Lucile Cypriano

Lucile on the podium in 2015

Lucile is a French driver who races saloons. She was the winner of the 2013 FIA Women in Motorsport Scirocco-R Shootout.

Prior to her burgeoning senior career, she raced karts from the age of twelve, winning her first race at seven years old, and finishing in the top ten of several French championships. During her time in karting, she was scouted by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission as a future talent.

Her first step into senior motorsport was in 2013, in the French F4 championship. She was still not quite seventeen. Her best finish was eighth, at Le Mans, at the start of the season. It was not the most consistent of years for her, and she was troubled by non-finishes later on, but this was a learning period. She was 21st overall in the championship.

At the end of 2013, she was selected for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s Scirocco-R Shootout. She was one of twelve young drivers who got through to the final stage, and she beat the likes of Naomi Schiff and Gosia Rdest to the award. Her prize was a funded season in the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Championship in 2014.

In 2014, she took her prize drive in the VW Scirocco-R Championship. She held her own on track, and finished all ten rounds. Her best overall finish was eighth, achieved at the Norisring and Oschersleben. She also finished in the top ten on three more occasions: two ninths and a tenth. She was twelfth overall, second out of the championship’s four female regulars.

In 2015, the Scirocco Cup was shelved, to be replaced by the Audi TT Cup. Lucile was set to make a double-pronged attack on the Audi TT one-make series, and the SEAT Leon Eurocup. After quietly dropping out of the TT Cup, her main focus became the SEAT series, and it was a good move. Lucile scored her first senior win at Catalunya, in the last round of the season, having managed two previous thirds, at Estoril and Monza. She was ninth in the championship. 

She also had her first taste of full international competition, making a guest appearance in the Spanish rounds of the TCR International Series, driving a SEAT Leon. Out of two races at Valencia, she scored one twelfth place.

The SEAT Leon Eurocup was her chosen destination for 2016, building on her 2015 success. Her best finishes were a second place at Estoril and a third at Paul Ricard. Despite only completing just under half of the season, she was seventh overall. 

In 2017, she tried something more powerful, in the shape of the French Porsche Carrera Cup. She was thirteenth in the championship for the Racing Technology team. Her best finish was seventh, at Paul Ricard. Her season included a run in the Le Mans Carrera Cup support race, in which she was twelfth out of 21 starters.

She switched to rallying in 2018, entering two French events in a Citroen DS3. Her best finish was 22nd in the Rallye Pays du Fayence. As part of a more extensive programme in 2019, she drove the DS3 in the Pays du Fayence again and was ninth.

She spent the rest of the season in an R2-spec Peugeot 208 which was not quite as fast, but she still ended the year runner-up in the French ladies' championship. Her best finish was a 22nd place in the Rallye Coeur de France. 

In 2021 she got back in a rally car, albeit for one event. She drove the Peugeot in the Rallye d'Antibes Cote d'Azur and was 54th overall.

It was a quiet year for Lucile in 2022, but she announced her return to the circuits for 2023. She was chosen as a member of the all-female Volant Matmut Akkodis ASP team alongside Gabriela Jilkova. They raced a Toyota Supra GT4 in the FFSA France GT championship. Lucile was fifth in the Pro-Am championship with five thirds and one second place in class. 

(Image copyright Lucile Cypriano)

Anett György

Anett in 2016

Anett György is a Hungarian driver who races a Lotus Elise in the Hankook Racer Cup in Hungary.

She began her racing career in 2013, in the Lotus Ladies’ Cup, which was based in Eastern Europe. She was seventeen years old, and the youngest driver on the grid. It took her a few races to get into her stride, but she was soon fairly competitive, and averaging fourth or fifth place. Her first podium was at the Hungaroring, behind Adrienn Bende and Liesette Braams. She was fifth in the championship.

Anett returned to the Ladies’ Cup in 2014, and was soon one of the front-runners. By the time the series was cancelled in August, due to a dispute with the Hungarian motorsport authorities, she had scored three third places from six races, and had started from pole at the first round at Oschersleben. Unfortunately, she did not finish that race. She was fourth overall.

Later in the season, she joined the RCM Swift Cup for the last three races, at the Hungaroring. It proved a tough initiation, and her best results were two fourteenth places.

In 2015, she did the full series, and was a much improved driver. In her first race at the Hungaroring, she broke into the top ten, finishing ninth. During the season, she averaged tenth place, with a pair of sixths, at the Slovakiaring and the Hungaroring, as her best results. She was tenth in the championship.

In 2016, she went back to racing a Lotus Elise, but now in mixed competition. She entered the Hankook Racer Cup, and started the season in the best way possible, with a maiden win. This was followed by a second and third win at the same meeting. The wins kept on coming, and she was never lower than fifth in the final classification. She won the championship.

Her championship win allowed her to progress up the European ladder and pick up a drive in the European Touring Car Cup. She drove a SEAT Leon for Zengo Motorsport for most of the season, in the ETCC1 class. It was a challenging season, but she was 14th overall, and a consistent top-ten finisher when she was able to get to the end of races. She also did a couple of guest races in the TCR International Series at the Hungaroring, but was not among the frontrunners. 

During her first Lotus season, Anett became one of a tiny handful of father/daughter racing pairs to compete in FIA-sanctioned series at the same meeting. Her father, Gábor, also competes in the RCM Cup, and they raced against one another in 2015. The same year, Anett navigated for her father on the Szilveszter Rally, in a Suzuki Swift.

(Image copyright Anett György)

Women Drivers in National Sportscar Racing: the Nordic countries

Heidi Frydenhaug

This post consists mainly of entries split off from the Women Drivers in National Sportscar Racing post. The Nordic countries have produced several women drivers for their domestic sportscar series in recent years, both in one-make championships like the Ginetta Cup, and in the popular Thundersports category.

Jenna Brorsson - Swedish sportscar driver. The Porsche Carrera Cup of Scandinavia was her home in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. She came seventh in 2004, despite only entering four rounds, and sixth in 2005. After a break in 2006, she switched to the Swedish Ginetta Cup in a G20, winning a race in 2007 and coming third in the championship. Although she could not repeat her race win in 2008, she was never out of the top ten, apart from one retirement. Her best finish was third, at Falkenberg, and she was sixth in the championship standings. She also takes part in historic events: her earliest motorsport experiences were in her father's Lotus Cortina, and she competed internationally in a Porsche 962 in 2005. 

Heidi Frydenhaug – Norwegian driver who races in the Danish Thundersports Championship (DTC), in a Ford Mustang. 2016 was her second season in Thundersports; she was 22^nd in the 2015 championship, with a best finish of ninth, at Rudskogen. In 2016, she almost got into the top ten at Rudskogen and Aarhus, but her season was badly affected by a string of DNFs in the middle. She was 23rd overall. She combined Thundersports with the Citroen DS3 Cup in 2017, and was reasonably competitive in the DS3. She finished in the top ten in seven of her ten races, and was eleventh overall. Previously, she raced in the Seven championship in Norway, and was the winner of the Junior Rookie Cup in 2010, at the age of 21. She began her senior racing career in 2009, in the Seven, after ten years of karting. In between racing the Seven and the Mustang, she drove a Renault Clio in the Norwegian GT4 championship.

Linda Johansson - Swedish driver who began her senior racing career in 2005, in the Swedish Renault Junior Cup. She was eleventh overall in a Renault 5. After a break where she returned to karting for a while, she reappeared in 2010, in the Ginetta G20 Cup. She was immediately in the top ten, and had a best finish of sixth, at Kinnekulle. She was eighth overall. Her second G20 season did not go quite so well, with several DNFs and only eleventh in the championship, although she managed to better her top finish to fifth, again at Kinnekulle. Her 2012 season was curtailed due to pregnancy, although she rejoined the G20 championship and posted seven top-ten finishes, including a fourth, at her favoured Kinnekulle track. She was seventh overall, despite missing almost half of the season. In 2013, she raced in the Swedish Clio Cup. Her best finishes were two fifth places, at Karlskoga and Ostersund, and she was normally in the top ten. She was ninth overall. In 2014, she had a very good year in the Clio Cup, with a win at Göteborg, and four other podiums. She was fourth in the championship. She does not appear to have raced in 2015, but she returned in 2016, to contest the Swedish Clio Cup. She was sixteenth in the championship, with a best finish of eighth, at Skovde. Since then, she has raced a CrossCar in the Nordic rallycross championship. 

Kirsi Kangas - has raced Porsches in her native Finland since at least 2011, when she took part in some national-level GT racing in a 997, in the mixed Avon GT and Porsche GT championship. In 2012, she raced in both her club’s Porsche GT Racing Cup, and the Finnish GT3 Cup, in a 997 GT3. She was eleventh in the club cup and sixth in the GT3 Cup, with several seventh places as her best finishes. In 2013, she raced in the GT3 Cup again, which was part of the Finrace championships. She did not do as well as in 2012, partly because the field was much larger this year, and finished fourteenth overall. Her best result was eleventh, at Ahvenisto. She was active in Porsche club motorsport in Finland in 2014, and was quite successful, earning a number of runner-up spots. 

Molly Pettit - Norwegian driver who races a Ford Mustang in Scandinavia. She began in the Norwegian GT championship in 2009, in a Nissan 200SX, which she used for several seasons. After changing it for a Toyota Altezza in 2012, she was second in the GT4 class. In 2013, she switched to stock cars in the Mustang, competing in Thundersports. In her first season, she was eleventh in the Danish championship, with a best finish of seventh, at Padborg, and second in the Norwegian series. In 2014, she continued this arrangement. She was fifteenth in the Danish championship, and made one appearance in the Northern European championship. In 2015, she raced in Danish Thundersports again. However, her season was cut short by a massive accident in the second race. For 2016, she moved into the Danish Supertourisme championship. Her best finish was seventh, at Padborg, and she was fourteenth overall. 2017 panned out in a similar way, with a championship 17th and a best finish of sixth, at Rudskogen. As well as her own racing, she got a job as a TV reporter for the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

(Image copyright HF Racing)

Claudia Steffek

Claudia Steffek is an Austrian former Formula 3 driver who had a high profile during her short career in the late 1990s. She was a rival to her fellow Austrian, Osmunde Dolischka, and was touted as a Formula One hopeful.

After a short but successful karting career from the ages of thirteen to sixteen, she started racing Formula Ford at 17, in 1996. Her first season brought her first win, in the last race of the year, at Brno.

A second season in Formula Ford followed. She was second in the German international championship. No race results are forthcoming for this series. With some good performances in Formula Ford under her belt, Claudia was keen to progress up the ladder. The same year, she stepped up to Formula 3, in the Zone A European series, and was apparently third in the championship. Unfortunately, no results for that championship are forthcoming either.  She was driving for the Italian ADM team, who would continue to support her for the next two seasons.

Formula 3 was her main focus in 1998, and here, she starts to turn up on the bigger starting grids that are still available to consult. Claudia appears in the Austrian and Central European championships, driving an Alfa Romeo-engined Dallara F391, under the banner of her own Claudia Steffek Racing Team. She had a best finish of fourth in the Austrian championship, at Brno, in September. In addition to this, she was fifth on several occasions. She was running in the Austria Cup class for older cars, but finished above drivers in much more recent machinery more than once. Her final position was sixth in Austrian F3, and she was also fifth in the Austrian Racing Championship.

1999 was her best season yet. She had secured sponsorship from Fujitsu Siemens, from under the nose of her female opponent, Osmunde Dolischka. This caused some rancour, but did not affect Claudia’s on-track performances too much. This year, she had access to a newer car, a 1994 Dallara, and her year started promisingly with a fifth place at Spielberg. She was then fourth at Most, eighth twice at Brno, and in August, secured her first Formula 3 podium, a third at Most. This then improved to a second place, at Rijeka in Croatia. She would also score a third and fifth at this track. The final meeting, at Brno, gave her another third, and a fifth. Her consistency and speed meant that she was an impressive third in the Austrian F3 championship.

For the 2000 season, she set her sights on Italian Formula 3000. She was named as a driver for the Malta Racing* team in March, and stated that her aim was to be racing in Formula One by 2002. The team, however, pulled out before the season started, and she does not appear to have raced since. This does suggest that she lost more than sponsorship, and that her own money may have been taken. It is a shame that she did not get the chance to make a comeback, as she was still only twenty when her career finished.

*no connection is implied with other motorsport organisations with similar names.

(Image from www.motorline.cc)

Francesca Linossi

Francesca with her Ford Mustang

Francesca Linossi is a versatile Italian racer, active since the age of 16. She is from Brescia.

Her senior career began in 2007. Following several years of karting, she drove in four rounds of the Citroen C1 Cup, the youngest competitor to do so in Italian saloon racing history.

Unsatisfied with the little C1, she moved up to the Italian Touring Car Endurance Championship, in a BMW 120d, the following year. She was driving for Team Millennium with Stefania Grassetto. This earned her a third place in the diesel class. She also raced in the Porsche Cayman Cup, and was the youngest driver in Italian history to drive a 2000cc+ car.

By then, she was gravitating towards GT racing, and she raced in the Coppa Shell Ferrari Challenge in 2009. She was a solid eighth in the championship.

Ever-keen to advance, she drove another  Ferrari 430 in the Italian GT Cup in 2010, and scored her first podium places, a third and a second at Vallelunga. She also managed a fifth at Misano. The rest of her season was rather up and down, with several DNFs, and she was 21st overall. This year, she drove some races against her father, Luciano Linossi, who was racing a Lamborghini. They also teamed up for one round, at Mugello, but did not finish.

In 2011, she retained some involvement with the GT Cup, driving the Ferrari in the GT2 class this time, but she only did two races. These both resulted in class wins, and she was fifth in the championship. This was largely down to her third place overall at Mugello. Her co-driver was her father, Luciano.

However, apart from some guest runs in the Lamborghini Pro-Am Trophy, which did not result in many points, her focus this year was touring cars, once more. She raced in the Superstars championship in a BMW M3, which proved rather difficult, and her best finishes were a pair of elevenths, at Algarve and Misano. She was unplaced in both the International and the Italian championships.

Not surprisingly, she did not return in 2012, instead competing in a familiar Ferrari F430 run by Black Team. She was racing in the International GT Sprint Series, in which she was seventh, after nine races. Her best result was fourth, at her favoured circuit of Mugello.

In addition to this, she did a part-season in the MINI Rushour series, and was tenth.

Having found a tin-top she liked, she ran in all twelve Italian Mini Challenge races in 2013. It was a good career move, which saw her recording her first win, at Red Bull Ring, and four further top-three finishes, at Mugello, Franciacorta, Imola and Monza. She was fourth in the final standings.

In 2014, she raced in the NASCAR Whelen Euroseries, in a Chevrolet stock car. Her best finish was eighth, at the Nürburgring, and she was 20th overall. This was mainly down to a shaky start to the season; she had to miss one of the early races at Valencia, after a DNF, and then did not finish round three at Brands Hatch, either. She picked up speed shortly after.

Later in the year, she made an appearance in the EuroV8 Series in Germany, driving a BMW M3. She was substituting for Maurizio Copetti, and was tenth at the Sachsenring.

Most of 2015 was spent on a second season in the NASCAR Whelen Series, in the Elite 2 class. A more assured Francesca managed five top-ten finishes, the best of these being a seventh, at Brands Hatch. She was ninth overall in her Ford Mustang.

Early in the season, she also took part in the Mugello 12 Hours in a Porsche 911, but did not finish. She was driving for the Dinamic team, with Niccolo Mercatali, Tiziano Cappelletti and Alex de Giacomi, all from Italy.

In 2016, she moved away from stock cars again, and back to the Italian GT championship. In another departure, her car was not a Ferrari, but a Nissan GT-R Nismo, which she raced in the Super GT3 class with Lorenzo Bontempelli. Her best finish was a fourth place, at Misano, and she earned another top-five place, a fifth, at Monza. She was thirteenth in the championship, partly due to missing the last four rounds.

In addition to Italian GTs, Francesca did three races in the Italian Porsche Carrera Cup. She finished two of them, and was tenth at Mugello.

A second Carrera Cup season followed in 2017, driving for Dinamic Motorsport. A second place at Mugello mid-season really gave Francesca the push she needed to make an impression. During the second half of the season, she had five more top-ten finishes and started a race at Mugello from pole. She was seventh in the championship.

Moving from one one-make sportscar series to another, she contested the Pro-Am class of the European Lamborghini Super Trofeo in 2018. She earned third places at Vallelunga and Silverstone. At the end of the season, she was ninth and sixth in the two World Final races at Vallelunga.

She was one of the original 55 drivers who were assessed for the all-female W Series, but she did not make the final 20 and forewent a reserve role in order to "pursue other activities". These activities centred on the Italian GT Champiponship, which proved a good move. She won the Pro-Am GT3 Endurance title in a Merecedes-AMG GT3, with one win at Mugello and three seconds. She was third overall at Mugello and was in the top five in the other three races.

Motor racing worldwide was affected by the coronavirus crisis in 2020, but Francesca managed a guest spot in the Italian GT championship, driving a Mercedes GT3 for AKM Motorsport. She was seventh at Mugello.

Another season in the Italian GT championship gave her a GT Cup class win. Driving a Ferrari 488, she won three races at Monza, Imola and Mugello, with a second place in the second Mugello race. Her team-mate was Swedish Daniel Vebster.

She started off the 2022 Italian GT championship, starting in the Sprint category in a Porsche 991. This was a slightly disappointing season, with a seventh place at Misano its highlight. For the final race of the season, she switched over to Endurance in a Mercedes-AMG run by Antonelli Motorsport. She and her Dutch and Italian team-mates kept pushing back after issues caused by changing weather conditions, finally finishing sixth in their class.

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