Gabriela Jilkova

 

Gabriela Jilkova is a Czech driver who is best known for her successes in sportscars, although she has raced in many disciplines. She is known on social media as “QuickGabi”.

In 2012, she jumped straight from under-18 karting to Formula Renault, taking part in three rounds of the Northern European zone championship, at Most. Unfortunately, she did not finish any of them. She was only 17 at the time.

Her next step in her senior career was some sportscar racing in the Netherlands. She was third in two races in the Superlight section of the 2013 Supercar Challenge at Assen, driving a Czech-built Praga-Renault. This was combined with senior karting in the ROK Cup.

She was sixth in the 2014 ROK Cup senior world final. In between karting, she competed in a Formula Renault once more in Eastern Europe, as part of the Formula Car championship. Her best solo result was ninth at the Hungaroring. In a two-driver race at the same track she was fifth with Robert Haub. 

She did not do much actual racing in 2015, although she did take part in some drifting. Although she completed the driver evaluation course for the Audi TT Cup at the start of 2016, she did not actually race the TT, going with a Renault Clio instead. She did some rounds at least of the Central European Zone D4-2000 series, enough for third in the championship, and made some appearances in the Central European Clio Cup, scoring an eleventh and a sixth at the Red Bull Ring. 

Another part-season in the Clio Cup followed in 2017, for at least part of the season. 

In 2019, she worked as a test driver for the Gumpert RG Nathalie Race project, developing the track edition of the Nathalie fuel-cell car. She also did two races in the 24H GT Series in a KTM X-Bow, partnering Milan Kodidek. They were sixth at Brno. 

In 2020, she tried out unsuccessfully for W Series; the championship ended up being cancelled anyway due to coronavirus. She started sim racing with some success, using the screen name “QuickGabi”.

Having not raced competitively for a couple of seasons, Gabriela would have been forgiven for stepping back, but her break was just around the corner. In a reversal of fortunes, she joined the Zakspeed team for the GT Winter Series, driving a Mercedes AMG GT3. She was second and third in the first three races at Portimao, then won the next two outright from pole position to secure the title. 

This led to a race seat with the team for the 2021 ADAC GT4 Cup in Germany, sharing the same car with co-driver Robert Haub. They were fifth in the first round at Oschersleben, earning their first podium with a third place. A little later, they were second and sixth at Zandvoort. The remainder of the season was not as successful, but they held on to eighth in the championship.

The same driver pairing tackled the FARA Miami 500 at Homestead, driving a Praga. They won the race.

Another season in a Mercedes in the ADAC GT4 Cup and European GT4s with Robert Haub followed. They did not repeat their podium finish in 2022, but did manage a fourth place in each of their championships. The European GT4 fourth was at Spa, in the Pro-Am class, and the GT4 Cup fourth was at Zandvoort. They were also fifth at Imola in the European series.

Driving for a different team on a different continent, Gabriela travelled to India at the end of the year for the Indian Racing League, a street circuit-based single-seater championship. She drove for the Goa Aces team, sometimes sharing a car with Polish driver Kevin Mirocha for the feature races. Her best finishes were a pair of second places at Hyderabad, which was a relief after a chaotic beginning to the season, involving a race being cancelled and serious reliability problems with the motorcycle-engined car. She was tenth in the championship.

Her 2023 season was split between France and Germany. She was part of an all-female team put together by Matmut for the FFSA GT Cahmpionship. Her team-mate was Lucile Cypriano. They were third in the GT4 Pro-Am class, with a best finish of second at Val de Vienne. This was one of six podiums they achieved in their Toyota Supra.

In Germany, she raced a Duqueine car in the Protoype Cup, winning one race at Zandvoort with Xavier Lloveras. She was ninth in the championship after two more podiums. In addition to this, she did one race in the NLS, driving an Aston Martin Vantage. She and her two team-mates were sixth.

She did a full season of the GT4 European Series in 2024, partnering Cindy Gudet in a Toyota Supra. They were sixth overall in the Pro-Am class, with a best finish of third at Paul Ricard. Gabriela was also invited by Porsche to test their Formula E car at the end of the season, as part of the Women's Test.

(Image copyright Gabriela Jilkova)

Jem Hepworth

Jem Hepworth is the winner of the 2020 Britcar Endurance Championship, driving a Praga R1T for Team Motorsport Woman.

Success came young for Jem. As a karter, she represented the UK in the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s first “Girls on Track” finals at Le Mans. She competed at Le Mans but was not one of the girls selected for FIA WIM support.

Overlapping with this, she began her senior career in 2019. Her first race was the Citroen C1 24 Hours at Silverstone, as part of Team Motorsport Woman with Katie Milner, Alice Hughes and Sami Bowler. The team was fifth overall, having run as high as second. Despite being the least experienced member, she set the fastest laps of the four. 

Jem later drove a Motorsport Woman-backed Fiesta in the Ford Fiesta championship at Silverstone. She was ninth in her first race but could not finish the second due to a faulty wheel bearing. 

Her performances in the Citroen C1 helped to get her into the Motorsport Woman Praga for Britcar. She was paired with the slightly more experienced Danny Harrison and the two formed a strong partnership. When Jem was unable to start the first round due to a knee injury, Danny presented her with his trophy following his win. When she returned for the next round, she was down on testing time and not quite as fast as Danny, but she still managed to steer the car to a pair of wins at Brands Hatch, despite technical problems and the car almost running out of fuel. A DNF at Silverstone allowed their Praga rivals Jack Fabby and Garry Townshend to close the gap. Silverstone International led to a win and a frustrating DNF three laps from home, then Fabby and Townshend took one of the wins at Snetterton, with Jem and Danny second. They won the first race. Another win at the second Snetterton meeting put them in a strong position and they only needed second place to secure the championship, which they did in spite of a crash. 

Continuing to work with Motorsport Woman, Jem raced in the Praga category again in 2021. It was a more challenging year for her, partly due to reliability issues. She had been paired with Youtuber Jimmy Broadbent, who was a novice driver and not quite enjoy the same partnership with her as Danny Harrison had. He switched cars to share with Jack Fabby late in the season and she ran some races as a solo driver. She was fifth in the Praga standings.

It was a quieter year on the racing side for her in 2022 as she looked for new opportunities to further her career. She travelled to the USA for the W Series Formula 4 tests and performed well. Initially, she was passed over for a Formula 3 test, but she received a late call-up to Barcelona to try out for a W race seat. She was ultimately not successful, struggling with the grip strength needed for the car's steering.

For some of the season, she joined up with the Gridfinders EnduroKa team. Her best finishes with the multi-driver squad were two fifth places at Oulton Park and Cadwell. She also made some guest appearances in the Praga Cup, now running as a separate grid from Britcar. She earned two more fifth places at Silverstone and Snetterton.

Later in the year, she spent time in the States and Europe, setting up deals for 2022. This ended with her picking up a drive with Rafa Racing in the Mclaren Trophy. This one-make series is based in Europe and Jem got to race at Spa, Monza and the Nurburgring, supporting the Fanatec GT World Challenge. She and team owner Rafael Martinez shared a 570S run by Greystone GT. From the beginning with the season, they were front-runners, almost winning the championship outright until a car problem on the final lap dropped them out of the last race. They were second by just three points.

Jem returned to full-time competition in 2024, racing in the GT4 European Series with RAFA Racing. She and her American team-mate Cameron Lawrence were 19th in the Silver Cup, after a slow start to the season. By the time the series went to Spa, they were getting the hang of their McLaren Artura and earned their first top-ten finish, then a fourth place in the second race. They finished the season with another tenth place in the first race at Monza.

Having raced karts at Le Mans, Jem’s long-term aim is a run in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

(Image copyright Alan Quick)

Fiona James

Fiona James is a British sportscar driver who mostly races on the Continent. She also the founder and owner of Walero racewear, which manufactures body-temperature regulating fireproof underwear.

Her introduction to motorsport came when she was already an adult, in the form of a track day in 2006. Her sporting background was equestrian rather than automotive; she trained dressage horses for Team GB. “Walero” was the name of one of her notable ones.

She actually began racing in 2007, driving a Radical SR4 to some class wins in Britsports.

After that, she switched from a prototype to a GT car: a Ginetta G40. She competed for the next two seasons in both the British GT Cup and the Dutch Supercar Challenge, running part-time campaigns in each with In2Racing. Her best UK result in 2008 was a 13th place at Brands Hatch and she was 27th in the championship, having driven in four rounds. She and her team-mates also won their class at Spa.

She was thirteenth in the Supersport 2 category of Dutch Supercars in 2009, driving a Ginetta G50. Her results in the Britcar GT were improving and she scored her first top-ten at Snetterton, finishing eighth and winning her class. This was augmented by another class win at Silverstone.  

It was back to the UK in 2010, when she and the In2Racing team entered Britcar in the Ginetta. This included the season-ending Britcar 24 Hours, although they did not manage to finish. The team struggled to get on to the grid much that year, for reasons not clear.

he drove a Lamborghini Gallardo on her return to Britsports in 2011, first with Backdraft Motorsport. Her best result was an eighth at Donington. Later, she came back in the same car as part of the Panic team. She only managed to drive in the Spa round, when the car suffered a fire.

Later in the season, she drove the Gallardo in the Barcelona 24 Hours, and was 41st overall, second in class, with a four-person Backdraft Motorsport team.  

She moved back to the Netherlands for the Dutch Supercar series in 2012, still in the Gallardo, but had to cut her season short due to a skiing injury. She was ninth overall. Her team-mate Simon Atkinson was sixth.

She was meant to return in 2013, but does not appear to have raced.

In 2014, she took part in the world's longest race, the Maxi Endurance 32h, at Algarve. She was second in the Sport class, driving a BMW M3 with four other British drivers.

She did more 24-hour racing in 2015, taking part in the Barcelona 24 Hours in a BMW Z4, but she did not finish. The Backdraft Racing Lamborghini was also in evidence, at the Spa round of the Supercar Challenge. She was fourteenth in one race, and did not finish the other.

She raced a BMW for Intersport at the 2016 Silverstone 24 Hours, as part of a four-driver team. They were 25th overall, after a radiator problem and a broken propshaft.

For the first time since the start of her career, Fiona drove a prototype during 2017. She signed up with Blueberry Racing, a Dutch team, alongside Cor Euser and Dick van Elk, driving a Praga R1.

Her first race was the opening round of the Supercar Challenge at Assen, and she was eleventh and thirteenth. After the car’s debut, the team switched focus to the GT & Prototype Challenge for most of the season. Fiona  was second in class, with four wins, two seconds and a third. Her best overall finish was a fifth place at Assen, which coincided with one of her class wins.

In 2018, she took another step up in her racing career, sharing an Academy Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage in the GT4 European Series with Matt Nicoll-Jones. Part of her programme involved a run in the Aston Martin Race Festival that supported the Le Mans 24 Hours.   

Her second season in the GT4 European Series with the Aston included two third places at Brands Hatch, in the Pro-Am class. She and co-driver Tom Wood were also fifth at Paul Ricard. Unfortunately, a crash at Zandvoort ended their season prematurely. Neither driver was seriously hurt but the car was badly damaged.

She has not been able to get back on track since then but hopes to recover fully in the future.

(Image from https://european.gt4series.com)