steeve Hiesse. They were normally midfield finishers, although they were fairly strong in the GT class and earned two podium places. One of these was a class second that came along with a ninth place overall.

Throughout her career, Caty was a regular in ice races, like many rallycross drivers. She competed in the Andros Trophy every year between 1992 and 1999, in several different cars, including a Mini, Citroen, Lancia and Mercedes. She also raced on the ice at Chamonix at least once. 

Her last full season of competition was in 2004, when she raced in the French Supertouring Championship in an Opel Astra. She was 18th in the final standings. After that, she made occasional appearances for the next two years alongside TV work for the championship.

She made a comeback in 2013, driving in two rounds of the Euro NASCAR stock car championship in France. Her car was a Chevrolet Camaro and her best finish was tenth at Nogaro.

A recent article in La Nouvelle Republic described her as a “former racing driver”.

(Image copyright Sun Star)

Esmee Hawkey

 

Esmée Hawkey is a versatile British driver who has had her best results in the Porsche Carrera Cup.

Her motorsport career started early. After several seasons of karting she raced in Ginetta Juniors in 2014, after becoming a finalist in the Ginetta Junior Scholarship at the end of 2013. This led to a development deal with AmDTuning. As well as karting, she raced in the last three Ginetta Junior rounds of 2014, at Rockingham, Silverstone and Brands Hatch. Her best results were two 15th places, at Rockingham and Brands Hatch. She was 22nd overall. 

She also tested an AmDTuning BTCC car, driving the team’s Honda Civic during a tyre test at Snetterton.

In 2015, she drove for JHR Developments in Ginetta Juniors. Her best overall finishes were two fourteenth places, at Oulton Park, but she did well among the Rookie drivers. She was 25th in the championship. 

2016 was the year she graduated to senior competition in the form of the GT Cup, racing a Porsche Cayman for the GT Marques team.  She was runner-up in the GTA class and had a best overall finish of eighth at Donington. 

In 2017, she was nominated for the Carrera Cup GB Junior Scholarship and continued to race in the GT Cup.

She did her first full season of the Carrera Cup in 2018, still  with GT Marques, earning two podium finishes in the Pro-Am class at Monza and Brands Hatch. 

In 2019, the Carrera Cup was combined with a season in the all-female W Series, where she was fifteenth in the championship. She did better in the Carrera Cup, with three wins in the Pro-Am class at Thruxton and Oulton Park and a third on the class leaderboard. 

Her final position in the W Series standings was fifteenth and she was let go by the championship, which was cancelled in 2020 anyway. This proved to be a very minor setback in her career, as she signed with Team Parker Racing for the Carrera Cup and was instantly the Pro-Am class driver to beat. She won the class in her first four races and picked up a further five class victories later in the season. The only time she was off the Pro-Am podium was when she did not finish at Oulton. Her best overall finishes were two third places, at Donington and Brands Hatch. These were her first series podiums.

At the end of the 2019 season she was named as a test driver for the MB Motorsport BTCC team. She had her first test in the Honda Civic at Snetterton in July 2020.

At the beginning of 2021, she was announced as a driver for the Iron Dames team, but she was quickly withdrawn after her manager was found to have made an incorrect declaration regarding her FIA driver categorisation. Fortunately for her, she was quickly snapped up for a DTM race seat, driving a Lamborghini Huracan for T3 Motorsport. It was a difficult learning year, but she did manage an eleventh place at Assen and the Nurburgring, getting her first points on the DTM computer. She was 20th in the championship.

A planned second season in the DTM was limited to the first four races, as the T3 team pulled out of the championship. Her best result was an 18th place at Lausitz.

In 2023, she was announced as a driver in the British GT championship, racing a Ginetta G56 for Toro Verde. She did the first four races with Joe Wheeler, finishing two of them. They were 31st and 30th at Oulton Park.

She sat out 2024 due to pregnancy.

(Image copyright Esmee Hawkey)

Greta Oakes

Greta Oakes was an Danish-born Bahamian driver who raced in her adopted home country and in the USA in the 1950s.

A noted socialite from a wealthy family of Danish extraction who spent a lot of time in London, she married Sydney Oakes, who was instrumental in bringing motorsport to the Bahamas. In marrying Sydney in 1948, she became Lady Oakes of Nassau and became an integral part of the emerging Bahamas motor racing scene.

She entered a number of American sportscar races between 1950 and 1959, including the Sebring 12 Hours in 1955 and 1959. She usually drove with her husband and their car was normally a 3000cc Austin-Healey 100. They did not finish the 1955 race and the Bahamas Motor Club entry was only a reserve in 1959. The pair were listed as drivers in an Alfa Romeo in 1957, but did not take the start.

Greta also competed in the Nassau Speed Weeks, driving solo. She and Sydney were the chief supporters of the event alongside Sherman “Red” Crise, its American creator. It always ran very late in the season during the Bahamas summer, functioning as an end-of-year party for a mix of East Coast sportscar racers and increasingly, international stars such as Stirling Moss and Phil Hill.

She only started racing at the advent of Speed Week in 1954. Her chief sporting interest before that had been horses. In 1954, she was fourth in the Production race, driving an Austin Healey 100M. Driving the same car, she was tenth in a 402m speed trial held as part of Speed Week. 

The following year, she used the Austin-Healey for the Locals race, unsuccessfully. A Miami Herald article claimed that she called the car “The Great Dane III”.

After that, she entered the 1956 Ladies’ and Local Residents’ races, in a Porsche 356. She took part in both heats for both events but does not seem to have made the final. Her best finish was fourth in a Locals heat. This was the first time that a Ladies’ race had been held in the Bahamas and the field was quite impressive, with Denise McCluggage, Evelyn Mull, Suzy Dietrich and Marion Lowe all making the trip from the States. 

Greta missed the 1957 event but came back in 1958. This year, she drove a motorcycle-engined Berkeley SE328 in the Ladies’ race and in a Berkeley one-make encounter. She was sixth out of eight Berkeleys and seventh in the women’s race, which included four Berkeleys. The best of these was driven by Gladys Cam, who also beat Greta in the one-make event. For the Locals race, she went back to the Healey but did not finish. 

Her preferred mount for the 1959 Ladies’ event was an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider. She was fourth out of six finishers. First and second placed Prudence Baxter and Marion Lowe both used lightweight Lotus Eleven sportscars and Greta got her hands on one for the following year. She was third, behind Smokey Drolet and Heather Bethell. Heather was another Bahamas resident who raced alongside her husband Peter, who in turn had been part of the Bahamas Motor Club team for the 1959 Sebring 12 Hours.

In 1961 she did not race, but she did drive the pace car for the Governor’s Trophy. She was accompanied in her Jaguar XK-E by the Governor himself, Sir Robert Stapledon. The Jaguar was a specially-modified show car with fins, aircraft lights, a TV and a bar for passengers, plus an early radar speed trap detector and a gold-plated tool kit. 

Her racing career ended at the start of the 1960s. The Oakeses divorced suddenly in 1961 and then Sydney was killed in a road traffic accident in 1966. Greta continued to be styled “Lady Oakes” and was a regular fixture on the upper-class US social scene. She also served as an honorary consul to Denmark for the Bahamas and stood for election to the Bahamian legislative assembly in 1963. Among her other exploits was writing and directing a calypso-themed musical in 1961. 

She died in 1977.

(Image copyright Miami Herald)

Alice Graves

Alice Graves raced in IMSA in 1983 and 1984. She was regarded as America’s oldest female professional racing driver at the time, being in her fifties and a grandmother.

Her car was a Porsche 914/6, which she shared with her husband Richard Graves. They bought their first Porsche in 1976 and initially used it for road rallies with the Porsche Club of America.

In 1983, they entered the Road America, Pocono and Daytona Finale rounds, with a best finish of 17th at Pocono. 

In 1984, she raced at Mid-Ohio, Road America and Pocono. Their best finish was 25th at Mid-Ohio. The Porsche was not overly competitive, compared to newer 962s and Aston Martins. At this point, it was eight years old.

With its 2000cc, six-cylinder engine, the 914 was always rather underpowered compared to the giants of IMSA, but it normally held its own in its class. 

Alice owned and raced other cars, including a Datsun in which she won her class at the 1984 SCCA June Sprints at Elkhart Lake.

The Porsche was road-legal and according to Alice in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, she occasionally used it to go shopping, much to the dismay of her daughter. 

Both Alice and Richard retired from major competition at the end of the 1984 season.

(Image copyright Chicago Tribune/Jose More)

Marie-Pierre Palayer

Marie-Pierre Palayer is a multi-talented French driver who raced between 1968 and 1973. She is most famous as a member of the all-female Team Aseptogyl rally squad.

Considering the time period, Marie-Pierre began her career very early. She first appears in hillclimbs in 1968, driving a BMW 1600Ti. She was 18 years old at the time. This led to a BMW works drive in France in 1969, which included the Ronde Cévenole, Tour de France, Criterium Jean Behra and the AGACI 300 at Montlhéry, in a 2002 Ti. She was sixth, with a class win, at Montlhéry. 

In 1970, she switched to a Porsche 911 S run by the works team, and was 15th in the Tour de France, with Ginette Derolland. She also performed very well in rallies, finishing tenth in the Rallye de Lorraine and seventh in the Geneva Rally, in the Porsche, as well as an eighth place in the Lyon-Charbonnières-Stuttgart-Solitude Rally in the BMW. Her best result in open competition was a fifth place in the Rally of Picardie, but her first win came from the women-only Paris-St. Raphaël Rally. She ended the year second in the French ladies’ rally championship.

After 1971, rallying became her main focus as she joined Team Aseptogyl. Aspetogyl founder Bob Neyret had competed at Mont Ventoux against Marie-Pierre in 1968. She mostly drove one of the team’s pink-and-red Alpine-Renault A110s. A highlight of her first year with the team was a fifth place in the Geneva Rally, with Christine Rouff. Back in the familiar Porsche, she was fourth in the Paris-St. Raphaël. 

She was part of a works Peugeot team for the 1972 Bandama Rally in the Cote d’Ivoire, driving a 304 with Ginette Derolland. This event was unusual in that it had no finishers at all. Her going over the time limit was no real shame as she was one of at least six drivers who ran out of time.

She was third in the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally in 1973. That year, the podium was completely filled with Alpine-Renault drivers. This was the second to last of the original Paris-St. Raphaël rallies

She retired from driving herself after the 1973 season, and her last event was a rally raid, the Nice-Abidjan-Nice. She drove an Iveco truck. However, she continued as a navigator until 1975, partnering Claudine Trautmann and Christine Dacremont. Even after her disastrous 1972 Bandama, she usually competed on the rougher African events as a co-driver and helped Marianne Hoepfner to eighth in the 1973 Bandama, driving a Peugeot 504.

(Image from a Team Aseptogyl promotional shoot)

Ronja Assmann

Ronja Assmann is a Swiss driver who mainly races saloons in Germany and has competed in the Nurburgring 24 Hours as part of the all-female “Girls Only” team.

She often races a Renault Clio in Germany, driving for her family team, usually with her father, Winfried.

She began her motorsport career in 2012, at the age of 17, in a KTM X-Bow, driving in the rookie championship of the X-Bow Battle series. She was 18th overall after four races. These were her first legitimate races, although she had been learning and training in a Volkswagen Polo for a year beforehand, until she was old enough for a senior license. Unusually, she did not come through karting and jumped straight into cars. 

In 2013, she acquired the Clio, and used it in the Bohemia Clio Cup, with a best finish of eleventh, at Most. She was 20th overall and fourth in the Junior rankings, as well as becoming the championship’s youngest ever female driver.

Back in Germany, she competed in some rounds of the German Touring Car Cup, in the 2000cc and under class. She normally ran well compared to the other Clios in her races, and her best finish was eleventh overall, at Lausitz. 

In 2014, she continued to race in the same series, and used the Clio to begin with. Later, she changed it for a Porsche GT3 Cup, which gave her better results, averaging about tenth. She did not complete the season. The Porsche was run by Flying Horse Racing, her family’s team. She sampled several different championships in it, including the Porsche Sports Cup and the P9 Endurance series.

Elsewhere, she was part of the dmsj–youngster-Team for the Rundstrecken Challenge (RCN), at the Nürburgring. In a Vauxhall Astra, she achieved one win in the Junior class. During the season, she also drove the Clio and a Honda Civic in the RCN.

The dmsj team retained her services in 2015, and she competed in the VLN, in the Astra. She was twelfth in the OPC Astra Cup class of the VLN, as part of a team of three. She finished the Nürburgring 24 Hours on her first attempt, and was fourth in the Cup1 class, with Winfried and two Flying Horse team-mates. They were 61st overall. 

It was back to the RCN for the 2016 season, in the Flying Horse Porsche. She did two races in the series, as well as a decent run in the Porsche Super Sports Cup, finishing eighth in the main championship and fourth in the Endurance class. During the winter season, she travelled to the Netherlands for the Winter Endurance Championship, and was second overall in a race at Zandvoort. 

In 2017, she did her first races in the Porsche Carrera Cup, making two guest appearances at the Lausitzring. She was driving for the Cito Pretiosa team in its debut year. 

She was also fourth in the Cup 3 class of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, driving a Porsche Cayman. This was run by Arkenau team and shared with her father, Kai Riemer and Peter Scharmach. 

She did not race much in 2018, but did some training and planned to return in 2019, which she did. Ronja became part of the “Girls Only” WS team for the VLN and the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Girls Only was led by Carrie Schreiner and driving duties were shared between her, Ronja and Jasmin Preisig. The car was a Volkswagen Golf GTi, run by an all-female engineering and management team.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours was meant to be their showcase event and in a way, it was. The Golf suffered problems and had to retreat to its garage for a full engine replacement, but the team got it back on track. The car took the finish but was not classified.

The VLN was a mixed bag of outcomes. They were second in the SP3T class in the first race, although they were only 79th overall. The second race in April was abandoned due to snow, then they did not enter the third. Ronja joined another team for the ninth round, driving a Porsche Cayman alongside her father. They were eighth in the Cup 3 class.

As well as the VLN, she raced a Porsche 911 in the Porsche Super Sports Cup in Germany.

The 911 came out for the 2020 VLN, competing in the SP7 class for cars up to 4000cc. Her regular team-mate was Karl Pflanz and they were twelfth in their class championship after a part-season, missing the first round. Their best class finish was third in Round 5, held in August.

(Image copyright Ronja Assmann)