Sarah McCune

Sarah McCune is an American single-seater racer. She was one of a group of US women who seemed to be climbing the Indycar ladder, but her career faltered due to finances.

Her background was in sprintcars and midgets, which she had raced from a young age. Her career arc was quite like that of Cheryl Glass twenty years earlier, in that she showed promise on dirt and then tried to make it on asphalt. Her midget career began in 1990, when she was eleven. In 1996, she became the first female driver to win a feature race in the ARCA midget championship. As a senior, she raced in events organised by ARCA. NAMARS and USAC, winning races at Flat Rock and i-55 Speedway in 1999 and 2000. She competed in the USAC Midget Series until 2003.

At the same time as she was competing in midgets, she tested a number of cars on asphalt circuits. Apparently, she drove an Indycar twice in 2000.

She first stepped onto the Indy ladder in 2002, when she tested an Infiniti Pro Series car for Sam Schmidt Motorsport. Two years later, she drove one of Kathryn Nunn's cars for a female drivers' test.

It was three years until she made her actual debut in the car. She took pole position at Chicagoland in the Infiniti Pro Series in 2005, her first race at this level. Her starting pace was great and she led for five laps before an accident dropped her out of contention. Several drivers, including Sarah, retired that lap.

After her Infiniti experience, she set her sights on a NASCAR drive and did several tests, including a Craftsman Truck. Even before her Pro Series race, she was part of a reality TV show following aspiring stock car drivers as they tried to develop their careers. She impressed some onlookers with her speed and personality.

However, problems with funding have kept her out of the major series.

(Image copyright Redline Media)

Mishael Abbott

Mishael Abbott is an American single-seater racer who rached as high as the IRL Infiniti Pro Series (Indy Lights) in 2005 and 2006.

Her best Pro Series finish was eighth at Miami, in 2005, after qualifying fourth. This was her first race in the championship, driving for Hemelgarn Racing. They ran Mishael in four events that year and she finished all of them: ninth at Phoenix and eleventh and twelfth in two races at Indianapolis. The eleventh place was in the Freedom 100, held on the oval. She was thirteenth in the championship and her results were on a par with her team-mate Jerry Coons Jr's. There was considerable media attention around her as she was the first woman to race in this particular iteration of Indy Lights, and because Danica Patrick was racing in Indycar that year.

In 2006, she did three races, two for Michael Crawford Motorsports and one for the SME team. She was thirteenth in her first race at Miami-Homestead, 17th at Indianapolis and twelfth at Watkins Glen. After that, her sponsorship money ran out.

At the same time, she acted as a spotter for Indycar driver Jacques Lazier on ovals.

Her time in single-seaters began in Formula Star Mazda, the third rung on the Indy ladder, after some years of karting and midget racing. She was particularly successful in 125cc gearbox karts. After growing up watching her father compete in club racing, she had wanted to race herself from the age of about six.

She first competed in cars in 2001, aged 20, racing a Formula Star Mazda car at club level. She took it more seriously in 2002, entering three rounds of Formula Mazda at Sebring, Pikes Peak and Road Atlanta. She finished the first two, with her best result being a 19th place at Pikes Peak. She finished 19th again at Road Atlanta in 2003, one of two races she did in the national series that year. Her programme also included the Eastern regional championship, where she scored her first podium at Watkins Glen.

After her Pro Series sponsorship ran out, she returned to national-level motorsport. Proving herself in a bigger single-seater, she raced a Formula Atlantic car in SCCA events in 2007 and 2008, with good results. Her best finish in 2008 was second, and she was rarely out of the top ten, finishing fourth in her championship. The car was a Ralt RT41, similar to those previously used in the Toyota Atlantic development series.

In 2008, she also substituted for her father in some SCCA Formula Mazda races. 

The previous year, she also raced sportscars in the IMSA Prototype Challenge series, in the L1 class. Her car was a spec Elan-Van Diemen DP-02. She was fifth in her first race at Sebring, although she was unable to start the second. She did four races that year.

At the end of 2008, she had to pull out of motorsport, due to health problems.

(Image copyright Indycar)

Francesca Pardini

Francesca (right) instructing at Yas Marina

Francesca Pardini is most famous for her successes in sports prototype racing in Italy in the early 2000s.

She was the Italian Prototype title-winner in 2001 and has been described as the first woman to win an Italian sportscar championship outright. Her car was a Lucchini-Alfa Romeo, one of the oldest in the field. She won four races that year, starting with the season opener at Vallelunga. Her others were at Misano, Magione and Binetto.

This came after a runner-up spot in the same championship in 2000, following race wins at Mugello and Misano. She repeated this in 2003, having won one race and scored five podium finishes.

At the same time as her winning Protoytpe campaign, she raced in the Italian Ferrari Challenge, doing four events. Her best finish was ninth in a sprint race at Mugello. She also did some rounds of the Clio Cup in Italy.

Her sportscar career developed in tandem with single-seaters. In 2000, when she was 19, she did four rounds of the Light category of Open Telefonica Nissan, at Monza and Ricardo Tormo in Spain. She was driving for the Doors Engineering team. Her best finish was eleventh at Monza.

At the time, her ambitions were high. There was talk of her moving to America at the end of 2003 for either sportscars or the Indy development ladder, but this did not happen.

She came to England to race in Formula Palmer Audi in 2004. This was step down from Formula Nissan, but she had been out of a single-seater for a few seasons. She was a regular fixture in the top ten from the start, coming in seventh and sixth at Brands Hatch in the first round. These were her best finishes in the eight races she did before pulling out, although she was never out of the top ten when she finished. Her season seems to have been ended by an accident at the Nurburgring. 

At some point in 2004, she returned to Italy for some Prototype races. Her low final position suggests she only took part in a few races. She did at least the Vallelunga round and appears to have finished seventh.

Her activities since 2004 are less clear. During 2005, she took part in at least one VW Fun Cup event as part of a Uniroyal-sponsored ladies’ team, driving with Fun Cup regular Sabine Dubois and touring car racer Valentina Albanese. This appears to have been a limited programme. 

In 2015, she moved to Abu Dhabi to take on an instructing job. Remaining in the Gulf region, she became the only female race instructor to work in Saudi Arabia and the only one to take on female pupils. She also works as the Formula 2 paddock manager for the Gulf-based races and is a qualified steward.

She is the daughter of Guido Pardini, who also raced in Prototypes in the early 1990s. At first, she was not encouraged by her parents and her mother tried to interest her in ballet. She describes having begun racing at 16, in 1997, going straight into cars without any karting experience.

(Image copyright Donna Moderna magazine)

Lucy Block

Lucy Block (born Lucy Jones) is an American driver who competes in rallying and other off-road disciplines. She is best-known for being the widow of WRC driver and Gymkhana creator, Ken Block and the mother of Lia Block, but she has enjoyed a good career in her own right.

She first rallied in America between 2009 and 2013, initially as a co-driver to Chrissie Beavis. Her first rally as a driver was the Middle Cog rally in 2009, swapping seats with Christine. Her car was a VW Golf. 

She took the wheel again in 2010, driving a Mazda3 in the Mexico Rally and finishing 17^th. She was also 19^th in the LLCote Rally. 

A break from competition followed while she had her third child, son Mika, but she returned in 2013. This time she was in a Ford Fiesta R2, the first of a series of Fords she would drive for the next ten years. Her best results were two fourteenth places, in the Maine and New Hampshire Rallies. 

She did not compete in 2014, but she reappeared in 2015, driving a Ford Fiesta. Her best finish was eleventh, in the New Hampshire Rally. 

After only making occasional appearances for several years, she committed to her first championship in 2018. She contested the ARA rally series in the States and earned her first top-ten finish in the New England Forest Rally. Her car was a Fiesta R2T and she and co-driver Krista Skucas were fourteenth in the final standings. 

In 2019, she only had one outing, driving the Fiesta in the 100 Acre Wood Rally. She was 24th overall. 

Driving the same car again, she did three rallies in 2021,with a best finish of fourteenth in the Cooper Tire Oregan Trail Rally. 

A fuller ARA competition season followed in 2022, driving a Rally3-spec Fiesta. This year, she was challenging much more for overall positions and her results included three top-tens. Her best finish was sixth in the Ojibwe Forests Rally and she was ninth in the championship. 

Another full season in the Fiesta brought three ninth places in 2023: in the New England Forest Rally, the Oregon Trail and the Olympus Rally. For part of the season, she was competing against her daughter Lia. Her co-driver was Alex Gelsomino, who previously co-drove for her husband Ken. Another highlight that year was her debut run in the Pikes Peak hillclimb, driving an electric Hypercraft Sierra Echo buggy. She was tenth in her class. This was a tribute to Ken, who had died in a snowmobile accident earlier in the year.

She did two rallysprint events in 2024, driving a Ford Fiesta in the Lost Pines rally and a Can-Am Maverick in Rally Austin Rallysprint. The Maverick came out for the Utah Motorsports Campus round of the 2024-2025 Nitrocross championship, where Lucy was tenth overall, fifth in her semi-final. She also competed in the BajaBugs category in a VW Beetle. This Utah track is her home circuit.

She used the Fiesta again in 2025, finishing fourth in the Rally Ranch Classic RallySprint.

Lucy, Lia, daughter Kira and son Mika all compete for their family team, Block House Racing, of which Lucy is the principal. Away from motorsport, she runs a catering company. 

(Image coypright Kevin Scott Batchelor/Popular Mechanics)

Alinka Hardianti

Alinka (centre) after her Kartini win in 2026

Alinka Hardianti is an Indonesian driver who has switched between circuit racing, drifting and slalom during her career. She often races a Toyota. 

Slalom was where her racing adventures began in 2005. She was only thirteen at the time and unable to take part in regular circuit races for a couple of years. Her father Didi Hardianto got her into it. In 2008, she was picked up by Toyota Team Indonesia for their development programme.

In 2013, she took part in the Indonesian Super Touring championship and won two of her three races, finishing second in another. Her car was a Toyota Yaris.

In 2016, she returned to the circuits, in Japan this time, and raced at the Fuji track, in the Gazoo Racing Netz (Yaris) Cup. She was 24^th in her race, from 36^th on the grid. She was the first non-Japanese female driver to race in the series. She was supported by Toyota Team Indonesia. 

In 2017 and 2018, she entered the event again, as well as taking part in the Indonesian Touring Car Championship in the Yaris. She scored at least one overall fourth place in 2017. She then moved back to drifting. In between, she had two children. 

Slalom and Autokhana also continued to figure in her life. She won a national title in 2025, driving a Toyota Agya. The year before, she had contested the Asian championship.

After a long time away, she made a comeback to the circuits in May 2026, racing in a new all-female event called the Kartini Race, held at the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia. She was the winner.

As well as motorsport, she also plays padel.

(Image copyright Alinka Hardianti)

Alexandra Asmasoebrata (Allida Alexandra)

Alexandra Asmasoebrata, also known as Allida Alexandra or Andra, is an Indonesian driver who competed up to international Formula Renault level. 

After four or so years of karting, she first stepped up to single-seater racing aged 16, taking part in the 2004 Formula BMW Scholarship shooutout in Spain. She was not among the winners and did not make her competitive debut until the following year. Her first races were in 2005, when she did some rounds of the China Formula Campus series, winning her class.

She first drove in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge in 2006, aged eighteen. She was 24th overall after participating in seven races. The best of these was her last one at Shanghai, where she was ninth overall. The following year, she did six races, starting at Zhuhai, Sepang and Beijing. Her best finish was a fourteenth place at Beijing.

In 2008, she reappeared in AFR. She was twelfth this time, with a best finish of fifth at Zhuhai, in her first race of the season. This was one of four top-ten finishes she had that year, the others being an eighth and two ninths at Shanghai and Sepang.

For most of her career, she combined Formula Renault and karting. The following year, she was third in the 

A shorter season in 2009 meant that eighth was her best finish, also at Zhuhai, a feat she bettered in 2010 with a fourth place at Zhuhai. She was eighth in the championship. By then, the series was being held entirely in China. 

In 2011, she drove in both the Asian Formula Renault Challenge and Formula Pilota in China. It was her best season yet; she was third in Formula Renault with five podium finishes, four thirds and one second, at her favoured Zhuhai. 

Unfortunately, she only entered four races in 2012: three rounds of Asian Formula Renault. Her finishes were two sevenths, and two DNFs. 

She bounced back in 2013, taking part in six Asian Formula Renault races and earning two thirds and four fourths. She was fourth overall. 

In 2014, she was set to race in Asia Formula Renault again, but does not appear to have competed. A long lay-off followed, where she had three children among other things. She returned to the tracks in 2026, racing in the Mandalika Kartini race, a women's championship held at the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia. There were seven other entrants in Krida Agyas. Alexandra was third.

Alexandra is the daughter of former Indonesian racing driver and politician, Alex Asmasoebrata. It was him who first took her karting and she is open about how this helped her during her own career.

(Image copyright Alexandra Asmasoebrata)

Diana Rosario

Diana Rosario is a racer from Macau who is best-known for her efforts in single-seaters, and later, sportscars.

As there is only one circuit in her home country, which is a street circuit and therefore not usually in use, she had to cross the border to race, in China and further afield in Asia. 

Her first time in a single-seater was in 2004, when she was 20. She took part in the Formula Racing Development training school following several successful years of karting in Macau. In order to gain more experience, she worked at kart circuits after school. Her career almost came to a premature end in 2000 when a 16-year-old Diana broke her collarbone during karting practice, but she later credited the experience with helping her mature as a driver.

In the early part of her career, she concentrated on single-seaters, sticking to championships promoted by FRD. She entered the 2005 Formula Campus Challenge in China, driving for the Perfect Beauty team. After eight races, she was unplaced. A few years later, she would return to the Ford-powered series, finishing second in 2009 and winning the title in 2009. Her 2009 victory was by 38 points over her nearest rival, La Wai Lung of Hong Kong.

She competed sporadically in Asian Formula Renault from 2008, with a best finish of fifth overall in 2011. The championship was run in China and her best result came at Zhuhai, where she was fourth.

At the same time, she was developing a parallel career in sportscars. She competed at the prestigious Macau Guia race meeting in 2010 and was 22nd in the Macau GT Cup, driving a Ferrari F360. Presumably in the same car, she took on the Zhuhai rounds of the Asian GT Series, finishing second and third. Her second run in the Macau GT Cup in 2011 gave her an 18th place, competing against Chinese driver Rose Tan Ying. Eduardo Mortara was the winner.

She committed fully to sportscars in 2012. The GT Cup was not her best event and she was 25th in a Ferrari F430, but her two races in the Asian GT Series were enough for eighth in the championship. Further afield, she took the Ferrari to Sepang for a round of the Malaysian Super Series, finishing eleventh in the GT class.

In 2013, she was linked with a drive in the Asian Le Mans series, but does not appear to have competed. 

Later, in 2018, she made a comeback in the Asian Blancpain GT Series, driving a Mercedes GT4 for Craft Bamboo Racing. Her best finish was fourth at Ningbo, alongside team-mate Naomi Ran Zhang. She had shared the car with James Tang earlier in the season.

She has not raced since then.

(Image from "Indigenous Species" by Susana Chan)

Brittany Vorster

Brittany Vorster is a former international Formula Three driver from South Africa. She showed some early promise, but her career stalled at Formula Three level.

She competed in single-seaters in South Africa in 2010, after travelling to Brazil for the first running of the Brazil Open. Her preparations for the event were the first time she had been in a Formula 3 car and she did not qualify. Her South African results are not forthcoming. 

Prior to this, she raced in Formula GTi in South Africa, and was fifth in the 2008 championship after three podium finishes. She went to America late in the season to try out for the Skip Barber karting scholarship, which would have won her a season in Star Mazda in 2009. Her opponents included Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden.

Her first experiences in South America were the following year instead; she was part of a six-driver team for the Granja Viana 500 kart race. Among her rivals were Felipe Massa, Lucas di Grassi, Rubens Barrichello, Tony Kanaan and Ricardo Zonta. She and her team were 26th overall. Massa and di Grassi were part of the winning squad.

She apparently signed with the Prop Car team for the 2010 Formula 3 Sudamericana Lights championship, but it isn't clear how many races she actually did.

A serious accident at the end of the 2010 season meant that she decided to retire. 

Before that, she was active on the karting scene, both nationally and internationally, from 2005. She won the Northern Regions Kart Club DD2 class championship in 2006. Away from motorsport, she was also a model.

Away from the track, she was a model and TV personality. 

(Image from https://continental-circus.blogspot.com/)

Ana Arche

Ana Arche is a driver and co-driver from Spain, who is most associated with the Fiat marque.

Her career began in the co-driver's seat, navigating for Gonzalo Arche in his Renault Clio in 1991 and 1992. She began driving herself in 1995, when she entered the Fiat Cinquecento Trophy in Spain.

She drove for the Fiat team in 1996. She won the ladies’ award on the Monte Carlo Rally in a Cinquecento, co-driven by Arielle Tramont. She was 61st overall, from 99 finishers. The Monte was part of the 2-Litre World Championship that year.

The year before, she had navigated for Ana Barbero in a similar car, but retired. Both Anas had been the highest-finishing female driver in the Spanish Cinquecento Trophy the season previously. Fiat offered prize drivers to the overall champion, leading Under 23 or rookie driver and leading female driver, from each territory in which the series ran. 

Between 1998 and 2001, she rallied occasionally in Spain, normally with a SEAT Ibiza. Normally, she stuck to the Asturias region and asphalt. Her career-best result came in 1999, when she was fourth in the Rallye de los Oscos. There were 30 finishers and she was just under two minutes behind winner Felix Garcia, in his Ibiza. Arielle Tramont, who had sat beside her for the Monte, was her co-driver.

In 2001, she did some rounds of the Spanish SEAT Ibiza Cup, finishing three times. Her best result was a 30th place in the Rallye de Ourense, with a class sixth. Her final event as a driver in the Rally Rias Baixas Redcom. She and Fatima Macias Yanez were 37th overall.

Later, she became the regular co-driver for Jorge Martinez-Cueto, who had won the Fiat series the year that Ana did it.

In 1998, she co-drove for Miguel Fuster in a Peugeot 106 Maxi, in the Spanish championship, before returning to Martinez-Cueto and Fiat. She competed until 2004 and won one event as a co-driver, the Rallysprint Colmenar de Oreja.

(Image copyright Fiat/Stellantis)

Helga Heinrich (Steudel)

Helga Heinrich, formerly known as Helga Steudel, is a German driver and motorcyclist, originally from East Germany. 

She started out in motorcycle racing in 1959, aged 20, having learned to ride at thirteen. Six years later, she became the first female rider to win a major race, at the Sachsenring. To this day, she remains the only woman to win there on two wheels. She continued to win at other circuits, usually on a 125cc MZ RE. Despite her obvious talent, women found it very difficult to be granted licenses for international racing by the FIM, so she had to stay within club competition. Her two-wheeled career ended in 1967. 

After her marriage to Dieter Heinrich, she switched to cars in 1970, using a DDR-made Melkus RS 1000 sports racer to begin with. Without a major sponsor, she took on three jobs to affford her racing, including working in a paint factory and on her family's farm.

Being an Eastern Bloc sportsperson, she competed within the Communist countries almost exclusively. Schleizer Dreieck, in East Germany, was her commonest haunt. She achieved many top-ten finishes throughout the 1970s, in the RS 1000, and later, a Spyder and a Formel Easter single-seater. As well as races, she competed frequently in hillclimbs. 

Schleiz was the scene of her first major race result, a fifth in the 1971 Bernauer Schleife race for Melkus RS 1000 cars. Ulli Melkus, from the family who had created the cars, was the winner. The following year, she seems to have competed outside Germany for the first time, taking the Melkus to Most in modern Czechia, then the Soviet Republic of Czechoslovakia. She was eighth at Most and then seventh at Piestany, in modern Slovakia, before returning home to come sixth at Schleiz.

For 1974, she switched to the Spyder Krug, another sports prototype made in the GDR. She continued to race in Czechoslovakia, although she does not appear to have visited other Eastern Bloc countries to compete. The Spyder does not seem to have been the most reliable of cars and she rarely finished this year. It was more successful in hillclimbs, with a best result of fifth at Bautzen in the GDR. That said, she had her fair share of non-finishes in speed events as well.

Another season in the Krug was mostly spent in hillclimbs. Her best result was fifth again, this time at Torun in Poland. By now, she had a sponsor, Malimo knitwear. She only used the Krug for half of the season in 1976, switching between it and a Spyder Scharfe. The Scharfe was the better car and she was third at the Annaberg hillclimb in the GDR in it. It was a car she would return to over and over again until 1980, although she did score two more third places in a Spyder Tschernoster in 1977, at Annaberg and Schwarzenberg. In hillclimbs, she also used a Lada and a later Melkus MT77 on occasion.

Her circuit racing appearances became more sporadic towards the end of the 1970s. In 1979, she was twelfth in a race at Ostrava in Czechoslovakia, driving the Spyder Scharfe. 

She first retired in 1984, only making one more appearance in 1992. However, in 2007, she came out of retirement again, initially for historic events, but more recently, in modern single-seaters. 

In 2013, she raced a Formula Renault in the ESET Eastern European championship, at the age of 75. Prior to this, she had won a hillclimb championship in 2010. The year before, she competed in a GDR-built Formel Easter Estonia 25 in the GLP Pro Series. She had raced in this Soviet single-seater championship more than 20 years earlier, when she was the only woman to take part.

Although she does not appear to have raced since 2016, she still remains Germany’s oldest female racing driver, having been active until the age of 75. Her last races were in the Carbonia Cup at the Slovakiaring, driving a Formula Renault.

(Image copyright Helga Henirich)

Female Drivers in Saloons and Touring Cars: Spain, Andorra and Portugal

Catalina Bruguera and Oliver Campos

There are many women from the Iberian peninsula who have raced saloon cars in recent years, both in one-make and open championships. Below are some short profiles. Alba Cano  and Zihara Esteban have their own profiles. 

Ana Alvarez – raced in the Spanish SEAT Leon Supercopa, in 2006 and 2007 at least. In her first season, she did fifteen races, managing to score points once. She was 29^th in the championship. Her second season was only three races, and she was unable to challenge for honours. In between, in 2007, she raced the Leon in the Barcelona 24 Hours, and was tenth, as part of a four-driver team. She may well have entered the championship again in 2008, but the results are not forthcoming. She was certainly part of the Spanish endurance championship that year, and scored at least one third place.

Ana Barreras - races small cars in Spain and took part in the 2021 G Series ice racing championship in Andorra. She has been competing on circuits since 2017, mainly in one-make series and mostly in the Toyota Aygo Cup. She had a best finish of fourth at Jarama in 2020 and also came fourth in the non-championship Christmas Trophy, driving alongside her mother, former rally co-driver Ana Barbero. The two are racing in the Spanish Mini Challenge together in 2021. Although both of her parents competed in off-road events, Ana’s first attempt off-road was the 2021 G Series, driving a Ford Focus for Sandoval Racing. 

Catalina Burguera - competes in the Copa Racer championship in Spain. She has been active in the series since at least 2023, when she entered the Mini Cooper class. In 2024, she and Paloma Escobar won the Mini class in the first round at Valencia. Catalina was sixth overall. In 2025, she moved up to the main GT class, driving a BMW M2 with Oliver Campos. They won two rounds at Estoril and Navarra outright. She is from a motorsport family and other Burgueras also compete in Copa Racer. 

Teresa Burguera - raced in the Copa Racer series in Spain between 2023 and 2024. Her best year was 2024, when she was seventh in her class championship, driving a Mini Cooper. The 2023 season was her first in cars, and she did four races. She is the sister of Catalina Burguera, who she raced against in 2024, sharing a car with her brother, Jaime. She does not appear to have raced in 2025.  

Paloma Escobar - raced in Copa Racer in 2024. She was third in the Touring class for Mini Coopers, sharing her car with Catalina Burguera for part of the season. They won one of the first races of the season at Valencia together. She drove solo at Estoril, finishing fourth in one race. In 2023, she shared her car with Joanna Gruau, and they were twelfth in the championship, with a best finish of sixth at Valencia. This was her third season in the championship, beginning with a short campaign in 2021.

Joanna Gruau - raced in the Copa Racer championship from its first season in 2021 to 2023, driving a Mini Cooper. Her best year was 2023, when she partnered Paloma Escobar, finishing twelfth in the championship. Her best race finish was sixth, achieved at Valencia. In 2024, she raced a Vortex with Philippe Gruau in the Spanish GT championship. Her best finish was fifteenth at Navarre.

Raquel Morera Ibanez - has competed in the Renault Clio Cup in Spain since 2010. In 2010, she was eighth in the championship. The following year, she was only fifteenth, with a best finish of eighth at Catalunya, and two further tenth places. She also drove in eight rounds of the Renault Clio Eurocup around Europe, with a best finish of thirteenth, also at Catalunya. In 2012, she only seems to have managed two Clio Cup races, at Catalunya. She entered four Eurocup races in 2013, with a best finish of thirteenth again, at Catalunya. 

Ana Sainero - races in the Copa Racer championship. She first competed in the series in 2024, driving a BMW M2 in the GT class with her brother, Antonio. They won the championship in their first year, with five outright wins. Their team withdrew early in the 2025 championship after a crash in the first race of the year, but reappeared later at Navarra, where they were second twice. Ana also joined the sister car of Juan Catelan for the second race of the season, finishing fourth. Previously, Ana raced in the Spanish Endurance Championship from 2019, proving herself capable of podium finishes.

Mari Santonja - races touring cars in the Spanish championship. She drove a Honda Civic Type R and was tenth in the 2019 championship. Her best finish was seventh at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo. This was her first season of racing, although she has been working as a motorsport mechanic for longer and has also competed in rallies as a navigator.

Lydia Sempere - competes in the Spanish Touring Car championship, a TCR series. Her car in 2021 was a Renault Megane and she did the whole season, apart from the final rounds at Barcelona which she missed, due to a DNF in the first race of the weekend. Her best result was a tenth place at Aragon and she often struggled for pace. In 2022 and 2023, she raced in the Clio Cup in Spain. Previously, she was active in karting as a junior and a senior. Lydia is profoundly deaf and races with visual aids in her car which help her understand the car’s performance and when she needs to change gear.

Marta Suria - Spanish racer who has recently been active in several one-make series. In 2008, she was eighth in the Spanish Renault Clio Cup. This was her fourth season in the Cup, and her best finish. She returned to the Clio Cup in 2011, although she was less successful, only managing 23rd overall after some DNFs. In between, she was second in the Spanish Mini Challenge in 2010, with one win and several podiums. In 2012, she raced in the Clio Cup again, and was thirteenth overall after car trouble limited her participation. She also drove in two rounds of the German MINI Trophy. In 2013, she only seems to have entered two Clio Cup rounds, at Motorland in Spain. After a long break, she did four Clio Cup rounds in 2018, scoring a best finish of seventh at Catalunya and Valencia. In 2019, she entered a couple of rounds of the Spanish TCR championship. 
Marta began racing historics in 2002, and drove an Alfa Romeo GTAm for some time. In 2004, she also won a Valencia regional speed eventing championship. She also competes in rallies, both of the stage and cross-country variety.   

Amalia Vinyes - Andorran driver who competed in the 2010 SEAT Leon Supercopa, in Spain and Europe. She was thirteenth in the Spanish championship, and only completed two rounds of the European series. Previously, in 2009, she raced in the Catalunya round of the International GT Open Championship, in a Ferrari F430 GTS. She was driving with her brother, Joan, for their family team, Baporo Motorsport. At some point earlier than this, Amalia did some ice racing. For 2011, she switched to rallying, in a Suzuki Swift, and was 22nd in the Rallye de Ferrol and twelfth in the Rallye Villajoyosa. She competed in the SEAT Leon Supercopa in 2014, and finished in the top ten four times. Her best finish was fifth, at Monza, and she was 15th overall. She did half of the Supercopa in 2015, finishing four of her six races. Her best finish was eleventh, at Paul Ricard, and she was 27th overall. She raced in the Spanish Endurance championship in the SEAT in 2016, and was fifth in the TCR class, with one win. As well as this, she did a couple of rounds of the Eurocup. Sticking with SEAT and TCR, she did part-seasons in the Spanish, Portuguese and Iberico touring car championships. In 2018, she switched to off-road events, winning at least one in Spain. It was back to TCR in 2019, and she was one of the leading drivers in the Spanish series, finishing third in the TCR class with two wins. Her car was a SEAT Cupra. In 2021 she took part in the Spanish Endurance Championship, driving a Cupra. She won at least one race at Navarra. A part-season in TCR Spain in 2023 led to sixth at Estoril and eighth at Jerez, from pole. In a similar car, she did two races in the 2024 season, at Jarama, finishing eighth and tenth.

(Image from autohebdosport.com)

Gaby dela Merced

Gaby dela Merced is a Filipino driver who raced single-seaters in the 2000s, up to Asian Formula 3 level.

She was fourteenth in the 2006 Asian Formula 3 championship, racing in the Promotion class. Her best overall finish was seventh, at Batul in Indonesia. She also ran quite well at Batanga and Zhuhai. One of her rivals was Michele Bumgarner. The two were the highest-scoring Filipino drivers, from five, with Gaby the second highest.

She first raced saloons in 2002, after two seasons in slalom and autocross. Her first championship was the SVI Challenge Cup and she was third in the novice class. Her car is not recorded, but her car for the same series in 2003 was a Honda Civic. She won at least two races at Subic International Raceway and was second in the championship, after duelling with her team-mate Mikko David at the front all year. 

She also competed in the BRC (Batanga Racing Circuit) Production Touring Car Championship, finishing third. 

Later, she raced in a Formula Toyota championship in the Philippines, which used a Japanese-spec single-seater with slicks and wings. She was runner-up in Formula Toyota in 2004 and also competed in half of the Asian Formula BMW championship, driving for Team Tec Pilipinas. Her best finish was eleventh, at Beijing. She had been awarded a scholarship drive for Formula BMW and this was her prize drive. The scholarship was decided via a shootout at Johor in Malaysia, and this was the first time she had driven a single-seater.

Post-Formula 3, she attempted to launch her career in America, like her compatriot Michele Bumgarner would manage the year after. However, she could not find a seat anywhere with the money she had.

Between 2006 and 2009, she does not appear to have raced much, and concentrated on her TV career, which included a stint on Filipino Big Brother. She made her comeback, racing in endurance events in the USA. One of these races was the 2008 25 Hours of Thunderhill, where she shared a BMW M3 with Robbie Montinola and Angelo Barretto. The all-Filipino team was twelfth overall and sixth in class. Earlier in the year, she made a guest appearance in the PTC at Subic.

She had to stop racing in 2010 after a knee injury. This was later found to be due to an inflammatory condition which needed surgery. This limited her participation for quite some time. For about five years in total, she had to stop doing all sports.

What also did not help was Gaby's involvement in a so-called Filipino racing team designed to get Filipino drivers into NASCAR. This 2013 plan turned out to involve no racing at all; a supposed multinational race at Charlotte was reduced to a driving experience day more commonly sold to complete novices. Gaby was sanguine about her experiences, claiming that "sh** happens".

Her next adventure was the Transasia TA2 championship in 2014, based on the Trans Am formula in America. Her car was a 450bhp Ford stock car and she raced across Asia for a Korean team. She made a few guest appearances in the series after that.

After another long hiatus, she returned to Asian motorsport for the Giti Formula V1 Race Challenge in 2019. This is a sportscar championship using the same Vita prototype as the all-female Kyojo Cup in Japan. She also guested in the Thailand Super Series round at Sepang, sharing a TA2 Ford Mustang with Australian Jaylyn Robotham. They were 16th in one race. 

Since then, she has done some drifting, and more media work, including some acting and TV hosting. Her last motorsport outings were the MSCC Mazda Cup in the Philippines in 2024.

She also competes in flag football, joining the Philippines womens' team in 2023. 

(Image copyright Gaby dela Merced)

Ashley Taws

Ashley Taws made her name as a successful young Canadian Formula Ford driver between 2000 and 2002, recognisable for her pink, "Barbie"-sponsored car. 

She was a race-winner at 1200cc level and scored seconds and thirds in her one season of 1600cc competition. 

She first raced a car in 2000, driving a 1200cc Formula Ford. This followed a karting career which had begun when she was nine. She was 16 at the time. In only her first season, she won two races, and she was second in the championship in 2001. By this time, she had brokered a sponsorship deal with Mattel and Wal-Mart, tying in with a co-promotion for "Be Anything With Barbie". Ashley drove a pink car with Barbie decals and made personal appearances at Canadian Wal-Mart stores close to tracks where she was racing. This was one of the most high-profile and successful female-oriented brand sponsorships in motorsport.

She moved up to the more competitive 1600cc class in 2002. Immediately, she was on the pace, finishing third in Round 1 at Mosport. This was one of two podium finishes she scored that year, on her way to championship fourth. She had tied with third-placed Chris Guerrieri on points, but he got third due to a win.

Her career was almost ended by a serious road traffic accident at the end of 2002, when she suffered injuries to her spine, left leg and internal organs. She had been a passenger in a friend's car. Seven months later, she was back out in the Formula Ford, at Toronto Molson Indy. Despite a cautious drive, she was fourth in her first race back. A third place at Trois-Rivieres helped her to championship seventh, but she dropped out after the fifth round as she was not feeling as comfortable in the car as she would like.

For a while, she stopped competing, bar a single guest appearance in the Honda Michelin Challenge in 2004. She was thirteenth at Mosport, driving a Civic.

She only returned to motorsport in 2007, in a BMW in the Canadian Touring Car Championship, and later, in 2008, a CASCAR stock car. Both cars carried Barbie sponsorship again. Although she showed promise, finishing second in only her third CASCAR race, she did not take to oval racing and quit in 2009. She is now pursuing a business career, working as an insurance broker.

(Image copyright AIM Autosport)

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.

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.

Another Winter Olympian is Simona de Silvestro, who previously raced in Indycar and V8 Supercars, but took time out from motorsport to concentrate on bobsleigh. She qualified for the monobob competition at the 2026 Milan-Cortina games.

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)

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (de Ganay)

 Anne-Sophie and her father at the 2011 Andros Trophy

Anne-Sophie le Ganay, who was previously known as Anne-Sophie Lemonnier, competes in ice racing in France. She was previously active in rallycross as well.

It was actually in rallycross that she got her start. Her first championship was a ladies’ Citroen Saxo series in 2003, the Citroen Challenge Feminin. She and her sister Marie-Laure competed together. The Lemonnier family is involved in both rallycross and stage rallying: Anne-Sophie and Marie-Laure’s father is Herve Knapick, a multiple rallycross champion, and their cousin Xavier Lemonnier is also active in rallying. 

The Challenge Feminin retired the Saxos in 2004 and began using the C2 instead. Anne-Sophie competed in one between 2004 and 2006. During her first season in a C2, she remained behind sister Marie-Laure, finishing fifth to her third. In 2005 and 2006, she leapfrogged her for championship third. 

The Citroen one-make series was cancelled at the end of 2006, so in 2007, she moved up to Division 4 of the French championship. Her car was not as competitive as those of the S1600 drivers in the series. After part-seasons without much of an impact, in 2010, she raced a Citroen Saxo kit car in Division 1A. 

In 2011, she was 18th in the Super 1600 championship, driving the same car. She did not compete in the championship in 2012. 

On the ice-racing side, she won the Andros Trophée Féminin “Ice Girls” championship in early 2008, driving a sprint car. In 2010, she was the Andros Ladies’ champion, as the highest-placed woman in the main draw. 

She competed mostly in the Elite class, beginning in 2009. She was a strong finisher in the 2012 Trophy, driving a BMW.

In 2014, she was 18th in the Promotion class, driving a BMW 1-Series. The car was shared with her father, Hervé Knapick, and run by their family team. 

Anne-Sophie reappeared in 2015 as team-mate to her father for the Alpe d'Huez round, driving a Renault Clio. By this time, she was racing as Anne-Sophie de Ganay. After a gap, Anne-Sophie and her father campaigned an Audi A1 in the 2022-23 Andros Trophy, competing at the Isola 2000 event.

(Image copyright Icon Sport/Getty Images)

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”)

Rosine Chauffour

 

Rosine Chauffour, also known as Rosine Chauffour-Robinet, is a multiple regional title-winning rally driver from France.

She has been competing as a driver since 2004, after co-driving for her father for three seasons. In 2004 and 2005, she rallied a Peugeot 106 in her local area of Limousin and was regional champion in 2005. 

The 106 was sold and upgraded to a 206 in 2006, which was initially used for circuit racing. She enjoyed the experience but preferred rallies, and therefore set about converting the 206 to rally spec.

She returned to the stages in 2007, usually partnered by Audrey Kuss, who would be her main co-driver for the next two seasons. Her best finish in this car was probably a 27th place in the Rallye Regional de la Vallee de la Benaize in 2008. The same year, she did two French National rallies, the Pays du Saint-Yrieix and Foie Gras et de la Truffe events, finishing 41st in both. 

After another car upgrade, she was local champion once more in 2009. Her 206 was an RC model and she used it for five seasons. The Rallye Regional des Genets was probably her best event in the first year, giving her a 23rd place and third in class. 

In 2010, she continued her progress, and qualified for the Finale of the French championship in the Pays-Basque. 

For 2011, she switched to co-driving for Pierre Lerosier, only contesting a few events as a driver in the 206. In one of these, the Rallye Vienne et Glane, she was 26th from 52 finishers. 

She returned to driving in 2012, driving in the Finale des Rallyes in Gap with Pauline Boyer. This followed an eight-round programme of asphalt rallies in southern France.

She used the same car in 2013, in regional events again, with Emeline Massie. Her best result was 30th, in the Rallye Regional Vienne et Glane. Another Finale in Oyonnax followed and she was 97th overall, winning the ladies’ award.

The same driver pairing was very active again in 2014, and their best rally was the Vienne et Glane event again, in which they were 26th. Rosine featured strongly in the A8 class, with three runner-up spots, and was fifth in the French Ladies' standings. The Peugeot had now been exchanged for a much newer Citroen DS3, a car she would remain loyal to for several seasons. 

This year was the first time she had driven in the rain and she admitted that the standard of competition was higher than what she was used to. 

She did not fare as well in a larger Ladies class in 2015, and was tenth, but she finished all eight of her rallies that year, driving the Citroen. Her best result was 23rd in the Pays Gentiane Rally, and she also won her class in the Vienne et Glane Rally, finishing 28th overall. 

She was seventh in the 2016 French Ladies' championship, after only entering one counting rally, the Rally of Limousin, which she crashed out of. IShe won her class in the Vienne et Glane event, and was 46th overall. Her best overall result was 21st, in the Cieux-Monts de Blond regional rally. 

Still in the same car, she won her class in the 2017 Rallye du Limousin and was 17th in the Cieux-Monts de Blond Rally. This was her first top-twenty finish. 

After a layoff, she returned for the 2020 Rally Regional Vienne et Glane, finishing 70th in the DS3. This expanded to three rallies in 2021, with a best finish of 37th in the Cantal Regional Rally. Her co-driver in the DS3 was now Patricia Bayard, a long-term navigator to her father in the 1990s. Their partnership continued into 2022 and yielded a class win in the Rallye Regional Jean-Pierre Champeau.

She continued to rally the DS3 in 2023, winning her class at the Vienne et Glane Regional Rally and finishing 39th overall.

Away from motorsport, Rosine is a politician representing the Uzerche region of France.

(Image from francebleu.fr)

Nathalie Maillet

 

Nathalie Maillet was a successful club racer from the 2000s onwards, as well as becoming the chief executive of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

She only earned her racing license aged 33, in 2004. When she was younger, she concentrated on her growing career as an architect. Despite growing up in a motorsport-oriented family, she never got to compete herself as a teenager and then her studies took over.

Success came fairly quickly. She was the 2006 Belgian VW Fun Cup champion and also won that year's Fun Cup 25 Hour race. 

She won a second Fun Cup 25 Hours with the Dubois Racing team in 2008. The same team, comprising Nathalie, Ronnie Dubois and Benoit de Keijser, entered some Belgian Touring Car rounds, with midfield results. 

The same team raced an Audi A4 silhouette in the BTCS in 2009 and 2010, and won at least one round. They won the Spa 12 Hours in 2009. In 2011, Nathalie used the same car in the BTCS for three races. 

In 2012, she contested the Euro RACECAR series, a European version of NASCAR. She was twelfth overall with one top-ten finish: eighth at Spa. 

RACECAR became the NASCAR Whelen Euroseries in 2013. Nathalie was twelfth overall again, with two eleventh places. In 2014, she drove a Toyota Camry in the Euroseries and had a best finish of sixth, achieved at the Nürburgring and Le Mans. She was twelfth in the Elite 2 category. 

She did not race in 2015, although she continued to be involved through management. This had begun with the Racing Club Partners team in the Euroseries. She was also the organiser of the American Festival Finals event.

In 2016, she was named as the new director of Spa-Francorchamps. 

Nathalie was from France but lived and worked in Belgium. She was murdered at home in August 2021 by her former husband Franz Dubois. She was 51.

(Image copyright Euro NASCAR)