Caitlin Wood

Caitlin Wood is an Australian driver who races in Europe. In recent years, this has been in sportscars, although she started in single-seaters.

She began her senior motorsport career in 2013, supported by the Women’s Australian Motorsport federation as one of their most promising young drivers, following a successful karting career. Her brother had raced previously and she helped him and their father rebuilt his Spirit Formula Ford. She did part-seasons in the Australian and Victorian Formula Ford championships, earning two fourteenth places in the Australian series. More races in the Victorian championship gave her more experience.

In late 2013, she was selected as Australia’s entry for the FIA Women in Motorsport Scirocco-R shootout, in an attempt to win a VW Scirocco prize drive in Europe. She did not win and returned to single-seaters in Australia. 

Another season in the Australian Formula Ford championship followed in 2014. It was a hard year for her, but she managed to get into the top ten three times towards the end of the season. She was 21st overall. As well as her national series, she got some extra seat time in the New South Wales state championship, where she fared better, finishing sixth overall after five races. 

She put together a deal late in the season to run in the 2015 Australian Formula 4 championship, the first female driver to do so. She was thirteenth in the championship after just under half of the season, with a best finish of sixth at Sandown. 

In 2016, she intended to race in F4 for the full season but ended up in Europe, racing a KTM X-Bow in the GT4 European Series. This followed an invitation by former Formula 1 driver Tomas Enge to join a Young Stars programme run by Reiter Engineering.

She was a solid top-ten finisher in the Pro class, partnered with male drivers including Marko Helistekangas. Her best overall finish was seventh at Pau, and she was seventeenth in the main championship. However, she won the Young Stars class.

She stayed with the Reiter team in 2017 and drove both the X-Bow and their Lamborghini Gallardo. The X-Bow came out for the Dubai 24 Hours, where Caitlin was part of a four-woman Reiter team with fellow Young Stars drivers Anna Rathe, Marylin Niederhauser and Naomi Schiff. They finished the race in 72nd place.

For most of the year she drove the Gallardo in the Blancpain Endurance Series, as a prize for her Young Stars win. She was tenth in the Sprint Cup Silver Cup, having been entered in different classes over the year with Marko Helistekangas. 

She missed some of the 2018 season due to injury but managed the early and late part of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, racing in Europe. At first, she drove for Mtech in the Pro-Am class, before doing the Silverstone rounds in the Am class with The Energy Check. She returned to Pro-Am for the closing races at the Nurburgring, picking up her best finish of sixth.

She also did her first Bathurst 12 Hours in the X-Bow, although she did not finish. Sadly, she did not finish the race in 2019 either. 

The 2019 summer season was spent as a W Series driver in Europe, having gone through several rounds of selection alongside her former Reiter team-mates, Naomi Schiff and Marylin Niederhauser. Naomi was also selected. 

Her best finish by far was fifth at Assen and she was thirteenth in the championship. She did not race in W Series in 2020 as it was cancelled, but she returned as a reserve driver in 2021. Despite her reserve status, she did four of the eight races, earning one fifth place at Spa. She also drove the Tatuus F3 car up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

After being released by W Series, she remained in Europe and joined up with the Adrenalin Motorsport Alzer team for the NLS. Their car was a BMW 330i. She did one NLS race in 2022.

She returned to competition in a high-profile hook-up with Mattel's Barbie brand in 2024, competing in the Porsche Sprint Challenge in the UK. Sadly, fudning ran out after four rounds. Later in the year, she was drafted into the Bangalore Speedsters team for the Indian Racing League. She shared a car with Rishon Rajeev and they were seventh in the championship, ahead of the team's sister car. Caitlin's best individual finish was a fifth place at Chennai.

(Image copyright Caitlin Wood)

 

Janine Shoffner (Hill)

Janine Hill, now known as Janine Shoffner, is a British-born American driver racing mostly in Europe. She won the FIA Am GT3 class of the 2021 VLN championship, driving a Mercedes.

She first got into motorsport quite late in life, in her 40s, although adventure sports had always been part of her life. In 2000, she was a professional skydiving photographer who completed several jumps a day. She also rode motorbikes on the road and still rides horses.

After gaining her racing license in 2011, she competed in club races. She formed Team J-2 with her partner John in 2012, initially racing a Porsche and a Ford GT. A trip to the Nurburgring in 2013 led to Janine meeting the late Sabine Schmitz, who gave her some tuition in a road car around the legendary track. This in turn brought Janine and John into Sabine’s Frikadelli racing team.

In 2014, Janine was part of Frikadelli Racing’s second team in a Porsche Cayman, with Antony Ashley. They raced in the VLN, and put in some good performances, although a crash in round 12, when Ashley was driving, was a low point. 

Janine and Antony also raced a BMW E46 in the Zolder 24 Hours for Team J2, with John Shoffner and Domenico Solombrino. They did not finish. 

In 2015, Janine raced a Mazda Miata in the USA, as well as one of the satellite Frikadelli cars in the VLN. She drove a Renault Clio in the Nürburgring 24 Hours and was 93rd overall, as part of a four-driver team. She also drove the Frikadelli Porsche Cayman. 

In 2016, she continued as a Frikadelli driver, sharing a Porsche 997 in the Cup 2 class with John. The highlight of their season was probably a class second in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

She raced in the 24 Hours with Shoffner again in 2017, along with Arno Klaasen and Duncan Huisman. They were 32nd overall in a Porsche 991. In the VLN, she earned seven podium finishes in the same car. 

The team reconvened in 2018, although their season in the Porsche was disrupted by an accident involving John. As a consolation they were fourth in their class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

She raced in both the VLN and most of the International GT Open championship in 2019, for GetSpeed Performance. Her car was a Mercedes AMG GT3. She and her team-mates won their class in one VLN race and finished the 24 Hours. In GT Open, she and John were fifth in the GTAM class with two second and two third places.  

The GetSpeed Mercedes was highly successful in its class in 2020; Janine and her team-mates won their class in one VLN race and were third in another, as well as earning a class third in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. 

The GetSpeed team, featuring Janine, won the Am FIA GT3 class of the 2021 NLS, driving the Mercedes to six wins from seven races. A fourth place in class for the 24 Hour race was also impressive, as the SP9 Pro-Am category was popular that year.

The GetSpeed Mercedes was in action in the 2022 GT Open, with Janine and Moritz Kranz sharing driving duties. The team was sixth in the Pro-Am class, with one second place at the Red Bull Ring.

(Image copyright Mercedes-Benz Group Media)

Jasmin Preisig

 

Jasmin Preisig is a Swiss saloon racer whose speciality is endurance events.

She began her senior career in 2012 with a guest spot in the Chevrolet Cruze Cup, before taking on the 2013 Opel Astra OPC Cup season in Germany. Her most noteworthy result was a sixth place in the 6-Hour race that was part of that series. She also competed in hillclimbs in a KTM X-Bow. 

At the beginning of 2014, she was one of a small number of drivers selected for a scholarship drive in the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup. It was a difficult learning year for her, but her results did improve, and her best was an eleventh place at the Nürburgring. Towards the end of the season, she was getting closer to the top ten and was 18th overall. 

In 2015, she took part again in the OPC Astra Cup, a one-make championship within the VLN. She was third overall with one second place. 

She continued to race the Astra in 2016 in some rounds of the ADAC TCR touring car series. Her best finish was a twelfth place at Hockenheim, from four races. 

She did a full TCR season in 2017, driving the Astra, and earned her first TCR top-ten: a tenth place at the Nürburgring. She was 31st in the championship. At the end of the season she had a dramatic accident at Hockenheim and had to be cut from her car, but she escaped serious injury.

She drove a similar car for Steibel Motorsport in 2018 and the Nürburgring was her best track once again and the scene of her best finish, an eleventh place. She bounced back from her 2017 accident to finish 22nd in the championship. 

Her links with the Lubner team, with whom she had competed since 2016, continued in the 2018 VLN. She drove their Astra for one round in the TCR class. 

In 2019, she was part of Carrie Schreiner's all-female "Girls Only" team for the VLN, driving a VW Golf. She did two rounds of the championship, finishing second and fifth in the SP3T class with Carrie Schreiner and Ronja Assmann. The same team entered the Nurburgring 24 Hours but did not finish. 

Jasmin then left Girls Only and joined up with Max Kruse Racing for the rest of the season. She and her team-mates finished four of their six races in their Golf, with every finish being on the podium in their class: three seconds and one third. Jasmin was eighth in the TCR drivers’ standings.

She rejoined the team for two rounds of the 2020 championship. The Golf was now running in the SP3T class for VLN specials up to 2000cc. Jasmin and her team-mates, Benjamin Leuchter and Andreas Gulden won their class twice. They were fifth overall.

For the rest of the year, she moved to the Creventic 24H Series Continents with the Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power team. Their car was a TCR-spec Golf. Jasmin did not finish the Portimao 12 Hours, but she was second in the first part of the Hockenheim race and won the second leg. She also recorded two third places in the two Mugello races. The Number 1 car which she raced in was third in the TCE teams’ standings and Jasmin was crowned 24H Series ladies’ champion. 

Another season in the Golf in the 24H Series gave her a third place in the TCR class, which probably would have been a class title had she contested the whole season with Autorama Motorsport. She and her team-mates won at Hockenheim and the Hungaroring and were second in their other four races.

A similar Golf, run by the Max Kruse team this time, was second in class in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, with Jasmin and three team-mates at the wheel. They were 39th overall from 99 finishers. Jasmin joined them again for three rounds of the NLS (VLN), winning twice and finishing second once.

She only did one race at the Nurburgring in the Golf in 2022, finishing second in class. More of her season was spent in another Golf run by Autorama and Wolf-Power Racing, competing in the 24H TCE Series. She and her team-mates were fourth in class in the season-opening Dubai 24 Hours, then third at Mugello and fourth at Spa, with a fastest class lap.

She entered the 24H of Dubai in 2023, driving an Audi RS3 for Wolf-Power as part of a four-driver team. They were 37th overall and third in the TCR class. She also did the Abu Dhabi, Spa and Barcelona 24H races. She was second in class at Spa and 29th overall, then won the TCR class at Barcelona, finishing 22nd.

The VLN was her main focus in 2024, in an Aston Martin Vantage. She and her team-mates won their class in Round 4. They also entered the Nurburgring 24 Hours, finishing fourth in class and 39th overall, in what was the shortest 24H race in history, curtailed by fog.

(Image copyright Jasmin Preisig)

Celia Martin

Celia Martin is a French driver who raced in the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, competing alongside Formula E.

Prior to her first race in the electric Jaguar at ad-Diriyah in Saudi, her motorsport experience was confined to the Nurburgring, and mostly in a testing role. 

Celia moved to Germany from her home in France in 2017 in order to pursue a career in motor racing, despite not being from a traditional motorsport background. Unusually, she moved from team management to racing herself, having run a Peugeot team in the Creventic 24 Hour Series before her relocation to Adenau. 

The Ring had been her goal since first driving round it in 2014. She did try out a few races in France, but set her mind to racing in Germany and learnt German in preparation for this, as well as studying law and business.

She picked up a role as a test driver and high-speed “Ring Taxi” chauffeur with Jaguar Land-Rover. As well as giving demo rides to visiting VIPs, she worked on the Jaguar XE SUV project in a testing capacity.

Her first race in Germany was not in a Jaguar but it was at the Nurburgring. In 2017, she did one round of the RCN, which is run as a time trial rather than a wheel-to-wheel race. Results for this are elusive but she may have been driving a Peugeot for the RACECOP team.

Her first wheel-to-wheel experience on the Ring was when she entered one round of the 2018 VLN series with the Mathol team, driving a BMW M235i. 

Her Jaguar connections helped to get her a race seat in the I-Pace eTrophy at the end of 2018. She raced for the Viessmann Jaguar Germany team in the Pro-Am class. The first few rounds were something of a trial for her and the team did not attend the Sanya race in China, but she came back an improved driver. She had her best overall result in Paris, sixth, and this was followed by eighth places in Monaco and Berlin. She was fourth in the Pro-Am class.

Celia did not return to the electric series the following season and went back to her first racing love, the Nurburgring, in late 2019. She joined Luxembourgish drivers Max Lamesch and Sebastien Carcone in their Renault Megane for the fifth round, then was drafted into the “Giti Angels” all-female team led by Carrie Schreiner. The “Girls Only” car was a VW Golf and Celia shared it with Carrie and Laura Kraihamer. Celia was eighth in the SP3T class at the end of the season, despite only having raced twice but scoring one class win and one second place.

The 2020 VLN (now renamed NLS) had a delayed start due to the coronavirus epidemic. Celia and Carrie did some of its esports equivalent together before teaming up again in June and finishing second in class. They then secured two further fourth places and one sixth in SP3T, along with Laura Kraihamer.

The team encountered a long series of car troubles during the Nurburgring 24 Hours, which was red-flagged during the night due to extremely heavy rain. Despite several lengthy pitstops, Celia and her team-mates managed to finish the race in 72nd place.

Away from the Girls Only team, Celia also made a guest appearance in one VLN round for the Hanger Zero team, double-driving with Girls Only. She and her team-mates Phil Hill and Kaj Schubert were third in class.

As part of another Girls Only team, this time in an Audi R8, she won her class in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, assisted by Pippa Mann, Carrie Schreiner and Christina Nielsen. They were 45th, despite problems during the race itself. Celia also joined the team for the first round of the NLS, helping Carrie Schreiner to a class win. In a different car, a BMW M4, she helped Christina Nielsen and Phil Hill to two class second places.

She had another run with Girls Only in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, this time driving an M4. The team - Celia, Pippa Mann. Carrie Schreiner and Fabienne Wohlwend - were third in class. This was her only Nurburgring race of the year.

Late in the season, she joined the Speed Demons Delhi team for the Indian Racing League, in which four-driver teams raced motorbike-engined single-seaters on Indian street circuits. The first round was cancelled due to a string of reliability issues and crashes in practice, then Celia herself crashed hard in the second round at Madras. The season didn't really get any better for her and she did not finish any more races.

Most of 2023 was spent in the ADAC GT4 series, driving an Aston Martin Vantage with Fabienne Wohlwend. They were not hugely competitive and finished 34th in the championship. Driving the same car, they had more luck in the NLS, scoring one third place in the SP10 class. This year's Girls Only team - Celia, Fabienne, Pippa Mann and Beitske Visser - finished the Nurburgring 24 Hours, second in their class and 81st overall.

She was part of the Iron Dames second squad for 2024, racing a Lamborghini Huracan in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with Karen Gaillard. Her best race was at Paul Ricard; she and Karen qualified on pole and finished second. They were also fifth at Mugello, and sixth overall in the championship.

With ProSport this time, Celia also shared an Aston Martin Vantage with three other drivers for one round of the VLN.

(Image from auto360.de)

Kumi Sato

Kumi Sato is a well-travelled Japanese driver and motoring journalist. In 1997 she became the first female driver to race in Japanese Super GTs. 

Between 1997 and 2001, she raced GTs in the B class of the Japanese championship. The first car she used was a Toyota Cavalier. The Cavalier was a rebadged Toyota-engined Vauxhall that she raced in 1997 in the GT300 class. The car was shared with Minoru Tanaka and was not able to compete with the fastest in the class but it managed a best finish of fourth at Mine. Kumi raced the Cavalier again in 1998, sharing it with a rota of drivers including Junko Mihara. It was not overly reliable and did not better its fourth place. Kumi is still Super GT’s highest-finishing woman driver.

Her cars included a Tom's Spirit Toyota MR-S, which she used in 2000 and 2001, and a Celica. 

Her best finish in 2001 was 19th, at Suzuka. The MR-S was not particularly reliable and only finished four of its seven races that year.

Although her first Super GT races were in 1997, she had been competing for some time in Japan, having started her career shortly after graduating in pharmacy. She raced in the Super Taikyu series in 1990 and then moved into the Japanese Touring Car Championship for the next three seasons. Her car was a Honda Civic and she managed a couple of podium positions in 1991 and 1993. 

In 1994, she spent some time in the UK, racing another Honda Civic in the Snetterton 24 Hour race for Mardi Gras Motorsport. She also competed in the Spa 24 Hours in a similar car run by Team Honda Challenge. She and her team-mates were thirteenth overall. A second attempt at the Spa 24 in 1995, in a Toyota Corolla this time, led to a 19th place. She was part of an all-female team with Junko Mihara and Michiko Okuyama. The same year, she entered her second Suzuka 1000km in a Porsche 964, but this was not a race that she ever managed to finish.

Her Super GT adventures ended in 2001 but this was only the beginning of a long co-operation between Kumi and the Toyota Gazoo Racing team. She was regular fixture in the Nürburgring 24 Hours until very recently, usually driving a car built by the Toyota group. Her first outing was in 2003, when she was 61st in a Toyota Altezza with two other Japanese drivers.

Her 2004 24 Hours was something of an exception, as she drove a Mazda RX7 for the D-Dream team. They were third in class, 20th overall.

2005 was another exception. She drove a Subaru Impreza in Germany, coming 14th overall and second in class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Her co-drivers were Stephane Sarrazin, Kazuo Shimizu and Toshihiro Yoshida. 

She returned to the 24 Hours in 2008 and 2011, driving a hybrid-technology Lexus for Toyota Gazoo Racing. 

In 2012 and 2013, she drove for the team in some rounds of the VLN, in preparation for the Nürburgring 24 Hours. 

In 2014, she raced in the 24 Hours again, in a Toyota GT86. She was 54th, with an all-Japanese team. This followed a taste of rallying in TRD Rally Challenge in Japan in a GT86.

She has continued to race newer Toyota cars at the Nürburgring, including a run in the 2016 race in a C-HR SUV.

Ronja Assmann

Ronja Assmann is a Swiss driver who mainly races saloons in Germany and has competed in the Nurburgring 24 Hours as part of the all-female “Girls Only” team.

She often races a Renault Clio in Germany, driving for her family team, usually with her father, Winfried.

She began her motorsport career in 2012, at the age of 17, in a KTM X-Bow, driving in the rookie championship of the X-Bow Battle series. She was 18th overall after four races. These were her first legitimate races, although she had been learning and training in a Volkswagen Polo for a year beforehand, until she was old enough for a senior license. Unusually, she did not come through karting and jumped straight into cars. 

In 2013, she acquired the Clio, and used it in the Bohemia Clio Cup, with a best finish of eleventh, at Most. She was 20th overall and fourth in the Junior rankings, as well as becoming the championship’s youngest ever female driver.

Back in Germany, she competed in some rounds of the German Touring Car Cup, in the 2000cc and under class. She normally ran well compared to the other Clios in her races, and her best finish was eleventh overall, at Lausitz. 

In 2014, she continued to race in the same series, and used the Clio to begin with. Later, she changed it for a Porsche GT3 Cup, which gave her better results, averaging about tenth. She did not complete the season. The Porsche was run by Flying Horse Racing, her family’s team. She sampled several different championships in it, including the Porsche Sports Cup and the P9 Endurance series.

Elsewhere, she was part of the dmsj–youngster-Team for the Rundstrecken Challenge (RCN), at the Nürburgring. In a Vauxhall Astra, she achieved one win in the Junior class. During the season, she also drove the Clio and a Honda Civic in the RCN.

The dmsj team retained her services in 2015, and she competed in the VLN, in the Astra. She was twelfth in the OPC Astra Cup class of the VLN, as part of a team of three. She finished the Nürburgring 24 Hours on her first attempt, and was fourth in the Cup1 class, with Winfried and two Flying Horse team-mates. They were 61st overall. 

It was back to the RCN for the 2016 season, in the Flying Horse Porsche. She did two races in the series, as well as a decent run in the Porsche Super Sports Cup, finishing eighth in the main championship and fourth in the Endurance class. During the winter season, she travelled to the Netherlands for the Winter Endurance Championship, and was second overall in a race at Zandvoort. 

In 2017, she did her first races in the Porsche Carrera Cup, making two guest appearances at the Lausitzring. She was driving for the Cito Pretiosa team in its debut year. 

She was also fourth in the Cup 3 class of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, driving a Porsche Cayman. This was run by Arkenau team and shared with her father, Kai Riemer and Peter Scharmach. 

She did not race much in 2018, but did some training and planned to return in 2019, which she did. Ronja became part of the “Girls Only” WS team for the VLN and the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Girls Only was led by Carrie Schreiner and driving duties were shared between her, Ronja and Jasmin Preisig. The car was a Volkswagen Golf GTi, run by an all-female engineering and management team.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours was meant to be their showcase event and in a way, it was. The Golf suffered problems and had to retreat to its garage for a full engine replacement, but the team got it back on track. The car took the finish but was not classified.

The VLN was a mixed bag of outcomes. They were second in the SP3T class in the first race, although they were only 79th overall. The second race in April was abandoned due to snow, then they did not enter the third. Ronja joined another team for the ninth round, driving a Porsche Cayman alongside her father. They were eighth in the Cup 3 class.

As well as the VLN, she raced a Porsche 911 in the Porsche Super Sports Cup in Germany.

The 911 came out for the 2020 VLN, competing in the SP7 class for cars up to 4000cc. Her regular team-mate was Karl Pflanz and they were twelfth in their class championship after a part-season, missing the first round. Their best class finish was third in Round 5, held in August.

(Image copyright Ronja Assmann)

Amanda Hennessy

Amanda is a much-travelled American driver who has competed in various series over the years. Now, she is mostly involved in historic racing. She competes in Europe quite extensively, as well as in the States, and lives in Switzerland.

She began her career in karting, before moving into ice racing in the States, in 2001. At this time, she was picked for the Lyn St. James Driver Development Program, run by former Indycar racer, Lyn St. James.

Her first circuit races were in 2004, in the SCCA Spec Racer Ford series. By 2005, she was training at the Skip Barber Racing School and competing in its associated series. 

Late in the summer of 2005 , she made her first racing trip to Europe, to drive in the Formula Woman Nations Cup, in a Caterham. Despite good performances in qualifying, Formula Woman was not one of her best racing moments.

In 2006, she had a part-season in the Skip Barber Racing Series, and several SCCA championships for the Mazda Miata (MX-5). One of these championships resulted in Amanda’s first win, the National SSB Northern Pacific Division. She also did her first One Lap of America, for charity fundraising for breast cancer, as well as competition. This event is a long-distance road rally around the USA, which runs as a legal-speed regularity test on public roads, with autocross and speed trial sections, held on circuits. As its name suggests, it traverses around thousands of miles of America, with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska.

2007 saw her move back to Europe, to race in some Swiss championships. She did two races of LO Formel Lista Junior, and competed in the Swiss Touring Cup Masters, driving an Alpine-Renault and a Chevrolet Corvette. She was fourth overall. She also found time to race a Formula Ford in SCCA competition for a couple of races, yielding a couple of podiums. A second One Lap of America gave her a class win, and more funds raised for charity.

In 2008, she did some classic events (including the Le Mans Classic and One Lap of America) in a Corvette, plus the Clio Cup in Switzerland. She returned to Switzerland in 2009, for a second season in the Clio Cup. She was tenth overall, after a varied season, with a best finish of sixth, at Monza. She was usually in the top ten.

After that, her international adventures have mostly been focused around historics, usually Corvettes. She drove at the Le Mans Classic in 2010, 2012 and 2014, in a 1968 Corvette. In another Corvette, a 1999 Rolex GT model, she won the Grand Prix race held at the Corvette Euro Meet, at Bresse in France. This car is run by Robert Dubler’s team, which partners her own Hennessy Racing team for all events. The Bresse win was a first for a female driver.

At home, she did a few Spec Racer Ford races. In 2011, she raced the 1999 Corvette in the VLN, and a Clio Cup in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, which gave her and her team-mates a fourth in class. 

In 2012, she made another appearance in modern machinery, driving an Opel Astra in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. She was third in class V3, 95th overall.

In 2013, she raced almost exclusively in historic events, including hillclimbs, all round Europe, in a Corvette. She also did her eighth One Lap of America, scoring another class win.

In 2014, she won the Austrian Histo Cup Historic V8 championship, in the 1968 Corvette. This series is registered in Austria, but runs around Central Europe. She was the winner of the over-4000cc class, and was fifth in the combined rankings.

She also took part in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, in an Opel Astra, with Robert Dubler, Christoph Brune and Thomas Lennackers. They were 102nd overall.  

She planned to defend her Histo Cup title in 2015, and have another go at the One Lap of America, as part of a three-car Hennessy/Dubler team. She was 49th overall, as part of a three-driver team, and fourth in the Retro Car class.

Her Histo Cup season ended up being a double-pronged attack on the Histo Cup itself, and the associated Touring and GT Open, in which she raced a Renault Clio. She was second in the Touring and GT championship. 

Amanda's Histo Cup season in 2016 did not run as smoothly as in previous years, and included losing wheels during a race. She also raced the Corvette in the Le Mans Classic in June, in the Plateau 5 section. She and her team-mates, including Robert Dubler, were 42nd in their first race.

She teamed up with Adam Hennessy and Thomas Daetwyler for the One Lap of America, as Team Mahna Mahna. Their car was a 2009 Chevrolet, and they were second in the Retro Car class. 

She raced the Corvette in the YTCC in Europe in 2017, finishing fifth in the championship and second in class. She scored three class wins over the year.

She also returned to the One Lap of America in the Chevrolet.

Her 2018 schedule was very similar. In 2019, she did the YTCC series in the Corvette, as well as the One Lap of America.

(Image from www.amandahennessy.com)

(Thanks to Amanda herself for her feedback and additional information.)

Female Drivers in One-Make Series: Germany

Cora Schumacher

Margit Abt - competed in at least one season of the Fiesta Mixed Cup in Germany, in 1991. She was racing with her husband, Hans-Jürgen Abt. Margit was seventh in the women’s standings at the end of the season, with the pair scoring a few top ten finishes. In 2005, she returned to the track for two guest appearances in the SEAT Leon Supercopa, at Hockenheim. 

Brigitte (Biggi) Briel - a regular in German one-make racing in the 1980s. She began racing in the Ford Fiesta Ladies’ Cup in 1982, and teamed up with two other “Fiesta Ladies” for the Nürburgring 24 Hours that summer. She was 51st in the Fiesta, with Anette Gottwald and Barbara Schmitz. Brigitte returned to the Ladies’ Cup, and was eighth in 1984 and seventh in 1985. After the Fiesta Cup, she moved into the Renault 5 Cup, still in Germany. She did two seasons in the Renault, in 1986 and 1987, as the only female driver in the series. She was not among the front-runners. In 1988, she raced in the VLN, in a Group N-spec Ford Sierra Cosworth. She scored two group wins.

Vanessa Lee Engelhardt – raced in the Clio Cup in Germany for at least one season, in 2004. She was driving for the Renault Junior Team. Her final position was 29^th, after picking up a few points where she could. That year, she had quite a big accident, but seems to have been unharmed. Towards the end of the season, she was linked with a drive in the 12 Hours of Malaysia in a Porsche 911 GT3, but this does not appear to have happened.

Jutta Fischer - a graduate of the Ford Fiesta Ladies Cup in Germany. She was sixth in the 1985 championship. In 1990, she competed in the Fiesta Mixed Cup, with Thomas Marschall, and won at least one race, at Hockenheim. She returned to the series in 1991, partnering Stefan Pfeiffer, but they were not as successful. Jutta was not in the women’s top ten. Away from Ford one-makes, she also participated in the VLN, and the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with her first race in 1984. She shared a Fiesta with Richard Fischer and Uwe Fischer, but did not finish. In 1990, she drove a Fiesta XR2 with Astrid Hild, Thomas Wirtz and Thomas Marschall. It is unclear whether they finished. She may well have entered other editions of the race, in between those years.

Nadine-Nicole Frentzen - has been trying to put together a motorsport career since 2004, when she took part in a Formula BMW driver selection event  at Valencia. This did not lead to a racing seat. After some other reported testing, she finally got to race in anger in 2011. Partnering Doreen Seidel, she took part in some rounds of the ADAC Chevrolet Cruze Cup in Germany, at Oshersleben. They were not among the front-runners. Nadine-Nicole is the sister of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and first became known to the public when she was caught driving her mother’s car, on the road, at the age of thirteen.

Victoria Fross - began her racing career in 2012, in a Mini. She did four races in the German Mini Trophy, with a best finish of seventeenth, achieved three times, at Lausitz and Hockenheim. In 2013, she returned to the Mini Trophy, in her car, which she called “Lotte”, and was 16th overall, with a best finish of twelfth. This was recorded at the Sachsenring, and Lausitz. Still in the Mini, she moved up to Division III of the ADAC Procar Series in 2014, driving for the ITC team with Lisa Brunner. She started strongly, with fifth places at the Sachsenring and season’s-best fourths at the Nürburgring, and although she was not quite able to reach the podium, she was still a solid competitor. She was rewarded with sixth place overall. In 2015, she raced in Procar again, in a Mini, and was fifth in the championship. Her best result was third, at Spa. She raced in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Cup (DTC) in 2016, still in a Mini. She was one of the leading drivers in the Production class and was runner-up, with one win and twelve podium finishes. She did some races in the STT in 2017, and had a new car for 2018. In 2019, she raced in the STT again, driving an Opel Astra. This time, after a close battle, she won the STT title for the first time, a first for a female drivers. She got out once in 2020 in the Astra, at Sachsenring. In 2021, she raced in the ADAC GT4 championship, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT4 for Besagroup Racing, partnering Franjo Kovacs. She was 27th in the championship with a best result of 15th, at Zandvoort. 

Nina Haller – raced in the Mini Challenge in Germany, in 2007. She was 42^nd in the championship, after a part-season, and second in the Ladies’ class, behind Katharina König. This was her second season in the series, and the first went very similarly to the second. After 2007, she appears to have retired from racing, but remained involved in motorsport as a press officer for the Gigamot team, who competed in the Mini Challenge with Steffi Halm, among others.

Astrid Hild - appears to have begun her career in 1985, in the Ford Fiesta Ladies’ Cup. She was thirteenth overall, not among the front-runners. In 1991, she reappeared in the Fiesta Mixed Cup, partnering Jupp Bröhling. She finished strongly in some of the Ladies’ races, and was ninth in the Ladies’ standings. In between, she seems to have competed in the VLN, and is recorded as a starter in the 1990 Nürburgring 24 Hours. She shared a Ford Fiesta XR2 with Jutta Fischer, Thomas Marschall and Thomas Wirtz, who were also involved in the Mixed Cup. Previously, in 1988, she raced a Peugeot 205 GTI in the same event.

Nadja Hirth – raced in the Toyota Yaris Cup in Germany, between 2001 and 2003. During her first year, she proved herself a capable driver, and had some top-ten finishes, including an eighth at Lausitz. She was one of a relatively large group of female drivers racing in one-makes in Germany at this time, and was often second in the ladies’ standings, behind Stephanie Neitzel. Her senior career followed six years of junior karting.

Dana Jurthe – raced in the Toyota Yaris Cup in Germany, between 2001 and 2003. She was eighteen years old when she started in the series. Although she was relatively competitive in the women’s category, considering her age and lack of experience, she was not able to challenge for overall honours. Later, she seems to have done some sprinting in Eastern Europe, driving a Reynard single-seater.

Jennifer Kölsch – raced in the Toyota Yaris Cup in Germany, in 2005. She was one of seven female drivers in the series that year, but was not the fastest of them. She was 28^th overall in the championship, after some non-finishes. Previously, in 2004, she made some appearances in the German Production Car Championship, driving a VW Lupo. She managed two 18^th places at Oschersleben. 

Larissa Könnecker – raced in the Toyota Yaris Cup in 2003. She was not particularly successful, although she was quite inexperienced, and even in the Ladies’ class, up against quite a large field. She does not seem to have raced again after that.

Claudia Ostlender - winner of the 1983 Ford Fiesta Ladies’ Cup in Germany, in her first year of motorsport. She did two more seasons in the Cup, but did not repeat her win. In 1986, she moved over to the Volkswagen Polo Cup, doing a part-season at first. A similar season followed in 1987, but in 1988, she really found some speed and won her first Polo race, at Zolder. She was fifth overall. Some time before 1989, when she retired from motor racing, she won her class three times in VLN races at the Nürburgring. Her cars were a Volkswagen Golf GTi and a Ford Escort RS. At some point, she also set a speed record in a Volkswagen Corrado.

Chantal Rohner - signed up for the NXT Gen championship in 2024, driving an electric Mini. She did the first two meetings of the season, at the Norisring and Nurburgring. Her results were modest; she was a regular finisher with a best result of thirteenth, at the Norisring. She does not appear to be returning to the championship in 2025.

Jasmin Rubatto - German driver who raced in the 2000s, mostly in one-make series. She took part in the MINI Challenge in Germany in 2004, and was ninth overall. Her team-mate in the Ich Liebe Es squad was Kati Droste. Apparently, this was a comeback from “maternity leave”, but details of her career prior to this are not forthcoming. In 2009, she also did four races in the SEAT Leon Supercopa, also in Germany. She was driving as one of SEAT’s guest works drivers.  

Vivien-Sophie Schollhorn - German driver who raced in the Central European Renault Clio Cup. Her best result in 2020 has been eleventh at Lausitz. She had a crash in her first race and her mechanics had to work overnight to repair her car in time for the second. The crash occurred in her first-ever car race. In August, she practised for the second round at Most, but did not race. She competed in the Audi R8 LMS Cup in 2021, winning the Junior class and finishing fifth in the overall standings. Her best finish was a fourth place at Most. In 2022 she moved up to the GTC Race championship, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Doreen Seidel - began racing in 2011, in the ADAC Cruze Cup, run at Oschersleben. She shared a Chevrolet Cruze with Nadine-Nicole Frentzen. In 2012, she returned to the Cruze Cup, still with the Buchbinder Rent-A-Car team. This year, she shared the car with Ronny Melkus and Freddie Hunt, and was really quite competitive, with two second places and several thirds. In 2013, she spent a season in the Mini Challenge, or most of it. She was fourteenth overall, but did not race for the whole season. She also undertook some test driving for the Abt Sportsline team, for the ADAC GT Masters. In 2014, she stuck with one-make racing, in the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup. Her best finish was an eleventh place, at the Red Bull Ring. Normally, she finished further down the order, although she avoided accidents. She was 20th overall. After the end of the Scirocco-R Cup, she raced in its successor, the Audi TT Sport Cup. Her best finish was thirteenth, at the Nürburgring. 2016 saw a jump-up in power for Doreen, who raced a KTM X-Bow in the European GT4 Series. She did not race for the whole season, but she did manage a ninth place at Spa as her best result. She was 29th overall. Doreen is a former model.

Marleen Seilheimer - raced in the Volkswagen Polo Cup in 2006 and 2007, in Germany. She was 16th in the championship in 2006, and tenth in 2007. The following year, she drove a Honda Civic for the Honda Junior Team in the VLN, and entered the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Her team-mates were Christian Caron, Jorge Altmann and Daniel Ortmann. They do not appear to have finished. This was Marleen’s last notable competitive outing, but she has stayed involved in motorsport, and works in media relations for the Sauber Formula One team.

Patricija Stalidzane - former karter who started racing cars in 2018. She is racing in the Central Europe Clio Cup for FSR Performance. She did a part-season and her best result has been a tenth place at the Red Bull Ring. In 2019, she raced an Audi R8 LMS in the ADAC GT4 series, scoring one podium position: a second at Hockenheim. She was 21st overall. In the same series, she drove a Mclaren 570S in 2020. Her best finish was eighth at the Nurburgring. In 2024, she was fifth in the electric Mini-based NXT Gen Cup, with a best finish of second at Sachsenring. Prior to this, she competed in karting at a national level from 2011, having begun at the age of seven in her brother’s kart. Previously, she was set on becoming a ballet dancer. She is a German national but was born in Latvia.

Roxanne Treuberg – young German driver racing in the Kia Lotos Cup in Eastern Europe. 2015 was her first season in circuit racing, after a long karting career. Her car was a Kia Picanto. That year, her best results were two sixteenth places, at the Slovakiaroring and Most. Roxanne was only sixteen years old at the start of the season.

(Image from http://www.leblogauto.com/2006/03/schumachre.html)

Annette Meeuvissen

Annette was a German driver who raced in the 1980s and 1990s, in Europe mainly, but also further afield, as far as Bathurst in Australia. She began her motorsport career in 1980, when she was 18, and initially competed in slaloms. In 1982, she entered her first major championship, the Ford Fiesta Ladies’ Cup. She won the first race, at Wunstorf, and went on the win the Cup, after multiple wins. Throughout the season, Delia Stegemann matched her performances, and they were declared joint winners, the prize doubled. Despite her success, Annette was sometimes the target of disparaging comments from spectators, but she did not let this deter her. Despite her rivalry with Delia Stegemann, the two teamed up for the Nürburgring 24 Hours mid-season, in the Fiesta, with Peter Marx. They did not finish.

For the 1983 and 1984 seasons, she raced in the VLN long-distance series, at the Nürburgring. Apparently, she almost won her class at the 1984 Nürburgring 24 Hours, but was prevented from doing so by a mechanical problem. The complete starting and finishing lists for these races do not seem to be available.

In 1985, she stepped up to international competition, driving a Ford Escort for the Gerstmann team, in the European Touring Car Championship. Driving with Jörg van Ommen, she entered the championship in the third round, at Donington, and was 20th overall. After missing the Anderstorp round, she reappeared at Brno, with Arno Wester as a third driver. They did not finish. The trio were then fifteenth at Zeltweg. After another break, they entered the Spa 24 Hours, but do not appear to have finished. Back as a pair, Annette and Jörg van Ommen raced at the Silverstone Tourist Trophy, but were only 26th. Their last race of the season was at Zolder, but they did not qualify.

1986 was a quieter season for Annette. She raced a Porsche in the 944 Turbo-Cup, against her former team-mate, Jörg van Ommen, and the likes of winner Joachim Winkelhock, but was not among the front-runners. Mid-season, she was linked with another Gerstmann drive in the Spa 24 Hours, but this did not happen.

1987 was certainly not quiet. Annette was paired up with former beauty queen, Mercedes Stermitz, to drive the second Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3 in the International Touring Car Championship (ITC), competing around the world. Their first race was the second round, at Jarama, and they qualified ninth. However, an accident put them out after eleven laps. Back in action after a short break, they did not finish at the Nürburgring either, driving as a trio with Altfrid Heger. For the Spa 24 Hours, they transferred to the satellite Linder team, still driving a works BMW, with assistance from Gerrit van Kouwen. Despite only qualifying 35th, they were seventh overall. Driving for the factory team, Annette and Mercedes were then fifteenth at Brno. They missed the Silverstone round, but then flew across the world for the Pacific-region races. The prestigious Bathurst 24–hour race in Australia ended in clutch failure, and third driver, Roland Ratzenberger, did not get a look-in. The second Australian race, at Calder Park, was more productive, and the two women were seventh again. Their last race was at Wellington, New Zealand, and it resulted in another crash. Annette was unplaced in the ITC standings.

Away from the ITC, the Schnitzer M3 was entered into the Zeltweg round of the ETCC, Mercedes Stermitz’s home race. They finished seventh, again. The team’s poor finishing record this season was blamed squarely on Stermitz, whose incautious and rather crash-happy style was ridiculed in the motoring press.

In 1988, Annette became one of the first women to race in the DTM, one of several at this time. She was driving another BMW M3, for the Zakspeed team. This year, she was very much a secondary driver, and at the AVUS race, had to give up her car to Markus Oestreich. That said, she participated in almost all of the other races, and finished a large majority of them. She appears to have had some degree of mechanical sympathy, unlike her previous team-mate. Although she was a reliable finisher, her results were not spectacular this year, with a twelfth at the Nürburgring being her best. Towards the end of the season, she was getting into the top twenty regularly, in large fields of about 35 cars. She was 31st in the championship.

 In 1989, she only managed a few DTM races, in a Linder-run BMW M3. She raced at the Hockenheim Rennsport-Festival, and was twelfth, 22nd and 21st in her three races. Later, at Hochenheim again, she was twelfth in a qualification race, but did not finish the race proper, after a rare accident. The rest of the year may well have been spent in the VLN once more, although results are hard to find.

The following year, she was back in the Zakspeed M3, and did the whole DTM season, apart from the fly-away season finale at Kyalami, South Africa. Her year started badly, with a double DNF at Zolder, but it soon picked up and settled down. Her qualifying performances were improving, and she often able to hold her position, just outside the top ten. Her best performance was at AVUS, where she was seventh in the qualification race, and converted it into eleventh in the first feature race. She was also eleventh in a feature race at Hockenheim, part of the Rennsport-Festival, after finishing eleventh in the preliminary qualifying race. That year, she was linked to a drive in a Rimstock M3 in the Spa 24 Hours, but it did not happen.

1990 saw her back in the DTM, driving for the satellite Linder team again. She was entered into the main championship, but not any of the extra races, some for privateers, put on that year. Her team-mates, usually Dieter Quester and Altfrid Heger, were not really on the pace, and Annette did not fare as well as she had in previous years, with a best result of fifteenth, achieved at the Diepholz airfield track. The Mercedes and Opels were more dominant that year, and she was getting left behind somewhat. This would be her last DTM season.

The Nürburgring was a happier hunting ground for her. She was fifth in the 24 Hour race, driving another BMW. During her career, she entered this classic event four times.

In 1992, she did less racing than in previous years. Her only big event was the Spa 24 Hours, in which she drove am M3, run by Bychl Euroracing. With her team-mates, Marc Gindorf and Heiner Weis, she was 17th overall.

Towards the end of her career, Annette became rather frustrated by motorsport and its vagaries. She retired in 1992, and for some time, worked as a performance driving instructor for BMW. In the mid-1990s, she travelled to Africa, where she ended up founding an animal sanctuary in Namibia. Later, she worked as airline cabin crew, and gave birth to a son. She was in the process of setting up her own kindergarten when she became ill with cancer. Sadly, she died a year later, in 2004.

(Image from http://www.carlosghys.be/html/autographs_meeuvissen.html)

Beate Nodes

Beate is most famous for being the first woman to finish on the podium in a DTM race in 1986. Her third place came at AVUS. She was driving a Ford Sierra XR4 Ti.

Her earliest noted motorsport experience seems to have been Formula Ford, in her native Germany, in 1982. Interestingly, she was driving alongside Ellen Lohr, and both of them would end up competing in the DTM, with varying degrees of success.

Her first steps in touring cars came in 1983, when she was nineteen. She entered the Ford Fiesta Ladies’ Cup in Germany, and was second in her first season. On her return in 1984, she won the championship. This began a long relationship with Ford and Ford-engined cars, which Beate raced almost exclusively during her professional career.

That year, Beate tried a few different styles of motorsport. She drove a Cosworth DFV-powered Gebhardt JC843 prototype in one Interserie race at the Nürburgring, finishing sixteenth, towards the end of the year, followed by a visit to Sandown Park in Australia with the Gebhardt team. Beate, Frank Jelinski and Günter Gebhardt were twelfth overall, third in class in the 1000km event. Driving a Fiesta similar to her Ladies’ Cup car, she scored a class win in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, finishing 22nd overall.

Her DTM career began in 1985, and her first car was a Ford Escort RS Turbo. She entered three races, driving for the Grab Ford team. Her only finish was a fourteenth place at Siegerland; she did not finish at either the Nürburgring or Zolder. Away from the DTM, she also entered some German Formula 3 rounds, as well as some production car races. She and her Manfred Burkhard were due to take part in the Zolder ETCC round in another Escort RS, but the clutch failed, and they did not make the start.

1986 saw her DTM programme increased to nine races. Her AVUS podium came during the fourth round. Elsewhere, she was eighteenth at Zolder, ninth at Hockenheim, eleventh at the Nürburgring, fourteenth at Mainz and eleventh at Wunstorf. The second Nürburgring round gave her a DNF, she was then eighteenth at Zolder again, and twelfth at the Nürburgring, all in a Grab Ford Sierra XR4 Ti. Her final championship position was eleventh, the best of her career.

The car and team stayed the same for 1987, with the season extended to all ten rounds. Beate was nineteenth at Hockenheim and fifteenth at Zolder, then a disappointing 27th at the Nürburgring. Back at her lucky track of AVUS, she was sixth, her best result of the season. She was then thirteenth at Mainz, eleventh at Nürnberg, 25th at the Nürburgring and 23rd at Wunstorf. The last two races of the season, Diepholz and Salzburg, ended in DNFs. This less-than-satisfactory season netted Beate a 21st place in the final standings.

Another attempt at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in a Group N Sierra seems to have ended in a DNF.

1988 was her last DTM season. The Grab team retained her services for six races, still in the Sierra. At AVUS, she was twelfth and eighteenth. As ever, her best results were achieved there. At the Nürburgring, she scored one 25th place and one DNF, and at Wunstorf, two 25ths. She finished the season 42nd overall.   

Away from the DTM, she won the 1990 Ford Fiesta Mixed Cup with Thomas Beyer, after a year-long break from motorsport. Driving with Achim Stegmüller, she was second in the 1992 Mixed Cup. In between, she campaigned a Sierra in the VLN, but did not achieve much success.

She retired after the 1992 season and concentrated on business interests, between then and her sudden death in 2008, following a heart attack. She was 44 years old.

(Image copyright Kurt Sikora)