Barbara Johansson

Barbara Johansson was a Swedish race and rally driver most active in the 1960s. She usually drove small cars and is most associated with the Mini. She was nicknamed "Bra-Bra" by the Swedish press, with "bra" translating here as "good".

Barbara was born in the USA to Swedish parents, although she lived her entire adult life in Sweden. She had always been interested in cars and enjoyed driving fast in her parent's Ford V8 when going to and from the stables where she kept her horses. After her marriage, she began her motorsport career in speedboats, sharing a vessel with her husband. Her husband worked for a Peugeot dealership and it was at the suggestion of his boss that she tried out motor racing. She won her first event, driving a Peugeot 203.

She was highly successful in the Swedish Touring Car Championship and won a Group 2 race outright, at Knutstorp in 1964. Her car was a Mini Cooper run by the works BMC team. She was also second at Falkenberg and fourth at Skarpnack, and would have been Group 2 champion without a couple of non-finishes. According to a story, DKW driver Sigurd Isaakson said that if she beat him in a race, he would withdraw from the championship. She did defeat him in 1964, albeit in a different class, and he did go home.

Her first STCC appearance was in 1960, at Karlskoga, where she drove a Peugeot 403 and finished tenth, eight laps down. Sharing the same car with Jan Englund and Carl-Erik Linn, she was 21st in the end-of-season enduro at Skarpnack. 

In 1961, she appeared in the same race, driving a Renault Dauphine this time. Her co-drivers were Gunnar Friberg and Lars-Erik Tisell and they were 17th overall. This was as part of a Renault dealer team who were trying to gain attention by employing a female driver.

She then disappears from the STCC entry lists until 1964. She did two rounds of the championship in 1965, finishing one, at Karlskoga, in fifth place. Again, she was driving a Mini.

The 1966 STCC featured Barbara and her Mini racing in its mid-season events. She was tenth at Skarpnack, eighth at Karlskoga and twelfth at Falmarksbanen. After this, BMC began to scale back its motorsport activities and could no longer support her.

After touring cars, she also raced single-seaters. Photos exist of her competing in Formula Vee in 1967, although results are not readily available. Her car was a German-designed Dolling. By this time, she had separated from her husband and was combining her competition career with bringing up two children, helped by a nanny. She went back to racing boats, continuing to compete on and off until the early '70s.

Alongside her racing career, she competed in rallies. When BMC Sweden's representative Bosse Elmhorn saw her competing in local ice races and rallies, it was their rally team she was originally signed up for. Her team-mate was Harry Kallstrom, In a reflection of her track activitiy, she had already entered the Swedish Midnight Sun Rally in 1960, in a Peugeot 403, and the same event in 1961, in a works-supported Renault Gordini. She was also on the entry list for the Malarallyt.

In 1963, she was part of the BMC set-up. She was assigned a Mini Cooper for the Midnight Sun Rally, but then switched to an MG 1100 for three more Swedish events. At the end of the year, she did her first overseas rally, the RAC Rally in the UK, driving the Mini with Sheila Taylor. Sadly, the suspension failed when they were in fifth place.

A regular partnership with Margot Bradhe formed for 1964. Apparently, Margot was a calming influence on Barbara's aggressive driving style; she did not believe in lifting off the throttle. They drove the Mini Cooper almost exclusively and entered the Monte Carlo Rally for the first time, although they do not seem to have finished. Barbara's best finish was a 24th place in the Midnight Sun event, There were 138 finishers that year and many more starters. Later in the year, she won the Ladies' prize in the Jamt Rally.

Her last year as a rally driver was in 1965. BMC were already scaling back by then and she was back in a Renault 8 Gordini. She and Inga-Lill Edenring entered the Midnight Sun Rally, but do not appear to have finished.

She died in 2013, aged 80.

(For reference, Tommy Lyngborn's 2014 article provided a lot of the additional information here.)

Image copyright Upplands Museum, Sweden.

Anita Liden

 

Anita Lidén is a Swedish driver who is most famous for attempting to build a career in NASCAR in 1970.

She tried to enter the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside, but never made the start, having no car and no backers. She had shown up at Riverside and hung around the gates in the week before the 500, handing out business cards in the rain and attempting to persuade car owners to take a chance on her.

Despite her chutzpah, the enterprise did not work. Her complete lack of stock car experience, apart from some slow testing laps, and general lack of American racing experience, worked against her. Her husband Lasse, another racer who was with her, was also unsuccessful in launching a US competition career.

Anita and Lasse lived near the Anderstorp circuit, where he raced both cars and motorbikes. She was formerly a model and got into motorsport through her husband.

She had raced in Formula Ford in Sweden in 1969, in her first year of competition. She usually used the name "Anita Snabb", which translates to "Fast Anita". Her car was a Merlyn. In 1969, she entered the Junior race at the Hyllingeloppet event at Knutstorp, finishing second.

After her trip to America, she returned to Sweden and quickly went back to single-seaters. She continued to race in Formula Ford, then in the Swedish and European Formula Vee championships. She took part in the Swedish series in 1970 and 1971 and the European championship between 1970 and 1072.

Much later, in 1976, she raced in the Lee Cooper Mini Lady Cup, a Swedish all-female racing series, and won at least one race, although not the championship, which went to Birgitta Uppling. Her car was advertised for sale in 1978, so her career appears to end there.

(Image copyright Autosprint, 1971)

Jess Bäckman

Jessica Bäckman is a Swedish driver who races touring cars. She was a long-term karter who has won two Swedish championships and switched to cars for the 2018 season, aged 21. Her first-ever races were the opening rounds of the British TCR series, driving a Volkswagen Golf for Westcoast Racing. She was eighth and sixth at Silverstone. By mid-season, she was much improved and she scored one podium finish, a second place at Brands Hatch. She was fourth in the championship. In Sweden, she also raced in TCR, for the same team, although she did not do quite as well, finishing 19th with a best finish of twelfth. This was achieved at Falkenberg.

2019 was a busy year, with a full season in the European TCR series, plus appearances in its German and Scandinavian equivalents, all in a Hyundai i30. Her TCR Europe season was rather inconsistent but she did manage one third place at Hockenheim, one of three top tens. Later in the year, she revisited Hockenheim with the German championship and claimed a second place during a guest appearance for the Hyundai factory team. In November, she also took part in the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games, racing an i30 for Sweden in the Touring Car Cup.

She often races with her brother, Andreas, who is two years older than her. They began competing at the same time.

When the delayed 2020 season finally started, her main focus was the European TCR Championship. Her car was an i30, run by Target Competition. It was an unsatisfactory year for her, with a best finish of seventh at Monza and a lot of car trouble.

The Target team ran her in the World Touring Car Cup in 2021, driving a Hyundai Elantra. After a half-season, she was 21st in the championship, just ahead of her brother, with a best finish of fourteenth at the Nurburgring. Both siblings left the series voluntarily, with Jessica stating that she was not happy with her performances or her progress. She joined the Scandinavia TCR series for its final three rounds, achieving a second place at Anderstorp. Her car was an Audi RS. She also did a round of the NLS in April, driving a Hyundai i30N.

She moved to the German series in 2022, first driving a Hyundai Velostar for ROJA Motorsport, then an Audi RS3 for the Comtoyou team. After a succcessful early season with four wins and five more podiums, she was second in the championship.

In 2023, she switched to sportscars, doing part-seasons in the ADAC GT4 and GT4 European series. She and Andreas drove an Aston Martin Vantage in the first round of the ADAC championship, finishing 24th in one race, before moving to the European championship in a similar car, for two different teams. Their best finish was 16th at Monza.

Apart from some testing and a Time Attack event in a Lamborghini, she has not competed during 2024.

(Image copyright Jess Bäckman)

Ayla Agren

 

Ayla Ågren is a Swedish/Norwegian driver, born in Norway who has done a lot of her racing in the USA. 

She won the US F1600 championship in 2014 after taking three wins and five podium positions. This was her second season in F1600, having finished fourth in the series in 2013. 

2013 was only her second season as a senior racer, having graduated from karting in Scandinavia at the end of 2011. Like many single-seater racers in the States, she began in the Skip Barber championships. 

Between 2014 and 2019, she did not do quite as much active racing, but was involved with the Mazda Road to Indy training programme, in the hope of getting onto the oval racing ladder. To this end, she took part in the Cooper Tires USF2000 series, for three seasons. She did the full season in 2015 with Pelfrey Racing, who had helped her to her F1600 title. In her first season, she was tenth overall, with a best finish of sixth, achieved at Indianapolis and Mid-Ohio.

In 2016, she switched to John Cummiskey’s team and did three-quarters of the season, missing the Toronto and Laguna Seca races. Her best finish improved to fourth at Road America and she was eleventh overall. Back with Pelfrey for a third year, she only managed seven rounds on her budget. The best of these wasa seventh at Indianapolis.

She also worked as a spotter for Paretta Autosport and other teams in oval-based series, and drove the safety car for Indycar races.

In 2019, she attempted to qualify for the W Series but was unsuccessful at the first selection. Despite expressing some misgivings about the event, she tested again at the end of the year and was accepted for 2020. She was also awarded a significant scholarship by World Rally champion Petter Solberg.

The 2020 W Series season was deferred until 2021, but she took her seat and finished 17th overall. This was not helped by missing the Spa race due to a six-car qualifying crash, but her best finish was only ninth at Circuit of the Americas and she was not one of the drivers automatically invited back. 

At the start of the season, she also drove at Duqueine prototype in the Le Mans Cup, finishing 19th in her class at Paul Ricard. 

She continued as a reserve driver in W Series in 2022, making one appearance for the Puma team at Singapore, substituting for the injured Tereza Babickova. She was 16th. After W Series was cancelled, she did not race in 2023.

(Image from vg.no)

Susann Bergvall (Hansen)

Susann Bergvall is a Swedish rallycross driver who is still the only woman to win an FIA-sanctioned rallycross title.

She is mainly known for her successes in the 1400cc class of the European Championship in the 1990s, after several years of running on a very low budget. She had begun her career in folkrace at the age of 18, driving a Volvo, before switching to rallycross in a Volvo 240. 

A couple of years in Swedish championships followed, including a run in a women-only category in 1988. She was not even able to afford wet tyres for some events and mostly competed for fun. This changed when she joined forces with Kenneth Hansen in 1990. They ran their team together, with both of them competing, and gained significant support. In 1993, they were approached by Citroen to run their works cars and Susann found herself with a really competitive car for the first time.

Her title win came in 1994, driving a Citroen AX Sport. She won three rounds outright at Lousada (Portugal), Lyngas in Norway and Estering in Germany. Her nearest rival, Manfred Beck, only finished fifth at Estering, which secured her the championship.

In 1995, she was fifth in the European 1400 Cup, driving two different AX models for the Hansen team. This was her last season of racing. 

After that, she left active competition, but stayed involved in rallycross through management within the Hansen team. She introduced them to working with data logging, a role she still carries out, but which was quite a new concept in 1995.

She and Hansen married and rallycross drivers Timmy and Kevin Hansen are their sons. Timmy was nearly two when Susann won her European title.

(Image copyright Hansen World RX Team)

Jonna Eson Brådhe

Jonna Eson Brådhe is a Swedish rally driver active since 2010. She is the third generation of female drivers in her family, after her grandmother Margot and mother Liz.

She started as a teenager navigating for her father Johnny, and began rallying a VW Golf in youth events in 2010, aged 16. 

In 2011, she was Sweden’s top female youth rally driver. Her co-driver was her mother.

She earned her driving license in 2012, and used it to enter Swedish club rallies in a Peugeot 309, with mixed results. The Peugeot was soon replaced by a Subaru Impreza, which was faster, and scored her some decent positions in the Class C Cup. This was a welcome diversion from her roll on the Kolsva Rally in the Peugeot; she had been on course for ladies’ award when she crashed.

She got the hang of the 309 in 2013 and finished her first Swedish championship rallies. Her best finish was 54th place in the East Swedish Rally and she also finished the Uppsala Rally. It was this year that she came to the attention of Uppsala Rally winner Ramona Karlsson, who recruited her into her female driver training programme alongside six others. This lasted for a couple of seasons.

Later, she had her first taste of WRC power, albeit as a co-driver,  in a Skoda Octavia, in which she and Nils Jensen were 17th in the Fixussprinten  rally. 

Jonna became more consistent in the 309 through 2014, picking up more Swedish Championship finishes in the Uppsala and South Sweden events. This was her last year with this particular car.

In 2015, she travelled to the Middle East for the FIA Women in Motorsport Qatar Desert Challenge, competing against other elite female drivers for a spot in the Sealine Desert Challenge. She was not one of the winners. Back in Sweden, she had a new car, a Ford Fiesta which she used for the Swedish Junior Championship. She was ninth in her class at the end of the year and her best finish was probably a 46th place in the Rally Uppsala, out of 64 drivers.

Her second season in the Fiesta brought her mixed results. Her first rally of the year, the Rally Bilmetro, ended early due to a lost wheel and a broken driveshaft put her out of the LBC-Ruschen. In between, she was 34th in the Ostersund Winter Rally and secured her best-ever career finish, 21st in the Rally Gotland. Her preferred South Swedish Rally was the scene of a career-best 33rd in a Swedish Championship event before the car was updated to an R2-spec machine. Her best result in it was a 22nd place in the Violenrallyt.

Her car for 2017 was a Peugeot 208, another R2 car. She was sixth in her class in the European Rally Trophy championship, with a best finish of 27th, in the East Sweden Rally. She also won her class in the SM Vaakuna Rally, in Finland. This was her first overseas event, the first of two rallies in Finland that year. The second was the Real Park Lake City Rally, in which she was 48th.

In 2018, she entered her first Rally Sweden in the 208, finishing 47th. This was her first World Championship rally. She also competed in Germany, taking part in the International Lausitz Rally and coming in 49th under Superrally rules. She was third in the OT2WD class of the Swedish championship at the end of the year, winning 10,000 krona. 

She continued to compete in Sweden in 2019, still driving the 208. Her best finish was a 20th place in the Rikspokalen rally, from 167 finishers.

Despite restrictions on rallying due to coronavirus in 2020, Jonna remained busy, driving an R5 Mitsubishi Mirage. She was fifth in the Rally Sweden Lockdown, behind Mattias Ekstrom. Her best result was a third place in the Backeforssnurren event, a sprint rally. Mid-season, she was fourth in the Kvallsrallyt.

In 2021 she continued to perform well in the Mirage. She was fourth in the JR Motorsport Pokalen, winning her class, then was fourth again in the Gastabudstrofen Light. In August, she entered the Rally Killingen, a round of the Swedish championship. She finished 36th out of 94, fifth in class.

Another year in the Mirage was mostly spent in rallysprint events, with considerable success. She was sixth in both the Skilling 5 and Karlskronapokalen, both gravel rallies. These were two of five top-ten finishes she earned in 2022. Her only international trip was to Germany for the Lausitz Rally, where she was eleventh and won her class. 

She mostly stayed within Sweden in the Mirage in 2023. Her best result was a second place in the Bjorn Waldegards Minne, a gravel rallysprint with 88 finishers. In September, she did one Finnish rally: the SM Ralli Kokkola. She and co-driver Jesper Samuelsson had an off and did not finish.

2024 was a mixed year, marred by a non-qualification for the SM Veckan Sprint Rally, going over the time limit at the LBC-Ruschen event and crashing out of the Rally Nykoping, but she also had some great finishes in the Mirage. She was second in the Hasselasvangen snow rally, from 40 finishers. Later in the year, she was third in the Lovdansen gravel event, from 70 finishers.

Her one trip to Finland in 2025 gave her and the Mirage their best result: a tenth place in the Royal Rally of Scandinavia. This gravel rally had a huge rate of attrition, but Jonna stayed out of trouble. Her best Finnish rally was the SM OK Auto-Ralli, where she was 22nd and won her class. 

(Image copyright svtplay.se)

Susanne Kottulinsky

Susanne Kottulinsky was Sweden’s leading woman rally driver in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Her best WRC finish was thirteenth, in the 1986 Swedish Rally. She was driving a Volvo 240. This was one of ten World Championship rallies she entered, five of them in Sweden and five in the UK. Her best year for the RAC Rally was 1985, when she was 17th and first in Class A8, also in the Volvo. The RAC was also her first WRC event in 1982, before she even entered her home rally. She was 47th overall in an Opel Ascona.

She sampled a number of cars during her long career (over 20 years), but was most competitive in the Volvo, her regular car between 1984 and 1986, and the Audi 200 Quattro she used in 1987 and 1988. She picked up multiple top-ten finishes in both of these cars. 

From the beginning of her international career in 1982, Susanne always seemed to run best in Germany and Austria, better even than on the Swedish snow rallies in which she would be expected to excel. Her first international top ten was a tenth place in the Eisenwurzen Pyhrn Rally, held in Austria in 1983. She was driving the Ascona. The same event in 1984 gave her a sixth place in the Volvo and she followed this up with her first big German finish, an eighth place in the ADAC 3-Städte Rally. After a year spent competing all around northern Europe in the Volvo in 1986, she began to concentrate almost exclusively on the German championship.

Her first season proper in Germany coincided with her move to Audi as a works-supported driver for VAG Sweden. She was following in the wheeltracks of 1986 champion Michele Mouton and part of a strong cohort of female talent that was finally being taken seriously again. The season started well, with a fifth place in the Sachs Winter Rally. This was five places better than her future husband, Jerry Ahlin managed and the best of the group N finishers. Two more top-tens and a class win in the Rallye Hessen were enough to secure championship fifth.

Although Susanne became a more consistent top-ten finisher in 1988, the podium places were locked out by fellow Audi driver Armin Schwarz and Ronald Holzer’s Lancia Delta Integrale. She was fifth again, with another fifth place at Baden-Wurttemberg as her best rally finish. 

After this, she appears much more infrequently on the entry lists. She married Jerry Ahlin and the pair teamed up as “Team Ahlinsky” for a few rallies in Sweden and Germany between 1990 and 1991, using an Audi. Susanne earned a sixth place in the 1991 Berglagsrallyt in Sweden.

After a long lay-off, she proved that she still had it in 2002. She was eighth in the ADAC 3-Städte Rally, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer, despite not having driven in a major rally since 1995. Since then, she has occasionally come out of retirement for German rally show events, driving the Audi.

Her daughter is touring car racer, Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky. Mikaela is the third generation of Kottulinskys in motorsport, alongside her brother Fredrik Ahlin who competes in rallying. Susanne’s father was Freddy Kottulinsky, who mostly rallied in Sweden, and even her mother Barbel had a go at navigating.

She died in March 2025, aged 64.

(Image copyright Audi/VAG Sweden/rallymemory.blogspot.com)

Junior Rallying

Alice Paterson and Amy McCubbin

Junior rallying for 14-17 year olds is a relatively recent innovation, mainly found in the UK and Scandinavia. Girls are often involved. Below are profiles of some of the youngest rally drivers in Europe.

Lina Björklund - currently competes in the Junior class of Swedish rallying. She started her rally career in 2013, in a Volvo 940, and was 53rd in her first event, the LRD-Ruschen. This was enough to attract the attention of Ramona Karlsson, who named her as one of her “Young Female Drivers”, who are being mentored by Ramona. In 2014, she undertook a wide programme of Swedish rallies, and enjoyed a best finish of eleventh, in the Föneruschen event. She also scored three Youth class wins, quite early in the season, and was a strong contender for the championship. She also managed another, separate class win in the Kullingstrofén, and was 75th overall. In 2017, she did not manage many rallies, but was twelfth in the Jamtrallyt, in the Volvo. Prior to taking up rallying, Lina competed on the circuits for three years, in the Renault Junior Cup. In 2012, she was second in the championship, with three wins.

Jenna McCann – Irish driver who came to prominence competing in the Junior championship in Ireland. In 2017, she won the Irish Junior Tarmac Championship. She started her 2015 campaign in a Peugeot 106, which gave her a best finish of sixth in the Cavan Stages Junior Rally, but became increasingly reliable. A Ford Fiesta R2 proved more reliable, and gave her two fifth places, in the Clare and Wexford Junior rallies. She was seventh in the championship overall, and the only female driver. A move into the Irish National Championship in 2016 led to a win her class in the Cavan Stages, finishing 47th overall. She finished all ten of her events. She won her first rally in 2017: the Cork 20 International Junior Rally. In 2018, she mostly took part in senior events in her Fiesta, in both Eire and Northern Ireland. Despite this, she went back to Junior competition for the early part of 2019, earning two more top-tens in Irish events driving the Fiesta. Later, she sampled the power of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX on the Cork Forest Rally, but did not finish. Although opportunities for competition were limited in 2020, she entered two more senior rallies in the Lancer, finishing the Carrick on Suir Rally in 21st place from 48 finishers. After a year's break, she returned in 2022 with a Ford Fiesta, in which she had a best finish of ninth in the Laois Rallysprint. A few more rallies in the Fiesta in 2023 led to an eleventh place in the Tipperary Sean Conlon Memorial Forest Rally. Back out in 2025, she was twelfth in the Mayo Forestry Rally and fourteenth in the Tipperary event. Her first experiences with rallying came from navigating for her father, James McCann, in 2013.

Letisha Conn - rallies in Scotland and Northern Ireland in junior events. She began in 2019, aged fourteen. Her car for the Northern Ireland Rallysport championship was a Citroen C1, and she managed a win at Aghadowey as well as a third at Nutts Corner. In Scotland, she normally drove a Peugeot 107, in which she was not quite as competitive, picking up two fourth places in the Condor and Crail Stages. She rallied in Irish gravel events in 2020, although her first outing, the Limerick Forest Rally, was stopped due to snow. She did not finish the Carrick on Suir Rally. Her last season as a junior gave her a first win, the 2021 Annabelle Tennant Miltown Junior Stages Rally. She was also second in the Albar Kames Trophy Junior event, driving a Skoda Citigo. Back in the C1, she tackled her first senior rally, the Boggeragh Rallysprint. 2022 was a mix of UK junior rallies and senior events and she used the Citroen, Skoda, C1, a Peugeot 106 and a Ford Fiesta. She brought the Fiesta out again for three more senior events in 2023, recording a best finish of 50th in the Modern Tyres Ulster Rally. She continued to compete in 2024, driving a BMW E87, in the UK and Ireland, although she had a lot of bad luck with reliability.

Amy McCubbin - active in junior rallies in the UK since 2016, when she was fourteen years old. In her first season, she was eleventh in the 1000 Junior Ecosse championship, driving a Nissan Micra. Her best finish was ninth in the ABR Travel Services Junior Rally. In 2017, she improved dramatically, and became a regular top ten finisher, despite swapping her Micra for a Skoda Citigo. Her best finish has been fifth, in the Granite Junior Stages, driving the Citigo. She was seventh in the 2017 Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge. In 2018, she continued for another season as a junior, in the Citigo.

Kasia Nicklin - one of the youngest-ever rally drivers in the UK. She began rallying in 2010 in Junior F1000, aged fourteen. Her car was a Nissan Micra, and her best result was fourth in the Junior class, in the Hall Trophy Stages. In 2011, she continued in the same series and the same car, and was a more consistent top-ten contender, with multiple fourth places. In 2012, she continued in the Junior class, and achieved second places in the Honington and Woodbridge Stages. She was seventh in the junior class. She did three major rallies in 2013, in the Micra. Her best finish was 20th on the Woodbridge Stages, where she won her class. She does not appear to have competed in 2014, but she managed to get out again in the Micra in 2015. Her best result was 24th, second in class, in the Flying Fortress Stages. In 2021 she returned to action in the Micra, entering the Snetterton Stages. The car was replaced by a Ford Fiesta R2 for three more rallies in 2022, and three more in 2023, including a 17th place in the Lookout Stages Rally.

Alice Paterson - started rallying at the age of fourteen in 2016. She contested the 1000 Junior Ecosse Challenge and was twelfth overall, driving a Peugeot 107. Her best rally result was thirteenth, which she achieved on five out of her six rallies. She stuck with the same car for 2017 and earned some better finishes; four out of her five rallies have ended in top tens. The best of these was a fifth place in the 5 Star Junior Stages. Both Alice and Amy McCubbin spoke out in the Scottish papers against David Coulthard when he cast doubts on women’s ability to race cars. Her 2018 season was quite similar, although she did suffer a couple of retirements.

Erica Winning - took part in junior rallies in the UK in 2018, driving a Nissan Micra. She mostly competed in Scotland, in the Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge. From seven events, all of which she finished, she managed four top-tens, the best of these being two ninth places in the Condor Memorial Gardens and 5 Star Junior Stages. 2018 was her first season as a rally driver. Her second gave her five top-ten finishes in junior events in 2019. After a break, she returned to competition in 2021, finishing fifth in the Mach 1 Junior Stages. She has since switched to co-driving.

(Image from http://www.soscc.co.uk)

Rallycross in Scandinavia

Magda Andersson

The Scandinavian nations produce many rallycross drivers and women get in on the action too, especially in the national championships. Camilla Antonsen and Susann Bergvall now have their own profile.

My Adolfsson - rallycross driver from Sweden. She raced in the Swedish junior championship in 2014, in a Vauxhall Corsa. Her first race came when she was still only 16. Due to car problems, she did not complete all the rounds. She was fifteenth overall in the NGK Masters, after finishing second in one of her qualifying races, then suffering more car trouble. Previously, she competed in Folkrace, from the age of fourteen, and she still races on occasion, in the Women’s class. Her 2015 season in the Swedish rallycross championship was badly affected by a leg injury to My, who sat out part of the year following surgery. At the end of the year, she returned for the season finale, driving her Corsa. She is or was part of Ramona Karlsson’s Young Female Drivers mentoring project. In 2017, she took part in Folkrace events and continued in the discipline.

Klara Andersson - winner of the Swedish 2150 class rallycross championship in 2021, driving a 1-series BMW. Later in the year, she entered the RX2e class of the FIA Rallycross championship, finishing fourth at Spa in her debut event. This followed a second place in the 2020 Swedish Junior Rallycross championship. 2020 was her third season in rallycross after several years of karting. She is a member of the Swedish Junior team and her sister, Magda Andersson, also competes in rallycross in Europe. In addition to rallycross, she tested an Extreme E car in Sardinia in October 2021. This led to an Extreme E seat with the Abt Cupra team in Chile and Uruguay, subbing for Jutta Kleinschmidt. She won her first X Prix in Uruguay. She was seventh in the 2022 World Rallycross RX1e championship, driving a PWR car. Her best finish was third in Portugal. She was called up for a full-time Extreme E drive for Cupra in 2023, sharing with Nasser al-Attiyah and Sebastien Loeb. She was sixth in the championship, with a best finish of third in Sardinia. In rallycross, she was seventh again in RX1e, finsihing fourth in Norway. It was a strong RX1 rallycross season for her in 2024, with a second place in Sweden and a third in Hungary, leading to sixth in the championship. The final Extreme E season wasn't quite as successful. She drove for the SUN Minimeal team with Timo Scheider and had a best finish of sixth in Scotland. For Extreme E's last tournament-style meeting in Saudi, called The Final Lap, she drove for Carl Cox Motorsport and finished eighth and sixth. She stayed with the team for the beginning of the Extreme H season.

Magda Andersson – Swedish rallycross driver who competes in the European championships. She began her rallycross career in 2012, at the age of fourteen, when she was second in the JRX (Junior Rallycross) Cup. After a couple of seasons in JRX and in the Swedish championship, she started racing in the Touring Car class of the ERC in 2015. Her car was a Ford Fiesta. She made her first final in the second round of the championship, at Lydden Hill, finishing fifth. She was then second at Estering in Germany, and third in her home race of Höljesbanan, which gave her fourth in the championship. She returned to the Touring Car championship for 2016 and won the first round. She was second in the category overall. In 2017, she changed car and team, to a Marklund Motorsport-run VW Polo. She entered the Supercar class for the first time, but found it hard going. Her best result was a sixth place in France and she was 16th in the championship. She maintained her 16th place in 2018, although she was deducted some points for a technical infringement on her Peugeot 208 by her team, Dubourg Auto. Following sponsorship issues, she decided to take a year out in 2019. She has since stepped back from competition to support her sister, Klara.

Pernille Brinkmann Larsen - competed in Danish rallycross in a Group N Citroen Saxo in 2018. This appears to have been her first season in the category, although it looks as if she did some folkerace events prior to her rallycross debut. She was eleventh in Group N in her first season, although she did not appear at all of the rounds. Later, she raced a Peugeot 309. She now appears to be involved in the administration of the Danish rallycross championship.

Malin Gjerstad - began her career in Norwegian autocross in 2009, winning three of her events, plus the Ladies’ and Junior title. Driving a SAAB 900, she continued in 2010, venturing over the border into Sweden for their junior rallycross championship, in which she was fifteenth overall. She also continued with autocross, alongside her father Morten. After sitting out most of 2011 due to pregnancy, she returned in 2012, driving an Opel Corsa. Her one points finish in the Norwegian Class 1 championship was a fourth place, at Gardermoen Motorpark. She was twelfth in the 2013 championship, with one third place. She was driving the Corsa. She drove the same car in the 2014 Norwegian championship.

Ada Marie Hvaal - Norwegian driver who competes in both rallycross and stage rallying. She began in rallycross in 2012, when she was 14, finishing second in the JRX European Rallycross Series. Her car was a Citroen DS3. By the time she was 16, she was racing in the Norwegian WRX rounds in a Renault Clio, before moving up to the Super 1600 class in 2014 in a Peugeot 207. She has also competed in the Nordic series in a VW Beetle and a Citroen C2 in the European Rallycross Championship. On the rallying side, she began entering Norwegian rallies in a Ford Fiesta in 2018. Her best result has been 39th in the 2019 Rally Hadeland, driving a Renault Twingo.  She continued to rally the Twingo in 2020, with a best finish of 40th in the Sigdalsrally.

Mathilde Lindrup - Danish driver who races a Honda Civic in her home country. She won the Danish Group N rallycross championship in 2018, with two final wins at Lovel and Ornedalen in the early part of the season. She was fifth in the same class in 2017. Mathilde began racing at fourteen in Folkrace events, using a Peugeot 306. She won the Danish championship for under-16s in 2016. She is from a rallycross family and competes alongside her brother Frederik. In 2020 she moved to Switzerland to work as an au pair and was signed for a karting team there.

Majbritt Linnemann - Danish rallycross driver who drives a Peugeot 208 or 106 in the Danish Super 1600 championship. She was third in the category in 2018, with a best finish of second at Korskro. During the year, the 106 had to be almost completely rebuilt after an accident, but she was able to resume racing. In 2019, it was back out and she was fourth in the Super 1600 class. She started in this car in 2017 with a part-season in the same class, although she raced a 206 for a couple of years previously. After the shortened 2020 season, she was third in S1600, and then second in 2022. She moved up to S2000 in 2023, driving a Peugeot. Majbritt is from a motorsport family and often competes against her brother Ulrik.

Lise Marie Sandmo - Norwegian driver who won the Norwegian Junior rallycross title in 2012, driving a Honda Civic, at the age of 18. She was the first female driver to do so. She was also fourth in the senior Northern European Zone 1600 rallycross championship, with a best finish of fifth. Her driving career began in 2010, in rallycross, and she was second in her first race. In 2011, she was fifth in the junior series, as well as competing in autocross at Junior level. 2013 saw her win a second Norwegian junior championship, as will as finishing seventh in the Northern Europe Super 1600 championship. Her car was the Civic. In 2014, she entered two rounds of the European Rallycross Championship, driving a VW Polo in the Super 1600 class. She scored one point. She drove the Polo in some rounds of the European S1600 championship again in 2015, but her season was marred by a pitlane accident involving her father. She did at least some NEZ championship races in 2016, but the results are proving elusive. In 2020, she completely dominated the Danish Super 1600 Rallycross championship, still driving a VW Polo.

Fanny Thrygg - Swedish driver who has been driving in rallycross across Europe since at least 2005. 2005 was her first season in the European Championship, and she was 33rd in Division 2, driving a Peugeot 306. She was 32nd the following year, after finishing ninth in France. She did not do as well in 2007 and was only 35th. A string of final finishes pushed her up to 19th in 2008, still in the ageing 306. She was thirteenth in 2009, after three points finishes. As well as the European championship, Fanny also races in Sweden and makes appearances in other European events, although she does not seem to have competed since 2009.

Camilla Traerup - rallycross driver from Denmark. She has been active in the Danish championship since at least 2011 and has been racing for longer, having started in folkerace events in an Opel Astra in 2007. For most of her rallycross career, she has driven a Group N Honda Civic, in which she was second in class in 2017. Her car in 2018 was a Mitsubishi Colt.

(Image copyright Magda Andersson)

Milla Mäkelä

Milla Mäkelä is a Finnish driver who has spent the early part of her career racing for Mtec in Formula Ford.

She has been active in motorsport since 2009, when she was 16. She always races for her family’s Mäkelä Racing team. The team builds the Mtec Formula Ford chassis for a number of teams in Scandinavia.

Her first races were in the Finnish Formula Ford Zetec championship, although right away, she took part in two Northern European Formula Ford races as well, in neighbouring Sweden. This would be her standard season pattern for most of the next couple of seasons.

In 2010, she was on the pace in the Finnish Formula Ford Junior Championship, and finished the season in tenth. Her brother and team-mate, Miikka, had use of the 2010 Mtec chassis for part of the season and was third. Milla used the ‘09 car. Again, she guested in the NEZ championship, for two races.

In 2011, she concentrated solely on the Finnish championship and recorded a tenth place. She was still using the ‘09 car.  

The following year, she scored her first podium finish, a third at Alastro, and was fifth overall, one behind her brother Miikka. Milla achieved another two top-five positions, at Alastro and Ahvenisto. She was finally driving the ‘10 Mtec and feeling the benefit.

Mid-season, she raced at the NEZ meeting at Karlskoga, and finished two out of three races, in twelfth and fourteenth.

In 2013, she was ninth again in the Finnish championship. However, her three Swedish races in the NEZ series were enough to give her ninth in that championship, her best yet. She was driving the ‘12 Mtec car.

She raced again in the Finnish series in 2014, and was normally a midfield finisher. She scored another podium finish, a third at Alastaro, and was fourth in the championship.

In 2015, she made the jump from midfielder to leading driver in Finnish Formula Ford, despite missing some of the races. She scored three second places, and one third, and was fifth in the championship. For the second part of the year, she also raced in Danish Formula Ford and earned one sixth place, at Spa.

Another Finnish FF season in 2016 was rather patchy, although she did earn herself two third places at Kemora.

In 2017, she switched to saloon racing, in the BMW Xtreme Cup. This ended up only being a part-season, and she was 17th overall. Her best race result was fifth at Ahvenisto.

She stayed involved with Formula Ford through the championship’s shorter Formula SM series, run over three rounds. She scored a third place at Alastaro, despite brake problems. Mäkelä Racing ran two BMWs for two two-driver teams.

In 2018, she remained involved in the Mäkelä Racing team, but did not appear to be competing regularly. She applied to take part in the all-female W Series Formula 3 championship for 2019 but was not selected.

Her W Series disappointment did not deter her. She raced a Chevrolet Camaro in the NEZ V8 Thunder series, finishing fifth after a season that included a podium finish in her first season of sportscar racing.

Despite not much motorsport happening in many places in 2020, she got to race her new car in V8 Thunder. The Mercedes CLK took her to two fourth place in the first two races at Botniaring, although Milla and them team had persistent trouble with fuel sensors and fuel feed. The problems were worse at Alastaro and she could only manage an eleventh and seventh place. She was sixth in the four-race championship. 

In 2021 she was one of the leading V8 Thunder drivers and although she could not quite challenge for the outright championship, she was in line for second until the final rounds at Alastaro. This was partly down to a technical problem, which meant she had to steer one-handed. She was third overall.

She acted as the championship chairman in 2022, as well as racing the Mercedes. The championship was dominated by Toni Lahteemaki, but he elected not to contest the final rounds and Milla took both wins, securing second in the championship after a string of podium finishes.

For the first time in several years, Milla only did a part-season in 2023, finishing sixth in the championship. An accident at Ahvenisto lost her any chance of another title and her team had also spent a lot on an engine rebuild. She returned in 2024, in the Mercedes, and was third again. 

In 2025, she was part of an all-female team for the Alastaro 6 Hours. She shared a BMW with Linda Vekka, Enni Malkonen and Emma Makinen. They were second in class and fifth overall. Her car was meant to have been a SEAT Cupra, but it developed problems and she was allowed to join the women's team instead.

She also raced the Mustang in a couple of V8 Thunder rounds.

(Image copyright Milla Mäkelä)

Emma Kimilainen

Emma Kimilainen (Liuski) is single-seater and touring car driver from Finland.

The early part of her career was spent in single-seaters, after beginning karting at the age of three. She first raced cars in 2005, in Finnish Formula Ford, coming second overall and winning a string of rookie awards.

As well as the Finnish title, she was also fifth in the Northern Europe Formula Ford Championship, and did some races in the Swedish series.

She missed out on a Finnish Formula Ford title in 2006, finishing second again, and it was an even more close-fought thing in the NEZ series. Emma was tied for points with Sami Isohella of Finland at the end of the season, but he edged her out with five wins to her four.

In 2007, she switched to sportscars and was consistently in the top three in Swedish Formula Radical. Her three wins were enough to cement her third place in the championship, as well as a runner-up spot in the National class. She was supported by Swedish ex-Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson.

She competed in German Formula ADAC in 2008, after undertaking a DTM test during the off-season for Audi. The German marque supported her in this after she was unable to get a DTM race seat.

Her overall result was tenth, with a single podium finish: a second place at Assen. Most of her finishes were in the top ten and she out-performed her Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate, Marcus Eriksson. Daniel Abt was another of her rivals.

In 2009, she travelled to the UK to race in Formula Palmer Audi, after a successful test. She was the series' fastest female driver, with two seconds and two thirds, and a fifth place overall. This came after a difficult start at Brands Hatch, the only time she finished out of the top ten. She was racing against Felix Rosenqvist, Josef Newgarden and Maria de Villota.   

She was set to return in 2010, but does not appear to have raced, although she did test for the Charouz AutoGP team.

She was not involved with motorsport for a long time after that. Partly this was due to the ever-present sponsorship problem, but she used her time away to finish her education, get married and become a mother. The result was a degree in chemistry and two daughters. She was also briefly involved in politics in Finland.

She came back to motorsport in 2014, driving a Saab 9-3 in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. She had an eventful season, crashing into Prince Carl Philip of Sweden in her first race, at Knutstorp, then crashing again, at Göteborg. One high point was a second place at Falkenberg, and she did manage some other top tens. She was eleventh overall, admitting herself that she was out of practice.

A second season in Scandinavian Touring Cars ran more smoothly, with a more consistent Emma finishing seventh overall. Her best finish was third, achieved at Mantorp Park and Anderstorp. She earned four more top-five positions and only had one DNF all season.

She raced a SEAT Leon in the 2016 STCC, but unreliability problems struck. Her best finish was a sixth place at Anderstorp. After the tenth race, she left the championship abruptly due to issues out of her control, leaving her in eleventh place. She had already missed another round earlier in the season.

For 2017, she announced that she would be taking part in a new electric racing initiative, Electric GT: this did not come together in time.

Instead, she drove a thirsty Ford Mustang in Thundercars, in Sweden and Finland. She won two of her six races in Finland, and finished the rest on the podium. She earned one podium in the Swedish series; a second at Ahvenisto.

Emma was set to race a Tesla P1000D in Electric GTs from late 2018, but it is unclear whether this happened. She did not race much at all that year.

In January 2019, she made the cut for the female-only W Series, hoping to resurrect her single-seater career. Her season was one of contrasts; she was punted off by Megan Gilkes in the opening race and later had to sit out a round due to delayed concussion, but she got stronger as the season went on, winning at Assen and finishing second at Brands Hatch. She was fourth in the championship.

The cancellation of W Series for 2020 meant that she did not race. In December, she spoke candidly on a Finnish-language podcast about the obstacles she had faced during her career and told the interviewer that she had had interest from an Indy Lights team in 2010. This team's main sponsor was a men's magazine and part of the deal for Emma was that she would have to pose topless for the magazine. She declined.

She returned to W Series in 2021 and picked up another win at Spa, mid-season. A pole position in the next race at Zandvoort could not be converted to a win and she had to settle for third. Having finished on the podium in five of the eight races, she was third overall.

She did not do as well in the 2022 W Series and did not repear her win, although she did manage a second place at Silverstone and was mostly a top-ten finisher. Her final championship position was eighth.

There was no W Series in 2023 due to its financial collapse into administration and Emma did not race. She was announced in January 2024 as one of Team Brady's pilots for the E1 electric powerboat racing series. She and her co-pilot Sam Coleman went on to win the championship. They retained their title in 2025.

(Image copyright Yle/Mikael Oivo)