Adrienn Vogel

Adrienn Vogel is the 2020 European Ladies Rally Champion. She is from Hungary and began her motorsport career on circuits, before switching to rallying.

She first came to prominence in the 2012 Lotus Ladies' Cup, and all-female racing series held in Eastern Europe and based in Hungary. The cars were Elises. She was quite late getting started, turning 30 at the end of the year. The Lotus Cup was not her first experience of motorsport, but it was quite high-profile. During the same season, she also raced in a one-make series for the Suzuki Swift. She was not among the frontrunners and finished 16th in the championship.

In her second attempt at the Lotus championship in 2014, Adrienn was second overall after winning four races, at the Red Bull Ring and the Slovakiaring. Only a disastrous first round at Oschersleben prevented her from winning the title, which went to her fellow Hungarian, Adrienn Bende. The same year, she made a guest appearance in the Hungarian round of the Maserati Super Trofeo, sharing her car with Anita Toth. They were tenth in the first race after Adrienn worked her way up from 20th place.

As well as sportscar activities, she was still active in the Swift Cup, on and off. In 2013, she improved her championship position to thirteenth. She carried on with it after the demise of the Lotus Ladies' Cup, which folded due to disputes with the Hungarian motorsport federation. By 2016, she was one of the leading Swift drivers. She won one race and was second twice, finishing fourth in the championship.

She switched her allegiance from Suzuki to Kia in 2017, joining their Lotos one-make series on track. The Polish arm of the marque was happy to have an all-female two-car team, with Petra Krajnyak taking the second Picanto. Adrienn was ninth in the championnship.

She entered the KIA Platinum Cup in 2018, another one-make series for the Picanto, this time based in Poland. 

Her second season in the Platinum Cup ended with one of the best drives of her career. She had crashed out of the first race, at Monza, due to contact with another driver, and had to start at the back. After a good start, she battled her way up the grid and was only narrowly beaten to the win by Dawid Borek, who overtook her on the final straight. This was her third podium finish of the year and she was fifth in the championship.

At the same time as her circuit racing career developed, rallying was also part of her competition schedule. Her first rally as a driver was back in 2014, driving a Suzuki Ignis. Unfortunately, she got as far as the superspecial on the second day ofthe Szilveszter Rallye before her car's half-shaft broke. She had tried co-driving the year before, sitting beside Egon Burkus in a Lotus Exige.

As a Kia driver, she returned to this Christmas asphalt event in 2017 and finished seventh overall, just ahead of Petra Krajnyak. 

The Kia Picanto proved quite a decent rally car and Adrienn entered quite a lot of rallies in it in 2018, normally sprint events. Her best finish was probably her seventh place in the Magyarboly Kupa, from 23 finishers.

Rallying became her primary focus in 2019. As well as more home events in the Picanto, she did her first rallies outside Hungary, the Perger Muhlstein Rallye in Austria and the Platinum Janusz Kulig and Mariana Bublewicza Memorial Rally in Poland. For both of these events, she drove a Ford Fiesta. She was 35th and 38th respectively. She was also in the Fiesta for her first attempt at Rally Hungary, a European Championship round. This led to a 41st place finish, second in the ERC women's standings.

She began 2020 with a run in the Picanto in Croatia, finishing 24th in the Delta Snow Show. However, most of the year was spent in the Fiesta, taking on the European ERC3 championship. After a second warmup in the Rally Bohemia in Czechia, she and co-driver Anett Notheisz were ready for the first round of the ERC, the Rallye di Roma Capitale. They were fourth overall and the first female crew. Rally Hungary was part of the ERC that year and she was 31st, with another Ladies' award. Her third ERC Rally, the Canary Islands event, ended in electronic failure after the fourteenth stage, when she was lying 50th. In a year affected by the worldwide Covid 19 crisis, this was enough for seventh in the ERC3 championship and first in the Ladies' standings.

Domestic rallying still figured in her plans and her best overall result was an 18th place in the Nyiregyhaza Rally.  

The Hungarian championship was her main home in 2021, although she did find the time and budget for the ERC rounds in Rome and Barum in Czechia, as well as her home ERC event. Rally Hungary was the best of the three: she was 30th overall in the Fiesta. 

At home, she rallied both the Fiesta and a Peugeot 208. The Fiesta was the quicker of the two cars, and she earned a tenth place in the Kazincbarcika Rally in it. This was quickly followed up with 15th in the Nyiregyhaza Rally. Outside Hungary, her best result was an eleventh place in the Kulig and Bublewicza Memorial Rally, in Poland. The Peugeot, in Rally4 spec, came out for some Hungarian rallies early in the season.

She competed more extensively in Czechia in 2022, although the Fiesta wasn't the most reliable this year. Her only major finish was a 39th place in the Kowax Valasska Rally ValMez. Her only other finish in it was a 42nd place in the ADAC 3-Staedte-Rallye in Germany.

The Peugeot was her car for the Hungarian championship. Her top-twenty finish on the Therwoolin Zemplen Rally, a 17th place, helped her to fourth in the 2WD class. She was also fourth in the Hungarian one-make championship for the 208.

2023 was similar, although she was driving the 208 exclusively now. She earned top-twenty finishes in three Hungarian rallies: 19th in the Salgo Rallye and the Mecsek Rallye, and fourteenth in the WHB Gyor Rally. On her way to another fourth in the 2WD class, she picked up three class stage wins. Rally Hungary was more of a challenge, but she was still 33rd from 62 finishers. In the same car, she finished two Czech rallies, including a 40th place in the Barum Rallye Zlin.

After 2023, she stepped back from active competition, although she is still involved in driver training and media, as well as other winter sports. She has been voted Hungary's female driver of the year more than once.

(Image copyright Adrienn Vogel)

Antonella Mandelli

Antonella Mandelli was the 1981 European Ladies’ Champion. She was part of the Aseptogyl team early in her career, although she was more associated with the Jolly Club squad.

Antonella was born in the affluent Como region of Italy.

Her earliest major rally seems to have been Sanremo in 1977, when she was 23. She drove an Opel Kadett, but did not finish. The same car was used for the Rally Sangiacomo, also in Italy, but the results are not forthcoming. Her co-driver was Iva Boggio.

This drive got her noticed, and she was picked up by Fiat. Jolly Club were running their rally operation. In October 1978, Antonella tried Sanremo again in a Fiat 131. The car broke a driveshaft and she retired. Shortly afterwards, she became part of a six-car Team Aseptogyl, driving a smaller Fiat 127. Antonella was one of three Italian drivers, with Maurizia Baresi and Anna Cambiaghi. The other three were the experienced Frenchwomen, Christine Dacremont and Marianne Hoepfner, and Joëlle Chardin. They got an entry for the Tour de Corse, but Antonella had to drop out with an oil leak. None of the Aseptogyl cars finished.

She spent the next season in the 131, which was becoming one of the most competitive cars of its time, in the hands of Walter Röhrl and Markku Alen. It was an unforgiving car; Michele Mouton also drove one, and never liked it, despite winning two events in it. Antonella’s best result that year was an eighteenth place in the Targa Florio Rally.

The 131 finally came good for her in 1980, when she scored her first podium finish. She was third in the Rally delle Valli Piacentine.

In 1981, she travelled to the Iberian territories with Jolly Club and the 131. She was rewarded with second place in the Madeira Rally. This was a really tough event, with only 17 finishers from 69 starters. Antonella was ahead of her Jolly Club team-mate, Adartico Vudafieri, who won five rallies that year.

A one-off drive in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta in Spain was not as successful; she crashed out of the Rally Costa Brava. She did use this car in Italian rallies, but this was her only international outing in it.  

She ended the season as European Ladies’ Champion, ahead of Michela “Micky” Martinelli of Switzerland. Her other results do not seem to be widely available. Micky could not catch her in the Italian championship, either.

The 131 remained her car of choice for international rallies in 1982. She entered six ERC events, and finished in the top ten in five of them. The best of these was a seventh place in the Costa Brava Rally, which made up for her disappointment in 1981. The Madeira Rally continued to be one of her strongest events, and she was eighth this year. Her other top-tens were eighth places in the RACE Rally and Rally della Lana, and a tenth spot in the Rally 4 Regioni.

In the Italian championship, she was already trying out the newer Lancia 037 Rallye, also run by Jolly Club. She was Italian ladies’ champion at the end of the year.

She drove a Lancia 037 Rallye for Jolly Club in the 1983 European Championship. Again, Madeira was her lucky rally, and she was third. She was 18th in the Ieper 24 Hours, supporting team leader Miki Biasion, and was becoming very familiar with the powerful, Group B 037 when she had a big accident in Spain. It was during the Sol RACE Rally and she and her co-driver Tiziana Borghi were unharmed, although the car was written off. This followed an exclusion from the Costa Brava Rally due to problems at the finish.

1984 was another good season for her. Driving the 037, she repeated her third place in the Madeira Rally. Later in the season, she followed it up with a fifth in Catalunya.

This was her last season in rallying. Apparently, she married an heir to the Jack Daniels whiskey fortune and moved to the USA. She had earlier stated that she wanted to race at Le Mans and to enter the Dakar Rally, but this never came to fruition.

Antonella was clearly a very talented driver who had connections in the right places. If she had continued her career a little longer and competed more in northern Europe, she could have made a real impression on the World Rally Championship.

(Image from http://autologia.net)

Catie Munnings

Catie Munnings won the European Ladies’ Rally Championship in 2016, aged eighteen and in only her second season of rallying.

She started in 2015, driving a Peugeot 106 in British club rallies, with her father Chris as her co-driver. Chris used to run the Brands Hatch and London rally schools, so Catie grew up around rally cars from a very young age.

Her best finish was 26th in the Lynn Stages Rally.  During the season, she tested a Peugeot, and so impressed watching team managers that they decided to put her straight into the European Championship the following season. In order to be eligible, she needed to have completed six rallies, so she did the Donington Park and Red Dragon events near the start of the year, to add to her four finishes in 2015.

Her ERC car was a Peugeot 208, co-driven by the more experienced German, Anne Katharina Stein. She won two Ladies ERC awards, in the Ypres Rally and the Liepāja Rally in Latvia. In Belgium, she was 65th, seventh in the Junior class and eleventh in ERC3. Her Coupe des Dames was assured when Melissa Debackere retired with accident damage. In Latvia, she was 25th overall, ninth in the ERC3 class, and eighth in the Junior class. She was 16th in the Junior standings at the end of the year, and won the Ladies’ championship.

In 2017, she declined a university place in favour of continuing her rally career. In June 2016, she had hurried back from Ypres in order to take an A-level exam.

Catie’s 2017 season was her second in the ERC with the Saintéloc Junior team. At the beginning of the season, she retired from the Azores Rally after an accident, and finished the Islas Canarias Rally in 68th place, out of 89 finishers. She did three more ERC rallies, the best of which was her last event of the season, the Roma Capitale Rally. She was 25th overall, second lady, and seventh in the Junior Under 27 class. Tamara Molinaro took her Ladies' crown, but she was the runner-up at the end of the year.

She was third in the 2018 ERC3 class, driving the Sainteloc Peugeot again. Her best overall finish was 17th in the Rally Liepaja. She was also 26th in Rally Poland.

At the end of 2018, she announced that she had joined the Red Bull extreme sports family, the first female rally driver to do so.

She continued to rally the Peugeot in 2019, although it was now run by the Peugeot Rally Academy. It was not a vintage season for her in the ERC, where she contested the ERC3 class with Veronica Engan as co-driver. Katie crashed out of the Azores Rally then had to withdraw from the Canary Islands event as she was unwell. Her best finish was 36th in the Rally Liepaja in Latvia and she picked up an ERC Ladies' trophy for her efforts.

There was not much in the way of rallying for her in 2020, partly due to the coronavirus crisis. She entered Rally Sweden in a Ford Fiesta with Swedish co-driver Ida Lidebjer-Granberg and finished the event in 42nd place after a penalty. During the winter season she also competed in the GP Ice Race event in Austrian, driving a Bentley Continental GT for the Bentley team.

Later in the year, she was announced as one of the drivers for Alejandro Agag's Extreme E championship, where mixed teams of two drivers tackle off-road circuits in remote locations. She raced for Andretti United Extreme E with Timmy Hansen.

She and Timmy won the Greenland round of the championship, the Glacier ePrix, and further podium positions in Saudi and the UK helped her to third in the championship. Timmy and Catie were often not the quickest in qualifying, but performed better in the races themselves.

It wasn't quite as good a season for the Andretti pair in 2022. Despite some good performances in qualifying and a Crazy Race win in Sardinia, they only managed one podium position, a third place in Sardinia following their Crazy Race win. They were ninth in the drivers' championship.

Driving solo, she made one guest appearance in a stage rally, driving a Land Rover in the Cambrian Rally in Wales. She was eleventh, with co-driver Claire Williams. She also entered on WorldRX round in Sweden, finishing eighth overall in the RX2e class.

Another season in Extreme E with Timmy Hansen was an up-and-down experience. The pair were second once in Scotland and third once in Sardinia, but a qualifying crash in Chile meant that they had to pull out, dropping them to seventh in the championship.

She also continued in rallycross in 2023, doing the first half of the RX2e series for the Swedish YellowSquad team, driving the Zeroid X1 electric car. The best of her three finishes was a seventh place in Norway.

She competed in electric vehicles on both land and water in 2024, racing in Extreme E and the E1 powerboat series. The final Extreme E season ended in championship fourth for Catie and Timmy, with a second and two third places after fifth in the opening Saudi round.

The same driver pairing competed on water for E1 Series' Team Brazil, apart from one round where Timmy was replaced by Stefan Hagin. They were fifth in the standings, with a best finish of second in the Venice round.

Extreme E had its swansong in 2025, the Final Lap in Saudi. Team Hansen won Race 2 outright, making Catie and Andreas Bakkerud the last-ever winners in Extreme E.

The series became Extreme H that year, with a new hydrogen-powered car. The Hansen team stayed the same for the inaugural World Cup, held at the same venue in Saudi. They were second in the teams' pool championship, on points, but only fifth in the final.

She also carried on in the E1 powerboat, racing for LeBron James's team this time.

As well as rallying, Catie had a burgeoning media career. She was the presenter of "Catie's Amazing Machines", a show for preschoolers about cars, aircraft and other machinery.

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

The European Ladies' Rally Championship

Ewy Rosqvist and Ursula Wirth

The FIA European Rally Championship began in 1953. For the first thirteen years of its existence, a Ladies’ Championship prize was awarded to the overall highest-performing female driver.

In its heyday, the Ladies’ Prize was taken seriously by teams and manufacturers, who liked to use it in their lists of wins in their advertisements. The Ladies’ Prize was not a mere token either; a certain number of women had to take part in a rally for one to be given. It was not an award for showing up. This led to teams entering multiple female crews, in order to ensure that a prize would be awarded. This could be good news for female drivers, who got more chances to compete internationally, but it could also mean that once someone had picked up enough points to win, those drivers would be dropped from the team. Other tactics included deliberately pulling out of rallies, to make sure a rival was unable to score points.

The new ERC reinstated the Ladies’ Prize in 2013, with a less complicated set of rules.

Below is a list of the winners. Co-drivers’ names are given when known, and when they were a regular team-mate. Team names have been given when a driver used different cars during a season.

1953 Greta Molander (Saab 92)

1954 Sheila van Damm/Anne Hall (Sunbeam/Rootes team)

1955 Sheila van Damm/Anne Hall (Sunbeam/Rootes team)

1956 Nancy Mitchell (MG/BMC team)

1957 Nancy Mitchell (MG/BMC team)

1958 Pat Moss-Carlsson/Ann Wisdom (BMC)

1959 Ewy Rosqvist (Volvo)

1960 Pat Moss-Carlsson/Ann Wisdom (BMC)

1961 Ewy Rosqvist (Volvo)

1962 Pat Moss-Carlsson (BMC)

1963 Pauline Mayman/Valerie Domleo (BMC)

1964 Pat Moss-Carlsson (Saab 96)

1965 Pat Moss-Carlsson/Elisabeth Nyström (Saab 96)

1966 Sylvia Österberg (Volvo 122/Renault 8 Gordini)

2013 Molly Taylor/Sebastian Marshall (Citroen DS3)

2014 Ekaterina Stratieva/Carmen Poenaru (Citroen C2/Subaru Impreza)
2015 Ekaterina Stratieva/Julianna Nyirfás (Citroen C2/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

2016 Catie Munnings/Anne Katharina Stein (Peugeot 208)
2017 Tamara Molinaro/Ursula Mayrhofer/Giovanni Bernacchini/Martin Wydaeghe (Opel Adam)
2018 Emma Falcon/Eduardo Gonzalez Delgado (Peugeot 208 R2/Citroen DS3 R3T)
2019 Ekaterina Stratieva/Georgi Avramov (Peugeot 208 R2)

2020 Adrienn Vogel/Ivett Notheisz (Ford Fiesta Rally4)

(Image from https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/classic/women-and-motor-racing/)

Greta Molander

Greta as a Saab driver, in 1951

Greta is probably best known as a works Saab driver from the 1950s. She competed from the 1930s to the 1970s, but was most successful in the ‘50s, winning many Coupes des Dames.

She was born Greta Ohlson in Ystad, Sweden, in 1908. Her parents ran a hotel. They both died within months of each other in 1927, leaving a considerable amount of money and possessions to their daughter. Sadly, a poor investment meant that she had to sell most of this, keeping only one car.

Unusually for the time, she had learned to drive as a teenager, and entered her first rally in 1929, driving her father’s La Salle car. It was a women’s event, and she was last. Four years later, she won the Swedish Rikspokal for rallying, in a borrowed Plymouth.

In 1934, she started her first major international rally, the Monte Carlo, from Umeå in the north of Sweden. Her car was another Plymouth. She repeated this feat in 1935, and was rewarded with a finish, in 30^th place. On her fourth try, she won her first Monte Carlo Coupe des Dames, finishing 24^th in her Plymouth. In a particularly strong year for female drivers, she was third in the 1938 women’s standings, despite coming 19^th overall. During the 1930s, she was active in Plymouths and other American cars in Norwegian rallies.

In 1938, she married Kaare Barth (Petrus), a Norwegian writer, and settled in Norway. She always competed under the name “Molander”, seemingly the name of a first husband, despite enjoying a long and happy marriage to Petrus.

She switched from American cars to a DKW for 1939, but does not seem to have finished, and rallying then halted for World War II.

Norway was occupied by the Germans for much of the war. Greta is said to have been jailed at one point, for insulting a German officer.

Rallying returned to Monte Carlo in 1949, and Greta came with it. She was 52^nd, in a Dodge.

Her relationship with the Saab marque began in 1950, in the Monte again. She was one of the first works drivers they employed. The Saab 92 had just been launched, and Greta drove one to 55^th place, starting at Stockholm. She was actually the first of the two Saab finishers that year.

1951 saw her compete more widely in Europe, driving the Saab in the Tulip and Midnight Sun rallies. She won the first of six Midnight Sun Coupes des Dames that year, and was again the leading Saab driver

.

In 1952, she was second of four Saab drivers in the Midnight Sun Rally, behind Rolf Mellde. Her co-driver was Helga Lundberg. Their partnership lasted for many years.

Other rallies she entered included the 1953 Lisbon Rally, where she was third in the Ladies’ standings. This, and her performances in the Northern European rallies, were enough to earn her a European Ladies’ Championship title.

The Tulip Rally became one of her regular yearly fixtures. She normally drove the Saab, but she accepted a drive in another car for 1954, a DKW, and was 33^rd. Her arch-rival, Sheila van Damm, driving for the Rootes team, had got into the top ten, so the Coupe des Dames was out of reach this time. The Tulip was not her only DKW outing in 1954: she won another Midnight Sun Rally Ladies’ prize that year.

The Saab team did not enter the 1955 Monte, so Greta drove the DKW again, but does not seem to have finished. She continued to rally the DKW in the Viking Rally, and was thirteenth. In the Tulip Rally, she was back in the 92, and went one better than Sheila van Damm last year, finishing ninth overall.

There seems to have been a hiatus in her Saab involvement in 1956, when she used a Mercedes 220 for the Monte, and a Peugeot 403 for the Midnight Sun Rally, in which she was 56^th.

After that, she drove the new Saab 93, which would become a successful car for the manufacturer, and was the beginning of Saab as a major rallying contender. Her team-mates that year included Ewy Rosqvist and Erik Carlsson.

By 1960, she was winding down her competition career, although she still accepted invitations to drive for Saab in major rallies. She drove the 93 on the Monte between 1960 and 1962.

When she retired from professional rallying in 1962, she was 54 years old. Although she became somewhat of an occasional competitor, she carried on making appearances in rallies until the 1970s, and also rallied historic cars. In 1973, she made one last appearance on the Monte, her nineteenth attempt at the Monaco classic. Her car was a Saab.

Away from rallying, she was an intrepid traveller, who wrote about her experiences, such as crossing Africa and America by car. The American trip, during the 1940s was partly funded by Chrysler, who used it as a promotional opportunity. Whilst in America, Greta worked as a film stunt driver.

As well as writing about her own experiences, she translated English works into Norwegian, including some of PG Wodehouse’s novels. Wodehouse and Greta were friends. She also illustrated books, including two children’s books, which she and Petrus worked on together.

She died in 2002, at the age of 94.

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

Ewy Rosqvist

(Image from www.classicmotor.se)

Ewy was a Swedish driver of the 1950s and 1960s. She was the only woman to drive for the Mercedes rally team, and is most famous for her win in the “Argentine Grand Prix” Rally in 1962.

Ewy was born in 1929, and grew up in a comfortably-off Swedish farming family. Her first love was animals. She attended agricultural college and after finishing her course, worked for a local veterinary surgeon. Supported by him, she undertook some veterinary training in Stockholm. It was while she was there that she learned to drive. After gaining the necessary certificates, she worked alongside the vet, as an assistant. This necessitated her first car, a Mercedes-Benz 170 S, as she had to drive miles between farms, to assist the vet with livestock care. She became adept at driving long distances on challenging terrain, often at speed, and also learned how to handle and maintain her car in these conditions. This was a good foundation for her future rally career.

Her first taste of rallying came in 1954, when she was a passenger in a three-man team on the Midnight Sun Rally. The two drivers were her husband, Yngve, and her father-in-law, although she did drive a little on some of the road sections. After this, she was determined to enter a rally herself.

It was not until 1956 that she took to the stages herself, although she and Yngve did do various motor club navigational challenges together. She entered the Midnight Sun Rally, with Majbritt Clausson on the maps. They did not finish. The make of their car is not recorded, but it is likely to be a Saab. This was Ewy’s biggest event of the year, but she was active in smaller rallies, whenever finances and work schedules allowed it.

In 1957, she spent a year rallying a Saab 93, which was one of the cars to have in Sweden at the time. Her usual co-driver was her sister-in-law, Anita Rosqvist. As well as driving her own car, she did some navigation, including one rally with her husband. They were 25^th in the 1000 Lakes Rally.

Her Saab only lasted a year, and she chose a car from its Swedish rival, Volvo, for 1958. During her first year, she mainly competed in Scandinavia, in various rallies, but in 1959, she became more ambitious, and started looking towards an international career. After a first win in the Ladies’ class of the Midnight Sun Rally, Ewy and Anita weighed up their chances of a win in the European Ladies’ Championship, against the formidable Pat Moss, who was capable of outright wins. They racked up Coupes des Dames in the Viking Rally and the 1000 Lakes, in their Volvo 1600, plus a strong finish in Poland. Ewy was third in Germany, but Pat won the ladies’ prize, putting her almost level.

The Ladies’ championship points were not calculated solely on points scored within rallies. Drivers had to enter a certain number of rallies to be considered, and they received some points for each start. Pat Moss had skipped some events, allowing Ewy to get the lead in the rankings. The championship would be decided at the RAC Rally, which both drivers had elected to contest. Disaster struck for Ewy; shortly after her arrival in England, she became very ill, and ended up in hospital. She thought that this was the end of her Ladies’ title hopes, but as it happened, Pat Moss also withdrew from the rally, handing Ewy her first of three Ladies’ Cups.

1960 was something of a turning point in Ewy’s rally career. She began the year with her first run in the Monte Carlo Rally, still driving her own Volvo 1600. She was fifth in the Ladies’ class, a long way behind Pat Moss. However, by May, she had the bonus of works support from the Volvo team, and a new PV544. Ewy and Anita won the Ladies’ Cup in the Acropolis Rally, and were 15^th overall.  In August, they followed this up with another Coupe des Dames in the 1000 Lakes Rally, and were 29^th. Ewy retained her Viking Rally ladies’ title, and also travelled to Poland for the first time, for the Rajd Polski, which she did not finish. The battle with Pat Moss was on again, but it came down to technical arbitration, rather than results on the road. Pat’s car was judged to have been placed in the wrong class, and she was no longer eligible. Ewy could have benefitted, but the FIA decided not to award the European Ladies’ Cup this year.

Her new professional status would have been very welcome to Ewy; after combining rallying and veterinary work since 1956, she finally parted company with her surgery, due to being unable to commit her time to her old job.

There was more change in 1961. Anita was pregnant, and sat out most of the season. Ewy teamed up with Monika Wallraf, a German who also raced on the circuits. Their first event together was the Monte Carlo Rally, in a Volvo 122. They got to the finish in 56^th place, ahead of Ewy’s arch-rival, Pat Moss, but behind Anne Hall, who won the Coupe des Dames. They ran well in the Alpine Rally, close to the leading drivers, and won another Ladies’ Prize. In August, Ewy won another one in Poland, partnered by Eugenia Wolko this time. Back with Monika, she was the fastest lady in the 1000 Lakes Rally, in a 544, and was 19^th overall. She also participated in the RAC Rally, with another new navigator, Ursula Wirth, but her best result had come in May. She was seventh in the Acropolis Rally, in the 544, her first international top ten. A total of nine ladies’ awards, in different rallies, gave her another European Ladies’ Cup. Pat Moss was now concentrating on outright wins, and there were new female rivals to overcome.

She started the year with the Monte Carlo Rally in a Volvo in 1962, but shortly afterward, she was approached by Mercedes, who offered her a professional driver’s contract, after months of rumours. Her first major rally as a Mercedes works driver was the Tulip Rally, in a 220 SE. It was a tough start for her and Ursula, and they were 48^th overall. Her erstwhile rival, Pat Moss, was the winner. In the summer, she was 20^th in the 1000 Lakes Rally, and a pleasing sixth on a car-breaking Polish Rally. However, her greatest achievement, and probably the greatest of her entire career, came in the autumn.  She won the Gran Premio Internacional Standard Supermovil YPF (Touring Car Grand Prix) outright in Argentina. This was not a race, but a long-distance rally, held over ten days in the rugged Argentine plains.  Ewy not only won the rally, but won every single stage along the way, avoided mechanical disasters, and even weathered the death of her team-mate, Hermann Kühne. Her experience as a roving veterinary assistant in rural Sweden had found an unlikely use.

Ewy and Ursula in Argentina (Image from www.spoca.se)

The experience, although it must have been thrilling, was also a wearying one, and made her consider seriously whether she wanted to continue with rallying afterwards. By this time, her marriage to Yngve was over, and she was exhausted. She sat out the season-ending RAC Rally.

Over the winter break, she decided to continue. The Monte was never her best event, but she won the Ladies’ Cup in 1963, in the Mercedes 220 SE, with Ursula Wirth on the maps. She was 16^th overall. Between then and the Acropolis Rally in May, she and Ursula parted company temporarily. Ewy’s co-driver in Greece was Heikke Krause, a German. They were twelfth. An electrical fault put her out of the Alpine Rally in June, then a rare accident dropped her from the Polish Rally standings. Later in the year, she and Ursula teamed up again, to defend their Argentine title. Despite a strong performance, they were third overall.

In between, she had her first taste of international touring car racing, driving a Mercedes 220 SE, with Ursula and Eberhard Mahle, in the Nürburgring 6 Hours. They were fifth overall, and won their class.

1964 began in a similar way. The 220 SE was still competitive, although newer Mercedes models were being used by other members of the team, and the BMC Minis were starting to come into their own. Ewy, assisted by her new regular co-driver, Eva Maria Falk, was a disappointing 38^th in Monte Carlo, just behind Sylvia Osterberg. Snow was never her best surface, despite being from a Nordic country. In a warmer location, Portugal, she was fifteenth in the ACP International Rally. Then it was time for the Acropolis, a rough rally which suited Ewy’s measured, but quick, driving style. She was fifth. Later, she was sixth in the Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally, another tough marathon event. Her last rally of the year was another trip to Argentina, where she was third again.

Shortly afterward, she announced her retirement, at the age of 35. She joked with the Argentine media about becoming a housewife and learning to cook, but as she was preparing to marry Baron Alexander von Korff, head of the Mercedes competition department and hereditary peer, this was probably unnecessary.

Although Ewy never competed seriously again, she remained involved with the motoring scene, was a test driver, and for decades, acted as a brand ambassador for Mercedes. When not involved with Mercedes, she worked as a multilingual tour guide in a museum in Stuttgart.

She was immensely popular in both Sweden and Argentina, and was the subject of many newspaper articles and TV sections. She was Swedish Sportswoman of the Year in 1961. Both Ewy and Ursula, despite their love for the toughest of terrain, were always well-dressed and ready for a photo opportunity, long before this was standard practice for international motorsport stars.

In later life Ewy, a widow, lived in Stockholm, after some time spent in Germany. She died aged 94 in July 2024.

(This piece owes a lot to www.ewyrosqvist.com, a fan page created with Ewy’s co-operation.)

Sheila van Damm

Sheila (left) in 1954, with Pauline Jesty and Joyce Leavens

Sheila van Damm was born in 1922, the daughter of London theatre impresario, Vivian van Damm. As with many other female drivers of her era, her first taste of motoring came during the Second World War, when she worked as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Encouraged by her father, she learned to fly an aeroplane too. For a time, she took part in aerobatics contests, although aircraft were never really her passion. Vivian van Damm employed a female personal pilot himself. 

Sheila and her sisters grew up around showgirls as well as a number of professional women employed by their father. In her autobiography, No Excuses, she comes across as clearly loving her father, but being somewhat scared of him. She admits to doing anything he told her to do, and that included driving a rally car.

She got her break in rallying in 1950, driving a works-prepared Sunbeam in the Daily Express Rally. The car was sponsored by her father’s infamous Windmill Theatre, which was known for its risqué revues. Vivian's aforementioned pilot, Zita Irwin, was one of those who persuaded her to have a go. Sheila, navigated by her sister Nona, drove a Sunbeam Talbot, with “Windmill Girl” proudly emblazoned down the side. This was to be Nona's only outing as a rally driver; she was car-sick and did not enjoy herself, returning to her beloved horses afterwards. They were third in the Coupe des Dames, and their performance impressed the Rootes team sufficiently for them to offer Sheila a works seat for the following season.

Although Nona never took to rallying, Sheila's mother, Natalie, later took it up in the mid-'50s.

Her first drive for Rootes was the 1951 Monte Carlo Rally, in a Hillman Minx. She was unplaced. Later in the year, navigated by the veteran Elsie “Bill” Wisdom, she won the Ladies’ Prize in the Closed car category of the RAC Rally. 

In 1952, she remained with Rootes, as she would for her entire rally career. As part of a three-woman team, she drove a Sunbeam Talbot in the Monte Carlo Rally. The other team members were Bill Wisdom and Nancy Mitchell. Sheila is also reported to have won a ladies’ award in an MCC Rally in the UK, in the same car.

1953 was a busy year. It began with the Monte Carlo Rally, in which Sheila was the second lady in her Sunbeam Talbot. Her co-drivers that year were Francoise Clarke, who sat beside her for the RAC Rally, and Anne Hall, who navigated her to the Coupe des Dames and a Coupe des Alpes in the Alpine Rally. They were 24th overall. The three almost always drove together and took turns at navigating, timekeeping and driving. Sheila was always in charge and admits to being rather harsh on her team-mates, although they all understood one another and their idiosyncrasies. Her best finish was eighth overall, in the Lisbon Rally. This was probably her best career result.

The furthest she travelled during her career was the USA; Rootes included her in a team for the 1953 Great American Mountain Rally. Unfortunately, she ran into problems on the tough terrain and was not among the leading finishers.

Sheila almost always drove with an all-female team, and had friendly rivalries with other female drivers like Nancy Mitchell, Madeleine Pochon and Lorna Doone Snow. However, she was also quite at home in the largely-male Rootes team, where the more experienced men were happy to help her out in becoming a better driver. Among them were Stirling Moss and Peter Collins.

1954 was full of action all over Europe for Sheila, ably assisted by Anne and Francoise. They drove a Sunbeam Talbot in the Monte Carlo Rally, but were unplaced, and later came tenth in the Tulip Rally, with a Ladies’ prize and second in class. In the same car, they also entered the Austrian Alpine Rally. For the Stella Alpina, they were allowed use of the Sunbeam Alpine prototype, and made off with the Ladies’ Trophy, and fifth in class. The Alpine Rally gave them another class fifth, and they were second in class in the Geneva Rally. A Coupe des Dames in the Viking Rally was another highlight.

1955 continued in the same vein. The Monte Carlo Rally produced her best result on that particular event: eleventh, and first lady. She was driving another Sunbeam with Francoise Clarke and Anne Hall. With Anne in the navigator’s seat, she won another Coupe des Dames on the RAC Rally, and was second in that category on the Tulip Rally, behind Greta Molander. Sheila and Greta were great rivals at this time, often in close competition for Ladies’ and class awards.

During and after her rally career, Sheila was a popular media personality. She wrote for the Daily Express, which sponsored rallies at the time. In 1955, she confessed to being very hard on Francoise Clarke in her role as co-driver and praised Francoise's patience. In the same interview, she also mentioned taking "pep pills" during longer events, which was common practice at the time. She was one of the favourites of rally journalist, Basil Cardew, who championed female talent.

In 1954 and 1955, she was European Ladies’ Champion, after her string of Coupes des Dames. She also helped Rootes to the team prize on the Monte Carlo Rally in 1954, 1955 and 1956.

1956 was her last year as a Rootes driver. She entered the Monte Carlo Rally in a Sunbeam. She finished but did not place in her class. Greta Molander also had an indifferent rally. 

Anne Hall now moved back to full-time driving, and Sheila prepared to wind down her motorsport career. She had wanted to reunite her original team, but the others were both busy. The Monte was her last event. She had the rare distinction of having finished every rally that she entered. Sometimes she only just managed to finish, but she managed.

As well as rallying, she proved a capable record-breaker and road-racer, winning her class on the 1956 Mille Miglia. She drove a Sunbeam Rapier with Peter Harper, and was 72nd overall. She was persuaded out of retirement for the 1957 Mille Miglia, again in a Rapier, with David Humphrey, but did not finish this time. Her record-breaking happened in 1953; during the Monte Carlo Rally, she hit 120mph in her Sunbeam, on the Jabbeke highway in Belgium.

After her competition career was over, Sheila helped her father with operations at the Windmill, and was its general manager between his death in 1960, and its eventual closure in 1964. In the late 1950s, she managed an all-female karting team, comprised of "Windmill girls". The theatre had always been her first love and her motorsport career was almost a stopgap before she could take over from Vivian. That said, she enjoyed her rallying and the life it entailed.  she remained in touch with her old world through her Vogue motoring column, and her presidency of the Doghouse Club, for “motorsport wives and ladies”.

Sheila's unconventional background was replicated somewhat in her own personal life. As well as the final demise of the Windmill in 1964, she had to contend with the sudden deaths of her friends Nancy Spain and Joan Werner Laurie in an air crash. The three had lived together in a menage a trois of sorts; Joan was probably Sheila's lover as well as Nancy's.

After the trials of 1964, she retired to a farm with Nona. Her mental health deteriorated and she received treatment for depression, including electroconvulsive therapy. The two sisters lived quietly and reclusively.

Sheila died in 1987. She had been suffering from cancer in secret for some time. Just two days after she confessed to her family and friends that she had the disease, it killed her.

(Image copyright Bournemouth Daily Echo)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: Sweden

Sylvia Osterberg (right)

Greta Molander now has her own post, like Susanne Kottulinsky, Barbara Johansson and Jonna Eson Bradhe. Junior drivers can be found here.

Frida Axelsson - driver from a rallying family, who drives a Volkswagen Golf. She started competing in youth rallies in Sweden in 2009, when she was sixteen, after several years of navigation. In 2010, she completely wrote her car off in an accident involving a stone wall, and she sat out the whole of 2011 while it was rebuilt. She started competing in earnest again in 2013, after some 2012 action. Her best result seems to have been a 59th place in the Dan Anderssons Minne Rally, tenth in Group E. In 2014, she upgraded her car and tackled the South Swedish Rally, finishing in 84th place, but winning her class. Her season was affected by a big crash in a rally in Nyköping, which left Frida in hospital. She recovered, and returned to the stages in 2015. Her best result was a thirteenth place in the Emmanuels Minne Rally, driving a Golf. In 2016, she was tenth in the Svenljunga Super Rallysprint, still in the Golf. As well as driving, she still acts as a co-driver on occasion, once to fellow driver, and friend, Jonna Eson Brådhe. Frida is or was part of Ramona Karlsson’s Young Female Drivers mentoring project. In 2020 she returned to the stages, rallying an Opel Corsa in the Marknadsnatta event. She did not finish. She competed more regularly in 2022, driving a Golf.

Henny-Britt Ehringe - began her rally career in 1955 in Sweden, but was most successful in the mid-1960s, driving a Volvo 1500 or a Saab. She won many Coupes des Dames in her native Scandinavia, but was also competitive on the Acropolis, coming eighth in 1964 in the Volvo. She used the Saab for the 1963 RAC event, but with less success. As well as driving, she sometimes switched to navigating, and co-drove for Monica Kjerstadius on the Tulip Rally, in 1963.

Carina Hermansson - Swedish snow specialist. She was fourth in the 2003 Swedish Snow Rally, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI. The same year, she was sixth in the Snapphanerallyt. She began competing in the mid-1990s and has driven Mazda 323s, VW Golfs and Toyota Corollas as well as the Mitsubishi. She often drove for the Skeptune team. Carina made a comeback in 2012, driving a Subaru Impreza. She was very successful in Swedish rallies, with three top-ten finishes in 2012, the best of these being two eighth places, in the Dubbeldalingen and Gestrikekannan events. In 2013, she went one better, and was third in the Offerdalingen snow rally.

Yvonne Hultgren - driver and co-driver active between 1980 and the mid-1990s. By 1980, she was competing on both sides of the car: in Scandianvian rallies in a Volvo Amazon as a driver, and as co-driver to Lars-Erik Torph in a Volvo 142 in WRC events. Later, she navigated for Ove Olofsson. In 1991, she drove in her first WRC rally - the Swedish Rally. Her car was a Lancia Delta Integrale and her co-driver was Anita Jansson. She returned to the Swedish Rally in 1994, co-driven by Susanne Hultgren this time, and was 37th in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.

LisBeth Kerttu - rallied an Opel Corsa in Sweden in the early 1990s. Her navigator was always Carina Widerström. She competed in the South Swedish Rally every year between 1991 and 1994, with a best result of 25th, and third in class A6, in 1994. Her best class finish was second, in A6 again, in 1991. She was 35th overall. She drove in one International Swedish Rally, in 1994, when it ran as part of the two-litre championship. She was 33rd, and second in class. LisBeth was a contemporary of Yvonne Hultgren and Susanne Kottulinsky. She is now involved in rally organisation.

Monica Kjerstadius - driver and co-driver active in the 1950s. Her earliest appearance seems to be a women-only rally in 1951, in Sweden. She won Class C, driving a Skoda. In 1956, she drove a Saab 93 in the Viking Rally, with Saga Anderssson. The same year, she navigated Cecilia Koskull to a Coupe des Dames in the Midnight Sun Rally, in a Saab 1959. She almost always competed in Saab machinery. In 1957, she rallied outside Sweden, competing in the Tulip Rally with Margareta Holm as co-driver. In 1958, she won the Coupe des Dames in the Mälaren Rally, and may well have entered the Midnight Sun event. She was definitely third in the Ladies’ standings in the 1959 Midnight Sun event, in a Saab 93. Some time later, in 1962, she reappears as a navigator, to Greta Molander.

Cecilia Koskull - active between 1946 and 1956. She started off in Swedish national rallies, and won three Ladies’ awards in the Swedish championships in succession. By 1950, she was driving a Gmünd-bodied Porsche 356, and that year, she was ninth overall in the Midnight Sun event., with Christina Peyron. In 1951, she drove in the Tulip Rally and the Monte Carlo Rally, the latter with Greta Molander. In 1954, she switched to a Volkswagen, which she used in rallies and reliability tests. She was third lady driver in that year’s Midnight Sun Rally. Her last Midnight Sun Coupe des Dames came in 1956, in a Saab. After that, she had a daughter and retired from motorsport.

Birgitta Lundell - Swedish driver who rallied in Scandinavia in the 1970s. She entered two World Championship rallies in 1979, the Swedish and 1000 Lakes events. Her car was an Opel Kadett and she won her class in the National section of Rally Sweden. In the summer, she was 61st in the 1000 Lakes Rally in the Finnish forest. In between, she finished the South Swedish Rally in 70th place. She does not appear to have rallied after 1979.

Lotta Lundqvist - active between 1979 and 1993, during which time she was Swedish Ladies' Champion seven times. Her cars have been almost exclusively Opels, mainly the Ascona and Kadett, and she was part of the Opel team in 1991 and 1992. Lotta competed in Sweden mostly, and also the UK. She drove in four WRC rallies: the Swedish in 1985 and 1987, 1000 Lakes in 1987, and the RAC Rally in 1988 and 1989. She only finished the Swedish events, coming 22nd in an Ascona in 1985 and 18th in a Kadett in 1987, when she also managed fourth in Group A7.

Margareta Melin - rallied in Sweden in the 1950s. She appears to have entered her first Midnight Sun Rally in 1952, at the wheel of a Volvo. She won the Coupe des Dames Later, in 1954, she was second in the Ladies’ standings, driving a Simca. She may have got her start in rallying in a women-only event in Sweden in 1951. Little else seems to be written about her, although she may have initially competed under a different surname.

Brita Norling – mainly known for rallying a Volvo in the 1950s. Her first big international event seems to have been the 1949 Monte Carlo Rally, in which she drove a Buick to 61^st place. In 1950, she drove a Volvo PV 444 in the Midnight Sun Rally, and was third in the Ladies’ class. In 1952, she rallied a Hotchkiss, and is recorded as a finisher in that year’s Tulip Rally.

Evelina Olofsson - born in 1993, began rallying in 2011, in youth events. Her first rally car was a Volvo 240. Her senior debut came in 2012, in the Gästabrudstrofén, driving a Vauxhall (Opel) Corsa. Unfortunately, she retired. In 2013, she entered many rallies across Sweden,  with mixed results. Her best finish was a seventh place in the Skutskärsratten, on snow, in January. She was also 24th in the Skogsrundan. Her best class finish was fourth in the Malmjärn Runt. She was 35th overall. In 2014, she continued with the Corsa, and scored another seventh place in her first rally of the year, the Monitorrallyt. Her other top ten of the year was a tenth place in the AD Bildelar rallysprint. One of her best performances was a class win in the South Swedish Rally, finishing 39th overall. She also won her class in the Rallynorduppland, in which she was 15th. Her usual navigator, in 2014, was Paulin Bergqvist. Another season in the Corsa in 2015 gave her tenth in the Swedish Junior championship, competing mainly during the winter. 

Carina Olsson - driver and co-driver active in and around Scandinavia since around 1980. She was ninth in a "Ladies In Action" championship in 1980, driving an Opel Ascona. This car would become her favoured vehicle for some time. She used it in the 1983 Turku Rally, the Köln-Arweiler Rally in Germany in 1984 and the South Swedish Rally. In addition, she may have won a ladies' title in Sweden in 1985. Later, in 1990, she re-appears as a navigator to Lotta Lundqvist. Someone with the same name is still active in classic rallying in Sweden today, as a navigator.

Ingeborg Stille - Swedish driver who rallied in Europe in 1950. She was 135th in the Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Simca, having started in Stockholm. She drove the same, or a similar, car in the Midnight Sun Rally in Sweden. At the time, she was 52 years old. After her rallying adventures, she settled in the French Riviera until her death in 1991.

Erika Söderman – active in Swedish national rallying since 2012, initially in rallysprint events. Her first rally car was an Opel Calibra, and in it, she managed an eighth place in the 2013 Monitorallyt, co-driven by her twin sister, Michelle. She swapped the Calibra in for a more orthodox Astra in 2014, and achieved a second top-ten finish: ninth in the Kåtmyraslaget event. She continued to rally the Astra in 2015, and won her class in the Härjedalsbrickan Söndag rally, and was 36th overall. In 2017, she entered the Astra in another couple of rallies in Sweden, and was tenth in the 66:an event, with a class win. Another year in the Astra in 2018 included a class win in the Nasviken Rally. Prior to her rally career, Erika made a name for herself as a stunt driver, specialising in driving a Volvo on two wheels. She started this when she was only fifteen years old.

(Image from http://www.spoca.se/)