Women in National Sportscar Racing: the UK

Chloe and Jade Edwards

This post has been split off from Women in National Sportscar Racing, with some additions. Rebecca Jackson, Fiona James, Jade Paveley and Flick Haigh now have their own posts.

Judy Andreason (Day; also Vickery) - raced a variety of cars between 1967 and 1983. She was best known for her exploits in a Marcos 1500 with the numberplate “HOT1E”, which she raced in sportscar events at Castle Combe and Brands Hatch. She was an early exponent of historic racing, and owned two 1930s MGs, a Magnette and an NA. As well as circuit racing, she competed in trials and rallies. She was an enthusiastic early member of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club, and unfortunately, injured her neck during an all-female BWRDC Demolition Derby. This forced her retirement in 1983. She died in 2017, aged 75.

Nicola Bernans – raced in the VdeV series in 2008 and 2009. She was driving a Juno in the Modern Endurance category, and made guest appearances both years. In 2008, this was at Magny-Cours, and she had a best finish of tenth in a sprint race. The year before, she had raced a Radical in Britsports, with her brother, Richard Bernans. The brother-sister duo also raced as Counter Solutions Racing in the Fun Cup in 2008. Nicola does not appear to have raced in recent years. 

Amanda Black – began racing through the Caterham Academy. She did her first couple of events in 2005 and 2006, but only really got her career started with the Academy, in 2011. That year, she scored her first race win, in the Graduates series. After more wins in 2012, she won the Graduate Sigma Championship, winning twelve of her sixteen races. In 2014 and 2015, she moved over to a Ginetta GT4 car. She raced in the MSA Endurance Series and Britcar, but did not have the funding for full championships. Despite this setback, she was a quick driver, with at least one second place in 2015. In 2016, she raced the Ginetta in the GT Cup championship, with Ian Anderson. They were sixth overall in the GTA standings. She switched to a Caterham for the 2017 season, and was eighth in the Sigma Graduates championship, following a part-season. She finished on the podium in all three of her races.

Jean Bloxam - mainly raced Aston Martins in Britain, in the 1950s. Beginning in 1952, she drove DB2 and DB3 models, mainly in National-level races at Silverstone and Goodwood. She was very successful at this level, with her first wins coming in 1956: a Ladies’ Handicap at Goodwood and a Closed Car Handicap at Silverstone. In the latter, she managed to beat Jeff Uren. The Ladies’ win was achieved in a Lotus Mark VIII. Other cars raced by Jean included a Ford Anglia and MG Magnette. Despite her string of strong finishes in National events, she only got to race in one big event, the 1967 Nürburgring 1000km. She and Patsy Burt drove an MGA, but had to retire with mechanical problems. Jean retired in 1961, after the death of her husband, Roy, at Goodwood. She died in 2016.

Angela Brown – raced in the early to mid-1950s. She almost always drove Aston Martin cars, which is unsurprising, given that her father was David Brown. Her best year was 1954; at a Silverstone meeting in July, she won a relay handicap with Reg Parnell, and was second in two other handicap races. Her car was a DB2. In 1955, she drove a DB3 and a DB2/4 around the UK, winning one Production Touring Car race at Castle Combe. This year, she drove a HWM-Jaguar belonging to George Abecassis in the Brighton Speed Trials, finishing well in the Ladies' class. She is also described as racing a Morris Minor at some point. Following her marriage to George Abecassis, she wound down her racing. Later, she owned racehorses. She died in 2000.

Vicki Butler-Henderson - better-known as a UK TV presenter and journalist, but raced in a number of saloon and sportscar series when she was younger. She did a full season in the Pentel Ginetta series in 2004. In 2004 she and Matthew Marsh also won a round of the Grand Prix-supporting Maserati Corse championship. Their car was a Coupe Cambiocorse. As well as this, she has driven and navigated in rallies, usually as part of her TV work. She has navigated for Louise Goodman and driven a Peugeot 206 in a British Championship round. Tiff Needell was her co-driver. In 2017, she came out of retirement to race in the Mini Challenge at Snetterton.

Brenda Dickinson – raced sportscars in the UK. She began early, at the age of seventeen. In 1961, she drove a Lola MkI, in which she won at least one race. That year, she was part of the Fury Team for the Silverstone 6 Hour Relay, although the result has been lost. She was 27 that year, and had been racing for some time. Her other cars, owned with her husband, Peter, included an Aston Martin, which she described as her favourite. She also took part in rallies, autocross and trials.

Valerie Diederichs - raced a Caterham in the UK between 2002 and 2004, as part of the Caterham Graduates programme. She moved up to Mega-Graduates in 2004 and won two "Best Improver" awards for advancing on her grid position, although she did not manage to get on to the podium. As well as Caterham Academy events, she also did some club racing. Until 2013, she was an aerodynamicist for the Mercedes Grand Prix team.

Chloe Edwards (Traves) - began her career in the Playstation 2 Ginetta Junior series in 2005, continuing into 2006. Her finishing record was good. In 2007 and 2008, she did some club saloon racing in an MG ZR, finishing midfield in Class B of the BARC/Dunlop SportMaxx Cup. She was racing with her father, Jim Edwards, a former BTCC driver. In 2010, she raced in the Max5 championship for Mazda MX-5s. She did not race for three years before taking part in the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge in 2014. She won the last round, at Donington, along with her sister. In 2015, she did a part-season in the British GT Championship, racing an Aston Martin Vantage in the GT4 series. She scored two thirteenth places at Oulton Park. 

Sally Erdmann - races a Radical SR1 in the UK, although she is from Germany and lives and works there. 2022 was her first season of senior competition, after some years of karting. She discovered the Radical by accident and took some time to test before embarking on her first race. She was eighth in the 2022 championship and second in the rookie standings. Her best finish was seventh, achieved at Snetterton and Brands Hatch. In 2023, she moved back to Germany and raced an Audi R8 LMS in the GTC championship. She scored at least one third place.

Emily Fletcher – raced between 2008 and 2012, usually in a Ginetta. She drove a G20 in the 2008 Havoline Ginetta Championship, and had a best finish of thirteenth, at Mallory Park. She had several DNFs, and was 26^th overall. In 2009, she did some races in the G50 Cup at Brands Hatch, as well as having a better season in the G20 series. She broke into the top ten on three occasions, at Knockhill and Donington, had a perfect finishing record and was thirteenth in the championship. After that, she competed less, and got some unwelcome attention when she temporarily lost her driving license, for speeding. She participated in the Britcar 24 Hours three times, from 2010 to 2012, twice in a Ginetta G50. Her best result came in a Marcos Mantis, in 2011, driving for the Topcats team. She and her three team-mates were eighth.

Tamsin Germain (Chittenden) – did her first car races in 2016, after a long and successful senior career in karting. In 2012, she won the Rotax DD2 Masters race at Genk in Belgium. She was second in both the Euro Open and the Euro Challenge championships that year. In 2014 and 2015, she was second in the BNL Karting Series. In 2016, she is racing a Ginetta G40 in the GRDC championship. Her best result was a seventh place, at Donington, and she was normally in the lower half of the top ten. Her sister is Tiffany Chittenden, and her mother is Micki Vandervell.

Tracy Hathaway - raced in Global GT Lights in the 1990s and early 2000s. She did at least two seasons in 1999 and 2000, picking up at least some top-five finishes. Her results are not readily available. Previously, she was involved in rallycross, in the Minicross class. She is the daughter of Graham Hathaway, the creator of the Global series. Her sister Jo also raced in the championship.

Michelle Hayward - a leading driver in the British Clubmans scene. She won the Clubmans Sports Prototype championship in 2018 and was named Britain’s no. 1 amateur driver as a result. She has been racing her Mallock in Clubmans since 2014, when she was second in the Sports 1600 class, with two wins. She did some races in 2020 after some time off, then some more guest appearances in 2021, including a three class wins. She returned to the BARC series in 2022 and was once again near the front. In 2023, she moved up to the CSP1 class and did most of the season, winning one race at Donington. Before that, she raced Caterhams and a Fun Cup VW Beetle, as well as karts. She first raced cars during the run-up to the cancelled 2006 Formula Woman championship.

Kathleen Howard - raced in club and national events in the UK in 1959 and 1960. Her car was a Climax-engined Lotus Eleven. Her most frequent track visited was Goodwood and she was third and second in handicaps there in 1959. She also ran well at Mallory, picking up a second place there in 1960. Occasionally, she raced with her husband, David Howard.

Trish Hunter - races a Clubmans sports prototype in the UK. Her car is a Mallock Mk16 which she races in Classic events, either with the BARC or the HSCC. Her career began in about 2010 and she initially shared her car with husband Brian, although they now race their own cars in separate classes. She returned to the track in 2021 with the HSCC after missing most of 2020, having damaged her car at Croft. Her adventures continued in 2022 and 2023. She has done particularly well in the BARC Clubmans Classic class, finishing third in 2014 and second in 2016.

Jodie Kidd - raced in the Maserati Trofeo in 2004 and won a round at Bologna with Fabio Babini. Since then, she has taken part in several “Gumball”-style road rally events, but no more actual races. She is better known as a fashion model.

Katrin Kristensen - Danish driver who races a Radical, mostly in the UK where she began her career in 2021, in the SR1 Cup. She competed with the Raw Motorsports team in 2022, with a best finish of eighth at Brands Donington. Later in the season, she entered a round of the Gulf Radical Cup at Dubai Autodrome and finished seventh in a sprint race. This was her first entry in the championship. In 2023, she did two races in the British championship.

Caroline Lucas - raced GTs in the UK in the mid to late 1990s. She was second in the 1995 Porsche Cup and entered the British GT championship in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, she and Diane Osborne finished some races in a Porsche 911 RSR run by PK Sport. In the two races they managed to finish, Spa and Silverstone, they were eleventh and thirteenth. In 1999, she and Paul Phillips entered a few races in a similar car. Their best finish was one ninth place, at Donington. Caroline does not appear to have raced since then.

Dorothy (Dot) Masarati - raced sportscars at club level in the UK, normally in a Porsche Carrera. She did at least one season in 1992, including a run in the 750MC Bill Taylor Memorial Race with David Bowden. Later, she admitted that she found racing quite nerve-wracking. Her sons are former British GT racers, Piers and Miles Masarati, and she remained involved with the sport for some time helping them. Her husband Jamie also raced.

Courtney Milnes - races a Mazda in UK club events. She competed in both the BRSCC and 750MC Mazda MX-5 championships since 2015, as well as karting internationally in Spain as a junior. During her time in karting she raced against Carlos Sainz. She is currently a front-runner in the 750MC’s 5 Club MX5 Cup and has a best finish of fourth in 2021. She works as a test engineer in the automotive industry.

Nathalie McGloin – started racing in the Porsche Club championship in 2015. Her car is a Porsche Cayman. She did a second full season of the PCC in 2016, with a best finish of fifth, at Brands Hatch. She was twelfth in the 2017 Class 1 championship, as she only did a part-season. In 2018, she won her first race: the BWRDC Ladies' Handicap at Silverstone. This followed another season in the Porsche Club championship. In 2019, she took her Cayman rallying too, taking oart in two rounds of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship and winning her class once. She was unable to race in 2020, but returned in 2021, competing in the 750MC's Tegiwa Roadsports series. Usually, she shared her car with husband Andrew Bayliss. She did more Roadsports races in 2022 but injured her neck and had to sit out a lot of the season. She attempted to come back for a race at Daytona in 2023 but was unable, so Andrew Bayliss took over. She is planning a comeback in 2024.  Nathalie is the only female racing driver in the UK who uses a wheelchair, as a result of spinal injuries. Her Porsche has hand controls.

Jemma Moore - took her first steps in circuit racing in 2017 when she entered the Brands Hatch rounds of the Junior Saloon Car Championship. In 2018, she started the season proper and took pole for her first race. She finished third. This was her best result of the season and she repeated it at Rockingham, on the way to seventh in the championship. In 2019, she won her first JSCC race at Knockhill. Later in the season, she traded in her junior licence and began competing as a senior, driving a Ginetta G50 in some rounds of the GT4 South European Series with Moh Ritson.They were first and second in class at the Algarve circuit. She entered the Jerez round in 2020 and was second overall, first in class. In 2021, she won the GTC class outright. Jemma is the younger sister of W Series and Britcar racer and former Ginetta Junior racewinner Sarah Moore. She had to step back from racing in 2022 due to illness.

Charlotte Osborn (Gilbert) – raced in British GTs in 2001 in a Promotasport Marcos Mantis, after some races in Marcos one-make series. Her co-driver was Andrew Davies. Their finishing record was patchy to begin with, but they managed a twelfth place at Croft as their best finish. Their reliability improved towards the end of the year. Since then, she has occasionally taken part in Britcar, in a Marcos Mantis Cup or GT4, as part of Topcats Racing, a team she runs with Warren Gilbert. The team has run in the GT Cup since 2019, with Charlotte sharing a Lamborghini Super Trofeo with Charlotte Birch in 2022. They were seventh in the championship. She carried on in the Lamborghini in the 2023 GT Cup, sharing with Gilbert Yates. They won the GTC class.

Diane Osborne - drove a Porsche 911 RSR in the British GT championship with Caroline Lucas in 1998. Their best finish was eleventh, at Spa. Previously, she had been third in class in the 1995 Pirelli Porsche Cup, driving a 944S2, and raced a Porsche 968CS at Castle Combe. She came twelfth in the Porsche Open Trophy. Presumably, she took part in other races in this championship as well. In more recent years, she has raced a MkI Jaguar in historic events, including Masters touring cars and the 2018 Le Mans Classic.  

Sarah Reader – British driver who began her career in Caterhams, coming up through the Caterham Academy ranks. In 2005, she was fifth in the Caterham Eurocup. Since then, she has raced other sportscars, mainly in Europe. Between 2009 and 2014, she raced a Juno prototype in the Speed Euroseries and the VdeV Modern Challenge. She was more successful in the Speed Euroseries, finishing fifth in 2011, after two second and two third places. She earned an additional podium at Paul Ricard, in 2012. In 2014, she raced the Juno in the VdeV Challenge Endurance Proto, with Flick Haigh. She raced in the VW Fun Cup in 2015. 

Louise Richardson - former karter, who began "senior" motorsport by competing in the Ginetta Junior series. She began racing the Ginetta in 2009, and was ninth in the championship that year after a string of late-season top five finshes. In 2010, she returned as a much more competitive driver. She finished third in the 2010 championship, thanks to two wins at Snetterton and Brands Hatch and a series of eleven podium places. 2010 was her last season of junior competiton, as she turned 17. In 2011, she moved into the senior Ginetta Supercup, and was sixth in the championship after three top-three finishes. She was also recommended for a series of awards for young and female drivers. In 2012, she was seventh in the Ginetta G50 Supercup, after four top-ten finishes. Although she only did a part-season in the G50 Supercup in 2013, she certainly made her presence felt, winning four of her five races, and finishing on the podium in all of them. She was fourth overall. In 2014, she changed direction, entering the British Formula Ford championship. She scored many top-ten positions, the best of them being a fourth place, at Rockingham. She was ninth overall. Her second season in the MSA Formula gave her her first podium, a third place at Croft. She was still somewhat inconsistent, but managed six top tens this year. She was sixteenth overall. 

Sian Stafford-Atkinson – races a Locost (Lotus 7 derivative) in the UK. She began racing in earnest as part of the original Formula Woman initiative, although she had done some track days before. She missed out on final selection for the 2005 series, but was one of the competitors for the 2006 championship, racing a Caterham Seven. Since 2009, she has been racing the Locost in the 750MC’s Locost Championship, and she is now one of the leading competitors in her class. In 2014, she was one of 29 female drivers who took part in the BWRDC’s “Race For A Record” ladies’ handicap at Silverstone, the largest ever all-female grid. 

Pippa Tanner-Wood - races Clubmans sports prototypes in the UK, both in the historic and modern championships. She won the CSP3 class of the BARC Clubmans series in 2018, earning several class wins in a Mallock Mk16. It was in this car that she set class lap records at Anglesey and Brands Hatch in 2018 and 2019. She has also raced a Mallock 20B in Classic and contemporary competition, winning her class twice in 2023. In 2021, she switched her focus to Classic F3, still within the HSCC. Her first season of racing was in 2017 and she competes alongside her father, Clive.

Julie Thwaites - competed at club and National level in the UK in the 1980s, with considerable success. She scored her first class win in the Garelli Sportscar Championship in 1982, and later went on to achieve nine more in 1986 and 1987, driving a Davrian in the Kit Car Challenge. She was recognised as Britain’s most successful female circuit driver in 1985 and 1986.

Martina Ward - began circuit racing in 2023, racing a Mazda MX5 in the 750MC's Mazda championship. In her first season, she was 17th in the championship, with her best round being Silverstone and her best result being tenth in the third race there. For this, she was awarded a Driver of the Day award. In 2024, she continues to race the Mazda. She was previously a sim racer, competing for two years before switching to real-life track action.

Geena Mae Watkinson - had her debut season in cars in 2020. She raced a Mazda MX-5 in the Max5 championship. So far, she has performed well in her class, winning a couple of races, although her pace against the rest of the field has been a little lacking. She hopes to race sportscars professionally in the future and wants to take part in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

(Image from http://www.chloejaderacing.com/)