Gabriel Konig

Gabriel with her Modsports MG

Gabriel Konig (not Gabrielle) was a much-travelled Irish driver who competed off and on from 1962. She was most successful in MG Midgets and a Chevrolet Camaro, winning 18 races in different series, at club and National level mostly.

Living at her mother’s Beaulieu House near Drogheda, she learned to drive very young; at ten, she was able to drive a tractor. She was a regular spectator at motor races with her mother, attending events at Dundrod and Curragh. She earned her driving license at seventeen, then four years later, began racing. By this time, she was married to Mark Konig, another racing driver and car builder, and living in London. Her first racing car was a Lotus Elite. A Lotus Elan soon followed. She rarely raced in her home country, but was a regular face on the scene in England, and also in continental Europe. In 1964, she was twelfth in the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood, in the Elan. The following year, she shared the Elan with Mark for the Nürburgring 1000km, driving for the WJ Moss team. They did not finish due to gearbox problems. That year, 1965, she entered the Autosport Championship in the Elan. Later in the year, she raced a much more powerful Ferrari 250 GTO at Silverstone, but crashed out.

In 1966, she took her first race win, driving a Hillman Imp. This was a National-level race at Mallory Park. This year, she returned to smaller cars, and was rewarded with results that went with her level of experience.

After a quiet 1967, during which she may have raced an Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite, she was taken on by John Brittan’s team in 1968. The car she was given was an MG Midget, and she raced in the Modsports series. This style of competition suited her well, and she ended the year with fifteen class wins. One of her best overall results was fourth at Mallory Park, with a win in the 1150cc class. The year before, she had been a member of the Ring Free Oil “Motor Maids” team in the USA, and had travelled to America for the Daytona and Sebring sportscar races. However, she seems to have been a reserve driver, and did not get to race. Her winning year in 1968 must have gone some way to making up for that.

Her first international win came in 1969. She was first at Fassberg in Germany, driving an Austin-Healey Sprite. The Brittan MG was still competitive, and she travelled to Italy to race in the Mugello Grand Prix, with Garo Nigogosian. They were 31^st, fifth in class, from 65 finishers. Also in Italy, Gabriel and Mark did the Targa Florio together, in the Nomad MkII. This car had been designed and built by Mark, and was powered by a BRM F1 engine. Sadly, an accident caused by a puncture put them out of the event on their third lap.

1970 was another year affected by accidents. Gabriel did not do much racing at all this year, as she suffered broken vertebrae in an accident in Brazil. She had been driving in a Formula Ford race at Sao Paulo, and crashed when the steering on her car failed. She was not permanently injured, but had to take almost a year out to recover.

Early in the following year, she returned to UK club racing as part of the “Carmen Curls”, an all-female team who raced a Royale in Formula F100. They were sponsored by Carmen hairstyling products, and Tina Lanfranchi was the team manager. Formula F100 was a poorly-supported series which folded at the end of the year and the Carmen Curls disappeared with it.

In 1972 her career went international again, with her first attempt at the Spa 24 Hours. She drove a Chevrolet Camaro with Marie-Claude Beaumont, a driver with considerable experience of both Chevrolet power and endurance racing. Sadly, they did not finish, due to a loss of oil pressure.

Despite her experience, Gabriel liked the car, and bought it to race for the 1972 season. She competed in the Irish Group 2 championship, now that motor racing had grown in her home country. At the end of 1972, she had it shipped to Guyana, where she would live and race for the next twenty years.

One of her first sporting appointments was joining the BOAC Speedbird team, which took British-based racers to the Caribbean, in partnership with the Guyana Motor Racing Club. Gordon Spice was one of her team-mates. She won at least two races in the Camaro at the South Dakota track in Guyana, and was second at Bushy Park in Barbados.

Among the cars that she raced during her Caribbean years was a Byldenstein Vauxhall Viva, built as a sister car to Gerry Marshall’s famous “Old Nail”. In this car, she won at least one race at Waller Field in Trinidad, in 1976.

During her time in Guyana, she raced again in Barbados. She was part of the group of enthusiasts initially responsible for bringing UK-based drivers to Barbados for its annual rally, something which continues to this day.

Gabriel was one of the founder members of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club, one of the first group of drivers to be invited to join. In 1968 and 1972, she received awards from the BWRDC for being the highest-achieving female driver in the British Isles.

She also rallied in the UK more recently, doing some classic events in a Ford Escort, among other cars, including a Hillman Imp and an Austin A40. In 1997, she entered the Tour Auto in France, driving a Vauxhall GT. Latterly, she owned her own motor museum at Beaulieu, based around a collection of her own racing cars.

She died in January 2013.

(Image from http://www.backroads.ie/forums)

Ada Pace

Ada Pace was an Italian rally driver and touring car ace of the 1950s and 1960s. She went by the nom de course of “Sayonara”.

Ada was from Turin, which would be her home base throughout her career, and her life. She enjoyed sports growing up, and her earliest memories are of riding on her father’s motorcycle and sidecar. All of her early racing experiences were on two wheels, not four; Ada raced scooters in Italy from quite a young age. In 1947, she started racing her Vespa, in both circuit events and long-distance trials. It was in trials that she really excelled. After 1948, she rode for the works Piaggio team. She would continue in scootering on and off until 1953; she won two Ladies’ 125cc titles in 1952 and 1953.

The date and nature of her first steps into four-wheeled competition is not entirely clear. Some sources claim that her first race was in 1950, when she was 26. Little additional detail is offered, although Ada was said to be disappointed with her own performance, as well as the car’s. The race may have been at the Circuit Piazza d’Armi in Turin, where Ada did drive a Moretti early in her career, although some sources have her first car as a Fiat 1500. Speaking in 1990, she describes the Turin event as her first race, held in heavy rain, although she says it happened in 1953. She did own and race a 600cc Moretti in 1953, which adds credence to her own recollections (or the reporting thereof).

In 1951, she is said to have earned her first win. This is said to have come in a “Torino-San Remo race”. Her car was a Fiat 1500 6C. The nature of this event is unclear; it could have been a time trial rather than a mass- or group-start race, or even a regularity rally. I have been unable to find any official records of this event.

She definitely did race a Moretti in 1953, and was fourth in class in the Sassi-Superga hillclimb.

 The following year, Ada may have entered her first Giro Di Sicilia, driving a Fiat 1100. She is down as a starter, but her finishing position, if any, is not recorded. This is not certain, as another driver called Pace was active in Sicily at this time. Ada certainly did drive an 1100 at some point, but her car in 1954 was the little Moretti. She mainly raced locally, entering the Sassi-Superga climb again and a Coppa Michelin at Torino. She also became involved in the growing women’s motorsport scene in Italy, and entered both the Perla di Sanremo Rally and the Como-Lieto-Colle Coppa delle Dame, a hillclimb. She was second in class in Sanremo.

In 1955, she was fourth overall in the Coppa delle Dame, driving an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Variations of this model would become her signature car. She also raced a Fiat 1100 in hillclimbs at Sassari and Corallo.

Her next major race was also her first overseas event: the 1956 Nürbrugring 1000km. For this, she teamed up with Gilberte Thirion, in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce. Gilberte, an experienced international sportscar racer, was the entrant. They were sixteenth, and fourth in class.

The same year, Ada, driving solo and normally in the Giulietta, was becoming a regular figure in Italian hillclimbs and races. She was fifth in the Perla di Sanremo and third in the Coppa delle Dame, as well as scoring some highly respectable finishes in hillclimbs, and the Supercortemaggiore regularity trial. She even tried her hand at a conventional rally, the Rallye dei Rododendri, and was tenth overall.

1957 was the year that Ada really committed to four-wheeled competition, and began to race as a professional driver. She underlined her new role with an entry into the Mille Miglia, driving the Giulietta, solo. Unfortunately, she did not finish, stopping near Rome. Later in the year, a run in the Coppa Inter-Europa led to a finish, albeit as the last runner. The race was a one-make affair for Giulietta SVs, at Monza. In November, she did proportionately better in the Targa Florio; she was 48^th, out of 129 finishers. This would be the first of four attempts at the Sicilian classic. A season-ending Vallelunga 6 Hours was good for eleventh place.  

This schedule of major events was augmented with a busy calendar of domestic hillclimbs and rallies. These included the Perla di Sanremo, in which she won her class, and the Coppa Colle San Rizzo climb, which gave her a GT1300 class win. She ended the year as the Italian women’s GT champion.

She raced a Zagato version of the Giulietta SV in 1958, supported by the Racing Club 19 team, so-called because it consisted of nineteen drivers. She finished the Targa Florio on her second attempt, sharing the car with Carlo Peroglio and earning a fifteenth place. This year’s Targa was a race of high attrition, and it was an achievement to finish at all. The Vallelunga 6 Hours was a happy hunting ground for her, driving solo this time: she was third. She repeated her podium finish in the Coppa Sant Ambroeus at Monza, finishing third again. Her team-mate, Carlo Peroglio, was seventh, in a similar car. The Giro di Calabria was another good event for her; she was fourth.

That year, she took part in many hillclimbs, and won her class in the Stallavena-Bosochienesanuova event. This helped her to third in the GT1300 class of the Italian hillclimb championship. She retained her national Ladies’ title.

The Sant Ambroeus Cup was moved to May the following year. Ada entered the 1300cc GT race in the Giulietta, and was third again. A run in an Osca S1100 in the 1100cc sportscar race was not as successful; she did not finish. Three weeks later, she and Carlo Peroglio tackled the Targa Florio together for the second time, but did not finish. In June, Ada tried out a new Giulietta, a Speciale, and was fourteenth at Monza in the GT Grand Prix.

In a similar car, she contested the Mille Miglia, now run as a regularity trial. She and Piera Bertoletti were fifth overall, and won the GT1300 class. She managed another GT1300 win in her heat for the Vallelunga 6 Hours, but did not finish the final. She ran well in the Sestriere Rally, finishing second overall. This must have been very satisfying for her, as she dropped out of the previous year’s rally within sight of the finish.

In both the Osca and the Giulietta, she performed well in hillclimbs, including some long classic climbs such as the Catania-Etna event, in which she was sixth. Her best hillclimb moment came in the Veglio Mosso – Mosso San Maria climb, which she won in the Alfa. She was third in her class in the Italian championship at the end of the year, as well as defending her ladies’ crown, and adding the Italian ladies’ Sportscar title to her collection. In the overall Italian racing championship, she was runner-up in both the GT1300 and the Sport 1100 classes.

1960 saw a lot of change happening around Ada, but it seemed to bring out the best in her. She scored her first major race win in October, winning the Coppa d’Oro di Modena. Her car was an Osca 1100. She would later describe this car as her favourite. The same car gave her her career-best finish in the Targa Florio earlier in the year, an eleventh place. She was sharing the car with Giancarlo Castellina, and won the 1150cc Sports class.

Further excitement came from the furthest “away race” of her career. She was invited to Cuba for the Grand Prix, one of only a small number of “Western” drivers to compete there during Castro’s presidency. The race had begun in 1957, but this was the first edition to be run in Communist Cuba. She drove an Osca MT4 and was fifteenth. She also took part in the supporting Formula Junior race, making a rare single-seater appearance in a Stanguellini. She did not finish. Later in the year, she drove a De Sanctis FJ in the Pescara 12 Hours, but did not finish. She did tentatively enter another couple of single-seater races, but did not actually compete.

Once more, hillclimbs made up most of her sporting schedule, both in the Alfa and the Osca. She scored many class wins, and was second in class in the Italian hillclimb championship. A third ladies’ GT championship and a second Sports championship added to her tally, and she was runner-up in the 1150 category of the Italian racing championship.

In 1961, she spent much of the year competing under the name “Sayonara”. Much later, she claimed that this was to make it less obvious that she was a woman. During her early career, she experienced some quite open negativity. This sometimes came in the form of over-zealous scrutineering, based on complaints from other competitors.

She had intended to enter the Targa Florio again, in a works Osca, but this did not happen. For circuit racing, she normally used her Giulietta SV. Driving with Carlo Baghetti, she did not finish the Coppa Ascari at Monza, after a spectacular crash on lap 14, which sent the car rolling at 200mph. Ada escaped through a window just before it caught fire. The following month, she did much better in the GT Grand Prix at the circuit. She was seventh, and fifth in class. Breaking with tradition, she drove a non-Italian car in the Pescara 4 Hours: a Lotus XI, albeit Osca-engined. She drove with Roberto Lippi, but did not finish. Alone, she used the Lotus in some hillclimbs, finishing seventh in the Trieste-Opicina climb and winning her class. The Osca 1100 was her usual mount for hillclimbs, scoring some class wins.

It was back to Italian power for the 1962 season, although Ada expanded her car repertoire once more. She drove a Ferrari 250 GT in the GT Trophy at Monza, and was second overall. She was also second in two other events in the car: the Stallavena-Bosochienesanuova and Coppa Fagioli long-distance climbs.

Mostly, she drove a 1184cc Osca, in which she earned another outright win, in the Campagnana Vallelunga. She also had some outings in an Abarth-Simca. Her best result in this car was an eighth place in a GT race at Vallelunga. The Giulietta was sold towards the end of the year.

1963 was spent switching between the Osca and the Abarth-Simca, which she used in the Targa Florio. Driving the Osca, she was third in the Campagnana Vallelunga. This was her best result of the year. She was fifth in the Shell Trophy at Cesenatico, and managed some top-five class finishes in hillclimbs.

1964 was her last year of competition. She drove a Lancia Flaminia for HF Squadra Corse in the European Touring Car Championship, including the Spa 24 Hours. She shared the car with Claudine Bouchet at Spa, but did not finish. The car’s rear axle broke after just over five hours.Her best finish in the championship was eighth, at Zolder. She never really got to grips with the Flaminia and found it hard to drive. Driving for the same team, she drove a Lancia Flavia in the Polish Rally, but did not finish.

In her later years, she took to living alone with her menagerie of rescued dogs and birds. She occasionally appeared at historic races and rallies, although for the last few years of her life, she retired from public appearances. She died in November 2016.

This post would not have been possible without the research published by John de Boer.

(Image from http://www.aisastoryauto.it/)

Rosadele Facetti

Rosadele Facetti in 1969

Rosadele Facetti was an Italian driver who raced in Formula 3 in the late 1960s.

Rosadele had the advantage of being born into a motor-racing family. Her father, Piero, had worked as a racing mechanic in the early days of Formula One, for the likes of Alberto Ascari and Piero Taruffi. Her two brothers, Giuliano and Carlo, also raced. (Carlo went on to be very successful.) Rosadele and Carlo sometimes raced together, and against each other.

References are made to her having begun her career in 1962, in touring cars. The Facetti family was often associated with Lancia cars, so her first car may well have been one of them. However, her age seems to suggest that she was not active until somewhat later, as she is described as being only twenty years old in 1966, in other sources. The results of any touring car championship held in the early 1960s in Italy are not forthcoming. In 1965, her name starts to appear in the entry lists for hillclimbs. In 1965, she was ninth overall in the Malegno-Borno climb, driving a Lancia Fulvia, just two-and-a-half seconds below her brother, Giuliano, in an Alfa Romeo. She won the class for 1150cc touring cars. The same year, she is also pictured taking part in the Sarezzo-Lumezzane hillclimb. She won the first of two consecutive Italian women’s championships that year.

The family received delivery of a Lancia Fulvia 2C in 1966, which was raced that year by Rosadele. She was active once more in hillclimbs, and is recorded as having finished fourth in class in the Coppa Teodori.

In 1967, she made her first major international appearance, and her first races in a formula car. Her brother, Carlo, had become involved with Tecno single-seaters the previous season, and in 1967, they both drove Tecno TF/66s for Scuderia Madunina. Their racing schedule included the Argentine Formula 3 championship. Rosadele was 20^th in her first race at Mar del Plata, but during the second, was involved in a serious accident in which spectators were killed. She was not badly injured herself, but played no further role in the championship.

The accident at Mar del Plata must have been quite traumatic for her, but she did not give up, and rarely, if ever, spoke about it to the press. In 1968, she went back to driving Lancia GT cars, and entered the Targa Florio. She and Pat Moss were sharing a Lancia Fulvia HF. The two women, both from motoring families and with famous racing brothers, got on very well. Rosadele later spoke about her esteem for Pat, who shared some of her driving tips and tricks. They were 19^th overall and ninth in class.

Rosadele was less visible in 1969, although she carried on competing in a Fulvia, often in hillclimbs. This continued into 1970, when she won her class in the La Castellana-Orvieto climb and the Coppa Teodori.

In 1971, she entered the Italian Group 4 championship, driving a 1300cc Fulvia. She was eleventh in the Trieste-Opicina hillclimb and 21^st in the Trento-Bondone climb. She entered the Cesana-Sestriere event, but did not finish. In a rare circuit outing, she was third in the Lombardi AC Trophy 1300 race, at Monza, at the end of the season.   

The following year, she had a second run in the Targa Florio. Moving out of her comfort zone once more, she shared an Opel Commodore with Marie-Claude Beaumont. They did not finish, due to an engine problem during their second lap, whilst Rosadele was driving.

The rest of her sporting year was quite similar to 1971. She drove a Fulvia in some of the hillclimb rounds of the Italian championship, and was eleventh in Group 4 in the Trieste-Opicina event. This was the best of her three finishes that year, driving for the Jolly Club team. She did enter the Rieti-Terminillo hillclimb in an Opel GT for the Conrero team, with whom she raced in the Targa Florio. For reasons unknown, she did not make the start.

1973 saw the Italian touring car championship becoming a circuit-based series, and Rosadele did not enter that year. She was only really happy when driving uphill on twisty mountain roads; it is unusual that she did not take to rallying. She remained active in hillclimbing, and was second in the Group 4 class of the Malegno-Borno climb, in her usual Fulvia. She was one place below Erasmo Bologna, who would become her husband.  

After this, she fades from the scene, although she is mentioned as being involved in supporting her brothers in their racing endeavours.

During her career, Rosadele sometimes used the nom de course of “Faros”.

(Image copyright Actualfoto)

Maria Antonietta d'Avanzo

The Baronessa in a 1922 Bugatti T29

Baronessa Maria Antonietta d’Avanzo was a pioneering driver of the 1920s. She was born in 1889, and learned to drive very young, encouraged by her father. When she married, later, her husband, Eustacio d’Avanzo, also encouraged her driving talents, and bought her a 35hp Spa sportscar to race. Her first big race was the 1919 Giro del Lazio, and she won her class, despite having to replace an errant wheel during the event.

She arrived fully on the scene in 1920, entering the Targa Florio in a Buick. Like many other entrants that year, she did not make the finish, retiring during her third lap.

In 1921, she drove an Ansaldo 4CS in Italy. This was as a reserve driver, as another team member had dropped out. She was team-mate to Tazio Nuvolari. At the Circuito del Gardo she was seventh, third in class, while another lost wheel put her out of the Circuito di Mugello. She also drove an Alfa Romeo ES to a third place finish in a "Gentlemans'" Race in Brescia, during Speed Week. Paradoxically, she finished Speed Week with the Coupe des Dames. In another American car, an enormous twelve-cylinder aero-engined Packard, she entered the speed trials at Fano beach in Denmark. Here, she was notable for surviving a fire to her car, partly due to her quick thinking in driving the burning Packard off the dunes and into the sea. The car, and by token, its driver, caught the attention of a young Enzo Ferrari.

Her second Targa attempt came in 1922, in the Alfa this time. Again, she did not finish.

It is here that the Baronessa disappears from the scene for a few years. In 1925, she is said to have raced in Australia, but few actual results have ever surfaced. Contemporary newspaper articles state that she definitely stayed there for some time in 1924. There is one report of her driving an Essex in a “match race” at Penrith Speedway, although this may have been an exhibition. During this time, she took part in some of her other adventurous activities, such as flying, and wrote articles about sport for various publications.

She returned to Europe. and motorsport, in 1926. According to some sources, she raced a Mercedes in that year’s Coppa della Perugina.

Later, in 1928, she entered her first Mille Miglia, driving a Chrysler Tipo 72 with Manuel de Teffé. They did not finish, after a mechanical failure. The following year, she and Carlo Bruno retired early on, driving an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS.

After a break in 1930, she made another attempt at the Mille Miglia, in a Bugatti T43, driving with Carlo Castelbarco. Once again, the treacherous Italian roads denied them. Back in the Alfa, she scored a third in the Coppa Pierazzi, and another third in the Grosseto-Scansano hillclimb.

1932 saw her final try at the Mille Miglia. This time, she was part of the official Scuderia Ferrari entry, driving an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Spider Touring with Francesco Severi. Sadly, they did not finish. There was disappointment later in the year, also. She was invited over to the USA by Ralph de Palma, to test his Miller Special at Indianapolis. Regulations forbade women from racing, but she would be allowed to do some demonstration laps. Unfortunately, she struggled with the car, having not handled a huge American racer for years, and did not post good times. She returned to Italy before she was due to make her appearance.

After that, she began to wind down her motorsport career, and made only a few starts. Some sources have her as a driver in the 1933 Targa Abruzzi, but her choice of car is unclear. She definitely entered the 1938 Targa in a Stanguellini Fiat 1500, but probably did not finish. Her last recorded race was the 1939 Tobruk-Tripoli race, driving a Fiat. She was sixth in the 1100cc class, ahead of the other Italian female competitor, Lia Comirato Dumas.

In 1940, she is listed as an entrant for the Mille Miglia, driving a Fiat 1100 with Angelo Della Cella. They did not make the start.

Throughout her life, as a social personality, journalist and writer, Maria Antonietta was a vocal supporter of female drivers, on the track and on the public roads. She was adopted as a heroine by early Italian feminists. As well as this, she had many friends and allies in the male-dominated motorsport world, such as De Palma and Enzo Ferrari.

She died in 1977.

(Image from http://www.bugattipage.com/)

Women in the Targa Florio

Elisabeth Junek in the Targa Florio

The original Targa Florio was a legendary endurance road race in the mountains of Sicily, which began in 1906. It ran in various forms until 1973, when it was downgraded to a national sportscar event, and then a rally. It was a round of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973.

The first female competitor was Madame le Blon in 1906. She acted as a riding mechanic for her husband, Hubert le Blon, who finished sixth in his Hotchkiss.
Below is a list of all the female drivers who have taken part in the original race. Where male/female pairings are entered, the woman's name is placed first for clarity.

1920
Maria Antonietta d’Avanzo (Buick) - DNF

1922
Maria Antonietta d’Avanzo (Alfa Romeo ES) - DNF

1927
Elisabeth Junek (Bugatti T35B) - DNF

1928
Elisabeth Junek (Bugatti T35B) - 5th
Margot Einsiedel (Bugatti T37) - 12th

1953
Anna Maria Peduzzi (Stanguellini) - DNF

1954
Anna Maria Peduzzi (Stanguellini) - DNF

1955
Maria Teresa de Filippis/Luigi Belucci (Maserati A6GCS) - 9th

1957
Isabella Taruffi/Piero Taruffi (Lancia Appia 1100 ) - 1st

1958
Ada Pace/Carlo Peroglio (Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV) - 15th
Anna Maria Peduzzi/Francesco Siracusa (Ferrari 500 TR) - DNF

1959
Anna Maria Peduzzi/Giancarlo Rigamonti (OSCA Sport 750) - 20th
Ada Pace/Carlo Peroglio (Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV Zagato) - DNF

1960
Ada Pace/Giancarlo Castellina (OSCA S1100) - 11th
Anna Maria Peduzzi/Francesco Siracusa (OSCA F2/S 1500) - 17th

1963
Ada Pace/Vincenzo Arena (Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero) -  DNF

1968
Pat Moss-Carlsson/Rosadele Facetti (Lancia Fulvia HF Zagato) - 19th

1969
Gabriel Konig/Mark Konig (Nomad Mk2-BRM) - DNF

1970
“Patrizia”(Silvia Strobele)/Luigi Moreschi (AMS SP-Ford) - DNF

1971
Christine Beckers/Ennio Bonomelli (Porsche 911 S) - DNF

1972
Rosadele Facetti/Marie-Claude Beaumont (Opel GT) - DNF

1973
Giuseppina “Giusy” Gagliano/Sergio Mantia (Alfa Romeo GTA) - DNF

(Image source unknown)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: Italy

Pierangela Riva (right, in headband) after the Rimini Rally, with other female competitors, including navigator Betty Tognana

For other Italian drivers, please visit the Italian Drivers in the 21st Century, Rally Winners and Team Aseptogyl posts. Ada Pace  and Patrizia Sciascia now have their own posts.

Cora de Adamich - rallied in Italy between 1996 and 2000, before moving to touring cars and then leaving motorsport. For most of that time, she drove Fiat Cinquecento and Seicento models, as part of one-make series. Her best result in these series was eighth, in 1998, before she moved to the Italian two-wheel-drive championship. Her best outright result was 28th, in the 1999 Rally del Gargano. She is the daughter of former F1 driver, Andrea de Adamich.

Paola Alberi – rallied various small cars in Italian events, in the early and mid-1980s. She began in the A112 Abarth Rally Trophy in 1980 and 1981. Her first big rally was the 1982 Targa Florio, in a Fiat Ritmo 105. She did not finish. In 1983, she had a best overall finish of 16^th, in the Rally 4 Regioni, assisted by the experienced Mariagrazia Vitadello. This was one of two Ladies’ Prizes she won that year, the other being in the Rally Piancavello. In 1984, she switched to using a Citroen Visa, and had a best finish of 19^th, in the Rallye Sanremo, then a WRC round.

Daniela Angei - rallied in Italy in the 1980s. She started competing seriously as part of a Ford-led women drivers’ initiative, which led to drives in a Fiesta XR2 in 1985. Her best result in the Fiesta was a 38th place in the Rally della Lana. Later, she drove a Fiat Uno, then in 1988 she drove a Jolly Club Lancia Delta Integrale. A highlight from her time with Jolly Club was a 21st place in the Piancavallo Rally. The following year, she did her first WRC rally, as navigator to Anna Cambiaghi on that year’s Safari. Their car was a Mazda. Daniela also drove in rally raids.

Marcella Balestrieri - driver and co-driver in Italy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She had most success as a navigator, sitting alongside Audi driver Flaminio Martino between 1986 and 1990. As a driver, she entered the 1984 Sanremo Rally in a Ford Escort XR3i, but did not finish. She was part of a women’s team in 1985, driving a Ford Fiesta XR2 sponsored by Alitalia.

Lara Battistolli - drove F2 Renault cars in Italian rallies between 1999 and 2001, driving a Renault Clio Williams and a Maxi Megane. Her best result was 7th in the 1999 Rally del Gargano. She scored another top-ten finish on the 2001 Rally delle Alpi Orientali, finishing ninth. As well as conventional stage rallies, she has also competed on the revived Targa Florio, coming eleventh in 1998.

Silvia Cailotto - rallied in Italy in the 1990s. She used and Opel Kadett in 1991 and a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth in 1992, in the Italian championship. Her best overall result was a twelfth place in the Rally Piancavallo in 1991, assisted by Vanda Geninatti. This was an ERC rally. That year, she took part in her only WRC event, the Rallye Sanremo, but did not finish. She was also 16th in the 1992 Targa Florio Sicily Rally.

Tania Canton - better-known as a navigator to many European drivers, between 2000 and the present day. In 1998, she spent a season in the driving seat, taking part in the Fiat Cinquecento Trophy in Italy. She was third in the Ladies' standings, having competed in several national-level rallies. Much later, in 2001, she made a return to driving in the Rally Coppa Citta di Lucca, in a Fiat Seicento. Her co-driver was Lisa Ricchieri and they were 46th. She is still active as a navigator.

Elisabetta Cavenaghi - European Ladies’ champion in 1998 and 1999. and eight times Italian Ladies’ champion. She competed as both a driver and a navigator in major rallies between 1993 and 2002. As a driver, she most frequently used a Nissan Sunny GTi, although she also drove a Ford Escort in 1995 and a Nissan Almera in 1999. Her best result was twelfth in the Rally delle Alpi Orientali in 1998, in the Sunny. She drove in one WRC event: the 1998 Sanremo Rally, but retired, also in the Sunny. In 1993, she had co-driven Paolo Onoscuri to 19th in the same event, in a Ford Escort. She competed in Italian rallies from at least 1991, when she campaigned a Ford Fiesta XR2.

Sara Clerici - Italian driver from the late 1980s onwards. She was 15th and first lady in the 1990 Targa Florio, driving a Lancia Delta Integrale. In 1988, she drove a Group N Lancia Delta in the Monza Rally. At some point, she came third in the Rally di Romana-Toscana, although the year has proved difficult to track down. More recently, she has driven in rallies for environmentally-friendly vehicles, finishing in the top ten of at least one.

Roberta Franzoni - rallied in Italy between 1997 and 2003, first in a Peugeot 106, then in a series of Mitsubishi Lancers and Ford Escort RS Cosworths. Her best result was a fourteenth place in the 1998 Rally del Salento, driving a Lancer Evo 4; she was third in Group N. She was also fourteenth in the same rally two years later, in an Evo 5, but did not score so well in class. She scored one more top twenty position, a 16th place in the 2000 Rally di San Marino. She remains active as a co-driver, and made a guest appearance as a driver in the 2017 Trofeo Valle di San Martino. Her car was a Citroen Saxo.

Chantal Galli - rallied a Lancia Delta Integrale in Italy in the late 1980s. She is recorded as having finished 38th on the 1988 San Remo Rally. She was also a Swiss champion one year, and the 1986 Italian Laides' champion also. Previously, in 1984 and possibly earlier, she co-drove in Italy. In 1984, she was the regular co-driver to Pierangela Riva. Later, she apparently drove a Unimog on the Dakar. She returned to the stages in 2010, for historic events.

Laura Maria Galliano - Italian driver who rallies a number of small cars and has been active since the 1990s. Her first car was an Opel Kadett in 1991, which was quickly exchanged for Peugeot 205, Opel Corsa and Fiat Uno. She took a break from the stages between 1995 and 2009, when she returned for the Rally della Pietra di Bagnolo in the 205. This event has stayed as a regular on her schedule throughout her career. She was most successful in a Suzuki Swift, finishing 14th in the 2018 Rally Bianco Azzurro. Her other cars have included a Renault Twingo and Clio and even a historic Fiat 127. She has entered one WRC rally, the 2020 Sanremo event, which was sadly cancelled early on due to bad weather. In 2021, she did finish the Sanremo Rally in a Peugeot 205, although it was not running as a WRC event. It was one of five rallies she entered that year. She remained active in 2022, adding a BMW 318 and 125d to her stable of cars, but went back to the 205 in 2023.

Fiorenza Genta – rallied a series of Lancias around Europe in the 1960s. In 1964, she drove a HF Scuderia Corse Flavia in the Polish Rally, but did not finish. Between then and 1967, she rallied in the Tulip, Monte Carlo and Polish events, as well as some French national rallies, using either the Flavia, or a Fulvia. The Fulvia gave her the best result of her career, a 29^th overall in the 1968 Monte Carlo Rally. A finish on the previous year’s Monte left her in sixth place in the European Group 1 standings. Very little biographical information is available for her.

Giannina Lepori – rather obscure driver who seems to have been active in southern Europe during the late 1960s. She was 22^nd in the Rally Costa Brava in 1967, driving a Mini. Previously, she had entered the Rallye des Deux Catalognes, also in Spain, in 1964 and 1965. In 1967, she was also in Italy, for the Rally Invierno. Contemporary news sources describe Giannina as an Italian resident in Spain. As well as rallies, she was active in hillclimbs, and is listed as an entrant in the Montseny climb in France, in 1967.

Mimma Martinetti (sometimes written as Martinelli) - rallied a Peugeot 205 in Italian rallies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She normally drove for the Rubicone Corse team. She preferred asphalt rallies and did quite well in rallysprints. Her best published result was a 32nd place in the Garfagnana Rallysprint in 1992. She was usually co-driven by either Mirna Lusini or Alessandra Strocchi. 

Mascha Mularo - has campaigned a wide variety of cars in Italian rallies since the mid-1990s, starting with Fiat one-make series. Her best results are a pair of 13th overall places, achieved in the Rally Citta di Torina and the Rally delle Alpi Orientali, in a Renault Clio Williams and Peugeot 306 Maxi respectively, in 1999 and 2000. In more recent seasons, she has competed in historic races and rallies, as well as the Campionato Italiano. She has driven an earlier Subaru Impreza as well as more classic machinery. She drove in the Targa Florio rally in 1998. In 2018, she returned to competition in a Fiat 124, rallying in the Balkans. In the same car, she took part in the 2019 Special Rallu Circuit and won the RGT class. Driving a Rally4 Peugeot 208, she was 20th in the 2021 Rally Due Valli.

Enrica Munaretto - active throughout the 1990s in Italian rallies. She was most effective in a Ford Escort Cosworth RS between 1995 and 1997, coming seventh in the 1995 Rally della Lana and winning Group N. She was Italian Ladies’ Champion in 1997, supported by Martini Racing, in a Ford Escort. In addition to her Italian championship outings, she drove in the San Remo WRC round three times, in 1993, 1994 and 2000, using the Escort and a Renault Megane. Her best finish was 21st, in 1993. In 2000, she competed in both the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio rallies. She made a return in 2007, driving a Peugeot 106, but did not finish the Rally Citta di Bassano.

Francesca Patrese - entered the Fiat Cinquecento Trophy in 1997 and the Fiat Seicento Trophy in 1998. She won a regional Ladies' title in the Seicento Trophy, ahead of Cora de Adamich. During that year, she also drove in the Rallye Sanremo, finishing 72nd in a Seicento Sporting. Her co-driver was Michela Graziato. Later, she turned to circuit-based motorsport, and competed on and off in Italian touring cars and Mini Cars. She appears to have retired in 2007.

Claudia Peroni – TV motorsport reporter who competed internationally in rallying in the 1980s and 1990s. She usually drove Lancias, run by one of the works satellite teams, although for the first few years of her rally career, in the mid-1980s, she drove a series of Fiats. Her international outings all seem to have been in the islands of Spain and Portugal, and included five runs in the Rali Vinho da Madeira. Her best finish in this event was twelfth, in 1993, driving an Astra-run Lancia Delta HF Integrale. In the same car, she was fourteenth in the Madeira Rally in 1994. As well as Madeira, she rallied in the Canary Islands. Her last competitive outing was the Prince Albert Challenge in Monaco, in 1997. She drove a Fiat Cinquecento, but did not finish. She remains a regular contributor to Italian motorsport television.

Patrizia Perosino - active in Italian rallies since at least 1993, when she rallied a Renault Clio and a Ford Escort. Between 1995 and 2013, she does not appear to have competed, but she returned in 2014 and drove for the Biella team in a Peugeot 206, Clio and Renault Twingo. Since then, she has switched between the Clio, a S1600 Peugeot 208 and an S2000-spec Peugeot 207. Her best outright result has been eighteenth in the 2015 RallyLana, although she has also scored S1600 class wins. In 2018, her regular navigator was Veronica Verzoletto, who is her daughter. The two continued to rally together for most of 2019, leading Patrizia to third place in the Italian 2WD championship. In 2021, she entered the WRC Rally Monza in a Skoda Fabia, finishing 57th, as well as the Mille Miglia, Sanremo and Roma Capitale rallies. She continued to rally the Fabia in 2022, with a best finish of 38th in the Targa Florio Rally. She entered the Roma Capitale event in 2023, but did not finish. In 2024, she finished 37th in the Rally Lana, driving the Fabia.

Marina Perzy – competed during the late 1980s. Her best year was 1988, when she was third in the Italian championships. Her best result was a thirteenth place in the Elba Rally, driving a Group N Fiat Uno. She began rallying in 1986, as part of “LadyRally”, a women’s motorsport initiative. She was then part of something called “Protagonista Donna”, another women’s rally programme. One or both of these initiatives were sponsored by Ford, and involved three all-female teams. Marina is better-known as an actress and TV and radio personality.

Patricia Pilchard – competed under the flag of Italy, although she was born in France and was of American origin. She was active as a competitor in the 1980s, and drove a Fiat Ritmo, sponsored by Totip for at least one season, in 1980. She entered the Valli Imperiesi Rally in 1982, in a Peugeot 205, and the Rally della Marca at least once, in a Fiat. In 1984, she took part in the Terza Zona championship in Italy, although no results are forthcoming. Her navigator that year was Mariagrazia Vitadello, and Vanda Geninatti also sat beside her during her career. Patricia is better known as a TV personality.

Serena Pittoni – Italian driver who rallied Lancias in Italy, with some success, in the 1970s. She was ninth in the Rally Dell’Isola d’Elba, driving a Lancia Fulvia. Earlier, in 1972, she was the Italian Ladies’ Rally Champion, driving for the Jolly Club team. In 1973, she was second in class in the Monte Carlo Rally, in a Jolly Club Fulvia Fanalone. As well as conventional stage rallies, she was a five-time entrant in the Giro D’Italia, between 1973 and 1980. Her best finish was third, in 1978, driving a Lancia Stratos with Claudio Magnani and “Cresto”. She also co-drove in rallies for Leo Pittoni, “Il Pilota” in a variety of cars, and with Anna Cambiaghi in the 1975 Targa Florio.

Ippolita Rabusin - rallied in Italy in the 1970s. During the later part of her career, she was one of Team Aseptogyl’s Italian squad, driving a Fiat 127. She finished the 1979 Citta di Modena Rally in this car, finishing in 126th place behind team leader Maurizia Baresi. She had been active in Italy since at least 1973, when she competed in a Simca. Her other cars have included an Opel Ascona and Kadett and a Porsche 911. She scored the best result of her career in this car, a 34th overall and class second in the 1977 Valli Imperiesi Rally. 

Pierangela Riva - drove in Italian and European rallies in the 1980s. She was a keen rival of “Micky” Martinelli, and the two vied for the 1985 Italian Ladies’ championship. Pierangela drove a Peugeot 205 that year and won the Ladies’ Group A title. Among the rallies she contested were the Targa Florio and the Elba Rally. During her career, she entered one World Championship rally: the 1987 Rally Sanremo. She was 24th, driving a Lancia Delta HF. Her co-driver was Christina Larcher and they were fifth in Group N. More recently, Pierangela has been competing in historic rallies in Italy, often in a Peugeot, and sometimes with her daughter as her navigator. In 2014, she was 20th in the Rally Pietra di Bagnolo, driving a Renault Clio.

Delphine Le Roux - half-French, half-Italian driver who rallied an Autobianchi A112 in Italy in the late 1970s. This was often as part of a one-make trophy for that car. Her best finish was twelfth in the 1978 Rally del Gargano, a round of the A112 Trophy. She got into rallying through her husband, Fiat motorsport manager Daniele Audetto. Her co-driver was often the experienced Anna Gatti.

Roberta Rossi - competed in Italy and Europe from the mid-1990s. Her first major entry seems to have been the 1995 Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Fiat Cinquecento. She returned to the Monte in 1998, in a similar car, and finished 40th this time, sixth in class. In 1998, she also rallied in the Italian championship, using a Subaru Impreza and a Renault Clio Williams. Neither proved reliable, and she retired from most of her events. One bright spot was a sixth place in the Rally Costa Smeralda, in the Impreza. She made a comeback in the Impreza in 2002, but could not finish the Rally di San Crispino. In 2010, she came back again, and was 74th in the Rallye Sanremo in a Clio. Her navigator for most of her career was Laura Bionda.

Gisella Rovegno - driver and co-driver from Italy. She has competed internationally since 1992, starting as a navigator to Ennio Bini. She last competed in a Fiat Punto S1600 as a co-driver to Fabrizio Tabaton in 2005, as part of the Italian championship. She drove herself between 1999 and 2003. 2000 was her best year, and she finished the Catalunya and Corsica WRC rounds in her Renault Clio Williams. She recorded DNFs in the 1999 and 2000 San Remo rallies. Outside the WRC, she used a Renault Megane Maxi, Mitsubishi Lancer and Fiat Stilo Abarth between 2001 and 2004 in Italian National rallies, with little success, before returning to the navigator’s seat.

Fiorenza Soave – multiple Italian ladies’ champion between 1978 and 1986, mostly driving an Autobianchi A112, Fiat Ritmo Abarth and 130. Her Coupe des Dames successes included the Piancavallo Rally, Rally Colline di Romagna, Elba Rally and San Marino Rally. After a long lay-off for motherhood, she returned to the stages in 2008, still in the Ritmo. Initially, she was a regular in the San Remo Rallylegend event, but in 2014, she moved into historic stage rallying, where she is still a regular competitor.

"Giusy" (Giuseppa) Tocco - appears to have begun her career as a navigator, co-driving for Moncada in 1988. Later, she entered the 1997 Fiat Cinquecento Trophy and finished third in the Ladies' standings. Sticking with Fiat one-make series, she contested the Seicento Trophy in 1998, and won the Coupe des Dames ahead of Cora de Adamich. She may have entered the 1999 Monte Carlo Rally in a Cinquecento, although her name may have been recorded as "Giuseppe" not "Giuseppa".

Antonella Vallauri - had a fairly short rallying career in Italy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Her first major appearance seems to have been the 1989 Rally di Limone Piemont, where she drove a Jolly Club-prepared Lancia Delta Integrale but did not finish. In 1990 she entered the Fiat Uno Turbo Trophy with Eurosport Racing. Her best result was an eleventh place in the all-Fiat Rallye dell’Isola d’Elba. She disappears from the entry lists after this.

Donatella Vicenzi - rallied in Italy in the 1980s and 1990s. She began her career in the Fiat Uno Turbo Trophy in 1985. In 1989, she drove Lancias for Jolly Club, including a Delta HF and a Delta Integrale. She was 26th in a Jolly Club Delta Integrale in the 1989 Rally di Limone Piemont, alongside winner Dario Cerrato and Antonella Vallauri. She drove another Delta in the 1990 Barum Rally but crashed out; this seems to be her only international appearance. Her best finish looks to be a tenth place in the 1995 Rally Valli Bresciane, driving a Peugeot 205.

Luisa Zumelli - driver and co-driver from Italy, active from the early 1980s to 2004. She drove in five San Remo rallies between 1991 and 1998, with a best finish of 23rd, in 1994 and 1995. She usually drove a Ford Escort Cosworth. Later, she concentrated on Italian national events. Her best finish is second, driving a Renault Clio RS on the 2003 Rally del Salento. She has also competed in the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Costa Smeralda rallies, using the Clio, the Escort and an unlikely rally car in the Rover 216. Her results have been variable, with a few top-twenty places as well as her 2003 runner-up spot. In 2013 and 2014, she drove a Porsche and an Opel Kadett in historic rallies, in Italy and Morocco.

(Image from http://rallymania.forumfree.it/)

Female Racing Drivers in Continental Europe, 1910-1950

Nina and Vincenzo Lo Bue

While Brooklands was operational in the UK, motorsport in Europe was also flourishing. The French oval circuit of Montlhéry was home to many drivers, male and female, and women were not excluded from the road-racing scene which centred around Italy. Its most famous events, the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia, were never closed to them, and drivers of the calibre of Elisabeth Junek were among the front-runners. As well as these high-profile events, other circuits hosted a whole series of races. Many of the drivers also raced at Le Mans; there were far more female entries then than there are now.

Below are short profiles of some European female racers, who mostly competed in the period between the two World Wars. Maria Antonietta d'Avanzo, Margot Einsiedel, Madame Hellé-Nice, Lucy O'Reilly Schell, Jannine Jennky, Anne-Cecile Rose-Itier, Charlotte Versigny, Marie-Luise Kozmian, Lia Comirato Dumas, Elena Samsonova, Marguerite Mareuse and Odette Siko have their own posts. Rally drivers from this period appear in their own posts (1, 2). Lists of female participants in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia are also available. American drivers of the early 20th century can be found here. French drivers of the period also appear here.

Mimi Aylmer - competed twice in the Mille Miglia, in 1929 and 1936. She drove a Lancia Lambda Berlina to 29th place in 1929, with A. Strignasacchi. In 1936, she and Gambellini drove a Fiat 508 Balilla Gas, but did not finish. Mimi was better known as a film actress.

Patrocinio Benito - one of Spain’s first female racing drivers. She competed between 1926 and 1932. Her first big race was the 1926 Madrid 12 Hours, a road race held between Guadarrama and Navacerrada. This was a race for motorcycles and cyclecars and she was ninth in an Amilcar. Later in the year, she was third in another race at Sitges de Terramar. She then made a few appearances in regularity trials in 1928 , driving an Essex and then a Rosengart. Her last event was a hillclimb in 1932, although it isn’t clear whether her Triumph was a car or a motorbike.

Lina Christiansen - Norwegian driver active in the 1930s. She entered at least one Monte Carlo Rally in 1935 in her own Plymouth, as part of a four-woman team with Irma Darre Brandt, Borghild Bieltvedt and Else Castberg. In 1936, she drove a Graham in the Norwegian Grand Prix meeting at Gjerstad, finishing third in the Series race. She continued to race the Graham in 1937, recording third places in the Autumn Race and the NAF race. Previously, she had used a Studebaker in trials in 1934, finishing third in the Ladies’ class.

“Miss Comerford” – early Irish driver. She drove in the 1933 Phoenix Park 50 mile race in Dublin, and is claimed to be the first woman from the British Isles to enter a road race. Her car was a Hillman Minx, and she was ninth in the Senior Race. During the same season, she won the 1100cc class in the De Selby hillclimb, and was second in the Unlimited class. Her given name is never used, and even her initials are unclear. She does not seem to have raced again after 1933.

Giuseppina Conti - drove a Bugatti T37 in races in 1927. She was eighth in the Circuito del Pozzo that year.

Marie Cousinet - raced a Fiat 509 in European cyclecar events in 1928. She was fifth in that year's GP des Frontieres.

Marie Depret (Desprez) - raced in French GPs and at Le Mans during the late 1920s and 1930s. She and Pierre Brussienne shared a Bugatti T34 at Le Mans in 1933. Previously, she had raced against Jannine Jennky in France.

Viviane Elder - French competitor who drove at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1949, sharing a Simca 6 with Rene Camerano. They retired on lap 95 when the crankshaft broke. In 1950, she was due to return to the 24 Hours in a Simca 1100, but did not make the start. Away from motorsport, Viviane was a film actress and aviatrix in the 1930s. She may have driven in the celebrity races which were popular in pre-war France.

Edith Frisch - raced and rallied a Bugatti and other cars in Europe, in 1933 and 1934. In May of 1933, she was sixth (although not classified) in the Eifelrennen Voiturette race at the Nürburgring, driving a 1500cc Bugatti T37A. Later that year, she entered the Czech Grand Prix at Masaryk, in the same car. She had to retire after spinning the car, and hitting her chin on the steering wheel. In 1934, she drove an Opel, concentrating on rallies and other non-circuit events. She won a Coupe des Alpes in the Alpine Rally, with Karl Treber as her navigator. Unfortunately, not long afterwards, she was killed in an accident at a level crossing during a reliability trial at Hammereisenbach, in Germany.

Bea Gilka-Bötzow - raced a Bugatti in Europe in the early 1930s. In 1932, she entered the Eifel Grand Prix in a T37A, but did not finish. She also competed in hillclimbs in Germany and its neighbouring countries, in the Bugatti and in an Austro-Daimler. Her results are not forthcoming. She is sometimes confused with Margot Einsiedel, as both had the title “Countess Einsiedel”. Bea was Margot’s sister-in-law.

Suzanne Largeot - took part in three Le Mans races between 1937 and 1939. With JE Vernet, she won her class in 1937 and was twelfth overall. She did not finish on the other two occasions. The car was a Simca, a make Suzanne used in most of her races. In 1939, she drove a Simca T8 to fourth overall in the Criterium Paris-Nice. That year, she also navigated Yvonne Simon to eighth position in the Monte Carlo Rally. She and Yvonne were also eighth in the 1938 Paris 12 Hours.

Nina Lo Bue - competed with her brother, Vincenzo Lo Bue, in 1929 and 1930. In 1929, she drove an Alfa Romeo in the Giro d’Italia and finished thirteenth. The following year, the siblings entered the Giro d’Italia once more in the same car, and were fourteenth. It is possible that she also took part in some hillclimbs in Sicily, as Vincenzo regularly used the car for this purpose.

Franziska Lüning - raced a Steyr in Europe in the 1920s. She competed in the ADAC trials in 1928. On occasion, she also drove a small Fiat sportscar. It was this car that she used in the 1927 Nürburgring Opening Races. She was twelfth in her class. That year, she also drove the Steyr in the Feldbergrennen hillclimb and placed well in class. She took part in hillclimbs in Switzerland as well. Driving the Fiat, she was second in the 1100cc class in the Klausen climb. This was her second attempt at the event, having finished 13th in the 1500cc class in 1926.

Irma Martelli - raced in Italy shortly after the Second World War. In 1947, she drove a Fiat in the Mille Miglia with “Geri”. They did not finish. A month later, she entered a Fiat 500, perhaps the same car, into the Coppa d’Oro della Dolomiti, but did not finish that race either.

Samiye Cahid Morkaya - believed to be Turkey’s first female racing driver. She was active between 1930 and 1934, initially in rallies. Her first circuit race was in 1932, when she took to a 10km track near Istanbul and won. One of her male competitors tried to get her disqualified but her result stood. She continued to race until 1934, when she crashed a Ford and lost the use of an arm. Away from motorsport, she was a respected teacher of the kemence, a traditional Turkish string instrument. She died in 1972.

Violette Morris - raced in France between 1928 and 1930, normally in Paris-based events. She drove a number of special-bodied cars, built to her own requirements. The Bol d'Or was a favoured event of hers and she won it in 1927. She was executed during World War II due to her Gestapo activities.

Vittoria Orsini - Italian noblewoman who campaigned a Maserati 26C in a few Grands Prix in the early 1930s. Her best result was probably a fourth place at the Circuit Cap d'Antibes in 1932. She was tenth in a heat of the 1933 Bordino Grand Prix, but did not finish the 1932 or 1933 Coppa Ciano, or the 1933 Grand Prix of Lwow.

Mirella Quadri - entered the Mille Miglia three times, in 1947, 1948 and 1949. In 1947, she drove a Fiat and did not finish. The following year, she used a Lancia Aprilia and was 20th. In 1949, she drove a Lancia, presumably the Aprilia, and failed to finish. Her co-driver on all three occasions was “L Quadri”.

Käthe Rantzau - Austrian driver who raced in Europe in the 1920s. She was fourth in the 2000cc class in the 1925 Klausen hillclimb, driving an Ansaldo. Later, in 1927, she entered the Semmering climb in a Grofri, which was a rebadged Austrian Amilcar. . Her first motorsport experience seems to have been a tenth place in a women-only road race held in Vienna in 1923. She was tenth, driving an Austro Daimler. She is best known as an opera singer.

Anni Roosdorp - commenced racing in 1947, using a Veritas single-seater at the Grenzlandsring in Germany. Her father, Hermann Roosdorp, also raced that car and others around Europe.

Fernande Roux - another French GP and sportscar racer of the 1930s and 1940s. In 1931, she spent a season campaigning in Voiturettes, in a Bugatti T37A. Her best finish was second, in Geneva. She partnered Germaine Rouault at Le Mans in 1938, driving an Amilcar Pegase. The Pegase seems to have been one of her favourite cars and she drove it in French and North African races in the latter part of the 1930s.

“Madame Suvorina” - one of Russia’s earliest female competition drivers. She drove an Opel and other cars in road races from 1910, winning her first St. Petersburg-Kronstadt winter road race that year, although that might have been a class win. With the same car, she entered the same race in 1914. That year, she also drove an Excelsior in a short speed trial near St Petersburg. She may also have been involved in aviaton. Her given name is not recorded. 

(Image source unknown)

Margot Einsiedel

Margot at the 1928 Targa Florio

A contemporary of Elisabeth Junek, German noblewoman Margot (or Margaret) Einsiedel was one of a small group of major female racers in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

She usually raced either in her native Germany or in Sicily, and was also an accomplished hillclimber. She held the Ladies' Record at the challenging Klausen hillclimb from 1927 until 1932, fending off challenges from other talented ladies like Madame Helle-Nice in the process.

1927 was the year she started racing in earnest, in a Steyr VI Sport. That season she was fifth in the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring and won her class at Solitude. She and the Steyr were sixth overall.

For the following season Countess Margot acquired a Bugatti T37, and switched the focus of her racing activities to Italy. She crashed out of the Premio Reale di Roma but escaped injury, and failed to finish the Coppa Etna. However, she came away from that race with a fastest lap as a consolation.

Sicily did give her a good result on the Targa Florio, where she came twelfth and sixth in the Voiturette class. Her achievement was perhaps overshadowed by the heroics of Elisabeth Junek that year. She was also entered into the Grosser Preis von Deutschland at the Nürburgring, but the bearings failed on her Bugatti. This again was overshadowed by the fatal accident to Elisabeth Junek’s husband and her subsequent retirement.

Margot carried on racing her Bugatti into the early 1930s, mainly at the Nurburgring and Solitude. After the Second World War, she married her third husband Harold Rydon and settled in Africa.

Margot is sometimes confused with another German racer, Bea Gilka-Bötzow, who was part of the Einsiedel family, and sometimes styled as the Countess Einsiedel. She also drove a Bugatti.

(Image from www.bugattibuilder.com)

Elisabeth Junek

This Czech lady is perhaps one of the most famous speedqueens, best known for her heroics on the legendary Targa Florio. Until the arrival of Tomas Enge onto the Formula One scene in 2001, she was also the only Czech to have driven in Grands Prix.

Elisabeth, also known as Eliška Junková, was married to a banker called Čeněk Junek. He was interested in motor racing and competed at national level. Initially, Eliška had little interest in cars, but she warmed to them, and by 1923 was acting as Čeněk’s riding mechanic. She began driving herself in 1924. Her first race was at Pilsen and she came away with a win in the touring car class. She continued to compete in a Bugatti Type 30 known as Babushka in 1925, and soon her achievements on the track began to eclipse her husband's. She won her first race at Zbraslav-Jiloviste that year.

Her first major win came in 1926, an international race held in Prague, with Babushka. Soon afterwards, Elisabeth visited the Bugatti factory and drove away a much newer Type 35. Although she never drove for the works Bugatti team, she was a good friend of Ettore Bugatti and especially his daughter, L'Ebé. Whenever she bought cars from them she always drove them away herself instead of having them delivered. It was in this car that she was runner-up in the 2000cc class of the Klausen hillclimb. She was eleventh overall, after driving through wet, changing conditions for the duration of the twenty-minute climb.

Elisabeth became more ambitious in 1927 and attempted the treacherous Targa Florio for the first time. An accident broke the steering of her Bugatti this time, but she would be back. More pleasing was her fourth place in the German Grand Prix. She won the touring car class and was the first Bugatti home after a fleet of Mercedes-Benzes. That year, she was also scheduled to enter two French races at Montlhèry, but pulled out. No reason is stated for her Grand Prix de l’A.N.C.F., but she decided to enter the Ladies’ event of the Coupe du Salon in October. The result seems to have been lost.

She had unfinished business to attend to in Sicily, so she entered the Targa Florio again in 1928. She caused a sensation by leading for most of the arduous race, until a broken water pump threatened to put her out towards the end. Elisabeth got the problem sorted and fought back to an excellent fifth place. Alberto Divo was the winner.

For a change, Čeněk decided to drive with his wife in the German Grand Prix that year. Unfortunately he was involved in an accident and was killed. Elisabeth retired from motorsport forthwith. It was not until much later that she was coaxed back into a car for some demonstration races. She remained active for most of her life and died, as old as the century, in 1994.

She is credited as being one of the first drivers to recognise the benefits of walking the course before a race, memorising the corners and noting any hazards. This habit served her well on the Targa Florio.

(Image from www.grandprix.com)

Anna Maria Peduzzi

Anna Maria with the Stanguellini

Anna Maria Peduzzi enjoyed a lengthy motorsport career spanning almost thirty years. She was born in Olgiate, Italy in 1912 and started racing very early, in the first years of the 1930s. She married Gianfranco Alessandro Maria Comotti, always known as Franco, in 1932. He was also a racer and the couple were team-mates occasionally. Franco was known more as a test driver and Anna Maria was definitely more the competition driver of the two.

Her career began in local races and hillclimbs. In 1932, she is recorded as having set the third fastest time in class F of the Gaisbergrennen hillclimb, driving an Alfa Romeo 6C. Here, she was credited as "Marocchina", rather than her full name. "Marocchina" means "Moroccan girl" in Italian and her nickname reflected her dark skin and black hair.

Anna Maria's first major race was the 1934 Mille Miglia. She and Franco were sharing the Alfa Romeo 6C she had raced the previous year. They won the 1500cc class and were thirteenth overall, a good debut. They were driving for the recently-formed Scuderia Ferrari. This was Anna Maria's only attempt at the classic race, pre-war.

"Marocchina" raced around Italy throughout the 1930s, in local championships and speed events. Exact details of her activities are sketchy. At some point in her life, she contracted polio, from which she made a good recovery, and this may explain some of her absences from race records. It is believed that this happened prior to World War II.

The Second World War put a stop to all motorsport activities in Europe in 1940, meaning an enforced hiatus for all drivers involved. Franco was a committed anti-Fascist and was almost executed for his resistance work during the war, which must have been very frightening for Anna Maria. I have never read that she was involved in any resistance activities herself, but it is feasible that she helped in one way or another.

After the war was over, things took a while to get back up to speed, but by the time we meet Anna Maria again in 1952, motor racing was back to normal. This year, her vehicle of choice was a 750cc Stanguellini. It proved to be an excellent car. Competing around Italy, she scored some very good finishes. At Montauban, she came fifth in her heat and seventh in the final. The Coppa Ascoli followed the same format and yielded a second in the heat and a third in the final. She was fourth in both rounds at Collemaggio.

The Circuito di Senigallia was probably her best race of the year; she was second in the 750cc event to Salvatore Casella, another Stanguellini pilot. Her next event was the legendary Pescara 12-hour road race, which she failed to finish, but she made up for that somewhat by winning her class at the Trofeo Sardo. At the Bari Grand Prix she was fourth.

It was not all good news for Anna Maria in 1952; in the Eifelrennen 750cc race she was disqualified from her class win for receiving a push start from a bystander. This was considered unfair by many, as Anna Maria's polio had left her with a weakness in her arms, making her unable to push her own car.

Wisely, she stayed with the Stanguellini for the 1953 season. This year, she appears to have concentrated on a smaller number of big races. The highlights of her year were a third in class in the Giro di Sicilia with Augusto Zocca and another third in class in her second Mille Miglia. Her car was shared with Franco Goldoni this time and they were 117th overall, out of 283 finishers.

Anna Maria's first Targa Florio was a difficult introduction, and she retired following an accident. This did not prevent her from returning the following year, in the Stanguellini. She did not manage to finish this time either, but her exit was less dramatic.

The rest of 1954 was a mixed bag. She and Augusto Zocca teamed up again for the Giro di Sicilia, but did not finish. Driving solo, she was third in the 750cc class at the Circuito Santa Gorizia and later won that class again in the Trofeo Sardo. She was less successful in the Giro della Calabrie, coming fifth in class this time. The Castelfusano 6-hour race gave her another third in class. The Mille Miglia saw her driving with Franco Goldoni again. They did not finish.

The Stanguellini continued to be Anna Maria's mount for the 1955 season. She revisited some of her previous haunts and ventured to new tracks as well. Her attempt at the Mille Miglia was more successful than the previous one; she and Augusto Zocca were 99th, fifth in the 750cc class. She was second in the same class in the Circuito di Gorizia and fifth overall in one of the two races she contested at Mugello. The other result has been lost, although it is known that she was on the start list. For a greater challenge, she entered her car into the up to 1100cc class event of the Circuito di Reggio Calabria and was seventh. Her second race in that region, the longer Giro di Calabria, resulted in a DNF.

For most of 1956, the lady from Olgiate raced a 2000cc, four-cylinder Ferrari 500 TR, the only one of its kind built. For her first major outings in this powerful machine, she formed a team with Gilberte Thirion of Belgium. They were tenth in the two big races they did together, the Paris 1000km and the Supercortemaggiore Grand Prix. In Paris, they also scored a 2000cc class win. Back in her native Italy, Anna Maria was ninth in the Circuito di Reggio Calabria and unclassified in the Circuito di Sassari, after coming fourth in her heat. For her last big race of the year, she changed her car for a Stanguellini S1100 and was eighth in the Roma GP. Throughout her career, Anna Maria was always very patriotic with her choice of cars, racing Italian models almost exclusively.

In 1957, she took a break from international competition. She retained ownership of the Ferrari and returned with it the following year. Again, she was rather selective with her events and chose to partake in a few bigger races rather than lots of minor ones. At the beginning of the season, she was eleventh in the Pergusa GP. Later on, she tried her hand at the Targa Florio for the third time, driving with Francesco Siracusa. They did not make the finish. In between, Anna Maria was scheduled to drive in the Buenos Aires 1000km, which would have been her furthest trip abroad. However, for reasons unknown, she did not go to the race herself. The Ferrari was crewed by Gino Munaron and Luciano Mantovani instead. For some reason, she rarely raced outside Italy at any time during her career.

Her career continued in the same vein in 1959. Using the Ferrari and a 750cc OSCA prepared by the Scuderia Saint Ambroeus, Anna Maria, who was now 47, entered a small selection of the bigger Italian races. In the Ferrari, she was third in the 2000cc section of the Coppa Ambroeus at Monza, and unclassified at the Messina GP. In the OSCA, she was 20th in the Targa Florio with Giancarlo Rigamonti. They were third in the 750cc class.

The Ferrari was retired in 1960. Anna Maria contested her last Targa Florio in another OSCA, this time a 1500cc F2 model. She was driving with Francesco Siracusa, also her partner in 1958. They were 17th overall, third in the class for cars under 1600cc.

Her other race that year was the Coppa Ascari at Monza. Her car this time was a little 600cc NSU Prinz and her co-driver was Luisa Pozzoli, another female sportscar ace who had competed against Anna Maria in previous years. They were fifth in class, 26th in the main standings.

Her last year of competition was 1961. The only major event she entered that year was the Coppa Ascari. She and Alma Cacciandra failed to finish in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Throughout her lengthy career, Anna Maria competed against a good many future Grand Prix drivers and more than "held her own". Interestingly, someone she often raced against in the early 1950s was Maria Teresa de Filippis. The older Anna Maria sometimes beat the future Formula One driver and it is interesting to speculate what would have happened if Anna Maria had shown interest in single-seater racing, or travelled more widely to events.

After her retirement from the racetrack, Anna became a wholly private individual, and rather reclusive. Her date of death is not even widely known.

(Image from www.omniauto.it)