Jess Bäckman

Jessica Bäckman is a Swedish driver who races touring cars. She was a long-term karter who has won two Swedish championships and switched to cars for the 2018 season, aged 21. Her first-ever races were the opening rounds of the British TCR series, driving a Volkswagen Golf for Westcoast Racing. She was eighth and sixth at Silverstone. By mid-season, she was much improved and she scored one podium finish, a second place at Brands Hatch. She was fourth in the championship. In Sweden, she also raced in TCR, for the same team, although she did not do quite as well, finishing 19th with a best finish of twelfth. This was achieved at Falkenberg.

2019 was a busy year, with a full season in the European TCR series, plus appearances in its German and Scandinavian equivalents, all in a Hyundai i30. Her TCR Europe season was rather inconsistent but she did manage one third place at Hockenheim, one of three top tens. Later in the year, she revisited Hockenheim with the German championship and claimed a second place during a guest appearance for the Hyundai factory team. In November, she also took part in the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games, racing an i30 for Sweden in the Touring Car Cup.

She often races with her brother, Andreas, who is two years older than her. They began competing at the same time.

When the delayed 2020 season finally started, her main focus was the European TCR Championship. Her car was an i30, run by Target Competition. It was an unsatisfactory year for her, with a best finish of seventh at Monza and a lot of car trouble.

The Target team ran her in the World Touring Car Cup in 2021, driving a Hyundai Elantra. After a half-season, she was 21st in the championship, just ahead of her brother, with a best finish of fourteenth at the Nurburgring. Both siblings left the series voluntarily, with Jessica stating that she was not happy with her performances or her progress. She joined the Scandinavia TCR series for its final three rounds, achieving a second place at Anderstorp. Her car was an Audi RS. She also did a round of the NLS in April, driving a Hyundai i30N.

She moved to the German series in 2022, first driving a Hyundai Velostar for ROJA Motorsport, then an Audi RS3 for the Comtoyou team. After a succcessful early season with four wins and five more podiums, she was second in the championship.

In 2023, she switched to sportscars, doing part-seasons in the ADAC GT4 and GT4 European series. She and Andreas drove an Aston Martin Vantage in the first round of the ADAC championship, finishing 24th in one race, before moving to the European championship in a similar car, for two different teams. Their best finish was 16th at Monza.

Apart from some testing and a Time Attack event in a Lamborghini, she has not competed during 2024.

(Image copyright Jess Bäckman)

Taylor Hagler

 

Taylor Hagler is an American driver who has been most successful in TCR-spec cars, winning the TCR class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge outright twice.

Her four-wheeled career began in 2018 after ten years of equestrian competition. Her sister had received a gift voucher for the Skip Barber race school which she didn’t want, so Taylor used it instead. She was hooked straight away.

She raced a Mazda Miata in 2018 and won NASA races in her home state of Texas. She also won at least one SCCA race in the Miata at Road Atlanta in early 2019. 

She moved into TC America in 2019, driving a Honda Civic in the TCA class. She was fifth in her class and the second of the four X-Factor Racing entries, behind fourth-placed Chris Haldeman, the team’s owner. Her best finishes were three class thirds at Circuit of the Americas, Watkins Glen and Road America. Road America was her best circuit and she was tenth overall. 

She also did her first major endurance race, the COTA 24H event. Her car was another Civic, shared with three other drivers, but they did not finish.

In 2020, she continued in TC America for two races, finishing fourth twice at COTA, which was becoming her favoured track. She spent most of the year in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving a Civic with Ryan Eversley for LA Honda World Racing. Her best finish was a second place at Mid-Ohio and her championship position would have been higher than ninth without some DNFs. 

She won the TCR class of the 2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge, with one outright win at Lime Rock and five additional podium finishes. Her car was a Hyundai Veloster run by Bryan Herta's works-supported team and she shared it with Michael Lewis. As well as this, she was a multiple winner in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am Cup, driving an Acura NSX for the Racers Edge team. She was second in the Pro-Am championship with three class wins, in what was only her first season in GT3 cars. 

In 2022, she successfully defended her TCR trophy, driving a Hyundai Elantra and winning once at Virginia. She and Michael Lewis were also second four times and third twice. She then raced the Acura at Indianapolis in the GT World Challenge, finishing seventh in Pro-Am and 19th overall. 

She took her first steps into an international career at the beginning of 2023 when she was announced as part of Hyundai USA’s team for the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Her usual team-mate Michael Lewis joined her, with Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi. They were 29th overall and second in class, behind the European Hyundai works car.

The Nurburgring appearance made an impression in Europe and Taylor was invited to take part in the GT4 European Series later in the season, deputising for W&S Motorsport’s Charles Lawson who was injured in the first round. Alongside Swiss driver Gustavo Xavier, she joined the championship at Paul Ricard. They were 18th in the Pro-Am championship, their best finish has been a 25th place overall at Misano, driving a Porsche 718 Cayman. They were fifth in the Pro-Am class

The US had not been forgotten either. Sharing the Bryan Herta Elantra with Michael Lewis again, she set about adding another IMSA Michelin Pilot TCR title to her collection. The season did not begin as well as previous ones, with the pair earning an eighth place at Daytona. They were seventh in the TCR class, not managing to reach the podium this year.

Another season in the Elantra gave her seventh in the Michelin Pilot TCR class, driving with Bryson Morris. Their best results were two fourth places, at Mosports Park and Indianapolis. They were also fifth at Watkins Glen.

Her plans had include more racing in Europe and she got to achieve this is 2024. She drove a Lamborghini Huracan in the ADAC GT Masters for the Grasser team, sharing with Argentine driver Matteo Llarena. They were not among the frontrunners and did not run a full season.

(Image copyright Taylor Hagler Motorsport)

Women in One-Make Series: South America

Manuela Vasquez in 2010

One-make racing series are popular in South America. Due in part to initiatives such as Formula Hyundai Femenina (Argentina) and the Brazilian Fiesta Championship, quite a lot of women have competed in them in the last 20 years. Marisa Panagopulo now has her own post. 

Lorena Blanco – best known for racing in Fiat one-make championships in Argentina. She started off in the Fiat Linea Cup in 2010, entering the last few rounds, following some previous historic racing. She had another part-season in 2011, and made it into the top twenty on four occasions. The Linea series crossed over to using the Punto Abarth in 2012, and she improved her best finish to fifteenth. That year, she was the team-mate of a returning Marisa Panagopulo. A full season in the Punto in 2013 gave her two fifteenth places, and 24^th overall. A final part-season in the Punto, in 2014, had her finish fourteenth, three times, and end up in 32^nd place overall. In 2015, she did another part-season in the Punto series, and was 31st in the championship. Her best finish was 17th, at La Pampa. This arrangement continued in 2016, and her best finish improved to fourteenth, at Trelew. She was 36th overall. 

Renata Camargo - races in the one-make Hyundai Copa HB20 in Brazil. Her best result in 2020 has been an eighth place in class at Goiania. This was her first season in the championship. In 2021, she raced a Volkswagen Voyage as part of the 3 Girls team with Luciana Klai and Fernanda Aniceto. They took part in the Mil Milhas Brasileira, finishing 21st overall and second in class. In 2022, she did a part-season in the HB20 series, finishing fourth at Goiania and Velo Citta. She won one race in the Paulista Marcas e Pilotos championship in 2023, at Sao Paulo. In 2024, she does not appear to have raced much, although she tested a TCR car in December. She also competes in drag racing, using a VW Golf, karting and drifting. She is best-known as a motoring TV presenter in Brazil and is not to be confused with the millionaire businesswoman Renata Camargo Nascimento.

Carolina Canepa - Uruguayan driver who races in saloons and trucks. She started out in 2013 in the Chevrolet Sonic Cup in Uruguay, a one-make series. She was eleventh in her first season, with a best finish of sixth. A women-only version of the championship ran in 2014, and Carolina was third, behind Carolina Larratea who finished one place above her in the 2013 series. She went back to the main Sonic Cup draw in 2015, and won her first race, at Rivera, towards the end of the season. She was sixth overall. Her 2016 Sonic Cup season was similar, with one win and a sixth spot on the leaderboard. This was her last season in the championship before transferring to Formula Truck in 2017. She was part of the “Woman’s Racing Team” with Maria Cristina Rosito. Her truck was a Volvo, and she steadily improved over the season, with two sixth places at Londrina her best results. She was sixth in the championship. After a year off, she raced a Chevrolet Sonic again in 2019, in Class 2 of the Uruguayan touring car championship.

Juliana Carreira - began racing in 1998, in a Vauxhall Corsa, participating in regional one-make races. She was involved in the women’s Corsa championship in 1999, and the later Fiesta version in 2001. In 1999, she also took part in four Corsa Metrocar (a mixed Corsa one-make series) races, finishing in the top five in three of them. She also raced in a Clio Cup in Brazil at some point. She is from a racing family, and drove in the 2003 Mil Milhas Brasileira with her brother, Luiz, and Denis de Freitas and Jose Venezian. They were 15th, in an Audi RS2G. Later, she also did some Stock Car racing, in 2006. She works in fashion and the media in Brazil. 

Maria José Castro - raced in the 2017 Toyota Yaris Cup in Costa Rica, where she is from. Unusually, she races alongside her father, Marco, who shares her car. At the time of writing, she has not yet got into the points, although she only has half of the chances of most other drivers, due to her car-sharing. The Yaris Cup was her first experience of racing in cars, although she has done some karting in the past.

Thaline Chicoski - competes in the Shell HB20 Cup in her native Brazil. She shares the car (a Hyundai one-make) with Pedro Perdoncini and the pair joined the 2020 championship for the second round. In 2021, she was eleventh in the championship, with a best finish of third at Interlagos. She also made some appearances in the Mercedes-Benz Challenge AMG Cup. In 2022, she was tenth in the Elite class of the HB20 Cup, with three top-five finishes. She continued to race in both categories in 2023, scoring three podium finishes in the HB20 Cup. She was eighth in the championship. For 2024, she moved back to the AMG Cup, picking up a second and third place at Gioiania. She was eleventh in the championship. In December, she made one guest appearance in the Brazilian National Touring Car championship, but did not finish. Thaline has been active in motorsport since 2010, when she was 19, although this has mainly been in karting and she has not been able to run full championships. Despite this, she has won at least two regional championships.

Francisca Cortés – raced in the Chilean Trofeo Nissan Sunny in 1990. She was the first female driver to take part in the series, and one of Chile’s first female racing drivers. Although she never managed a podium position, she did achieve some top-ten finishes, and one pole position, at Antofagasta. This was overshadowed by the death of another driver during the race itself. The final championship standings for this series are not forthcoming. Francisca does not appear to have raced since then.

Carolina Eiras – did two seasons in the Fiat Linea Cup in Argentina, in 2010 and 2011. Her 2010 season is chiefly remembered for a spectacular crash into a lake at the Resistencia circuit, after which she was helped to safety by spectators. Her best finish was thirteenth, at Alta Gracia. In 2011, she did not complete as many races, managing three 19^th places out of four starts. She is a former Olympic skier.

Julieta (Juli) Fernández - one of the front-runners in the Argentine Mini Challenge in 2013. She was third overall, just missing out on an actual win, but with two podium finishes and two podium positions. She did manage to win some at least one training race. This was her first experience of saloon car racing, although she did do some GT racing in 2009, aged 18. She drove a new Crespi prototype in the GT 2000 series for Oyikil Motorsport, although she did not finish her race. In 2010, she was linked to a drive in Formula 4, but she did not have the budget to compete. Previously, she was active in karting in Argentina for many years, and may have also competed in Formula 1100 briefly. In 2015, she took part in the Top Race championship, driving a Chevrolet Cruze. She almost reached the top ten a couple of times, finishing eleventh at Rosario and Olivarria. She was 25th overall. In 2017, she made a guest appearance in the Argentine Turismo Pista series, driving a Fiat Uno. She entered the Buenos Aires round but did not finish. 

Sabrina Formal - Costa Rican driver who races in the Toyota Yaris Cup in her home country. In May, her best finish was ninth overall. At 20, 2017 was her first experience of senior motorsport, although she did do some national-level karting when she was much younger. Her brother is also a racing driver.

Michelle de Jesus - Brazilian driver who has been competing since 2006. She started out in her regional championship in São Paulo. By 2010, she was second overall in the championship, a best-ever finish for a female driver. The following year, she moved into national-level competition, driving in a few rounds of the Brazilian Petrobras de Marcas Cup (in a Toyota Corolla) and the Mercedes Benz Grand Challenge (in a C250 CGI). As she only did a couple of races, she did not do enough to make her mark on the final standings. She returned to the Grand Challenge in 2012, this time mounting a full campaign. Her car was the same, run by the Pink Energy team. She was ninth overall, with a best finish of fifth , at Rio de Janeiro. For 2013, she changed marques, moving to the Mitsubishi Lancer Cup. She achieved her first podium, at third at Velo Città, on her way to another ninth overall finish. Early in the season, she also made her first trip to Europe, to participate in one round of the Euro Racecar series, at Dijon. She was thirteenth, in a Chevrolet Camaro. In 2014, she stayed in South America, competing in truck racing, and the Marcas e Pilotos Cup. Her car in the Cup was a Corsa, and she does not appear to have completed a full season. She was 25th in Formula Truck, after a part-season, and had a best result of eighth, at Brasilia. In 2015, she was registered for Formula Truck, but does not appear to have actually raced. 

Carolina Larratea – Uruguayan driver from a motorsport family, who has been racing in the Chevrolet Sonic Cup since 2013. She was tenth in 2013, with a best finish of second, at El Pinar. In 2014, she scored her first outright win in the Cup, in the last round. This race was doubly notable in that two female drivers started on pole and second place. Carolina won the Sonic Ladies’ Cup. She continued to race a Chevrolet Sonic in 2015. Her season began very well, with a pair of wins at El Pinar, and she was second in the championship. She made the podium again in 2016, in third place. In 2019, she made a triumphant return to the circuits and won the Auvo-class Super Sonic championship, another one-make Sonic series. She won five races. 

Bia Martins - Brazilian driver who races in the HRacing Cup, a one-make series for the Hyundai HB20. She was one of the leading rookie drivers in 2023 and scored some overall top-ten finishes. She had previous experience of the car from a 2021 guest appearance in a previous HB20 one-make championship. In 2025, she will tackle the Brazilian touring car championship. Most of her career has been spent in karting as both a child and a senior, although in 2020, she also raced in Formula 1600 at Interlagos. She began racing karts seriously in 2017.

Graziela (Zizi) Paioli - Brazilian driver who has raced in two different one-make championships. In 2007 and 2008, she had part-seasons in the Brazilian Clio Cup. In 2008, she finished tenth at Santa Cruz, her first Clio Cup top ten, and was 21st in the championship. After some time out, she returned to competition in 2011, in the Mercedes Benz Grand Challenge. Her car was a C250 run by her family team, Paioli Racing, as always. Her best finish was fourth, at Santa Cruz, and she also finished in the top ten on five more occasions. She was eleventh overall. Her father, Marco Paioli, is also a racer, who runs the team with Graziela’s mother. Graziela herself became a mother in early 2013, explaining her absence from the track. 

Paola Traverso - seems to have begun racing in 1996, in Formula Hyundai Femenina. She was one of the leading drivers, and won races. In 1997, she was a race-winner again in the Copa Damas, an all-female one-make series which used the Vauxhall Corsa. She may also have raced in a mixed Corsa one-make series, and won races there. She competed in all three seasons of the Copa Damas, and was a front-runner in all three.

(Image from http://masguau.com/)      

Copa de Damas and Formula Hyundai Femenina

Marisa Panagopulo

Both the Copa de Damas (Ladies’ Cup) and Formula Hyundai Femenina ran in Argentina, in the 1990s. The Copa appeared first, in 1994, followed by Formula Hyundai Femenina (not to be confused with single-seater series run elsewhere, with similar names.)

Both were one-make saloon championships, with the Copa de Damas running Nissan Sentras, and Formula Hyundai Femenina using the Hyundai Accent. During the 1990s, there were several womens’ racing championships in Argentina, and South America generally, and for a few seasons, Formula Hyundai Femenina ran concurrently with the Copa de Damas.

There was some crossover between the two championships, with several drivers moving between them, including Marisa Panagopulo, who won both, Karina Furlan and Claudia Teatini. A number of drivers from outside Argentina raced in the two series over their lifetimes. These included Shantal Kazazian, from Chile.

The Copa de Damas was quite closely associated with the Turismo Carretera touring car championship in Argentina, and some of the drivers from both ladies’ championships later joined the TC grid. They included Marisa Panagopulo and Ianina Zanazzi, who also raced single-seaters, with some success.

Interest in women-only competitions was dwindling towards the end of the 1990s. The Nissan-based series was replaced by a similar one for the Vauxhall/Opel Corsa, but this too disappeared after 1999.

Winners – Copa de Damas

1994 Marisa Panagopulo

1995 Maria Angelica Alberdi

1996 Silvina Genjo

1997 Mariela Manfredotti

Winners – Formula Hyundai Femenina

1995 Marisa Panagopulo

1996 Claudia Teatini

1997 Karina Furlan

1998 Gabriela Crespi

For profiles of some of the drivers who raced in these series, try here.

The Campeonato Brasileiro Ford Fiesta Femenino, a similar Brazilian championship, is discussed here.

(Image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marisa_Panagopulo.jpg)

Natalie Barratt

Natalie in New Zealand, in 2006

"International rally driver" is not an obvious career choice for a 5'2" girl with dyslexia, who sometimes struggles with the concept of left and right. However, Natalie Barratt is not one for doing things the straightforward way - that would be too easy.

Born in 1975, Natalie was initially drawn to circuit racing, and her first year of four-wheeled competition was spent racing a Peugeot 306 and a Fiesta XR2 at club meetings. She had become friends with then-Formula One driver Marc Gené, and he had encouraged her to take the wheel. She started rallying a year later, in 1996, taking part in the Nissan Micra Rally Challenge.

The following year she bought a Group N-spec Honda Civic and stepped up to the British Rally Championship. Her co-driver was the experienced Joyce Champion. Natalie's results were not overly impressive: her best result was 32nd overall on the Manx Rally.

The Civic was upgraded to class A6 specifications for 1998, but it did not help Natalie in her hunt for results. Reliability problems meant that she only finished one BRC rally, the Welsh, in which she was 37th. A drive in a Mitsubishi Lancer in the RAC Rally was more promising. She was 38th and second in the Ladies' standings.

Teaming up with Stella Boyles, she tackled another two WRC events in 1999, Sweden and Great Britain. She was 54th in Sweden and 36th on her home rally, with her first Coupe des Dames. In the domestic series, things were looking up for Natalie; the Lancer Evo 4 was much more to her liking and faster than the Civic, and she had gone from backmarker to respectable midfielder. She was 22nd on the Welsh Rally, 25th on the Pirelli, 17th in Scotland, 22nd on the Jim Clark Memorial Rally, 31st in Ulster and a career-best 13th on the Isle of Man.

With her confidence higher, Natalie now had her sights firmly set on the international stage. Still using the Group N4 Lancer, she entered five WRC rallies. Sweden was a poor start to the year, a DNF, but she was 33rd in Corsica, 38th in Spain, 39th in Finland and 36th in Great Britain. In between the Finnish and British rounds she also took part in the Rally of Australia, driving a Les Walkden Racing Impreza. She did not finish again. Away from the WRC, she braved the sub-zero temperatures of Rovaniemi in Finland for the Arctic Rally, in which she was 47th, in another Mitsubishi.

For 2001, Natalie dropped all extracurricular activities and concentrated firmly on the WRC. She signed up for the Group N-based FIA Teams' Cup and entered ten rallies. Her only distraction was a Rallysprint event in Austria.

She had the use of two Lancers that year, an Evo 5 and an Evo 6. She started in Sweden with the Evo 5, where she was 29th and eighth in Group N, a career best so far. A change of co-driver, from Trevor Agnew to Australian Claire Parker, brought no more luck for the Portugal Rally, and the pair retired after a nasty-looking accident. They dusted themselves down and did three more events together: Catalunya (34th), Cyprus (21st) and Acropolis (35th). The Cyprus event was Natalie's best performance to date, possibly of her career, as she was eighth in Group N and scored her first FIA points. These were the first female points for five years. Natalie also had to contend with unwelcome male attention in Cyprus, which could have put her off, but obviously did not.

Later in the season, she was 57th in Finland, 36th in New Zealand and Australia and retired from the Sanremo and Great Britain rounds. She finished the year fifth overall in the Teams' Cup standings.

After much chopping and changing in the navigator's seat of Natalie's car, she found a regular co-driver at last. The experienced Roger Freeman sat beside her for 2002, in a Mitsubishi Lancer and later in a works-prepared Hyundai Accent WRC. Only a small handful of women have driven WRC cars, and there was some outrage in rallying circles over Motor Sport Development's decision to work with Natalie, who was considered a weak driver and somewhat undeserving.

As the Accent suffered mechanical problems on three of the five rallies it was entered into, it is quite hard to judge her performance. In the two events it finished, she scored decent enough positions, but was behind most of the other WRC contenders: 21st in New Zealand and 22nd on Rally GB.

Ironically, the two outings she had in a Group N Lancer were more productive. She was only 51st in Sweden but was 26th in Cyprus and seventh in Group N, her best class finish.

In 2003 she only entered a few rallies. Her main activity that year was a sabbatical in circuit racing. She was driving in the new SEAT Cupra Cup touring car series, a junior tin-top challenge which was followed closely on a TV programme. Natalie was probably more noteworthy for her pink hair and eccentric in-car habits (mainly talking loudly to herself), than for her racing. She scored a few points, but was unable to mount much of a challenge to the others. Her final position was seventeenth in the championship.

During that summer she took part in a couple of rallies. Going back to her BRC roots, she and Roger Freeman drove a Toyota Corolla WRC in the RSAC Scottish Rally. They went out on the second stage with mechanical difficulties. This proved to be a sad end to their rallying partnership; Roger was killed in an accident on an American rally a month later. The driver, Mark Lovell, also died.

Natalie was scheduled to drive in the Malaysian Rally that August, in a Subaru, but did not make the start.

It was back to rallying full-time the following year. Natalie had a new co-driver, Carl Williamson, and a new plan. She entered the Junior World Rally Championship for 1600cc two-wheel drive cars, first of all in an MG ZR. She and Carl drove in the IQ-Jänner Rallye in Austria as a pre-Monte Carlo warm-up but crashed out. Natalie's first Monte Carlo was no better; she retired on stage three. The MG ZR plan was abandoned and she was back in a Lancer for Rally New Zealand, a Group N Evo 8 this time. She was 32nd.

Another JWRC-eligible car was found for the Acropolis Rally, a Renault Clio. This proved to be less than reliable and only made the end of two rallies: Finland (34th) and Sardinia (23rd).

Again, Natalie returned to Group N in the WRC, now renamed the Production Cup. She was reunited with the Mitsubishi Lancer, a car in which she had had most of her good results. Pre-season, she and Carl Williamson had another go at the IQ-Jänner Rallye, but suffered another off. A little later in the season, they returned to WRC action as part of the successful OMV Rally Team. Their first event was New Zealand in a Lancer Evo 7. They limped to the end of the event but were classified 37th. For Cyprus, Natalie upgraded to an Evo 8, but she didn't finish this time, hitting a bank and barrel-rolling in another bone-crunching accident. In the same car, she just scraped another finish in Turkey, classified 46th. At this point, her reputation with the UK motorsport press and a vocal group of fans, was less than favourable. Earlier in the season, she had attempted the Welsh Rally, a BRC round, and retired on the first stage again.

After Turkey, Natalie and Carl parted company. He navigated for Finnish driver Jari-Matti Latvala later in the season. For the Rally of Argentina, Natalie changed car as well as co-driver. Still with OMV, she switched to an Impreza WRX, with John Bennie. She retired yet again.

Navigated by Chris Patterson this time, she managed a decent 30th place in Rally Finland. For her last three rallies of the season, she teamed up with Tommi Makinen's former co-driver, Kaj Lindström. Again, some questioned his decision to sit beside her. They were 41st on Rally GB, retired in Japan and were 34th in Australia.

Natalie has often been criticised by fans and the press. She has been accused of squandering good drives, like the MSD Accent deal and her stay with the OMV team. She is seen as something of a chancer and is not popular with many UK rally fans. Although some of the criticisms of her may be valid - her finishing record in 2005 and her perceived lack of progress for instance - some of the more personal insults directed at her are unpleasant and unjustified.

In 2006, she did some rallying in Scandinavia, away from the WRC scene. She was 28th in the Arctic Rally in January, beating former F1 champion and occasional rally driver Mika Hakkinen. In February she was 43rd in the Vaakuna-Ralli in Finland. She was driving an Impreza on both occasions. She made a brief return to the WRC stages for OMV in Finland and New Zealand. She was 32nd in Finland but retired from the New Zealand Rally with gearbox trouble. Her co-drivers were Chris Patterson and Dale Moscatt respectively. The car was an Impreza in Finland, but a Lancer in New Zealand.

In 2007, Natalie relocated to Finland with the aim of competing full-time in the Scandinavian championships. She entered that year’s Rally of Norway in a Group N Impreza. She does not seem to have finished. It is not clear whether or not she competed in any further Finnish rallies, but it looks like she may not have managed it.

Natalie's website was not updated for some time and her future plans were unclear, although she did reappear briefly in 2011, to drive in the POP Pankki Rally in Finland. She was 24th in a Subaru Impreza STi, co-driven by Peter Flythstrom.

In 2020 she made a surprise return to competition as a rallycross driver. She won the inaugural Projekt E rallycross series, which uses an electric Ford Fiesta. She was the first driver to sign up for the championship, which was shortened to two rounds in Finland and Latvia due to the coronavirus crisis. 

Reports suggested that she would be the first electric car driver to enter the 5 Nations Rallycross Championship and she did drive the Fiesta at Lydden Hill once, but it seems to have been a demonstration run only.

(Image from www.motorsport.com)