Nuria Vinas

Nuria in 1968

Nuria Viñas Panades was a double winner of the Spanish women’s rally championship, in 1972 and 1973. She also won the Catalan women's championship in 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1975.

Born in Barcelona, she was from a motorsport family. Her brother Jordi was a rally driver who competed as "Jorge Chi" from the mid-1960s onwards. 

Her first steps in motorsport were apparently in 1962, when she entered the Rally Femina, which was based around Barcelona. Jordi encouraged her, according to an interview in Mundo Deportivo in 1968. The results for this all-female event are elusive, but her car was a Fiat 850, and she competed in the rally several times, possibly winning in 1963 and almost certainly winning in 1971. The rally was organised by Club 600, a Catalan motorsports club of which Nuria was a member. 

Her first rally looks to have been the Rally Invierno in 1963, where she and the SEAT were 36th. Returning to the event, she was 45th in 1964, this time in a BMW. Among her other cars was a Simca 1000, which she used for the Gerona Rally in 1965. She continued to switch between the SEAT, BMW and Fiat in 1966, with the Fiat being the quickest; she was twelfth in that year's Rally de las Tres Cuestas in it. She concentrated on smaller cars in 1967, changing between the SEAT and the Fiat. The Fiat was once again the best car for her, giving her a season's best of 18th in the Rallye Costa Brava.  In the same car, she was 23rd in the Rallye de Invierno, 19th in the Rallye Gerona and first lady in the Trofeo Maite Trepat and the Barcelona-Andorra Rally. She returned to the Barcelona-Andorra event in 1968. With the BMW and her regular co-driver Immaculada Juncosa, she won the Circuito de Llobregat Rally that year. 

At the same time, she appears in hillclimbs in Catalonia. Her first notable event was the 1964 Circuito Garraf, a hillclimb outside Barcelona. She drove a SEAT 600 and won both the novices' and the women's class. 

She and her brother sometimes entered the same events, althought they never shared a car. Both took part in the 1966 Puig Major hillclimb, both in Fiat-Abarth 850s, but in different classes.

The siblings competed against each other again in the 1967 Montseny climb. Nuria, in a Fiat-Abarth 850TC, was 40th overall, and Jordi was unplaced in his 1000cc Abarth. The following year, he had the upper hand, finishing 28th to Nuria's 43rd. She was driving a SEAT 600 again this time. 

The following year, she was the Catalan ladies' champion in hillclimbs and 32nd in the main championship.

As well as rallies and hillclimbs, she also raced on circuits, and was the first woman to participate in the Barcelona 6 Hours race, held at the Montjuich Park street circuit. Although she never raced single-seaters, she did compete at a Grand Prix weekend at least once, driving a little SEAT in the one-make Copa SEAT that ran as a support in the early 1970s.

She is most associated with a BMW 2002 Ti, and was especially effective in the women-only rallies organised in Spain in the early 1970s, but she first appears in the Spanish Touring Car Championship in it in 1970. She won her class in it in the Puig Major hillclimb, then a round of the championship. She is recorded as the winner of the 1971 Rally Femina in the BMW, and the same year, she did at least two rounds of the Sapnish Touring Car championship, finishing 16th at Montjuich and ninth at Guadalope. Her car was a Group 1-spec machine. She entered the Barcelona 3 Hours and was fifth in class. Hillclimbs were very much still a priority too, and she won her class in the La Rabassada event, after finishing second in Group 1 at Puig Major.

Her first Spanish women's championship win was also in this car. Nuria won the 1972 Rallye Femenina Saibil and the Rallye Primavera, with Maria Angeles Pujol, her regular co-driver in the middle part of her career. 

Her second women's championship in 1973 came off the back of six wins in all-female events, co-driven in the BMW by Ana Maria Garreta. She was more than twenty points ahead of her nearest rival, Marisol Rodriguez Mesa, who had only picked up one class win in the Rally of Spain, in her SEAT. Nuria's only non-win was her eighth place in the Rally Primavera-Las Palmas, which must have been a disappointment after her 1972 victory. As well as rallying, she continued to campaign her Group 1 BMW in Spanish Touring Cars, racing at Montjuich for the 2-Hour National event and finishing tenth.

The women's championship was in something of a decline in 1974, with smaller entry lists and more events running as a class in mixed rallies. Nuria only entered her BMW in one, the Jerez women's rally, which she won in the BMW, ahead of that year's champion, Yolanda. Nuria had to make do with another Catalan women's motorsport championship, which she claimed ahead of hillclimb driver Beverley Pugh.

Hers was a lengthy career, and she was still active in motorsport in the late 1970s, driving a Ford Escort in hillclimbs in Catalunya. She was 22nd in the 1978 Montseny hillclimb, returning to one of her earliest regular events. The following year, she made a last visit to Puig Major, finishing 51st.

She won a final women's rally, the Rallye Femenino Adosinda, in 1979. Her car was the Escort and she was navigated by Ana Maria Garreta, who had sat alongside her for several years. 

She died in 1998. 

(Image copyright Mundo Deportivo)

Zihara Esteban

Zihara Esteban is a well-travelled Spanish driver whose racing has taken her in many different directions, taking in competition on two continents and in multiple disciplines, including rallying.

She began her senior career in the Spanish Clio Cup in 2011, after several years as a successful karter, both on the domestic and international scene. Her first season was rather up-and-down, with a lot of DNFs, but she managed one tenth place, at Catalunya, and was 24th overall, third in the Ladies’ standings. 

In 2012, she spent much of the year in karting again, but she also tried out the Euro Racecar NASCAR series, recently licensed from the States. She ran at the Loire and Valencia rounds, with a best finish of thirteenth at Valencia. 

2013 continued in the same way: karting, with four races in the Euro Racecar championship, at the beginning of the season. This time, she had two top-ten finishes, tenths at Nogaro and Dijon. As before, she was competing in the second-tier Open class, driving a Chevrolet, although for different teams. 

In 2014, she did not do much circuit racing; she took part in the Maxi Endurance 32 Hour race at the Algarve track, finishing third in a SEAT Leon, and fourth in a Renault Clio, driving in two teams. 

However, her main focus was rallying, in a Ford Fiesta R2. She did seven rallies, and her best result was 15th, in the Rallye del Bierzo. That year, she did her first WRC Rally, the Catalunya event. She was 46th. 

In 2015, she rallied a Peugeot 208 in Spain. Her only major rally was the Comunidad de Madrid RACE Rally, which she did not finish. She came back to the Spanish rally championship in 2017, driving a Peugeot 208. She was tenth in the Ciutat de Valls Rally, the best result of her special stage career. Her third attempt at the Spanish WRC round gave her a 49th place; she restarted after SS10 under SuperRally rules, having had problems and then received a penalty for a jump start.

A break from competition followed, then she switched to circuit racing again, doing the Valencia rounds of the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euroseries for DF1 Racing. Her best finish was twelfth. During her time off, she developed a new strand to her career: stunts for film and TV. She performs both precision driving and physical stunts, appearing in several Spanish-language TV series. 

In 2021, she travelled to Mexico and did her first truck races in the Mikel's Trucks series. She did the first five rounds of the championship and was never out of the top ten. Her best finish was third at San Luis Potosi and she was twelfth in the championship. 

Staying in Mexico, she shifted back to touring cars, where she started. She contested the 2022 Copa TC2000, driving a Ford, and was second in her first race at Queretaro before scoring several more top-ten finishes. Only DNFs dropped her to twelfth in the championship. 

Another TC2000 season in 2023 was more successful and she won three times, on the way to championship second. This was the first time a woman had won a race in the category.

She did another season in TC2000 in 2024, but only appears to have raced a couple of times.

She did another part-season with Alessandros Racing in TC2000 in 2025. Sharing a BMW with Alex Sanchez, she contested the mid-part of the season. Their best result was a fourth place at Mexico City.

She now lives in Mexico City, where she plays padel competitively alongside her motorsport activities. She has also tried her hand at off-road competition again, taking part in a rally raid in 2025.

(Image copyright Zihara Esteban)

Gaby dela Merced

Gaby dela Merced is a Filipino driver who raced single-seaters in the 2000s, up to Asian Formula 3 level.

She was fourteenth in the 2006 Asian Formula 3 championship, racing in the Promotion class. Her best overall finish was seventh, at Batul in Indonesia. She also ran quite well at Batanga and Zhuhai. One of her rivals was Michele Bumgarner. The two were the highest-scoring Filipino drivers, from five, with Gaby the second highest.

She first raced saloons in 2002, after two seasons in slalom and autocross. Her first championship was the SVI Challenge Cup and she was third in the novice class. Her car is not recorded, but her car for the same series in 2003 was a Honda Civic. She won at least two races at Subic International Raceway and was second in the championship, after duelling with her team-mate Mikko David at the front all year. 

She also competed in the BRC (Batanga Racing Circuit) Production Touring Car Championship, finishing third. 

Later, she raced in a Formula Toyota championship in the Philippines, which used a Japanese-spec single-seater with slicks and wings. She was runner-up in Formula Toyota in 2004 and also competed in half of the Asian Formula BMW championship, driving for Team Tec Pilipinas. Her best finish was eleventh, at Beijing. She had been awarded a scholarship drive for Formula BMW and this was her prize drive. The scholarship was decided via a shootout at Johor in Malaysia, and this was the first time she had driven a single-seater.

Post-Formula 3, she attempted to launch her career in America, like her compatriot Michele Bumgarner would manage the year after. However, she could not find a seat anywhere with the money she had.

Between 2006 and 2009, she does not appear to have raced much, and concentrated on her TV career, which included a stint on Filipino Big Brother. She made her comeback, racing in endurance events in the USA. One of these races was the 2008 25 Hours of Thunderhill, where she shared a BMW M3 with Robbie Montinola and Angelo Barretto. The all-Filipino team was twelfth overall and sixth in class. Earlier in the year, she made a guest appearance in the PTC at Subic.

She had to stop racing in 2010 after a knee injury. This was later found to be due to an inflammatory condition which needed surgery. This limited her participation for quite some time. For about five years in total, she had to stop doing all sports.

What also did not help was Gaby's involvement in a so-called Filipino racing team designed to get Filipino drivers into NASCAR. This 2013 plan turned out to involve no racing at all; a supposed multinational race at Charlotte was reduced to a driving experience day more commonly sold to complete novices. Gaby was sanguine about her experiences, claiming that "sh** happens".

Her next adventure was the Transasia TA2 championship in 2014, based on the Trans Am formula in America. Her car was a 450bhp Ford stock car and she raced across Asia for a Korean team. She made a few guest appearances in the series after that.

After another long hiatus, she returned to Asian motorsport for the Giti Formula V1 Race Challenge in 2019. This is a sportscar championship using the same Vita prototype as the all-female Kyojo Cup in Japan. She also guested in the Thailand Super Series round at Sepang, sharing a TA2 Ford Mustang with Australian Jaylyn Robotham. They were 16th in one race. 

Since then, she has done some drifting, and more media work, including some acting and TV hosting. Her last motorsport outings were the MSCC Mazda Cup in the Philippines in 2024.

She also competes in flag football, joining the Philippines womens' team in 2023. 

(Image copyright Gaby dela Merced)

Taylor Hagler

 

Taylor Hagler is an American driver who has been most successful in TCR-spec cars, winning the TCR class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge outright twice.

Her four-wheeled career began in 2018 after ten years of equestrian competition. Her sister had received a gift voucher for the Skip Barber race school which she didn’t want, so Taylor used it instead. She was hooked straight away.

She raced a Mazda Miata in 2018 and won NASA races in her home state of Texas. She also won at least one SCCA race in the Miata at Road Atlanta in early 2019. 

She moved into TC America in 2019, driving a Honda Civic in the TCA class. She was fifth in her class and the second of the four X-Factor Racing entries, behind fourth-placed Chris Haldeman, the team’s owner. Her best finishes were three class thirds at Circuit of the Americas, Watkins Glen and Road America. Road America was her best circuit and she was tenth overall. 

She also did her first major endurance race, the COTA 24H event. Her car was another Civic, shared with three other drivers, but they did not finish.

In 2020, she continued in TC America for two races, finishing fourth twice at COTA, which was becoming her favoured track. She spent most of the year in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving a Civic with Ryan Eversley for LA Honda World Racing. Her best finish was a second place at Mid-Ohio and her championship position would have been higher than ninth without some DNFs. 

She won the TCR class of the 2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge, with one outright win at Lime Rock and five additional podium finishes. Her car was a Hyundai Veloster run by Bryan Herta's works-supported team and she shared it with Michael Lewis. As well as this, she was a multiple winner in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am Cup, driving an Acura NSX for the Racers Edge team. She was second in the Pro-Am championship with three class wins, in what was only her first season in GT3 cars. 

In 2022, she successfully defended her TCR trophy, driving a Hyundai Elantra and winning once at Virginia. She and Michael Lewis were also second four times and third twice. She then raced the Acura at Indianapolis in the GT World Challenge, finishing seventh in Pro-Am and 19th overall. 

She took her first steps into an international career at the beginning of 2023 when she was announced as part of Hyundai USA’s team for the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Her usual team-mate Michael Lewis joined her, with Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi. They were 29th overall and second in class, behind the European Hyundai works car.

The Nurburgring appearance made an impression in Europe and Taylor was invited to take part in the GT4 European Series later in the season, deputising for W&S Motorsport’s Charles Lawson who was injured in the first round. Alongside Swiss driver Gustavo Xavier, she joined the championship at Paul Ricard. They were 18th in the Pro-Am championship, their best finish has been a 25th place overall at Misano, driving a Porsche 718 Cayman. They were fifth in the Pro-Am class

The US had not been forgotten either. Sharing the Bryan Herta Elantra with Michael Lewis again, she set about adding another IMSA Michelin Pilot TCR title to her collection. The season did not begin as well as previous ones, with the pair earning an eighth place at Daytona. They were seventh in the TCR class, not managing to reach the podium this year.

Another season in the Elantra gave her seventh in the Michelin Pilot TCR class, driving with Bryson Morris. Their best results were two fourth places, at Mosports Park and Indianapolis. They were also fifth at Watkins Glen.

Her plans had include more racing in Europe and she got to achieve this is 2024. She drove a Lamborghini Huracan in the ADAC GT Masters for the Grasser team, sharing with Argentine driver Matteo Llarena. They were not among the frontrunners and did not run a full season.

2025 included just one race for Taylor. She took part in the Watkins Glen round of the Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving the TCR Elantra. She and Mark Wilkins were tenth in class.

(Image copyright Taylor Hagler Motorsport)

Rio Shimono

 

Rio Shimono is a Japanese driver who won her class in the Japanese TCR championship in 2020.

She made her major debut in the 2020 Japanese TCR series, although this was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak. 

The 19-year-old drove a Honda Civic run by Drago Corse when the championship restarted and won the Bronze class outright. She was second in the main Saturday series championship with one race win at Suzuka. She was fourth in the Sunday series that ran alongside it, with third places at Twin Ring Motegi and Suzuka.

During 2020 she became friendly with her fellow Drago Corse driver Tatiana Calderon, who was racing for the team in Super Formula. 

In 2021, she was third in the Kyojo Cup, an all-female one-make sportscar championship in Japan. Drago Corse ran her car. She entered the Kyojo Cup, which has a short season, again in 2022.

Rio previously raced in the Super FJ Series in Japan, an entry-level championship based at the Okuyama circuit. She scored two wins during the 2019 season, which was her first as a racing driver.

In 2022, she returned to single-seaters, entering the F4 Japan championship with Zap Speed team. Her season started badly with a lowly 34th place at Fuji, but she improved dramatically to 16th place in the second Fuji race. At the next rounds at Suzuka, she was 22nd and 34th, falling in the middle of the three Zap Speed cars. She did four more races, entering the top twenty once more at Suzuka with an 18th place.

Her second F4 Japan season gave her a 19th place. She was seventh in the first round at Fuji, but could not match that performance for the rest of the year. Normally, she was in the lower half of the top 20.

She improved slightly in 2024, driving for the Dr Dry team she had joined in the second half of 2013. She picked up two top-ten finishes at Motegi and Suzuka, the best of these being a ninth at Motegi. She was also third in the Kyojo Cup.

In 2025, she won her first Kyojo Cup, which was now running as a single-seater championship. She won eight of the ten races and was never off the podium. Dr Dry were supporting her for a combined Kyojo/Japanese F4 season, but she was not able to repeat her Kyojo syccess in mixed competition. Her best finish was a 15th place at Autopolis and she was 28th in the championship. 

As well as FIA F4, she also entered some rounds of the F110 Cup, which uses an F4-spec car built by Japanese manufacturer Dome. She was second and third at Motegi, after doing double duty for Dr Dry in the Minute Endurance Championship. 

Her long-term ambition is the World Touring Car Championship.

(Image copyright Japan TCR)

Nathalie Maillet

 

Nathalie Maillet was a successful club racer from the 2000s onwards, as well as becoming the chief executive of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

She only earned her racing license aged 33, in 2004. When she was younger, she concentrated on her growing career as an architect. Despite growing up in a motorsport-oriented family, she never got to compete herself as a teenager and then her studies took over.

Success came fairly quickly. She was the 2006 Belgian VW Fun Cup champion and also won that year's Fun Cup 25 Hour race. 

She won a second Fun Cup 25 Hours with the Dubois Racing team in 2008. The same team, comprising Nathalie, Ronnie Dubois and Benoit de Keijser, entered some Belgian Touring Car rounds, with midfield results. 

The same team raced an Audi A4 silhouette in the BTCS in 2009 and 2010, and won at least one round. They won the Spa 12 Hours in 2009. In 2011, Nathalie used the same car in the BTCS for three races. 

In 2012, she contested the Euro RACECAR series, a European version of NASCAR. She was twelfth overall with one top-ten finish: eighth at Spa. 

RACECAR became the NASCAR Whelen Euroseries in 2013. Nathalie was twelfth overall again, with two eleventh places. In 2014, she drove a Toyota Camry in the Euroseries and had a best finish of sixth, achieved at the Nürburgring and Le Mans. She was twelfth in the Elite 2 category. 

She did not race in 2015, although she continued to be involved through management. This had begun with the Racing Club Partners team in the Euroseries. She was also the organiser of the American Festival Finals event.

In 2016, she was named as the new director of Spa-Francorchamps. 

Nathalie was from France but lived and worked in Belgium. She was murdered at home in August 2021 by her former husband Franz Dubois. She was 51.

(Image copyright Euro NASCAR)

Veronica Valverde

 

Veronica Valverde is a single-seater driver from Costa Rica. She has competed most recently in Costa Rican Touring Cars. 

She began racing in 2010, in Formula 2000, aged sixteen. Her best results in the four-round Formula Renault-based championship were two second places. All races were held at La Guácima, her home track, and she was fourth and sixth in the other two. This debut season was combined with karting, in which she was still eligible for the junior classes. She returned to karting in 2011, having been given a “Most Promising Driver” award  for her region by the FIA.

In 2012 she raced in the Formula Abarth class of Panam GP, for Team Costa Rica, and was ninth overall. Fourth at Ibarra was her best finish of the year. Her team-mates in this national squad-based series were Carlos Fonseca and Andre Solano. She was the highest-scoring member of her team.

In 2013, she competed in Formula Panam GP, now running under Formula 3 regulations. She had her best result at the start of the season: fifth at Monterrey after missing the first two rounds. This was one of eight top-ten finishes for her this year. She was eleventh in the championship. Earlier in the year, she had raced at Palm Beach as part of the Panam winter series, earning two ninth places. 

Between then and 2016, she did not do much senior-level racing, although she was active in karting.

In 2016, she contested the Costa Rican Touring Car Championship, for the GreatWall team. She was eleventh overall. It was a new experience for her as she had never raced a saloon car before, and she was up against her former team-mates, Carlos Fonseca and Andre Solano. 

Another lengthy period away from the circuits followed. Veronica returned to the Costa Rican karting championship, with some success. In 2019, she was offered a guest drive in the Toyota Yaris Cup which supported the CRTCC. She did one round in September, at Costa Rica’s Parque Viva circuit. Although she was fast in practice and set the third-fastest time, she was not among the top five in the race itself.

She has expanded her karting experience to esports in 2020, taking part in kart sim races.

(Image copyright Veronica Valverde)

Regina Sirvent

 

Regina Sirvent races stock cars and trucks in Mexico. She is a racewinner in pickup racing. 

2017 was her first season and she started early. She was 14 when she had her first race in a NASCAR pickup, after seven years of karting in Mexico and the USA. Her best finish in trucks was seventh, at Pachuca, and she was eleventh overall. She also did a part-season in Mexican Super Touring, in the Light class. Her car was a Chevrolet. She was only 30th on the leaderboard due to missing most of the early rounds, but she did manage two top-ten finishes, the best of these being an eighth at Mexico City. 

In 2018, she continued to divide her time between cars and trucks, competing in Mexican Super Touring and the Mikel's Trucks series. Driving a Chevy, she scored two podiums in Super Touring, a second at Amozoc and a third at Mexico City. She was fourteenth overall. In Trucks, she was tenth overall, despite not being as quick. Her best finish was eighth at Queretaro, one of five top-ten positions. 

In 2018, she also made her single-seater debut, racing in the NACAM F4 series at Aguascalientes. She scored one fifth and two seventh places. This was a one-off appearance.

2019 was mostly spent racing in Mikel's Trucks, where she earned a fourth place at Aguascalientes and five further top-ten finishes. She also made guest appearances in TC2000 and Super Touring 1 in Mexico, driving a Ford. TC2000 was not one of her greatest moments; she only finished one of her three races in 26th place, at Mexico City. Super Touring 1 was more fruitful and she came close to a podium at Mexico City, finishing fourth.

When the 2020 season finally got under way, she won her first race in Mikel's Trucks. Her victory at Queretaro followed a start from pole and she also picked up a fastest lap. The second race of the meeting gave her a second place. After a few mechanical problems mid-season, she won again at Queretaro, then finished third in Race 2, on her way to third in the championship.

In June 2020 she was announced as one of four teenaged drivers taking part in a shootout for a place in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity programme. She drove a Legend car against the other candidates. 

Her NASCAR Mexico season in 2021 took in races in the Peak and Challenge series. She did six Challenge races and finished tenth in four of them, earning a 16th place in the championship. Her two Peak races at Tuxtla and Queretaro were not as successful, earning her 21st and 18th places.

A deal to run in the Truck championship again seems to have fallen through and she did not return to Trucks in 2022 either. She remained active in both the NASCAR Mexico and Challenge series, with the Challenge giving her the best results. She finished in the top ten of three of her five races, coming tenth at Tuxtla Gutierrez, eighth at Queretaro and ninth at Puebla.

NASCAR Mexico proved more of a challenge. Queretaro was her best circuit; she finished 16th there.

She was thirteenth in the 2023 NASCAR Mexico series, only four points away from the top ten. Her popularity led to her winning a fan vote to compete in an away race in Los Angeles. This went a little way to making up for the rumours about an ARCA race seat with the Venturini team, which proved to be untrue.

2024 was spent in the NASCAR Peak Challenge, driving a Chevrolet. She earned her first podium in the series at San Luis Potosi, finishing second. It was an inconsistent season, but she showed some real speed and was eighth in the championship.

She did one NASCAR Mexico race at the Coliseum in LA, finishing 18th. However, this led to further opportunities in the ARCA championships in the USA in 2025. She drove for Kimmel Racing in three events, with a best finish of thirteenth at Iowa.

This was combined with more NASCAR Mexico. She was racing in the Challenge series and was ninth in the final standings. She had an inconsistent year, but a highlight was a class second place at Chiapas.

(Image copyright Angel Ferretiz/NASCAR)

Junko Mihara

Junko Mihara is Japanese actress and media personality who had quite a successful racing career in the 1990s, both in Japan and further afield. 

She started in touring cars in 1990 and drove in some races of the Japanese championship then and in 1991 in a TOMS Toyota Corolla. Both times, she shared a car with Masahiro Matsunaga, who was her husband. He taught her to drive a racing car earlier in their relationship. Her achievements in her first seasons were mostly finishing rather than scoring points; in 1990 her finishing record was patchy, but this improved in 1991. 

In 1992, she changed teams, driving for the Kawasho set-up, but her car was the same. Although she scored a few points, she did not enter enough races to make an impact on the championship. Her best finish was 17th at Tsukuba. 

Between 1992 and 1995, she also raced a little in Europe, entering the Spa 24 Hours each year. She was always in a Toyota, either an MR2 or a Corolla, and usually with Matsunaga. She was 16th in 1994 and 19th in 1995, and did not finish the other races. For the latter race, she was part of an all-female team with Michiko Okuyama and Kumi Sato. 

In 1996 and 1997, she raced sportscars in Japan alongside Matsunaga, in an MR2. She was not among the front-runners, although the Japanese Super GT championship at the time was very competitive. Her best finish was 20th at the Fuji Special GT Cup in 1996. Again, her finishing record was good in 1997, although she was never in contention for wins.

In 1998, she made one appearance at the Fuji GT round in a Toyota Cavalier, but was unclassified. The car was a rebadged Vauxhall and was unusual, if not particularly fast. That year, she also raced in the USA, taking part in the Toyota Long Beach Pro-Celebrity race as a pro with Kumi Sato. She was 16th.

She does not appear to have raced since then. Her 1999 divorce from Matsunaga was probably a contributing factor.

After leaving both motorsport and showbusiness behind and also recovering from cervical cancer, Junko entered politics. She stood for election for Japan’s ruling Liberal party.

(Image from /www.jiaponline.org/)

Kerryn Brewer

Kerryn Brewer took part in Australian Touring Car races in the 1990s, including the Bathurst 24 Hours. 

Her earliest motorsport success was a championship win in the Australian Superkart championship, when she was 20. She won the 100cc non-gearbox class of the full-circuit karting series before moving on to cars. 

In 1996, she was fourth in the all-female Mazda 121 Challenge. Her first race in the one-make series was eventful; she finished fourth despite spinning twice and tangling with other drivers at Eastern Creek. The third round at Symmons Plain gave her another fourth. She was quick and aggressive but unable to match the pace of leaders Paula Elstrek and Tania Gulson. Unfortunately, the rest of the race results are not forthcoming. 

After her 1996 performances she was picked up by the Castrol Cougars team, run by Larry Perkins. Supported by Castrol in order to promote its products to female drivers, it was originally meant to be a two-car effort, with a four-woman line-up of Kerryn, Melinda Price, international netballer Michelle Fielke and TV presenter Kim Watkins. Despite her two wins in the celebrity race that supported the Australian Grand Prix, Michelle was prevented from racing by her other sporting commitments and Kim also dropped out. 

The team made its debut in the latter part of the V8 Supercar season, with Kerryn and Melinda alternating in the team’s Holden Commodore. Kerryn was the first Cougar to take the wheel at Lakeside. She was fourteenth and last in the first race, which was a dramatic one with a first-lap crash. The other three races resulted in safe but unspectacular fourteenth places, although she did finish ahead of Mike Conway in the last race. When it was her turn in the car again at Mallala, things panned out in a similar manner, with a 15th and 17th place, but she was unable to start the third.

The Cougars entered the 1997 Bathurst 1000 and it turned out to be their best run of the year. They were twelfth overall, the highest finish for an all-female team. Forty-one cars started and 21 finished. 

They also entered in 1998, and came eleventh, beating their own female team record. This time, 45 cars made the start and 20 finished. It was a hard race with several crashes and spins by experienced drivers. 

Her Supercars season was quite similar to 1997. Melinda was the main driver for the Cougars car and entered nine races to Kerryn’s six. Kerryn raced at Launceston and Lakeside, picking up a best result of 16th at Launceston. This was probably her best meeting in the Commodore; she did not run as well at Lakeside after a spin in the first race. Her best finish was 21st.

The Cougars project was retired for the 1999 season. Kerryn attempted to return to Supercars with Owen Parkinson’s team but this only amounted to a single appearance. She did not finish in another Commodore.

Kerryn tended to leave most of the promotional chat to Melinda, so we hear less about her than her team-mate. 

She made some appearances in the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship in 1999. She appeared in a “Beauties and their Beasts” calendar of glamorous female racing drivers in 2000, but does not appear to have competed. 

After this, Kerryn faded from the scene. In 2011, she tweeted that she missed racing cars.

Nicole Drought

Nicole Drought is an Irish driver who mostly races saloon cars. She was the first female driver to win a round of the C1 Challenge in 2019.

Nicole first came to prominence racing touring cars in the Irish championship (ITCC). Her car was a Honda Integra, which runs in the Touring class. She started saving up for the car herself when she was 16.

2015 was her first year of serious competition, although she is from a motorsport family (mostly involved with rallying.) Her season got off to a shaky start with a crash in her first race, but she was soon on the pace. Her best finishes were a pair of second places, and she was second in the Touring class at the end of the season. As well as the Honda, she was invited to race a Porsche 944 at the Classic Car Live meeting, and finished fourth. 

She carried on in the ITCC with the Honda in 2016, in the Production class. After leading the Production standings for part of the season, she was fourth on the final leaderboard. She picked up her first win this year in the second round, at Mondello Park, crossing the line eight seconds in front of her nearest rival. She had been pushed off-track in the first race but still finished second in class. Her momentum was interrupted in later rounds due to car trouble.

Her first trip to the UK mainland was a run in a Global GT Light at Anglesey this year. As one of her first activities with the Sean Edwards Foundation, for which she is an ambassador, she also tested a Porsche GT3 at Paul Ricard.

A deal to run in the 2017 CSCC New Millennium Series in a Ginetta seems to have fallen through. She spent some of the season as a brand ambassador for Nissan, having reached the last eighteen of the NissanGenNext competition. She missed out on a prize drive.  

In 2018, she competed in Endurance Trials with a Nissan Micra. She was the Class 1A Endurance Trial champion in 2018 and defended her title in 2019 with several wins. On track, she raced in the 2018 Stryker sportscar series in Ireland, having first raced the Lotus Seven lookalike in 2017.

She also came to England for her first Citroen C1 endurance race for Preptech UK in 2018, with whom she would win the following year.

In the middle of 2019, she became the first female driver to win a round of the Citroen C1 Challenge, sharing with Colin Edwards at Anglesey. The pair were in the lead for a good proportion of the four-hour race, having started from eighth, and Nicole was 21 seconds ahead of her nearest rivals at the finish. Nicole and Colin raced together again at Snetterton but were only twelfth this time. 

She also raced in the Stryker Challenge and continued in Endurance Trials. Shortly after her C1 victory, she drove a Formula 1 car for the first time in a demonstration at Mondello Park. The car was an ex-Derek Daly March 811, as raced in 1981. It has a Guinness livery and was shipped over to Ireland especially by its owner John Campion. She also drove a Jordan owned by Campion in a private test in February, alongside James Roe Jr.

Nicole is a founding member of Formula Female, which was started by hockey player Nicci Daly. In March 2019, she challenged 20 of Ireland’s top sportswomen to beat her lap time around Mondello Park in her Stryker.

She moved to mainland UK to compete in 2020, driving a Porsche 718 Cayman in Britcar with CJJ Motorsport and the Valluga team. Her team-mates were Sean Doyle and Lorcan Hanafin. She was sixth in the championship and second in Class 4. Her best overall finish was fifth at Croft, in the first race of the season.

In 2021, she made one guest appearance in Britcar with the Motus One team, driving a Hyundai TCR car. She won her class at Silverstone with Danny Krywij.

Although she did not contest any full championships in 2022 either, she tried out some new disciplines, including historics. She demonstrated a Lola T70 at the Mondello Park Historic Festival, as well as racing a 1855 MGA. In England, she raced a Lotus Elise in the 750MC Club Enduro series and a Mini Cooper in the BRSCC Mini series, although not all of these outings was successful. She also raced in the C1 Cup and was third in her class in the Race of Remembrance, driving the C1.

Rallycross was her biggest new adventure. She raced a Renault Clio in both the Irish and British series.

She went back to the circuits in 2023, competing in the MSVR EnduroKa series. She was instantly on the pace and won her second race at Oulton Park. This had followed one-off drives in the Clubsport Trophy (in a Mini) and in a Group C Spice-Hart sportscar at the Mondello Historic Festival. It wasn't even her first win of the year: she won the Clubsport Trophy race at Donington after making a late deal. She also raced the C1 again.

Competing again in the UK and Spain, Nicole won the MSVR Trackday Championship in 2024. Her co-driver was Justin Roberts and their car was a Honda Civic. The pair were never out of the podium places. This followed a second Irish Open Clubman rallycross title for Nicole.

She did some more Trackday races in 2025, but her big project was racing in the USA. She did two rounds of the American Endurance Racing Series, driving a BMW for the HC Autosport team. She had been running second in the first eight-hour race at Summit Point before it was stopped due to a storm, although the team were dropped to fifth. The team's second race, also for eight hours, was affected by a penalty, but Nicole and her co-drivers worked their way back to the front. She was third.

(Image from tipperarylive.ie)

Alba Cano

Alba Cano is a driver from Malaga who is the 2019 Spanish TCR Champion.

Even though she is one of the world’s most successful female drivers today, she is relatively unknown outside Spain.

Her 2019 championship year was her second in the TCR series in its current format, following a part-season in 2018. She did all but one of the 2019 races single-handed, apart from the final round at Catalunya when she shared with her Monlau-Repsol team-mate David Cebrian.

After a low-profile 2020 she was one of the leading drivers in the 2021 Spanish TCR series, racing a SEAT Cupra Leon. Her win tally increased at Jarama mid-season, when she finished ahead of Michelle Halder. She was second twice and third in the first round of the championship, on the way to fifth in the final standings.

She has been racing with Monlau since at least 2015, when she came second in the Alcaniz 500km race in a Renault Clio. As this attests, she was far from a new face on the scene in 2019. 

Her career began in 2012. In her first year of racing, she tried out one-make cups for Mazda and Hyundai, and won the Andalucian category in the Mazda championship. A part-season in the pre-TCR incarnation of the Spanish Endurance Championship followed, driving a Renault Clio. Even without the whole championship, she was ninth overall.

In 2014, she won the Ladies’ award in the Spanish Clio Cup, and was tenth overall, with one fourth place as her best finish. She won the outright championship for Andalucian drivers. 

She raced in the Spanish Clio Cup again in 2015. This was her fourth year of senior competition, and her second in the Clio Cup. She achieved at least two podium places, although she has always been a stronger driver in endurance events than sprints. 

In 2016, she did another few rounds of the Spanish Clio Cup, with a best finish of tenth at Jarama. She drove a SEAT Leon in the 24H TCR Endurance series in 2017, and was sixth in the championship after her all-Spanish Monlau team won two races at Magny-Cours and Misano. Monlau gave her another outing in the 2018 Catalunya 24 Hours, driving a Cupra. She and her team-mates won the TCE class. 

Despite not racing much in 2022, but she was selected as part of Team Spain for the second FIA Motorsport Games. She was part of the four-driver karting endurance team. The team was second in the final.

Previously, she was active in karting from the age of twelve, and was the first Spanish female driver to win a championship. Away from the track, she works in motorsport engineering and divides her time between the UK and Spain.

(Image from https://www.tcr-series.com/)

Alexandra Whitley

Alexandra Whitley is an Australian driver who is chiefly known for racing a Ute in New Zealand, as part of the SsangYong Actyon Ute series. She is one of its most successful female drivers.

The 2014-2015 season was her first in senior motorsport, after several years of karting. Compared to many of her contemporaries she was quite a late starter at 16, but she still got a few years in, winning seven Australian ladies’ titles. She had written off a switch to cars for financial reasons until she met New Zealand racer and speed record competitor Heather Spurle, who lent her a car and helped her to find a race seat. They tried for the Australian Suzuki Swift series to begin with, but then put a package together for Alexandra to race in New Zealand.

It was a cautious start in Utes, with Alexandra’s deal only for the first rounds as a trial. She was only 23rd in her first race but she impressed fellow driver and Ssangyong importer Deon Cooper, who offered to support her for the rest of the year. His faith was repaid; by February, Alexandra was winning races. She was sixth overall, having been in contention for the title for part of the season. 

Having decided to decamp to New Zealand from her home in Toowoomba, she committed herself to her Ssangyong drive. The following season, she added another win to her tally, as well as some more podiums. It was not all plain sailing as she had to contend with her share of truck trouble, but she kept hold of her sixth place.

She undertook her third Ssangyong season from 2016, and was tenth overall. She scored two podium finishes: third at Hampton Downs and Pukekohe. By now, the calibre of drivers in Utes was getting higher and many of them were able to undertake more testing than Alexandra. She also had more mechanical problems and was taken off-track by another driver.

She continued to add to her tally of successes in 2017-18, with three podiums this time. She continued to work with Deon Cooper and they even teamed up in Cooper’s SuperUte, which races in endurance events against Porsches and other sportscars. 

As well as the Ssangyong single-make championship, she entered the NZ V8 Ute series, the first female driver to do so. She drove a Holden truck and was fifth overall, with best finishes of fourth at Manfeild and Hampton Downs. At Manfeild, she also posted a fastest lap.

At the end of 2018, Alexandra was announced as one of the qualifiers for the first season of the all-female W Series. She got through two qualification events but was not selected to race.

In 2018-19, she raced in the NZ V8 Ute championship and was one of its leading drivers. She was sixth overall, with one win at Pukehohe and two third places, at Hampton Downs and Manfeild. 

In Australia, she raced a VW Golf in the TCR championship and had an inconsistent season. Her best finish was ninth at Phillip Island and she was 15th overall. She had not raced on all of the Australian circuits, on slicks or in a front-wheel drive car before.  

She raced in the BNT V8 series in 2020, in New Zealand, driving a Toyota Camry. Despite starting the season with no testing, she scored podium finishes in her first five races at Pukehohe, two third and three seconds. She was second in the championship.

When the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled due to coronavirus fears, Alexandra missed out on a drive in the Asia Pacific TCR Cup in a VW Golf. The New Zealand TCR series, in which he was set to compete, was also cancelled.

It was back to a full season in 2021 and she raced in the New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship, a one-make series for the Toyota TR86. Although she was not among the front-runners, she was a consistent top-ten finisher. Her best finish was seventh at Pukehohe and she was ninth in the championship.

(Image copyright The Chronicle)