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)

Tina Hausmann

 

Tina Hausmann is a Swiss driver racing single-seaters in Europe.

Her first experience of car racing, after some success in karts in Switzerland, was in the 2023 Formula Winter Series, a Formula 4 championship based in Spain. She surprised many with a fourth and third place in her first-ever events at Jerez, but the next round at Ricardo Torme was a disappointment for her, with a pair of DNFs. She only did half of the eight-race championship.

During the 2023 summer season, she contested both Italian F4 and its associated Euro4 championship but did not score any points. Her best finish was 16th at Paul Ricard. A Race 1 accident on the second lap at Misano led to her wthdrawal from the rest of the round, although she did return for the next races at Spa.

For 2024, she signed up for both the UAE F4 series and the all-female F1 Academy. Aston Martin selected her as its supported driver for F1A and she was part of the Prema team. Her team-mates Doriane Pin and Maya Weug had considerably more experience, with Doriane having raced at Le Mans and both having competed in FRECA. She started well with a sixth place at Jeddah, but was unable to match it until the end of the year, when she was fourth at Abu Dhabi. Usually, she was a top-ten finisher, but she has not yet got near the podium. Technical problems have played their part in this.

Her UAE campaign ended up being one round at Yas Marina, driving for Xcel Motorsport. She finished two of her three races, in 27th and 21st place.

Tina was previously active in karting and esports.

(Image copyright F1 Academy)

Lena Buhler

 

Lena Buhler is a Swiss driver who races single-seaters, mainly in Europe.

She moved into cars from karting in 2020. Her first experience in senior motorsport was racing in Spanish Formula 4 for the Drivex School team. She was fifteenth in the championship and her best finishes were two fifth places at Aragon and Barcelona. These fifth places were among six top-ten finishes she achieved from 20 starts. She could be quick but was quite inconsistent at times. 

In 2021, she raced in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, as part of the R-ace team. It was a tough year for her and she earned her best finish of the year, a 23rd place, in the last round at Monza.

During the off-season, she travelled to Arizona in the USA to take part in the W Series F4 tests and was invited back for its Barcelona F3 tests, but she was not offered a seat.

The R-ace connection continued in 2022, with three more FREC races and one finish, a 26th place in Monte Carlo. This followed a part-season in the FR Asian championship, which gave her a best finish of twelfth at Yas Marina. 

She stepped back down to F4 for 2023, entering the UAE championship. Not long after, she was the first driver announced for the FIA’s F1 Academy, an F4-level women-only series, driving for the ART GP team. Lena was one of the oldest drivers in the series, having only started karting at 17 and competing seriously in 2017. She was second in F1 Academy with two wins at Catalunya and Monza. As she was already 25, this would be her only F1 Academy season.

Her 2024 plans were initially unclear, although she became an affiliated driver with the Sauber F1 team as a result of her F1 Academy performances. Later, it was announced that she would be racing in FRECA alongside F1 Academy champion Marta Garcia, although driving for ART again. It was a challenging year and her best finish was 22nd at Paul Ricard. She pulled out of the championship after that.

(Image copyright formula1.com)

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.

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)

Sharon Scolari

Sharon Scolari is a Swiss driver who races in the Formula 3 Regional European Championship.

Most of her racing career has been in the Lotus Cup in Europe.

She began her career in Legends in Italy, in 2011. As there is no legal petrol-powered motorsport in Switzerland and Sharon is an Italian speaker, this was a logical choice. She was fifteen years old, and won the Rookie class. Legends would be her racing home for three seasons. Her best finish in the overall championship was fourth.

Between 2014 and 2017, she raced a Lotus Elise, initially in the Italian Lotus championship. She was fifth overall. After a year’s break, she stepped up to the European Cup, and was thirteenth overall, third in the Open class. Her best results were three seconds and a third, and she secured her first class win in the last round at Le Mans. This was the end product of a difficult learning year that began with a non-classified finish at Hockenheim, through a first top-ten at Paul Ricard, a penalty at Brands Hatch for an incorrect start behind a safety car and her first class victory in the last race of the season.

In 2017, she raced in the Lotus Cup again, and was ninth, second in the Open class. She came close to an Open class championship, winning nine times, but had to settle for second behind David Harvey.

She raced in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup in 2018, for a part-season, and managed a best finish of second at the Nurburgring. She was eleventh in the championship; her results were better in the second part of her season. The year was interrupted by a crash at Spa, which put her out of the second Spa race and the Hungaroring rounds. It does not seem to have deterred her in any way and she came back stronger. Her team, ScoRace, was run by her family and was described by an onlooker as “her and a mechanic”.

At the end of 2018, Sharon applied to take part in the all-female W Series and was selected for the first assessments in January 2019. She did not progress beyond the initial stages and expressed her frustration on social media, claiming that she had been one of the fastest drivers on the final “Race of Champions” test and had not gone through. She also claimed that participants were prevented from knowing or sharing the reasons for their rejection.

Not long after, she put her W Series woes behind her and signed up for the Formula Regional European Championship, which uses the same Tatuus Formula 3 car. Her ScoRace team was partnered by the Italian Viola Formula organisation.

It was a tough learning experience, but Sharon posted her first top-ten finish at Paul Ricard, the first round. Her best finish, sixth, was also achieved at Paul Ricard. A couple of races sat out due to car damage did not help, but she remained hopeful and determined. She was 18th overall.

Due to both the coronavirus crisis and funding problems, she was not able to race in 2020.

(Image copyright Sharon Scolari)

Marylin Niederhauser

Marylin Niederhauser is a Swiss driver who mainly competes in sportscar racing, having spent some time as a teenager in single-seaters.

Her first car races were in Formula 4 in Germany, driving for the Race Performance team. 2015 was her first year of senior motorsport, having raced karts since 2010, when she was fifteen. The Formula 4 season proved a challenge for her, and her best result was a 22nd place at the Sachsenring. She did not compete in all of the races this season, and was 49th in the championship, 22nd in the Rookie class. The team did not retain her services for 2016.

In 2016, she did eight F4 races for Rennsport Rossler, a new team to the championship. She had a best finish of 22nd again, at Oschersleben this time. After the fourth round, she parted company with Rossler, apparently amicably. She returned for the season finale with Lechner Motorsport, an Austrian team, but did not qualify.

Sensibly, she moved into sportscar racing in 2017, driving a KTM X-Bow in the GT4 European Series. She was part of an all-female Reiter team with Naomi Schiff and Caitlin Wood and they raced together in the championship’s Silver Cup. Her best result was sixth, at the Slovakiaring, one of four top-ten finishes, and she was 26th in the championship. The three had teamed up with Anna Rathe in the X-Bow for January’s 24 Hours and finished in 16th place.

Still in the X-Bow but mostly driving solo, she was one of the leading Pro-Am drivers in the 2018 Central Europe GT4 Cup, winning at Most and the Nurburgring and finishing second at Most, on the way to championship second, just five points behind winner Rob Severs.

At the end of 2018, Marylin attempted to restart her single-seater career in the all-female W Series, but did not make the cut in the first selection, although her erstwhile colleagues Naomi Schiff and Caitlin Wood did. She picked up a drive in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Central Europe shortly afterwards. Her car is a Cayman GT4. Pre-season, she performed well in testing and was well within a second of the leading driver.

Her early pace translated into two podium positions: third places at Salzburg and Most. This was in addition to four more top-finishes. She was fourth in the championship.

(Image copyright Marylin Niederhauser)

Marie-Luise Kozmian (Kozmianowa)

Marie-Luise Kozmian is the anglicised name of Maria-Ludwika Kozmianowa, who raced a Bugatti T37 and other cars in central and eastern Europe in the 1930s. She is occasionally also called Maria von Kozmian.

She was born in 1892 as Maria Komorowska and married Andrzej Kozmian, an engineer. She was a wealthy landowner in what is now Poland.

Her first racing car seems to have been an Austro-Daimler.

The first major outing for this car may have been the Rajd Pan (Women’s Rally) in 1930. She was the winner of the fourth edition of this event, held that year, as well as one other running of the rally. This was a city-to-city road rally; the 1930 route passed through Warsaw, Zakopane and Wisla then back to Warsaw, some 1150km.

Many sources describe her as winning the 1930 Lwow (Lemburg) Grand Prix, but contemporary results do not support this. Other sources call it a race for touring cars. Motor Sport magazine reports that she won the class for “dominant type cars”, run over 15 laps (45km). “dominant type” cars were “the models on which the manufacturer was concentrating”, which suggests it was a production car class. There were additional races for Sports and Racing cars.  

The next big event for her was the 1931 Baltic Cup, in which she won the Touring class. The event was held in Poland and was a 7km time trial.  

Some time after this she acquired a new car, a Bugatti T37. This car could run in Voiturette races and she used it in two editions of her home Grand Prix, at Lwow. She was sixth in the voiturette race at the 1933 event and was an entrant for the 1934 race, which did not go ahead.

During her career, Marie-Luise travelled around central Europe to compete. In 1933, she travelled to Hradec Kralove in what is now the Czech Republic for a street race. She was second in the 1500cc class.

In 1934, she took the Bugatti to Switzerland for the Berne Grand Prix, run to Voiturette regulations. This race supported the Swiss Grand Prix. She was tenth overall, behind the French driver Anne Itier.

The same year, she took part in the Klausen hillclimb, also in Switzerland. She was second in the 1500cc class, behind “Johnny” Lurani’s Maserati.

Hillclimbs were said to be her best events, although results are not often forthcoming. A series of pictures show her racing the Bugatti up the Semmering pass in Austria, but it is not known which year she entered. She did set a new ladies’ record on that course in 1933 and was third in the 1500cc Sports class, but she may have driven there more than once. She is meant to have raced until 1937.

She died in 1955.

Andrina Gugger

Andrina with her SEAT Leon, 2015

Andrina is a former karter from Switzerland, who has raced cars since 2008. Initially, she raced single-seaters, but she has since branched out and become a very versatile driver.

Her first two seasons were spent in Formula Lista Junior in Europe, first driving for Jo Zeller Racing, then for her family Gugger Racing team. She was fourth in 2008 and seventh in 2009, scoring one win in each season. In 2008, this came at the end of the year, at Monza, and followed a third place. In 2009, she won the first race of the season, at Dijon.

In 2010, she moved up to Formula Masters in Germany, driving for Mücke Motorsport. She could only manage fifteenth in the championship, but had a best finish of fifth at Oschersleben, again, in the firstrace of the season. By the end of the year, she had achieved five other top-ten finishes, but several DNFs dropped her down the rankings. During the off-season, she tested a GP3 car, becoming the first female driver to do so, but this did not lead to a race seat.

In 2011, she switched to sportscars, mainly driving a Maserati MC GranTurismo. She was eighth in the Maserati Trofeo Europe, after one podium finish, a third place at Spa. Her programme included six races in the earlier part of the season.

She also drove a Maserati in some Blancpain Endurance Series GT4 races, scoring a second at Magny-Cours and a third at Monza. Although she was scheduled to race at Navarra, she did not make the start. She shared the car with Devis Schwägli, another Swiss driver.

 As well as this, she raced in two rounds of the ADAC GT Masters, at the Red Bull Ring, in a Calloway Corvette. This car brought her less success than the Maserati; she could only manage a 30^th and 31^st place.

In 2012, she drove a Porsche 911 GT3 in the GT Masters, with Otto Klohs. Their best finish was 19th, at Zandvoort. Andrina had a 100% finishing record, but was not among the leading drivers in her class.

At the start of the season, she was thirteenth in the Dubai 24 Hours, driving a Porsche 997 for the same Auto Fach team. She was driving as part of a team of five.  

In 2013, she raced around Europe, including the Lotus Ladies' Cup. She took part in two races at the Slovakiaring, finishing third in one. This was not her only Ladies' Cup: she was awarded the ETCC Ladies' Cup also, finishing sixth in the S2000 class. Her best results were two fourth places, again at the Slovakiaring, and she was driving a Honda Civic.

2014 was very similar for her, with an eighth place in the ETCC, in the Civic. She managed one fourth place, at Spa, and two fifths, at Spa and Paul Ricard. Some non-finishes dropped her down the rankings somewhat, but she held on to the Ladies’ title. She did four rounds of the FIA Lotus Ladies' Cup, at the Oschersleben and Slovakiaring meetings. These gave her four fourths and one fifth place. She was also eighth overall in this championship.

In 2015, Andrina changed her racing direction again, and registered for the SEAT Leon Eurocup. She finished in 21st place, after a rather difficult season. Her best finish was seventh, at Estoril, although she has struggled at other circuits, apart from the Nürburgring, where she was ninth. She was one of five female drivers taking part in the Eurocup this year, and finished second in the Ladies’ standings.

(Image from http://www.andrinagugger.ch/)

Female Drivers in One-Make Series: Switzerland

Jasmin Preisig (third left) with her Scirocco-R Cup rivals, Doreen Seidel, Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Lucile Cypriano

Sabine (Yerly) Amweg - drove in the Swiss Renault Clio Cup in 2008, and the European Clio Cup in 2009 and 2010. She was tenth in 2008 and eighth in 2009, with a best finish of fifth. Her 2010 results are not forthcoming. Prior to the Clio Cup, Sabine has been active in motorsport since at least 2001, when she used a Mazda MX-5 Cup car in hillclimbs. The same car was used in 2002. She still competes occasionally in hillclimbs, in the Clio. In 2011, she drove a Clio in the Renault Sport Speed Trophy of the VLN in Germany, with Christof Stadler and Fred Yerly. In 2014, she drove the Clio in the Rundstrecken Challenge, at the Nürburgring. Along with Fabian Danz, she won her class, and was 29th overall in the three-hour race. 

Petra Beyrer (Gasser) - Swiss driver and former bodybuilder, who took part in long-distance touring car races in Germany in 2006. Her team-mate was Nicole Müllenmeister, and they drove a Honda Civic. They were 80th in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, seventh in class. She was due to be part of a team in the VLN championship at the Nürburgring in 2007, but had to pull out. Previously, she raced in the Toyota Yaris Cup for three years, after several seasons of karting. Her best Yaris Cup finish was 20th, in 2005, and she was fourth in the Coupe des Dames. She planned a comeback in 2008, but it did not happen. She aims to return to motorsport at some point. 

Luana Krattiger - half-Brazilian, former karter who had her first senior motorsport experience in 2013. She raced in the Renault Clio Cup in Italy, and won the Junior and Ladies categories. She was quite competitive from the beginning, and usually in sixth or seventh place. Her best result was third, in the last race of the season, at Imola. She was sixth overall. Away from the circuits, she was the navigator in the course car for the Rally Ronde del Ticino, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. The driver was Andreas Krattiger. Although she was linked with a drive in the 2014 Clio championship, it did not happen, and she does not appear to have raced in 2014.

(Image from http://www.volkswagen-motorsport.com/index.php?id=506&L=1)

Female Rally Drivers Around the World: Switzerland

Stéphanie le Coultre and Sonia Boi

Circuit racing is illegal in Switzerland, but it has some rallies, and an active rally championship based mainly in France and Italy. Swiss drivers also compete in other championships.

Stéphanie le Coultre - Swiss driver, active in major rallies since 2007. Her first car was a Citroen Saxo VTS, which she used in events in Switzerland itself and France. Her first finish in a major rally came in 2008, when she was 37th in the International Rallye du Valais, in Switzerland. In 2009, she entered the Valais rally again, but could not drive because her navigator, Sarah Dussex, was ill. After this, she exchanged the Citroen for a Fiat Abarth 500. When she shifted the focus of her rally activities to Italy, her results really started improving. In 2011, her best result was 19th, in the Rallye Antibes Côte d’Azur in France. She was also 34th in the Rally Appenino Reggiano. Mid-season, she entered her first IRC rally, the San Remo Rally, but did not finish. After a quiet season in 2012, where she changed car again, to a Suzuki Swift, and gained a new navigator, Sonia Boi, They attacked the Italian Suzuki Rally Cup together in 2013, driving partly for Team Nyonnais and partly for Butterfly Motorsport. Stéphanie’s best result was 17th in the Mille Miglia National Rally, fifth in class and ninth in the Suzuki Cup. Her best Suzuki Cup finish was eighth, in the Sanremo Leggende Rally. She was 34th overall. As well as rallying, she also competes in hillclimbs occasionally. In 2014, she did not do any driving, but navigated for Jean-Marie Renaud. She became a mother in 2016. 

Maude Crepin - Swiss rallyist active as a driver in French rallies since 2009. She began as a slalom driver, before entering rallying as a navigator in 2008. In 2009, she competed in four French national rallies in a Citroen Saxo, as well as hillclimbs, slaloms and even circuit racing. The following year, her programme extended to six rallies, still in the Citroen. She managed to finish some rallies, although she was still learning, and had problems with tyres. In 2011, she entered the Saxo into both gravel and tarmac events, with tarmac giving her a best finish of 37th in the Rallye du Gard. Her best gravel finish was 77th, in the Terre des Causes rally. In 2012, she was less active, but drove a Peugeot 106 in some French rallies, including the Rallye des Vins du Gard. She seems to have done some navigation in 2013. In 2014, she returned to the driver's seat, in the Swiss Rally Ronde del Ticino, and the French Rallye Terre des Cardabelles. She won her class in the French event, driving a Ford Fiesta. She was 67th overall. In 2015, she did some rallies in a Citroen Saxo, and finished the Fourme d'Ambert Rally in 100th place. She used the Saxo for one rally in 2016, the Terre des Cardabelles, but mostly drove a Peugeot 206. In this car, she had her best result, a 58th place in the Rallye National du Gard, fourth in class. In 2017, she did another rally in the Saxo, the Terre des Causses event in France. She was 65th out of 102 finishers. Another gravel outing in 2018, driving a Citroen DS3 R3T, ended in retirement. She entered the Rallye Terre de Vauclusebut dropped out on the second day with mechanical trouble.

Nathalie Golaz – Swiss driver who mostly competes in France. She began in 2007, driving a Peugeot 206 in France and Switzerland, taking on the Rallye du Valais in her first year. Her other cars have included a Toyota Yaris and a Peugeot 306. In 2013, she started to concentrate more on using bigger, Group N4 cars, such as a Subaru Impreza and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6. She was quite effective with the Impreza in 2014, managing three Group N podiums in French regional rallies, and a fifteenth overall in the Ruppéen Rally. She was second in class. In 2015, she drove a WRC-spec Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9. Her best result was a 45^th place, in the Monts de Vaucluse Rally. She used the Lancer again in 2016, and scored her best finish of the season in it: 23rd in the Bourgogne International Rally. She also rallied a Citroen C2 and a Ford Fiesta in French national and regional rallies, with mixed results. After a long break, she brought out the Lancer again for two rallies in 2021. Her best result was a 50th place in the Rallye National de Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise. Another outing in this event in 2022 gave her a fourth place, driving a Volkswagen Golf. Until 2010, she was also a co-driver for several different drivers, and this is how her rally career began, in 1996.

Laurence Jacquet - Swiss driver who rallied in Europe, particularly in France, in the 1980s and 1990s. She often drove a Renault 5 Turbo and it was in this car that she earned her first top ten, a tenth place in the 1990 Rallye du Valais. She won the French ladies’ championship in 1991, using the Renault 5 for a couple of rounds and then replacing it with a Clio. Her best result was an eighth overall in the Rallye du Limousin. In 1999 she did some events in a Peugeot 106, but appears to retire after that.

Michela (Micky) Martinelli - Swiss driver active in the 1970s and 1980s. She often drove an Opel Kadett or an Alfa Romeo. One of her most famous drives was her 27th place in the 1981 Targa Florio, in the Kadett. She competed in the Italian championship that year and appears to have won the Ladies’ prize, ahead of Pierangela Riva. At some point prior to this, she won the Swiss championship as well. She is now active again in historic events, often in Italy. In 2015, she was seventh in the Rally Storico dell'Appenino, driving an Opel Kadett. She continued in historic events with the Kadett in 2016. 

Iris Thurnherr – Swiss driver with single-seater and rallying experience. She raced in the German junior formulae in 2002 and 2003, before taking up rallying with the Suzuki Ignis Cup. A season in the Swiss championship followed. She changed to a Swift in 2007, for the Suzuki Rallye Cup. She scored some good class podium places in European rallies as part of the Cup and was usually the fastest woman. Her class-winning ways in the Ignis continued into 2008, with an N2 win on the Rallye Pays du Gier, and she was first in class, second in group and 15th overall on the Rallye Oberehe. This time, she was driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 instead of the Ignis. In 2009, she continued with the Lancer, competing in German rallies, rallysprints, and the occasional circuit race. The situation was the same in 2010. Her best finish was third in the ADAC Rallye Oberehe.She drove in the Swiss championship in 2011, in an Evo VIII run by Emil Frey Motorsport. She was tenth overall, fourth in class, with a best finish of seventh, in the Rallye delle Valle Cuneesi.

Mireille Vidueira - Swiss driver who rallies almost exclusively in France. She has been competing since at least 2018. Her first car was a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX which she campaigned until 2021. The best result she achieved in this car was a thirteenth place in the 2021 Rallye National Monts et Couteux in the Rhone valley, an asphalt event. After this, the car was replaced by a Ford Fiesta in Rally3 spec, which gave her a sixth place in the Rallye Regional de Meuse at the start of 2022. She won her class in the 2022 Alps Rally Trophy. In 2023, she was ninth in the Chartreuse regional rally and won the French women's championship. A shorter programme in 2024 included the Central European Rally in Germany, her first WRC rally. She was 29th overall.

(Image from www.campioni.cn)

Simona de Silvestro

Simona in 2010

Simona de Silvestro is a Swiss single-seater driver who competed mainly in America as a professional racer, before being signed by the Sauber Formula One team as an "affiliated driver". She was born in 1988.

Being born in Switzerland meant that, after a karting career, she had to race elsewhere. She did one season of Italian Formula Renault before moving to the States. This season was rather up-and-down in nature, with a fifth place at Monza its highlight, and two other top-ten finishes, but also some disappointing performances, and four retirements. She was 20th overall.

Her first US season proved to be a change in fortunes. Driving in Formula BMW for EuroInternational, Simona was much more on the pace,  and did everything apart from win - she was second twice, at Lime Rock and Mosport, and the only time she was out of the top ten, was when she was disqualified during the second Lime Rock race. She was fourth overall.  

She then moved on to the Champ Car Atlantic junior series in 2007, with Walker Racing. Despite a poor start to the season, with two retirements from her first two races, her best finish was seventh, at Mont Tremblant, and she also managed to pick up a tenth place at San Jose. She was 19th overall at the end of the season. For a change, she also made a guest appearance in an SCCA race, driving a Mazda MX-5.

She returned to the championship in 2008 with Newman Wachs. This proved to be a real turning point in her career. During the first round at Long Beach, she became the second-ever woman to win a race, moving up from her qualifying position of second. After that, she achieved a string of other top-ten finishes, including two fourths at Road Atlanta and Trois-Rivieres. Apart from two retirements, she only finished outside the top ten three times. She was eighth overall.

After being a regular fixture in the Atlantic top ten in 2008, she improved her performance once more in 2009, only finishing outside the top three on three occasions, two of which were retirements. She scored four wins, four seconds and one third, and was third overall. Her team this year was Team Stargate Worlds.

She graduated to the Indy Racing League in 2010, still supported by Stargate, in conjunction with the HVM team. Her season started solidly, although not spectacularly, with a pair of 16th places at Sao Paulo and St Petersburg, then a 21st at Barber. Normally, she qualified slightly higher. Her first Indy 500 led to a 14th place, battling from 22nd on the grid. This earned her a Rookie of the Year award. A trio of DNFs then followed, including a fiery accident at Texas, which left Simona with burns to her hand. However, when she returned for the Toronto round, she shot up from 21st on the grid to ninth, her best finish so far. Later in the season, she managed to better it, with eighth at Mid-Ohio, but she could not maintain the momentum, and had three more non-finishes. She was 19th overall.

She was retained by the team for 2011, and started well, with a fourth at St Petersburg and ninth at Barber. After this, her pace dropped off, leading to 20th places at Long Beach and São Paulo. The Indy 500 gave her a DNF, following a string of dramatic incidents; another spectacular crash during practice left her with burns, of varying severity, on both hands. She was allowed to qualify with the team’s spare car, and was classified 24th, but did not finish.

Two indifferent races at Texas followed, then another practice crash at Milwaukee, which preceded another retirement. Simona did not attend the next race, in order to recover from what appears to have been concussion. Her return at Toronto gave her a tenth place, her only top ten of the season, but then bad luck struck again, and she had to miss another round due to issues with her passport. The last rounds gave her a twelfth, fourteenth and a DNF. She was 20th at the end of the year.

Her contract with HVM continued for 2012, this time driving the new Lotus-engined car. Simona and the team struggled with reliability in the early part of the season, only finishing every other race, and hoped that a new engine from Lotus would improve their fortunes. Sadly, it did not make much difference: the DNFs continued and Simona's best finishes were a pair of fourteenth places, at Belle Isle and Iowa. She did not finish the Indy 500, after qualifying in 32nd place. Her final championship position was 24th. 

Unsurprisingly, she switched teams for 2013, moving to KV Racing Technology, alongside Tony Kanaan. She was on the pace quickly, qualifying third for her first race, and finishing sixth, and following up with top-ten finishes at Long Beach and São Paulo. Indianapolis itself was mediocre, with Simona finishing 17th, although up from 24th on the gird. A mid-season lull followed, but she managed to drag herself out of it, and back into the top ten, at Toronto. Things really picked up towards the end, with a fifth place at Baltimore, then a second at Houston, the best of Simona's career. This was a first podium position for a female driver, on an Indycar road course. A tenth and an eighth rounded out the season, and she was thirteenth overall.

Despite her comparative success, Simona's management have hinted that she was not happy with the KV team, and certain KV people admitted as much in 2014.

Another catalyst for Simona to move on, was a testing deal with the Sauber Formula One team, as an "affiliated driver". This was offered as a year of testing and training, with a view to a race seat in 2015. As she was not one of the team's official test drivers, she was only allowed to drive non-current machinery. She tested a 2012 Sauber at Fiorano and Valencia, and has covered sufficient distance to be awarded a Superlicence. She hoped to secure the place in the team, and had sponsorship from an energy company towards achieving this. Unfortunately, an announcement was made at the start of October, to the effect that Simona's financial backing was no longer in place, and she was no longer in the running for a 2015 race seat. Team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn, was said to be considering an alternative role for her within the team., but Simona's "affiliation" was pronounced over. She ceased working with her manager in November, and was said to be considering a return to the IRL. 

She did, in fact, return to Indycar, but only briefly, driving for Andretti Autosport. She did three races, one of which ended in an impressive fourth place, at NOLA. She was also 18th at St. Petersburg, and 19th at Indianapolis itself. Later in the season, she moved across to the Andretti Formula E team, having done two guest races for them in London. Her season started slowly, with a DNF in China, but she was thirteenth at Putrajaya and eleventh at Punta del Este. She took her first points finish at Long Beach, with a ninth place, and repeated it in Berlin. She was 18th in the championship.

In October, she also travelled to Australia for the Bathurst 1000. She was driving in the first all-female team for over ten years, sharing a Prodrive-prepared Ford Falcon with Renee Gracie. An accident by Renee left them down the order, but they were classified in 21st place.

In 2016, she decided that Australia was where her racing future lay. She and Renee Gracie teamed up again for the Bathurst 1000, driving a works-prepared Nissan Altima. They were fourteenth overall, an improvement on last year. Towards the end of the year, it was announced that Simona would be racing full-time in Supercars in 2017. She signed a three-year deal, which, unusually, was with the series promoters themselves, rather than an individual team.

She drove a Nissan Ultima in Australian Supercars in 2017, supported by Nissan Motorsport Australia. It was a very challenging year and she struggled to get the car working how she liked it. Her best finish was thirteenth, which she picked up twice at Phillip Island.

In 2018, she was 23rd in the Supercar championship after another trying year. Her best result was twelfth at Barbagallo.

At the end of 2018, she was announced as the Venturi Formula E team's official test driver. She took part in the in-season test day in Saudi Arabia in December, alongside other female drivers, encouraged by the Saudi motorsport authorities.

2019 was her final season in Supercars. Her last year in the Altima was still quite underwhelming, although she did manage a seventh place at Pukehohe. Her other activities during the year gave clues to her future destination; she joined the Heninricher/Meyer Shank all-female IMSA team for the Daytona 24 Hours, finishing twelfth in class in an Acura NSX with Katherine Legge, Bia Figueredo and Christina Nielsen. Later, she was announced as the fledgling Porsche Formula E team's official test driver.

Back in Europe, she contested the 2020 ADAC GT Masters with Kus TEam75 Bernhard, driving a Porsche 911. It was an inconsistent season with a couple of strong fourth-placed finishes at the Nurburgring and Hockenheim, but she was unable to maintain any momentum and was not helped by car damage leading to non-starts later in the season. She was 23rd in the championship. 

In September, she made a guest appearance in the GT World Challenge Europe, driving a similar Porsche for Rowe Racing. She and her team-mates were eighth at the Nurburgring. 

The biggest moment of her 2021 season was a comeback at the Indy 500. She had been hired by Paretta Autosport, a "female-led" team with women as managers and engineers as well as drivers, including team principal Beth Paretta. Sadly, Simona retired from the race quite early.

The rest of her year was spent in Europe. Another run in a Porsche in the GT Masters, this time with Precote Herberth Motorsport, led to 23rd in the championship for Simona and her co-driver Klaus Bachler. Their best result was a sixth place at Oschersleben, plus sevenths at Sachsenring and the Nurburgring.

She drove another Porsche in the NLS, a Cayman, in which she won the class for alternative-fuel cars twice. Later in the season, she made another guest appearance in the Scandinavian Carrera Cup at Rudskogen. She scored two fifths and one sixth place, and one fastest lap.

A return to Indycar beckoned in 2022. She did four races for Paretta Autosport. This did not include the Indy 500. Her best result was an 18th place at Mid-Ohio. Away from motorsport, she raced in the one-woman "monobob" bobsleigh category during the winter.

Apart from bobsleigh and some development duties for the Porsche Formula E team, her only race in 2023 was the Bathurst 1000km. She drove a Mustang GT with Kai Allen for Dick Johnson Racing, finishing 20th overall.

Motorsport-wise, 2024 was a quiet year. She raced at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and drove for the Kiro team in the Formula E Women's Test  at Jarama. Her bobsleigh training continued and she began competing in the two-woman bob event.

(Picture by Lisa Hurley, from paddocktalk.com)

Rahel Frey

Rahel in the DTM, in 2012

Rahel is a single-seater driver from Switzerland, who has recently branched out into top-line sportscar racing. Born in 1986, she began karting in 1998, aged twelve. Between then and 2004, she competed in both national and international events. In 2004, she moved on to cars.

Her first experience of full-size racing came in the Swiss Formula Renault 2000 championship. She was on the pace straight away, finishing fourth overall at the end of the season, defeating her future team-mate Cyndie Allemann, and future Formula One driver Romain Grosjean.

She was third in Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 in 2005, with two wins. In addition to this, she scored a further six podium positions, meaning that she was only out of the top three for one race. Four starts in the German Formula Renault series with Equipe Bernoise gave her an additional pole position, but no more wins.

2006 saw her make a double - pronged attack on the Italian Formula Renault championship, and the more competitive Formula Renault Eurocup. Success did not come as easily as it had in the Swiss series, and she was only joint 21st in the Eurocup, with eight points. She did slightly better in Italy, finishing eighteenth, with 24 points. Her Jenzer team-mate Dani Clos won the championship. 

She made a sideways move into International Formula Master in 2007. Her best Formula Master finish was fifth, at Brno, and she entered the top ten six times. However, a series of retirements, and less impressive results, meant that she was seventeenth overall. In 2007, she was also part of the Swiss A1 GP team, but acted as a reserve driver, and only drove the car in test sessions in Malaysia.

In 2008, she joined the German F3 Cup and was fourteenth overall. She finished in the top ten six times, with a best finish of sixth, at Oschersleben. Driving the same car, but for Jo Zeller Racing, in 2009, she fared much better. She won one race, at the Nürburgring, and achieved further podium finishes at Hockenheim, Oschersleben and the second Nürburgring race. For the whole season, she was only out of the top ten once, and she was seventh overall.

In 2010, she raced at Le Mans for the Matech team, driving a Ford GT with Cyndie Allemann and Natacha Gachnang. They did not finish after their car caught fire, losing them too much time. Prior to this, she had also raced for Matech in one Le Mans Series race, and two rounds of the FIA GT1 World Championship, as a replacement for the injured Natacha Gachnang, who broke her leg early in the season. In the GT1 series, she was a disappointing 18th and 22nd at Brno, previously a track at which she had performed well. In the Le Mans Series, Rahel, Cyndie and teenage Swiss male racer Yann Zimmer were a more competitive third, at Spa.

As well as this, she took guest spots in the German VW Scirocco R Cup. These gave her a twentieth and sixth place at the Nürburgring, plus one fastest lap. Later in the year, she also drove in the ADAC Chevrolet Cruze Cup enduro at the Sachsenring, finishing eighth as the guest of the Maurer team. Her co-driver was Dietmar Stanka.

In 2011, she changed direction again, and began competing in the DTM, despite little experience in touring cars. She was driving a 2008-spec Audi A4 for Team Phoenix. Although she did not score any points, her finishing record was good, and her best finish was twelfth. 

Her promise must have shown, as she was offered a deal by Abt Sportsline in 2012, racing a current-spec Audi A5. Her season started slowly, with a 16th place at Hockenheim, and she remained out of the top ten for much of the season. A pair of DNFs at Zandvoort and Oschersleben should have deterred her further, but an altered training regime started to pay off after that: a seventh place at Valencia, giving her her first DTM points. The season's finale at Hockenheim, never her favourite track, led to another 16th place. She was 19th overall in the championship. 

She was retained by Abt Sportsline Audi for the 2013 season, but decided herself that she did not want to run in that year's DTM. She remained with Audi, concentrating on sportscars, and split her season between the ADAC GT Masters, the Blancpain Endurance Series and the R8 LMS Cup, based in China. It was the Chinese races that gave her her best result: a win at Shanghai. She was fourth in that championship. 

The ADAC GT Masters, in which she also drove an R8, was more of a mixed bag. Rahel's best finish was sixth, at Spa and the Slovakiaring, but she was not as consistent as she might have liked, and was only 19th in the final standings. Her season was also marred by a serious accident at Hockenheim, from which she thankfully escaped unharmed. In the Blancpain Endurance Series, she drove with Marcel Fässler in the GT3 Pro class, and managed to finish two of her races, in fourteenth and fifteenth, at Paul Ricard and Monza respectively.

Another highlight of her season was finishing the rain-ravaged Nürburgring 24 Hours, in the R8. With Dom Bastien, Alex Yoong and Marco Werner, she was fourteenth in class. 

2014 was more of the same, hopping between championships in an Audi R8. Most of her European action was in the ADAC GT Masters, although she was not quite on the pace, only breaching the top ten twice, with two ninth places at Oschersleben. In a competitive season with large grids, she was only 39th in the championship. 

Mid-season, she made several visits to the Nürburgring. The 24-hour race came first, and she was twelfth in the SP9 class, 22nd overall. Her team-mates for Audi Race Experience were Dominique Bastien, Christiaan Frankenhout and Christian Bollrath. Later, in August, she made another appearance for the team in the VLN, and was fourth in class. In September, she joined fellow Swiss driver, Didier Cuche, and German Nico Muller for the Blancpain Endurance round at the 'Ring, but did not finish.

Much of her season, especially the latter part, was spent in the Asia-Pacific region. Her first race of the year was the Bathurst 12 Hours, driving a Phoenix Racing R8. Rahel, with René Rast and Laurens Vanthoor, was fifth in class A, in a race of high attrition. She then returned to the LMS Cup in Asia, and had another good season, with the Castrol team. She was third overall, with three second places and two thirds, although she did not repeat her 2013 win.

She raced the Audi again in 2015, again splitting her time between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Rahel and her team-mate, Philip Geipel, contested the ADAC GT Masters, and she was much more on the pace this year. Near the end of the season, she scored her first win, at Hockenheim, and she and Philip managed two thirds, at the Nürburgring and Zandvoort. She was tenth in the championship. Driving solo for the Castrol team, she raced in the Chinese LMS Cup in Asia, and was fifth in the championship, after a win in Korea, and five further podiums, from ten races. She also found time for a guest spot in the Audi TT Cup, and was fourth and fifth at the Red Bull Ring.

2016 saw her continuing her double-pronged assault on the Chinese LMS Cup and the ADAC GT Masters. Her GT Masters season was rather inconsistent, but she took another win, at Zandvoort, after a second place early in the season, at the Sachsenring. She was ninth in the championship. In China, in the same car, but for the Castrol team, she won two races, at Shanghai and Penbay, and finished on the podium on another five occasions. She was fourth overall.

She raced the R8 again in 2017, this time staying mostly in Europe. The GT Masters series was her main focus, but it was rather disappointing for her. She and team-mate Philip Geipel had a best finish of sixth, at Zandvoort. Rahel did much better at the Nürburgring, where she and her team-mates won the SPX class during a guest appearance in the VLN. They were third in the same class in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, finishing 31st overall.

At the end of the season, Rahel was invited to take part in the Audi TT Cup Race of Legends, the last-ever TT Cup race. She secured a fastest lap but did not finish.

The R8 was her main car again in 2018. She raced in GT Masters with Philip Geipel, but was not really on the pace this year. Her mid-season sojourn in the Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup was better and gave her three seconds and a third. Her Asian activities were limited to a guest appearance at Chang, where she did not finish.

The bigger endurance events were kinder to her. For the Nürburgring 24 Hours, she joined an all-female KTM team with Naomi Schiff, Lena Strycek and Laura Kraihamer. The quartet was second in the Cup X class and 39th overall. As part of another all-woman team, Rahel was second in class in the Gulf 12 Hours, sixth overall. The car was a Ferrari 488 run by Kessel Racing and her team-mates were Michelle Gatting and Manuela Gostner.

The three-woman Ferrari team continued in 2019, racing as the "Iron Dames" and managed by Deborah Mayer. They contested the European Le Mans Series and were accepted as an entry for Le Mans itself. The Iron Dames started the season well with second in the GTE class at Paul Ricard, which they repeated later in the year at Silverstone. They were fourth in the GTE championship.

Le Mans itself resulted in a finish, the first for an all-female team since 1977. They were 39th overall, ahead of their male Kessel team-mates in the sister "Iron Lynx" car.

At the end of the year, the Iron Dames reconvened for another attempt at the Gulf 12 Hours. Michelle Gatting was challenging for third in the second half of the race when she was involved in a collision with a backmarker and had to retire.

Away from the Iron Dames, Rahel continued to race for the Audi sportscar team. She competed in most of the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup in Europe and would have been in with a strong chance of winning had she completed the whole season: she won six of her eight races and was second in the other two.

In the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Rahel and her three Audi team-mates were 19th overall and won the SP8 class for Giti Tyre Motorsport.

In Asia, she did some rounds of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia for Audi, picking up class third places at Fuji and Shanghai.

At the end of the year, Rahel was one of the five female pro drivers invited to join teams for India's X1 Racing League, a city team-based single-seater series. Each team had to consist of one male and one female international pro driver, plus pro and am Indian drivers. Rahel picked up second and third places in the two-driver relay events for DG Races Ahmedabad.  

Staying in the East, she started 2020 with the rain-shortened Dubai 24 Hours. She drove an Audi R9 LMS for Heide Motorsport and was eighth in the GT4 class, 41st overall. Two weeks later, she was due to join the all-female GEAR Racing team for the Daytona 24 Hours in their Lamborighini Huracan, but GEAR lost its main sponsor and the team was disbanded. The three drivers took over a Grasser Motorsport Huracan for the race but did not finsh.

She returned as an Iron Dame in 2020, in the same Ferrari 488. Alongside Michelle and Manuela, she contested the European Le Mans Series in the GTE class. They were fifth in their class with three third places, two at Paul Ricard and one at Monza, plus a fastest lap from the series finale at Algarve. The Dames' second Le Mans outing was relatively successful and they were ninth in the GTE Am class. 

This made up for some disappointment in the Audi R8, previously a car that worked well for her. She had an indifferent ADAC GT Masters season with Aust Motorsport, failing to get into the top twenty all year. A Racing Engineers R8 failed to get to the finish of the Nurburgring 24 Hours, although it ran better in the two rounds of the VLN that Rahel entered, giving her a best finish of second in class.

The Iron Dames contested the World Endurance Championship in 2021, with Rahel as the team leader again. She was part of the squads for the WEC and ELMS campaigns, usually accompanied by Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy. The Dames were 18th in the WEC LMGTE category with a 100% finishing record and Rahel was tenth in the Am standings. They finished thirteenth in class at Le Mans, despite an off in qualifying. The three-woman team was 36th overall.

Their best result was a class eleventh in the second round at Portimao.

Driving as a duo, Rahel and Michelle contested the ELMS together in the Ferrari. Despite two non-finishes at the Red Bull Ring and Paul Ricard, they were ninth in the LMGTE championship, with two third places at Spa and Portimao. Mid-season, the team also guested in the Italian GT championship in the Iron Dames car, finishing thirteenth in class.

As Iron Dames team leader, she was busy again in 2022. She did the full WEC season, driving again in the LMGTE class. At Le Mans itself, she was twelfth in class, seventh in the Am class, after a troubled race, but the Dames performed better in the second half of the season. They were second in the Am class at Monza and Fuji and third at Bahrain, seventh, seventh and eighth in LMGTE respectively.

She only did the first half of the Dames' ELMS programme, handing over to Doriane Pin after the Monza race, where they finished fourth. This was their second fourth of the year, after achieveing the same result at Paul Ricard.

Rahel was part of the team for its Fanatec GT World Challenge run, finishing with a championship second. They won one round at Spa after coming second at Paul Ricard.

The Iron Dames announced a switch to a Lamborghini Huracan for the IMSA season in 2023, plus a Porsche 911 for Europe. Rahel continued to be part of the driver line-up. The GTD Lamborghini came out for the Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta IMSA rounds, with a best class finish of eleventh at Sebring. The core team of Rahel and Michelle was assisted by either Sarah Bovy or Doriane Pin. They were 35th in GTD as a team.

The WEC was a better arena for Rahel and the Dames. After a shaky start in the Porsche at Sebring, they were third at Portimao and won the last-ever LMGTE Pro race at Bahrain. This was enough for second in the class championship. 

The Lamborghini was also called into service for the GT World Challenge Europe. A retirement from the Spa 24 Hours dented their confidence and championship hopes and their best finish was 28th at Monza. They were unplaced in the main championship and 24th in the Bronze Cup. 

Rahel continued with the Iron Dames for 2024. She only planned to race in the European Le Mans Series, but Doriane Pin's commitments in F1 Academy meant that she had to leave the team, opening up another space for Rahel. 

The ELMS was the only series where the Dames raced a Porsche, and it proved a good car. They won the LMGT3 class at Imola and were second at Portimao. Their final championship position was fourth. For the rest of the year, Rahel and the team raced a Lamborghini Huracan. They were twelfth in the WEC LMGT3 championship after a few disappointing races; Le Mans itself was their best finish of the year. Rahel, Sarah and Michelle were 32nd overall and fourth in class.

Over in the States, she did a part-season in IMSA, including runs in the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours. This was her best Daytona to date: assisted by Doriane, the Dames were 25th overall and sixth in class. Contact with another car put them out of the race at Sebring. 

In 2025, the Porsche will be the main Iron Dames car for IMSA.

(Image copyright Audi)