Andrina Gugger

Andrina with her SEAT Leon, 2015

Andrina is a former karter from Switzerland, who has raced cars since 2008. Initially, she raced single-seaters, but she has since branched out and become a very versatile driver.

Her first two seasons were spent in Formula Lista Junior in Europe, first driving for Jo Zeller Racing, then for her family Gugger Racing team. She was fourth in 2008 and seventh in 2009, scoring one win in each season. In 2008, this came at the end of the year, at Monza, and followed a third place. In 2009, she won the first race of the season, at Dijon.

In 2010, she moved up to Formula Masters in Germany, driving for Mücke Motorsport. She could only manage fifteenth in the championship, but had a best finish of fifth at Oschersleben, again, in the firstrace of the season. By the end of the year, she had achieved five other top-ten finishes, but several DNFs dropped her down the rankings. During the off-season, she tested a GP3 car, becoming the first female driver to do so, but this did not lead to a race seat.

In 2011, she switched to sportscars, mainly driving a Maserati MC GranTurismo. She was eighth in the Maserati Trofeo Europe, after one podium finish, a third place at Spa. Her programme included six races in the earlier part of the season.

She also drove a Maserati in some Blancpain Endurance Series GT4 races, scoring a second at Magny-Cours and a third at Monza. Although she was scheduled to race at Navarra, she did not make the start. She shared the car with Devis Schwägli, another Swiss driver.

 As well as this, she raced in two rounds of the ADAC GT Masters, at the Red Bull Ring, in a Calloway Corvette. This car brought her less success than the Maserati; she could only manage a 30^th and 31^st place.

In 2012, she drove a Porsche 911 GT3 in the GT Masters, with Otto Klohs. Their best finish was 19th, at Zandvoort. Andrina had a 100% finishing record, but was not among the leading drivers in her class.

At the start of the season, she was thirteenth in the Dubai 24 Hours, driving a Porsche 997 for the same Auto Fach team. She was driving as part of a team of five.  

In 2013, she raced around Europe, including the Lotus Ladies' Cup. She took part in two races at the Slovakiaring, finishing third in one. This was not her only Ladies' Cup: she was awarded the ETCC Ladies' Cup also, finishing sixth in the S2000 class. Her best results were two fourth places, again at the Slovakiaring, and she was driving a Honda Civic.

2014 was very similar for her, with an eighth place in the ETCC, in the Civic. She managed one fourth place, at Spa, and two fifths, at Spa and Paul Ricard. Some non-finishes dropped her down the rankings somewhat, but she held on to the Ladies’ title. She did four rounds of the FIA Lotus Ladies' Cup, at the Oschersleben and Slovakiaring meetings. These gave her four fourths and one fifth place. She was also eighth overall in this championship.

In 2015, Andrina changed her racing direction again, and registered for the SEAT Leon Eurocup. She finished in 21st place, after a rather difficult season. Her best finish was seventh, at Estoril, although she has struggled at other circuits, apart from the Nürburgring, where she was ninth. She was one of five female drivers taking part in the Eurocup this year, and finished second in the Ladies’ standings.

(Image from http://www.andrinagugger.ch/)

Women in One-Make Series: South America

Manuela Vasquez in 2010

One-make racing series are popular in South America. Due in part to initiatives such as Formula Hyundai Femenina (Argentina) and the Brazilian Fiesta Championship, quite a lot of women have competed in them in the last 20 years. Marisa Panagopulo now has her own post. 

Lorena Blanco – best known for racing in Fiat one-make championships in Argentina. She started off in the Fiat Linea Cup in 2010, entering the last few rounds, following some previous historic racing. She had another part-season in 2011, and made it into the top twenty on four occasions. The Linea series crossed over to using the Punto Abarth in 2012, and she improved her best finish to fifteenth. That year, she was the team-mate of a returning Marisa Panagopulo. A full season in the Punto in 2013 gave her two fifteenth places, and 24^th overall. A final part-season in the Punto, in 2014, had her finish fourteenth, three times, and end up in 32^nd place overall. In 2015, she did another part-season in the Punto series, and was 31st in the championship. Her best finish was 17th, at La Pampa. This arrangement continued in 2016, and her best finish improved to fourteenth, at Trelew. She was 36th overall. 

Renata Camargo - races in the one-make Hyundai Copa HB20 in Brazil. Her best result in 2020 has been an eighth place in class at Goiania. This was her first season in the championship. In 2021, she raced a Volkswagen Voyage as part of the 3 Girls team with Luciana Klai and Fernanda Aniceto. They took part in the Mil Milhas Brasileira, finishing 21st overall and second in class. In 2022, she did a part-season in the HB20 series, finishing fourth at Goiania and Velo Citta. She won one race in the Paulista Marcas e Pilotos championship in 2023, at Sao Paulo. In 2024, she does not appear to have raced much, although she tested a TCR car in December. In 2025, she was active in the Sprint and Endurance classes of the Brazilian National Touring Car championship. Her car was a Chevrolet New Onix and her results were mixed. She also competes in drag racing, using a VW Golf, karting and drifting. She is best-known as a motoring TV presenter in Brazil and is not to be confused with the millionaire businesswoman Renata Camargo Nascimento.

Carolina Canepa - Uruguayan driver who races in saloons and trucks. She started out in 2013 in the Chevrolet Sonic Cup in Uruguay, a one-make series. She was eleventh in her first season, with a best finish of sixth. A women-only version of the championship ran in 2014, and Carolina was third, behind Carolina Larratea who finished one place above her in the 2013 series. She went back to the main Sonic Cup draw in 2015, and won her first race, at Rivera, towards the end of the season. She was sixth overall. Her 2016 Sonic Cup season was similar, with one win and a sixth spot on the leaderboard. This was her last season in the championship before transferring to Formula Truck in 2017. She was part of the “Woman’s Racing Team” with Maria Cristina Rosito. Her truck was a Volvo, and she steadily improved over the season, with two sixth places at Londrina her best results. She was sixth in the championship. After a year off, she raced a Chevrolet Sonic again in 2019, in Class 2 of the Uruguayan touring car championship.

Juliana Carreira - began racing in 1998, in a Vauxhall Corsa, participating in regional one-make races. She was involved in the women’s Corsa championship in 1999, and the later Fiesta version in 2001. In 1999, she also took part in four Corsa Metrocar (a mixed Corsa one-make series) races, finishing in the top five in three of them. She also raced in a Clio Cup in Brazil at some point. She is from a racing family, and drove in the 2003 Mil Milhas Brasileira with her brother, Luiz, and Denis de Freitas and Jose Venezian. They were 15th, in an Audi RS2G. Later, she also did some Stock Car racing, in 2006. She works in fashion and the media in Brazil. 

Maria José Castro - raced in the 2017 Toyota Yaris Cup in Costa Rica, where she is from. Unusually, she races alongside her father, Marco, who shares her car. At the time of writing, she has not yet got into the points, although she only has half of the chances of most other drivers, due to her car-sharing. The Yaris Cup was her first experience of racing in cars, although she has done some karting in the past.

Thaline Chicoski - competes in the Shell HB20 Cup in her native Brazil. She shares the car (a Hyundai one-make) with Pedro Perdoncini and the pair joined the 2020 championship for the second round. In 2021, she was eleventh in the championship, with a best finish of third at Interlagos. She also made some appearances in the Mercedes-Benz Challenge AMG Cup. In 2022, she was tenth in the Elite class of the HB20 Cup, with three top-five finishes. She continued to race in both categories in 2023, scoring three podium finishes in the HB20 Cup. She was eighth in the championship. For 2024, she moved back to the AMG Cup, picking up a second and third place at Gioiania. She was eleventh in the championship. In December, she made one guest appearance in the Brazilian National Touring Car championship, but did not finish. Most of 2025 was spent in the AMG Cup, with a part-season in Copa Truck also taking up a lot of her weekends. She scored three top-tens in the truck, two ninths and a tenth, on the way to 17th overall. Thaline has been active in motorsport since 2010, when she was 19, although this has mainly been in karting and she has not been able to run full championships. Despite this, she has won at least two regional championships.

Francisca Cortés – raced in the Chilean Trofeo Nissan Sunny in 1990. She was the first female driver to take part in the series, and one of Chile’s first female racing drivers. Although she never managed a podium position, she did achieve some top-ten finishes, and one pole position, at Antofagasta. This was overshadowed by the death of another driver during the race itself. The final championship standings for this series are not forthcoming. Francisca does not appear to have raced since then.

Carolina Eiras – did two seasons in the Fiat Linea Cup in Argentina, in 2010 and 2011. Her 2010 season is chiefly remembered for a spectacular crash into a lake at the Resistencia circuit, after which she was helped to safety by spectators. Her best finish was thirteenth, at Alta Gracia. In 2011, she did not complete as many races, managing three 19^th places out of four starts. She is a former Olympic skier.

Julieta (Juli) Fernández - one of the front-runners in the Argentine Mini Challenge in 2013. She was third overall, just missing out on an actual win, but with two podium finishes and two podium positions. She did manage to win some at least one training race. This was her first experience of saloon car racing, although she did do some GT racing in 2009, aged 18. She drove a new Crespi prototype in the GT 2000 series for Oyikil Motorsport, although she did not finish her race. In 2010, she was linked to a drive in Formula 4, but she did not have the budget to compete. Previously, she was active in karting in Argentina for many years, and may have also competed in Formula 1100 briefly. In 2015, she took part in the Top Race championship, driving a Chevrolet Cruze. She almost reached the top ten a couple of times, finishing eleventh at Rosario and Olivarria. She was 25th overall. In 2017, she made a guest appearance in the Argentine Turismo Pista series, driving a Fiat Uno. She entered the Buenos Aires round but did not finish. 

Sabrina Formal - Costa Rican driver who races in the Toyota Yaris Cup in her home country. In May, her best finish was ninth overall. At 20, 2017 was her first experience of senior motorsport, although she did do some national-level karting when she was much younger. Her brother is also a racing driver.

Michelle de Jesus - Brazilian driver who has been competing since 2006. She started out in her regional championship in São Paulo. By 2010, she was second overall in the championship, a best-ever finish for a female driver. The following year, she moved into national-level competition, driving in a few rounds of the Brazilian Petrobras de Marcas Cup (in a Toyota Corolla) and the Mercedes Benz Grand Challenge (in a C250 CGI). As she only did a couple of races, she did not do enough to make her mark on the final standings. She returned to the Grand Challenge in 2012, this time mounting a full campaign. Her car was the same, run by the Pink Energy team. She was ninth overall, with a best finish of fifth , at Rio de Janeiro. For 2013, she changed marques, moving to the Mitsubishi Lancer Cup. She achieved her first podium, at third at Velo Città, on her way to another ninth overall finish. Early in the season, she also made her first trip to Europe, to participate in one round of the Euro Racecar series, at Dijon. She was thirteenth, in a Chevrolet Camaro. In 2014, she stayed in South America, competing in truck racing, and the Marcas e Pilotos Cup. Her car in the Cup was a Corsa, and she does not appear to have completed a full season. She was 25th in Formula Truck, after a part-season, and had a best result of eighth, at Brasilia. In 2015, she was registered for Formula Truck, but does not appear to have actually raced. 

Carolina Larratea – Uruguayan driver from a motorsport family, who has been racing in the Chevrolet Sonic Cup since 2013. She was tenth in 2013, with a best finish of second, at El Pinar. In 2014, she scored her first outright win in the Cup, in the last round. This race was doubly notable in that two female drivers started on pole and second place. Carolina won the Sonic Ladies’ Cup. She continued to race a Chevrolet Sonic in 2015. Her season began very well, with a pair of wins at El Pinar, and she was second in the championship. She made the podium again in 2016, in third place. In 2019, she made a triumphant return to the circuits and won the Auvo-class Super Sonic championship, another one-make Sonic series. She won five races. 

Bia Martins - Brazilian driver who races in the HRacing Cup, a one-make series for the Hyundai HB20. She was one of the leading rookie drivers in 2023 and scored some overall top-ten finishes. She had previous experience of the car from a 2021 guest appearance in a previous HB20 one-make championship. In 2025, she planned to tackle the Brazilian touring car championship, but this does not appear to have come off. Most of her career has been spent in karting as both a child and a senior, although in 2020, she also raced in Formula 1600 at Interlagos. She began racing karts seriously in 2017.

Graziela (Zizi) Paioli - Brazilian driver who has raced in two different one-make championships. In 2007 and 2008, she had part-seasons in the Brazilian Clio Cup. In 2008, she finished tenth at Santa Cruz, her first Clio Cup top ten, and was 21st in the championship. After some time out, she returned to competition in 2011, in the Mercedes Benz Grand Challenge. Her car was a C250 run by her family team, Paioli Racing, as always. Her best finish was fourth, at Santa Cruz, and she also finished in the top ten on five more occasions. She was eleventh overall. Her father, Marco Paioli, is also a racer, who runs the team with Graziela’s mother. Graziela herself became a mother in early 2013, explaining her absence from the track. 

Paola Traverso - seems to have begun racing in 1996, in Formula Hyundai Femenina. She was one of the leading drivers, and won races. In 1997, she was a race-winner again in the Copa Damas, an all-female one-make series which used the Vauxhall Corsa. She may also have raced in a mixed Corsa one-make series, and won races there. She competed in all three seasons of the Copa Damas, and was a front-runner in all three.

(Image from http://masguau.com/)      

The Rallye Femminile Perla di Sanremo

Three-time winner, Paola della Chiesa

The Perla di Sanremo Rallye ran between 1952 and 1956. Recently, it was recognised as part of the history of the Rallye Sanremo, and its five editions were included in the yearly event numbering.

The Rallye was one of a number of events for female drivers that existed in Italy in the 1950s. Women-only hillclimbs and circuit races were a feature of Italian motorsport of the time, and attracted some talented drivers in genuine racing cars.

The first Rallye, in 1952, was around 500km long, and consisted of regularity trials, and two speed tests, held at the Ospedaletti circuit and the Poggio dei Fiori. Starting points included Milan, Padua, Monte Carlo, Turin and Lyon. The 1953 Rallye is described by some sources as being a reliability trial only, but this was an exception. Later events had high-speed tests at Monza, and the Colle-San Bartolomeo hillclimb. The distances covered gradually increased over the years, up to 1000km by the end, run over three days, rather than two.

Numbers of crews varied, but 22 was the largest entry.

The Rallye was cancelled after the closure of the Ospedaletti track, and a change in the rules about motorsport on public roads.

Contessa Paola della Chiesa was the star of the Perla di Sanremo, winning three times. She was also successful in other women’s events, and took part in mixed competition too. The young Luisa Rezzonico managed one win. Ada Pace was another well-known driver who took part at least once, in an Alfa Romeo.

Like all rallies of the time, the Perla di Sanremo had its share of tragedy; Giuliana Pini and her navigator, Margherita Pantaguzzi, were killed in an accident during a road section of the 1954 Rallye.

Winners

1952 Paola della Chiesa (Lancia Aurelia GT)

1953 Luisa Rezzonico (Lancia Aurelia)

1954 Paola della Chiesa (Alfa Romeo 1900)

1955 Paola della Chiesa (Lancia Aurelia B2)

1956 Goffreda Cambieri (Isetta)

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

Ianina Zanazzi

Ianina in 2003

Ianina Zanazzi is an Argentine driver who has raced single-seaters in Europe and South America. In the early 2000s, she was recognised as a promising young driver, and occasionally tipped as the next woman in Formula One.

Compared to some, she got her start in motorsport quite late, at fourteen. She competed in karts for a year, then made her senior debut in 1997, in the all-female Formula Hyundai Femenina touring car series, which she combined with her school studies. She was not overly keen on the all-woman set-up, criticising the driving of some of her rivals, and moved on after one season.

In 1998, she moved into single-seater racing in Argentina. She ran in Formula Renault in Argentina, as well as some Formula Honda races. In June, she became the first woman to win a Formula Renault race in Argentina, at Rio Cuarto. As she did not complete the season, she was only 29^th in the championship, but her skill was now being noted.

She contested Formula Super Renault in 1999, and won the National class outright.

Having worked her way up the Argentine junior formulae, she graduated to SudAm Formula 3 in 2000, in the Light class. She was competitive straight away, scoring two class wins and ten podiums from 18 races. Her final position was second in the Light class. This was in spite of some off-track trouble, when her team-mate was accused of sabotaging her car. Ianina crashed during a testing session, skidding on a patch of oil that had not been there on her previous lap. She was running late at the track, having had problems earlier in the day, and was the only driver there. A hole in the trackside fence nearby was found, and foul play was suspected. Nothing was ever proved.

Despite the negative media attention, a test in Toyota Atlantics for the Hylton team followed, with a view to progressing towards CART, but this did not lead to a competition drive.

In 2001, she tried to put this disappointment behind her, and concentrate on her on-track successes. She took another step up, into the top-level SudAm F3 championship. Driving for two different teams, she had a best finish of fifth, and was thirteenth overall, after seven races. Early in the season, she made her first forays into European motorsport, making a guest appearance in the Italian Formula Renault championship. She was fifteenth at Estoril, driving for the BVM Minardi Junior team.

She moved to Spain for Spanish Formula 3 in 2002, but only completed half of the season, driving for GTA Motor Competition. She was 21^st in the championship, with a best finish of tenth, at Estoril. One of her rivals was Maria de Villota.  

At home, she made a couple of guest appearances in TC Pista Argentina, a touring car series. She raced a Ford Falcon.

It was back home to Argentina in 2003, for the Formula Renault championship. She was driving for the Crespi team, and was not among the front-runners. She did not complete the season, and was 21^st overall. She also repeated her 2002 TC Pista guest spots, in the same car.

Briefly, she reappeared in 2004, contesting Class Two of Argentine Touring Cars in a VW Golf. She completed seven races and scored nine points. After that, she disappeared from the competition scene.

After that, she worked as a performance driving instructor. In 2009, her profile was raised again by her support of the young Argentine driver, Violeta Pernice, in the Top Race Junior series.

By 2012, she was described as a “former racing driver” in interviews. However, she returned to the circuits in 2018, winning the Argentine Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy. She won one race at Buenos Aires and had another five podiums. 

The following year, she did a part-season in the TC Pista Mouras series, driving a Chevrolet. Her best finishes were two eighth places at Buenos Aires and La Plata and she was 15th overall. She also made a guest appearance in a Ford in Top Race, finishing 16th at Parana. 

She did a full Top Race season in 2021, driving a Toyota for the Pfening Competicion team. It was a somewhat consistent campaign, but she managed two second places at San Nicolas and a third at Buenos Aires. She was ninth in the championship.

Her comeback continued in 2022 with some outings in Class 3 of the Argentine national touring car championships and a few Pickup races. Her time in Turismo Nacional, using a Toyota Corolla, was plagued by a series of non-finishes and she only made her way into the top twenty towards the end of the season. She finished one race at La Plata in a Toyota Hilux truck.

(Image from http://sportswoman.info)

Joanna Clarke

Joanna in the Clio

Joanna Clarke is one of a select group of female racers who have competed in the modern British Touring Car Championship.

Her first senior races were in 1998, at the wheel of a Peugeot 306, in a club meet at Silverstone. This followed several years of karting, with multiple race wins, partly achieved through a school team.

Early in her career, she w as a promising single-seater driver. During her first season, she tried her hand at Formula Ford and Formula Vauxhall Junior, coming third in a Vauxhall series. She won her class in a British Formula Ford race at Donington in 1999. This, and some other strong finishes, gave her third place overall in the First Division class. At the end of the year, she was awarded the BWRDC’s Monoposto Award, for the most successful single-seater driver.

She later ran well in the 2000 Ford Fiesta Zetec championship, with a best finish of fourth. She was racing against her fellow future BTCC drivers, Gordon Shedden and Gareth Howell. As she had been awarded a Ladies’ Cup, she received a prize drive consisting of a test in a Ford Mondeo.

The Ford test did not lead to a BTCC drive, but part-way through the season, she was signed up by eccentric millionaire, John B&Q’s team. She was deputising for John B&Q (John Batchelor) himself, driving a Honda Integra Type-R in the Production class. Her first races, at Knockhill, gave her a fourteenth and sixteenth place, from the back of the grid, and one tenth place in class. She was 18^th at Snetterton, but did not finish the second race, and her final meeting, Croft, was a bit of a disaster, with a blown engine on lap one of the first race, which meant she was unable to start the next second. Her team-mate, Mark Beaumont, suffered the same fate. She was 25^th in the Production drivers’ championship.

In September, Joanna also drove in the Renault Clio Cup for the Mardi Gras team, as one of their usual drivers, Duncan Vercoe, was unavailable. She was 16^th in one race, at Silverstone, from 23^rd on the grid.

A lack of finances kept Joanna away from motorsport for quite a long time. In 2004, she did some Legends racing, but was not really competitive.

She has not been active in motorsport since then.

(Image from http://www.redshoes-racing.com/)

Marta Candian

A Hawk Racing Club Renault Clio. This is not Marta Candian driving!

Marta Candian was an Italian driver who competed in WRC rallies between 1999 and 2001.

She is a very enigmatic figure; I have been unable to find any pictures of her. A Rallysprint magazine cover from 2000 shows that she had some media profile at the time. She was part of an article on female drivers, including Lara Battistolli, Mascha Mularo and Enrica Munaretto. Despite this attention, biographical details about Marta are extremely hard to come by.

She deserves to have a full Speedqueens profile due to her World Championship participation. If a European Ladies’ Championship were being awarded in 2000, she would probably have won it.

The earliest record of Marta as a competitor appears in 1995, when she co-drove for Emanuele Zecchin. They did the Piancavallo Rally together twice, in 1995 and 1996, finishing once.

In 1998, she starts to appear in major rallies as a driver. She was associated with the Hawk Racing Club team, and she drove both a Ford Escort RS Cosworth and a Renault Clio Williams for them that year. She was 49^th in the Isola d’Elba Rally in the Clio, but did not finish the Rallye d’Antibes in the Escort.

In 1999 she used a Renault Clio Williams on the Portugal, Catalunya and Corsica rounds of the World Rally Championship. She finished the Tour de Corse in 48^th place, her first WRC finish. As well as her southern European WRC rallies, she did some ERC events in the Clio and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5. Her best result was tenth on the Rally d’Antibes, in the Mitsubishi, and she was third in Group N. The Lancer was run by the Hawk Racing Club team again.

She drove the Lancer in the Monte Carlo, Portugal and Catalunya rallies in 2000, and managed to finish the Catalunya Rally in 32nd. She was 47^th on the Monte, but the engine on the Lancer failed in Portugal.

In 2001 she tackled Corsica and Catalunya, and was seventh in Group N in Corsica, fifth in N4 and 33^rd overall. As ever, her navigator was Mara Biotti, who sat beside her in all of her major rally outings.

After 2001, Marta disappears from the scene completely. She seems to have been linked to a drive in Rally Argentina, but this never occurred.

Any further information about Marta and Mara, or any pictures, would be most welcome.

(Image from https://www.flickr.com/photos/pietroz/4448042513/)

Speedqueens FAQ

All you need to know about Speedqueens:

How many drivers are featured on Speedqueens?
I've actually lost count. It's over a thousand now.

Where do you get your pictures from?
Google images, mostly, with some provided by acquaintances, and a few taken by me. I try to credit where possible. If I have used your picture and you would like me to remove it, please let me know, and I will deal with it straight away.

Are there any criteria for who gets written about on Speedqueens?
Yes. The blog is open to all female drivers who have competed at a reasonably high level of motorsport - enough to receive media coverage. Drivers from all wheel-to-wheel racing disciplines and stage rallying are eligible. Due to space constraints, I don't write about rally co-drivers, kartists, drag racers or sprint/hillclimb drivers at the moment. Generally, a driver should have competed in more than one race to be featured, although there are some exceptions to this rule (pre-1910 drivers, for example).

Are you the poster, LotusElise from The Nostalgia Forum?
I am!

Does Speedqueens have a Facebook or Twitter account?
The Speedqueens Facebook page can be found here. My personal Twitter is here.

Can I email you?
Certainly. Please use the "profile" link at the bottom of the page.

Would you be able to write some copy for my website/promo campaign/periodical?
Yes! If you want to work with Speedqueens, I handle all of that side of things from the Facebook page linked above.