Aurelia Nobels

Aurelia Nobels is a Brazilian-Belgian driver born in the USA, who began racing in Danish Formula 4 in 2022, when she was fifteen. She has competed under both a Belgian and Brazilian license.

Her first race in the Danish championship at Jyllandsringen gave her a seventh place, which she improved to a sixth the next day. In an unusual move, she also entered the Brazilian F4 championship, picking up a twelfth place as her best finish at Mogi Guacu. Back in Europe, she joined the Spanish F4 series for its Spa away round, but was not competitive, only managing one 23rd place.

In July 2022, she was selected as a senior driver for the FIA’s Girls on Track initiative. This led to a run in the Italian F4 championship in 2023, along with its related Euro4 championship, for Prema. In addition to this, she was signed by the Ferrari driver academyShe was unplaced in both series. Her best finishes were two eleventh places, one in each series, at Imola and Catalunya. In Italy, she had to miss some rounds, including two of the Misano races. She had an accident in the first race and had to sit out the rest of the weekend.

In 2024, she joined Sainteloc Racing for the UAE F4 championship, in preparation for a season in F1 Academy. She was linked with a Ferrari-backed seat. Her UAE races didn't go brilliantly, with a 19th at Yas Marina her best result. She then did some Saudi F4 races and earned one third place at Losail. This was enough for eleventh in the championship.

Most of 2024 was taken up by F1 Academy, where she was twelfth for ART Grand Prix, despite several top-ten finishes, including a fifth at Zandvoort. She also found time for guest spots in Eurocup-4 and British F4, at Monza and Zandvoort. Her best finish at Zandvoort was 16th, and Monza, fourteenth.

Like many of her F1 Academy rivals, she did the 2025 winter season in Spain, competing in the Eurocup-4 winter series. ART Grand Prix ran her and two other F1 Academy drivers for a part-season. She was the best of the three, finishing 28th overall, with a best finish of fourteenth. Later in the year, she did the Mugello rounds of the Euro4 championship for AS Racing, finishing 23rd twice and 33rd once.

Her F1 Academy season, supported by Puma, was up and down, beginning badly with two DNFs at Shanghai, but ending with her first podium, a third place at Las Vegas. She was thirteenth overall and this was her last season of F1 Academy.

She left the Ferrari Driver Academy at the end of 2025 and her future plans are unknown.

(Image copyright Aurelia Nobels/Ferrari)

Lisa Clark

Lisa Clark is an American driver who has competed in the US Ferrari Challenge since 2017. She is known online as "Racer Mom".

Speed was a family thing when she was growing up; her father raced dirt bikes and the two used to ride together at night. Lisa always gravitated towards four wheels rather than two, and a payout she received after a motorcycle accident helped her to afford a Porsche, which she used for autocross. There was a long gap while she was having her children, but she never gave up on her plan. She found out about the Ferrari Corsa Pilota training programme when she bought her first road-going Ferrari, then realised that she could also race the car competitively. Preparation consisted of karting and some arrive-and-drive endurance races in Europe, then she was ready to go.

In her first season, she did just two races, at Bowmanville in Canada. She finished both, in tenth place. The following year, she did five of the championship's eight races, finishing in the top ten in three of them. The best of these was a sixth place at Watkins Glen. She was eleventh in the championship.

She secured her first trophy in 2019, coming home first in the Am class of the North American Challenge at Sebring. This was one of five podiums that season, on her way to sixth place.

She also raced in Europe, entering the Le Mans round of the European Ferrari Challenge, although she did not finish. The World Final at Mugello gave her a tenth place.

Her 2020 campaign was a part-season. She did just over two-thirds of the meetings and her best one was the away round at Misano, where she won the Am class twice. She was sixth in the World Final at Misano.

In 2021, she scored her first overall podium, a third at Homestead-Miami. After a stronger season, she was sixth in the championship. In Europe, she raced in the Ferrari Coppa Shell at Valencia and the Nurburgring, with a best finish of ninth at the Nurburgring.

She also did her first major race outside the Ferrari Challenge, and not in a Ferrari. Driving an Audi R8 LMS GT4 with Jeff Westphal, Martin Lechman and Mark Issa, she was third in class in the Barcelona 24H, 24th overall.

2022 was one of her best seasons yet, with three podium finishes in the Am class on her way to a class third overall in the Coppa Shell North America. She also raced in Europe at Portimao and Paul Ricard, scoring points in the Coppa Shell Europe.

In 2023, she was 15th in the championship and eleventh in the World Final. However, this was just gearing up for a busy year in 2024, with another full Ferrari Challenge season and some extras. She took part in the FIA Motorsport Games in the single-make GT section, finishing eleventh, and also raced her Ferrari in Europe in two rounds of the 24h Series. This was with the Pellin team who ran her in the Coppa Shell Europe, sharing a GT3 Ferrari 488 with Jeff Westphal and Kyle Marcelli. They were tenth and ninth in class in the two Mugello 12 Hour races. They were twelfth and 17th overall.

Another season split between the Ferrari Challenge and the 24H Series in Europe beckoned in 2025. She used the same Ferrari 296 for both. She did two races in the Challenge and spent more time in Europe this year, racing at Mugello and Spa with the Pellin team. Her team-mates were Kyle Marcelli and Felice Jelmini. They were thirteenth and 25th overall at Mugello, then eleventh and 15th at Spa.

Image copyright 24H Series

Her car is run by Ferrari of Beverly Hills in the American championship.

Doriane Pin

 

Doriane Pin is a French driver who races sportscars in Europe. She was one of the finalists in the FIA’s official Girls on Track - Rising Stars programme.

She began her senior career in 2020, racing in the Clio Cup in France. Her best finish in the Clio was a ninth place at Paul Ricard and she was fourteenth overall, but second in the Junior standings. This was combined with her Rising Stars assessments, in which the leading young female drivers competed for membership of the Ferrari Academy. Doriane finished second to Maya Weug.

She had intended to compete in French F4 in 2021 and was also one of the finalists for the Elf Winfield Scholarship. As a prize for being the best of the girls there, she tested an F4 car, but the Iron Dames all-female GT team signed her up and her focus became sportscars. She had already tested the team’s Ferrari as part of her Girls on Track assessments; the Iron Dames team works closely with Girls on Track.

Before this new phase of her career could get under way, she tried ice racing at the Andros Trophy, finishing fifth in an invitation race at Andorra. She was driving an Enedis electric prototype.

Back with petrol power, her first race as an Iron Dame was meant to be in April, but she sat out the first round of the Le Mans Cup. She made her debut in the team’s Ferrari 488 in July, at Paul Ricard, finishing third in the GT3 class. Her co-drivers for the season were Sarah Bovy and Manuela Gostner. This was one of six podium finishes for the team, who finished second at Monza and third at both Le Mans and Spa. Doriane was fifth in the GT3 drivers’ standings.

She also joined Iron Dame Sarah Bovy in a Ferrari for two rounds of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. They were sixth at Catalunya and Paul Ricard.

Late in the season, she joined another Iron Dames driver, champion Michelle Gatting, in the Ferrari Challenge. Doriane scored two sixth places at Mugello.

Before her Ferrari guest drive, she tested an FIA Formula 3 car at Magny-Cours, alongside Maya Weug.

She stayed an Iron Dame in 2022, taking up the seat vacated by Michelle Gatting in the Ferrari Challenge. It was soon clear that she was the driver to beat, taking two wins from two pole positions in the first two races at Portimao. She won four of the six races, finishing third in another and fourth in another, both at Paul Ricard. Her dominance led to a win.

As the season went on, she played a bigger part in the main Iron Dames team. In July, she helped Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting to a class win in the ELMS LMGTE Drivers Trophy at Portimao, after a second at Spa. 

She remained part of the Iron Dames setup in 2023, although she raced for Prema in the LMP2 class in the WEC. She shared her car with ex-F1 driver Daniil Kvyat for most of the year, and they were ninth in their class. Mirko Bortolotti joined them for Le Mans, but a crash during Kvyat's night stint put them out at about one-third distance. Theyhad run as high as second in LMP2. Their best finish was a second in class at Sebring, at the beginning of the season.

She joined the Iron Dames in their Lamborghini Huracan for three rounds of the IMSA championship, beginning at Daytona. In what was a learning year, their best finish together was twelfth at Petit Le Mans. They also competed together as a four at the Spa 24 Hours, but did not finish. 

At the end of the season, Doriane made a surprising move back to single-seaters, with Prema. She did the Sepang rounds of the F4 Southeast Asia series, winning one race and scoring podium finishes in three more. She was linked to a Prema seat in the all-female F1 Academy for 2024 and the rumours were true; she became Mercedes' supported driver. After a win in the first race at Jeddah, she looked like a strong bet for the title, but a disqualification for post-race speeding dropped her to ninth in Race 2. She was then injured during her parallel campaign in FRECA for the Iron Dames, pulling out of the second Spa race, then the Zandvoort and Hungary rounds when she became ill. 

Although she did not miss any F1 Academy races, she was off the pace somewhat mid-season. She recovered and scored two more wins, at Zandvoort and Abu Dhabi, finishing second in the championship to Abbi Pulling. 

Her FRECA season was not as successful. This was the first time she had driven a single-seater at this level in competition and her best finish was only a fourteenth place at Paul Ricard. She was 27th in the championship.

As part of her continuing relationship with Iron Dames, she joined their sportscar team for the Daytona 24 Hours and two rounds of the World Endurance Championship, driving a Lamborghini Huracan. She and her team-mates Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey were sixth in the GTD class at Daytona, 25th overall. In the WEC, she did the Qatar and Imola rounds, finishing 23rd overall and eighth in class at Qatar, as part of a three-driver team.

She continued as a Mercedes junior in F1 Acadamy in 2025, making the championship her main focus. She and Maya Weug were the frontrunners from the beginning and were close for the entire season. Going into the final round at Las Vegas, either could have won; they both had three wins each. In the end, Doriane claimed her fourth win in Race 1, and as Maya had been taken out on the green flag lap, she only had to finish reasonably well in Race 2 to claim the title. She was fifth and finished the year as champion.

Formula Regional was also still on her calendar, although she had to work around the F1 Academy season. Prema ran her in some rounds of the Middle East series in the 2025 early winter season, but it was a tough challenge and her best finishes were two 16th places in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Her part-season in FRECA panned out similarly, with 17th spots at Paul Ricard and the Hungaroring its highlights. She was 30th overall.

(Image copyright Girls on Track)

Caty Caly

 

Caty Caly (sometimes Cathy Caly) is the winner of five French Ladies’ Rallycross titles. 

Her first car was a Simca Rallye 2 which she started racing as a teenager in 1983, having been a fan of rallycross for some time. 

Her first women’s title came at the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf in 1985. 

After her first success in rallycross, she tried her hand at stage rallying in 1986, driving a Citroen Visa Mille Pistes. These Group B cars were popular in French rallying at the time and there were several female exponents of the brands after the 1984 Citroen Visa Total Trophy. 

It proved a short diversion. Caty had an accident on the Mille Pistes Rally itself and injured her neck after just a few events, bringing an end to her rally career. Her best finish had been a 28th place in the Terre de Charente Rally. This had followed another scare at the beginning of the year, when Caty attempted her first Paris-Dakar. She was driving a six-wheel-drive Mercedes 190GE with Christian de Leotard when they crashed on a night section in Niger midway through the rally. Caty was rescued by French pop singer and Dakar enthusiast Daniel Balavoine in his own aircraft and taken to hospital. Two days later, he crashed the aeroplane and died.

Later, she drove for Audi, after their redundant Group B rally cars were put into rallycross service in 1987. Her trademark on-track was a bright pink colour scheme, with black trim, carried through into her racewear. She raced an A2 in Division 2 of the French championship, earning a best result of third at Pau.

This was her last full season in the Audi for a few years. She still raced it in French rallycross occasionally, as well as a Peugeot 205 T16 and another Citroen Visa. Towards the end of the 1980s she combined part-time competition and work, developing business interests in automotive paintwork and an agency supplying promotional staff.

She won another Ladies’ championship in an Audi Quattro in 1993, following her return to regular competition. With the same car, she retained her title in 1994 and finished 15th in the overall championship.  

In 1995 and 1996 she racked up her final two ladies’ championships in a Citroen ZX. She was driving for the Dupuis team, which was supported by Citroen itself. She was ninth in the 1995 championship and fourth in Division 1, with two outright podium positions, a second and a third.

Her second Coupe des Dames as an official Citroen driver included four third places from seven rounds.

She was fourth in the Tourism class, as the ZX had been reclassified during the 1995-96 off-season.

At this time, the ladies’ championship was relatively competitive. Carolyn Boniface was Caty’s principal rival. 

Citroen ended its rallycross programme in 1997. Rather than trying to compete with the factory rallycross teams, she moved into sportscar racing. She started with the Ferrari 355 Challenge in 1997 and raced in this one-make series across Europe in 1998. Having got to grips with the car, she was second at Oschersleben and third at Spa. She raced the 355 in the Magny-Cours round of the 1999 French GT championship, sharing the car with Florence Duez. They were 31st in both races, seventh in GT4.

Driving solo, Caty also raced in the Porsche Supercup and picked up a couple of podiums, including a second place at the Hungaroring. The car suited her and a 996 became her preferred car for French GTs. She used two different models in 2000, one her own and one run by Perspective Racing. 

She continued to race a Porsche in French GTs in 2001, but as part of Team Kalliste. She normally partnered Jean-Claude Andruet, although her best result was at Pau, where Franck Legorce deputised. They were ninth overall. She planned one more race with Kalliste in 2002, sharing the 996 with Philippe Brocard, but did not actually start.

Her final French GT season was in 2003, back in a Ferrari. She drove a 360 Modena for the Auto Palace team, sharing with Steeve Hiesse. They were normally midfield finishers, although they were fairly strong in the GT class and earned two podium places. One of these was a class second that came along with a ninth place overall.

Throughout her career, Caty was a regular in ice races, like many rallycross drivers. She competed in the Andros Trophy every year between 1992 and 1999, in several different cars, including a Mini, Citroen, Lancia and Mercedes. She also raced on the ice at Chamonix at least once. 

Her last full season of competition was in 2004, when she raced in the French Supertouring Championship in an Opel Astra. She was 18th in the final standings. After that, she made occasional appearances for the next two years alongside TV work for the championship.

She made a comeback in 2013, driving in two rounds of the Euro NASCAR stock car championship in France. Her car was a Chevrolet Camaro and her best finish was tenth at Nogaro.

A recent article in La Nouvelle Republic described her as a “former racing driver”.

(Image copyright Sun Star)

Josie von Neumann

Josie von Neumann raced sportscars in America in the 1950s. She was one of the most talented of the many female drivers on the US sportscar scene of the time.

Her earliest outings were ladies’ races in an MG TD. She won her first race, a five-lap ladies’ handicap at Torrey Pines in 1951, laying down a gauntlet for the entrants in a burgeoning women’s racing scene centred around the Women’s Sports Car Club in California.

Early in her career, she raced an Allard J2 special with a Cadillac engine. In 1952, Josie continued to be the woman to beat in it. The car belonged to Bud and Gwen Goodwin and it was considered a very challenging car to drive. Josie won a ladies’ race at Madera in it. Throughout her career, she often had access to very good cars, due to her family connections. John von Neumann was her stepfather who had become her adoptive father and he had a considerable stable of cars. The red and white TD had been a birthday present from him. Later on, her mother Eleanor was the family’s titular entrant after doing well out of her divorce from John. The von Neumanns helped many notable drivers at the start of their careers, including Richie Ginther and Phil Hill. John also ran a Porsche 550 for future Le Mans winner Ken Miles in 1956. The Women’s Sports Car Club itself was closely associated with the California Sports Car Club (CSCC), of which Ken Miles was a leading member. He was the editor of the club magazine and Josie had her own column.

Always a fan of European cars like the rest of the CSCC, she had continued success in ladies’ races in a Porsche 356 in 1953 and 1954. A Ferrari 500 Mondial followed and it was in this car that she branched out from ladies’ races and started making an impression in the main draw. She entered SCCA events at Bakersfield, Torrey Pines and Glendale. She did best at her favoured track of Torrey Pines, finishing tenth overall and first in class. Carroll Shelby was the winner and Phil Hill was second, driving with John von Neumann. Both were in Ferraris.

She shared the same car with Richie Ginther at the Santa Maria airport track in 1956. This was a difficult and dangerous course that was only used for a couple of seasons. They were fifth overall in the Ferrari. Contemporary newspaper reports suggest that Josie had been planning to use a Porsche 550, but that car was driven by Ken Miles that year, entered by John von Neumann. At about this time, Josie took a break from the track, married John McLaughlin and had a son.

In 1958 and 1959 she returned and drove a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. This was a sought-after car at the time. Josie’s detractors liked to claim that she was not the fastest of the Californian ladies, merely that she had better cars than everyone else, but she was a steady pair of hands who was capable of handling very fast machinery. Her rivals sometimes appeared to be out of their depth in cars of the calibre of the Testa Rossa.

She was fifth in the SCCA Nationals at Vaca Valley in 1958, behind her father, who was her team-mate and the race winner. She was also second in a Modified race at Del Mar, a round of the Pacific Coast Championship. This year, she was almost unbeatable in ladies’ races, racking up at least eleven victories on her way to a Pacific Coast women’s title.

In 1959 she concentrated more on open events, entering only a few women-only races. She was fourth in the Avandaro GP and eleventh in the LA Times GP in the Testa Rossa. She was also fourteenth and 16th in the Riverside and Vaca Valley USAC races. This was significant as she would become the first woman to receive a full USAC racing license that year, allowing her to compete as a professional. Her appearance in the Riverside 200 Miles was her first “big” USAC race and she was eleventh, despite admitting to being nervous and only expecting to finish. Josie’s interviews at the time reveal a personality at odds with her list of results; she claimed that women were naturally less good drivers than men and that they were often more nervous. Todd McCarthy, in his book about the US sportscar scene “Fast Women”, speculates that it was the longer races she found hard.

1959 was also the year that she first competed internationally. The East Coast racing fraternity usually decamped to the Bahamas in December for Nassau Speed Week, but West Coast stalwart Josie joined them this year with the Ferrari. Competing against the likes of Stirling Moss, Richie Ginther and Dan Gurney, she was 16th in the Governor’s Trophy for cars over 2000cc. Her best result was a fifth place in the Ferrari race, which was won by Phil Hill in a later TR.

Much earlier in the year, she raced in Mexico for the first time. Josie was third in the Lago de Guadalupe, sandwiched between famous brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez who were second and fourth respectively.

After 1959, she disappeared from the scene, despite being in possession of a full USAC license and considerable experience. She moved away from her previous home with her son and lived among a huge menagerie of animals, including as many as twenty cats. She died in 1997, aged 64.





Younger women were coming through and becoming more competitive, but the American sportscar racing scene was becoming increasingly professionalised and the both the Women’s Sports Car Club and the CSCC were in decline.

Michelle Gatting

Michelle Gatting is a Danish driver who has won races in single-seaters and saloons. In 2019, she entered Le Mans for the first time.

She began racing in 2011, after winning two Danish karting titles. A Formula Ford was her first senior racing car and she wasted no time in getting on the pace, finishing fourth in her first race. During the second half of the season, she was a constant presence on the podium and won her first race at Sturup. She was third in the championship.

In 2012, she moved to the VW Scirocco-R Cup in Germany, supported by the FIA Women in Motorsport commission. This was the first of two seasons in the series. She was eleventh in her first year, and fourth in the Junior standings after one class win. She also drove a Scirocco in the Merdeka Endurance Race in Malaysia, but did not finish.

Her second season was much more successful and she became one of the championship’s quickest drivers, managing four podium finishes. These were a third and three seconds early in the season. She was fifth overall.

In 2014, she moved into sportscar racing, and raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany. Her best result was 15th, in Oschersleben. Towards the end of the season, she did two rounds of the International GT Open. She was eleventh in one race at Spa in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

She did not race competitively in 2015, but she did test a Thundersports car, with a view to entering the championship in 2016. Her debut Thundersports season in 2016 was a good one; she scored one win, at Bellahoj, as well as two second places, finishing eighth in the championship. Her car was a Dodge Challenger.

2017 was another strong season, with seven podium finishes and seventh in the Thundersports championship.

In 2018, she raced a BMW in Supertourisme in Denmark, continuing her good run of form. She was third in the championship with three wins, at Rudsborg and Padskogen.  

Later in the season, she joined the Kessel team for the Gulf 12 Hours, having proven her mettle in big-engined, powerful cars. Kessel was running an all-female team. They were second in class and sixth overall. This led to an offer of a drive in Europe with Kessel, including the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team, consisting of Michelle, Rahel Frey and Manuela Gostner, is supported by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.

The FIA WiM also supported Michelle in joining another all-female team for the Sepang round of the Asian Le Mans Series, in a Ligier LMP3 car. Her team-mates were Margot Laffite and Katherine Legge. They were running as part of Keiko Ihara’s R24 team, which had two female-crewed cars in the race. Michelle’s team was eighth in the LMP3 class.

Michelle was initially named as a candidate for the inaugural W Series women’s Formula 3 championship, but dropped out in favour of joining the Kessel team and racing at Le Mans. She was one of the Kessel "Iron Dames" with Rahel Frey and Manuela Gostner. They scored the first finish for an all-female team at Le Mans itself for about ten years, ahead of the "sister" Iron Lynx car of their male team-mates. Although the Dames were troubled by their share of car-related difficulties in the European Le Mans Series, they still managed second places in class at Silverstone and Paul Ricard, leaving them fourth in the GTE class overall.

The Iron Dames entered the Gulf 12 Hours again in 2019 and were closing on third place with Michelle in the car. A collision with a backmarker who did not let the faster car through in time put them out of the race.

Driving solo, Michelle did some rounds of the Denmark Super GT championship, driving an Oreca-powered prototype. She won twice at Bellahoj and also picked up a fourth at the same track.

The Iron Dames returned in 2020. They entered the ELMS and although it was not an easy season, they were fifth in the GTE class with three third places at Paul Ricard and Monza. Once more they out-scored their Iron Lynx "brothers".

The three Dames were 34th overall when Le Mans finally ran in September and were eleventh in the LMGTE Am class. This was a second straight finish for the team.

By herself but still part of the "Iron" setup, Michelle did part of the European Ferrari Challenge in Italy. She won the Trofeo Pirelli at Misano and was second at Misano and Imola. Despite only doing half of the season, she was sixth overall.

She also tried out touring cars in the Danish TCR series, driving a 309 for the Peugeot team. Unfortunately she did not finish her two races at Jyllandsringen.

2021 was her best year yet. The Iron Dames ran her in WEC, ELMS and the Ferrari Challenge. Driving an Iron Lynx "Scuderia Niki" 488, she won the first round of the Ferrari Challenge at Monza. Two more wins and a long string of pole positions and podiums meant that she won the championship outright.

Her three WEC outings included a class 13th place at Le Mans with Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy, 36th overall. They also competed in the Portimao and Monza rounds. The Iron Dames team was ninth in the ELMS LMGTE championship after two third places at Portimao and Spa, with Michelle at the wheel.

She also made some appearances in the FIA Endurance Trophy, in the Iron Dames Ferrari.

The Dames stayed together in 2022. Michelle did five of the six rounds of the WEC for the team, with Doriane Pin and Christina Nielsen subbing for her and Sarah Bovy at Spa. Their best finishes in the large GTE class were two seventh places at Monza and Fuji and they were 14th overall. 

The season included Le Mans itself. It was far from an easy race for Michelle, Rahel and Sarah, but they were the leading Iron Lynx Ferrari crew and finished 40th, seventh in the GTE Am class. 

It was in the European Le Mans Series GTE Trophy where they really shone. The season began with a fourth a Paul Ricard that was almost a debut podium. They were second in the fifth round at Spa, then won the final race at Portimao, their first win. The Dames were third in the championship.

They went one better in the Gold Cup section of the Fanatec GT World Challenge, finishing second. This time, they were second at Paul Ricard and won at Spa.

The three main Dames stayed together for 2023, helped out by Doriane Pin. The established team had a pair of new cars: a Porsche 911 for WEC and a Lamborghini Huracan for IMSA and the Fanatec GT World Challenge. WEC and the Porsche proved to be the best combination, winning the LMGTE Am class at Bahrain at the end of the season. A third at Portimao earlier and some solid fourth places helped them to second in the class championship, in the final season of LMGTE competition. They were fourth in class at Le Mans after running much higher for much of the race but losing ground in the last few hours.

The Dames's IMSA season was limited to four rounds. Michelle and Rahel were 18th in the Daytona 24 Hours and eleventh at Sebring. They also raced at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta, in commons with many other GTD teams who did not run the full season. Sebring remained their best finish. 

Their GT Wold Challenge season was affected by an early retirement from the Spa 24 Hours, which counted for three of the six point-scoring rounds. Their best result was 28th place overall at Monza, the first race of the season.

Michelle was an integral part of Iron Dames for WEC season in 2024, as well as most of the ELMS championship and some IMSA rounds. Although the Dames - Michelle, Rahel and Sarah - had their share of DNFs in their Porsche, they picked up a historic LMGT3 class win at Imola, and then a second place in the season-ending Algarve race. They were fourth in the LMGT3 championship.

For her other racing efforts, Michelle drove a Lamborghini Huracan, beginning with the season-opening Daytona 24 Hours. The Dames were sixth in the GTD class, 25th overall, assisted by Doriane Pin. The original trio did not finish the Sebring 12 Hours, or the Watkins Glen IMSA race, dropping out after an accident.

The Lamborghini took Michelle and Sarah to eighth place in the LMGT3 class of that year's WEC. Rahel and Doriane did not do a full season with them. Michelle, Sarah and Rahel were fourth in class at Le Mans, 32nd overall, one of their best class finishes. They were also fifth at Spa, after taking the LMGT3 pole, and fifth at Fuji. 

The Dames' 2025 IMSA season was cut short after the Daytona and Sebring races. Michelle, Sarah and Rahel were eighth in class at Daytona (with Karen Gaillard as fourth driver) and eleventh at Sebring. The team was supposed to return later in the year with another car, but this did not happen.

Michelle, Rahel and Celia Martin were the core trio for the Iron Dames' Manthey Porsche-based attempt on the LMGT3 class in the WEC. It was a somewhat disappointing year, with their best result, and only top five, being a class fourth at Sao Paolo. At Le Mans itself, Michelle broke her foot practicing driver changes during an official test day, so Sarah stepped back in.

A Dames team contested the ELMS again that year and it was their most successful entry. Michelle, Sarah and Celia raced a Porsche 911 together in the LMGT3 class. They scored one class win at Barcelona, finished every race and were third in the final round at Portimao, coming fourth in the championship.

The Iron Dames WEC programme was cancelled at the end of 2025. Although the team itself will carry on in motorsport, Michelle's future plans are not clear. 

(Image copyright Kessel Racing)

Fabienne Wohlwend

Fabienne Wohlwend is from Liechtenstein and is mostly known for racing in the Ferrari Challenge in Europe.

2016 was her first season of senior motorsport, after eight years of karting. She won two junior karting titles at home in Liechtenstein and also ran well in the Swiss championships.

She raced in Italian Formula 4 in 2016, as Liechtenstein has very few motorsport facilities of its own and no major championships. Switzerland hosts no petrol-powered motorsport at all. She did almost a complete season for Aragon Racing, as a single-car team. Her best finishes were two seventeenth places, at Adria and Vallelunga, and she was unplaced in the championship. At the end of the year, she chalked it all up as experience, describing Formula 4 as a “racing school”.

In 2017, she moved focus from single-seaters to tin-tops and sportscars. One reason for this was that she wished to continue her banking apprenticeship as well as her racing, and single-seaters required more intensive commitment. She was eleventh in the final season of the Audi Sport TT Cup, with four top-ten finishes. The best of these was an eighth place at Hockenheim. This was impressive considering that she had no budget to test the car, relying on track tests in a TCR-spec car and simulator work.

On the sportscar side, she raced in the Ferrari Challenge Europe in a 488, and won a race at Imola. Despite only doing six rounds of the fourteen-round championship, she was sixth overall, due to her four podium finishes. At the end of the year, she was third in the World Final, driving for the Octane 126 team.

Octane 126 retained her services for the 2018 season. She was racing their 488 in the Pirelli Trophy Amateur class of the Ferrari Challenge. The class was dominated by British driver Chris Froggatt, but Fabienne managed to win three times at Misano, from pole each time, and secure seven additional podiums. She was second in the class.  

At the end-of-season world finals, held at Monza, she won the Trofeo Pirelli for amateur drivers outright, leading comfortably from Martin Renaldi Hutasoit.

She was accepted as a driver for the all-female W Series in 2019 and often showed great pace in qualifying which did not always translate to on-track position. She was third at Misano after starting from pole and this was her best finish of the year. She was sixth in the championship.

As well as W Series, she continued in the Ferrari Challenge in 2019. Her best finish during her Trofeo Pirelli Europe part-season was a fifth place at Imola, and she was fourth in the World Finals at Mugello.

Branching out further, she also entered a round of the VLN at the Nurburgring in a BMW, although she did not finish.

In 2020, she wanted to continue her double-headed attack on W Series and the Ferrari Challenge, but the ongoing coronavirus crisis meant that W Series was cancellled. Some possible races in the Formula Renault Eurocup were also shelved.

The Ferrari Challenge went ahead and she was one of the leading Trofeo Pirelli drivers from the start, finishing third at Imola. Even after missing the last four races due to car damage, she was second in the Trofeo, with five seconds and three thirds.

Despite her previous success, she left the Ferrari behind in 2021, racing in W Series and in the NLS (previously VLN). Her W Series season was inconsistent but generally positive, with a third at the Red Bull Ring and a second at Silverstone as her highlights. She was sixth overall and retains her place in the 2022 championship, should she choose to take it.

Her first NLS experience was in April, when she joined the Adrenalin Motorsport/Alzer team in their BMW G20. She was fourth and third in class in the first two rounds of the series. In June, she returned to the Nurburgring for the 24 Hour race, driving a BMW F30 for Giti Tyre Motorsport and sharing it with Nicolaj Kandborg, Niklas Kry and Tobias Wolf. They were ninth in their class.

Another visit to the Nurburgring followed in 2022, driving for the Gti Tyre/WS Racing Girls Only Team in the 24 Hours. The car was a BMW M4, shared with Carrie Schreiner, Pippa Mann and Celia Martin. They were third in their class, 35th overall.

Fabienne drove a CortDAO-branded car in W Series and had an inconsistent year, with a fourth place at Silverstone as her highlight. She was tenth in the championship. The season was shortened due to financial troubles and it is unclear whether it would run again, or whether Fabienne will take part.

At the end of the year, she travelled to India for the Indian Racing League, driving for the Godspeed Kochi team. The series used street circuits and a motorcycle-engined single-seater. The first round was cancelled due to problems with the track itself and with the cars, and the rest of the championship suffered many other issues, but Fabienne was the best of the female drivers and helped Godspeed Kochi to the teams' championship. Her best overall finishes were two second places at Chennai. 

She spent most of 2023 in the ADAC GT4 series, racing an Aston Martin Vantage with Celia Martin for the PROSport team. It was a fairly challenging season for them and they were 34th in the championship. Sachsenring was their best race and they were twelfth overall.

The was no W Series in 2023 due to its financial collapse, but Fabienne was able to revisit some of her other regular outings. She rejoined the Girls Only team for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, finishing in 81st place in a BMW with Celia, Beitske Visser and Pippa Mann. She also entered a round of the NLS with them. During the winter season, she raced in India again, going back to the Godspeed Kochi team. She shared a car with Ruhaan Alva but did not finish any of her own races.

2024 was split between Germany and the VLN, and India and the Indian Racing League. In the VLN, she did three races with the Girls Only team, which included Pippa Mans, Carrie Schreiner and Beitske Visser. They drove the WS BMW in three races and the Nurburgring 24 Hours, finishing second twice and third once. Although they did not finish the 24 Hours, they were classified 47th and third in class. 

The Godspeed Kochi team had been bought out and renamed Rarh Bengal Tigers in 2024, but the four drivers were retained, including Fabienne. She and Ruhaan Alva were third in the championship; Fabienne's personal best finishes were three fourth places.

She drove for WS Racing again in the 2025 VLN, alongside Carrie Schreiner, Janina Schall, Patricija Stalidzane and Beitske Visser. She and Patricija won their class once in a BMW GT4, but were not eligible for points. In one of the team's other BMWs, racing in a different class, she picked up two third places. She did not finish the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

In the 2025-26 Indian Racing League season, she drove for the Goa Aces this time. She was second in her first race at Kari. 

Fabienne still worked part-time in banking to help fund her sporting activities until 2019.

(Image from motorsport.com)

Yvonne Simon

Yvonne and her co-driver Regine Gordine at the 1951 Monte

Yvonne Simon was a versatile French driver who showed skill in both sportscar racing and rallying in the 1950s.

She raced Ferraris at Le Mans twice, in 1950 and 1951. Her first attempt, partnering Michel Casse in Luigi Chinetti’s 166 MM Berlinetta, ended with an empty fuel tank on lap 25. However, a second run in the same car in 1951 gave her and Betty Haig a 15th place, third in class.

Her two Le Mans entries came in the later part of her career, which had begun in the 1930s. Among her earliest achievements was a second place in the 1937 Paris-St. Raphaël Rally driving a Hotchkiss Grand Sport. She was only 20 years old. Two years later in 1939, she won the all-female event outright, in the same car. A few months earlier, she had won her first Monte Carlo Rally Coupe des Dames, driving the Hotchkiss with Suzanne Largeot and starting from Athens. This was her third attempt at the Monte, after failing to finish the 1937 event in a Matford and co-driving Louise Lamberjack’s Hotchkiss to eleventh in 1938.

Among her other notable pre-war rally results was a seventh overall in the 1939 Criterium Paris-Nice, in the Hotchkiss.

She began circuit racing not long after her rally debut, in 1938. She and her rally team-mate Suzanne Largeot entered the Paris 12 Hours at Montlhéry, driving a Simca belonging to Yvonne. They were eighth overall, second in the 1100cc class.

Her earliest win was in a ladies-only race using Renault Juvaquatres. It was held at the Péronne circuit as part of that year’s Picardie Grand Prix. Yvonne defeated Hellé Nice to win. She entered one other women’s one-make race that year at Comminges, but the result is not known.

As soon as motorsport recommenced after the war, Yvonne was back in action. She shared a Delahaye with Germaine Rouault for the Spa 24 Hours in 1949 and was eleventh overall, first in the 4000cc class. The car was probably Germaine’s.

It seems to be about this time that Yvonne got to know Luigi Chinetti. She raced against him in that year’s Spa 24 Hours, which he won. In 1950, she started racing his Ferrari 166 MM. It is sometimes credited as Yvonne’s own car, but its chassis number, 0042M, remains the same.

Her first race in this car was the Circuito de Porto, in which she was fourth overall and won her class. She also competed in the Rouen and German Grands Prix, although the results are not forthcoming.

In the same car, she won a 3-litre race in Nice and finished the Mille Miglia, 90th and seventh in class with Alberico Cacciari. Later in the year, she was sixth in the Circuito di Senigallia.

She even drove the Ferrari in the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally and was second overall. Rallying was far from forgotten: she had already finished second in the women’s standings in the 1951 Monte Carlo Rally in a Simca. The Ferrari made another unlikely rally appearance in the Rallye du Maroc, held in the Atlas mountains. Yvonne and Alberico Cacciari were 19th.

Entering a different Ferrari herself, she had another go at the Senigallia race in 1952, but did not finish. She was also eighth in the 1952 Reims GP and thirteenth in the Bari GP. This car was another 166, but had a Zagato body. For the St. Raphaël Rally, she drove a Renault 1063 and posted the first of three consecutive wins.

The same car and driver combination won the 1953 Paris-St. Raphaël, ahead of class winner Paola della Chiesa’s Lancia Aurelia.

1953’s racing season was meant to start with the Mille Miglia, but the Fiat 1100 that Yvonne was scheduled to share with her St. Raphaël rival Paola della Chiesa did not make the start. A couple of months later, a last outing in the Ferrari led to an eleventh place in the Monza Grand Prix. Most of Yvonne’s major races this year were in Italy; she raced another Ferrari in her only attempt at the Pescara 12 Hours in August, sharing with a driver called Giarelli.

Her biggest home race of the year was also the major debut of her new car, a 745cc Panhard Monopole. She was fourteenth in the Reims 12 Hours with Jean Hémard in this car. Early in the season, it had proved itself a decent rally car with the first of two St. Raphaël wins.

In 1954, driving the Monopole, she was fourth in the Nimes GP, just behind Elie Bayol. She entered the Reims 12 Hours again with Jean de Montrémy in the same car, but they crashed out.

The same car and driver pairing attempted the Bol d’Or in 1955. The race was held at Montlhéry over 24 hours and they were tenth, second in the 750cc class.

This was Yvonne’s last major circuit race. She continued in rallying for another couple of seasons and won her final St. Raphaël event in 1957, driving the Panhard.  

She died in 1992, at the age of 75.

(Image from http://www.kwa-kwa.pl)

Manuela Gostner

Manuela Gostner raced in the 2017 European GT4 Championship, driving a Maserati. She is best known for driving a Ferrari. Unusually, she was almost 30 when she started competing.

She is the elder sister of Corinna Gostner, who races in the Coppa Shell Ferrari Challenge with Manuela and their father, Thomas. Their brother, David, also races. It was he who encouraged Manuela to take the wheel of his Ferrari at a test day in 2014.

She started racing only a few months later, at Brno. Her sister Corinna made her debut at the same time. Corinna finished just above Manuela in the first race, in tenth, and they swapped places for the second. Manuela returned for the season finale in Abu Dhabi. She was 20th in the championship.

In 2015, she enjoyed a bigger racing programme and contested the entire Coppa Shell Ferrari Challenge. Her car was a Ferrari 458 run by Ineco-MP Racing, who ran her in her first races. She started slowly but soon learned the car. By the third round at Mugello, she was into the top ten. In September, she broke into the top five for the first time, at Imola, and repeated this at Valencia. She was twelfth in the championship.

In 2016, she raced both with and against Corinna: in the Ferrari Challenge, she was not quite as competitive, earning two top tens, the best of these being a ninth at Monza. She finished 21st overall. She and her sister shared the Ferrari in two Italian GT Championship rounds at Mugello, and were eighth and sixth in the GT Cup class. They were racing against their brother and father in another MP Racing Ferrari.

She made a move into the European GT4 championship in 2017. Her Maserati Gran Turismo  MC was run by Villorba Corse. She was third in the Am category, just in front of her Villorba team-mates, Romy Dall’Antonia and Giuseppe Fascicola. She won her class at Brands Hatch and Zandvoort and was third at the Red Bull Ring.

The Coppa Shell had not been forgotten. Back with the Ineco-MP team, she did most of the European Ferrari Challenge, and had a best finish of sixth at Paul Ricard. She was also sixth in the World Final at Mugello.

She was third in the 2018 Ferrari Challenge, winning races at Catalunya and Monza. Monza was also the scene of her third place in the World Finals. Away from the Ferrari Challenge, she raced a 488 for Kessel Racing in some bigger races. In October, she was fourth in the GT3 class in the Michelin Le Mans Cup at the Algarve circuit, sharing with Giorgio Sernagiotto. In December, she was part of an all-female team for the Gulf 12 Hours, alongside Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey. They were second in class and sixth overall.

Her GT4 success has earned her a first FIA driver classification of Bronze. The Kessel team recruited Manuela and her Gulf 12 Hours team-mates for a campaign in the 2019 European Le Mans Series. The three women raced as the "Iron Dames" and became the first all-female team at Le Mans itself for almost ten years. They finished 38th overall and ninth in the GTE Am class, ahead of their all-male "sister" car.

In the wider ELMS series, Manuela and her team-mates had their fair share of car problems, but they still managed class second places at Silverstone and Paul Ricard, on their way to fourth in their class championship.

The Iron Dames got back together for the 2019 Gulf 12 Hours and were running in a strong fourth place when contact with a backmarker caused their retirement.

Her second season as an Iron Dame led to another run in the Ferrari in the ELMS. The three-woman team managed three third places in the GTE class, although it wasn't the easiest year for them. An eighth at Algarve dropped them to fifth in the championship, despite some strong performances and out-doing their "sister" Iron Lynx car.

The Dames got to the finish of their second Le Mans together, finishing 34th overall and ninth in the LMGTE Am class. 

Away from the Iron Dames setup, she also raced for her family team in the Creventic 24 Hours series. She shared an AMG Mercedes GT3 with her sister Corinna, brother David and father Thomas. They entered the double six-hour races at Monza and Mugello, finishing third twice at Mugello and fourth and fifth at Monza.

She was part of the Iron Dames team again in 2021, but only started the first two WEC races of the year and did not race at Le Mans. Her best finish was at Portimao, where she, Rahel and Michelle were seventh in class. 

She also did the first four rounds of the ELMS season, as part of the same driver trio. They only finished twice, but did manage a fourth place in the first round at Catalunya. Manuela's Ferrari was taken out at Paul Ricard by a Porsche driven by Michael Fassbender, which forced her retirement. Manuela had been in front when Fassbender tried an over-ambitious overtaking move, which was later penalised by the stewards.

After that, she moved into the Le Mans Cup, racing the Ferrari in the GT3 class. Her team-mates were Sarah Bovy and Doriane Pin and she had a best finish of third in class, achieved at Le Mans and Spa. The Le Mans race was the support to the 24 Hours itself.

After 2021 she stepped down from the Iron Dames, but continued to race. She competed in the Coppa Shell category of the Ferrari Challenge Europe, driving a familiar Ferrari 488. After a second and Paul Ricard and a third at the Hungaroring, she was fourth in the championship. At the end of the year, she joined her family team again for the Gulf 12 Hours in Bahrain. Driving a Mercedes-AMG, she was seventh overall.

She carried on in the Ferrari Challenge in 2023, finishing second in the Coppa Shell class with three wins and three additional podiums. Her victories came at Valencia, Le Mans and Spa. The family got together again for the Gulf 12 Hours in December, although this time they were only 18th in the Mercedes.

2024 continued in a similar vein, with two more Coppa Shell wins in the Ferrari Challenge, at Jerez and Portimao. A couple of additional podiums put her fourth overall in the Coppa Shell standings. The family team was back in action for four rounds of the 24H series, in the Mercedes. They were contesting the GT3 class and were fourteenth in the GT3 Am section. They were 26th at Mugello and 20th at Spa. Their final race of the year was the Gulf 12 Hours in December. They were 18th overall.

She remained with her family team in 2025, competing the in the 24H Series. The four-Gostner team was tenth at Mugello, driving their Mercedes. They were fifth in the Am class. At the end of the year, they returned to the Gulf 12 Hours, but they did not finish either leg.

Away from the circuits, she competed internationally at both indoor and beach volleyball before having her two daughters.

(Image from https://north.gt4series.com)