Carole Vergnaud

Carole Vergnaud is a French driver who was a member of the Citroen works team for rallies. She won the 1986 Mille Pistes Rally outright, in a Citroen Visa with Marie-Claude Jouan as co-driver.

She got her start as a rally driver via the Citroen Total Trophy, a rally competition for women organised by Citroen France. She had been co-driving occasionally since 1982 and competed in the Swedish Rally twice.

The qualifying stages were held in 1983, with the main competition phase held through the 1984 season, using identical Citroen Visas. Carole, the youngest driver at 21, was joint fifth, having won one round, the Mille Pistes Rally. The women's trophy was run as a class in the rally, and Carole was 18th overall.

Her first international rally as a driver was in 1985. She entered the Monte in a Citroen Visa, driving for the French junior team. She did not finish, and she did not get to the end of her second World Championship rally, the Tour de Corse. The car's clutch failed. Later in the year, she tried again, entering the Sanremo Rally and the RAC Rally. She did not finish either.

Away from the international scene, she fared better, although the Visa did seem to suffer from a variety of problems. She was fourth in the Rallye de la Baule in June, then ninth in the Rallye Terre de Charente, showing her skill on both tarmac and gravel. A second gravel event, the Terres de Beauce Rally, gave her a seventh place.

A first international finish still eluded her in 1986; she retired from the Swedish Rally after the Visa's gearbox went. However, after that disappointment, she had a superb run in the French gravel championship, beginning with a fourth place in the Terre des Bruyeres Rally. Her first podium came a couple of months later, when she was third in the Terre de Provence Rally. The results kept on coming, with a second place in Terre de Charente event, then her Mille Pistes victory. Sadly, another international outing in the Hunsruck Rallye in Germany ended in retirement, and the Citroen was less reliable in the second half of the season. She scored on more podium; a second place in the Rallye Terre des Cardabelles. At the end of the year, she was fourth in the French gravel championship.

Spurred on by her 1986 successes, she attempted the European rounds of the 1987 World Championship. After Henri Toivonen's horrific accident in Corsica in 1986, regulations had changed considerably, leaving the Group B Visa largely ineligible. Carole and seven other French drivers were unclassified in that year's Monte due to this. After some revisions, the car was allowed to compete in the Swedish Rally, and Carole was 24th. The rest of her WRC campaign ended with a series of DNFs in Portugal, Greece and Finland, with the car unreliable once more.

A surprising avenue for another victory had opened up that year, spurred on by the Group B situation. Citroen entered Carole and the Visa into the Atlas Rally, a rally-raid event, against dedicated off-road vehicles. She managed to win a stage outright.

The Visa was retired for 1988, replaced by the Citroen AX, running in class A5. The Citroen works team entered Carole into the Portugal, Sanremo and UK WRC rounds, but again, it wasn't to be. She finished one, the RAC Rally, in 41st place, after crashing out of the earlier two. Her Sanremo accident was a lucky escape. She had come off the road on a sharp turn with a steep drop to one side, and had only just climbed to safety when Jean-Marc Dubois and Robert Moynier crashed their Citroen at the same spot, killing both.

Her final season as a driver was 1989. She stayed in France, supported by the Citroen team for at least some of her rallies. The AX ran in a few different configurations, the most successful of these being a class A2 version, which gave Carole an eleventh place and a class win in the Rallye Alpin-Behra. This was one of three finishes this year, the others being a twelfth place in the Rallye des Garrigues, and 24th in the Tour Automobile de Nice.

As well as rallying, Carole raced Citroens on the track with some success. She competed in the 1987 and 1988 French Touring Car Championship, driving a works Citroen EX. She was third in at least one race in 1988, at Rouen-les-Essarts.

After almost an entire career spent in Citroen machinery, she entered the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1991, driving a Toyota 4Runner with Nanouk de Belabre. They were 73rd overall.

Later, she did some ice racing in the Andros Trophy, in 1992 and 1995. 

(Image copyright Citroen)

Liliana de Menna

Liliana de Menna was a stalwart of the Italian touring car scene who was active between 1963 and 1994. 

Her first efforts were in races for small-engined saloons, when she competed under the name of "Liliana" in the hope that she wouldn't worry her family. She had got into motorsport after visiting the Vallelunga circuit with friends who raced; throughout her career, Vallelunga would remain her favourite circuit. She had seen world karting champion Susy Raganelli testing with her father and decided to try it for herself.

She won a saloon championship in her first year of racing, winning nine races outright. Her car was a 600cc Fiat 500 Montecarlo. 

The following year she won Class 2 of the Coppa Carotti hillclimb. She did several hillclimbs during her career; the Italian touring car championship was a combination of hillclimbs and circuit races at the time. In 1968, she finished the Cesano-Sestriere climb, in the middle of a group of Giannini Fiat 500s, as well as winning her class in the Bolzano-Mendola event.

She was the Italian ladies' champion in 1968. Her marriage to Italo Cantera did not slow her down and the pair even raced together in the Vallelunga 2 Hours one year. 

Some time at the end of the '60s, she had a daughter and took a lengthy hiatus from motorsport. She stopped attending race meetings because she didn't enjoy them without being able to compete herself. It wasn't until the late '70s that she came back. According to her, Giancarlo Naddeo asked her to join the Renault 5 one-make series, and she agreed. She also raced in single-make series for the Fiat 127 and MG Metro. This was the car she shared with her husband.

One-make racing led back to the Italian Touring Car Championship in the 1980s. In 1989, she raced at Pergusa in a Renault 5, coming 11th. She was then tenth at Vallelunga. For the second Vallelunga round, she shared an Audi Europa-run VW Golf with Michele Rayneri, but did not finish. 

She even raced for Lella Lombardi's team in the Italian Supertouring series in 1991, using a Ford Escort for the Pergusa 2 Hour race. Her team-mate was Walter Santus and they finished 18th. Earlier in the season, she had raced a Toyota Corolla in the Trofeo Mario Angiolini at Monza. 

Later in her career, she raced sportscars, including a Nissan 300ZX in 1992, which she used for that year's Vallelunga 6 Hours. She and Francesco Ramacciotti were 2st overall. In 1994, she entered the Italian Supercar GT championship in a Mazda RX-7, driving solo.  She was disqualified from the first meeting at Monza, but won her class twice at the next round, held at Magione. Her overall results were a fifth and fourth place. The next race she appeared in was round 5, at Varano, but she could only manage one twelfth place.

She raced in America for the first time in 1999, more than 30 years after she made her debut, when she did some rounds of the all-female Women's Global GT series, driving a Panoz Esperante. Her programme consisted of two guest appearances. 

She died in 2021.

(Image from Il Messaggero)

Carla Costa

Carla and Barbara Costa

Carla Costa is a Portuguese driver from the Azores, Portuguese-administered islands in the Atlantic.

Her career began as far back as 1998 and her first car was a Renault 4, an unlikely rally car. Nevertheless, she used it between 1998 and 2002, before replacing it with a sportier Citroen AX.

It was in 2005 that she started competing regularly, using a 1200cc Renault Clio. Co-driven by Elisabete Nunes, she won her class in two events: the Rali FM Ilha Azul and the Alem Mar Ilha Lilas rally. 

The first part of her career ends here. She did not compete again for ten years, but made her return in 2015, entering the Azores Ladies' Trophy, a women-only rally series with its own events. Her car was a Citroen Saxo and her co-driver was her daughter, Barbara. They won the last event of the championship, the Especial Sprint da Riviera, outright, after third places in the two previous rounds. This was enough to secure her the ladies' championship title.

She competed in the Ladies’ Trophy again in 2016, and won the first two rounds, the Rali Regional Vila Nova and the Rali Praia da Vittoria. A retirement in the third round dropped her to third in the championship. Her car was a Renault Clio.

Her navigator since that year was still her daughter, and the pair continued to rally together for the first couple of events in 2017. With Rul Avila, Carla won two "Ladies & Veterans" rallies outright in the 2017 Azores championship. She was driving the Clio.

She was back in mixed competition in 2018, still in the Clio. She earned two top-twenty finishes in the Sical and Ilha Graciosa rallies.

In 2019, she was second in the Azores ladies' championship, first in the asphalt series, with a best finish of 22nd in the Acoreana Rali. This year, she had several different co-drivers, the most frequent being Lisandra Inacio.

After a year off during the first part of the worldwide coronavirus crisis, she returned to the stages for the 2021 PicoWines Rali, finishing 26th. This was followed up by another win in the 2022 Azores Ladies' championship and had a best finish of eighth in the Rali Ilha Graciosa, driving a Renault Clio.

She was very active again in the Clio in 2023, finishing thirteenth in the Azores championship and scoring another eighth spot in the Ilha Graciosa Rally.

Another Azores championship season proceeded in 2024, including a sixth place in Especial Sprint Motorshow. She ended the year Azores ladies' champion again and was 16th in the championship.

Her son Diogo and husband Joao have both competed as co-drivers and drivers. In 2024, Carla, Joao and Diogo all drove in the Rali Alem Mar - Ilha Lilas event. Joao was 20th, Carla was 30th and Diogo crashed out.

Janie Eaton

Janie with Ari Vatanen in 1997

Janie Eaton rallied in the UK in the 1990s and 2000s and gained attention at the time as one of Britain's youngest female drivers. She was from Essex and apparently had her first experience of driving at the wheel of the family tractor.

She began her career in 1994, when she was 17, driving a Vauxhall Nova like many young drivers of the time. Having passed her driving test in January that year, she quickly earned her rally license and entered her first major event in June, the Dukeries Rally. Assisted by Tina Powell, she finished the rally in 113th place, from 119 finishers. After two more finishes in BTRDA Gold Star rounds, she found enough sponsorship for an RAC Rally entry, which garnered her some press attention due to her young age. A portion of this came from Maldon district council and she had their logo on her car. Sadly, the clutch on the Nova went on Stage 22. 

The Nova, with a new clutch fitted, came out again for the first half of 1995. The year began with the Wyedean Rally in the Forest of Dean, a traditional season-opener in the UK. Janie was 100th from 118 finishers. It was then onwards and upwards for her first-ever rally abroad, the RTS Rally in Belgium. Janie and navigator Liz Jordan were 61st overall and second in class. Her second European rally was the Van Staveren Zuidersee Rallysprint in the Netherlands, and she was 60th.

After another finish in the Plains Rally, she got herself a new car, a Ford Escort RS Cosworth. Her first event in it was the Charlemagne International Rally in Luxembourg, part of the French championship. She and Clive Taylor were 55th overall. This was the first of four finishes in the car, which also got to the end of the ADAC Welfen Rally in Germany, the London International Rally and the RAC Rally. This was a particularly strong performance, although Janie and Liz Jordan only finished 89th. On the first day, they had hit a tree trunk in Tatton Park near Knutsford, and had to limp through the next stage at Chatsworth, picking up a time penalty in the process.  

At the time, she the youngest ever female finisher in the 1995 RAC rally, aged 18.

After this, she kept the Escort but competed much less. She did one rally in 1996, the Bournemouth Winter Rally, but did not finish. She did two more events in it in 1997, an early running of the Goodwood Rallysprint, which ended in a DNF, and the Welfen Rally. This was one of the best rallies of her career and she was 21st overall, fourth in class.

Her final attempt at the RAC Rally was in 1997, and she drove a Ford Ka with Pauline Taylor. The South Wales Evening Post mentioned her in a story about Ari Vatanen, as she had taken a passenger ride with the 1981 WRC champion in his Escort. She also described having seen him competing on the 1991 event, which caused her "Formula 1 ambitions to go straight out of the window." 

Since 1997, she has competed on and off at club level in stage rallies and rallysprints, often for Chelmsford Motor Club. In 2004, she drove a MkII Escort in the Rally of Kent, but did not finish.

(Image copyright Brentwood Gazette)

Olympic Speedqueens

 

Divina Galica (left) and Ann Moore

Many Speedqueens have achieved success in other sports. Here are five of the best-known Olympian female racing drivers. This is in no way an exhaustive list.

Divina Galica was a downhill skier who competed in four winter Olympics between 1964 and 1992, in the downhill and slalom skiing events and later, speed skiing, a demonstration discipline. She attempted to qualify for three grands prix between 1976 and 1978 and enjoyed success in Group 8 single-seaters, truck racing and sportscars. Her introduction to motorsport came through a Shellsport celebrity race for sportspeople.

Showjumper Ann Moore also got into motor racing through the Shellsport organisation and its celebrity events. As an equestrian, she won a silver medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, riding her horse Psalm. Her racing career was short, beginning with one ladies' race in 1975 and six further outings in a Formula Ford 2000.

Belgian swimmer Chantal Grimard made a surprise switch to touring cars in the 1980s. She first raced in the Belgian championship in 1985, driving a VW Golf, before appearing in the 1986 Spa 24 Hours in a Toyota Corolla. This was part of an all-female team. She also did some rounds of the French F3 championship in 1987 before retiring. As a swimmer, she had entered four events at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Swiss sportscar racer Lilian Bryner was another equestrian, competing at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. As a racing driver, she was the first woman to win the Spa 24 Hours in 2004, driving a Ferrari 550. She had won the GT class the year before, finishing second. She has raced multiple times at Le Mans and has World Sportscar Championship wins in a Ferrari 333 prototype.

Carole Montillet of France won a gold medal in downhill skiing and also had a decent career in rally raids after her retirement. She won the all-female Rallye Aicha des Gazelles rally raid in 2011 and 2012, after class wins in the quad class in 2004 and 2005. In 2007, she took part in the Dakar, driving a Nissan, but did not finish.

Suzie Brailsford

 

Suzie Brailsford competed in rallycross in the UK in the early 1990s.

Her career began in the summer of 1989, driving a Mini in the Minicross class. She was in her mid-20s and working as cabin crew for British Airways, which she used as a promotional talking point.

She raced a Vauxhall Nova in a one-make championship class of the British championship in 1990 and 1991. The 1990 edition was the first one-make series in British rallycross, apart from Minicross. 

The Nova and Suzie proved capable of good laps. At Lydden in July, she won a heat and was the fourth fastest in the championship, but she could not keep up the momentum through the other heats, with rain not helping matters. Among her rivals was boxer Barry McGuigan. By December, she had improved and was into the second day of heats at Brands Hatch, despite some rain, but contact with another driver put her out of the final. In between, she finished fifth at Cadwell.

In 1991, she won a race at Lydden Hill, but was later disqualified. She was announced as a driver for the 1992 series and did at least some of the races, including one at Lydden in April.

From the beginning, she was sponsored by Texaco. In 1992, she was part of a public competition organised by the company. The winner, Joyce Robertson, won herself a Renault Clio by guessing how far Suzi could drive the car on 7.5l of Texaco fuel.

She also raced a Nissan Sunny at some point, possibly a little later. In 1998, she made a comeback and competed in autocross in Suffolk, driving a Mini which she shared with Tim Compson, another former minicross competitor. 

(Image copyright Farnborough News)

Frankie Bogg (Francine Duncan)

Francine Bogg, known as Frankie, was one of the youngest-ever participants (at the time) in the RAC Rally. She first entered aged 19, in 1991. 

Her final position was 68th, from 82 finishers. This was her only World Championship rally, but she enjoyed quite a long career in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The RAC Rally drive came about after she won the Radio Times “Rally Quest” competition, held in conjunction with Top Gear. There were 36,000 competitors for the £80,000 prize drive in a works-supported Vauxhall Nova, which included the RAC entry and a programme of British rallies beforehand as training. The latter part of the competition was televised and Frankie became popular with Top Gear viewers.

Although Frankie had already done a couple of rallies before Rally Quest, she had thought her career was over as the car she bought herself suffered a blown engine. She found herself in a similar situation at the end of 1991, when the prize drive concluded.

The RAC Rally was one of six events she did in 1991, including the Audi Sport Rally, which was a round of the British championship. She was 34th, sixth in class. In real terms, the RAC Rally was her best event, followed by the Dukeries Rally, where she was 99th out of 116 drivers.

She did manage to drive her Vauxhall Nova in the second round of the British Championship in 1992. Unfortunately, she only got to the third stage of the Pirelli Rally before retiring with steering problems. Her only other outing that year was the Rally Cars Forest Stages in September. She was 57th overall. Despite sponsorship drives in local newspapers and something of a media profile, Frankie then disappeared from the stages for five years.

In 1997, she reappeared as Francine Duncan, now married and running a skid training facility with her husband, Ecosse Skid Control. She had picked up some sponsorship and a new SEAT Ibiza, which she took to the Scottish islands for the Tour of Mull, finishing 82nd. 

The following year, she competed more extensively in the Ibiza, concentrating on asphalt events. Her seasons started badly with a fire on the Apex Cheviot Rally in February, then another retirement from the Tour of Epynt. However, three class wins followed in the Tour of Cornwall, Mewla National and Wexford rallies. The Wexford event, her first rally in Ireland, was her best: she was 42nd from 72 finishers. At the end of the year, she was awarded the Motorsport UK Asphalt championship’s junior award.

1999 began with another class win in the Cheviot Rally, again running on asphalt. Frankie was 29th overall. She also finished the Tour of Epynt this year, finishing 28th from 71 cars still running at the end. The Jim Clark Rally gave her another 28th place to finish her season. 

After this, her career goes into hibernation again. Apart from one rally in 2004, the RalliTrak Premier Rally, she did not compete again.

As well as rallying, Frankie competed in mountain biking. She is from Hull.

(Image copyright Hull Daily Mail)

Susann Bergvall (Hansen)

Susann Bergvall is a Swedish rallycross driver who is still the only woman to win an FIA-sanctioned rallycross title.

She is mainly known for her successes in the 1400cc class of the European Championship in the 1990s, after several years of running on a very low budget. She had begun her career in folkrace at the age of 18, driving a Volvo, before switching to rallycross in a Volvo 240. 

A couple of years in Swedish championships followed, including a run in a women-only category in 1988. She was not even able to afford wet tyres for some events and mostly competed for fun. This changed when she joined forces with Kenneth Hansen in 1990. They ran their team together, with both of them competing, and gained significant support. In 1993, they were approached by Citroen to run their works cars and Susann found herself with a really competitive car for the first time.

Her title win came in 1994, driving a Citroen AX Sport. She won three rounds outright at Lousada (Portugal), Lyngas in Norway and Estering in Germany. Her nearest rival, Manfred Beck, only finished fifth at Estering, which secured her the championship.

In 1995, she was fifth in the European 1400 Cup, driving two different AX models for the Hansen team. This was her last season of racing. 

After that, she left active competition, but stayed involved in rallycross through management within the Hansen team. She introduced them to working with data logging, a role she still carries out, but which was quite a new concept in 1995.

She and Hansen married and rallycross drivers Timmy and Kevin Hansen are their sons. Timmy was nearly two when Susann won her European title.

(Image copyright Hansen World RX Team)

Viviane Evina

 

Viviane Evina is a  Cameroonian driver who is one of the few women to have scored points in a World Championship rally. She is the only one from Africa to record a points finish.

Her points came from when she finished eighth in the Bandama Ivory Coast Rally in 1990. She was driving a Toyota Corolla FX 16V and won class N2. This single WRC finish led to 47th in the championship, level with Safari specialist Ian Duncan, Sebastian Lindholm and David Llewellin.

The following year, she entered the Bandama again, in the same car, but retired after an accident, having run as high as sixth. Her third attempt at the event in 1992 also ended in retirement, very early in the event. The rally was removed from the WRC calendar for the 1993 season and has not returned.

In the year of her Bandama top ten, she scored another impressive finish in the Rallye de Gagnoa, also held in Cote d’Ivoire. With Jean-Charles Suzeau on the maps, she was fifth in the Corolla. 

Sadly, very little information about Viviane or the rest of her career seems to exist.

Corinne Armagnac

 

Corinne (far right) with (L-R) Sandrine Nahon, Muriel Osimeck and Giovanna Amati, 1990

Corinne Armagnac raced single-seaters in France in the 1990s, then switched to tin-tops after taking a break to have children.

Born in 1962, she is the daughter of sportscar racer Paul Armagnac, the youngest of four girls. Her life began tragically; her mother died in childbirth and her father was killed in a crash at the Paris 1000km, held at Montlhery, when she was only a few months old.

She competed in Formula Ford 1600 in France between 1987 and 1993. She seems to have done part-seasons in the French championship, at least to begin with. At the time, the French FF1600 series had qualification races known as the “Loctite Trophy”. The top 28 would progress to the main draw. Corinne was usually part of the Loctite Trophy field.

In 1988 she was part of the Faster team alongside Pierre de Thoisy.

In 1990, she was the team-mate of Sandrine Nahon and drove a Van Diemen RF89. Sandrine was the faster of the two, despite being barely out of her teens. At that year’s Pau Grand Prix, she was pictured in a French magazine alongside Sandrine, Giovanna Amati who was competing in Formula 3000 and Formula Renault racer Muriel Osimeck, four women who were in action at the same meeting. 

Relations between Sandrine and Corinne were not always completely straightforward; Corinne was supported by Loctite as their featured female driver, despite Sandrine’s superior pace.

In 1993, she returned to the championship, for some rounds at least. Her race results and even her championship positions are not forthcoming. 

In 2001, she came out of retirement to drive in the Peugeot 306 Cup, after taking a long break to have a family. At some point, she also raced in a Citroen Saxo one-make series.

(Image copyright Pyrenees Presse, posted by Autodiva member “nahonenleretour”)

Lisa Caceres

 

Lisa Caceres raced sportscars and saloons in the USA in the 1980s. She is probably most famous for winning races in the SCCA Endurance Series in 1987, with Desiré Wilson. 

They won the Sears Point race, in a Saleen Mustang. Lyn St. James and Donna Sue Landon were also members of their team, and they raced together throughout 1987 in endurance events, with Molly Elliott filling in with Desire was unavailable.  

She had driven a Saleen before, in 1986, sharing with Steve Saleen himself and Alice Ridpath in the SCCA Endurance championship. She was 21st in the Longest Day of Nelson 24-hour race and 15th in the 6 Hours of Road Atlanta. A slightly different team, including Skeeter McKitterick, was twelfth in the 24 Hours of Mosport, with a class win. The final race of the year, at Mid-Ohio, resulted in a 17th place. 

In June 1985, she entered the IMSA Firestone Firehawk race at St Louis, double-driving in two different Camaros with Les Linley. This was her first appearance in a pro-level race after a few seasons of production car competition.

That year, Lisa drove a Chevrolet Camaro in at least one IMSA race, at Riverside, running in the GTO class. She did not finish, but was classified 41st despite crashing out after a tyre blowout. Her car was struck by two other cars, leaving her with a broken jaw, three cracked ribs and a broken bone in her foot.

In a 1986 interview, she described how she had first started racing in 1982. She had been watching action at Sears Point and was asked by one of the Bob Bondurant racing school instructors whether she wanted a ride in a racing car. The experience inspired her so much that she signed up with the racing school as soon as she could.

Later, in 1996, after some time racing jet skis and karts, she drove a Chevrolet Lumina in the Pro GT-America series. 

As well as competitive motorsport, she works as a driving instructor, particularly in karts, and has done some screen driving stunts. 

(Image copyright The San Francisco Examiner)

Jenny Birrell (Nadin)

 

Jennifer Birrell raced sports and saloon cars in the 1960s and 1970s, competing in the fore-runner of the BTCC and the Sebring 12 Hours.

As Jenny Nadin, she started motorsport through rally navigation, chiefly for Pat Moss. She sat beside Pat for a season with Ford, driving a Cortina GT, in 1963. Their best results together were a seventh place in the RAC Rally and sixth in the Acropolis. She and Pat had met in showjumping competitions, both of them having an equestrian background.

Not long after, she took the wheel in rallies herself, encouraged by Pat’s husband, Erik Carlsson. She started out with a Mini in the British championship, then branched out. Her international outings included a run in the RAC Rally in 1966, driving a Hillman Imp, and a trip to the 1967 Monte in a Ford. 

Rallying brought her into contact with racer, journalist and event organiser Nick Brittan, who became her manager. In 1967, he persuaded her to enter the British Formula Vee championship, which was making its UK debut that year. She surprised everyone by putting her car on pole and then winning at Silverstone. Nick Brittan had overtaken her on the line and led for most of the race, but a late spin put her ahead. 

There were accusations at the time that the Volkswagen team had orchestrated Jenny’s win for publicity. Formula Vee had launched a week after Formula Ford and a first win for a woman was a valuable talking point. Some claimed that Nick had planned to pull over and let Jenny through. Others claimed that both of the official Volkswagen cars had illegally-tuned engines. No wrong-doing was discovered and the win stood.

Still, she was second in the 1967 Formula Vee Championship in her first season of racing, weathering a crash at Silverstone and scoring more podium finishes. She continued to race in the series in 1968, but she did not do as well and had two rather serious crashes, at Mallory and Thruxton.

By 1970, she had married Scottish driver Graham Birrell and was racing a Ford Escort as Jenny Birrell. She won at least one race at a club meeting at Croft and made her British Saloon Car Championship (the precursor to the BTCC) debut. Her first race was in the wet at Silverstone in 1971 and she finished tenth, despite a puncture at the start.

Later, she drove in America for the first time. She was part of the all-female Ring Free Oil Team for the 1971 Sebring 12 Hours, with Rosemary Smith and Janet Guthrie, driving a Chevron B16. Jenny practiced in the car but did not actually race. Rosemary and Janet did not finish. 

For 1973, she was competing in the Castrol Production Saloon championship, driving a Simca Rallye. It was in this car that she made her next BSCC appearance in 1974, finishing eighth at Mallory. Later in the season, she did several more races in a Chrysler Avenger, earning a ninth place at Ingliston.

In 1975, she joined another all-female team and finished the Spa 24 Hours in a Triumph Dolomite, with Christine Beckers and Marianne Hoepfner. They were 24th, eighth in class. The car was sponsored by “Butch Tailor”, a Belgian menswear fashion brand. Back in the UK, she was team-mate to Bernard Unett for the BSCC, driving an Avenger. The pair often battled for class honours. Jenny’s best overall finish was fifth, at Oulton Park. The Halesfield Motors team also ran Jenny in that year’s Avon Tour of Britain, with another Avenger.

Rallies then became the focus of her career. She had been competing in British and Irish events on and off alongside her circuit-based activities, but she rallied more intensively later.

She was still entered British rallies between 1973 and 1974, using a Simca. In 1977, she was sponsored by Century Oils and drove a Triumph TR7 in the British championship. Her best finish was a 28th place in the Burmah Rally.

After a lengthy break from the stages, she reappeared for the 1983 Ulster Rally in a Talbot Sunbeam, co-driven by Gabriel Konig. She was 47th. Another Talbot, a Samba, was her preferred car for a season in Ireland in 1984, taking in events in both Eire and Northern Ireland, as well as the Manx Rally. Later, she switched to a Peugeot 205 and scored her best result of the season, a thirteenth place in the Killarney Rally of the Lakes.

The 205 took her through another season in the UK in 1985, and also her first trip to Turkey. She was third in the Rothmans Bravo Rally. This in turn led to a part-season in the 1986 Turkish championship, which yielded a fifth place in that year’s Bravo event.

For the next two seasons, she took part in the Maestro Challenge in the UK, driving an MG Maestro. After that, her career begins to wind down; she drove a 205 on the 1990 Ardennes Rally and then had a final run in the Manx Rally in 1992, driving a Lancia Delta Integrale.

The later part of her competition career coincided with a successful period in motorsport administration, working for the British Touring Car Championship and the National Formula Ford series, among others.

(Image from racingteamvee.com)

Kaori Okamoto

 

Kaori Okamoto is a Japanese driver and former actress who raced touring cars both in Japan and internationally in the 1980s and 1990s. 

She was strongly associated with Toyota cars, and often drove for the TOMS team from the very beginning of her career.

Her first season was in 1986, she drove a Toyota Corolla in the All-Japan Touring Car Championship. She was 23 years old and still acting at this point. Her car was sponsored by Wacoal, a Japanese bra manufacturer, and she initially shared with different European drivers. Eje Elgh and Beppe Gabbiani. Teaming up with Elgh again later in the season, she had her best finish alongside him, a twelfth place at Sugo. Her early experiences led to a decision to concentrate on motorsport and work only on Japanese TV projects.

By 1987, she was competing in the World Touring Car Championship for TOMS, in a Corolla, with Hideshi Matsuda. They did not finish the Spa 24 Hours, but were 30th in the Fuji 500km. For the Japanese championship, she was sponsored by Leyton House. Her co-driver was Hideshi Matsuda and they were eighth in their first race together at Sugo. This was their best finish in a disappointing season plagued by DNFs.

In 1988, she raced  a similar car in some European and Asia-Pacific championship events. A second attempt at the Spa 24 Hours led to another DNF, as did most of her entries in the All-Japan Championship, usually with Morio Nitta as her team-mate. 1989 was another indifferent year, with her best result an 18th place at Tsukuba.

The Spa 24 Hours became one of her favourite events and she was entered seven times between 1988 and 1994. For the first few editions, she drove a Corolla, and it was in this car that she scored her highest finish: twelfth in 1989. An MR2 in 1992 and 1993 was not quite as successful and only got her as high as 24th in 1992. Her final attempt was in a Carina and she did not finish. Her most frequent co-drivers were Keiichi Suzuki and Morio Nitta. 

Other than that, she mainly concentrated on the Japanese touring car championship, completing most of the season in 1990 and 1991, driving a Corolla for the TOMS/Fujitsu Ten team, and later the FET team. By this time, the Corolla was not the most competitive and could not get anywhere near the dominant Nissan Skylines. Her best result during this period was a fourteenth place in the 1991 Suzuka 500km. 1991 was her last season in the championship.

In 1991, she also entered the Dakar Rally, in a Toyota. She became the first Japanese woman to finish the event when she crossed the line in 49th place. A return to the dunes in 1992, in another Toyota Landcruiser, gave her a 71st spot.

A cancer scare caused her to turn away from motorsport in 1994. This was the second in a few years and she did require treatment this time.

For more information on Kaori: https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/motorsport-kaori-okamoto-actor-businesswoman-race-car-driver/

(Image copyright TOMS)

Jane Gunningham

 

Jane Gunningham was one of Britain’s leading female rally drivers in the 1990s.

She competed to British Championship level between 1992 and 1997, mainly in a Subaru Impreza and a Peugeot 306. As well as home events, she occasionally drove in Europe and the Middle East.

Born in 1974, she started rallying early, at 18. She trained at the prestigious John Haugland rally school in Norway, and was highly-regarded by her mentor. 

Her first car was a slightly unusual one; a Mazda 323. It was her main car in 1992 and 1993 and it did not bring her a great deal of success. The 1992 Vauxhall Astra Stages ended in retirement, then failed to finish her first three events of 1993, including a roll on the first stage of the Granite City Rally in Scotland. Her best event was the Midland Rally in Welshpool. She was 25th overall and sixth in class. Gaining more confidence towards the end of the year, she was 28th in the Premier Stages, from 72 finishers.

A season divided between the BTRDA in the UK and the Middle East championship followed in 1994. Jane joined up with the experienced Pauline Gullick to rally another Mazda 323 in the Qatar and Jordan Rallies. She was 19th in Jordan but her finishing position in Qatar is not recorded.

A 1600cc Peugeot 205 was waiting for her back in the UK. The clutch had failed on the season-opening Wyedean Stages, but otherwise it was a reliable car on gravel. Her best overall BTRDA result was a 31st place in the Castrol Crystal Forest Rally, but she also finished second in class on the Woodpecker Stages. Her 53rd overall sounds less impressive, but there were 141 finishers in the event. 

Away from the BTRDA series, she entered the Masters of Morden Mini Tempest Stages, finishing a career-best seventh. Her co-driver was Julia Rabbett, who would sit beside her for her first RAC Rally later in the year. She was 68th, gaining many places on the final day and making up for some early time penalties.

The British Rally Championship was the logical next step in her career. After a pre-season 21st place in the 1995 Kall Kwik Stages, she switched from a 205 to a 306 and took on her first BRC event, the Rally of Wales. She was 32nd, thirteenth in class, not helped by penalties. After the retirement of the highly-regarded Stephanie Simmonite, she took the lead of the Ladies’ points table.

Sadly, this was to be her last finish of the year, handing the Ladies’ title to Stephanie Simmonite. She retired from the other four BRC rallies, crashing out of two and suffering mechanical failures on the others.

She had more success in the 1996 British championship, ending the season 19th overall in the 306 after three points finishes. The best of these came from a 20th place on the Ulster Rally, just behind her old mentor John Haugland. She was also 22nd on the Manx Rally. 

Away from the BRC, she and her regular navigator Joyce Champion travelled to Belgium for the Ypres 24 Hours. Driving the 306, Jane was 57th and eleventh in class.

Her 1997 season began with a one-off run in a SEAT Ibiza for the Scottish Rally, but she crashed out on the third stage. The rest of the year was spent in a Group N Subaru Impreza, mostly in BRC rallies and co-driven by Stella Boyles. Once more, the Ulster Rally was her best event and she was 19th, sixth in class. This was followed by a 20th place on the Woodpecker Rally. 

Her only other WRC entry, in the 1997 RAC Rally, ended in retirement following an accident on the final day. This would prove to be her final event.

She now lives in Scotland.

Amanda Whitaker

 

Amanda Whitaker is a multiple champion in British and European club racing. She is one of the most successful women drivers in a single-seater.

She was a leading driver in the  Monoposto championship, having won the championship three times, between 1997 and 1999. She drove a 2000cc Formula Vauxhall car which she had previously used in the B class of the British championship.

Her first car was a single-seater, a 1979 Hawke Formula Ford which she raced in the Formula E class of the 1991 FF1600 championship. The car was her father’s; he raced for many years and introduced his teenage daughter to karting.

The Hawke was upgraded to a 1987 Swift which earned her three outright wins in regional series.

After a long break caused by a lack of sponsorship, she returned to historic competition in 2005, driving in European Historic Formula 2. She soon returned to winning ways, claiming the European Formula Atlantic title in 2006. This ran as a class within F2 and she won seven times in her Chevron B34.

In 2008, she raced Historic and Classic Formula Fords in the UK, using a 1971 Elden Mk8. She was third in the final Historic standings and won Class B four times in the Classic championship.

She combined historic and modern club Formula Ford competition in 2009 and added seven further wins to her tally. She was second in the Historic championship, driving the Elden, and was fifth in another in a 1993 Swift. This was all in spite of a frightening accident at Mallory, during a Historic race. Her view was impaired by previous crash damage and she did not see a red flag, causing her to collide with a slowing Westie Mitchell. 

At the end of the year she entered the Walter Hayes Trophy, driving a Swift.

2010 was not as successful, with only three wins, but she still managed to race three different cars effectively. One of these was a Tiga FF2000 car. 

In 2011, she took a break from motorsport to have a baby. Her daughter Scarlett and son Harrison now race karts. On her website, Amanda does not say she has retired.

(Image from femaleracingnews.com)

Ilsa Cox

 

Ilsa Cox is a multiple champion in UK club saloon car racing. 

She began in 1987 at Castle Combe, which would be the scene of many of her future triumphs. Her first car was a Suzuki Swift that she entered into the Production Saloon Car Championship. She became a Combe regular despite living in Brighton, a considerable distance away.

In 1997 she was the Castle Combe Saloon Car champion, driving a Peugeot 205 GTi. Even in her first year in that championship, 1995, she won eight times, and was narrowly beaten to the trophy. 1995 was the first year that the series ran and Ilsa became one of its established stars very quickly. 

Much later, she won back to back Castle Combe GT championships in a SEAT Cupra, in 2017 and 2018.

It’s not only Combe-based series in which she has triumphed. In 2008, she won Class A of the 750MC Hot Hatch Championship, driving a Peugeot 206 GTi. 

More recently, she has been racing the SEAT Cupra in various club championships. One of her first successes was in the Eurosaloons championship, where she won a race outright at Oulton Park in 2009. She was second in the “B” class of the series, with three wins. 

She continued to race the SEAT in the CNC Heads Saloon/Sports championship. In 2014, she won one race and was second in Class D. 

As well as racing in the CNC Heads series in 2015, she took part in the Classic Thunder Touring Car Championship, still in the SEAT. She was fifth and seventh in these championships, respectively and won her class in the first.

Her schedule for the next couple of years took in some of the CNC Heads rounds. She was 26th overall in 2016 but did not do enough of the championship to mount a serious challenge in 2017. 

She was back to winning ways again in 2018, picking up another Castle Combe GT crown in the Cupra and winning nine races outright. This was not her only championship either; she won the Hammerite Classic Thunder Touring Car series as well.

She attempted to defend her CTCC Classic Thunder crown in 2019, winning at least one race at Silverstone and three others on the way to a class win. The shortened championship ran in 2020 but Ilsa did not race.

As well as this, she works as a performance driving instructor, and promotes women’s track days. Her driving career began with her working as a road driving instructor in the 1980s.

Ilsa won the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club’s Gold Star award in 2010. She was also part of a BWRDC team in the 2013 Birkett Relay at Silverstone, driving the Cupra. The Birkett is an event she has returned to, finishing ninth in 2017 as part of an all-SEAT team.

(Image copyright paddock42.com)

Sandrine Nahon

 

Sandrine Nahon raced single-seaters in France up to Formula 3 level in the 1990s.

Her single-seater career began with Formula Ford in 1988. After reaching the finals of the Volant Palmyr Formula Ford driving school at Ledenon, she won the “Premier Pas” series for newcomers and was fourth in the “B” class of the main French championship.

She continued in 1989 and 1990, driving for the AMEF and Graff teams. She won at least one race at Montlhery in 1989 and was second in the Federal Trophy on the strength of this. She was second in the B championship the following year. 

Her earliest racing exploits had been in karting from the age of 11, winning ten championships at club and national level between 1981 and 1987. In 1987, aged 17, she also tried rallying, co-driving for her father, Christian. Later, she did try a couple of rallies as a driver, including the 1990 Monte Carlo Rally. She drove a Ford Sierra Cosworth and was 82nd, from 112 finishers.

Christian Nahon was instrumental in Sandrine’s career development. Her early enthusiasm started to turn into real talent in a Formula Ford and Christian sought to push her further into the limelight. In 1989, when she was still only 19, he attempted to broker a seat in a Courage prototype for Le Mans, but another driver pulled out and it did not happen.

Christian had worked for Renault and run the company’s southern African operations; Sandrine was born in Zambia. After impressing in Formula Ford, she was offered drives in Formula Renault, but preferred to go the Formula 3 route. Christian was in negotiations with a major oil company sponsor for his daughter but could not agree terms and the firm went with another female driver instead. This meant that Sandrine’s F3 efforts were largely self-financed.

She moved up to Formula 3 in 1991 and joined the French championship as a private entry. Despite a reliable car, she struggled for speed and ran at or close to the back of the grid. Her best result was probably a 20th place at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, ahead of Bernard Cognet and Marc Rostan. 

She returned in 1992 for a part-season, driving the same Reynard 903, but did not get into the top ten. The 903, not one of Reynard’s most celebrated creations, was less reliable this year: the engine failed at Albi and a throttle problem put her out of the Coupe de Bourgogne at Dijon. Her best result was an 18th place at Magny-Cours.

As well as the French F3 championship, Sandrine drove her Reynard in French hillclimbs, winning at least three Coupe des Dames awards in 1991 and 1992.

Afterwards, she took a break from circuit-based competition, before reappearing in 1994 at the wheel of a Peugeot 905 Spider. She was team-mate to Cathy Muller and finished sixth in the Spider Cup in France. This was not her first experience with a Peugeot. In 1989, she had raced a 309 in a French one-make series.

Another hiatus followed, chiefly due to the death of her father in 1995.

1998 appears to have been her last year of competition, when she took part in some Formula Ford 1800 races, winning at least one round of the French winter series. She had raced on and off in this formula since 1996, when she returned to the tracks with the support of her partner, Frederic Martin. After this, she hung up her helmet at the age of 28.

Frederic Martin has shared a lot of information about Sandrine on the Autodiva forums, for which I am grateful.

Estelle Hallyday

 

Estelle Hallyday, later known as Estelle Lefébure, is a French driver who competed in cross-country rallies and other events in the 1990s and 2000s.

She drove in rally raids in 1999 and 2000, as part of a Mitsubishi-based private team run by Luc Alphand. Among her events in this debut year was the 1999 Rally Optic 2000, co-driven by Bernadette Sacy. She competed for the team in the 2000 Tunisian Rally, and also in the Dakar, driving a Pajero. She was paired with the experienced Eric Vigouroux for the Tunisia and Dakar rallies. In an interview with Le Parisien, he praised her driving ability. Luc Alphand also admitted to being surprised by her talent in his own autobiography.

Later, she was associated with an Italian team running a Nissan Pathfinder, but she does not appear to have actually competed. 

Rally raids were not her first forays into motorsport. In 1993, she raced a Venturi prototype in the Andros Trophy. This was when she first teamed up with Bernadette Sacy. They both competed alongside Julien Beltoise in 1994. In 1996, Estelle and Bernadette shared an Opel Astra for the Chamonix 24 Hours, another major ice race. They were 29th overall.

Estelle is better known as a model and actress. She modelled throughout the 1980s and 1990s, working for many designers and appearing on the covers of fashion magazines. 

She was married to singer-songwriter David Hallyday at the time she was competing. They separated in 2001.

(Image copyright BestImage)

Female Rally Drivers Around the World: the Caribbean

 

Rallying is popular in the Caribbean nations, with an active local championship. Female drivers appear regularly. Below are short profiles of some of them.

Natasha Chang - Jamaican driver, active since 2007, when she took part in a TV-sponsored driver search. Her first rally was Rally Jamaica. Previously, she had done some drag races, speed events and autotests. She rallied a Mitsubishi Lancer in Jamaica in 2008 and 2009, as well as in Rally Trinidad. Her best finish seems to have been second overall in the Raynor King Memorial Stages Rally, in Jamaica. She was set to make a comeback in 2012, but appears to have switched to circuit racing, at least temporarily. In 2015, she represented Jamaica in the Caribbean circuit racing championship in Guyana, driving a Honda S2000. She suggested that she will be making a comeback in 2018 or after, but has not returned to rallying. She has done some speed record attempts since then.

Marcia Dawes - driver, co-driver and motorsport administrator from Jamaica. She began driving in sprints and gymkhana-type events in 2004. A year later, she did her first Rally Jamaica, finishing 17th overall in a Hyundai Coupe with a class win. She came into co-driving through administration, after designing rally stages and appreciating the skills needed to navigate. Her regular driver is Kyle Gregg and together they have won rallies in Jamaica and Trinidad.

Sarah-Jane Gopaul - rally driver from Trinidad. She began competing in night-time club events in 2008, after getting into motorsport through marshalling. It appears that she entered Rally Trinidad in 2011, and she may well have been thirteenth, according to some results lists. She entered Rally Trinidad again in 2014, in a Mazda 323, but did not finish. She usually drives Mazda cars, and carried on in the 323 for the 2015 and 2016 Rally Trinidad. In 2016, she finished the event in fifteenth place. Away from rallying, she is a teacher, which takes up a lot of her time.

Maeva Mornet - rallies a Renault Twingo in the French-governed Caribbean. She mainly competes in the Martinique championship, but in 2018, she also did the Bourbon National Rally on Reunion. For this event, she also used a different car: a Citroen C2. Maeva’s best result has been eleventh in the 2018 Martinique Rallye Tour, from 28 entries, until 2022. This year, she was eighth in the Rallye National des Champions and seventh in the Ronde Regionale de la Ville du Gros-Morne. Her best 2023 finish was sixth in the Madinina Regional Rally. In 2024, this was an 18th place in the Martinique Rallye Tour. She works as a nurse when not rallying.

Natya Soodeen - driver from Barbados who started competing seriously in 2020. Her car was a BMW 318 Compact E36 and she was entered into the Barbados championship’s BimmaCup. Co-driven by Justin Sisnett all season, her best finish was a 24th place in the BRC Winter Rally. She was third in the BimmaCup. In 2021, she concentrated on rallysprints in Barbados. In 2022, she rallied the BMW quite extensively in Barbados, with a best finish of 21st in the BRC Winter Rally. Another full season in 2023 lead to a top-ten finish in a single-venue stage rally. She continued to compete extensively in 2024, also taking the BMW to Martinique for the Martinique Rallye Tour. Before turning to motorsport, Natya represented Barbados in equestrian events until she was suspended by sporting authorities, for reasons that were never made clear.

Jodie Summerbell – Jamaican driver active in her home country. She drove a Mitsubishi Mirage in the 2005 Rally Jamaica, and was fourteenth overall. The year before, in 2004, she was seventh in the St Bess Tarmac Rally, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer. This was at least her second attempt at the St Bess event, in which she won her class in 2004, with an eighth overall, in the Mirage. She also raced a Mitsubishi Colt on circuits, and won at least one race outright. She is no longer competing.

(Image copyright Top Gear Singapore)