Alessandra Brena

 

Alessandra Brena is a versatile Italian driver whose career has taken in single-seaters, touring cars and even rallying, in both petrol and electric vehicles. 

She began competing as a senior in Italy in 2011, at the age of fifteen. This followed seven years in a kart.

She drove in Formula Abarth, mainly concentrating on the Italian championship for the junior single-seater. Her best finish seems to have been eleventh, at Misano. Unfortunately, she was unable to complete the season, due to an injury sustained during a race. She also drove in two European championship events, also at Misano. 

In 2012, she drove in the Green Scout Cup for alternative-fuel vehicles, in a Kia. She won at least one race. This was the first of two seasons with alternative fuels; the second one led to a race win and a championship win in the Kia.

As well as hybrids, she raced more traditional internal-combustion cars, including a Ginetta G50 and a Lamborghini Gallardo, which she used in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo. She was thirteenth in the championship. She ended the year named as Italy’s best woman driver, still in her teens.

She raced the Ginetta again in a couple of rounds of the 2014 European GT4 Challenge for the Scuderia Giudici team, having impressed team owner Gianni Giudici. She was thirteenth and fifteenth at Misano, having performed well in qualifying alongside co-driver Walter Conforti. She was the youngest driver in the championship.

It was time to diversify in 2015. She did some rounds of the Germanol Adria Race Cup in a Renault Twingo, as well as entering some Italian rallies in a Peugeot 208. Her best result in the Renault seems to have been a fifth place. She won the Coupe des Dames in the Rally Due Valli, and was 28th overall. 

In 2016, she rallied the Peugeot in the Franciacorta Rally Show, and was 32nd overall. A guest appearance in the Italian Clio Cup at the end of the season led to a fourth-place finish.

Buoyed by her small success, a full-time return to the circuits in 2017 took the form of the Italian TCS Touring Car Championship. She was third overall, winning twice. 

Her career hit a fallow patch after that. She attempted to qualify for the W Series in 2019 but was eliminated from the first selection event. Later in the year, she went back to alternative power for the Mille Miglia Green, driving a Mercedes EQC. Since then, she has done some drifting but no actual racing.

(Image from formulapassion.it)