Geraldine Hedges

Geraldine Hedges raced in and around Brooklands in the 1930s, normally as "Miss G Hedges".

She first appears in the entry lists in the JCC’s High Speed Trial, in 1932, driving a Riley, but she was most associated with Talbot cars, one of which she owned jointly with Patricia McOstrich. Her motor racing career did not begin until she was in her early forties. A report on her garage business from 1931 states that she entered a ladies' race at Brooklands that year, although the result is not forthcoming.

In 1932, she scored her first Brooklands win, in a Talbot 90, the Sports Long Handicap at the Inter-Club Meeting. This would appear to be the shared car, as Patricia McOstrich drove it in the Five Lap Handicap at the same meeting. That summer, they had a similar arrangement at the Guys Gala meeting; Grace drove in the Duchess of York's Race for Lady Drivers, finishing eighth, while Patricia took on the Women's Automobile and Sports Association's all-female handicap. 

The Hedges/McOstrich/Talbot partnership seems to end after 1933, although Geraldine and Patricia remained close and continued to drive the same cars. They also ran a garage in London together, from at least 1931. Newspapers of the time make pointed references to the pair being "good friends", which may have been a euphemism for "romantic partners". They did live together in London from at least 1927. They sometimes competed with both in the car, like when they entered the Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb in June 1932. Their "took a corner too fast and crashed their car" but were unhurt.

They were joined in the Talbot by Lady Iris Capell for the 1932 RAC Rally, which ran for 1000 miles and started from Torquay. Ther are pictures of two dogs called Tippy and Dingo who accompanied the three drivers, but their finishing position is not forthcoming. They were part of a three-car WASA team, with Margaret Allan's Lagonda and Paddie Naismith in a Standard.

The pair's next car was a Singer, which Geraldine first drove in a speed trial at the 1935 JCC Members' Day, held at Brooklands. Although Patricia also competed in it from 1934 , they didn't keep the car for very long and it was traded in for a Frazer Nash-BMW for the 1936 season. As part of a three-car team she led herself, Geraldine was eighth in that year's Light Car Club Relay, also at Brooklands. The other two cars were driven by Kay Petre and Lady Dorothy Makins. The following month, she was back at Brooklands for the JCC Members' Day.

Patricia McOstrich carried on racing the Frazer Nash until the outbreak of World War II, but Geraldine's name disappears from the entry lists after 1936. The 1939 England and Wales Register has them living separately by then, Geraldine with the widowed Dorothy Makins.

She had been an ambulance driver during WWI and served with the Scottish Women's Hospital under Elsie Inglis, rising to the rank of Chief Transport Officer. She worked in London, Russia, Romania and finally Serbia, where she contracted malaria and was invalided home in 1918. 

Later, she worked as a "motor consultant", advising her customers on car purchases, modifications and repairs. She opened her London garage in 1935 by holding a well-publicised party in it, with guests "resting their cocktail glasses on car wings" and the space especially decorated. Her guests included Kay Petre, Brooklands scrutineer Hugh McConnell and Baron Wolfgang Putlitz, a British-based German diplomat who spied on behalf of the British government.

After 1936, she appears to retire from public life. She died in 1968.

(Image copyright The Sketch)

Iris Capell

Lady Iris Capell rallied and trialled cars in the British Isles in the early 1930s. 

Born in 1895, she was the first daughter of George Capell, the fifth Earl of Essex. She grew up in a privileged environment and was presented as a debutante in 1913. As a teenager, she was known for her love of roller-skating and golf. She learned to drive shortly before or during the First World War, when she served as a driver for the National Food Fund. Before that, she had worked as a nurse at Lady Murray's hospital in France.

Before taking to motor competition, Lady Iris saw cars as a business opportunity. At the age of 25, she opened her own garage in London, which hired out cars. She used the name "Miss K Adams" professionally and drove for the firm occasionally. The company motto, according to the Daily Record, as "Punctuality and Reliability". In 1922, she enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford, studying Classics. For a while, she concentrated on study and work.

It may have been a string of increasingly expensive motoring convictions in 1928 that pushed her towards rallies as an outlet for her enthusiasm. In 1929, she entered the first-ever overnight trial for women drivers only, running between London and Exeter. Iris drove an Alvis and won a first-class award for her non-stop performance.

The London-Exeter event was the first organised by the Women's Automobile and Sports Association (WASA), of which she was a leading member. The club was formed in 1927 and a committee was first elected in 1929, with Iris as a vice-president. She was a regular in their trials, competing in the London-Land's End event again in 1930. Its big trial in 1931 was from London to Westward Ho! in Devon, and Iris once again took part.

The 1932 RAC Rally was the first major rally she entered. Starting from London, she drove a Talbot, co-driven by Patricia McOstrich and Geraldine Hedges and their dogs. "They are as enthusiastic about motoring as I am," Iris told the Western Morning News. The timed sections made up 1000 miles and ran between London, Edinburgh and Torquay, where the event ended with a Concours d'Elegance. She was part of a three car WASA team with Margaret Allan in a Lagonda and Paddie Naismith in her Standard. Iris and her companions finished on time and she described the rally as "a pleasant journey."

Later in the year, she was on organisational duty at Brooklands for WASA, on the committee for the Guys Gala hospital benefit. She did not race, although WASA did hold their own handicap. Her duties included hosting the Duke and Duchess of York (later George VI and the Queen Mother) in the Royal Enclosure.

She is listed as a finisher in the 1933 Ulster Rally, again starting from London and travelling to Ireland by ferry from Liverpool. Her car was another Talbot, which she bought new in late 1932 and had painted beige. 

As well as stage rallies, she was a regular entrant in trials in the 1930s, particularly those organised by the Women's Automobile and Sports Association (WASA), of which she was a leading member. She competed in several of their Cotswold-based trials, as well as donating a trophy to the club. In 1934, she was one of the 67 women out on the Aston Clinton hillclimb for the club's first high-speed trial, which followed a regularity test. The hillclimb was 350 yards long, from a standing start. During the regularity section, Iris's car got stuck in mud and had to be pulled out by a team of horses.

She did compete at Brooklands at least once, although not in a head-to-head race. The 1934 British Empire Trophy featured Iris and her Talbot taking on the steep Test Hill, winning the trophy for touring cars.

WASA held a Welsh Trial in 1935. Iris did not compete this time, but acted as a steward. In the summer, she entered her car into the club's Silver Jubilee Motor Gala at the Hurlingham Club, in honour of George V. The following year, she represented the club as a judge in the Bexhill Concours d'Elegance.

A "Lady Iris Capell Trophy" was awarded in 1937, to Miss EV Watson, who participated in the club's Cotswold Trial in a Frazer Nash-BMW.

Although her competition career wound down, she remained an active and senior part of the WASA motoring committee, as well as playing golf occasionally at its tournaments. As an officer of WASA, she was invited to speak at many functions, from gala dinners to road safety conferences. She was still a figure in the automotive business world and was a director of at least one engineering company.

Her other major interest, which she maintained throughout her life, was the theatre. She wrote plays herself, translated them from French, acted as a young woman and produced many amateur shows, as well as opening her own theatrical bookshop, serving amateur dramatic societies, and even owning (or co-owning) a couple of theatres.

When the Second World War looked like it was about to break out, she became a leading member of the Women's Voluntary Services for Civil Defence, managing the transport department. In the papers, she was keen to stress that the women of the WVS were "not just a set of well-meaning amateurs who would only end by fussing around and getting in the way of responsible people." Although her advocacy was largely successful, she did embarrass herself in 1941 by getting pulled over for speeding in uniform, on her way to a meeting at Erith.

She and fellow rally driver Morna Vaughan led a group of twelve drivers in a night-time, no-headlights trial at a private road in Croydon. A report in Queen magazine, which covered official WASA stories, suggested that they were all racing drivers.

Later, she campaigned for the Liberal party, sitting on the executive committee between 1957 and 1962. In 1960, she got herself into another automotive scrape when her car collided with a bus near Thame. She suffered a head injury but recovered.

At one point, she was rumoured to be a potential bride for Prince Edward, later the Duke of Windsor, but the union never happened. 

She died in 1977.

(Image from The Genealogist Image Archive)

Vivian Siu

Vivian Siu (Siu Wing Man) is a Hong Kong driver who races single-seaters. 

As a teenager, she became interested in motorsport after becoming "addicted" to arcade racing games, something she did while she was mourning the sudden death of her mother when she was 16. She didn't get to race for real until she was in her 20s, after she had finished her studies at Columbia University and started working in the financial industry.

She competed in Formula 4 in 2023, beginning with the first two meetings of the Chinese championship. This was a first for a female driver to begin with, but she also managed to score points at Ningbo, finishing tenth.

During the winter season, she entered the first round of the Southeast Asia (SEA) F4 series at Zhuzhou Circuit in China, finishing sixth twice and tenth once for the BlackArts team. She switched to Champ Motorsport for the non-championship Macau support race, finishing 17th and 14th. This was a first for a female driver as well, although others had finished the Macau Grand Prix itself.

Trying something different, she entered the 2023 Asian Motorsport Championships, a tournament-based event similar to the FIA Motorsport Games. She and Li Ho Sing won the mixed pairs gold medal in Auto Gymkhana.

Since 2023, she has not raced much, although she has been the subject of a a film, "Zero to Macao".

Away from motorsport, she works in financial services in New York. Although born in Hong Kong, she spent most of her childhood in the States, returning to her home country after the early death of her mother and returning as a student.

(Image from Macao News)

Isabella Robusto

Isabella Robusto is an American driver who mainly races stock cars.

She was a member of the NASCAR Drive For Diversity scheme from the age of 12, being selected in 2016. After a long career in the junior stock car formulae, she signed a deal to race in ARCA in 2023 with Venturini Motorsports, but this was delayed due to her receiving a concussion during the last lap of a Late Model race.

In fact, she did not compete in any more stock car races in 2023, but made her debut in GT cars instead, racing a Toyota Supra in the Sonoma round of the GT4 America series. She was 16th and 20th in her two races, finishing well in the Am class. In addition to this, she did two rounds of the Toyota GR Cup North America.

She did some ARCA races in 2024, driving for Billy Venturini, and impressed during her four outings. She was second at Springfield, having started from 19th on the grid. This followed a sixth and a fourth at Phoenix and Elko. She started on pole at Kansas, but crashed on the first lap. In the Eastern series, she scored another second place at Nashville, and in the Western series, another second at Irwindale and a third at Portland. Out of six races, she finished four, always in the top ten.

In 2025, she did her first full ARCA season, beginning the year in the Venturini setup. The year didn't start very well, with mechanical DNFs at Daytona and Phoenix, but she made up for that with her first podium of the year, a third place at Talladega. Another couple of crashes followed, but she was back in the top ten at Michigan and Berlin, and the top five at Elko. Her second podium of the year, another third, came at Elko. She was third in the championship and took the Rookie of the Year award.

As well as the main championship, she did half of the East series. From three finishes, she achieved a third and two fourth places. A single outing in the Venturini car in the West championship, at Phoenix, led to another DNF.

Although her time with Venturini was very positive, during 2025 she took the decision to leave the team and join up with Rafa Racing, who were taking their first steps in to stock car competition. Returning to Phoenix at the end of the year, she was eleventh in her first race in the Rafa Camry.

Sportscars had not been forgottent in 2025. She entered the July rounds of the GR Cup at Virginia, on the same weekend as she raced in ARCA at Dover, flying interstate between the two tracks. She was ninth and seventh in the Toyota GR races and third at Dover.

She is an official Toyota development driver and also a mechanical engineering student.

(Image copyright arcaracing.com)

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)

Nattanid Leewatanavaragul (Kat Lee)

Nattanid Leewatanavalagul is a Thai racer who competes in saloons and sportscar racing in Southeast Asia. She sometimes uses the anglicised name of Kat Lee.

Probably her most notable result was when she was third in the Thailand TCR Championship in 2017, driving a SEAT Leon. She won one race at Bangsaen, and scored four second and two third places.

Her earliest experiences of motorsport appear to be in a women-only Thai series for the Toyota Vios in 2013. She did not win, although she managed a victory the following year, and was able to use her experience to move on to the Thailand Super Series. This led to two seasons in the championship, driving a Honda Jazz for Morin Racing. She won class C in 2015 and won at least one Class B race in 2016, at Buriram. That year, she was seventh in the championship.

After her TCR success, she entered the Asian Mini Challenge and did the Thailand rounds of the Asian TCR series in 2018. Her best result in TCR was a second place at Bangsaen, driving a SEAT Leon. As a guest driver, she did not score championship points. She won at least two races at Zhuhai in China in the Mini.

She raced in the Super Compact class of the Thailand Super Series in 2019.

In 2021, she made some guest appearances in the series, driving a Honda, but was not registered for the championship.

Her first races in Europe came in 2022, when she drove another Leon for Monlau Motorsport in some of the 24H Series races. She was part of a two-car, all-Thai squad featuring Sandy Stuvik and she won the TCR class at Catalunya, finishing 16th overall. She did not finish the Algarve race, driving for the same team but with different team-mates.

After a break, she did some rounds of the 2024 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, sharing the car with Dechathorn Phuakkarawut. They were second in the Am class, with three wins and eighth further podium places. Driving a Huracan, Kat entered the Super Trofeo World Final, finishing eighth in the Am class.

In 2025 she moved back to the Thailand Super Series, racing in the Super Touring category in a Honda CRZ with Thanaroj Tanasitnitikate. They won at least one race at Sepang.

(Image copyright Lamborghini)

Jackie Astbury

Jackie Astbury was a British driver who rallied from 1933, in the UK and France. She is normally credited as "Miss J Astbury".

She drove a Wolseley Hornet in the 1933 RAC Rally, which was then held in March, and finished 70th in class 2, having started at Bath. In the summer, she used an MG Magna in the Scottish Rally, having started at the opposite end of England in Harrogate. Her first outing in the Singer Nine which became her regular car was the Ulster Rally in August. In December, she tried a lower-paced event, entering the London to Gloucester Trial in the MG. She won a silver medal for keeping 90% of her starting score.

There was more trial action in 1934, when she took part in the Colmore event in a Singer. Again, she was among the second-class award winners. Driving the Magna this time, she won a first-class award in the trial section of the Women's Automobile and Sports Association's Day in the Hills. 

The biggest brush with fame she had in 1934 was not completely related to her performance on the rally stage. She had protested the result of the Ulster Rally, claiming that she had waited for a signal to leave one stage and not received one, making her late for the Bangor time control. Her protest was upheld and she was promoted to third place, winning herself £20 and the Visitors' Cup in the Singer.

In 1934, she finished the RAC Rally in a Singer. Using the same car, she won the Thistle Cup for best Scottish-starting driver in the 1935 Monte Carlo Rally. Her final finishing position was 50th. She also won her class in the RAC Rally. In between, she competed in the JCC's Brooklands Rally, winning a second-class award. She also travelled back to France for the Criterium International de Tourisme Paris-Nice, finishing 13th behind Grand Prix driver Raymond Sommer. She was second in the Coupe des Dames standings and third in the Light Car class.

In 1936, she repeated her Monte Carlo achievements, still in the Singer, improving her final position to 40th. This was in spite of a double spin on a sharp corner, before she even left Scotland. The Coventry Evening Telegraph acknowledged that she "did well",  taking time to praise her "fair curls in immaculate order" and her "smart khaki driving suit adorned with a Scotch thistle". She took the same car to the Brooklands Rally and won another second-class award, and finished another RAC Rally. Back in France again, she entered the all-female Paris-St. Raphael Rally for the first time, and was sixth overall, behind Betty Haig and Enid Riddell.

Jackie occasionally raced on track, including a run in a ladies' race at Donington in 1935. She was second in a Frazer Nash, behind Fay Taylour in a similar car.

Her motorsport career ends in 1936, although she did present a "Perseverence Prize" at the 1937 Scottish Rally. John M Archer was the winner; this award went to a driver who had entered the rally three or more times and had never previously won a prize. A Sketch report from September 1937 says that she had been "very ill indeed", and that "motoring friends crowded round congratulating her on her recovery" at Shelsley Walsh. This would explain her abrupt disappearance.

She may also have played badminton competitively before she began her motoring career.

(Image from the Brian Goodman Collection)