Margot (Marguerite) Laffite

Marguerite (usually known as Margot) Laffite was the winner of the Andros Trophée Féminin in 2005, on her first attempt. It was her first taste of motorsport, despite having grown up as the daughter of former Formula One driver, Jacques Laffite. Her elder sister Camille also competed that year. She has returned to ice racing almost every winter since then, and is one of its most recognisable and decorated female participants.

In 2006, she was part of a works Fiat female team for the Promotion class of the Andros Trophy, with Justine Monnier. Their cars were Stilos. Margot’s best finish was second, in Andorra. Sadly, her form tailed off towards the end of the short ice-racing season, and she was 23rd overall, with Justine in fourteenth.

The summer counterpart of her winter adventures revolved around some appearances in the VW Fun Cup, including the 25-Hour race at Spa.

Since then, she has raced different cars on the ice. In 2007, this was a Peugeot 206 CC, and she was 27th overall, just above her team-mate Marlène Broggi, in 29th. The following season, in a Kia Rio this time, she was back to form, despite only running a part-season. She was 20th overall, with a best finish of sixth, at Alpe D’Huez. In 2008-2009, she was very much a part-time entrant, but still managed some top-ten race positions in her Rio. She was 24th overall. 

At the same time, she became involved with the FIA GT3 Championship, driving a Morgan Aero 8 GT. This car was not the fastest or most reliable in its class, but she and her co-driver finished four races in it in 2007, at Monza and Brno, twice beating her father, Jacques Laffite. In 2008, she was paired with George Alexandre Sturdza in the Morgan. After the official tests, they entered five European GT3 meetings. Out of ten races, the Morgan made it to the end three times, twice in 22nd place (at Monza and Nogaro) and once in 27th (at Silverstone). The sister cars did not fare much better, only occasionally getting into the top twenty.

That year, she also made guest appearances in several domestic series, including the French Porsche Carrera Cup. She took part in two races at Dijon. Later in the season, she appeared at the Le Mans round of the Mégane Eurocup, and was fifteenth in both of her races. She was supported by Boutsen Ginion Racing, who also ran her cars in the Andros Trophy. In between, she drove in the MitJet silhouette series. The results for this have not been forthcoming.

In 2009, she drove in the Renault Mégane one-make series, making two appearances, again as a guest driver for the Boutsen Ginion team. She was 16th in Catalunya and twelfth at Spa. This was the limit of her summer activities.

For the 2009-2010 Andros season, she drove in the new Electric category with Marlène Broggi, and was third in the team standings. She was tenth overall, behind Marlène in seventh, despite a third place at Alpe d’Huez.

The following season, she was ninth in the Electric class, with some top-five overall finishes but no big scores. She was sixth in 2011-2012, after another third place at Isola. This year, she won her first Coupe des Dames in the Electric Trophy.

Away from the ice, she concentrated more on media and advocacy work, and her only summer racing in 2010 was two guest appearances in the SEAT Leon Supercopa in France. She finished eleventh in both of her races, at Lédenon.

In 2012, she increased her summer calendar, and ran in Clio and Mégane Eurocup events, with mixed results. She was better in the Mégane, with a seventh and an eighth at Paul Ricard and Catalunya. Her best Clio finish was 16th, . She also did two guest rounds of the Peugeot RCZ Cup in France, at Lédenon again, finishing twelfth and eleventh.

Margot’s main job now is as a presenter of Eurosport’s French-language Formula One coverage, which takes up much of her time. She has received praise for her work. Despite this, she still had time to contest the 2012-2013 Andros Electric Trophy, and earn her second Ladies’ Cup. She was fourth overall. 

In spite of her TV schedule, she was also able to take part in the Megane Trophy Eurocup again. Again, it was a somewhat up-and-down season. Her best finish was sixth, at the Red Bull Ring, but she was usually in the lower part of the top ten. She mostly stayed out of trouble, and her performances were enough to get her into twelfth place in the championship. She also had the distinction of racing alongside her father on a few occasions this year.

She was set to race in the Andros Trophy again at the end of 2013, driving a Citroen DS3. However, she crashed whilst practising for the first round, at Val de Thorens, and fractured two cervical vertebrae. She had to sit out the Trophy. Although her injuries sounded dramatic, she was expected to make a full recovery.  

She did not race in 2014, but did continue with her TV work. She also became a mother at the start of 2015. At the end of the year, she returned to motorsport, racing a Citroen DS3 in the Andros Trophy, in the Elite class. She was eighth in the championship, second of the female drivers, and just two points behind Marlène Broggi. Super-Besse was her best meeting, and she was third overall.

She was back on form for the 2016-17 Andros Trophy, in which she was fourth, driving a Mazda 3 in the Elite class. Her best results were two second places, at Alpe d'Huez and Isola 2000. 

In 2018, she finished the Andros Trophy season in sixth place, in the Elite class. Her car was a Mazda3 run by Sainteloc. Her best finish was a second at Val Thorens, which she repeated at Isola 2000. This was her best meeting; the first race also gave her a third place.

Another Andros entry beckoned in 2019, also with a Mazda3. In between, she had been part of an all-female R24 Motorsport entry for the Sepang round of the 2019 Asian Le Mans Series, driving a Ligier LMP3. The team, consisting of Margot, Katherine Legge and Michelle Gatting, was eighth in class.

Her return to the ice of the Andros Trophy in 2021 was a success. She was fifth in the Elite championship after winning one race at Andorra and finishing second at Serre Chevalier, driving for Sebastien Loeb's team. 

She drove for the SLR Enedis team for the 2021-22 Andros Trophy, now running as a completely electric championship. She shared the car with Elite driver Sebastien Loeb. A return to the Andros Trophy in late 2022 began very strongly with two wins. She continued to be very strong throughout the winter season and was second in the Elite championship.

At the beginning of 2024, she announced that the 2023-24 Andros Trophy would be her last, as the championship was coming to an end. She raced in the Elite class for Sebastien Loeb's team and won one race at Andorra, as well as finishing on the podium several more times.

(Picture from http://enpleinelucarne.net/2013/03/margot-laffite-joker-834)  

Shelley Wakeling

Shelley is a multiple British rallycross championship winner. Her father is Richard Wakeling, a car preparation expert and rallycross competitor. Her brother, Paul Wakeling, also competes in rallycross, usually in a different class. She began racing in Minicross in 2004, after some time in Autograss.

She was sixth overall in her first season, with a best finish of sixth at Mondello Park. In 2005, she was fifth in her second. During her third season, 2006, she was runner-up, after achieving her first win at Blyton, the last meeting of the year.

A new car for the 2007 season allowed her to raise her game, and she walked away with the championship after four wins. A trip across to the continent resulted in a fifth place at Maasmechelen, in Belgium.

She defended her crown in style in 2008, winning with one race to spare. Her “A” Final win tally was increased to five. As well as the UK Minicross championships, she has also competed in Europe again. Her team entered the non-championship event at Eurocircuit in the Netherlands, and was rewarded with another win from Shelley, plus a fourth place for Richard.

In 2009, she moved up to the Procar 2000 class in a Honda Civic, and was third overall, despite missing the first rounds, as her car was not ready. Her other results varied between second and fourth. 

Her second season in this championship gave her another title to add to her collection, the BTRDA Modified 2000 trophy. This time, she was competing against much more powerful cars in the same races, so only managed one win, but she was consistently the best in her class. This also gave her an overall win in the BTRDA Clubmans series. This is a first for a female driver.


In 2011, she stepped up again to the British Super National class, in the improved Honda. Competition was much more intense this time, and she did not manage any wins, but she was ninth overall in the championship, with a  best result of eighth. Competing in the BTRDA series in the top Supermodified category, she managed two third places in the two meeting she entered.


In 2012, she aimed to be more competitive in Super National, and her Honda was fitted with a supercharger to improve performances. She contested four of the six rounds, and her best overall finish was fifth, at Pembrey. This was good for eighth place on the final leaderboard. She would have completed the season, but a broken differential on the Civic prevented this. It followed a big roll at Lydden Hill, from second place, although the car was rebuilt after this.

Shelley was less in evidence on the British rallycross scene in 2013, entering only a few races. She did travel to the Netherlands in July, finishing second and fourth in two of her races. She also took part in some autograss events, in a Class 14 Buggy. However, most of her motoring activity was as a part of Terry Grant's stunt show, with which she toured around Europe. 

The Honda Civic was still in her possession, in the process of being overhauled for the 2014 season, but she does not appear to have competed at all in 2014. She was still involved in an administrative capacity, for the British Minicross Drivers' Association. 

She returned to the circuits in 2015, racing a Mini in five of the seven rounds of the BTRDA Rallycross championship. She won the Clubmans series Classic Mini championship.

In 2016, she appears to have done at least one BTRDA rallycross meeting, earning second and third places at Blyton, driving a Mini. She was fourth in the Minicross standings.

In 2017, she raced only occasionally, making a guest appearance in the Netherlands in a rallycross car, and trying Autograss in April. She was second in her first Autograss meeting.

Shelley also appeared on an episode of Top Gear, in a segment about rallycross, racing against Richard Hammond in her old Mini. She was referred to as "Gary The Girl".

(Image from www.revivals59.com)

Formula Woman

Entrants in the 2004 championship

Formula Woman began in the UK in a blaze of publicity in 2004. It was billed as a unique and groundbreaking opportunity for women to become racing drivers. The series was supported by Mazda, who were using it to promote their RX-8 road car. 16 women, all of whom had to be complete novices, would race identical RX-8s around the UK’s circuits, followed by a dedicated TV programme.

Despite the media fanfare, Formula Woman was both controversial and plagued by problems from the start. Its selection criteria were criticised when it was discovered that applicants were being judged on their “presentation skills”, instead of solely on their driving standards. When rumours suggested that the championship would have a reality TV elimination format, with viewer votes, there was considerable derision. Katherine Legge, who was employed by Formula Woman as a driving instructor, walked out early on, for reasons never fully explained. Sponsors dropped out, and the planned TV coverage was cut to three episodes only.

The series did go ahead, without the elimination votes, although reality TV touches, such as drivers being berated by Tim Harvey and Graeme Glew, the championship bosses, were retained. The championship was won by Natasha Firman, sister of F1 driver Ralph Firman, and her prize was a test in a BTCC car. Natasha went on to do a few races in Britcar later, but claimed that she had entered for fun and had no desire to drive professionally.

2004 Championship:
1. Natasha Firman
2. Lorraine Pinner
3. Bev Tyler
4. Juliette Thurston
5. Emma Hayles
6. Margo Gardner
7. Pippa Cow
8. Lauren Blighton
9. Nicola Robinson
10. Judith Lyons
11. Sarah Bennett-Baggs
12. Amy Handford
13. Victoria Hardy
14. Max Thompson
15. Catherine Gard
16. Joanna Linton
17. Karen Andrews

Mazda withdrew its support after 2004, but Formula Woman continued using Caterham 7s. A “Nations Cup” ran in 2005, consisting of 2004 graduates and more experienced drivers from around the world. It was won by Natalie Butler of the UK.

2005 Entry List:
Emma Hayles (England)
Annie Templeton (England)
Natalie Butler (England)
Margo Gardner (Scotland)
Rachel Owen (Wales)
Jennifer Daniel (Ireland)
Jennifer Murray (South Africa)
Nettan Lindgren (Sweden)
Anna Walewska (Poland)
Lauren Gray (Australia)
Amanda Hennessy (USA)
Theresia Balk (Netherlands)

The novice-based championship continued in 2006, but with a much lower profile and no TV coverage. It was won by Nikki Welsby. Although more seasons were planned, and advertisements were issued for drivers in 2007, the championship was quietly cancelled. The Formula Woman website was taken down in 2008.

Several drivers from Formula Woman have continued to race around the UK, including Sarah Bennet-Baggs (2004) and Nikki Welsby, but most have either given up or struggled to find sponsorship.

(Image from http://news.bbc.co.uk/)

Sabine Schmitz (Reck)

Sabine Schmitz grew up in the Eifel region of Germany, close to the famous Nürburgring, where her parents ran a hotel. It is perhaps not surprising that she gravitated towards motorsports, especially as she was the youngest in a trio of racing sisters. Susanne and Petra both raced at club level, and in the VLN.

Sabine first took to the tracks at the age of eighteen, using a VW in slalom competitions. She gained her full racing license on the 'Ring itself a year later, in 1988.

By 1989, she was ready to take on her first championship, on the 'Ring of course. She entered the Nürburgring's Veedol Trophy (VLN), run on the famous Nordschleife. She was mainly in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, but she also did one race alongside her sisters in their Vauxhall Astra. Her first attempt at the championship's blue riband event, the 24 Hour race, brought her a 31st place, but a good second in the class for production vehicles over 2.5 litres. A visit to the Spa 24 Hours, then a touring car event, gave her and the Sierra 28th place.

Sabine's new project for 1990 was the Ford Fiesta Mixed Cup, a European racing series for two-driver, male-female teams. In her first year she partnered Franz-Josef Bröhling and was third overall. In 1991 and '92 she drove with Thomas Marschall. The pair made an excellent team, taking six wins in their first year, including the Nürburgring round, naturally. This was enough to take second place. They won the trophy the following year, with five wins, three seconds and one third place.

During this time, the Mixed Cup was not the only award Sabine won. She was the 1990 VLN Ladies' Champion in the Sierra. The 'Ring was never far off her sporting radar and she completed three more 24 Hour races, in the Sierra and her Fiesta.

In 1993 she left the Ford camp and joined up with BMW, in a car/driver combination that would prove very useful on the track. She started in the junior team, driving a production M3 with Astrid Grünfelder. They were an effective team in the VLN, and scored four class wins in six races. Sabine also sampled more Bavarian power in the ADAC GT Cup, driving an M3 GT.

She drove a variety of BMWs in 1994, in the VLN, ADAC GT Cup and the German Touring Trophy. She was given a 325i for the Nürburgring 24 Hours and scored her best finish yet - eighteenth.

After competing around Europe for several seasons now, Sabine got a change of scene in 1995 when BMW sent her to South Africa to contest the ZA Super Touring Cup. Later, she also did two part-seasons in Brazil, racing in the Espron Series for sports cars.

1996 was the year that the the name of Sabine Schmitz (or Sabine Reck as she was then known), became public property. Driving Johannes Scheid's M3, with Scheid and Hans Widmann, she became the first female winner of the Nürburgring 24 Hours. What was more remarkable was that she repeated the feat the following season, assisted by Scheid, Peter Zakowski and Hans-Jürgen Tiemann.

1998 was another victorious season for the new "Queen of the Nürburgring". Although she only came fourth in the 24 Hours, she won the VLN trophy outright in an M3 E36, with nine class wins and one second. She had previously been runner-up in 1996.

Sabine raced two different BMW M3 E36 models during 1999. Although she scored eight different class wins and three thirds, she was only eighth in the championship. The 24 Hours at the 'Ring was also uneventful and she was nowhere near the podium this time. Towards the end of the season, she tried a different sort of race, accepting a guest spot in the final of the Ferrari Challenge, driving a Ferrari 355.

The following year was a quiet one. Her highlight was another drive in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, this time as part of an all-female team. She was sharing a Honda S2000 with touring car aces Ellen Lohr and Tamara Vidali, and sportscar racer Vanina Ickx.

Sabine returned to full VLN action in 2001, driving a VW Bora Turbodiesel this time. This car was not really capable of challenging for outright wins, but its driver pushed it hard nonetheless, scoring a class win and a third as her best results of the year.

Sabine did not race at all during 2002, concentrating on other activities instead. However, she was soon back on track at her beloved Nürburgring, in yet another different car. This time it was a new MINI Cooper, as raced throughout Europe. Her best result in it was at the 24 Hours, where she was 91st overall (out of around 200 drivers!) and fourth in class. She used the same car the following year, but not to such good effect.

In 2005 she moved more into sportscar territory, racing a Lotus Elise and a Porsche 996 in VLN events. Still at the Nürburgring, she entered a Porsche 997 into the Castrol Haugg Cup time-trial series. On a more exotic note, she also accepted a guest drive in the Maserati Trofeo Europa with Italian Fabio Babini. The pair made a good team and were second.

Sabine stuck with Porsche power for 2006. She shared her 997 Cup with Klaus Abbelen, her partner in life as well as motorsport. Their best result in the VLN this season was third overall, which they achieved twice. They entered the 24 Hours, but were not near the top of the leaderboard.

The arrangement continued for 2007 and played out in almost exactly the same way: two third places and a string of class seconds and thirds. Sabine’s car for the 24 Hours was a 911 GT3 this time, but she was still out of the top ten. For a change, she made a guest appearance in the Nürburgring round of the Polo Cup.

It was business as usual again in 2008, in the 997, although this time, Sabine managed another podium in the 24 Hours, coming in third. She also did some touring car racing in America.

In 2009, Sabine continued to race, now driving for Team Frikadelli. The team, consisting of Sabine, Klaus, Edgar Althoff and Kenneth Heyer, were sixth in the 24 Hours behind the works Audi entries and Porsche prototypes. Their 997 has given them a fifth, three sixths and two sevenths overall in the VLN. In the Nürburgring 24 Hours, they were second in class SP7.

The team carried on in 2010, and were still competitive. Their best finishes were a fourth, a fifth, two sevenths and an eighth. They did not finish the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

The "meatball" (frikadelle is a German meatball) flew again in 2011. The team had expanded to two cars, with  Sabine and Klaus driving the Porsche GT3 R "Big Meatball". They showed they still had the touch with a sixth place in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Their best finishes in the VLN were a second and third. Their championship run was not as successful, due to some retirements.

Sabine had no intention of retiring, and the Frikadelli team was set on its first win in 2012. They started inauspiciously, with the first race red-flagged due to bad weather, after Sabine had earned them a driving penalty anyway. They were a solid sixth in the second round, their first preparation for the Nürburgring 24 Hours. It was fortunate that it went well, as they had to pull out of the next race. In the end, it did not matter much; they were sixth overall, best Porsche and best privateer team in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The remaining VLN races gave the team a fourth, fifth and a DNF.

Frikadelli's mission continued in 2013. Sabine and Klaus were sharing the Porsche with Duncan Huisman. In a familiar script twist, they went out of the first round, after only nine laps. However, despite Klaus being substituted for Patrick Pilet, they were fourth in the second round. The usual team also failed to score in the third round, which was red-flagged after a fatal accident. In another frustrating (for Sabine) plot twist, the team did manage its first win, but with Sabine out with a knee injury. On her return, for the six-hour mid-season race, they did not finish, due to low oil pressure. The usual trio were then seventh at the Grenzlandrennen, then second in the Barbarossapreis, the 250-Mile race and the Munsterlandpokal, a rainy event which demanded tactical experience. The team won the SP9 class of the championship.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours was also troubled by adverse weather, and was actually stopped for nine hours by the Clerk of the Course, due to heavy rain. Sabine drove well in the rain, after a pair of pit stops, before the halt. However, too much time had been lost, despite Sabine's battling and Patrick Pilet's early speed, and they were 16th overall.

Team Frikadelli continued to race in 2014, keeping the same trio of drivers. They started very poorly, with a crash by Duncan Huisman putting them out of the first VLN round, but their season picked up immediately, with a win in round two, running as a quartet with Patrick Pilet. A mistake by Sabine herself, speeding in the pit lane, with its associated penalty, dropped them to sixth in the third round. A third place followed, in a race marred by a red flag, but despite preparation, the team had to retire from the 24 Hour race. There were multiple problems with the Porsche, including overheating, a broken radiator hose, and electronic failure. However, two VLN wins went some way to relieving the team's disappointment. Two accidents followed, but a second place in the final round was enough to rescue their season, and secure the VLN Speed Trophy.

The Frikadelli team expanded to four cars in 2015: the 996, a Porsche Cayman, a Renault Clio and an Audi TT. Sabine drove the 996, and her focus this year was a good finish in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The lead Frikadelli Porsche ran extremely well throughout the race, and was leading at the 23rd hour, but a crash following a sudden rainfall put them out of the race. After a rebuild of the damaged "Meatball", Sabine, Klaus Abbelen and Duncan Huisman won the next round of the VLN outright. They were also third in the next race.

As well as "Queen of the Nürburgring", Sabine was also known as "the world's fastest taxi driver", due to her infamous "Ring Taxi". This is a V8 BMW M5, tuned by the Bavarian factory's own team, in which she gave very high-speed taxi rides around her home track. A good lap is believed to take around eight and a half minutes. She stepped down from taxi driving in 2011.

She also worked as a performance driving instructor, ran a helicopter shuttle service to the track and until recently, owned a restaurant nearby. In recent years, Sabine worked as a TV motorsport commentator, known for her dry humour in describing others' misfortunes on track. After a couple of appearances on BBC's Top Gear, she also become known in the UK. Famously, she told presenter Jeremy Clarkson that she could do a better lap than his in a van - and he was driving a Jaguar. Although she couldn't quite post the sub-ten minute time she wanted, she still beat Clarkson.

There was even some speculation that she might have been Top Gear's mystery test driver, The Stig, on one or more occasions. In 2016, she joined the presenting line-up of the new version of Top Gear, and became one of its more popular hosts.

Due to her Top Gear filming commitments, she did not take part in all of the VLN races in which the Frikadelli Porsche appeared. She did, however, start her first Daytona 24 Hours in January, in the Porsche. She was 27th overall, with Klaus Abbelen, Duncan Huisman and Norbert Seidler. In the VLN, the team fell foul of engine restrictions, and did not perform to their full capability for the first part of the season. Improved performances towards the end helped them up to sixth overall.

Frikadelli ran two Porsches in the 2017 VLN. Sabine was part of a rotating squad of drivers, due to other commitments. She raced for most of the season, and had a best finish of sixth in October.

The two Frikadelli Porsches ran again in 2018 but Sabine was absent for the first half of the season. When she made her comeback in June, it was revealed that she had been receiving treatment for cancer. She made further occasional appearances for the team and also raced a BMW alongside her brother Beat in the VLN. In 2019, she made one appearance in the Porsche in the VLN.

In 2018, she set a new lap record on the 'Ring for MPVs, managing a sub-ten-minute lap in a Skoda Kodiaq. She reprised her role on BBC's revamped Top Gear in 2019, appearing as "The German". Presenter Paddy McGuinness's reaction was "I thought they'd got rid of her!"

She did not race in 2020, although she remained involved with the Frikadelli team. Sadly, her cancer kept recurring and she was not strong enough to compete.

Sabine died on March 17th 2021, aged 51.

(Image from www.honestjohn.co.uk)

Priscille (Delecour) de Belloy

Priscille in her Fiat days

To anyone who follows fashion or watches French TV, Priscille is an ex-model and TV presenter. To rally fans, she is known as Francois Delecour's partner and gravel noter, and driver in her own right.

Her story starts before she met Delecour. Until the age of sixteen, she trained as a gymnast. It was only while she was studying at college that she became interested in rallying. A friend who worked for Fiat France tipped her off about a new one-make series for the Cinquecento they were organising, and Priscille signed up in 1992, much to her parents' disbelief. She started as a complete novice, but in 1994 she won the Cinquecento championship. This shocked some observers, especially as Priscille was now a catwalk model as well as a rally driver. As well as her Cinquecento win, she drove in her first World Championship rally in 1994, finishing 34th in the Tour de Corse.

The Cinquecento series' prize was a Fiat works drive in the French championship. This meant that Priscille also took part in two World Championship rounds, Monte Carlo and Corsica, and finished both. She was 56th in Monte Carlo and 31st in Corsica. Assisted by Sophie Betrenas, she was also 28th in the Rallye Mont Blanc-Morzine.

After her first year as a works driver she was signed by Peugeot in 1996, where she remained for two seasons. She scored some good finishes in French national rallies and drove in the Tour de Corse both years. In 1996 she came a career-best eighteenth, but retired the following year. As well as the WRC, Priscille was an impressive seventh in the Rally Mont Blanc-Morzine in 1996. She also took part in the Rally du Touquet, but I have been unable to track down the result. In her second year, she was thirteenth in the Mont Blanc event and retired from the Rallye Antibes Rallye d’Azur. Her car during her time at Peugeot was a 106 Maxi, and her co-driver was Laetitia Jourdan.

For 1998, she signed as a development driver for Ford's Puma rally project, alongside former world champion Stig Blomqvist, which took her to another world rally in Catalunya, and also to Ireland's popular Lurgan Park tarmac rally. By this time she had met Delecour and started making gravel notes for him on WRC rounds. This meant she got to drive all of the World Championship stages and report back on their condition. For Priscille it was a different but equally demanding challenge, and meant she could travel with her partner.

Her last competitive outing was the 1999 San Remo Rally, where she drove the Puma but retired. That year, she had also retired from the Catalunya Rally. She continued as a gravel noter and test driver for Ford, then Mitsubishi, until 2002. Francois Delecour has now retired from full-time competition, but still appears occasionally in historic events, sometimes with Priscille as his navigator. She still works in TV, as a stunt performer as well as a presenter. More recently, she has taken up competitive duathlon.

In 2016, Priscille and Francois swapped seats for the Balagne National Rally. Priscille was nineteenth, second in class, driving a Renault Clio. Striking out on her own again, she took part in the 2017 Rallye du Var in a Citroen Saxo, navigated by Valerie Closier. They were 64th and second in class.

(Image source unknown)

Penny Mallory

Penny is a familiar face in Britain, thanks to appearances on Channel 4's rally coverage, and numerous motoring programmes. She has not always just talked about rallying though; in 1993, this former advertising executive was British Ladies' Champion. She used her ad-making experience to put together sponsorship deals with the likes of Vidal Sassoon hair products, and managed to compete at a high level.

She has driven in the Rally of Great Britain four times, finishing twice. She first entered in a Ford Sierra in 1993, then switched to a Lada Riva for 1994. Surprisingly she finished. It was back to Ford power in 1995, but that led to retirement. After a long break, Penny and co-driver Sue Mee became the first female team to drive a World Rally Car in competition, a works Ford Focus. The rally began inauspiciously with a collision with a tree, but the British women recovered and finished 34th, with the Ladies' Cup and Journalists' Cup.

Penny is also a TV and film stunt driver and was the driving double for both "Papa" and "Nicole" in the famous Renault adverts.

(Image copyright Steve Yarnell)

Martyna Wojciechowska

Martyna during the Dakar

Prior to the rise of Robert Kubica, there were not many well-known Polish racing drivers. Martyna was one of the better-known ones.

She was born in September 1974 and became a famous TV personality in Poland at a young age. She has been likened to a raunchier version of Jeremy Clarkson - she is one of Poland's most notorious motoring journalists and has posed for Playboy - not the only speedqueen to have done so, it should be known!

Her TV work gave her access to a number of fast vehicles, and her first competitive endeavours were on motorcycles. She had her first taste of four-wheeled competition in 2002. Not one to do things by halves, she competed on the Paris-Dakar rally in a Toyota Landcruiser with navigator Jaroslaw Kazberuk. They finished 44th. This was not bad for a first-timer as many debutantes never reach the half-way stage.

In the same year, Martyna's sponsors allowed her to drive an Opel Corsa Super 1600 car on selected Polish Rally Championship rounds as part of their young driver development programme.

In 2003, she returned to rally-raids and entered the Trans-Siberian raid across Russia. The route was 14000km long and took nearly a month. She and team-mate Andrzej Derengowski shared driving duties, with Martyna on the fast stuff and Andrzej on the rough stuff. The combination was a good one; after winning a number of stages they finished the arduous rally in second place.

Martyna has also driven some of the smaller desert events in her Landcruiser, although little has been written in English about her results. At the moment she is more famous in her homeland as the presenter of Polish Big Brother. More recently, her exploits have included climbing Mount Everest and other mountains, chronicled by Polish TV.

(Image from aerograf.com.pl)

Liz Halliday

Liz with the DBR9, in 2007

Californian-born Liz came to England in her late teens to advance her sporting career. She has been a lifelong equestrian competitor, and began motor racing as a hobby in 1997, at nineteen. Her first racing car was a Datsun 510, which she used in classic events. Over the three years she raced in it, she managed to win three times.

In 2000, whilst still only 22, she exchanged the Datsun for a more modern BMW, which she entered in the Kumho BMW Championship in the UK. Her car was a powerful M3 E30, run by Mosely Motorsport. Liz progressed steadily through the rank,s and by 2002 was good enough to be named "Driver of the Season". During this time, she also entered her M3 into the EERC/Britcar Sports series. Her best results were a first and second in class at Pembrey. She was named "Driver of the Day" at the Donington meeting.

2003 started off in a similar vein, with Liz back in the M3 in the Kumho Championship. She was really beginning to pick up speed now, and won her class at the Croft round, breaking the lap record in the process. This earned her another "Driver of the Day" accolade. At Silverstone she was second in class. Away from the main championship, she picked up a class win in Britsports at Oulton Park.

Later in the season, she switched to the British GT championship, driving a Porsche 996 GT3 for GruppeM/Tech 9 Motorsport. Her first race was at Oulton Park. Nick Stavely was her co-driver, and they were fourteenth overall, eighth in the GT Cup class for smaller cars. Stavely was replaced by teenager Tom Shrimpton for the next race, Rockingham. He and Liz proved to be a good partnership, and began strongly together with an eighth place, second in the Cup class. At Thruxton, they were eleventh and fourth GT Cup finishers, but at Spa they were triumphant, winning the GT Cup class, with help from Amanda Stretton. This was the best finish for a female driver, and also the best finish for a teenaged driver. They were fifteenth in the general classification. At the last round, Brands Hatch, they were ninth, third in class.

On the other side of the world, Liz was invited to take part in her first Bathurst 24-hour race by Ian Donaldson, a racing friend and colleague. Liz, Ian and Ian's son drove their Porsche 911 GT3-RSR to seventh place overall, an excellent maiden effort for Liz.

The heroics in British GTs and at Bathurst really kickstarted Liz's sportscar career. For most of 2004 she was based back in the States, competing mainly in the Rolex Grand Am series. She missed the Daytona 24 Hours, but completed most of the season, with some good GT class finishes. Her first race of the year was Homestead, and she and Kevin Buckler got off to a flying start, coming third in the GT class and 16th overall in their Porsche 996 GT3. At Phoenix they were 26th, fourth in class, but at Mont Tremblant they slipped to eighth, 28th in the main standings, accompanied by Bohdan Kroczek this time. The same trio could only manage a 34th (tenth GT) at the first Watkins Glen round. Back to a pair, Liz and Kevin Buckler improved their position at Daytona, with another 16th place, fourth GT, a feat they repeated at Mid-Ohio, although they were fifth in class this time. Watkins Glen proved a bit of a bogey track for Liz, as she was tenth in class there again on her second visit, 29th overall. She did not enter the final three rounds of the championship, and moved across to the American Le Mans series instead, pairing up with Piers Masarati in a Porsche 911 GT3. Their first race together was Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, and they were joined by Liz's previous team-mate, Ian Donaldson, for the occasion. Following gearbox problems, they were 29th, fourteenth in the GT class. Liz and Piers fared slightly better at Laguna Seca, where they were 21st and twelfth GT, despite electrical troubles.

Liz had not forgotten European competition either. Back in the UK, she came third and fourth in a Radical SR3 at a Britsports meeting at Brands Hatch. Mid-season, she raced in the Spa 24 Hours for the Autolanda team, coming fourteenth and sixth in class in her Porsche 996. Her co-drivers were Luigi Moccia and Moreno Soli, both from Italy.

Her twin attack on the USA and the rest of the world continued in 2005. She went back to the ALMS for most of the season and really improved as a driver, as part of the Intersport team, racing a Judd-engined Lola LMP2. She had a solid start at Sebring, lasting the distance with Clint Field and Gareth Ridpath, to come in 33rd, fourth in class. Due to team plans and clashing commitments, Liz did not attend the Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Lime Rock or Portland meetings, although Intersport sent a car to some of them. She returned at Sonoma, and immediately got back into the swing of things, coming fourth and winning the LPM2 class with Clint Field. A fire meant that the duo had to settle for 23rd at Road America, but they bounced back at Mosport, winning their class again and coming fifth in the main classification. Joined by Jon Field, they kept up the momentum at Petit Le Mans, repeating their Mosport win and overall place. Their last race of the season was Laguna Seca, which was a disappointment, and ended in a 26th position and fifth in class.

In the middle of all this, the Intersport team decamped to France for Le Mans itself. This was Liz's first attempt at the classic Sarthe event. She, along with Clint and Jon Field, maintained a strong position in class, until engine troubles intervened and forced them out during the eleventh hour.

Liz was a very busy woman in 2005; as well as racing for Intersport and continuing her horse-riding career, she found time to contest the whole FIA GT Championship with Lister Racing. Her car was a Lister Storm GT, and her partner was Justin Keen of the UK. The car, although fast, tended to be unreliable, and Liz did not finish five of the eleven races: Magny-Cours, Imola, Spa, Zhuhai or Bahrain. However, when the car made it to the finish, the positions were normally good. Liz and Justin were ninth at Monza, unclassified at the Silverstone Tourist Trophy after problems, seventh at Brno, eleventh at Oschersleben, sixteenth at Istanbul and seventh again in Dubai. Most of the time, they were up against bigger teams, such as Aston Martin and Maserati, with their large development budgets.

2006 saw Liz concentrate on the ALMS, with Intersport. The team made a superb start to the season, with a second place at Sebring, along with a class win for Liz, Clint and Jon. They followed that up with another class win at Houston, coming eleventh overall this time. At Lexington they were a strong fourth overall, but the LMP2 cars were running well that day, and they were only third in class. The Lakeville race was not as good for Intersport; they were 17th and third LMP2. Salt Lake City was a better day; they were ninth and runners-up in class. Portland was even better, giving them a fifth position and another LMP2 win. At Elkhart Lake they were third in class, eighth overall, but after that their luck seemed to desert them somewhat. They were 19th at Mosport, 27th at Petit Le Mans and twelfth at Laguna Seca. In consolation for their underwhelming end to the year, they were second in the LMP2 team standings. Liz was third in the individual LMP2 drivers' table, and Clint Field was the winner.

Her return to Le Mans itself was eventful. The Lola suffered gearbox and engine trouble at multiple points during the race, but Liz and her team-mates managed to keep it going, and record their maiden finish. They were 19th, fourth in the LMP2 class. Liz's ambition now is to win Le Mans and she has proved herself a capable endurance driver there, as well as at Sebring.

In 2007, Liz drove in the European-based Le Mans Series for a different team. She was now competing for Team Modena, in an Aston Martin DBR9, a powerful and highly-competitive car. This year she began her season by finishing third in the GT-1 class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, eleventh overall. She was assisted by Darren Turner and Antonio Garcia. In the LMS proper, she was twelfth in her first race at Monza, with Antonio Garcia. The pair were joined by Christian Fittipaldi for the Valencia race, but could only manage 25th. Unfortunately, Liz parted company with the team after that.

She got to drive again at Le Mans mid-season, gaining a seat with Noel del Bello Racing, in a Courage-AER LMP2 car. She did not finish, as the car expired half-way. Her team-mates were Vitaly Petrov and Romain Iannetta.

For 2008, she returned to the Le Mans Series for one round. She drove a Creation CA07 AIM with Stephen Simpson, and was 22nd, tenth in the LMP1 class. Later in the season she took part in two ALMS rounds for the same team. She was 34th at Petit Le Mans after a crash, driving with Stuart Hall and Dean Stirling, and 17th, fourth in class, at Laguna Seca. She did not go to Le Mans this year and joined the Eurosport commentary team instead.

Since then, Liz did not competed actively for a while, for unknown reasons. She did not leave motorsport completely, and still did media commentary, driver training and mentoring.

In 2010, she finally made a return to the track, at the Silverstone Historic Festival. She was driving an Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ Coda Tronca, and a smaller GTA. She won her class in the Giulietta. Later, she raced the GTA in a HSCC meeting at Oulton Park, and was tenth in her race. At the Goodwood Revival, she raced the Giulietta once more. Both cars used to belong to her father.

After a year spent concentrating on equestrianism and media work, Liz announced her return to full-time motorsport in 2012. She contested the Lotus Cup in the UK, driving a 2-Eleven. After starting in last place on the grid in her first race at Silverstone, she battled back to second in class, fifth overall. In her other races, she was unclassified at Oulton Park and Sntetterton, fourth at Brands Hatch and eighth at Donington. She was 20th overall, after missing the European rounds.

In 2013, Liz continued with her media work, and also did some more Lotus Cup racing. The first round, at Snetterton, went well: a second place overall, and class win. However, this seems to have been her only good round. At Silverstone, she qualified, but did not race, due to mechanical problems, and at Brands Hatch, she was unclassified. The story was the same at Oulton Park. She did not appear for the rest of the season.

She did not race in 2014 or 2015, although she did commentate on Le Mans for Eurosport.

As well as her ambition to win Le Mans, Liz also has high hopes for her four-legged career. She aims to win an Olympic gold medal in eventing for the USA, making her a true double champion.

(Image from www.leblogauto.com)

Dorothy Levitt

When this post was first written, very little was known about this very early speedqueen. Few pictures of her seemed to exist. What glimpses there were of her life showed her to be a larger-than-life personality, straight from a novel or a TV drama.

In recent years, Dorothy has been the subject of a television programme starring Penelope Keith, which recreated part of a record-breaking promotional journey that Dorothy made from London to Liverpool and back again, in 1905, driving a De Dion-Bouton. This rekindled interest in her and her career, and it is now known that she was born Dorothy Elizabeth Levi in London, in 1882. Her Jewish family anglicised their name to Levitt.

Dorothy probably first came into contact with motorsport through her work; she was employed as a secretary at the Napier motor company. She became acquainted with Francis Selwyn-Edge, a senior figure at the company, and through him, motor racing. It is unclear how their relationship developed, or its precise nature, or why Selwyn-Edge took such an interest in her. He claimed that it was he who arranged for her to learn to drive and maintain a car, possibly sending her to Paris for training. SCH Davis, in Atalanta, claims that Napier apprentice and future racer, Leslie Callingham was the one who taught her to drive. The truth has probably disappeared; both Edge and, in her way, Dorothy, were keen and effective self-promoters, who seemed to have a good relationship with the contemporary press. Dorothy's "authorised" version of this story, written by C Byng-Hall in the introduction to The Woman and the Car, states that she learned to drive at home, "in the West Country", in the car of a visiting friend. They went together to watch a local driving competition, with Dorothy at the wheel, and her motoring prowess so impressed a watching motor company manager, that he asked her to drive one of his company's cars in a competition. This manager could have been Edge, but this story is at best, a simplification.

For a long time, Dorothy’s true origins were obscured. She is sometimes described as a skilled horsewoman, an enthusiastic angler and markswoman, implying that she was from country stock, but her urban upbringing, and her family’s commercial background, do not support this idea of Dorothy as a country lady. She did not live in the West Country, but had grown up in London, and had familial links with the south coast. In her own writings, she never openly acknowledged her time as a typist and secretary.

Dorothy began her high-speed career in motor boat racing. She was quick and competitive. In the first running of the Harmsworth Trophy in 1903, she is widely accepted as the victor, even though Edge, as the owner of the craft, took the credit for the win. He is reputed to have hired Dorothy to skipper the boat for him. That year she also set the first Water Speed Record, managing 19 miles per hour in a Napier-engined speedboat.

By 1903 she was also racing cars, under the tutelage of Edge. Women were never excluded from speed eventing and Dorothy excelled in it, winning her class at the Southport Speed Trial, in a Gladiator. Using a similar car, she competed around Britain in reliability trials. According to her diary, she won one such event in September that year, over 1000 miles. She also claimed to be the first woman to take part in "public motor car competition" in 1903, but omits to name the competition. (This is incorrect: Louise Bazalgette competed in the 1000 Mile Trial in 1900). According to SCH Davis, she finished "quite high in the results" in a 1000-mile trial, but does not mention which one. She was also thirteenth in a London to Edinburgh trial. Her first hillclimb was to be the Rising Sun climb, at Edgehill in Warwickshire, but her car, the Gladiator, was out of order, so she acted as Edge’s passenger instead. Napier were the importers for Gladiator in the UK, as well as selling De Dion-Bouton cars, another marque associated with Dorothy. 

The accounts of her racing are not detailed, but in 1904 she became the first female "works" driver to get to compete. She drove a De Dion in the Hereford 1000 Mile Trial and would have won a gold medal, had it not been for a carburation problem. This particular trial was five days long, and she completed it without any assistance. For this, she received a silver medal. There are also reports of her winning a motor race on the Isle of Wight, although there could some confusion here with a boat race she entered at Cowes. She won her class in the Southport trial again, in a Napier, and also in a Blackpool trial.

The former secretary continued to enter speed events for De Dion and Napier the following season, driving a formidable 80hp car for the latter. Her most high-profile appearance that year was at the inaugural Brighton Speed Trials, where she impressed doubtful onlookers with a competent display of driving. She is said to have won a match race against the pioneer French driver, Camille du Gast, setting a women's speed record in the process, but the official reports from the event make no mention of this. If it happened at all, it was a private race. She also won one of the classes in which she was entered, and the Autocar Challenge Trophy. Contemporary sources mention an actual women's race, but Dorothy did not enter this. It was organised by the Ladies' Automobile Club, of which she was not a member.

In the main speed trial section, she was beaten to the Ladies Prize by Claudia Lasell, driving a Benz. At least five female drivers took part in the event that year. For the Blackpool trials, she drove an even more powerful Napier, with 100hp, but her result is not forthcoming. In a De Dion, she drove in the Scottish Trial, completing each day's section without stopping, and winning an award for the manufacturer.

Following her Brighton exploits, Dorothy was offered a drive in the Tourist Trophy race, for the French Mors team. This was a full race, on a road course, and she was desperate to give it a try. However, Edge vetoed the idea, wanting to protect the Napier company's interest. Dorothy, by now, was a Napier "works" driver, representing the Napier sales department. Officially, she pulled out of the event due to ill-health, but no-one was fooled.

In 1906 she set the Ladies' Record at the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb in a 50hp Napier. She made the climb in 92.4 seconds, around 12 seconds off the winning time and knocking around three minutes of the previous record set by June Larkins. She was sixth overall. The record stood until 1913. As well as the Shelsley record, she set another in the Blackpool speed trial, was third in a hillclimb at Aston Clinton, and broke the world Women’s Land Speed record, all in Napier machinery. In the Herts County Club climb, she defeated her team-mate Cecil Edge, cousin to Selwyn. In a De Dion, she was sixth in the Coventry and Warwickshire hillclimb. This all must have made up somewhat for the disappointments she suffered that season and the last: narrowly missing out on a win in a famous challenge run against Freddie Coleman's steam car, and not being able to take part in her first proper race.

Having proved herself a worthy opponent on British trials and hillclimbs, Dorothy made her appearance on the continental scene in 1907. She won her class at the Gaillon hillclimb in France. This time she also had the prestige of being part of the winning Napier team. Apparently, she was thirteenth or fourteenth in the Herkomer Trial, and first lady driver. Reports also exist of her being the runner-up in a speed trial at Bexhill on Sea, and in some sort of Concours event associated with it. This was in her own De Dion-Bouton, rather than a works Napier, which she used for the trial itself.

The Brooklands racing circuit opened its gates that year, and again Dorothy tried to enter a full race. Although she had the backing of Edge and Napier this time, the Brooklands authorities would not allow it. Her name appears in the race programme as the car's entrant, and it was driven by another Napier works driver. Intriguingly, the photograph above shows Dorothy seated in a racing car, with the Brooklands banking in the background. The occasion on which this picture was taken is unclear. However, Edge set a 24-hour speed record there in 1907, and was supported by two other Napier drivers. Dorothy may have been involved in this in some way, although it would have been somewhat unusual for Napier not to exploit the inherent publicity value of it. Edge's two teams of support drivers were all named in the programmes as regular, male Napier works drivers.

In 1908, she managed a penalty-free run in the taxing Herkomer Trial in Germany and won an award, a silver plaque, in the Prinz Heinrich Trial section. This was for completing the trial without stopping. She was second in the Aston-Clinton hillclimb, and also drove in another climb at Trouville in France. However, only the car owner’s name appears on the entry list. According to her own writings, she was second in the Aston Clinton hillclimb she had entered the year previously. It seems to have been this year that she took part in the South Harting hillclimb, using a Minerva for the first time. The Napier company also imported Minerva cars into the UK.

Dorothy Levitt's motorsport career petered out here, but her interest in motoring remained. She published several books on driving, the most famous being 1909’s The Woman And The Car. In it, she recommends keeping a hand mirror in the tool drawer under the driving seat, to enable the motorist to see behind her when necessary. The idea caught on; this is the first known use of the rear-view mirror.

After her motoring adventures, Dorothy aimed to become an aviatrix, and took flying lessons in France. It is unclear whether she ever qualified as a pilot. After 1911 or so, she disappears almost completely from public life, as a personality and a writer. Her co-operation with Edge was seemingly over; her 1909 book barely mentions his name, despite the huge influence he had on her motoring career. 

During her heyday, Dorothy was often described as being very feminine and modest in her demeanour, as well as physically small and dainty. Although her actual size would be hard to exaggerate, this idea of her as a shrinking violet seems at odds with her actual behaviour, and may well have been down to the Edge publicity machine, again. A shy and demure lady would hardly wish she had run down a police officer who had arrested her for speeding (in 1903), in a public newspaper, or deliberately outshine another female competitor (a Frau Lehmann) at a post-hillclimb reception, in an extravagant dress, as Dorothy is said to have done at Herkomer in 1907. The dress was green, a favourite colour of hers, which often appeared in the paint jobs of her cars.

One of her other recognisable quirks was that she was normally accompanied by her black Pomeranian dog, Dodo, even whilst racing. The dog was said to have bitten at least one official observer during a trial. Male competitors in the 1904 Hereford trial showed up one day with a variety of stuffed and porcelain dogs attached to their cars, to try to ridicule Dorothy. She was not offended, and retaliated by giving them all gifts of dog biscuits, at one of the receptions after the event.

As a nominal member of the Napier sales team, she gave various driving demonstrations of their latest models. She was not averse to the odd publicity stunt, such as driving a taxi in London for a Daily Express feature, despite having no cab license.

Among the other stories attributed to her, was a claim that she made a small living as a society driving instructor of sorts, and that she had taught Queen Alexandra and her daughters to drive. This has never been confirmed or denied, but reports state that the Queen was driving herself around in an electric Victoriette from at least 1901. This was before Dorothy learned to drive, in 1902 at the earliest, therefore I am inclined to disbelieve this story.

The rumours of her carrying a revolver with her on long drives, for self defence, were apparently true. This has been put down to her “hunting background”, which was probably fictitious. Separating fact from colourful story is made harder by the way that Dorothy herself sometimes wrote ambiguously in her diaries and publications, describing “motor events” without separating races, trials and even concours d’elegance. Her 1903 entry, where she describes herself as the first British female racing driver, is a case in point. She also made allusions to competing against other female drivers, such as Camille du Gast, although she may only have been comparing the performances of individual cars they drove.

Following the BBC film, various new snippets of information have surfaced about her. The Radnorian blog has uncovered various other pieces of biographical information, including a date of death in 1922, when Dorothy was still only 39. You can access Radnorian's last Dorothy-related post here.

It is not completely clear why Dorothy died so young, although her long period of reclusiveness before her untimely demise could suggest a debilitating illness of some kind. The official cause of death was morphine poisoning, and some reports state that she had been suffering from measles. Her moderate legacy was left to her sister. Although she was not hugely wealthy at the time of her death, she was far from destitute, which makes her later years that bit more mysterious. It was a sad end for a great character.

(Image source unknown)

Amanda Stretton

Amanda in 2002

Viewers of Channel 4 Motorsport and Channel Five's Dream Machines will recognise Amanda's name from her broadcasts. However, she is more than just a TV presenter (and live motorsport commentator). Some will have seen her stints behind the wheel in international sports and GT races, or even her early days as a historic racer.

Amanda's father, Terry Cohn, was a classic car enthusiast, but not really a racer. He collected Rolls-Royces and other cars, including a Lagonda, which Amanda raced at Silverstone after his death. Her early interest was in motocross, and she was an enthusiastic competitor until her teens, when her bike was confiscated by her parents after she was caught smoking at school. She waited a few years and earned her car racing licence at nineteen.

It was a couple of years before she had any budget to actually race. Her first car was a BMW saloon, which she entered in hillclimbs and the occasional race as part of the Midland Auto Club in 1994. Staying mainly with hillclimbs, she moved on to a vintage Frazer Nash the following season. It was in this car that she crashed heavily at Silverstone. She was thrown from the car and received a broken arm. After that, she was a more cautious, but also a better driver, having learned from her painful experience.

Between 1995 and 2000, Amanda competed in a variety of historic vehicles in the UK and Germany. She travelled with her then-husband Martin Stretton, sometimes racing against him. Over the years, she drove the Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica, an Alfa Romeo Monza from the 1930s, a Widi sports-racer, Lotus 23, Maserati 150S and an HWM-Jaguar. She took part in some high-profile events, such as the Goodwood Revival and Festival of Speed, the Coys Historic Festival and VSCC races. Her driving style attracted some attention even then; she was voted Best Newcomer in the 1997 Classic and Sports Car awards.

By 2000, Amanda's presenting career had taken off and her racing was becoming more high-profile. She had acquitted herself well in a Frazer Nash in a British Grand Prix support race for 1950s sportscars and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the summer. It was now time for a move into more modern machinery. Her first foray into more up-to-date competition was a round of the Loctite Rallysprint Championship, a substitute for stage rallying laid on due to the foot and mouth outbreak. She also took part in a Ford Fiesta race for Maxi Jazz Racing. Team principal, musician Maxi Jazz, assembled an all-female line-up to drive in a Fiesta Championship round at Silverstone, in aid of a cancer charity. Plenty of money was raised and Amanda was fifteenth overall, and second lady, behind Helen Moore, who had more experience of the car. F1 presenter Louise Goodman did not fare as well.

In 2000, the opening of the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Northamptonshire brought US-style stockcar racing to Britain. Amanda got in on the act, both behind the microphone and behind the wheel. She presented the accompanying TV programme and drove in the races too. In her first season on an oval, she was sixth overall in the Mintex ASCAR Championship. Her only non-finish came after a bad spin in the last round, and her best result was fifth in round two, out of 22 drivers. With her Betty Boop-decalled car she earned the nickname "Babe Racer" and won many fans. She was due to contest the first full season of ASCAR in 2002, but fell pregnant and sat out the season.

After the birth of her daughter Mia, Amanda was soon back out on the circuits. She embarked on her most ambitious challenge yet: the British GT Championship. She struck a deal to race a Chrysler Viper for CMS Racing, as part of an all-female team. Former touring car pilot Annie Templeton came on board, with Vicki Butler-Henderson on standby for the longer races. The eventual aim of the team was to qualify for Le Mans.

Amanda and Annie were eleventh at Donington, seventh at Snetterton and sixth at Silverstone, all against experienced GT drivers like Martin Short and Piers Johnson. Unfortunately, funding for the "Girlpower Racing" team ran out, and Silverstone was its last competitive appearance. It was commented on that Annie Templeton was not on the same level in the car as Amanda, who scored a number of class fastest laps.

Ever-optimistic, this was not the end of Amanda's season. She still hoped to enter Le Mans the following year, and used all of her influence to earn more drives. She returned to British GTs for the Spa-Francorchamps round, driving a Porsche 911, with GT regular Liz Halliday and teenage racer Tom Shrimpton. They made history by winning the GT Cup class, a first for a woman and in Tom, the youngest ever winner. They came fifteenth overall. On the back of that success, she gained an entry into the Donington round of the World Sportscar Championship. She shared her Lola B98/10 Judd with her partner Bob Berridge, and ran as high as third overall in the six hour race. Twenty minutes before the end, they were in fifth and their engine gave up on them.

Her performance at Donington was enough to win her a seat in Berridge's Chamberlain TVR sportscar team. Two cars were entered into the inaugural Le Mans 1000km, for one male and one female team. Amanda teamed up again with Liz Halliday, and Fanny Duchateau stepped in when her countrywoman Vanina Ickx dropped out due to illness. They finished a respectable 19th overall, very close to their male counterparts. Team boss Richard Chamberlain agreed to keep the team on to compete in the Le Mans Endurance Series in 2004, with a view to entering the famous French enduro in the summer.

Amanda became the figurehead of "Les Femmes pour Le Mans" and used her TV fame to get some publicity for Chamberlain's team. It was still looking good at the start of the 2004 season, when she competed in the Sebring 12 Hours in the TVR, finishing the race in 24th overall after gear problems. Previously, she and her team-mates, Christopher Stockton and Gareth Evans, were holding a good position in the GT class.

However, Amanda's Le Mans hopes went on ice for another year after she found out she was pregnant again. She did return after her "maternity leave", taking part in the Silverstone round of the LMES with Balba Camino of Spain. Their Judd-powered Lola B98/10 developed mechanical trouble fairly late in the race, after an accident during Amanda's stint. The team was unable to finish after running well in class.

After a lay-off from competitive motorsport and a reduced TV schedule, Amanda finally made the hallowed Le Mans start in 2008. She was driving for the Chamberlain-Synergy team alongside Bob Berridge and Gareth Evans. The car was a Lola-AER B06-10 and it was running in the LMP1 class. Unfortunately, it developed engine trouble early on and spent several of the 24 hours in the pit garage. Matters were made worse when Amanda had an off-track excursion after a spin. She managed to carry out an emergency repair and adjust the dampers to lift the broken wheel off the floor, guiding the car back to the pits, but it was not enough to secure an official race classification.

After that, she returned to her roots with some classic sportscar racing in the Top Hat series. She also helped to run the Chamberlain team for some time, before concentrating on her broadcasting career for several years.

Amanda came out of retirement for the 2014 Goodwood Revival, as well as doing her regular presenting slot for the TV coverage. She drove a Jaguar MkII in the St Mary's Trophy, but it was not one of the faster cars on the grid, and she finished near the back. She returned to the Revival in 2015, in the same car, and has now become a St Mary's regular. She also appears occasionally in Masters historic events, sometimes sharing a Mini with the crime writer Peter James.

(Image from www.fiestaturbo.com)

Giovanna Amati

Giovanna in 1992

Much like the Wacky Races heroine Penelope Pitstop, Giovanna was a wealthy girl who was once the victim of a kidnapping plot. Like Penelope too, she had an adventurous streak from an early age. At fifteen, she used her allowance to purchase a 500cc motorcycle and secretly ride it around the streets of Rome at night, although she was not old enough to hold a licence.

It was not many more years before she got herself a racing licence and was competing in Formula Abarth, Italy's junior single-seater series. She stayed with Abarth for four years, before moving up to Formula Three in 1985. Here, she proved herself to be an able and quick competitor; she was described as having won a race outright in 1986, but further details are not forthcoming. Her Coperchini '85-spec Dallara was a regular presence on the Italian F3 grid and although she experienced some problems in qualifying, she was a regular top-ten finisher in a strong field.

Giovanna always looked to push herself forward in her motorsport career, and with a win under her belt in Formula Three, it was time to prove herself at the next level. Her debut year in Formula 3000 was not a success; she found sponsorship for four races but only managed to qualify for her first one, at Donington. She finished sixteenth out of twenty.

There was more disappointment to come in 1990. Giovanna raced for three different F3000 teams and used two different chassis types, but still only made two starts out of ten entries.

Things began to look up in 1991. again, she entered ten F3000 rounds, but she qualified for seven of them this time, and scored her best ever finish, at Le Mans. She was seventh after starting second from last. Her ninth place at Oulton Park was also impressive. At this time, she was rumoured to be in a relationship with Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore, and the thirty-lap test she undertook in one of their Formula One cars was put down to this.

However, at the beginning of 1992 she became a bona fide Formula One pilot, after receiving her Superlicence. She was hired by the dead-in-the-water Brabham team to drive alongside Eric van der Poele, mainly as a publicity exercise. Rather embarrassingly, she failed to qualify for the three races she entered: South Africa, Mexico and Brazil. In fairness, van der Poele did not qualify either, but Giovanna's appalling lap times and multiple spins made more headlines than his. She was promptly replaced by Damon Hill, and it took several engine changes and other improvements, plus more seat time, before the future World Champion was able to qualify the Brabham either. The team folded at the end of the season.

Giovanna as a Brabham driver

Giovanna's single-seater career ended there. Perhaps if she had allowed herself more time to progress through the ranks, or stayed with an F3000 team long enough to learn the car, she would have stood a better chance of a decent F1 drive. She was now rather maligned as a spoiled little rich girl playing at being a racing driver, and lurid rumours flew around about her alleged relationships with a number of important men in the sport.

Putting her F1 debacle behind her, she took refuge in the Porsche Supercup in 1993 and began to carve out a new career as a sportscar driver, like many F1 has-beens before her. Between 1994 and 1996 she raced in the Ferrari Challenge and in some international GT races in a Corvette. She took a break from motorsport in 1997 and started to commentate on races for Italian TV. However, she could not stay away for long and was back in sportscars for the 1998 season. Her racing programme took in the Ferrari Challenge, and some International Sports Racing Series in a Giudici Gaiero Alfa Romeo, and an Alfa-powered Lucchini. She did not finish the Misano race in the Gaiero, but was eleventh, third in class, in the Lucchini, driving with Giovanni Gulinelli and Guido Knycz.

Her biggest challenge was probably the Sebring 12 Hours, in which she shared a BMW M3 with Carter and Petery. They did not finish. She was also involved in the Women's Global GT Series in America.

1999 was a year in which she proved some of her doubters wrong. She was driving the works Tampolli prototype in the FIA Sportscar Championship with Angelo Lancelotti. They were eleventh at Barcelona, sixth at Monza and tenth (first in the SR2 class) at the Nürburgring, after three non-finishes due to technical difficulties. In the last race of the season, at Kyalami, they were fifteenth. Giovanna also drove a Pilbeam-Nissan for a different team in the Magny-Cours round and was a superb fourth overall, with Hennie Groenewald and Nicolas Blomm.

It was here that Giovanna's full-time racing career came to a close, thankfully on a high. In 2000 she was offered a seat as a reserve driver for the works Cadillac team at Le Mans, but declined. She took up TV work full-time and remains a sports presenter on Italian screens.

Until now, she remains the last woman to have attempted to qualify for a Formula One race.

In 2014, Giovanna made a small comeback, accepting a drive in the Italian GT Championship, with GDL Racing. She made a guest appearance at Misano, driving a Mercedes SLS AMG, and finished twelfth and eleventh in the GT3 class. Her team-mate was Gianluca de Lorenzi. At the time, she was almost 55 years old.

In November 2015, she commented on the retirement of Susie Wolff, describing the frustrating nature of life in top-line motor racing, and its physical difficulties, for female drivers. She also announced that she would be returning to the circuits, although she did not say which series she would be joining. As of the end of 2016, this does not seem to have happened.

(Image copyright Sutton Images)