Mira Nikolic

Mira Nikolic was one of the most successful and lauded female rally drivers in the former Yugoslavia. 

The Croatian driver was active between 1969 and 1987. At the time, Yugoslavia ran championships for both male and female drivers; she was a multiple Croatian ladies’ champion, winning the mixed crews’ award three times and the ladies’ title twice. She won the all-female INA Rally six times between 1972 and 1985 and took part in eighteen editions of that event. Her first major result was a second place in the 1969 INA Rally. Her outright wins came in 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1985. Her usual co-driver was Branka Trzun Makek. Her car was usually an NSU TT, even when it became rather old.

She also excelled in other women’s rallies and countless other rallies in Croatia and greater Yugoslavia. 

From at least 1979, she was co-driven by Mato Sebalj when she was competing in mixed events. They won class for mixed crews in the International Czech Rally three times in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Earlier, in 1978, Mira had scored an outright win in the Rally Pirin, held in Bulgaria, with Mato at her side. Her car was the NSU.

Her career ended in 1986 with a win in the Croatian womens’ championship, driving a Fiat Uno. She was defending her 1985 title. She won the AMD INA Rally outright and was third in the Rijecki women’s event.

As well as a driver, she was a performance driving instructor for many years, and chaired at least one motor club. 

She died in 2013, at the age of 72, recognised as the Croatian driver with the most rally wins of all time. A memorial slalom event is held in her name every year in Croatia.

(Image from motorsport.hr)

Women Drivers in One-Make Series: Croatia

Alenka Jurašić

Croatia is home to a surprising number of one-make Speedqueens. The Skoda Fabia Cup of the mid-2000s was a favoured series among female drivers.

Alenka Jurašić – Croatian driver who competed in the Skoda Fabia Cup in the 2000s. She first raced in the series in 2005, with a best finish of eighth, at Grobnik. In 2006, she was a regular top-five finisher, and the best of the four regular female drivers that year. She was not quite as competitive in 2007, although she did repeat her fourth place at Pozega. At the same time, and for some years previously, she was active in the discipline of auto-slalom, and won three Croatian championships. She has been competing on and off in Croatia since at least 1998, when she was eighth in the Clio Cup. In 1999, she enjoyed some success in a Peugeot 106, and she has also raced in the Croatian touring car championship.

Mirna Kljucaricek - drove a Skoda Fabia in Croatian road races in 2007. She was part of the Billa Ladies Racing Team with Diana Markt. They were competing in the Skoda Fabia Cup series. Mirna was tenth in the championship, with a best finish of sixth, at Dugopolje.

Tajana Koren - Croatian who races a variety of saloon cars in Europe, including in the Skoda Fabia Cup in 2005, in Croatia. She began racing in 1996, driving in the Clio Cup. She then spent part-seasons in the Skoda and Citroen Saxo Cups, in Croatia and Italy, in the case of the Saxo series. Her best result in Italy was eleventh. In Croatia, she scored some podium positions. In 2001, she switched to the Ford Focus Cup, where she remained until 2005, usually doing part-seasons. Her best championship result was seventh, in 2001. Following a break after the 2005 season, she drove in some rounds of the Alpine Renault Clio championship in 2009. She was 16th overall.  

Dina Marenić – raced in the INA Skoda Fabia Cup between 2005 and 2007. During her first season, her best finish was twelfth, at Grobnik. Her second year in the championship was better, and she reached the top ten on three occasions, the best of these being a seventh place, again at Grobnik. She was third in a ladies’ race at Zagreb. At Grobnik again, she improved her best finishing place to sixth in 2008. During this time, she competed in hillclimbs in the Fabia, as well as circuit races. She appears to have got her start in motorsport via rallying, having finished 24^th in the Croatia Rally in 2004, driving a Fiat Seicento.  

Diana Markt - races in Croatia. She took part in the Skoda Fabia Cup in 2007. She drove for the Billa Ladies’ Racing Team with Mirna Kljucaricek, and usually out-scored her team-mate. She had been active in the series since 2005, usually finishing midfield. Her best result was second in a women's race, in Zagreb, in 2006.

Martina Mihok – raced in the Skoda Fabia Cup in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, she was slightly behind the other female drivers, and was fourth in the Ladies’ race. Her best overall finish was eleventh, at Dugopolje. As well as racing, she won her class in a women-only “Sesvete Rally”. In 2007, she visited the top ten twice: eighth at Pozega and tenth at Grobnik. The same year, she did some hillclimbs in the same car, but was not really successful. After that, she appears to have stayed involved with motorsport, although she became a mother to a seriously ill child some time before 2013, when a charity motor show was organised for her.

Ivana Vidanec – active in Croatian one-make motorsport since at least 2002, when she raced a Skoda Fabia in circuit races and slalom events. In 2003, she raced in the Ford Focus Cup, with a best finish of thirteenth, at Grobnik. She was 21^st in the championship. A second season allowed her to improve a little, managing an eleventh at Grobnik, but she was still only 23^rd overall. That year, she also did some hillclimbs in the Focus, and was involved in street racing in a Honda Civic (possibly drifting). She does not appear to have raced since then.

(Image from http://riautosport.hr/)

Female Drivers in Touring Cars in Europe, 1950 to present day

Ksenya Niks, Andrina Gugger and Ulrike Krafft, at the start of the 2013 ETCC season

Apologies for what will be a lengthy post.
Women have competed in touring car championships at all levels in Europe, from the upper levels of club racing to the European championships. Interestingly, there seem to be fewer female drivers in the ETCC (now WTCC) now than there were in the 1960s.
Below is a selection of female drivers who have driven in touring car championships across Europe. Belgian drivers are likely to be found in the "Belcar" post, Italian drivers in the "Italian Drivers" post, and those who have taken part in one-make championships have their own pages. Dutch drivers, Swedish drivers, German drivers, Spanish, Portuguese and Andorran drivers and British drivers now also have their own post. Mette Kruuse can now be found here, Nicole Drought here, Karen Gaillard here and Jenny van Hilten here.

Anna Alexandrova - Belarussian driver who raced in the National section of the Russian Circuit Championship in 2016, driving a Ford Fiesta. She took part in the first two races at Smolensk, but then left the series after a DNF at Nishni Novgorod. She was thirteenth and fifteenth in her two races. She also did three rounds of her home championship, in the same car, with a best finish of seventeenth, also at Smolensk. In 2015, she raced a VW Polo, taking in a couple of rounds of the Belarussian Touring Car Championship at Smolensk and finishing eleventh and twelfth. She used the same car in the Russian Endurance Challenge at Moscow, and finished fourth in the 4-hour race, sharing with Sergei Koronatov.

Johanna Amann - Austrian driver who raced a Renault Clio in the 2015 German Touring Car Cup. She has since gone on to race the same car in the ESET V4 championships. Her best result in 2016 was an eighteenth place overall at the Red Bull Ring. In 2017, she enrolled in the CEZ Touring Car Trophy, part of the ESET package. She was twelfth and fourteenth at the Red Bull Ring. Her 2018 programme in the series was the same. Prior to 2015, she was active on the slalom scene in Austria. In 2019, she competed in hillclimbs in Central Europe.

Christine Bourcier – raced in the French Super Production championship in 2000 and 2001. Her car in 2000 was a Citroen Saxo, and she used a Peugeot 106 and a Ford RS2000 in 2001. Both times, she drove for the Guerreiro Sport team. She does not appear to have raced again since then.

Margot Carvalhido - races a Peugeot 208 in the French Touring Car championship, competing in the TC Light class. She shares the car with Frederic Rondeau. In 2022, they were the leading TC Light drivers with several class wins, and held on for the class championship. She raced in Trophee Tourisme Endurance in 2023, sharing a 208 with two other drivers. In 2024 and 2025, she was still active in the 208, in the TC France series. In 2025, she scored one third place at Paul Ricard. Margot appears to have begun racing on the circuits at the end of 2021, in the TTE Endurance series, alongside her younger brother Enzo. She got into motorsport through sim racing, having been part of the Simulateur Academie Racing programme and winning its female driver spot.

Carla Debard - races a BMW M2 in the French Touring Car championship. She began in 2021 after several years of competitive horse riding. In her first season, she was fourteenth in the championship, with a best finish of seventh, which she achieved three times. In 2022, she emerged a much stronger driver, earning her first podium, a third place at Magny-Cours. Staying with BMW, she moved up to the FFSA GT championship in 2023, in the GT4 Am class. She was third in class with two podiums. Another FFSA GT season followed in 2024, this time in the Pro-Am class. She was seventh overall, with two podium finishes, partnered by Simon Gachet. She is from a racing family and had practised for some time before her first race. She has also competed in the Fun Cup with her father.

Tatiana Dobrynina - member of the Volkswagen Junior Academy in Russia. She races in the Russian Touring Car Championship, in the National class. Her car is a Volkswagen Polo. 2017 seems to be her first year in the series. Her best result was a thirteenth place at Kazan and she was 33rd in the championship. In 2018 she did the first two rounds of the National championship, driving a Kia Rio. Her best result was 16th at Smolensk. She has been active in Russian motorsport since 2015, when she took part in some Time Attack events in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo XI. In 2021, she raced a Shortcut prototype in the Russian Circuit Racing Series, scoring one class win at NRing. The car came out again for 2023 and 2024, when she did most of the season. In 2025, she did two rounds.

Natalia Goltsova - long-time competitor in Russian touring cars, always in a Lada. Despite having raced karts since the age of five, she was 28 when she really announced herself on the Russian scene, racing in the Lada Kalina Cup and scoring a second place at Moscow. That year, she also raced a Lada Samara on ice. In 2010, she raced in the Light category of the Russian Touring Car Championship, in the Kalina, usually finishing mid-field. This continued, and she had a best finish of tenth in 2011. On the ice, she was second in the Ladies’ championship, at Cherepovets. She continued to improve in 2012, with a best finish of fifth. In 2013, she was back to midfield, with grids strong this year, although she did manage two third places in Mitjet Cup races. After an incident involving her hair becoming caught in her helmet straps, causing her to lose concentration and crash, she did not return to ice racing in 2013, although she made some guest appearances in 2014. Most of 2014 was spent in the RTCC. This year, she scored some more top tens, including a fifth at Smolensk. She raced in the RTCC again in 2015, in a Lada run by her own family team. Her best result was fourth, at the NRING circuit, and she was ninth in the championship, one above her team-mate. As well as circuit racing, Natalia has also competed in rallycross, in a Lada, with some success. She raced her VAZ in the RTCC in 2016, with mixed results. She finished as high as fourth at Smolensk, but could not always match that pace, and was disqualified from the last round, finishing 18th in the championship. She was back in a Lada Kalina in 2017, in Russian Touring Cars. Her season highlights were two ninth places, at Smolensk and Moscow. She did better in ice-racing, scoring two top-three finishes in the VAZ. She now races historics. Her father is Vladimir Goltsov, a Soviet-era racer who also participated in the Dakar.

Nanna Gøtsche – Danish driver who races a SEAT Leon Supercopa car in endurance events. She has been racing cars since 2012, after many years of karting. Her first racing car was a Renault Clio, which she used in the Point S Silkeborg Clio Cup, achieving two third places and eighth in the championship. She continued to race Clios, sometimes for the Sally Racing team, for the next couple of seasons. In 2015, she raced in the Hankook Tyres 24H Series, usually in class A3T, for Zest Racecar Engineering. Her best result was in the Paul Ricard race, where she and her team-mates were 35^th, sixth in class. Nanna was sixth in the series' Ladies’ Cup, which was quite competitive, having completed four of the six races. In 2016, this improved to second, even with a part-season. She was driving for the Artthea Sport team, who also won the SPX class. Her car was a Porsche. In 2017, she continued in the SPX (special car) class, driving for Vortex Racing. Their GC10 V8 proved unreliable and did not finish three of the four races it entered. Nanna and her team-mates in the Danish-French team were third in class at Mugello. As well as endurance racing, she also competes in historic cars from time to time, including a Volvo Amazon.

Yvonne Gregoire - rather obscure driver of the 1970s. She occasionally appears in the French Touring Car Championship entry lists. In 1974, she drove a Simca Rally 2 in an FTCC race at Croix-en-Ternois, coming tenth in Class 2. In 1978, she reappears, in a Simca Rallye 3. She finished in 17th place in the Production 1600 class at Montlhéry. At some point, she was involved in an all-female Simca racing championship, and was apparently the runner-up, behind another mysterious driver called Catherine Bozio. This seems to have taken place in 1974.

Chantal Grimard - former Olympic swimmer who raced in Belgium in the mid-1980s. She first appears in the Belgian Touring Car Championship in 1985, driving a VW Golf GT. The full results for this championship are not available, but Chantal was not among the front-runners. In 1986, she drove in the championship again, which ran under Group N regulations. Her car was a Toyota MR2. This year, she was second in a heat of the Trophée de la Mer du Nord, but did not finish the main race. She was also 25th in the Spa 24 Hours, driving a Toyota Corolla with Anny-Charlotte Verney and Henny Hemmes. In 1987, she took part in some rounds of the French Formula Three championship, with the Belgian Sport Auto Racing team. After this, her racing career seems to peter out.

Petra Krajnyák – Hungarian driver who competes in the Hankook Racer Cup. Her car is a Suzuki Swift, and she drives for the OXXO Energy team, alongside Anett György. In 2016, her best result was eighth place, achieved twice in the middle of the season. This took her up to 11^th place in the championship, after missing a round. 2016 appears to be her first season of senior competition. In 2017, she raced a Kia Lotos in a one-make series in Hungary. Her best finish was eleventh at the Slovakiaring.  In 2018, she tried rallying, driving a Kia Picanto in the Nyiregyhaza Rally. She was 23rd overall. On the circuits, she competed in the Kia Platinum Cup. She rallied the Picanto in 2019 and managed a best finish of 17th on the Baranya Kupa Rallye. She also did her first ERC rally, the Rally of Hungary, in a Ford Fiesta, winning her class and finishing 51st. She was the Picanto rally champion at the end of the year. In 2020 she continued to rally the Fiesta in the Hungarian championship. Her best finish was twelfth in the Palhaza Rally. Another season in the Fiesta had her repeating this in the Orfu Rally, as well as picking up two further top-twenty finishes. She also tried off-road rallying in a Can-Am Maverick. She did three rallies in Hungary in the Fiesta in 2022, with a best finish of 21st in the Orfu Rally. 

Sabine Kukute – Latvian driver who raced a Nissan 350Z in the Speedest 1000 Euro Race series. Later, in 2008, she took part in the Baltic Touring Car Championship, driving a BMW 320. Her best finish was eighth, at Riga, and she was 21^st overall. The same year, she appeared on reality TV in Latvia, for which she is best known.

Marina Mise – raced in the Croatian Touring Car Championship in 2007. Her car was a Skoda Felicia. She did not race for the whole season, but had a reasonably competitive sixth place at Dugopolje as her best finish. Although she did not do much circuit racing, she was quite active in hillclimbs in Croatia, competing in her national championship in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, she also used a Yugo, and in 2010, she was still on the hills, in a Fiat Cinquecento.

Eva Mondou - French driver who graduated from karts to cars in 2021. She competes in the French Touring Car championship, driving a Renault Clio. She first raced in the Spa round, sharing the car with Bastien Girard. They were eleventh in the first race and tenth in the next two. The pair first raced together with Perftech in 2021, taking on the Le Mans round of the Trophee Tourisme Endurance in the Clio. Eva’s father William was one of their co-drivers. Eva was 16 years old at the time. She was fifth in the TCA-2 class in 2022, driving the Clio.

Michaela Peškova – raced a Ferrari 430 in Slovakia in 2010. Her best finish in the Slovakian racing championship was fifth, at the Slovakiaring. She also shared a Renault Megane with Karolina Czapka-Lampel in a two-hour enduro at the same meeting, finishing seventh. In 2009, she shared a BMW M3 with Matej Kotrba for the endurance races of the Czech Touring Car Championship. She does not appear to have raced since 2010.

Danielle Plomteux - Belgian touring car driver who specialised in long-distance events. In 1969, she raced an Opel Rallye Kadett in the Grand National at Zolder, a multi-heat endurance event. She was 61st. The following year, she was part of a team driving a tiny Honda S800 in the Nürburgring 36 Hours. She won her class, with team-mates Charles de Meutter and Serge Trosch, also Belgian. The same year, she returned to the Nürburgring for the Marathon de la Route, in a much bigger Opel Commodore. The race was 84 hours long, and ran over three-and-a-half days. Danielle and her team-mates, “Clyde” and a Y. Errolean, were twelfth, and second in the 2500cc class.

Irina Protasova - Ukrainian driver who has raced in multiple categories, always driving for Ukrainian teams. She was part of the Bevz Konstantyn set-up in 2010 for the S2000 European Touring Car Cup, driving a BMW 320i E46 in the first two rounds, after which the team pulled out. She scored two twelfths in Braga, and a ninth and a DNF at Salzburg. In 2012, driving a similar car, she took part in two races in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, for Chayka Racing. In 2007, she also tried rallying, driving a Subaru Impreza to tenth place in the Prime Yalta Rally in Ukraine. 

Kate Rafanelli - finished fourth in the 1996 Spa 24 Hours, driving a BMW with Florence Duez and Yolanda Surer. She returned to Spa in 1997, this time with Vanina Ickx and Florence Duez, in another BMW, but did not finish after an off. The same result transpired from her 1994 efforts with Benoit Galand and Didier Stassart, in a 325i this time. As well as her 24-hour racing, Kate also competed in the Andros Trophy on at least one occasion. Her family ran a BMW preparation company, so it is likely that she raced BMWs elsewhere in smaller events.

Angélique Sadalian - began racing in French national events in 2014, aged eighteen. She was the women’s champion on the 2014 VTR Tour, a simulator racing series, and this led to a drive in a Mitjet enduro race at Magny-Cours, as part of a three-driver team. She did some more Mitjet racing in 2015, based at Magny-Cours, then moved on to the Peugeot 208 Racing Cup in 2016. She was driving for No Limit Racing, with Guillaume Plubel. In 2018, she did the Fun Cup enduro at KLe Mans in May.

Julia Schayer - raced in the Polish Endurance championship in 2020 and won the D4 class, driving a Kia Picanto. She was 31st in the series overall and had one class win with her team-mate Jakub Szablewski. Individually, she was fifth in the Kia class. 2020 appears to be her first season of circuit racing, although she had previously done some Time Attack events in the Kia. In 2021 she raced a Suzuki Swift in the ESET 1600 TCR championship, winning her class twice at the Hungaroring. This followed several seasons of karting.

Sandra Sutter – Swiss driver who races in ADAC Procar in Germany. After some time spent in karting, she did her first Procar races in 2008, when she was 18 years old. She drove a Ford Fiesta for the Vizethum team at Oschersleben, and was eighth in one race. In 2009, she joined the NK Racing team, still in a Fiesta. She did five races for the team, almost half a season. Oschersleben was her best circuit, and she was sixth twice there. Her final position in Division II was eleventh. After a break, during which she returned to karting, she did another part-season in Procar in the Fiesta in 2011, supported by Glatzel Racing. She was fourteenth overall, after four races, at Lausitz and Assen. Her best finish was eleventh, at Lausitz. 

Emilie Tapy - raced in French Supertouring between 1999 and 2005. She was 29th in 1999, driving a BMW M3 E30, after only a few races. Her 2005 return yielded an eleventh place, in another BMW. In between, she had another drive in a BMW in 2000, and was fourteenth. In 2006, she competed in an Opel Astra Coupe in GT races. She was 20th and 25th at Pau in a joint French/British GT race meeting. Her team-mate was Anne-Sophie Nourry. She drove the same car with Audrey Roche at Val de Vienne, scoring a 21st and 27th place with two class wins. She was also linked to a Larbre Competition Dodge Viper drive, but this did not occur.

Marie-Rose Tibesar (“Miss Timaro”) - competed in European Touring Cars in 1962 and 1963. In 1962, she drove in the Brands Hatch and Nürburgring 6-Hour races, in her own BMW 700. She was 20th at the Nürburgring with Ulrich Therstappen, and 19th at Brands Hatch with Rona Pearson. Both times she was fifth in class. The following year, she entered the Brands Hatch 3 Hours with Peter Galliford, but they did not finish. She did not enter any more major races. “Miss Timaro” was from Luxembourg.

Isabel van de Velde - drove in the Belgian touring car championship in the mid-1980s. Full information about this championship is hard to come by, so it is difficult to know the extent of her racing activities. She first appears in the entry list for the 1985 EG Trophy support race, driving a VW Polo for the Belgian VW Club team. It is unclear whether or not she finished. In 1985, she drove a Toyota Starlet in the Trophée de la Mer du Nord. She qualified for the final, but her results in the heats, as well as her actual final position, are not forthcoming. She may well have taken part in other races during those two seasons.

Isabella (Bella) Walkoun - Austrian driver who races a Mini in central Europe. In 2013, she competed in the ESET Championship, and was among the leading Austrian drivers. Her best overall finish was sixth, at the Red Bull Ring. She entered the same championship in 2014, using the Mini and a Mitubishi Colt. Her best finish has been fifth, at Salzburg. 2013 seems to have been her first season of racing.

(Image from http://www.automobilsport.com)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: The Rest of Europe

Ekaterina Stratieva in her IRC Citroen C2

This post lists some drivers from the other countries of Europe. This has previously included Turkey, which now has its own page, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Inessa Tushkanova now has her own post, as do Dasha Bakai, Asja Zupanc and Mira Nikolic.

Sonja Bastar - Yugoslavian driver of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Between 1979 and 1981, she rallied at least two different Zastava models in Eastern European rallies, usually in Czechoslovakia. The Zastava was one of the least powerful cars available to Eastern Bloc drivers. Her best result came in 1981, when she was 44th in the Tatry International Rally, in modern Slovakia. She also participated in at least three runnings of the Barum Rally. As well as her Czechoslovak adventures, she also appears to have competed in the Delta Rally, in modern Croatia, at least once.

Zulikhan Bidzhanova – Ukrainian driver who competes in her home country. Her car is a Peugeot 205. She began rallying in 2013, and in her first year, was fifth in the Rally Crimea Legend event. In 2016, she scored the third top-ten finish of her career, finishing ninth overall in the Rally of Galicia. She was twentieth in the 2016 Ukrainian championship, and seventh in the Ukraine Rally Legends championship. In 2017, she was thirteenth in the Rally Bukovyna. She entered the Rally Galicia in 2018, but did not finish due to engine trouble. After a long lay-off, she was 20th in the 2021 Ukrainian championship, driving a Honda Civic. Her best finish was a fifteenth place in the Rally of Galicia.

Birgitte de Bourbon - Danish driver who rallied in the early 1960s, in different cars. She won the Coupe des Dames in the 1961 Danfoss Midsummer Rally, in an Austin Futura. Her co-driver was Annelise Schønwandts.  At some point in the mid-1960s, she also took part in the Monte Carlo Rally, although further details are hard to come by. She was married to Prince Jacques of Bourbon-Parma, who was also a rally driver. Birgitte sometimes acted as his navigator. She continued to be involved in motorsport after his death in 1964, in a road accident. In 1973, she is reported to have taken part in a classic rally event, but again, further details are not forthcoming.

Mirela Bucovicean - Romanian driver who campaigns a Ford Escort RS2000 in her country’s historic championship. In 2017, her best result was an eighteenth place in the Roumanie Historic Winter Rally. She has also finished the Transilvania Rally, in 46th place, against both historic and modern cars. This was improved to 44th in 2019 and 38th in 2020. In 2021, she was 39th in the Argesului event. Her co-driver is Georgiana Gologan. Mirela works in the fashion industry in Romania.

Alina Carmina Bunica - former karter from Romania. She began rallying in the Dacia Rally Cup in 2007, driving a Logan. She finished the year second in the Rookie standings. Since then, she has moved into the Romanian championship proper, driving a Citroen Saxo VTR and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8. The Saxo was her main car, which she used in 2009 and 2010. She managed two rounds of the Romanian championship in 2011, but had to pull out.

Michaela Debnárová - Slovakian driver, active since 2012. She drives one of two versions of the Peugeot 206, and her navigator is Nikola Zemanová. During her first year, she rallied in Slovakia, with a best result of 19th, in the Rallye Tatry. She was third in class. In 2013, she also did one rally in Hungary -  the Eger Rallye. She was 57th, but the 20th Slovakian driver. Out of her other five Slovakian events, she retired from three, usually due to mechanical problems, but she was fifteenth in the Rally Tríbeč, runner-up in class six. After a break, she returned to competition in 2016, driving a Skoda Fabia and a Ford Fiesta in Slovakian rallies. Her best finish was 27th, third in class, in the Lubenik Rally, in the Fiesta. She was 26th in the 2017 Slovakian championship, driving a Renault Clio. She posted two top-twenty results, the best of these being a 15th place in the Rally Kosice. In 2018, the Kosice event was her best rally again, and she was 21st. She won her class championship in the Czech Rallysprint series in 2019, driving the Clio. In 2020, she only did one rally, driving a Peugeot 208. She was 33rd in the Keskomobile Autoshow at the Slovakiaring. 

Oda Dencker-Andersen - Danish driver. She competed in Europe and further afield throughout the 1970s, initially as a navigator (from the mid-60s), but more and more as a driver as time progressed. She often navigated for Hannelore Werner in major rallies. One of her driving achievements was a class win on the 1973 BNU Rally in South Africa, in a Datsun 1200 GX. She went on to drive in the RAC Rally in 1976 and 1977, in Opel models. In 1980, she co-drove Marianne Hoepfner to second overall in the Himalayas Rally, in a Toyota Celica.

Elisabeth Fagnant - Luxembourg’s only current female rally driver. She has been active since at least 2012, first in a Peugeot 106, then a Renault Clio which she has used since 2015. She admits that as a privateer entrant, she has stuck with the Clio as her budget does not stretch to a more powerful car. Most of her rallying has been in Belgium, as Luxembourg’s motorsport offerings are limited. She did compete in her national rally in 2019, finishing 38th with her regular co-driver Jessica Lemasson. Her best result of the year was an 18th place in the East Belgian Criterium Rally. She has been most successful in shorter sprint rallies and won her class in the 2017 Winning Rallysprint. In 2020 she managed one rally in the Clio, the Trois-Points event, finishing 38th. She returned to this event in 2022, finshing 51st. In 2025, she brought the Clio back out for two more Belgian rallies.

Natalia Franchuk - Ukrainian driver who drove both Soviet-style and Western makes of car in rallies between 1996 and 2001. She was probably most successful in a Lada Samara, finishing fourth in this car in the 1999 Rosava Rally. This was one of four top-ten finishes she had during her career. The last car she rallied was a Ford Sierra in 2001. She was 16th in the Rally Stolytsia. Her co-driver was always her sister, Yanina.

Zdenka Fryvaldska-Tamasova - Slovakian rally regular who swapped seats to drive in 2020. She has competed in single-venue asphalt rallies with considerable success, including third and fourth places overall in the OMV MaxxMotion Rallies held at the Slovakiaring in 2020. In 2021, she was eighth and sixth in the same events and picked up four further top twenty finishes in similar rallies. In 2022, she had a best finish of 16th in the Slovakia Rallye Tatry. The following year, she competed in both Slovakia and Serbia, picking up a best finish of fourteenth in the Rally Mionica. In 2024, she rallied in Slovakia and Czechia. Her car is a Honda Civic and she is usually co-driven by Lucie Petrova. She has competed as a co-driver since 2009, sitting alongside a number of drivers until 2018.

Monika Grauberg - Estonian driver who rallied an Opel Kadett in the 2000s. She was most active in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, during which her best result was a 20th place in the 2003 Mulgi Sugis event, from 80 finishers. She normally competed in Estonia itself, but did travel to Latvia in 2003 for the Rally Milzis, finishing 24th overall. She won her class in the Estonian championship that year. Her co-driver was Moonika Kurba.

Viktoria Hojas - Austrian driver who has been in the driving seat since 2014. She started off as a co-driver a year earlier. Her car has always been an Opel Corsa. In 2015, she was runner-up in the Austrian Opel Corsa Cup after winning her class in the Liezen Rally. She was 21st overall, her best finish of the year. She has also been a state rally champion in Austria. She contested the 2017 and 2018 Austrian championships in the Corsa, winning her class in the 2018 W4 Rally and finishing twelfth overall. In 2019, she mostly competed in Germany and was rewarded with a fourth place in the Freislassinger Rallyesprint.

Patricia Grigorescu – Romanian driver who competed in the Romanian Dacia Logan Cup in 2008. Her best result in the Cup was a seventh place, in the Tara Barsei Seat Rally. She was 38^th overall, which was also her best outright finish that year. Her season was plagued by car unreliability, and she only finished half of the rallies she entered. She was sixteenth in the Logan Cup. This was her only season of rallying; Patricia is normally a hillclimb driver, who scored two class wins in 2008. She continues to compete with the Logan in the N2 class, when funds allow. In 2009, she also tried rallycross in France.

Gorana Hunić – Croatian driver who has been competing since 2007, when she was 30. Initially, she took part in hillclimbs, after learning to drive as a pre-teen. Her first stage rally was the Rally Poreč, in which she co-drove a Peugeot 306 with Drazen Pigl, but did not finish. Her first rally as a driver was the 2007 Rally Istra, and she drove a Renault Clio Williams to 31^st place. For the next few years she mainly co-drove for other drivers, and her own career behind the wheel did not take off until 2015. That year, she drove a Ford Focus in the Croatian championship, and was third in her class. Her best individual rally result was 17^th, in the INA Delta Rally. She continued to rally the Focus in 2016, for the AK INA Delta team. Her best rally was the INA Delta Rally again, in which she was 20th. She was the Croatian Ladies' champion that  year, a title she retained in 2017. The INA Delta Rally was once more her best event, giving her 25th and sixth in class. In 2018, she secured another Croatian Ladies' title, which she defended in 2019. Her best 2018 finish was 34th in the Kumrovec Rally. 

Jovana Jovanović - Serbian driver, now competing on a Swiss license, who has been competing in the Balkans and Eastern Europe since 2012. For her first season, 2012, she drove in Serbian rallies, and had four top-ten finishes, including a seventh place in the Zlatiborski Rally. She branched out in 2013, and did some events in Croatia and Bulgaria. Her best result was tenth in the Rally of Bulgaria, a European championship round. She also won her class in the Beogradski Rally in Serbia, and the Stari Stolici and International Hebros rallies in Bulgaria. Her car was a Volkswagen Polo. She exchanged this for a Citroen C2 for 2014. It was a good move: she scored two third places, in the Rally Jahorina and the Beogradski Rally. She was also tenth in the Rally of Bulgaria, a European Trophy round. She was sixth in the Serbian championship. In 2015, she moved to Switzerland, and rallied the C2 there. She was eleventh in the Swiss junior championship, after a season affected by mechanicals and accidents. Her best result was 44th overall, in the Critérium Jurassienne. 

Jasminka Komljenovic - Serbian driver who competed in the 1990s and 2000s, initially under the Yugoslavian flag. Towards the end of her career, she was quite successful in Serbian championship rallies, driving a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer. Between 2003 and 2005, she scored four top-ten finishes, the best of these being a fifth place in the 2004 Zemunski Rally. The year before, she was seventh in the Balkan Rally, which was a European Championship round at the time. She rallied occasionally in Bulgaria during her career, driving the Lancer and a Lancia Delta Integrale. This was the car she drove in her only WRC outing, the 1995 Acropolis Rally. She did not finish.

Cristiana Oprea - rallied in the Dacia Logan Cup in Romania in 2016. She was thirteenth in the Cup standings, with a best finish of 40th, in the TESS Rally. She was also ninth in the Romanian junior championship. That season, she also did some navigating, in Romanian rallies, for different drivers. 2016 was her second season of competition, after trying both driving and co-driving in 2015. Sticking with Dacia, she drove a Sandero in the 2017 Romanian championship. Her best result came on the Molduvel Bacau Rally: 25th overall and sixth in class. Her first international rally, the Sliven event in Bulgaria, was her best of 2018. She was 25th overall. This feat was repeated in 2019, with a 22nd place. As well as the Sandero, which she used in Romania and Bulgaria, she drove a Peugeot 208 in the Roma di Capitale Rally, a European championship round, finishing 28th and second in the ERC ladies' standings. Still in the Sandero, she did a couple of Romanian rallies in 2020. In 2021, she did a longer schedule, with a run in the Bulgarian Rally Sliven. Her car was a Peugeot 208. She switched to the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup, driving an electric Opel Adam for a lot of 2022. Her best finish was sixth in the electric class of the Rally Sulingen in Germany. She also did some bigger European rallies in the Peugeot, including a run in the Croatia Rally, which was part of the World Championship. Her final position was 56th, having been allowed to restart with a penalty after not finishing a stage. She did part of her 2023 season in the eCorsa, but switched to a Rally4 ICE Corsa later on, finishing the Barum Czech Rally Zlin in 55th place. She used the Corsa again in 2024, but did not finish any of her three European rallies. She was born in 1992, and works as a freelance PR agent.

Ramona Rusu - Romanian driver who has been most successful in a Dacia Sandero. She used this car in the 2018 season as part of a Dacia one-make series in Romania. She has scored a number of podiums in the Newcomer class. Her best finish has been ninth in the Covasna Winter Rally. Earlier, in 2016 and 2017, she made occasional outings in a Subaru Impreza, including two previous attempts at the Covasna event. She was fifth overall in 2017.

Klavdija Senica - Slovenian driver who competes in rallies in the Balkans, and sometimes further afield in Europe. Her first rallies were in 2011, and her first finish was a 22nd place in the Martinski Rally, in Croatia. Her car was a Fiat Panda. In 2012, she broke into the top twenty, in the Rally Maribor (she was 19th), then the top ten, in the Rally Idrija. She also took part in her first Croatian rally, in Poreč, but did not finish. In 2012, she started the year with a seventh place in the Rally Kumrovec, in Croatia. At the end of the season, she was ninth in the Poreč Rally. In between, she entered the Lavanttal Rally in Austria, and the Rally del Friuli Venezia Giulia, in Italy, finishing the Italian event. She was 20th in the Croatian championship. In 2014, she continued to rally the Panda in the Balkans. Her best finish was 17th, in the Rally Nova Gorica. 2015 was a quieter year, with her only major rally being a second try at the Nova Garica Rally. She was 40th overall in the Panda, and won her class. 

Lada Soustova - Ukrainian driver who has competed since at least 2005, always using a ZAZ 1102 Tavria (a Lada model). Her co-driver is usually Alina Soustova, presumably her sister. Her schedule in the Ukrainian championship usually takes in the Prime Yalta Rally and the Rally Chumatskiy Shlyah. Her best overall finish has been fifteenth, in the 2008 Rally Mariupol. In 2012, her best result was 17th, in the Rally Chernomor. She was 36th in that year’s Cup section of the Ukrainian championship. Her best 2013 result, out of five events, was 25th in the Express Auto Rally. In 2014, she only entered one rally, the Tmutarakan Rally in Russia. She drove the ZAZ, but did not finish. In 2016, she rallied the ZAZ in Russia, finishing seventeenth in the Rally Adygeya. She had a new co-driver, Anne Kachka. The Tikhiy Don Rally was her only event in 2017. Driving the ZAZ, she was eleventh overall, a result she repeated in 2018. In 2020, she drove a similar car in the Rally Taman and finished 15th. In the same car, she was 19th in the Rally Battle, held in Russia. She was eleventh in the 2022 Rally Taman.

Christina-Myrto Stathaki – Greek driver who rallied internationally between 2000 and 2007. She competed in the Acropolis Rally six times, with a best finish of 46^th place, in 2000, driving a Toyota Corolla. She started her career in a one-make series for the Fiat Cinquecento, in 1996. By 1997, she was among the top ten in the championship. Her best result was a fourth place, in 1998, at Megara, and she was seventh in the final standings. After that, she rallied Toyotas for a few seasons, including a Starlet, Yaris and the aforementioned Corolla. This was her main car in 2002, when she took part in a wide programme of Greek rallies. Her best surface was gravel, and she managed a 25^th place overall in the Agrafon Rally. After this, she became more of an occasional driver. In 2006 and 2007, she drove a Peugeot 206. She is the only Greek female driver of the modern era. 

Chrislin Sepp - Estonian driver who rallies in her home country. She began in 2015, driving a Honda Civic, and continued to use the same car until 2018, when she tried out a Mitsubishi Lancer for the Saaremaa Rally. An axle broke and she did not finish; previously, during the Tallinn Rally, the Civic had caught fire. 2018 was her fourth Saaremaa Rally and she had finished the event in 2015 and 2016. Her best result was a 26th place in the 2016 Saaremaa Rallysprint. She did not enter any rallies in 2019 but she did come out again in 2020 in the Lancer. Her only finish was a 22nd place in the Viru Rally. After another break, she did some more rallies in the Lancer in 2022, finishing 20th in the Paide Rally.

Joana Survilaitė - Lithuanian driver who is the only regular female driver in the Baltic states. From the beginning of her career, in 2011, she has rallied throughout the Baltic region, although that year, she only finished one event, the Saaremaa Rally in Estonia. Her car was a Renault Clio. It was changed for a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX in 2012, which gave her a mixed set of results, the best being eleventh, in the Rally Classic Druskinkai and twelfth in the Saulé Rally, both in Lithuania. Her other four results were mostly outside the top twenty. In 2013, she kept the Lancer, which is painted a distinctive pink colour, and added Poland to her rally schedule. She was the ninth Lithuanian finisher, although she does not seem to have been classified in the main results. Her best result by far was sixth place in the Saulé Rally, her first top ten. She had one other top-twenty finish, fourteenth in the Vilnius Rally. In 2014, she contested the Lithuanian championship again, in the Lancer. She retired from the Halls Winter Rally. Her regular navigator is her mother, Vesta Survilienė. 

Lana Sutlović - Croatian driver and co-driver who has been competing, mainly in Croatia and Slovenia, since 2004, initially as a navigator. She began driving seriously in 2007, in a Ford Ka, although she only finished one of her six rallies, the Meðimurski Rally. In 2008, she gained her first top-twenty finish, a 17th place in the Karlovački ORC Rally. Her finishing record was much better this year, still in the Ka. In 2009 and 2010, she competed less as a driver, mostly still in the Ka, and usually finishing just outside the top twenty. For the 2010 Rally Novi Vindolski, she changed to a Peugeot 106, and was 21st. In 2011, she only did one major rally, the Croatia Rally, and she was 29th. After that, she co-drove for a couple of different Balkan-based drivers in 2012, and moved to co-driving full-time in 2015. 

Sidonia Tatoiu - Romanian millionaire media personality who did a season in the Romanian Rally Championship in 2011. She drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX or X in five events. She was 19th in the championship, with a best finish of fifteenth, and twelfth in class, in the Tirgu Mures Rally, beating the more experienced Alina Carmina Bunica and future ERC ladies’ champion, Ekaterina Stratieva. She also managed two more top-twenty finishes, both 16th places, in the Tess Rally Brasov and Sibiului Rally.

Maila Vaher - Estonian driver, active since 2010, although she co-drove for different drivers between 2006 and 2008. Between then, she seems to have done some junior rallies in a Honda, but details are not forthcoming. As a senior driver, she always uses a Nissan Sunny GTi, and is navigated by Karita Kivi. She has competed in four Saaremaa Rallies, with a best finish of 63rd, in 2013. Her best overall result so far came in the 2012 UKU Mulgi Rally, where she was 23rd. She was also 29th in the 2013 Rally Võrumaa Suvi, a rallysprint event. This event was her best one in 2014, too, and she was 18th. The Sunny was less reliable this year, and it also let her down during the 2015 Tartu Rally. Her best finish was a 43rd place, in the Harju Rally. Maila's favoured surfaces are gravel and ice.  

(Image from www.automobilsport.com)