Michele Vallet

 

Michèle Vallet is a rally driver who competed in France in the 1970s. 

She drove an Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider in 1971, and won her class in the Paris-St. Raphael women’s rally, finishing fifth overall. She was also eleventh in the Alpine Rally, 15th in the Mont Blanc and 20th in the Cevenole Rally. Only an accident in the Tour de France Auto was a disappointment.

For a couple of years, she competed less frequently, although she was a regular in the Mont Blanc Rally. She used a Fiat 127 and an Alpine-Renault A110. During this time, she also navigated for her husband Roger Vallet, who usually drove a Fiat. They did three major rallies together: Monte Carlo in 1975 and 1976, and the 1975 Morocco Rally. The couple had been active in rallying since at least 1969 and their early cars included a Simca. Michèle may also have done some hillclimbs with Roger.

Later, she drove a more powerful Alfa 2000 GTV. It was in this car that she finished the 1976 Mont Blanc Rally in 20th place, from 63 finishers. Her second Tour Auto gave her a 24th place in September. 

A couple of years in an Opel Kadett followed. She used this car in two Monte Carlo rallies, finishing 71st in 1978 after recording a DNF in 1977. Her best result in this car was a 21st place in the 1977 Tour Auto.

The last car that she used in major rallies was a less powerful Autobianchi A112 Abarth, a car that would surprisingly become popular in rallies. She entered the Monte and the Tour Auto in it, but did not finish either.

During her career, Michèle remained loyal to a couple of co-drivers, including Monique Rodt who sat beside her on and off between 1971 and 1977, and Martine Peirone.

Unusually, she was never part of the Aseptogyl setup, preferring to compete on her own account.

(Image copyright user “thais66” from Caradisiac’s Forum Auto)

Rio Shimono

 

Rio Shimono is a Japanese driver who won her class in the Japanese TCR championship in 2020.

She made her major debut in the 2020 Japanese TCR series, although this was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak. 

The 19-year-old drove a Honda Civic run by Drago Corse when the championship restarted and won the Bronze class outright. She was second in the main Saturday series championship with one race win at Suzuka. She was fourth in the Sunday series that ran alongside it, with third places at Twin Ring Motegi and Suzuka.

During 2020 she became friendly with her fellow Drago Corse driver Tatiana Calderon, who was racing for the team in Super Formula. 

In 2021, she was third in the Kyojo Cup, an all-female one-make sportscar championship in Japan. Drago Corse ran her car. She entered the Kyojo Cup, which has a short season, again in 2022.

Rio previously raced in the Super FJ Series in Japan, an entry-level championship based at the Okuyama circuit. She scored two wins during the 2019 season, which was her first as a racing driver.

In 2022, she returned to single-seaters, entering the F4 Japan championship with Zap Speed team. Her season started badly with a lowly 34th place at Fuji, but she improved dramatically to 16th place in the second Fuji race. At the next rounds at Suzuka, she was 22nd and 34th, falling in the middle of the three Zap Speed cars. She did four more races, entering the top twenty once more at Suzuka with an 18th place.

Her second F4 Japan season gave her a 19th place. She was seventh in the first round at Fuji, but could not match that performance for the rest of the year. Normally, she was in the lower half of the top 20.

Her long-term ambition is the World Touring Car Championship.

(Image copyright Japan TCR)

Maya Weug

 

Maya Weug is a Spanish-Dutch-Belgian driver who was the winner of an FIA Women in Motorsport single-seater talent search in 2020. She was accepted into the Ferrari driver academy as a result. Throughout her short career, she has represented all three countries, having been born in Spain to a Belgian mother and a Dutch father.

She was entered into the 2021 Italian F4 championship by the Iron Lynx team as part of her development. The squad is part of the same team that runs the all-female “Iron Dames” sportscar operation. Her best finish in the opening rounds was a 15th place at Paul Ricard, which was a rookie class win. She was later twelfth overall at Misano and came close to a top ten at Vallelunga. 

Her six guest races in German F4 gave her a debut top ten: ninth at the Red Bull Ring. 

Her second season in Italian F4 started with her first top ten finish, at Imola. She was tenth in Race 1 and sixth in Race 2. By the end of the season, she had racked up six more top-ten finishes at Misano, Vallelunga, the Red Bull Ring and Spa, the best of these being a pair of sevenths at Misano and the Red Bull Ring.

Her guest spots in the German series did not go so well to start with, although she scored another ninth at Zandvoort.

The FIA’s support is long-term and seems to be paying off; Maya was not on the pace right away, but she improved rapidly in her second year.

She moved up to Formula Reginal Europe (FRECA) in 2023, driving for KIC Motorsport. She was the Finnish team's only full-time driver and the highest-performing of the five who raced with them that year. She began as a midfielder but gained confidence mid-season, breaking into the top ten at Spa with a seventh and sixth spot, the first of six top-tens earned in the middle three rounds of the series. She was 17th overall.

For 2024, her links with the Ferrari F1 team led her to a rather odd move: a seat in the F1 Academy all-female F4 series as a Ferrari supported driver.

Previously, she competed in international karting between 2013 and 2020 and won a junior title in 2016. She began karting in Spain in 2011, when she was seven.

(Image copyright Maya Weug)

Maud Manville

 

Maud Manville raced Daimlers in the UK and Europe in 1905 and 1906. 

She was a contemporary and rival to Dorothy Levitt, her equivalent at Napier, although her public profile was not as high.

Her interest in practical motoring dated back to at least 1904, when she drove her Daimler from London to Germany in order to watch the Gordon Bennett races. The same year, she impressed reporters at a meeting of the Ladies’ Automobile Club with her “splendid Daimler carriage” decorated with flowers. In August, she entered the Bexhill Speed Trials and won her heat in an 18hp Daimler. The car was in the well-supported class for cars costing between £2750 and £3750.

She competed in the inaugural Brighton Speed Trials in a 35hp model. She lost out to Claudia Lasell in the main draw, but won a race for 35hp Daimlers against male drivers. A Ladies’ Handicap was also held and she reached the final, losing to Mrs Herbert Lloyd in her own Daimler.

In the same car, she drove in the Herkomer Trial in Germany in 1905 and 1906. She did not finish the 1905 Trial, but won her class the speed trial section, going faster than several larger cars including Willy Poge’s 60bhp Mercedes, which won a later timed section. 

The following year, she finished the event in eleventh place. 

Born Maud Wallis, her husband was Edward Manville, who was the chairman of Daimler, and they competed against each other. In 1906, they were both participants in the Herkomer Trophy. When Maud heard that Edward’s car had suffered a puncture, she reportedly asked the German official observer in her car whether she would be allowed to stop for “a cry”.

Maud was an early member of the Ladies’ Automobile Club, joining in 1903, who encouraged its members to try competitive driving. She drove in at least two of the club’s gymkhanas, winning a “Bomb Race” in 1905.  In 1906, not long after her return from the Herkomer Trial, she was yet again one of the winning drivers in the club’s annual gymkhana, held at the Ranelagh Club. She won the Bending Race and was second in a “Tilting at the Ring” competition. This was a game adapted from an equestrian event where a contestant in a moving car had to catch a hanging ring with a lance or similar. 

The same year, she gave a talk to the club about her experiences in the Herkomer Trophy.

Her motoring career seems to end after 1906. She died in 1909, aged 37. 

(Portrait by Amata Bouwens, 1901)