Annie Soisbault (de Montaigu)

Annie competing in the Alpine Rally in her TR3

Annie Soisbault competed in rallies and races across Europe, between 1956 and 1969. She had always been interested in sports from an early age, but her first love was tennis: she was one of France’s leading junior players of her time, winning seven titles. She continued to play professionally as a senior, and is meant to have used some of her winnings to buy her first sports car, a Delahaye.

Her first international event was the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally, in a Simca. Her role was as a “second driver”, more or less a back-seat passenger to Germaine Rouault and Louisette Texier. She remained on the back seat from Munich until the Ardeche, where the team struggled with heavy snow. Annie demanded a go at the wheel, and surprised her more experienced team-mates by setting some good times and passing several other drivers. However, her heroics were not enough to save them, and they were still unclassified.

In 1957, she took to the stages in her own Triumph TR3. The biggest rally she entered (and not strictly a rally) was the Tour de France, and she was 21st overall, driving with Michèle Cancre. There were 23 finishers that year. In the same car, she entered the Coupes de Salon at Montlhéry, and was eighth in her race.

In a Panhard Dyna belonging to her co-driver, Monique Bouvier, she also entered the Mille Miglia. They lasted a little over half of the distance, before a problem with a piston put them out.

She became a Triumph works driver in 1958, using a TR3. The story goes that the Triumph motorsport team were considering Annie or Pat Moss for a works drive. Annie told them that she was not interested in working with indecisive people, and they signed her forthwith. It is unclear how much truth is in this story. Annie had a talent for self-promotion; an example of this is her appearance in the promotional Shell film “Coupe des Alpes”, which featured some competition footage and some staged sequences, and was shown on television. She was also regarded by some of her peers as “difficult”.

That year, she seems to have finished the Monte Carlo Rally with Tish Ozanne, albeit unplaced. She also entered the Alpine Rally, but retired due to mechanical problems. The Tour de France was a happier hunting ground. She was fourteenth overall with Michèle Cancre.

In 1959, she continued with the TR3, coming to the UK for the RAC Rally. Co-driven by Val Domleo, she finished, but was unplaced. It had been a similar story on the Monte, although Nadège Ferrier took the co-driver’s seat. Once again, she did not finish the Alpine Rally. Her biggest result was her win on the Paris-St. Raphaël women’s rally, which contributed towards her European Ladies’ Rally Championship title. This award was not without controversy; Annie seems to have exploited a loophole in the rules about the number of female participants in an event for a Coupe des Dames to be awarded, non-starting on some rallies in order to deny Ladies’ points to Pat Moss, her main rival apart from Ewy Rosqvist, who was joint winner. This behaviour did not endear her to other competitors, or to observers. 

In more sportscar-oriented competition, she was thirteenth in the Tour de France, once more with Michèle Cancre as co-driver.

1960 saw her association with Triumph coming to an end. She failed yet again to finish the Alpine Rally, this time with Annie Spiers. Throughout her career, Annie preferred to work with other female drivers. This was true in both rallies and races. This year, she revisited her partnership with Michèle Cancre for the Tour de France, and was 16th. Their car was a Porsche 356B. Earlier in the season, driving solo, Annie had attempted the Coupes de Vitesse at Montlhéry, and was thirteenth in a Triumph. At some point during 1960, she travelled to Brazil for the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix, and was seventh in a sportscar race, driving a Porsche 1600. This season, she also sampled single-seater racing in a Lola Formula Junior, which she used in some Formula Three races in France.

Increasingly, she favoured sportscar events and road races over stage rallying, and this seems to have been her main focus for most of the 1960s. She took part in the Tour de France on several more occasions, with a best result of sixth in 1963, driving a Jaguar, the same car in which she had failed to finish in 1962. She also scored her best result in the Monte Carlo Rally, fourteenth, in a DKW, with P. Gele, but seemingly as a navigator.

She was fourth in the 3000cc GT class the following year, in a Ferrari 250 GTO. Her overall position was fourteenth, and her co-driver was Nicole Roure. Driving a different Ferrari, an LM run by Ecurie Francorchamps, she was 18th in the Paris 1000km, driving with Guy Ligier. Her main car that year was a Porsche 904. In it, she was thirteenth in the Rheims 1000km, with Claude Dubois, and sixth in the Paris GP at Montlhéry. She is known to have entered the Dakar 6 Hours, but the result has been lost.

The Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari was her main mount for 1965. In it, she entered the Monza 1000km, Spa 500km and Rheims 12 Hours, but did not finish any of them, due to mechanical failures and one accident, at Rheims. Her only good result came in the Paris GP, where she won the GT class in her own Ferrari GTO. In the same GTO, she also attempted a round of the French national rally championship, but did not finish.

She drove a Porsche 906 in 1966, staying in France this time. She is known to have entered the Coupe de Vitesse and the Coupe du Salon, but the results are not forthcoming. A scheduled appearance in the Paris 1000km did not happen. After this, Annie became very much an occasional racer, and concentrated on her professional role as managing director of an upmarket motor dealership, importing Aston Martin and other marques to France. The business belonged to her husband, the Marquis de Montaigu.

Her last major appearances were at the Mont Ventoux hillclimb. She had been a regular at the big climbs since at least 1960, having crashed her Ferrari GTO there in 1965. In ‘66, she was not among the major finishers, but did become the first female driver to average over 100kph, driving a Porsche 906. In 1967, she won the Ladies’ Cup in the same car. She retired completely from motorsport in 1969.

Annie was a fascinating character, a sporting adventuress more in the style of Hellé Nice and Kay Petre, than her contemporaries. She is famous for her pet cheetah, which she sometimes brought with her to rallies for photo opportunities, and for her reputation as a bonne vivante, who enjoyed the finer things in life. Her furious competitive streak was not enough to land her the overall victories of a Pat Moss or Rosemary Smith, but her media-mindedness ensured that she was noticed everywhere.

She died in September 2012, aged 78.

Thanks to members of the TNF forum for information.

(Photo from http://www.forum-auto.com/sport-auto/histoire-du-sport-auto/sujet343197-2800.htm)

Female Drivers in French GT and Sportscar Racing

Amandine Foulard

Domestic sports and GT racing series in France have attracted a decent number of women drivers in recent years. The VdeV championship for historic and modern sportscars in particular has usually had a healthy Coupe des Dames category. Inès Taittinger now has her own post. 

Caroline Barclay - Frenchwoman who raced a BMW Z3 M Coupe in the French GT Championship in 1999. Her co-driver was Michel Coencas. She was not particularly successful in her racing attempts. As well as GTs, she took part in the Andros Trophy ice-racing championship. She is better known as a film actress.

Lucy Brecht - raced a Porsche in Europe between 2000 and 2009, mainly in the Pierre Martinet Trophy in France. Initially, she drove in club races as part of a family team. In 2006, she started to be more competitive, and earned herself a test with Pouchelon Racing for the European GT3 series, although she did not end up driving for the team. Her biggest achievement is a win in the Pierre Martinet Trophy, in 2008, at Dijon. Her car was a Porsche 993. In 2009, she drove a Porsche 996 in the Estoril 6 Hours, the last round of that year’s VdeV series, and won her class. She does not appear to have raced since then. 

Capucine Caillet – had her first major racing season in 2014. Most of it was spent in the VdeV series, in the Funyo Cup. Driving a Funyo 5 prototype, she was 40^th in the Funyo Cup, and 26^th in class B. She also tried out two other VdeV categories. Driving a Caterham, she made a guest appearance in the Historic Enurance Proto Challenge. In more modern machinery, a Radical, she did one race in the Endurance GT Challenge. As these were one-offs, she did not feature in the end-of-season tables. Away from VdeV, she raced a Porsche 968 in the Trophée Tourisme Endurance, at Spa. Her team-mate was Alain Giavedoni, and they were ninth overall. Capucine has stated that she wants to try as many different cars and series as she can.

Melanie Cazzani - 2003 French Caterham racing champion. Prior to this, she raced Citroen Saxos on the circuits and took part in ice racing, sometimes using a powerful Metro 6R4. In 1998, she drove in the French GT Championship for a few rounds, and scored her first big overall result in Caterhams: a second place. Between 1998 and 2001, she drove Formula Renault 2000 events, as well as racing a Caterham with increasingly good results. Other disciplines were not forgotten; she was 16th in French GTs as well as winning her title in 2003. In 2005, she returned to Caterham racing in the Cosworth Masters, driving in some rounds with Francois Salhien. They were third at Monza. The following year, she did two races in the Peugeot RC Cup, but did not score any points. 

Aurélie Chamaraud - has raced in France since at least 2002. Her usual car is a Porsche 996 Cup, which she shares with her father, Pierre. In 2002 she did contest the French GT Championship alone, but since then, she has been part of her family team. In 2006, they competed in the French GT Championship and also entered the joint British/French championship rounds. Their best finishes were a 17th at Pau and a 19th at Albi. The following year, they drove their Porsche in some Formula VdeV rounds, with midfield finishes. Aurelie also took part in the Peugeot 207 Sprint Challenge, coming 20th after a couple of visits to the podium. In 2008, Aurelie and Pierre won their regional racing championship. In 2009 and 2010, Aurelie raced in the Peugeot 207 endurance championship, sometimes solo, but sometimes with Pierre. The pair raced together in the Trophée Tourisme Endurance. They drove a BMW 130i, and were 15th in Class 3. In 2015, she managed her family team in the Peugeot 208 Cup. The following year, she and Pierre raced in the TTE saloon series, in a BMW M3. They continued in this series until 2020. 

Laura Chatelain – raced in the 2014-2015 Andros Trophy, as the only woman driver in the Electric class. She was eleventh overall, scoring points in the later rounds. During the 2014 summer season, she raced in the Caterham Academy in France, and this seems to have been her first championship as a driver. In 2015, she raced in the Mitjet 2L championship, in France. She returned to racing Caterhams in 2016, and scored several podium positions in the Roadsport class of the French Caterham Cup. She raced in Roadsports again in 2017, and was second in the championship behind her father. She moved up to the 420R class as well as tackling Roadsports races in Europe. She performed most strongly in Roadsports. In 2019, she raced in the Caterham Cup in Europe, including a four-hour enduro at Portimao. 

Amandine Foulard - French driver who competes in historic and modern sportscars. She began racing in 2010, driving a Porsche 996 in the ROSCAR section of the VdeV championship. Her first award was the VdeV ladies’ championship. She continued in ROSCAR in 2011, with a best finish of third at Lédenon and a fastest lap at Dijon. This gave her another VdeV ladies’ award. In a different car, a Ferrari 430, she drove in two rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series, finishing one of them: a third place at Monza. In yet another car, a Ligier prototype, she entered four rounds of the SPEED Euroseries with Inès Taittinger, driving for the Springbox Concept team. Their best finish was seventh, at Paul Ricard. She continued to race a Ligier for Springbox in 2012, driving with Philippe Alliot. Their best finish was fifth, achieved at Catalunya and Dijon. Away from sportscars, she also raced a Clio for Springbox at the 2011 Dubai 24 Hours, but did not finish. Her co-drivers were Cyndie Allemann, Jade Handi and Corentine Quiniou. She continued to compete in the SPEED Euroseries in 2013, finishing tenth in the championship, still in the Ligier. Her best finish was fourth, at the Hungaroring. She also made some appearances in two VdeV championships, in the same car, but was less successful. 

Nathalie Genoud-Prachex – races a Lotus 2-Eleven in Europe. In 2012, she became the Lotus Cup Europe’s first female driver. This was her first season of racing, having only driven on track days previously. In 2013, she was twelfth in the championship, after a steady year with a good finishing record. 2014 was similar, and she was fourteenth overall. She had another steady, if unspectacular, season in 2015, finishing 23^rd overall. 2016 was her fifth season in the series, and she was 26th. This improved to 14th in 2017, driving for a new team. She remained in 14th place for the 2018 season, then improved to tenth in 2019, with a ninth place at Assen as her best finish. She was a top-ten regular in 2020, finishing a career-best seventh at Zolder. In 2021, she was fifth in the championship.

Anne-Sophie Nourry - has raced Porsches in France since 2006. After starting her motorsport career in Caterhams in 2001, winning the Coupe des Dames, she spent two seasons in the Peugeot 206CC Cup. In 2005, she did some GT racing in an MG, before joining her family’s Porsche team. Her main championship has been the French (FFSA) GT series, in which she posted a GT3 class win in 2006. As part of the championship, she also did one race in the British GT championship. In 2007, she also won the Val de Vienne Porsche club race. She continued in GTs in 2008, as well as running in a couple of Carrera Cup races. Anne-Sophie and her father and co-driver Michel won at least one FFSA event, at Dijon. The following year, they moved to the Modern GT section of the VdeV endurance championship, and drove a few races in a Porsche 997. Still driving for the family team, but in a 996 this time, Anne-Sophie made some guest appearances in the French GT Championship in 2010. 2011 was a more productive year for her: she was the VdeV Ladies' champion through the modern endurance class, driving the Porsche. She also tried her hand at rally navigation in France, which she continued in 2012. She also continued driving for Nourry Competition in the Porsche, in the VdeV championship. In 2013, rally navigation seems to have been her main motorsport activity, and this continued in 2014. She did do at least some circuit racing, including a Club Porsche meeting at Spa, where she won one race, and was fourth in another. In 2016, she continued as a navigator to Anothony Cosson, in a Porsche, helping him to win three rallies. She also did a couple of rallies herself, in a Citroen C2. In 2017, she entered the Saint-Germain-La-Compagne Regional Rally, but crashed out. 

Corentine Quiniou - daughter of Carol Quiniou. She has competed in a number of disciplines, including the Peugeot THP Spider Cup in 2008, in which she came fifteenth. She drove a Chevron B16 in the 2007 VdeV series with her father, Michel, leading races at Jarama and winning their class at Barcelona. They were fifth overall. In 2008, she won the French Classic Endurance Racing championship in a different Chevron B16. She returned to the championship in 2009, but only participated in some races. She is recorded as scoring one podium place. In 2010, she did a race of the Toyo Tyres 24 Hour series in Dubai. She was eighth in class SP3 in a Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin Vantage, driving with the Lebanese Greg Audi and Jaleel and Tarek Mahmoud. In 2011, she was set to race again in Dubai, but did not appear. As well as circuit racing, she participated in the 2006 Dakar in a Toyota, with Florence Bourgnon. Since 2002, she has driven in the all-female Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, winning it in 2006 and 2007. However, she was accused of cheating in 2010 and disqualified. This seems to have affected her chances elsewhere in motorsport. In 2014, she followed her mother into historic racing, and raced a Chevron B16 in the Le Mans Classic. 

(Picture from http://www.endurance-info.com/2011_BES/Amandine1.jpg)

Marlène Broggi

Marlène in her electric car, 2012

Marlène Broggi, born in 1982, is a French racer who got her break in the Trophée Andros, winning the Trophée Feminin in 2006.

It was her second attempt at the trophy, having scored a sixth place in 2005. During the main summer racing season, she had also done some VW Fun Cup and Roadster Cup races, in France. In 2006, she was ninth in the VW-derived Roadster Cup, and twelfth in the French Fun Cup team standings.

After her Andros Trophy win, she returned to the ice for the 2006/2007 season, driving in the Promotion class. She was 29th in the combined overall standings, after a campaign that gave her mixed results. Her car was a Peugeot 206CC.

Later that year, her main career focus became European sportscar racing. Staying with Peugeot, he did a full season in the 207 Spider Cup in 2007, which supported the Le Mans Endurance Series. Her best finish was fifth, at Monza, and she was fourteenth overall at the end of the season, after six more top-ten finishes.

She remained in the Spider Cup in 2008, with three seventh places at Monza, Val de Vienne and Pau as her best results.  She was eleventh in the championship this time. In between, she competed in another Andros Trophy, in the Promotion class again. She as stronger this year, finishing 19th overall after some top-three positions in Promotion. Her car was a Renault Clio and she was driving for the Dubourg team.

For the 2008-2009 Andros Trophy, Marlène drove a Clio in the Promotion class again. She did not enter all of the events, so although she had top-three pace, she could only manage 22nd overall.

The 2009 summer season in between was quite a short one, with only guest appearances. Early in the year, she appeared in two rounds of the Mégane Trophy Eurocup, as a guest driver of Boutsen Energy Racing. She was 17th in Catalunya and 18th at Spa. Later on, she joined Formula Le Mans for its Silverstone meeting, partnering Thomas Duchene. Her car was a Corvette-based ORECA FLM09, a much more powerful machine than she was used to. Her two races gave her an eleventh and tenth place, and one championship point.

During the 2009-2010 Andros season, she drove in the new Electric class, with the Boutsen Energy team, and was the top lady driver.

For the 2010 main season, she drove in the SEAT Leon Supercopa in Europe, concentrating mainly on the French series. She was eleventh overall, with a best finish of sixth at Albi. This was one of six top-ten places. In September, she drove in the Valencia rounds of the Seat Leon Eurocup, finishing 16th and 19th. Her team this year was Exagon Engineering.

Back in the Andros Trophy, she raced again with Margot Laffite in the Electric Trophy, although they did not win anything this time.

The following year, Marlène, driving solo, was eighth in the Electric class, and won the Ladies' award in the thermal energy class. In between, she was seventeenth in the French SEAT Leon Supercopa. Her best finish was ninth; she was less competitive this year and only managed one further top-ten position, a tenth at Lédenon.

In 2012, she drove in the Clio Eurocup. Out of eight races, she finished six times, with a best position of fifteenth. However, her season was marred by accidents, and she had to sit out one of the Catalunya races entirely due to . Mid-season, she linked up with Boutsen Ginion Racing, her Andros Trophy team, for the Spa 24 Hours. She drove a McLaren MP4-12C with Sarah Bovy, Jerome Thiry and Massimo Vignali. They did not finish, following another crash on a very wet track.

Also with the Boutsen team, she took part in the Andros Electric Trophy’s first non-ice-based event, the Grand Prix Électrique at Pau. She was the only female driver out of twelve. In her first race, she was last, but in her second, she was fifth. She did not return to the Andros Trophy proper for its 2012-2013 running.

Although she did not do any ice racing, her main season was quite active, still as part of Boutsen Ginion Racing. She drove in the Blancpain Endurance Series in a McLaren MP4 for the team, for four races. Her first event was the Monza 3 Hours, sharing the car with Karim Ojjeh and Christophe de Fierlant. They were 41st overall. For the next round, Silverstone, Christophe was replaced by John Hartshorne. They did not finish. At Paul Ricard, Laurent Pasquali took up the third seat, but they still did not finish. Sadly, the Spa 24 Hours led to another mechanical failure and DNF. 

2014 was a much quieter year. She returned to the Blancpain series, for one race, driving a Ferrari 458 Italia for Duqueine Engineering. Along with Philippe Bourgeois and Philippe Richard, she was ninth in the "Gentleman" Trophy Cup, at Spa. 

She returned to ice-racing at the end of the year, driving a Renault Clio in the Andros Trophy for the D.A. Racing team. It was a really good ice season for her, with race wins from the start, which she initially had trouble converting into Superfinal wins. She got her first overall win at Huez, on the second day, and was second at Lans. In the season-ending Super Final at St. Dié-des-Vosges, she won both her semi-final, and the super-final. She was third overall in the championship. During the Super Final, she also made a guest appearance in the revived Trophée Feminin.

She stayed in touch with the Boutsen Ginion team in 2015, and was one of a four-driver team for the Paul Ricard round of the 24-Hour Series. She was driving a Maserati Gran Turismo, and was 36th overall, sixth in class.

At the end of 2015, she entered another Andros Trophy, driving a Renault Clio in the Elite class. She was the fastest lady driver on the ice once more, just ahead of Margot Laffite, in seventh place. She won one of the finals during the Val Thorens meeting, and was seventh overall, and was eighth at Alpe
d'Huez.

She made a guest appearance in the 2019-2020 Andros Trophy, competing in the Invitation race at Isola 2000. She was second overall in a Motul electric car, having been fastest in one qualifying session and won one of the heats.

(Image from http://www.larepubliquedespyrenees.fr/2012/05/12/marlene-broggi-de-la-glace-a-l-asphalte,235054.php)

Sheila Verschuur

Sheila in 2010

Sheila Verschuur was born in 1986 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She is from a motorsport family: team boss and former racer Frans Verschuur is her father, and Mike Verschuur, another popular Dutch driver, is her younger brother. Therefore, it is not surprising that she decided to go into the family business.

Her first race was in 2002, when she was just sixteen. She took part in one round of the Toyota Yaris Cup, the Trophy of the Dunes at Zandvoort. An excursion off-track kept her off the podium. The following year, she did three races in the Yaris, and did enough to come second in the Ladies’ standings, including a third place in her second-ever race. She was fourteenth overall.

In 2004, she had her first full racing season, in the SEAT Cupra Cup. Driving with Michel Schaap for the endurance element of the competition, she was much more on the pace, and they were second overall, by only eight points. She stayed with the Cupra Cup in 2005, teaming up with Sandra van der Sloot. They were sponsored by the Dutch Army, and finished third overall. The Army team’s sister car, driven by Michel Schaap and Marcel Duits, came in fifth.  

For Sheila’s next season in the Cupra Cup, she stuck with the Army team and Sandra as a team-mate. They won the championship comfortably, by 40 points. That year, Sheila also took part in her first international race. Driving for her family’s Orbit team in a SEAT Ibiza, she was sixth in class in the Dubai 24 Hours. For the first time, her team-mate was her brother, Mike. Tim Buijs made up the team. Sheila and Mike had previously competed against each other in the off-season Dutch Winter Endurance Championship.

A busy year followed. Sheila tried single-seater racing in the form of Formula Gloria in the Netherlands, entering one race. However, her focus remained tin-tops. What would be her last season in the Cupra series, still in the Army car, gave her a second place, with Sandra van der Sloot. They won four of their twelve races and were never off the podium, but Ferry Duivenvoorde and Ronald Morien had more wins. As well as the SEAT, Sheila also raced a VW Golf in the Volkswagen Endurance Championship, alongside Jacques Walch and Coen Hagendoorn. Despite a podium finish, fastest lap and pole position, they could only manage 21st overall, due to only contesting seven races.  

In 2008, Sheila drove for her family team again in the Dubai 24 Hours, in its third car, a Renault Clio. With Harrie Kolen and Mickey Bertram, they were third in class A2. Still sponsored by the Dutch Armed Forces, she also drove the car in the Sportmaxx Clio Cup. The Verschuur drivers were her rivals this time. Her best finishes were three top-three places, and she was ninth overall.

With the same team-mates as before, she tried the VW Endurance series again, and did slightly better this time, in seventeenth, although her race results were very similar to before.

On paper, 2009 was a quieter year, based around the Clio Cup. However, Sheila really found her feet in the series, and managed her first Clio win. She also scored five top-three finishes, and was fourth in the championship.  Earlier in the season, she was third in the Dubai 24 Hours. Her car was a Renault Clio III RS, and her team-mates were Nikolajus Bystriakovas, Vitoldas Milius and Karolis Siksnelis.

In 2010, she went one better, winning two races and finishing on the podium seven times. She was third overall, just behind her team-mate, Sandra van der Sloot. 

2011 saw her partnership with the Dutch Army end, and she returned to Equipe Verschuur, for a double-pronged Clio campaign, in the Dutch series and the Eurocup. Despite a string of very strong finishes, including two second places, Sheila could not produce another win, although she was still second behind Sebastiaan Bleekemolen. The Eurocup was a mixed experience; she was solidly in the top ten for the first two meetings, with a best finish of fifth at the Nürburgring, but a 28th place at Paul Ricard in her sixth and last round was a disappointment. She was tenth in the championship.

In 2012, she joined the Dutch Racingdivas team. This is an all-female driving team, supported by Equipe Verschuur, competing in a number of events. They were 39th and fourth in class in the Dubai 24 Hours, driving a Clio. The RacingDivas this time were Sheila, Liesette Braams, Paulien Zwart, Gaby Uljee and Sandra van der Sloot.

As well as promotional activities for the Racingdivas, Sheila also drove for their sister team, Las Moras, run by Liesette and her partner, in the Burando Production Open. She was fifth overall after winning three times, driving a BMW 123d. This was a car of which she had some experience in the Dutch Winter Endurance Series.

The Racingdivas remained active for the 2013 season. Their first outing was the Dubai 24 Hours. Their car was a BMW 320d, supported by the Schubert team. The same squad as in 2012, including Sheila, was 26th overall, winning class A3T. Although the Divas continued to make appearances and promote themselves, their on-track time was very limited this year, due to funding issues. Sheila stepped away from the Divas setup, along with Liesette Braams, and concentrated on competing with the associated Las Moras team.

Her season picked up during the late summer, when she travelled to Eastern Europe for the Lotus Ladies' Cup, alongside her Las Moras team-mate, Liesette. Sheila was instantly on the pace, and quickly came to dominate the Cup, winning nine races out of twelve. After her first Lotus Ladies' championship, she travelled to India with some other Cup drivers to take part in the Ultima Queens Cup, a women's two-race mini-championship. She won that, too.

As well as her on-track exploits, Sheila also had a slot on a Dutch motoring TV programme, where guests raced against her in their own cars.

In 2014, she seems to have done some promotional work for Jaguar, but did not race. 

(Picture from http://www.equipeverschuur.nl/sheila)

Edith Weiss

Edith Weiss in Qatar in 1997

Edith is a German driver who is based in the Middle East. She is from Bavaria, and was born in 1964.

She had a slightly unusual start to her motorsport career, beginning as a team manager in German rallying, in 1985. She began competing, as a navigator, in Germany, a year later, with Rainer Scherer. They were disqualified from the one event they did together. In 1987, she returned to team management for Peugeot, and concentrated her competitive efforts on the track, in a Peugeot 205 GTi. She drove in touring car events in Germany and Czechoslovakia.

In 1990, she combined all three strands of her motorsport career, racing the 205 in endurance events, including the Nürburgring 24 Hours, organising the Peugeot Cup and navigating for Eberhart Frech and Gerhard Merz, in another 205 and a Fiat Uno.

Edith’s navigation activities in 1991 began with sitting alongside Oliver Stollner in a Golf, for the Horber Rally in 1991. Later, she did the same for Gerhard Merz in an Opel Kadett, in the Rallye de Wallonie. However, most of this year was taken up by hillclimbs, using a Peugeot 205 GTi, and circuit racing, using the Peugeot and other cars, including a BMW and a Suzuki Swift. She drove in that year’s Nürburgring 24 Hours in the Peugeot, but did not finish.

Her first Middle Eastern rally was as a co-driver to Mohammed Kaplan, in the Qatar Rally. The car was a Toyota Celica and they were third in class. However, at this point, Edith’s focus was still on circuit racing, in a Citroen AX this year, and she managed to finish the Nürburgring 24 Hours with Dieter Steinlein and Andreas Schultes.

1993 saw her move more fully into rallying, but still as a co-driver, navigating for Gerhard Merz, Carsten Wiegand and Mathias Schütt. Only Mathias Schütt, in a Toyota Corolla, managed to finish. 1994 continued in the same vein, with trips to France and Hungary as well as Germany, alongside Carsten Wiegand, Gerhard Merz and Detlef Knöppler. This gave her a mix of decent finishes and early exits due to technical issues. A highlight was her first WRC event: the Monte Carlo Rally, alongside Monika Petzold, in a Renault Clio. They crashed out. 1995 was yet more of the same, although she sat with some new drivers and did two WRC events with Stefan Reininger, in a Clio.

After another year of navigation, Edith switched seats and moved to the Middle East in 1997. Her first rally car, as a driver, was a Nissan Sunny GTi-R. Co-driven by Vren Heierli, she entered the UAE and Jordan international rallies, retiring from both with gearbox and driveshaft problems. In the Qatar Rally, she managed her first finish, with David Twiggs on the maps. They were tenth overall, third in class. A late-season run in the Dubai Rally ended on stage three with a puncture.

She aimed to continue her MERC activities in 1998, but after entering the Oman Rally, the Sunny was lost in transit, re-appearing some months later in Abu Dhabi. After this disaster, she sat 1999 out from a competition perspective, concentrating on driving instruction and VIP events. For part of the year, she moved to Daytona. She returned to competition in 2000, with one outing in the WRC Rally of Cyprus. She did not finish.

She returned to Cyprus in the Sunny in 2001, but still could not finish, going out close to the end this time. Two of her three MERC rallies also ended in retirement: Lebanon and Syria, with an overheated engine and another bad driveshaft respectively. She could not start the Dubai Rally, due to her co-driver Jacqui Healing not having the correct license.

Her 2002 programme moved away from the Middle East, with entries in Rally Argentina and the Safari Rally. She was 22nd in the Argentine mountains in a SEAT Ibiza, winning her class and the ladies’ award. Using a Subaru Impreza, she did not finish the Safari event.

The following year, she was back to MERC rallies. She did not finish the Rally of Lebanon in a Peugeot 306.

2004 was one of Edith’s busiest years for rallying. She had acquired a Skoda Octavia, running to Formula Two specification. Her first event was meant to be the Rally of Cyprus, but administrative gremlins struck again, and her car did not reach the island in time, due to a ferry workers’ strike. The following month, she went out of the Rally of Turkey with a broken steering rack, then a dispute over whether her roll cage was FIA-approved prevented her from starting the Rally of Japan. She did not have any better luck in the MERC, retiring from the Lebanon and Dubai rallies with hydraulics and starter motor problems respectively. Even a one-off co-driving effort with Wael Murjan in the UAE led to a clutch failure.

2005 contained more of the same. Edith entered seven MERC events and finished one, the Dubai Rally, in which she was tenth. Her car was a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII. To be fair, the Rally of Lebanon was cancelled, and she was prevented from taking her Lancer into Qatar through Saudi Arabia, but she still retired from the Troodos, Bahrain and Oman events, with mechanical problems. Both the Lancer and the Octavia were causing problems. The WRC-counting Cyprus Rally once more gave her a better result: first in class, and first lady driver, 39th overall. Her car was a Peugeot 306.

Homologation issues reared their ugly head again in 2006, with the Octavia and its roll cage once more. This time, Edith was disqualified from the Rally of Cyprus. The engine on the Octavia could not be replaced in time for the Oman Rally, but she managed twelfth place in the Jordan Rally, in the Lancer again. The following year, the issue with the roll cage had still not been resolved, and she was disqualified from the Rally of Lebanon. Previously, the electrics on the Octavia had given up in Cyprus. This was the last year that Edith used it.

Away from the Skoda, Edith headed back to Europe for the Rally of Italy, on Sardinia. She was driving a Renault Clio, and managed third in class, 60th overall. In the Lancer, she was fifteenth in the Dubai Rally, again the first female finisher. Her other planned MERC round, the UAE Rally, was cancelled, but she entered the Ajman Rally in the UAE itself late in the season, in the Lancer, and was eighth.

Two rather troubled seasons followed, from a rally perspective. After renting a Lancer Evo VII for the 2008 Rally of Turkey, Edith was unable to start the event proper, despite finishing the recce. Her second outing, the Dubai Rally, ended in a similar manner, after a fuel leak was not fixed in time. The following year, 2009, she entered the Elpa Rally in Greece, in a Lancer Evo VII, but did not finish. Apart from these events, she took a break from stage rallying for much of this time.

During her break, she did some rally raids in a Porsche Cayenne in 2009, including the Silk Way Rally, before returning to the stages in 2010, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 and Skoda Fabia. She drove in Portugal and Germany. In a Group N Lancer, she finished 24th in the Rally of Portugal. Her German outing, in the Fabia, was running as the 00 course car for the Rally of Germany.

During this time, she also started working as a commissar for the FIA, which is slightly ironic, given her chequered history with scrutineers and technical adjudicators.

In 2011, she stepped up her rallying activities once more. In the Acropolis, she limped to the finish in 33rd, after problems with the ECU and suspension. Her two MERC events, Dubai and Qatar, ended in retirement. Her car for all of these rallies was an Evo VIII. She also competed in some rounds of the Qatar rally championship, finishing the fourth round in eighth. She mostly drove the Evo VIII, but once tried a Subaru Impreza.

In 2012, she continued to be very busy, driving in six rounds of the Qatar Rally Championship, using an Impreza and two Lancers. She scored four top-ten finishes, with a best of third in Round Six, and was fifth in the championship. She was also 23rd in the Rally of Lebanon, and retired from the Dubai Rally, using the Evo VIII both times. In a Subaru Impreza WRX, she was ninth in the Qatar Rally.

Despite coming towards the end of her 40s, Edith continued to drive in the Qatar Rally Championship in 2013. She was second in the first round, driving an Impreza. The second and third rounds gave her two sixth places, although she only just managed to finish one, due to a broken rear axle. In between, she drove in the Qatar Rally itself, a round of the MERC, and was fourteenth, sixth in class. 

A switch to a Lancer Evo IX did not happen. Instead, Edith acquired a Nissan Patrol, and moved into rally raids again. Her biggest event was the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, in Qatar, in which she was eleventh. She later drove in five rounds of the Qatar Baja Championship, finishing fifth or sixth in each of them. 

She carried on rallying in the Qatar championship in 2014, in a Lancer Evo IX. She was third in the second round, and twelfth in the Rally of Qatar itself, which led to fourth place in the Qatar series. She also featured in the MERC again, with Vicky Psaraki as co-driver. Her best finishes were two fifteenth places, in Kuwait and Dubai. She was also 17th in Lebanon, and 25th in Cyprus. She was third in the MERC Group N standings. This was all despite her usual round of administrative troubles, including her car being sent to the wrong workshop before the Dubai Rally.

During 2014, she considered retiring, and announced that her visits to Cyprus and Lebanon would be her last, but she appears to have reconsidered this. She entered the MERC again, in the Lancer, starting with the Qatar Rally, in which she was eighth. She was eighth again in Kuwait, but was then excluded from the Shiraz Rally in Iran, due to a non-compliant seat belt in the car. A return to Cyprus was mediocre, and she was 33rd, before non-finishing in Oman and managing thirteenth in Dubai. She was tenth in the Middle East championship, and second in Group N. In between, she also contested the Qatar national rally series again, with a best finish of second. 

She did some more MERC rallies in the Lancer in 2016, although history repeated itself when the car got stuck at a Saudi border control before the Qatar International Rally. She got to the start of the Dubai Rally, but did not finish, despite finishing eighth on the first day.

Her retirement was put off for another year in 2017, as she did another part-season in the driving seat. She was 41st in the Cyprus Rally, driving a Lancer, then entered the Rally of Portugal in a Peugeot 208. She retired after the first stage.

In future, Edith has stated a wish to develop her work with the FIA further.

(Picture from http://www.motoringme.com/all-girl-teams-at-this-weekends-qatar-rally/)

The Lotus Ladies' Cup

In the 2010s, Lotus has been promoting itself through one-make racing series across the world. In eastern Europe, one of these series is the Lotus Ladies’ Cup.

The Cup had its first season in 2011, and was based in Hungary. The cars were 1600cc Elises. The drivers were recruited through media advertising and training sessions held at the Hungaroring. The majority of the drivers were complete novices, and several of them were known media figures, including TV presenters and beauty queens. Fourteen drivers in all took part: twelve for the whole championship, and two for guest appearances only. They were organised into teams, who ran the cars. The championship consisted of thirteen races across six rounds, in Hungary, with one race in Slovakia.

The first winner was Edina Bús, one of the only 2011 entrants with previous motorsport experience. She won ten of the races.

2011 Final Results

1. Edina Bús

2. Adrienn Walterne Dancso

3. Nora Budaházi

4. Adrienn Bende

5. Ramóna Kiss

6. Szilvia Szas

7. Anett Benik-Garami

8. Ágnes Bánki

9. Anett Köváry

10. Nóra Nánási-Ördög

11. Brigitta Nagy

12. Agnes Molnar

13. Kata Répa

14. Fanni Szentgyorgyi

In 2012, the championship returned. Eleven drivers took part this year, in six teams. Again, it was based in Hungary, with outings in Slovakia, Austria and the UK, in support of other Lotus championships. The title went down to the last round, with Edina Bús up against Adrienn Bende, a former model who was acting as the championship co-ordinator. Adrienn won the race and the title, despite a protest from Edina that the finish procedure not been followed correctly.

2012 Final Results

1. Adrienn Bende

2. Edina Bús

3. Nora Budaházi

4. Ágnes Bánki

5. Szilvia Szas

6. Anett Köváry

7. Anita Tóth

8. Brigitta Nagy

9. Adrienn Vogel

10. Zsóka Kapócs

11. Alexandra Kocsis

The Ladies’ Cup ran again in 2013. This time, it was an FIA-sanctioned championship, and attracted drivers from all over Europe, and one Puerto Rican driver. It was completely dominated by Sheila Verschuur, of the Netherlands, who won nine of the twelve races. Adrienn Bende won the other three.

The "Lotus Ladies" also travelled to India during the European off-season, to compete in the Ultima Queens Cup, a women's race, at Buddh. Sheila Verschuur was the winner.

2013 Final Results
1. Sheila Verschuur
2. Adrienn Bende
3. Szilvia Szas
4. Liesette Braams
5. Anett György
6. Veronika Vanyova
7. Dorottya Kapitány
8. Szilvia Bujdosó
9. Glory Fernandez
10. Fruzsina Marenec
11. Renate Wilschut-Sanders
12. Andrina Gugger
13. Kim Guven van den Berg

A fourth Ladies' Cup was held in 2014. There was a decent-sized grid, with some interesting guest drivers, including former pro, Catharina Felser, and ski champion, Cornelia Hütter. However, the championship was shortened to six races, due to a dispute between the organisers, and the Hungarian motorsport authorities. Adrienn Bende and Adrienn Vogel were the leading drivers, and the only ones to record wins.

2014 Final Results
1. Adrienn Bende
2. Adrienn Vogel
3. Renate Wilschut-Sanders
4. Anett György
5. Szilvia Bujdosó
6. Andrina Gugger
7. Fruzsina Marenec
8. Veronika Vanyova
9. Glory Fernandez
10. Beáta Patkó
11. Catharina Felser
12. Cornelia Hütter

(Picture from http://www.facebook.com/LotusLadiesCup/photos_stream)

Alice Powell

Alice Powell graduated to full-size cars in 2007, at the age of fourteen. This came after a successful karting career, which began when she was six, and she was competing at eight. She won her club’s championship in her first year of competition, then went on to top-ten performances in BRDC Stars of Tomorrow and JICA competition.

Alice was one of the second wave of young drivers to take advantage of the rise in junior full-circuit racing. She contested the Ginetta Juniors Winter Series early on, driving a Ginetta G20, and was joint fifth after three races. Later, she drove in the last few rounds of the main Ginetta Junior championship, and was 16th overall. This was in addition to two karting series.

She returned to Ginetta competition in 2008, for the main season, leaving karts behind. Her best finishes were two seconds, at Knockhill and Silverstone, plus two thirds and a string of top tens: 16 out of her 24 races finished in the top ten. She was ninth in the championship.

In 2009 she switched to single-seaters, beginning in the UK Formula Renault championship. Her team was the experienced Manor Competition. However, Alice had not had the budget for much testing. Despite a slow beginning, she was breaking into the top ten by round five, with a ninth place at Donington. Gradually, her pace increased, although her good straight-line speed did not always turn into good race positions. After a disappointing off at Snetterton from seventh place, she only made slow progress up the leaderboard, with an eleventh at Brands Hatch being her next-best score. She was 18th overall.

In the middle of her Formula Renault programme, she made a guest appearance in the Brands Hatch Formula Palmer Audi round. Her three races gave her a seventh, ninth and eleventh place. 

She moved down to the BARC Formula Renault championship in 2010, a club-level series. Here, she became the first female driver to win a Formula Renault championship, after winning two races, at Silverstone and Thruxton. She also scored five second places, and was never out of the top ten. BARC Formula Renault was interspersed with a part-season in the Ginetta G50 Cup. Her best finish was fifth, at Brands Hatch, with two sevenths at Croft, and eighths at Brands and Rockingham, her other highlights. She was 16th overall.

At the end of the year, she drove in the Formula Renault Winter Series, having secured some funds for testing. Although this went well, Alice did not have the pace to challenge for the top positions. Her results were a seventh, and eighth, a ninth and a tenth, with two DNFs at Pembrey. She was twelfth overall. 

In 2011, she raced in Formula Renault once more, running mainly in the British championship, and entering two North Europe series events. In Britain, she was much stronger than in 2009, finishing seventh in her first race at Brands Hatch. At Donington, she broke into the top five for the first time. Her best finish was fourth, at Snetterton, and she was rarely out of the top ten. The only thing she did not get was podium finishes, and she was ninth overall. In the NEZ championship, she was eighth and tenth in her two races at Oschersleben.

As well as this, she travelled to India for the two-round MRF Formula 1600 championship, supporting the Indian Grand Prix, and was second after two podiums, a second and a third. She also had guest runs in the BARC Production Touring Car Trophy (Class B) and Radical Clubmans Cup, which resulted in a clean sweep of wins. She was driving a Fiat 500 Abarth in the Trophy. A further guest appearance in the Intersteps championship gave her one eighth place at Donington. During this year, she was selected for the BRDC’s Rising Star driver development programme, and won the BWRDC’s Gold Star Elite award.

In 2012, despite many accolades and considerable media attention, she struggled for sponsorship. At the last minute, she put together a deal for the GP3 international single-seater series. After only two days of testing, it proved a difficult learning curve: her first race ended in a DNF, then she was just out of the top ten at Catalunya and Monte Carlo. The rest of the year was punctuated by DNFs. It picked up slightly at Spa and Monza, where she was twelfth. However, by the end of the season, she had managed her first points finish: eighth at Monza. She was 19th overall.

After that, she went back to India for some rounds of the MRF Formula 2000 series. She scored a second and third at Buddh, and was fifth overall. 

In 2013, she planned to contest the GP3 championship again, although funding was an issue, and she only put together a deal at the last minute. She only actually managed two rounds of GP3, driving for Bamboo Engineering, alongside Carmen Jordá. Her results were two 20th places at Yas Marina.

The rest of the year was spent in Formula Three, mostly in the UK. This was somewhat of a step down for Alice again, but she took the opportunity and it paid off. Driving for Mark Bailey Racing, she was second in the MSV F3 Cup, with five wins, at Brands Hatch, Zolder, Silverstone and Oulton Park. Apart from a pair of DNFs at Snetterton, she was never out of the top five, and usually in the top three. She led the championship for much of the season, but a strong finish from Alex Craven caught her up. The non-finishes allowed this.

As well as the F3 Cup, she took part in three rounds of British Formula Three, winning her class twice.

There was more F3 for Alice in 2014. She made a guest appearance in the Rockingham round of the British championship, and was fifth and third in the two races she finished. At Rockingham, she also posted two class wins in the MSV series, as well as two class seconds, at Snetterton. However, most of her season was spent in Southeast Asia, contesting the Asian Formula Renault championship. This was an excellent season, with five wins, recorded at Zhuhai and Shanghai. Apart from one non-finish and one fifth place, both at Zhuhai, she was never off the podium, and she won the championship from Canadian Maxx Ebenal. 

Before her championship win was confirmed, Alice had some other excitement. Her grandfather attempted to broker a deal with the foundering Caterham Grand Prix team, in which he would effectively pay for a race seat for Alice in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This would allow the team, then in administration, to complete the season. The deal did not go through, partly due to Alice not having a Superlicence, and no easy way of achieving one, in the short timescale available. 

2015 was a much quieter year. Mid-season, she took part in her first sportscar race, the Silverstone 24 Hours. Her car was a works Aston Martin Vantage GT4, shared with Marek Reihman, Andrew Palmer and Andrew Frankel. They were fourth in Class 3, and fifth overall. During the winter season, she went back to the Middle East for another run in the MRF Formula, racing at the Yas Marina circuit. Her best finish was eighth.

As well as racing, Alice has been a vocal advocate for women in motorsports, and is part of a new initiative begun by Susie Wolff, encouraging greater female participation.

Lack of finances limited her opportunities since the start of 2016.

At the end of 2018, she returned to the driving seat as a guest racer in the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, which supports Formula E. She won the Pro-Am class and was fifth overall at ad-Diriyah, having showed her skill with some aggressive overtaking.

Her profile rose again mid-2019 when she was announced as one of the 20 drivers chosen for the inaugural W Series. From the start, Alice was one of its most enthusiastic exponents and she proved herself to be one of its quickest drivers, winning the final round at Brands Hatch. Had it not been for a series of car problems, she would probably have won more races.

After the W Series ended, she made a guest appearance for the all-female Heinricher Racing/Meyer Shank IMSA team, deputising for Christina Nielsen at Virginia. The team did not finish due to a crash.

In 2020, Alice planned to rejoin the W Series for its short summer season, although it ended up being cancelled due to coronavirus. She did compete for Team Germany in the Formula E-supporting Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy. Her first races as an official driver gave her two third places at ad-Diriyah. These were her best results of the year and she was fourth in the championship.

Not long after, she was announced as an official test driver for Envision Virgin Racing in Formula E.

Her second W Series season was a close-run contest with Jamie Chadwick. Alice was the early championship leader, winning two of the first three rounds at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone. In the end, she scored one more win (at Zandvoort) to Jamie's two, and had to settle for second.

Her testing duties for Envision included a full race simulation at Valencia.

A third W Series season included another win at the Hungaroring, as well as three more podium finishes. She was third in the championship. She continued to test for the Virigin FE team, including driving the first two-seater Formula E car.

W Series folded due to financial difficulties in 2023. Alice did not race that year, although she continued her coaching and management and also worked extensively as a commentator. This continued in 2024, although she did take part in the Formula E Women's Test for Envision.

(Picture by Daniel Kalisz, copyright GP3 Media Service)