Angelique Detavernier

 

Angélique Detavernier is an endurance racing specialist from Belgium.

Although she has been involved in motorsport from a young age, including as a driver manager, she only began racing in 2013 after winning a karting competition. She first raced in the VW Fun Cup in Belgium. 

For most of 2014, she raced a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, mainly in the Dutch Supercar Challenge. Her best results were two third places in the GTB class, at Zolder and Assen. In the same car, she was fourth in the Zolder 24 Hours, with Miguel Vandereyt, Frederic Vervisch, Louis-Philippe Soenen, Francois Bouillon and Patrick van Glabeke. 

As well as the Porsche, she raced a Maserati in the Maserati Trofeo, finishing tenth at Spa and fourteenth at Abu Dhabi. She also returned to the Fun Cup and managed a pole position. 

In 2015, she had a second try at the Zolder 24 Hours in a Porsche 997. Driving as part of a four-driver team, she was 24th, and third in class. She was slated to enter the European rounds of the Maserati Trofeo this year and contested the Paul Ricard and Red Bull Ring rounds. Her best result was a twelfth place at Paul Ricard. At some point, she did some more Fun Cup racing, starting once from pole, and at least one Supercar Challenge race. 

Her third Zolder 24 Hours in 2016 gave her a debut top ten: a seventh place in a Porsche. In another two firsts, she raced an Audi R8 LMS in a couple of VdeV races and a Mercedes AMG in the Nurburgring round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. She was also third in a Fun Cup race in Dubai, 

In 2017 she did another couple of Blancpain Endurance races, driving an Audi R8 LMS. She was fourteenth in one GT Sports Club race at Spa, and did not finish the other. 

She had another guest outing in the car in 2018, again at Spa, in the 24H Series. She and her team-mates were eleventh in their class. This was in addition to a strong season in the GT Sports Club series, driving a Ferrari 488 rather than the Audi. She was eighth in the championship with a best finish of fourth, at the Hungaroring.

Having proved herself as a driver, there were more major races in different cars for her in 2019, firstly driving an AMG Mercedes GT4 in the Blancpain Endurance Series and the European GT4 Challenge. She was second in class at Zandvoort in the GT4 Series and third in class at the Nurburgring. She also did one Blancpain race in a Boutsen-Ginion BMW M6, finishing 22nd overall and fourth in class, and another in a Lamborghini Huracan. This time, she was fifth and tenth overall at Circuit de Catalunya.  

The worldwide coronavirus crisis curtailed motorsport severely in 2020 and Angelique did not race. In 2021, she added another string to her bow, doing three out of seven rounds of the Belcar championship in a Norma prototype and finishing third at Hockenheim and Zolder. 

Her focus switched from Belgium to France in 2022, racing a GT4-spec Audi R8 LMS in the FFSA GT championship. Her best result was a third place in the Am class at Magny-Cours. Her team-mate was Sebastien Rambaud.

She stuck with prototypes in France for 2023, racing in the Wolf Thunder Series and scoring at least one podium. Moving to Italy, she competed in the Italian Sport Prototype Cup in 2024, driving an Aprilia-engined Wolf. Hert best finish from four races was a fifth place at Monza. 

She is better-known as a model and was previously in a relationship with Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

(Image copyright Angelique Detavernier)

Nathalie Maillet

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Image copyright Euro NASCAR)

Zoe Wenham

Zoe and team-mate, Declan Jones, in 2013

Zoe Wenham is one of Britain’s most promising sportscar racers, and has the awards and results to prove it.

She raced karts from the age of nine, then took advantage of the 2000s boom in under-17 touring car series by entering the SaxMax championship, in a regulation Citroen Saxo. At the time, she was still only fourteen. Her first season was 2008, and she was 16th overall, as one of the youngest drivers on the grid. Her most promising result was a fifth place at Snetterton.

In 2009, she moved over from her family team, to Ferguson Motorsport. This resulted in a more successful year in SaxMax, with a ninth place overall at the end of it.

In 2010, she only competed in the first two rounds of SaxMax, as she decided to graduate to senior competition, still aged only sixteen. She took part in the 2010 VW Racing Cup, driving a Polo GTi. As she was not yet 17, she was the youngest person ever to race in the series. At the end of the season, she was 21st, with a best finish of eleventh.

In 2011, she continued in the VW Cup, in a Golf this time. More power, and experience, again helped her up the championship table, and she finished eighth overall, after her first podium place.

The following year, she made the switch to sportscar racing, and it proved to be a good call. She raced a Ginetta G50 in the British GT Championship in 2012, for Century Motorsport. In contrast to previous debut seasons in a new car, she was on the pace almost immediately, with a fourth and a third at Oulton Park. Further podium positions, at Snetterton, Rockingham, the Nürburgring and Donington, three of these being second places, were enough to give her second in the championship. She did not finish out of the top five all season. Her team-mates were Mike Simpson and Dominic Evans. In recognition of her excellent debut season, she was awarded the BWRDC’s Gold Star.

She returned to the championship in 2013, in the Century Ginetta, with expectations of her high. She did not disappoint, and this year, she had her first wins, two of them, at Oulton Park, and another two podiums, at Snetterton and Rockingham. Despite a somewhat less consistent season, partly due to reliability and technical problems, she was still in the running for the GT4 title, until she had to miss the Zandvoort round, for undisclosed reasons. Although she returned for the finale at Donington in a different Ginetta, in which she finished seventh, it was not enough to rescue her title campaign, and she was fifth. Her team-mate, Declan Jones, was second. This was the end of her time with the Century team.

Later on, she was selected as the British entrant into the FIA Women's Scirocco-R cup shootout, with a view to racing in Europe in 2014. She was not chosen; the award went to the French driver, Lucile Cypriano.

After being left without a GT drive for 2014, Zoe was determined to race something. She ended up in the Volkswagen Fun Cup, an endurance series for VW Beetles, driving alongside her younger brother, Guy. They were part of Team O’Br, driving as the “Young Guns”, with other young drivers. Zoe’s endurance experience paid off, and they were second in their first race, at Oulton Park. It was an up-and-down season, with some setbacks, like their fourteenth place in the third race, but they were strong enough to be in a secure runner-up position after the final race of the season.

Mid-season, she was even invited back to Century Motorsports for the Britcar race at Snetterton, in the Ginetta once more. She was seventh and eighth, driving with Stephen Fresle. They teamed up again at Silverstone, and managed two class wins. They were second overall in Class 3.

In 2015, she raced in the Fun Cup again, with Guy and Stephen Johansen. The trio were fourth in the championship, with a best finish of second, in the first round at Silverstone. They were also third in the last round, at Oulton Park. She did at least one Fun Cup race in 2016, but also worked for a tour company during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Zoe continued to be active in promoting female involvement in motorsports, through the BWRDC and Susie Wolff's Dare To Be Different.

(Image from www.centurymotorsport.com)

Women in One-Make Series, Part III

Edina Bús with her SEAT Leon

The last list is of female drivers in one-make series across the rest of Europe, including the Mini Challenge. Italian drivers, Polish drivers, German drivers, Swiss drivers, Croatian drivers, Hungarian drivers, Spanish, Portuguese and Andorran drivers and Swedish drivers can be found in their own posts. Michelle Gatting now has her own post, as do Alba Cano, Lilou Wadoux, Laia Sanz and Nathalie Maillet.

Isabelle Biela - Czech driver who raced in the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup in 2010, in Germany. Her best race result was thirteenth, at the Lausitzring. She was 17^th in the overall standings, and ninth in the Junior Cup. Although she has done some instruction, and has possibly been involved in classic rallying, with an Audi, she does not appear to have raced again after her debut season. Although she did have an accident at the Nürburgring, it did not seem to affect the rest of her season much, although she was not as close to the pace as she had been. Her father is sportscar racer, Frank Biela.

Caroline Candas - French driver who made her senior debut in 2021. She is a former French female karting champion who raced in the 2022 Peugeot 208 Cup, which was part of the TCA Light category in the French touring car championship. She was third in the TC Light class after two class wins at Nogaro. The following year, she was third the TC category, in a Peugeot 308. In 2024, she raced for the Rafa team in ADAC GT4, having won a female drivers' shootout for them in November 2023. She crashed heavily early in the season and sat the rest out. Moving to the USA in 2025, she did some rounds of the MX5 Cup, with RAFA. Her first steps in cars were some guest appearances in the 2021 Funyo Cup, scoring a class third at Albi. She is supported by La Filiere Endurance.

Tanja Dexters – Belgian model and media personality who raced in the Mini Cooper Challenge in 2004. She was not among the front-runners, and did not race in all of the rounds. She was 43^rd overall. Her entry was linked to her participation in that year’s Miss Belgian Beauty competition. She has not raced since.

Sabine Dubois - Belgian racer who won the 2003 VW Fun Cup 24 Hours with Fanny Duchateau and Sylvie Delcour. She has been a regular in the Fun Cup throughout the 2000s and for a while, was usually one of the front-runners. After 2006, she seems to have driven for different teams and has not been quite on the pace. The 2003 team returned to the Fun Cup 25 Hours in 2008, but did not win this time. 

Louise Frost - Danish driver who has been racing in the DS3 Cup since 2016. In 2017, she scored her first win in the series, near the end of the season, at Jyllandsringen. Her second-best finish was fifth, achieved twice, at Jyllandsringen and Djursland. In 2016, she picked up a Rookie of the Year award. That year, she also raced a Ferrari 458 in the Danish Endurance Championship at Padborg Park. In 2018, she moved into the Danish Supertourisme series, driving a BMW. Her best result was sixth at Rudskogen and she was 14th in the championship. 2019 brought another new car: an Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR which she used in the Danish Endurance Championship and TCR Scandinavia. She was not able to start all of the TCR rounds but she scored three top-ten finishes at Knutstorp, Anderstorp and Karlskoga. She was 17th in the championship. In 2020 she drove a Kia Mitjet in the Danish Endurance Championship and was second in her class, sharing with Sander Steffensen. It was back to TCR for 2021, driving a Honda Civic. Her best finishes were sixth places at Bellahoj and Aarhus and she was 15th overall.

Laura Hájková – Czech driver who raced in the Skoda Octavia Cup. She started in 2007, and had a solid, if unremarkable year, with a best finish of ninth, at Brno. A second season in 2008 went very similarly, with a ninth and eighth at Oschersleben her season’s highlights. In 2007, she also did some racing in Germany, using the Octavia in some rounds of the Divinol Cup, at the Nürburgring. She does not appear to have raced since 2008.

Claudia Henning - German driver who began her career in cars in 2023. She entered the BMW M2 Cup, also based in Germany, for her first racing season. Her best finish was a seventh place at Lausitz, followed up with a tenth place at the same meeting. She was 14th overall after a non-finish mid-season. Her BMW debut followed a successful karting career in Germany and Europe, including a championship win in the 2019 ADAC Kart Cup Senior class. She returned to karting in 2024.

Solveig Hjere - Danish driver who raced a Renault 5 in her home country in 1976. She took part in at least some of the Renault 5 TS Cup, including a races at Jyllandsringen and Knutstorp. Either that year or thereabouts, she won a Renault 5 Ladies' title, defeating another Danish driver called Eva Sorensen. It is unclear whether this was an actual all-female race, or a class championship within the main Renault 5 series. Little other information about Solveig is forthcoming. 

Cornelia Hütter - Austrian Alpine skier, who has done some motor racing. In 2011, when she was 19, she entered some rounds of the racing side of the Suzuki Swift Cup, and managed two sixth places at the Slovakiaring. She also seems to have done some rallying or hillclimbing in the same car. After devoting herself entirely to skiing for several seasons, she made two further guest starts in the 2014 Lotus Ladies’ Cup, at the Red Bull Ring. She was tenth in one race, and did not finish the other.

Luisa Kahler - raced in the BMW M2 Cup in 2023, having come through its shootout for young drivers. Aged 17, this was her first season of car racing and she combined it with a run in the senior Rotax Max Challenge, also in her native Germany. She was the best of the three female novices in the M2 Cup and finished 12th overall, with two top-ten finishes at the Norisring and the Red Bull Ring. In 2024, she did two rounds of the NLS, driving a BMW. Early in 2025, she signed up for the GT4 Winter Series, in the Porsche Cayman class, winning one race.

Veronique de Kock – had one season of racing in the Belgian Mini Cooper Challenge, in 2004. She was not really competitive, and does not seem to have completed the season. Her overall position was 42^nd. Following in the footsteps of Brunhilde Verhenne before her, Veronique raced as part of her activities for the Miss Belgian Beauty contest.

Carmen Kraav - Estonian driver who races touring cars in Europe. She began with some races in the 2022 Baltic Touring Car Championship, competing in the BMW 325 Cup. Sticking with BMW, she then signed up for the 2023 BMW M2 Cup in Germany. Her final championship position was 13th, with a best finish of ninth at Lausitz. Previously, she had competed in karting as a junior and a senior, finishing seventh in the senior Kart Sprint event at the 2022 Motorsport Games.

Camille Laffite - occasional racer in one-make series and club racing in France. She competed in the VW Fun Cup in 2006 and 2008, including the 25 Hour race, which she finished both times, with different teams. Previously, she raced in Legends in France. At about the same time, 2005, she made her debut as an “Ice Girl” in the Andros Trophy, which she returned to in 2006. She is the younger sister of Marguerite Laffite, and daughter of Jacques Laffite. She and her sister sometimes race together. In 2009, Camille was a contestant on a cross-America motorsport-themed TV show, Bullrun USA. 

Claire Lajoux – raced in the Peugeot RC Cup in 2006. She did not compete for the full season, and was 28^th in the championship. In 2009, she raced in at least some rounds of the VW Fun Cup, sharing a car with Laure de Coligny and Thierry Fecomme for the 25 Hour race at Spa. She does not seem to have raced since then.  

Kersti Lang - Estonian driver who races a BMW. Her first season was 2010, and she drove a BMW 325 in the Gruppe 325i Cup. She was fifteenth, after not quite being on the pace. In 2011, she raced again, and did better this time, finishing tenth. She was usually within the top ten, and had a best finish of eighth, at Pärnu. She did her third BMW season in 2012, but did not go quite as well, with one eighth place at Palanga. She does not appear to have competed in 2013. Previously, she did karate at international level, which she continued alongside her racing. For the past couple of seasons, she has been concentrating on her studies. In 2016, her name appears on lists as a medical car driver at tracks in Estonia. In 2018, she acted as Clerk of the Course.

Nadezhda Mitroshkina - Russian driver who competed in the Mitjet Series in 2011. She did not complete the whole season, and her best finishes were a pair of eighth places, at Smolensk. She was 18th in the championship. Later, in 2013, she seems to have been involved in endurance karting. Language difficulties are impairing further research into her career.

Juliette Palacin – has been racing in the Mitjet series for several seasons, with the sixth being in 2015. She first entered in 2010, and was 15^th overall in a Skoda silhouette car. After another two trying seasons, she was sixth in the Supersport series in 2013, with one win, at Val de Vienne. In 2014, she was ninth, in a BMW, having not managed to repeat her win. She was tenth in 2015, with a best finish of second, at Ledenon. In 2016, she only did a part-season, and so was down in the standings. Previously, she was a karter from the age of eleven, and also raced single-seaters in the French Formula Renault Campus championship. She has also raced Legends cars, in 2006. 

Marine Pidoux – began her senior racing career in 2014, after a serious accident stopped her from racing her kart any more. She raced in the low-cost Mitjet Supersport championship in France, for the VIP Challenge team. She was 31^st overall. In 2015, she returned to the Mitjet series for a second go, and was 39th overall, after a part-season. Her finishes were solidly midfield. Another part-season followed in 2016, which left her 42nd overall. She appears to have raced a Mercedes in a French GT Cup championship in 2018. Away from the track, she designs motorsport team uniforms and fashion items for her own company. 

Maiken Rasmussen - Danish driver who raced in the VW Scirocco R Cup in Germany in 2011. She was 17th overall, with two top-ten finishes: a ninth at Hockenheim and an eighth at Oschersleben. She also made a trip to India for a guest spot in the Polo R Cup, and was rewarded with a second place in Race Two. In 2010, she had her first season of long-circuit racing, driving in the Smart championship. In 2012, she returned to Smart cars, for the 4Two Cup held across northern Europe. She managed at least one fifth place. 

Nicole Rigger (Kern) - Austrian driver who began her senior career in the Suzuki Cup in 2007, driving a Suzuki Swift. She was then known as Nicole Kern. Initially, she competed in the rally series. In 2008, she scored her first points in the series, and was twelfth overall. The following year, she managed her first podium, at the Mozartpreis, and was fifth overall in the racing series, making only a couple of appearances in the rally side. She moved away from rallying completely in 2010, and was fifth again, with another third place at the Pannoniaring. It was this year that she married fellow competitor, Jörg Rigger. In 2011, they seem to have shared a car for the first part of the season, and Nicole’s best finish was fifth, at the Red Bull Ring. She does not appear to have competed in cars after this, but she was part of an all-female team called the "Miss Austrias" in the Alpin Juwel Kart Trophy race in 2015.

Oksana Trofimova - Russian driver who raced in the 2011 Mitjet Cup. She was seventh in the championship, after best finishes of fourth, at Tushino and Smolensk. Apart from this year, she does not appear to have done more racing, despite being from a motorsport family. More recently, she has done some writing and PR work on behalf of her brother, Vladimir Trofimov.

Brunhilde Verhenne - former Belgian beauty queen. She raced in the Mini Challenge in 2004, as well as two rounds of the Toyota Yaris Cup. In 2005, she took part in a few races in a Volkswagen Lupo, and some kart events. She now concentrates on her PR career, focused around pro cycling.




(Image from http://www.szon.hu/)

Sylvie Delcour

Sylvie on the BTCS podium

Although not a household name outside her own country, Sylvie Delcour of Belgium is one of her homeland's most decorated domestic drivers. Born in Verviers in 1975, she took up club racing at nineteen.

After two years of club competition, Sylvie took her first steps in the Belgian Procar touring series. Her first big race was in 1997, the Spa 24 Hours, which was then a race for saloon cars. Driving a Renault Clio Williams, she was third in the class for small group N vehicles and 25th overall, not a bad first attempt. For the rest of that year, she drove her Clio in the Renault Clio Eurocup.

It was back to Belgian Procars in 1998, where Sylvie teamed up for a part-season with Vanina Ickx. They shared a BMW 320i run by the BMW Fina Junior Team and achieved mixed results, until Vanina left the team to join Renault. Sylvie entered the Spa 24 Hours again in the same car, coming fourteenth this time.

Still in the BMW, Sylvie persevered with the Procar championship in 1999 and started to show her mettle. She ended the year as champion of Division Two and scored her best finish in the Spa 24 Hours to date: seventh overall and second in class.

It was time for something completely different for the following season. Sylvie got involved with the Volkswagen Fun Cup, an endurance championship for space-framed VW Beetles. With her team-mates, she was fully on the pace and came second in that year's standings, an achievement she repeated in 2001.

That year, the VW was not Sylvie's only car. She was also campaigning a Citroen 2CV in national events with considerable skill. At that year's Belgian 24 Hours of 2CV she and her team were fourth, and at the five-hour Dijon 2CV race she was the winner. Earlier in the year, the increasingly-versatile Sylvie had tried her hand at rallying, too. Driving a 1400cc group N VW Polo, she was 26th overall and second in class.

Her career continued in the same vein in 2002. She was fourth in the Belgian Fun Cup and retained her runner-up spot in the European Fun Cup. In the 2CV she fared even better, driving hard in a big field of cars and walking away as Belgian 2CV champion.

Mid-season, she was called back to the Spa 24 Hours, now an FIA sportscar race. She was snapped up by PSI Motorsport to drive a Porsche 996 Supercup alongside Loïc Deman and Philippe Tollenaire. The trio were 21st overall and fifth in their class.

2003 was a hectic but highly rewarding season for Sylvie. She had teamed up with Fanny Duchateau and Sabine Dubois as the "Rain Tyre Ladies" the previous year in the Fun Cup, and the partnership they had proved very hard to beat this year. The three women swept the board of Fun Cup titles, being crowned Belgian and European champions, and winners of the arduous 25-Hour race at Spa. This was a good tactical drive, making use of safety car periods well.

Back at Spa, Sylvie was again doing the 24 Hours as part of FIA GTs. Her car this year was another Porsche, a 996 GT3 Cup belonging to Land Motorsport. Her co-drivers were Loïc Deman, Christian Land and Peter Scharmach. They were a fighting twelfth overall, with a class win, another win to add to Sylvie's haul.

In addition to all these wins, she still found time to compete in the Clio Cup, gaining a best finish of third. At the end of the season, the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium awarded Sylvie its Ladies' Trophy and more importantly, the Casque d'Or (Golden Helmet) for outstanding achievement.

2004 was another busy year. Sylvie's main focus was the BTCS touring car championship. Her car this year was a tube-framed silhouette BMW, which obviously suited her driving style; her results were five thirds, a second and three wins, making her the series champion on her first attempt.

Yet again, she entered the Spa 24 Hours, driving an EBRT Lotus Elise with Jose Close, Lino Pecoraro and Philippe Menage. They were 21st overall and 3rd in class, although not classified at the end of the race. A month later, Sylvie returned to Spa for the Le Mans Endurance Series, where she was sharing a G-Force Pilbeam LM2 car with Philippe Haezenbrouck and Frank Hahn. There was more disappointment here, as the car did not make it to the end of the race. In between the two major Spa events, Sylvie also fitted in a trip to Zolder for the 24-hour race there. She was the fourth driver in the Daikin all-female team of herself, Vanina Ickx, Alexandra van de Velde and Fiona Leggate. They won the Ladies' Trophy in their Mini, despite finishing well down the order.

There were better results for the woman from Verviers in the two rounds of Formula X Sport she took part in. At the Nürburgring round, she came ninth and third and in Dubai she was fifth and sixth. Her results were enough to give her sixth in the championship. She also tested a works Courage C65 sports prototype at Magny-Cours, with a view to entering Le Mans in 2005. To round off another good year, she was awarded a rare second Casque d'Or and the RACB Trophée Féminine.

In the end, Sylvie did not start at the classic French race with the Courage team, although she was named as a reserve driver. 2005 was a much quieter year for her all round, mainly focused around the BTCS. She had moved up a class in the championship and was now driving a Porsche 996 Supercup. She was not as successful as she had been in the BMW and her best result was second at the BTCS 12 Hours of Spa, driving with David Loix. The 24-hour version was less of a triumph though; the Gillet Vertigo that Sylvie was driving with Bas Leinders, Renaud Kuppens and Jérôme d'Ambrosio did not give them a finish. The Belgian Racing machine was fast but unreliable and fragile.

For a complete change, Sylvie also took part in the Yamaha Girls Raid, a motorcycle cross-country rally for women in Morocco.

2006 saw the Belgian woman take another step into the rally-raid world. This time she entered the Rally Aïcha des Gazelles, a women-only event across North Africa, using a similar route to the later stages of the Paris-Dakar. She had an experienced co-driver in Corentine Quiniou, and they were sixth overall.

The BTCS had not been forgotten either. A Toyota Yaris was Sylvie's mount for the Spa 12 Hours. She was 24th overall and the winner of class T1. She also took part in the 24 Hour 2CV race and the Fun Cup 25 Hours. Here, she teamed up again with Corentine Quiniou.

She took part in more rally raids in 2007. Sylvie and Corentine entered the Trans African Classic together in a Toyota HDJ80. They were contesting the Classic class and had hopes of a win. At the end of the event, they were eighth, with one stage win and the Ladies’ award.

The BTCS had not been forgotten either. Sylvie finished third in class S2 after a series of strong finishes, including at least one win. Driving a Street Machine Solution F with Yvon Decour and Jean-Claude Meert, she was seventh in the Spa 12 Hours.

In 2008, she was absent from the BTCS. She entered one rally raid, the Trans Tunisia, on a Bombardier quad. It is unclear whether the event actually took place, and if so, where Sylvie finished. Since then, she has taken off-road riding training in Costa Rica and entered a number of rally raids on a KTM motorcycle, starting with the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, and moving on to mixed events in Libya and Tunisia.

In 2011, she drove a Dacia Duster in the Rallye des Gazelles, and won the Eco Driving Award for the lowest fuel consumption. They were second overall. She continued to enter the Gazelles event until at least 2014.

(Image copyright Tom Symons)

Fanny Duchateau

The Uniroyal Rain Tyre Ladies

Yet another versatile Belgian, Fanny branched out into GT racing later in her career, although most of her big successes came in touring cars.

The Duchateau family were all involved in karting (Fanny's father ran his own kart track) so it was inevitable that Fanny would take it up at a young age. She began at seven, in 1984. She was Belgian junior champion in 1992, sixth in the European Championships in 1994 and a member of the winning team in some notable 24 hour- races in Belgium. After a glittering kart career she moved on to cars in 1997, at the age of twenty.

From the beginning, Fanny was quick and competitive. In her first season she was fourth in the Belgian Renault Championships and second in the VW Fun Cup series. The following year she won the Fun Cup outright, a first for a woman.

For the next two years she continued as a front-runner in the Fun Cup and also tried her hand at national-level sports and touring car races. In 2000 she was the runner-up in the VW series and attempted her first Spa 24 Hour race. She drove a Gillet Vertigo Streiff but failed to finish. Always keen to try new forms of motorised competition, Fanny also entered her first rally, driving a Ford Ka in the Rallye Condroz. She was 75th.

She continued her rallying adventures in 2001. As part of a driver exchange programme organised by the two national motorsport bodies, Fanny got the chance to sample winter rallying in Canada. She did not finish the Perce Neige et Glace Rally, or the Charlevoix event in Quebec, in her SEAT Ibiza, but she returned a better driver for it. In the Rallye Condroz in 2002 she was second in class N2 in a Volkswagen Polo, 37th overall.

In 2002 Fanny was receiving works support from VW, mainly due to her Fun Cup success. She was entered into the Belgian Procar championship in a Bora turbodiesel, and carried off the Division Two crown. She often finished in the top ten alongside more powerful Division One teams. Spurred on by her good results, she hooked up with Gillet Vertigo Streiff again for the Spa 24 Hours. The team was 26th after a fire.

2003 was a busy year. Rallying in the Polo again featured large in her calendar. She was 35th and second in class N2 in the Omloop van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) rally and third N2, 44th overall in the 12 Hours of Haspengouw event. The big Condroz rally was her only disappointment as she failed to finish.

The Fun Cup had not been forgotten either. It had expanded into a multi-driver VW enduro series and Fanny, Sylvie Delcour and Sabine Dubois were competing as the Rain Tyre Ladies Team in selected events. Mechanical troubles meant that they suffered a few retirements, but they also scored a momentous win in the 25 hour race at Spa, Fanny's favourite track.

Towards the end of the season, Fanny was invited to join the Chamberlain TVR women's team for the inaugural Le Mans 1000km. She drove alongside Amanda Stretton and Liz Halliday, after fellow Belgian Vanina Ickx pulled out due to illness. The girls were a respectable 19th overall, closely behind their more experienced male team-mates.

Sportscars became her main focus for 2004. She had been selected to drive the Rollcentre Noble GTO in the British GT championships, with young GT ace Simon Pullan. Testing went very well, and Pullan remarked how quickly Fanny learnt the car. In their first race at Donington they were 13th, fourth in the GT Cup class. The second race ended in a slightly disappointing 18th. Mondello Park in Ireland gave the pair their best result: two eighth places and a second in class. Sadly, they were unable to match that form for the rest of the season. They failed to finish both Snetterton races and managed a 16th and 13th at Castle Combe, regarded as a good circuit for GT cars. Simon Pullan parted company quite suddenly with Rollcentre and Fanny drove with team boss Martin Short at the Oulton meeting. Both races ended in DNFs and Fanny herself was replaced by Harvey De'ath, who fared only marginally better.

However, back in Belgium, her efforts had not gone unnoticed. She was invited to join Zwaan Racing for the Spa 24 Hours, driving a Chrysler Viper with Marc Duez, Loic Deman and Stephane Lemeret. Unforunately they did not finish. She also returned to rallying for the Boucles de Spa, and was 25th overall in a VW Polo. Her co-driver was Denis Borremans.

At the time of writing, Fanny's future in motorsport is unclear, and she does not appear to have competed since 2004. She has become a mother to at least one child.

(Image source unknown)