Female Drivers in Truck Racing

Minna Kuoppala in 1995

Women drivers have enjoyed some success in truck racing, both in Europe, especially France, and in the Brazilian Formula Truck series. Aliyyah Koloc now has her own profile. Heather Baillie, Divina Galica, Ellen Lohr and Stephanie Halm have all also competed in truck racing, in Europe.

Marcia Arcade – Brazilian driver who was the first woman to race in Formula Truck, in 1998. Her truck was a Scania, and she was not initially among the front-runners. She contested six races in 1998 and 1999. In 2001, she entered three more races, in a Ford truck, but again, did not challenge for wins. She was nicknamed “Furaçao”, or “Hurricane”.

Reinhilde Braun – German driver who raced in the European championships in the mid-1990s. Her first major season was 1994, and she was fifth in the Truck class. In 1995, driving a Mercedes, she finished eighth in the championship. In 1996, she ran her own racing team, with Sisu trucks and Minna Kuoppala as driver, with some success. Further details about Reinhilde’s career are proving hard to find. She may have also been involved in the haulage trade.

Jennifer Janiec – French driver who raced trucks in Europe between 2009 and 2011. In 2009 and 2010, she finished tenth in the French truck racing championship. In 2011, she took part in the European championship round at the Nürburgring, in a MAN. Her best finish was 16^th. Her first European outing was one of her first major truck races, in 2008. She was 17^th overall at Barcelona. In 2012, she was down as a reserve driver for the Le Mans truck race, but it is unclear whether she got to drive. She had raced at the event the year before. Previously, she raced single-seaters and small sportscars in France, including four seasons of Formula Renault, from 2007. After a long time out of the driving seat, she returned to the French and European championships in 2019, driving a Man. She raced at Paul Ricard in the French series and the Nurburgring in the European. In 2020, she made a guest appearance in the French championship at Nogaro, finishing seventh and tenth. This expanded to seven races from the twelve-race 2021 season, narrowly missing out on a top-ten finish at Albi. She improved as a driver in 2022 and did almost the whole season. Her best finishes were seventh places at Charade and the Nurburgring and she was twelfth in the championship. Another full season in 2023 gave her thirteenth place, with a best finish of seventh at Charade. This was one of several top tens she achieved during the year. In 2024, she concentrated on the French championship, finishing 18th overall. Her best race finish was eleventh at Paul Ricard. Most of her 2025 season was spent in the French championship again. Her best circuit was Paul Armagnac, where she was twelfth. She is from a family of truck racers, and her brother, Jean-Pierre, remains active in the sport.

Minna Kuoppala – Finnish driver active in truck racing in the 1990s. She raced in the European championships between 1994 and 1998. Her first season gave her eighth in the SuperTruck class. In 1995, she was ninth in the Super-Truck class. In 1996, she drove for Reinhilde Braun’s Mercedes team, finishing sixth in the Truck class.  After a lull in competition, she was seventh in the Truck class in 1998. In 1993, she had won her class in the British championship, and was fourth in class B in the European series. Her trucks were usually Finnish-built Sisus. Earlier in her career, she raced single-seaters in Finland. In 1989, she was fifth in the Finnish Formula Ford 1600 championship. Even earlier, she competed in karting, against Mika Häkkinen and Taru Rinne.

Celine Miral - races trucks in France. She began racing in 2022, driving a Renault and a DAF in the French championship for the Bejuit team. She was 29th in the championship after a part-season and her best finish was fifteenth at Le Castellet. She had been involved in truck racing for a while as part of the Bejuit team, which is staffed by engineering students, but only took the wheel herself at the age of 45. Her first experience of driving the truck at speed was during the Paul Ricard qualifying. She did another part-season in 2023, driving the DAF, and was 31st overall. She raced a DAF again in 2024 and was 31st again after a part-season. 2025 was another part-season for her; she raced at Le Mans only.

Laurine Orsini – races trucks in France. 2015 was her debut season, driving for her family’s team (both her father and brother are ex-truck racers). Her truck is a Mercedes Axor. Coming into the French championship with no prior motorsport experience, she was not one of the front-runners, and finished in 16^th place, with four points. Previously, she competed in eventing on her horse. She did another season in the French championship in 2016, in the same truck. Her final position was fourteenth, having scored points in two of her three races. She planned to race in 2020, but had to pull out due to problems stemming from the coronavirus epidemic. In 2021, she did the Nogaro round of the French series, finishing three of her four races.

Aline Rambeau – French driver who raced trucks in the 2000s. In 2005, she took part in the European championship, in the Supertruck class, driving a MAN race truck. She was relatively competitive, and a regular visitor to the top ten. The best moment of her season was a win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Camions. Her final championship position is not currently forthcoming. Her first season of truck racing seems to have been in 2002, when she also raced a MAN in the Coupe de France, and was third in the championship. As well as racing trucks on circuits, she also took part in rally raids, in the Truck class. She entered the 2004 Dakar in a Mercedes, and also did some other cross-country rallies. Her co-driver was Jo Adua.  

Débora Rodrigues - truck racer from Brazil. She has been competing in Formula Truck since 1998, and in recent years, has driven in rounds of  the Brazilian and South American championships. So far, she is the only woman to do so. Her best championship finish has been sixth, in 2006. She was tenth in the 2011 South American series. In recent years, her best race finish has been fifth, at Cascavel in 2012. In 2013, she managed another tenth in the South American championship, after running in both the Brazilian and SudAm series. Her race truck is always a Volkswagen. Away from truck racing, she is a TV presenter and former model. She also branched out into cars in 2013, entering two rounds of the Mitsubishi Lancer Cup. She returned to trucks in 2014, in a MAN, and raced in both championships. Her best finish in Formula Truck was a seventh place, in Buenos Aires. She was 16th in the championship. In 2015, she was twelfth in Formula Truck, driving a MAN. She mostly finished in the lower half of the top ten. This improved to ninth in 2016, with a best finish of fourth, at Campo Grande. She had a dramatic crash during her 2016 season and does not appear to have raced in 2017. In 2018 she raced in Copa Truck, finishing twelfth. She was third in the 2019 championship after picking up three third places. After a comeback in 2024, she did the full 2025 Copa Truck season, finishing 18th in the championship. Her best finish was seventh at Potenza and she was also tenth at Interlagos.

Lenka Vlachova – Czech driver who did a season of European truck racing in 2000. Her truck was a Sisu, run by Martin Koloc’s team. Although she was not one of the front-runners in the championship, she managed to score a few points, and was fourteenth in the final standings. Lenka may have done some truck racing in the Czech Republic previously, but further information is proving hard to track down.

(Image from http://www.kauppalehti.fi/)

Female Rally Drivers after 1950: the Czech Republic

Martina Daňhelová, right, with her navigator, Martina Zikmundová

This particular corner of Eastern Europe seems to have a growing number of women participating in rallying. The Czech Women Talent driving competition, held in 2013, seems to be adding to this number.

Hana Bad’urová – Czech driver who competes in her home country in a variety of cars. She first appears in major Czech rallies in 2009, in a Skoda Fabia. In 2011, she drove a Felicia, but was excluded from the Partr Rally Vsetín. Between 2012 and 2014, she switched between a Skoda Favorit and a Honda Civic, and actually had her best finish in the Skoda: 16^th overall in the Agrotec Petronas Syntium Rally Hustopeče. In 2015, she rallied a Honda Civic again, and was 61st overall in the Czech Rally Zlín. The same car and event combination followed in 2016, and she was 71st overall. She was third in that year's Czech ladies' championship. 

Lucie Červenková - winner of the Citroen-sponsored “Czech Women Talent” rally driver search in 2013. She took part in five Czech rallies, mostly sprint events, in a Citroen DS3 R1, and was second in the ladies' class of the Czech Sprintrally championship. Her best overall finish was 58th, in the Rally Jeseníky. Lucie’s prize was a season in the Czech junior championship, supported by Citroen. However, she did not take it up, having decided against a professional motorsport career. The prize went to Barbora Holická. Lucie does not appear to have competed at all since 2013. 

Miloslava Chomínová - driver from the former Czechoslovakia, active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She drove a Skoda 110 R exclusively; Eastern Bloc drivers were restricted to Soviet cars. Her finishing record in local Czech events was good, with few retirements. Her best result came in 1980, when she was 16th in the Rallye Jičín. Her usual navigator was Anna Slavíková. After 1981, she disappears from the entry lists. A co-driver by the name of Miroslava Chomínová continues to rally until 1992. It is possible that these two women are the same person.

Barbora Holická - active in European competition since 2013. She was part of the Czech Women Talent rallying contest, using a Citroen DS3, and appears to have been the runner-up in the competition. Her first rally was actually in Germany - the Thüringen Rally, in which she drove a Dacia Logan to 48th place, eighth in class. After that, she concentrated on the Czech Sprintrally championship, usually in the Dacia, although she did use a Skoda Fabia in one event. She won class 10 twice, at the Ferrodo Matrix Rally Kostelec nad Orlicí and the Rally Jeseníky. Her best overall result was 44th, in the Rally Slušovice, a round of the main Czech championship. In 2014, she carried on rallying the Citroen in Czech rallies, including the Barum and Hustopeče events. Her best result was 35th, in the Rallye Český Krumlov. Another season in the Czech championship in 2015, driving the DS3, gave her a best finish of 44th, in the Šumava Klatovy Rally. She was the 2016 Czech ladies' champion, although gearbox troubles affected her DS3 mid-season. Her best overall finish was 57th, in the Krumlov Rally. She retained her Czech Ladies' title in 2017, in the DS3. Her best event was the Bohemia Rally, in which she was 45th and first in class. In 2018, she lost her Czech Ladies' crown to Sandra Pokorna. She drove the DS3 in three events, with a best finish of 63rd in the Inveit Rally Pacejov. In 2019, she continued with the DS3 and was a stronger driver, usually inside the top 50. Her best finish was 41st in the Rally Bohemia. A shorter season in the DS3 beckoned in 2020. Her best event was the Rally Pacejov. She was 52nd and third in class. The DS3 came out again for three rallies in 2021, including Rally Bohemia and the Barum Czech Rally Zlin. In 2023, she had switched to rally raids and she entered the Dakar in a 1979 Citroen 2CV. This followed a run in the Rallye Berounka Revival at home. She finished the event. She did the Revival again in 2024, in the 2CV, but as the course car. 

Olga Lounová - active in Czech rallies since 2011. From then until 2013, her car was a Renault Clio. She mainly competes in sprint rallies, but has also attempted some major events, including the Barum Czech Rally Zlín, in which she was 64th, in 2012. This was her best result of that season. In 2013, her best finish was 31st in the Rally Bohemia, another European event. This was a highlight in a year plagued by mechanical issues. In 2014, exchanged the Clio for a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, and drove in Czech and Slovak rallies, mostly rallysprints. Her best result was 32nd, in the Pražský Rallysprint. In 2015, she rallied this car, and a Subaru Impreza, in Czech events. She won her class in the Rally Bohemia, and was 42nd overall. Her 2016 car was the Lancer, which she drove in rallysprints, with varying results. The most impressive of these was an eleventh place in a round of the GPD Rallydrive series. In 2017, she rallied the Lancer and a Renault Clio, but did not finish any of her events. The Barum Czech Rally Zlín was her only major event of 2018 and she was 76th in the Lancer. Away from the rally stages, she is better known as a singer and musical theatre performer in the Czech Republic.

Michaela Maňovská – active since 2001 in the Czech championship, although she has been involved with rallying since the late 1980s. In 2002, she mostly took part in the Czech Sprintrally championship, usually in a VW Polo, although she did also rally in Slovakia and Spain. In 2003 and 2004, she used the Civic and a Skoda Fabia, driving in the Sprintrally championship, and some bigger events. Both of those seasons, she took part in the Barum Rally Zlín, with a best finish of 62^nd in 2005, in the Civic. A break from competition followed, but she returned in 2011, driving a Ford Fiesta in the Czech Rallye Cup. The following year, she acquired a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, in which she achieved her first top-ten finishes. The best of these was a ninth place in the Rallye Svetlá nad Sázavou. In 2013, she managed another ninth place, in the Rallye České Středoří, but her season was affected by a lack of finances. After this, she concentrated on drifting, and historic rallies, in a number of cars.

Sandra Pokorna - 2019 Czech ladies’ rally champion. She has been active since 2011, on and off, mostly in a series of Subaru Imprezas, including a very early GT model. It was in 2016 that she began to compete more regularly, in a Group N Impreza STi. In her first full year, she was eleventh in the Most Rally and then ninth in the 2017 Rally Horovice, her next event. Her best result in her Coupe des Dames-winning year was a 29th place overall in Rally Bohemia, fourth in class. She was sixth overall in her championship class. 2020 was a shorter season for her in the Impreza. Her best finish from her three rallies was a 17th place in the Mogul Test Rally Sosnova. In 2021, she did one rally, the Rallye Sumava Klatovy, but the Impreza's clutch broke. The clutch repaired, she did three more rallies in the Impreza in 2022, finishing 34th from 82 in the Invlet Rally Pacejov.

Pávlina Tydlačková - Czech driver who has been active since 2011. She initially got into motorsport through her husband. Her first car was an unreliable Suzuki Swift, and she only finished three of her seven rallies. One was in a Skoda Fabia; the Uherský Brod Rally Show. She was 33rd. In 2012, she mainly used this car in the Czech Sprintrally Championship, although the Ignis also came out for some action. She was third in Class Seven, with a best overall finish of 70th, in the Rally Vrchovina. In 2013, she moved back to the Ignis, which was now more trustworthy. Her best result was 37th in the Valašská Rally, and winning class seven. She was seventh overall in the Class Seven Sprintrally championship. She also took part in the Czech Women Talent rallying contest, in a Citroen DS3, but was not one of the winners, despite winning one of the challenges. In 2014, she drove a Skoda Fabia in rallysprints in the Czech Republic. Despite a shaky start to her season, with two retirements, she won her class in the Czech Sprintrally championship. Her best finish was 58th, in the Barum Rally and the Rally Vyškov. In 2015, she won her class in the Czech Rallysprint series, driving the Fabia. She won her class three times, and had a best overall finish of 51st, in the Rally Vyškov. For stage rallies in 2016, she continued to drive the Fabia, scoring four class wins in Czech sprint rallies, and winning the national Class 10 title. She also entered some of the GPD Rallydrive sprint series in a Subaru Impreza, and had a best finish of twelfth. Her car for 2017 was a Renault Clio, which was not completely reliable. She was third in the Czech ladies' championship and did best in the Orava Rallyshow event in Slovakia, where she was 34th. In 2018, she mostly rallied the Clio, with a best finish of 54th (third in class) in the Sumava Klatovy Rally. She also drove an Alfa Romeo 147 in the Hustopece Rally. The Clio was prone to driveshaft problems in 2019, but she managed to finish three rallies in it. The best of these was the Hustopece event, where she was 48th. This was not the case in 2020; she retired from the ValMex Rally with engine trouble and went out of Rally Bohemia with more mechanical issues. In 2021, she won the Czech ladies' title, with a best finish of 48th in the Rallye Cesky Krumlov. She did just one rally in 2022, the Valasska Rally ValMez, but crashed out. 

Eva Vykydalová - has rallied extensively in the Czech Republic, and occasionally elsewhere, since 2003. She usually competes in sprint rallies. Her first car was a Honda Civic, which she used between 2003 and 2005, when she upgraded it to a Renault Clio. This car gave her her first top twenty finish, twelfth in the 2005 Rally of Bratislava. In 2007, she managed two more top-twenty positions, 16th in the Rally Hořovice and 18th in the Rally Kralovice. In 2008, she scored her first top ten: sixth in the Erzetka Lážovice. In more recent years, her finishes have been in the lower half of midfield, still in the Clio. In 2012, she did her first rally raid, the Dubai Desert Challenge, and in 2013, attempted to enter the Silk Way Rally. 

(Picture from http://www.ewrc.cz/ewrc/show.php?id=12225)

Elisabeth Junek

This Czech lady is perhaps one of the most famous speedqueens, best known for her heroics on the legendary Targa Florio. Until the arrival of Tomas Enge onto the Formula One scene in 2001, she was also the only Czech to have driven in Grands Prix.

Elisabeth, also known as Eliška Junková, was married to a banker called Čeněk Junek. He was interested in motor racing and competed at national level. Initially, Eliška had little interest in cars, but she warmed to them, and by 1923 was acting as Čeněk’s riding mechanic. She began driving herself in 1924. Her first race was at Pilsen and she came away with a win in the touring car class. She continued to compete in a Bugatti Type 30 known as Babushka in 1925, and soon her achievements on the track began to eclipse her husband's. She won her first race at Zbraslav-Jiloviste that year.

Her first major win came in 1926, an international race held in Prague, with Babushka. Soon afterwards, Elisabeth visited the Bugatti factory and drove away a much newer Type 35. Although she never drove for the works Bugatti team, she was a good friend of Ettore Bugatti and especially his daughter, L'Ebé. Whenever she bought cars from them she always drove them away herself instead of having them delivered. It was in this car that she was runner-up in the 2000cc class of the Klausen hillclimb. She was eleventh overall, after driving through wet, changing conditions for the duration of the twenty-minute climb.

Elisabeth became more ambitious in 1927 and attempted the treacherous Targa Florio for the first time. An accident broke the steering of her Bugatti this time, but she would be back. More pleasing was her fourth place in the German Grand Prix. She won the touring car class and was the first Bugatti home after a fleet of Mercedes-Benzes. That year, she was also scheduled to enter two French races at Montlhèry, but pulled out. No reason is stated for her Grand Prix de l’A.N.C.F., but she decided to enter the Ladies’ event of the Coupe du Salon in October. The result seems to have been lost.

She had unfinished business to attend to in Sicily, so she entered the Targa Florio again in 1928. She caused a sensation by leading for most of the arduous race, until a broken water pump threatened to put her out towards the end. Elisabeth got the problem sorted and fought back to an excellent fifth place. Alberto Divo was the winner.

For a change, Čeněk decided to drive with his wife in the German Grand Prix that year. Unfortunately he was involved in an accident and was killed. Elisabeth retired from motorsport forthwith. It was not until much later that she was coaxed back into a car for some demonstration races. She remained active for most of her life and died, as old as the century, in 1994.

She is credited as being one of the first drivers to recognise the benefits of walking the course before a race, memorising the corners and noting any hazards. This habit served her well on the Targa Florio.

(Image from www.grandprix.com)