Sarah Bovy

Sarah (left) on the BRCC podium in 2012

Sarah Bovy is a Belgian driver who competes in Europe, and is based in Belgium.

She started her senior motorsport career in 2004, in the Formula Renault Academy. She was just fifteen years old, and reached the final on her first attempt. The following year, she joined the Belgian Formula Renault 1.6 championship, and scored two podiums. She was driving for Thierry Boutsen’s team. Sadly, her funding ran out after only three races.

Although she had showed promise in single-seaters, it was saloon cars that she initially gravitated towards. Her first Spa 12 Hours was in 2006, and she was 18th in a Renault Clio. She also took part in the 10h Zolder race and the BTCS 25 Hours in the Clio, as part of a multi-driver team. For the 12 Hour event, she was a guest driver in the Speed Action team. This was after another guest spot in the Belgian Legends championship, which gave Sarah a win. At the end of the season, she was named as the Belgian female driver of the year.   

In 2007, she took a step up, and moved into international sportscar competition. She drove a Gillet Vertigo Streiff for Belgian Racing. Sharing with the experienced Renaud Kuppens, she was 34^th in the Spa 12 Hours. The pair were joined by Bas Leinders for the Spa 24 Hours, but did not finish. Sarah was 18 years old, and one of the youngest people to have driven a sportscar on the Spa circuit. She had also only just passed her road driving test.

For the next two seasons, she undertook testing and development work in a variety of different cars, supported by Gravity Sport Management. She did not do any competitive racing.

At the start of 2010, Sarah was back in a sportscar, driving a Porsche 996 in the first round of the Belcar championship, at Zolder. She and her team-mate, “Brody”, were 26^th. She tried to qualify the Porsche for the Spa 24 Hours, but could not manage. Later, she returned to the Belgian Touring Car Championship (BTCS) and drove a Mitsubishi Lancer for the first time. She did two races with Jean-Pierre de Wauwer, and was 18^th in the championship after one podium finish. Her BTCS programme included the Spa 12 Hours, and she was seventh. Round-the-clock enduros were something of a theme for 2010, as she also raced in the VW Fun Cup 25 Hours, held at Spa.

In 2011, she was meant to race a Ginetta for JHR Developments in the British GT Championship, but the deal fell through. Instead, she carried on with development work for Formula 3. For the past couple of seasons, she had spent time helping to develop a number of cars. For a change, she competed in the Rally Televie in a Porsche Cayman, and towards the end of the year, she was one of the finalists for the FIA Women in Motorsport Scirocco-R Shootout. She did not win the Scirocco Cup prize drive.

In 2012, it was back to sportscars, and she drove a McLaren MP4-12C in the Spa 24 Hours with Boutson Ginion Racing. The team consisted of Sarah, Marlène Broggi, Jérôme Thiry and Massimo Vignali. They did not finish. For the rest of the year, she was involved in the BRCC series, in a GC10 V8 BMW. She was second in her class of the Long Races championship, as part of a rotating squad of drivers for the GC team.  

In 2013, she raced the GC10 in the Dutch GT championship, finishing eighth in one race at Spa and fifth in another. She was twelfth overall in the BRCC Long Race category, with two class wins, and won the Silhouette ProEvo class. She also became the first woman to race an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, in the Spa 24 Hours, but she did not finish.

In 2014, the Long Race series was dropped, and she did not take part in the BRCC.  

2015 was mostly spent in the Renault Sport Trophy. She drove a Renault RS in some races at Spa. She was third in a Prestige (sprint) race, and fourth in an Endurance race. Her team-mate was Michela Cerruti. Away from Renault, she drove a works-supported Peugeot 208 in the Hankook 24h Series, for Team Altran. She raced at Mugello and Brno. The Brno 12 Hours gave her a class win, and 14^th overall, driving in a team of three. A different team, including Sarah, did not quite get to the end of the Mugello race.

She did some more endurance racing in a Peugeot 208 in 2016. At the start of the season, she contested the Dubai 24 Hours, but did not finish due to mechanical issues. She had more luck in the Silverstone 24 Hours, where she was fourth overall, with a class win. Her team was Altran Peugeot, and she was part of a five-driver squad. 

Most of her season was spent racing a Lamborghini Huracan in the European Lamborghini Super Trofeo. She was fourteenth in the Pro-Am class, and her best race result was thirteenth, at Spa.  

She raced the Huracan again in 2017, entering the Spa 24 Hours, which ran as a round of the Blancpain GT Series. She was sixth in the Amateur class. 

The Huracan came out again for the 2018 Spa 2 Hours. Sarah and her three team-mates were second in the Group N class, 47th overall. 

In 2019, she is part of a revolving cast of female drivers in an R24-run Ligier LMP3 in the Asian Le Mans Series. She and Stephane Kox were seventh at Shanghai in January.

The 2019 summer season was spent as part of the all-female W Series. Sarah was chosen as a driver but only as a reserve, so she only made two starts. She was meant to start her home Zolder race as it was her birthday, but her car caught fire on the startline. She was dropped from W Series in 2020. Later, she confessed that she did not fit particularly well in a single-seater due to her height. 

Motor racing as a whole was affected by the coronavirus crisis in 2020. Sarah announced towards the end of the year that she was going truck racing with the Lion Truck team in 2021. She did one race at Nogaro to try out the MAN truck.

As well as putting together her truck deal, she did five races in the French Ligier JS Cup for spec sportscars. She shared the MT Racing car with Thierry Petit. They were 25th in the championship. 

Returning to sportscar racing proved a wise move. Sarah was asked to join the all-female Iron Dames team for 2022, racing their Ferrari 488 in the WEC and other championships. 

She was one of the main squad for that year's WEC and made her debut at Le Mans, finishing ninth in the LMGTE Am class and 36th overall with Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting. The same trio tackled the Monza and Bahrain rounds with a best class finish of eighth.

Alongside Manuela Gostner and Doriane Pin, she also piloted the Ferrari in the first three rounds of the Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 championship, although a practice crash meant that she was unable to start at Catalunya. She was second at Monza and third at Paul Ricard.

In addition to this schedule, she and the Iron Dames found time to make guest appearances in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and the Italian GT Championship, in the Ferrari, plus rejoining Rahel and Michelle for two rounds of the ELMS. They earned two third places at Spa and Portimao in the ELMS.

She was a main driver for the Iron Dames in 2022, doing five of the six WEC rounds in the Ferrari. The WEC season started slowly, with tenth in LMGTE at Sebring and then a slightly disappointing twelfth at Le Mans, but three LMGTE Am-class podiums followed at Monza, Fuji and Bahrain, taking them up to fifth in the class championship.

The same team picked up even more podiums in the Fanatec GT World Challenge, winning their class at Spa after finishing second at Paul Ricard on the way to championship second. Another win followed in the ELMS, the final race of the season at Portimao, following a second at Spa. They were third in their class championship.

Sarah stayed a core member of the team for 2023. They had two new cars: a Porsche 911 for WEC and a Lamborghini Huracan for IMSA and the Fanatec GT World Challenge. WEC and the Porsche proved to be the most effective, winning the LMGTE Am class at the season-ending Bahrain race. A third at Portimao earlier and some solid fourth places helped them to second in the class championship, in what was the final season of LMGTE competition. They were fourth in class at Le Mans after running much higher for much of the race but losing ground in the last few hours.

The Dames's IMSA season was limited to four rounds and Sarah only did two of them. Michelle and Rahel were 18th in the Daytona 24 Hours and eleventh at Sebring. They also raced at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta, in common with many other GTD teams who did not run the full season. Sebring remained their best finish. 

Their GT Wold Challenge season was affected by an early retirement from the Spa 24 Hours, which counted for three of the six point-scoring rounds. Their best result was 28th place overall at Monza, the first race of the season.

Before joining the Iron Dames, Sarah had planned a season in the French truck racing championship. She does not appear to have taken part.

She is the daughter of Quirin Bovy, who raced touring cars in Europe in the 1970s and 1980s.

(Image copyright letihon.be) 

Burcu Çetinkaya

Burcu Çetinkaya is a Turkish driver who has competed in Europe, and in the WRC.

She began her rally career in 2005, after several years of representing Turkey in snowboarding competitions. Her first car was a Fiat Palio, and her first rally, the Hittite Rally, in which she was 45^th, ninth in class. Not long afterwards, she entered the Fiat Rally, an ERC round, and was 23^rd overall. This was her best result of the year.

After her first European championship rally in 2005, she entered her first World Championship event in 2006. She drove in the Rally of Turkey, and was 50^th overall, driving a Ford Fiesta. Another run in the Fiat Rally gave her a 21^st place, and she performed strongly in the Istanbul Castrol Rallysprint events, earning a ninth an eighth place. This year, she won her first Turkish ladies’ championship.

The Fiesta would prove to be her regular car for several seasons. In 2007, she kept expanding her horizons, and entered her first overseas rallies. She took part in four rounds of the Belgian championship, taking in classic events like the Ypres-Westhoek and Condroz-Huy rallies. She ran quite well in the Haspengouw Rally, and was 28^th overall. Mid-season, she travelled to the Czech Republic for the Barum Rally, and was 43^rd, with a class second. Her season finale was a second WRC round, the Wales Rally GB, in which she was 63^rd. In between, she still played an active part in her domestic championship, and won a second Turkish Ladies’ Cup. Her best events were the Istanbul and Yeşil Bursa rallies, in which she was fifteenth.

Her involvement with Ford deepened in 2008, when she entered the Fiesta Castrol Sporting Trophy, supported by Castrol Ford Team Turkey. Her WRC programme expanded to six rounds: Italy (Sardinia), Turkey, Finland, Germany, Spain and Great Britain. She finished all six. Predictably, the Rally of Turkey was her best event, and she won her class. She was 25^th overall. Away from home, she continued to enter Belgian rallies, with mixed results, the best of these being a 31^st place in the Rallye de Wallonie. At home, she achieved her first top-ten finish, a tenth place in the Yeşil Bursa Rally, with a class win. Another class win in the Istanbul Rally was very welcome, and helped her to twelfth in the Turkish championship, and a Class N3 title. The only real bad point of 2008 was a spectacular crash in the Ypres Rally, in Belgium.

At the end of 2008, Burcu experimented with other cars, and drove a Mitsubishi Lancer in the Istanbul rallysprints. The beginning of 2009 saw her continue to experiment, with a Fiat Abarth Grand Punto. She guested in the Italian championship, entering the Rally Adriatico with none other than Fabrizia Pons, the former co-driver of Michele Mouton. They were 39^th overall. Later in the season, Burcu returned to Italy for the Azzano Rally, on gravel, but in a Peugeot 207 this time. She was 17^th, with her usual navigator, Cicek Güney.

Despite the new cars, the Fiesta remained her main mount, and she had a second try at some of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy rounds. Poland was her best outing in the WRC, and she was 28^th, fifth in class. She retired from the RACC Rally Spain, and finished in the forties in the UK and Finland. It was in the Turkish championship that she really found her feet, with four top-ten finishes: fifth in the Kocaeli Rally, eighth in the Hittite Rally, seventh in the Istanbul Rally and ninth in the Ege Rally. Two of these were also class wins.

For 2010, she switched allegiance from Ford to Peugeot, and drove for the Peugeot Turkey team in a Super 2000-spec 207. Her schedule was a mix of WRC and IRC events, beginning with the Rally of Turkey in April. She was a career-best twelfth. Retirements from the Sardinia and Ypres Rallies followed, then a 19^th place in the Rally Vinho Madeira. Her second WRC event, Germany, ended in another retirement, before indifferent finishes in the Barum and Sanremo Rallies. Her best result of the year was in the Scottish Rally, where she was eighth, getting herself onto the IRC points leaderboard, in 37^th place. Her last IRC rally was Cyprus, in which she was fifteenth.  

In 2011, she tried three different cars: an S2000 Fiat Punto and Skoda Fabia, and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. At the start of the year, she used the Fiat in Turkish rallies. She retired from the Bosphorus and Kocaeli rallies, but was eighth in the Istanbul Rally. Her first event in the Skoda was a second visit to the Scottish Rally, but this too ended in retirement. After that, her schedule was centred around the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, as opposed to Europe, as in previous years. She did two more events in the Skoda, the Cyprus and Hittite rallies, finishing 17^th in Cyprus and fifth in the Hittite Rally. Moving on to a new “playing field” and a bigger car, she was fifth in the Dubai Rally, and third in a round of the Qatar championship.

Driving the Group N Lancer, she competed exclusively in the Middle East in 2012. She rallied a lot in Qatar, and started the year with a fourth place in the Qatar International Rally. A string of podium finishes in the Qatar championship gave her second overall, and she managed another top ten in the Middle East championship, finishing eighth in Dubai.

Her season in 2013 was quite similar, although she only finished on the podium once in Qatar, and was seventh in the championship. In the MERC, she was eleventh in Kuwait and fourteenth in Jordan, but retired from the Dubai Rally.

She did not compete in 2014, instead returning to her studies, moving to a new area and embracing religion.

In 2015, she returned to the Turkish championship, which was now the home of a few other female drivers. Her best result was ninth, in the North Cyprus Rally, and she was also tenth in the Kocaeli and Çanakkale rallies. Her car was still the Group N Mitsubishi.

She took another year out in 2016, but returned to the Turkish championship in 2017. Initially, she drove the Lancer. She only recorded one finish in it, then it caught fire on the Troia Rally. It was replaced by a Ford Fiesta. This car was more reliable. She picked up one top-twenty finish in it, a 14th place in the Kocaeli Rally.

In 2018, she entered Rally Turkey with Inessa Tushkanova as her co-driver. They were 31st in the main event and sixth in the National rally, driving a Ford Fiesta.

Between 2008 and 2010, Burcu was the highest-ranked female rally driver in the world. As well as her motorsport activities, she also works as a presenter on Turkish television.  

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

"Valli" (Valerie Stack)

Valli's helmet, and portraits of her

“Valli” was the nom de course of Valerie Stack, a 1970s saloon racer, and Biba model, who managed to claim some good race finishes and a string of lap records too. She raced between 1975 and 1977, driving an MG Midget, Lotus Europa and Triumph TR7 with Biba sponsorship.

Her name first became known in motorsport circles in 1975, for reasons not related to her on-track performance. She was photographed sunbathing topless at Mallory Park, and the pictures were published in the British motoring press. Valli was already working as a model, and at that time, was in a relationship with racer and track owner, Chris Meek.  He encouraged her to drive one of his racing cars, and her first track appearance was more of a modelling assignment than a race, just doing some demonstration laps in an MG Midget. Meek saw that she took to the car quite well, and offered her some actual racing, in the Midget. Despite having few ambitions in that direction, she decided to give it a go, and entered the BRSCC Production Sports Car Championship. Her early races were hard work, and some ended in spins, but she was soon picking up class awards, including two at Croft. Biba, the fashion label for which she had modelled, was the main sponsor of her MG Midget, which carried a striking black and gold livery.

Away from motorsport, Valli’s professional life took a different direction in 1976. She moved away from modelling and into music production, working alongside her future husband, Emile Ford, and producing one of his albums. Her relationship with Chris Meek must have been over by then, but he continued to support her in her racing activities. She was active in Production Sports Cars again in 1976, and was one of the leading drivers in her class. She set lap records for production sports cars worth £2000 and under at Brands Hatch, Aintree, Castle Combe, Rufforth and Ingliston.

The BWRDC gave her their award for the most successful woman driver in 1976, as well as its Best Newcomer title.

In 1977, she raced a Triumph TR7 in Production Sports, also owned by Meek and sponsored by Biba. She came second in at least one race, at her favoured circuit of Croft. At some point, she raced a Lotus Europa, again owned by Meek, part of a two-car team with him, but no results are forthcoming.

That year, her name was linked to a Land Speed Record project, Blue Star, led by Dave Gossling. Valli was said to be considering an attempt on Lee Breedlove’s women’s record, by no less than Motor Sport magazine. Drag racer Tony Densham and Formula One driver, David Purley, were linked to the project too, but it never came to fruition, as Dave Gossling was killed in an accident before the car was even built.

Valli retired from motorsport after 1977, following her marriage to Emile Ford and subsequent pregnancy. She is rather an obscure figure now, although she is remembered fondly by some motor racing fans who saw her in action.

She died in 2018, aged 65.

(Image copyright “Sherbet Hamilton”)

Sanna Pinola

Sanna Pinola was a front-runner in Finnish and Nordic Formula 3 during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Born in 1975, she got into motorsport at an early age, and was karting by 1983, when she was eight. Her lengthy karting career took her up to 1992.

At seventeen, she moved up to cars, and gravitated towards single-seaters. She did at least some races in Formula 4 in 1993, and drove in the Finnish Formula 4 Championship for the Sami Pensala team in 1994.

Her activities are less clear for 1995 and 1996. She remained in Formula 4 with her 1994 team in 1995, and had a heavy crash at the Botniaring, which she came through unscathed. The following year, she may have stayed with the same team, and seems likely to have still been involved with Formula 4.

In 1997, she posted at least one win in Formula 4, in the first round at Hämeenlinna. Her final championship position is not forthcoming.

Her final season of Formula 4 was in 1998. She was ninth in the championship. After that, it was time to move on to the next level.

Sanna’s next challenge was Formula 3. Her season in the Nordic championship had a steady start, with an eighth and sixth place at Anderstorp, in Sweden. By the next meeting, also at Anderstorp, she had learned the car, and scored two third places. In August, at the Jyllandsring, she finished on the podium again, and was then second in the second race. Her home races, at Alastaro, were a slight let-down, as she only finished one of them, but she was still a strong fifth overall in the championship.

A move to the Vaisanen F3 team for the 2000 Scandinavian championship did not go completely smoothly, and she missed some races at the start of the season. Throughout the summer, she struggled to reach the top three, until the Hämeenlinna race, which she won. This took her up to fourth in the Scandinavian series, and fifth in the Swedish championship.

In the summer of 2000, she became part of a tiny group of women who have driven modern Formula One cars, albeit not in a standard race setting. She drove a Minardi two-seater in a demonstration run at Kemora.

She stayed with the same team in 2001, and registered in the Finnish F3 Championship. As expected, she was immediately on the pace, and was second in her second race, at Alastaro. The first meeting at Hämeenlinna was underwhelming, but she won again on her second visit, from pole. A pair of DNFs at Botniaring was a disappointment, but she was on the podium again at Alastaro, in second place. A final visit to Hämeenlinna was a damp squib; although Sanna qualified on pole, she could only finish tenth in the first race, and did not start the second. This was only a minor disappointment, however, as she won the Scandinavian championship, and was seventh in the Finnish.

In 2002, she concentrated on the Finnish championship. This year, she was stronger than ever, and won three times, and finished on the podium on two further occasions. She was in the lead for much of the season, and would have won the championship had it not been for a crash involving Jari Koivisto, which allowed Jussi Pinomäki to leapfrog her on the leaderboard. Koivisto was third, just behind her.

After this, Sanna had a race seat fall through on her, and sadly faded from the motorsport scene. She had been set to contest the German F3 series, then the premier European F3 championship, but fraud by one of her managers meant that she lost her funding, and could not take part.

She carried on with some TV work for a little while, having been part of an MTV Finland stunt/prank show since 1999, but then retired from public life completely. She is apparently now working in a field unrelated to motorsport.

Sanna clearly had pace, and the ability to qualify and defend a lead. The ongoing debate over female drivers in Formula One would have been much more interesting, had she been able to progress further.

(Image from http://www.f1-forum.fi/vb/showthread.php?t=31036&page=5)

Female Drivers at the Bathurst 1000

Christine Gibson

The Bathurst 1000 is Australia’s premier home-grown motorsport event. It began in 1960 as the Armstrong 500, and was actually held at Phillip Island for the first three years.

In 1963, it moved to its present home, as an endurance race for production touring cars, on sale in Australia. Until the mid-1960s, awards were strictly class-based, with no overall results published. Gradually, the rules were relaxed, with foreign-model cars permitted, and overseas drivers, raising its profile within international motorsport. Its length was increased to 1000 kilometres in 1973.

For a long time, the race stuck to its production-car origins. In 1985, it switched to Group A rules, and was part of the ITC global touring car championship in 1987, then in the early 1990s, it became open to cars running to Super Touring spec. This created a rift with the growing V8 Supercar championship, who, due to a TV broadcast agreement at odds with that of the original Bathurst 1000, created their own in 1997. The Australia 1000 ran alongside the original race for three years, before becoming part of the V8 Supercar championship in 2000.

Women drivers have raced in the event almost from the start, and were particularly numerous in the 1960s and 1970s. Christine Gibson (Cole) is the most prolific female starter, with nine attempts to her name. She also shares the best finish for a female driver with Marie-Claude Beaumont: sixth. The best finish for an all-female team is eleventh, achieved by the “Castrol Cougars”, Kerryn Brewer and Melinda Price, in 1998.

Following the inclusion of the 1000 into the V8 Supercar calendar, female participation has reduced drastically. In 2015, the first female entrants for six years were Simona de Silvestro and Renee Gracie.  

Phillip Island (race length: 500 miles)

1962

Anne Bennett/Diane Leighton/Pam Murison (Simca Aronde) – 3^rd, Class C

Mount Panorama (race length: 500 miles)

1963

Lorraine Hill/Warren Blomfield (Morris Elite) – 16^th, Class B

1964

Lorraine Hill/Brian Reed (Hillman Imp) – 13^th, Class A

1967

Jane Richardson/Midge Whiteman (Morris 1100S) – 36^th

1968

Christine Cole/Midge Whiteman (Morris Mini) – 41^st

1969

Diane Dickson/Max Dickson (Ford Cortina) – 31^st

Sandra Bennett/Arthur Olsen (Morris Mini) – 36^th

Carole Corness/Ann Thompson (Morris Mini) – DNF

Christine Cole/Lynne Keefe (Fiat 125) – DNF

1970

Sandra Bennett/Christine Cole (Gibson) – (Holden LC Torana) – 13^th

Lynne Keefe/Arthur Olsen (Morris Mini Cooper S) – 36^th

Carole Corness/Gloria Taylor (Ford Escort MkI) – 42^nd

1971

Jan Holland/Pat Peck (Holden LC Torana) – 29^th

1972

Christine Gibson/Jan Holland (Holden LC Torana) – DNF

Pat Peck (Holden LC Torana) – DNF

Race length: 1000 kilometres

1973

Caroline O’Shanesy/Peter Williamson (Morris Mini Cooper S) – 26^th

Christine Gibson/Sue Ransom (Alfa Romeo GTV 2000) – DNF

Pat Peck/Darrilyn Huitt (Holden LJ Torana) – DNF

1975

Marie-Claude Beaumont/John Leffler (Alfa Romeo GTV 2000) – 6^th

Sue Ransom/Bill Brown (Ford Escort RS2000) – 11^th

Caroline O’Shanesy/David Booth (Morris Mini Cooper S) – 27^th

1976

Marie-Claude Beaumont/Christine Gibson (Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTAm) – DNF

Caroline O’Shanesy/Garry Leggatt (Fiat 128 3P) – DNF

1977

Sue Ransom/Russell Skaife (Ford Capri) – DNF

Janet Guthrie/Johnny Rutherford (Holden LX Torana) – DNF

1978

Sue Ransom/Bill Brown (Ford Capri) – DNF

Robyn Hamilton/Ralph Radburn (Holden LX Torana) – DNF

1980

Sue Ransom/Neville Bridges (Holden VB Commodore) – 22^nd

Alexandra Surplice/John Gates (Toyota Corolla) – 28^th

1981

Christine Gibson/Joe Moore (Ford XD Falcon) – 6^th

Alexandra Surplice/Doug Clark (Toyota Corolla) – DNF

1983

Christine Gibson/Bob Muir (Nissan Pulsar) – DNF

1984

Alexandra Surplice/Bob Holden (Toyota Sprinter) – 26^th

Christine Gibson/Glenn Seton (Nissan Pulsar) – DNF

1987 (ITC)

Annette Meeuvissen/Mercedes Stermitz/Roland Ratzenberger (BMW M3) – DNF

1990

Heather Spurle/Bob Jones (Holden VL Commodore) – 26^th

1994

Melinda Price/Garry Jones/Andrew Reid (Toyota Corolla) – DNF

1997

Jenni Thompson/Aaron McGill/Terry Skene (Ford Mondeo) – DNF

FAI Australia 1000 (race length: 1000km)

Melinda Price/Kerryn Brewer (Holden VS Commodore) – 12^th

The Castrol Cougars: (l-r) Melinda Price, Kim Watkins (never drove), Kerryn Brewer

1998

Heidi O’Neil/Paula Elstrek/Damien Digby (Ford Mondeo) – DNF

Jenni Thompson/Mike Fitzgerald (Peugeot 405) – DNF

FAI Australia 1000

Melinda Price/Kerryn Brewer (Holden VS Commodore) – 11^th

Nicole Pretty/Nathan Pretty/Grant Johnson (Holden VS Commodore) - DNF

1999

(race length: 500 miles)

Debbie Chapman/Dennis Chapman (BMW 320i) – 10^th

Jenni Thompson/Allan Letcher (BMW 318i) – 12^th

Leanne Ferrier (Tander)/Dean Canto (Ford Mondeo) – DNF

FAI Australia 1000 (race length: 1000 miles)

Melinda Price/Dean Lindstrom (Holden VS Commodore) – 17^th

2000

Melinda Price/Dean Lindstrom (Holden VS Commodore) – 20^th

2001

Leanne Ferrier/Paul Dumbrell (Holden VX Commodore) – DNF

2009

Leanne Tander/David Wall (Ford BF Falcon) – 29^th

2015

Renee Gracie/Simona de Silvestro (Ford FG X Falcon) – 21<sup>st

2016</sup>

Renee Gracie/Simona de Silvestro (Nissan Altima) - 14th

2017
Simona de Silvestro/David Russell (Nissan Altima) - DNF

2018
Simona de Silvestro/Alex Rullo (Nissan Altima) - 14th

2019
Simona de Silvestro/Alex Rullo (Nissan Altima) - 14th

2023

Simona de Silvestro/Kai Allen (Ford Mustang S650) - 20th

(C. Gibson image copyright News Corp Australia)

Female Drivers in One-Make Series: Hungary

Vivien Keszthelyi

Hungarian female drivers are making big strides into their domestic motorsport scene. The current favoured series is the RCM Cup, which allows very young drivers to race alongside more experienced competitors. The Lotus Ladies’ Cup also attracted a largely Hungarian field, especially in its earlier seasons. Anett György now has her own post. 

Annamaria Abari – Hungarian-born, but now a US passport holder. She did some races in the 2014 RCM Suzuki Swift Cup, finishing 19^th overall, with a best finish of ninth, at the Pannoniaring. Previously, she competed in karting in the USA, and she returned to senior competition after her Hungarian races. In 2016, she returned to cars, but in rallycross. She contested at least some rounds of the Hungarian Junior championship in a Suzuki Swift. She was also a competitive swimmer.

Edina Bús - winner of the Lotus Ladies’ Cup in 2011 and 2012, after an appeal in the case of the 2012 championship. She has 17 wins from 24 races in that series. Before the Ladies’ Cup, she raced Suzuki Swifts in her native Hungary. In 2008, she was fourth in the Hungarian Suzuki Swift Cup, and in 2009, ninth. In 2010, she raced in a bio-fuelled version of the Swift Cup, and was fourth in that. As part of the Ladies’ Cup, she has undertaken various media duties for Lotus. Her activities in 2013 included racing a Ferrari in the Central Europe Zone championship, alongside Norbert Kiss. She also did one race in India as part of the Lotus Ladies set-up. In 2014, she raced in the SEAT Leon Eurocup. Her best result was eighth, at Salzburg. She was 21st overall. Another season in the SEAT gave her 25th overall, with a best finish of thirteenth, at the Red Bull Ring. In 2016, she raced the SEAT in some rounds of the Hungarian touring car championship, and earned a second and third place at the Hungaroring. 

Stefánia Havellant - Hungarian driver who had her first season of racing in 2014. She competed in the Suzuki Swift Cup, in the Hungarian national class. Her best result has been seventh, at the Slovakiaring. She does not appear to have completed all of her races this season. Stefánia may well be from a motorsport family, as there are others in Hungarian motorsport with the surname Havellant. 

Vivien Miss – raced in the RCM Swift Suzuki Cup in Hungary in 2014. She did a part-season in the second half of the year, driving for the Proex team. Her best finish was fourteenth, and she was 23^rd in the championship. She was competing alongside her father, János Miss. She does not appear to have raced in 2015.  

Diána Simon – Hungarian driver who races in the Suzuki Swift Cup in Europe. She was a team-mate to Vivien Keszthelyi in 2015. Her best result so far has been a 17^th place. Diána was still only fifteen years old, but under Hungarian motorsport authority rules, could race as a senior. 2015 was her first year of senior competition.

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