Liliana de Menna

Liliana de Menna was a stalwart of the Italian touring car scene who was active between 1963 and 1994. 

Her first efforts were in races for small-engined saloons, when she competed under the name of "Liliana" in the hope that she wouldn't worry her family. She had got into motorsport after visiting the Vallelunga circuit with friends who raced; throughout her career, Vallelunga would remain her favourite circuit. She had seen world karting champion Susy Raganelli testing with her father and decided to try it for herself.

She won a saloon championship in her first year of racing, winning nine races outright. Her car was a 600cc Fiat 500 Montecarlo. 

The following year she won Class 2 of the Coppa Carotti hillclimb. She did several hillclimbs during her career; the Italian touring car championship was a combination of hillclimbs and circuit races at the time. In 1968, she finished the Cesano-Sestriere climb, in the middle of a group of Giannini Fiat 500s, as well as winning her class in the Bolzano-Mendola event.

She was the Italian ladies' champion in 1968. Her marriage to Italo Cantera did not slow her down and the pair even raced together in the Vallelunga 2 Hours one year. 

Some time at the end of the '60s, she had a daughter and took a lengthy hiatus from motorsport. She stopped attending race meetings because she didn't enjoy them without being able to compete herself. It wasn't until the late '70s that she came back. According to her, Giancarlo Naddeo asked her to join the Renault 5 one-make series, and she agreed. She also raced in single-make series for the Fiat 127 and MG Metro. This was the car she shared with her husband.

One-make racing led back to the Italian Touring Car Championship in the 1980s. In 1989, she raced at Pergusa in a Renault 5, coming 11th. She was then tenth at Vallelunga. For the second Vallelunga round, she shared an Audi Europa-run VW Golf with Michele Rayneri, but did not finish. 

She even raced for Lella Lombardi's team in the Italian Supertouring series in 1991, using a Ford Escort for the Pergusa 2 Hour race. Her team-mate was Walter Santus and they finished 18th. Earlier in the season, she had raced a Toyota Corolla in the Trofeo Mario Angiolini at Monza. 

Later in her career, she raced sportscars, including a Nissan 300ZX in 1992, which she used for that year's Vallelunga 6 Hours. She and Francesco Ramacciotti were 2st overall. In 1994, she entered the Italian Supercar GT championship in a Mazda RX-7, driving solo.  She was disqualified from the first meeting at Monza, but won her class twice at the next round, held at Magione. Her overall results were a fifth and fourth place. The next race she appeared in was round 5, at Varano, but she could only manage one twelfth place.

She raced in America for the first time in 1999, more than 30 years after she made her debut, when she did some rounds of the all-female Women's Global GT series, driving a Panoz Esperante. Her programme consisted of two guest appearances. 

She died in 2021.

(Image from Il Messaggero)

Suzie Brailsford

 

Suzie Brailsford competed in rallycross in the UK in the early 1990s.

Her career began in the summer of 1989, driving a Mini in the Minicross class. She was in her mid-20s and working as cabin crew for British Airways, which she used as a promotional talking point.

She raced a Vauxhall Nova in a one-make championship class of the British championship in 1990 and 1991. The 1990 edition was the first one-make series in British rallycross, apart from Minicross. 

The Nova and Suzie proved capable of good laps. At Lydden in July, she won a heat and was the fourth fastest in the championship, but she could not keep up the momentum through the other heats, with rain not helping matters. Among her rivals was boxer Barry McGuigan. By December, she had improved and was into the second day of heats at Brands Hatch, despite some rain, but contact with another driver put her out of the final. In between, she finished fifth at Cadwell.

In 1991, she won a race at Lydden Hill, but was later disqualified. She was announced as a driver for the 1992 series and did at least some of the races, including one at Lydden in April.

From the beginning, she was sponsored by Texaco. In 1992, she was part of a public competition organised by the company. The winner, Joyce Robertson, won herself a Renault Clio by guessing how far Suzi could drive the car on 7.5l of Texaco fuel.

She also raced a Nissan Sunny at some point, possibly a little later. In 1998, she made a comeback and competed in autocross in Suffolk, driving a Mini which she shared with Tim Compson, another former minicross competitor. 

(Image copyright Farnborough News)

Ashton Harrison

Ashton Harrison is the winner of the 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am title in an Acura NSX GT3. She has raced sportscars in the USA for several seasons.

Early on, she raced in the Mazda MX-5 Cup in the USA. She was twelfth in the 2017 championship. This was her second attempt at the series, after a part-season in 2016. In 2018, her third season, she was 15th, with three top-ten finishes. The best of these were two ninth places. Her Mazdas were always noticeable by their pink roll cages, something she began when she did her first club races two years earlier.

In a change of direction and increase in power, she was second in the LB class in the 2019 US Lamborghini Super Trofeo, with six second places and one third. She was sharing the car with Stephanie Cemo. 

Her second season in the Super Trofeo featured her first Pro-Am win at Sebring, plus two second places and four thirds. She was third in the championship alongside her team-mate Andrea Amici. 

Another third came her way in 2021, with wins at COTA and Road America. Additionally, she won a round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am Cup at Indianapolis in an Acura NSX, with Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry. This was her first race in the category and the first win for a female driver.

Following her Indianapolis win, in 2022 she was named as a Honda junior factory driver after taking part in their academy programme, with Farnbacher as her coach. This earned her a seat with the Racer’s Edge team. She and Mario Farnbacher won the Pro-Am Cup, winning four times in the Acura. They also entered the Sebring 12 Hours. 

The Super Trofeo had not been forgotten either. She and Thomas Long were third in Pro-Am with one win and ten podium finishes.

Staying with the Fanatec GT World Challenge and Racer’s Edge, she entered the Pro Cup in 2023, still sharing the GTD-spec NSX with Mario Farnbacher. The pair earned two class wins and four further podiums and were second in the Pro Cup.

She only did one IMSA race in 2024, driving a Lamborghini Huracan. Instead, she concentrated on the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. Her final championship position was eighth in the Am class, partnered by Graham Doyle. Their season highlight was a second place at Watkins Glen. The pair were tenth in the World Final at Jerez, with an eighth and a tenth-place finish.

(Image from dailysportscar.com)

Kattlyn Magno

 

Kattlyn Magno, known as Kaká, is a Brazilian driver who has raced in multiple disciplines, in Brazil and Europe.

She began her senior career in 2012 in Formula Premium Light, a single-seater series. She also tried out the Veloce sports prototype championship. It was quite a late start in cars for her; she was 24 and had been karting since she was 16. 

In 2013, she mostly seems to have competed in kart races, but she did do some dirt-track racing in aid of a breast cancer charity. At the end of 2013, she was chosen as Brazil’s candidate for the FIA Women in Motorsport VW Scirocco-R Shootout, competing for a Scirocco prize-drive in 2014. This was her first racing trip to Europe. A key supporter in this adventure was Emerson Fittipaldi, who met Kaká through Bia Figueiredo.

She did not win the championship spot, although she performed well in the event. A move to race in a Lotus-based championship, possibly the Ladies’ Cup, also did not come off.

Back in Brazil, she made some appearances in the 2014 Mercedes Benz Challenge C250 Cup. She was second at San Pablo, a highlight of her career that showed what she was capable of. 

She raced in the Mercedes one-make series again in 2015, but was not among the front-runners. 

In 2016, she changed direction again, and entered Formula Inter, a junior single-seater series in Brazil. She scored at least one second place. 

She moved on to SudAm Formula 4 in 2017, having sold raffle tickets to be able to afford the fees and pay her mechanic. 

After a single season in F4, she then raced Superkarts in 2018. 

In 2021, she did some rounds of the Italian prototype championship, sharing a Wolf sportscar. This was a second attempt at a move to Italy; she had planned to race in the Griiip G1 single-seater championship in 2020 before the global coronavirus crisis intervened. Instead, she made do with a Griiip sim racing series.

Sadly, her Prototype challenge ended after the Monza races, which she did not even start.

In a switch of disciplines, she competed in the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games in the Slalom category. She and Bruno Pierozan were 17th overall. She contested the Stock Car series in Brazil in 2023, competing in its second-tier championship. From her earliest media interviews, she has always claimed this was her goal. She did another season of the second-level Stock series in 2014, finishing twelfth in the championship, with a best finish of seventh at Goiania.

Image copyright Acervo Pessoal

Corinne Armagnac

 

Corinne (far right) with (L-R) Sandrine Nahon, Muriel Osimeck and Giovanna Amati, 1990

Corinne Armagnac raced single-seaters in France in the 1990s, then switched to tin-tops after taking a break to have children.

Born in 1962, she is the daughter of sportscar racer Paul Armagnac, the youngest of four girls. Her life began tragically; her mother died in childbirth and her father was killed in a crash at the Paris 1000km, held at Montlhery, when she was only a few months old.

She competed in Formula Ford 1600 in France between 1987 and 1993. She seems to have done part-seasons in the French championship, at least to begin with. At the time, the French FF1600 series had qualification races known as the “Loctite Trophy”. The top 28 would progress to the main draw. Corinne was usually part of the Loctite Trophy field.

In 1988 she was part of the Faster team alongside Pierre de Thoisy.

In 1990, she was the team-mate of Sandrine Nahon and drove a Van Diemen RF89. Sandrine was the faster of the two, despite being barely out of her teens. At that year’s Pau Grand Prix, she was pictured in a French magazine alongside Sandrine, Giovanna Amati who was competing in Formula 3000 and Formula Renault racer Muriel Osimeck, four women who were in action at the same meeting. 

Relations between Sandrine and Corinne were not always completely straightforward; Corinne was supported by Loctite as their featured female driver, despite Sandrine’s superior pace.

In 1993, she returned to the championship, for some rounds at least. Her race results and even her championship positions are not forthcoming. 

In 2001, she came out of retirement to drive in the Peugeot 306 Cup, after taking a long break to have a family. At some point, she also raced in a Citroen Saxo one-make series.

(Image copyright Pyrenees Presse, posted by Autodiva member “nahonenleretour”)

Sheena Monk

 

Sheena Monk races sportscars in the USA. 

At first she raced in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo. She picked up her first podium at the end of 2017 at Imola, in her second-ever race in the Huracan. The Trofeo was her first experience of motorsport, having undergone a fast-track racing license course with Lamborghini when she was 28. She had never raced anything before that.

Her first full racing season was the 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo, competing in the LB Cup. She scored her first class win at Virginia International Raceway. 

Sheena made the headlines for the wrong reasons in September 2018 when she crashed her Huracan heavily at Laguna Seca. This was the last meeting of the season and she missed the final race, although this was the last of her worries at the time. Her car may have suffered a brake failure going into the Corkscrew and she hit a tyre wall, leaving her with nine separate fractures.

In 2019, still in pain and healing from her injuries, she returned to the Super Trofeo in the States. Despite her setbacks, she ended the season fourth in the championship with five thirds and one second place. She travelled to Europe for the World Final and was fifth at Jerez. This came after she had tried out for the all-female W Series in Austria. She did not progress beyond the first selection event, but it did not harm her career.

2020 was a great year for her; she raced a McLaren 570S in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and won the Grand Sport class at Road America. She and Corey Lewis were ninth in the championship. 

A second season in the car gave her sixth in the championship, with one podium position at Watkins Glen, a third. She and Spencer Pigot were more consistent this year and only out of the top ten twice, which included the Lime Rock round which they did not finish.

Pairing up with Kyle Marcelli, she tackled the Pilot Challenge again in 2022, initially driving a Toyota Supra GT4. They were twelfth in the Grand Sport class at Daytona, but Kyle had a big accident at Sebring, necessitating a change of car for the rest of the season. It took them some time to get to grips with the Ford Mustang, but by the end of the year they were up to speed, finishing third at Lime Rock and second at Virginia. They were eighth overall.

An all-female partnership with Katherine Legge followed in 2023, driving an Acura for Gradient Racing in the IMSA GTD class. They were eighth in a hotly-contested class, including a class fourth at the Daytona 24 Hours with two other co-drivers. This was their best result; their highest finish in a shorter race was fifth, at Watkins Glen.

The GTD campaign for Gradient continued in 2024. Sheena was the principal driver this time, doing all eleven rounds. Her usual team-mate was Stevan McAleer, with Tatiana Calderon joining them for five races, and Katherine Legge for two, Daytona and Sebring. They were 19th and 17th in these two races, despite not finishing at Daytona. Sheena's personal best finish was a class third at Elkhart Lake and she was twelfth in the championship.

(Image copyright Sheena Monk)

Marie Baus-Coppens

 

Marie Baus-Coppens is a French driver who has spent most of her career in one-make series in Europe.

She began racing in 2010, aged 19, after some time karting in France. She entered the F4 Eurocup, but did not score any points, having a best finish of 16th at Catalunya and Spa. Sticking with F4, she drove in the French championship in 2011, and did slightly better, managing a thirteenth spot at Pau. 

In 2012, she switched to saloon cars, in the form of the Peugeot RCZ Racing Cup, and fared much better. She achieved five top ten finishes, including a fourth at Magny-Cours, and was tenth overall. 

She continued in the RCZ Cup in 2013, but only made a few appearances in the RCZ Cup as well as some guest appearances in the 208 Cup. This meant that she was unable to make much of an impression on the championship tables in either.

In 2014, she switched allegiance from Peugeot to SEAT, an arrangement that lasted for the next three seasons.

She first raced in the SEAT Leon Eurocup in 2014. Early in the season, she was eighth at the Nürburgring. For the rest of the year, she could not match this, and she was 20th overall. 

In her second season she could only manage a fourteenth place at Barcelona as her best result. She also missed one race, at Monza, due to damaging her car in an accident in Race 1. She was 24th overall. 

A third Eurocup season started more promisingly, with a ninth and eighth at Paul Ricard. She earned two more tenths during the season, and was 19th, after missing the first four races. 

2017 was a quiet season for her; she did two races in the Peugeot 308 Cup, at Magny-Cours, and was 13th and 15th. 

It was both a return and a step up for her in 2018. She raced a SEAT again, but in the European and Benelux TCR championships.

She was not especially competitive in the European series but finished seventh in the Benelux edition, with two fourth places at Catalunya. 

She stuck with the European series in 2019, still in the JSB Competition Cupra she had raced previously, and had a similar season. The following year, she moved into the Ultimate Cup Series, racing a Peugeot in the Challenge GT Sprint championship. Since then, she has raced much less.

(Image copyright SEAT Sport)

Ivana Giustri

 

Ivana Giustri was an Italian driver who competed in both circuit racing and rallying, winning women’s titles in both.

The car she was most associated with is the Alpine-Renault A110. She entered the Giro d’Italia three times, between 1973 and 1975, in an Alpine each time. Her best finish seems to have been 44th, in 1974, driving with Bruno Bocconi for a second time. In 1975, she was part of an all-female team with Cica Lurani. Their result is not forthcoming.

Still with Renault power, she was invited to take part in a Monte Carlo Grand Prix support race in 1975. Twelve female drivers from around the world raced Renault 5s on the GP track, with Ivana finishing third. Promotional materials of the time describe her as having won eleven races  in a 1971 Group 4 championship and five in 1972, driving an Alpine-Renault.

Earlier in her rally career, she drove a Lancia Fulvia, between 1970 and 1972. Her first major rally seems to have been the Isola d’Elba event in 1972, a European Championship round. She did not finish. At the same time, she was campaigning the car in European hillclimbs. She won the Italian women’s rally championship on at least one occasion.

Later, in 1980, she entered the Vallelunga 6 Hours with Bruno Bocconi in a Porsche 930, but did not qualify. In between, she did at least two seasons in the Renault 5 Cup, in 1976 and 1979. The second was as part of an all-female team with Caterina Baldoni and Nicoletta Mista. Ivana had started the season as the favourite for the Ladies’ Trophy, but Nicoletta proved faster.

(Image copyright Luigi Calamai)

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)

Caterina Baldoni

 

Caterina (second left) with her Aseptogyl team-mates

Caterina Baldoni is an Italian race and rally driver now more famous for her glamorous image than for her results.

She was part of one of the later incarnations of Team Aseptogyl in the late 1970s, when it was associated with Fiat, and with Italian drivers. It was Aseptogyl which brought her in to rallying.

In 1978, she is recorded as having taken part in the Quattro Regioni Rally in Italy, in a Fiat 128. Her navigator was Cristina Bertone. At the end of the year, she was part of a three-car Aseptogyl entry for the Rally Valle d’Aosta. Thirty-sixth placed Margarita Corio was the team’s leading finisher, with Caterina in 45th. Maurizia Baresi did not finish.

She remained with the team for another season in 1979. Luisa Zumelli partnered Caterina for that year’s Citta di Modena Rally and the San Marino Rally, which was their better event and gave them a 45th place.

After moving away from the declining Aseptogyl setup in 1980, she rallied a Jolly Club Autobianchi A112 in a one-make series in Italy. Her best result was 33rd in the Sanremo Rally.

Prior to her Aseptogyl adventures, she raced an Alpine R5 on the circuits, with limited success. Her circuit career overlapped with her time on the stages; she was part of an all-female Renault 5 team with Ivana Giustri and Nicoletta Misto. She does not appear to have done the whole season.

She had been interested in cars from a young age and performed some of her own mechanical work on her Fiat 500.

Her nickname was “The Pink Panther” due to her pink cars. It was occasionally hinted that she had some involvement with Gianni Agnelli of Fiat, which she never confirmed or denied.

Before and during her time as a rally driver, she worked as a model, which gained her considerable media attention. In the early 1980s she won the TV quiz show “Flash”, with her specialist subject being Enzo Ferrari. 

She later married and was known as Caterina Taglliatest.

Robyn Kruger (Stiel)

 

Robyn Kruger (now known as Robyn Kriel) is a South African driver who usually races a Volkswagen Polo, often in one-make series.

She began karting at five, and moved into circuit racing at fifteen in the Super Hatch series, driving a Ford Fiesta. She won her class championship in the category in 2006 and 2007. 

The following year, she moved into the Engen Volkswagen Cup, a South African one-make championship. In her first year she was fifteenth overall. 

In 2009, driving a Polo, she improved her finishing position to tenth, then ninth in 2011. 

She achieved her first VW Cup podium position in 2012, at Zwartkops. Her final championship position was eleventh. 

In 2013, her career went international. She travelled to Buddh in India for a guest appearance in the VW Polo R Cup, in which she was second, behind her brother Jeffrey Kruger. She was also selected for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s VW Scirocco-R Shootout, and got to the final stage, finishing fourth overall. This made up for crashing out of the first SA VW Cup round earlier in the year.

She raced less than previously in 2014, taking part in club Superhatch racing in the Polo. She scored at least one second place at Kyalami. As well as the Polo, she used a Ford Ka in Superhatch races in 2016.

Apart from occasionally racing a Lotus 7 in historic events, she only took part in the bigger 2018 endurance races in the Polo, which continued in 2019. She and Stiaan won their class in the Phakisa 200 in 2018. Robyn and Stiaan, who later married, raced together for the first time in 2017. They used his VW Polo for endurance races, starting with the Phakisa 200. It was about six months before the team raced again.

In 2020, Robyn raced in the VW Challenge again, finishing seventh in the final standings. This was combined with endurance racing, including a fourteenth place in the Phakisa 200 with Robbie Da Silva.

She switched to sportscars in 2021, racing a Lexus-engined Backdraft Cobra Roadster with Stiaan and Kosie Weyers.

Away from the track, Robyn works as a teacher.

(Image from motorsport.co.za)

Carlotta Fedeli

 

Carlotta Fedeli races saloons in Italy and has been a regular in both one-make series and the Italian TCR championship.

Her first year as a competitive racing driver was 2011, when she took part in the Italian production touring car championship in a Mini. Before that, she was active in karting.

Keeping the Mini but jumping into a new championship, she raced in the Italian Mini Challenge for two part-seasons in 2012 and 2013. The second season was combined with a part-season in the Cupra Ibiza Cup. This was the beginning of a long-term relationship with SEAT, usually in endurance-based competition. 

Following another year in a Cupra one-make series, she made her debut in the Italian Touring Endurance Championship (CITE) in 2015. Supported by the SEAT factory, she was third in the TCR section with three podium finishes. She won the Junior and Ladies’ titles. 

She did a fourth season in a SEAT in 2016, racing in the Leon Eurocup. Her best result was a second place at Mugello, and she would have been a contender for a top-five championship result without a DNF and an indifferent round mid-season. This drive included guest appearances in the TCR International Series in Italy and she picked up a ninth position at Imola. 

It was time for a new challenge. She entered the Italian TCR championship again in 2017, this time driving an Audi RS3. Unfortunately, she was disqualified from one race and did not finish the other. 

After a year off to have a baby daughter, she returned to motorsport in 2019, racing a SEAT Cupra in the TCR DSG Endurance series. She was fourth overall with three third places at Vallelunga, Monza and Misano. 

A second season in the series gave her sixth place, with one third at Mugello. Her car was a Volkswagen Golf run by Scuderia del Girasole (“Team Sunflower” in English).

The same year, she attempted to qualify for the all-female W Series, but was rejected after the first round of assessments. She returned to the TCR championship in 2020 and was sixth in the DSG class, with a best finish of third at Mugello. She was driving the Golf again.

Going back to Audi power, she signed for RC Motorsport in 2021, racing in the Italian TCR championship. She won the DSG Endurance title with five class wins. She shared her car with multiple Le Mans winner Emmanuele Pirro for the last race of the season.

After a break, she returned to the Italian Touring Car Championship for 2023. She drove an Audi LMS in TCR trim and later, DSG trim. The latter car worked better for her; she won the first race at Imola and was second or third in the other three races of the series.

2024's racing was limited to three guest appearances in the Italian Touring Car Championship, driving an Audi RS3 LMS DSG. She was ninth and eighth at Vallelunga.

(Image from iltornante.it)

Tasmin Pepper

 Tasmin Pepper is a well-travelled driver from South Africa who has experienced success in both single-seaters and saloons, including race wins in both. 

She began racing in the 2006 South African Formula Ford Championship, aged sixteen. For her first couple of  seasons she combined karting with Formula Ford. Despite this, she was fourth in 2007 and claimed her first podium finishes. Tannith Gardiner stood in for her at Zwartkops.

Moving up the single-seater ladder in 2008, she entered the South African Formula Volkswagen series, a new championship launched that year using Reynard chassis previously raced in Germany. As well as this she raced in Formula BMW Pacific, racing all over Asia as well as her homeland, including three support slots for Formula 1 races. Her best finishes in both championships were fourth places. She was seventh in Formula Volkswagen and thirteenth in Formula BMW. 

A season spent closer to home was rewarded with her first win, at Kyalami, driving a Formula Volkswagen in the South African championship. Another three podiums at Kyalami and Killarney confirmed her fourth place.

In 2010, she continued where she left off, finishing second in the championship with another win at East London and ten podium places. When she finished, she was never out of the top ten, and almost always in the top five. 

She challenged again in the 2011 Formula VW series. Sadly, she did not win this time, although she was rarely out of the top five. She was fourth overall. 

After 2012, she switched from the declining Formula VW to saloon car racing in the Wesbank Super Series, driving a VW Golf. She also returned to karting, including some visits to Europe for the X30 series after winning the South African edition in 2011. Her win was repeated in 2012. 

Volkswagens were to be her favoured car for six seasons and in 2013, she added more wins to her tally: a round of the Polo Cup at Phakisa. Later that year, she was selected for the FIA VW Scirocco R-Cup ladies' evaluation tests, but did not win the following Shootout in Europe. 

She returned home to the Polo Cup in 2014, ending the season fourth overall. This was one of her best final finishing positions, although she bettered it in 2016 and 2018 with second places and outright race wins.

In 2019, she qualified for the all-female W Series, despite being out of single-seater racing for some time. She was a solid midfield but not spectacular finisher, racing in Europe. Her best finish was sixth at Zolder, which she repeated in the non-championship race at Assen. W Series did not run in 2020 due to the global coronavirus crisis, but she was set to compete again in 2021. Sadly, coronavirus seriously curtailed travel to and from South Africa and she was unable to race at all.

She is from a motorsport family; her brother Jordan races and her father Iain used to. She has been involved in one form of racing or another since she was four.

(Image copyright Reynard Gelderblom/Wheels24)

Sandrine Nahon

 

Sandrine Nahon raced single-seaters in France up to Formula 3 level in the 1990s.

Her single-seater career began with Formula Ford in 1988. After reaching the finals of the Volant Palmyr Formula Ford driving school at Ledenon, she won the “Premier Pas” series for newcomers and was fourth in the “B” class of the main French championship.

She continued in 1989 and 1990, driving for the AMEF and Graff teams. She won at least one race at Montlhery in 1989 and was second in the Federal Trophy on the strength of this. She was second in the B championship the following year. 

Her earliest racing exploits had been in karting from the age of 11, winning ten championships at club and national level between 1981 and 1987. In 1987, aged 17, she also tried rallying, co-driving for her father, Christian. Later, she did try a couple of rallies as a driver, including the 1990 Monte Carlo Rally. She drove a Ford Sierra Cosworth and was 82nd, from 112 finishers.

Christian Nahon was instrumental in Sandrine’s career development. Her early enthusiasm started to turn into real talent in a Formula Ford and Christian sought to push her further into the limelight. In 1989, when she was still only 19, he attempted to broker a seat in a Courage prototype for Le Mans, but another driver pulled out and it did not happen.

Christian had worked for Renault and run the company’s southern African operations; Sandrine was born in Zambia. After impressing in Formula Ford, she was offered drives in Formula Renault, but preferred to go the Formula 3 route. Christian was in negotiations with a major oil company sponsor for his daughter but could not agree terms and the firm went with another female driver instead. This meant that Sandrine’s F3 efforts were largely self-financed.

She moved up to Formula 3 in 1991 and joined the French championship as a private entry. Despite a reliable car, she struggled for speed and ran at or close to the back of the grid. Her best result was probably a 20th place at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, ahead of Bernard Cognet and Marc Rostan. 

She returned in 1992 for a part-season, driving the same Reynard 903, but did not get into the top ten. The 903, not one of Reynard’s most celebrated creations, was less reliable this year: the engine failed at Albi and a throttle problem put her out of the Coupe de Bourgogne at Dijon. Her best result was an 18th place at Magny-Cours.

As well as the French F3 championship, Sandrine drove her Reynard in French hillclimbs, winning at least three Coupe des Dames awards in 1991 and 1992.

Afterwards, she took a break from circuit-based competition, before reappearing in 1994 at the wheel of a Peugeot 905 Spider. She was team-mate to Cathy Muller and finished sixth in the Spider Cup in France. This was not her first experience with a Peugeot. In 1989, she had raced a 309 in a French one-make series.

Another hiatus followed, chiefly due to the death of her father in 1995.

1998 appears to have been her last year of competition, when she took part in some Formula Ford 1800 races, winning at least one round of the French winter series. She had raced on and off in this formula since 1996, when she returned to the tracks with the support of her partner, Frederic Martin. After this, she hung up her helmet at the age of 28.

Frederic Martin has shared a lot of information about Sandrine on the Autodiva forums, for which I am grateful.

Charlotte Birch

 

Charlotte Birch is a British sportscar racer who is most associated with Ginettas.

Her career started early. She began racing cars at fourteen. Unusually, she stepped straight into junior motorsport without having done any karting beforehand. 

Her first destination in cars was the Junior Saloon Car Championship in the UK in 2017. In her first year she had a best finish of tenth, at Rockingham, Knockhill, Croft and Brands Hatch. She was fourteenth in the championship.

This improved to second in 2018, at Anglesey, plus a third place at Rockingham. The Anglesey podium came after a tenth-place grid start. She continued to improve in spite of quite a nasty accident at Silverstone at the start of the season. A couple of missed races and some indifferent finishes meant that she was thirteenth overall, a final leaderboard position that did not quite demonstrate her ability.

Her aim is to race in the BTCC or endurance racing and she took her first step towards this by competing in the senior Ginetta G40 championship in 2019. She was seventh in the championship after contesting all of the rounds apart from the Zandvoort away weekend and had a best finish of seventh, which she earned three times, at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch. 

In 2020, she raced a Vinna Sport Ginetta in the Britcar Trophy with Adriano Medeiros. Charlotte led the championship mid-season but dropped scores meant that she was fourth in the end, third in class. Charlotte was often the fastest driver in her class and ran as well as the highly-experienced Adriano Medeiros. 

She raced the Vinna Ginetta again in 2021, attempting to continue her form as a solo driver in Britcar. It turned out to be a very shortened season, but she did return to the Endurance class in a Ligier prototype at the end of the season. She and Jamie Vinall-Meyer won their class at Donington in October.

Vinna and Charlotte also founded a prize for the best female driver in the JSCC. Charlotte also appeared on BBC's Top Gear in a group of current and recent JSCC drivers for a racing segment.

She moved away from the Vinna operation as a driver in 2022, joining up with Topcats Racing for the GT Cup. The car was a Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo which she shared with team owner Charlotte Gilbert. Charlotte was 14th as an individual driver in the Sprint Challenge and seventh in the Sporting Challenge with her team-mate.

There was not much racing for Charlotte in 2023; she worked as a team manager for Vinna and did some rounds of the Honda Civic Cup towards the end of the year. She also tried out for the Rafa Racing Porsche scholarship in the USA, but was not selected.

In 2024, she also competed quite irregularly, racing a Honda Civic in two rounds of the Milltek Civic Cup in the UK. She also reunited with a Ginetta G55 for a round of the British Endurance Championship.

(Image copyright Charlotte Birch)

Caroline Grifnee

Caroline Grifnée was a driver and team manager from Belgium.

She first made her mark on the scene when she drove for the Daikin team in Belcar in 2005 and 2006, with Alexandra van de Velde. In the first year, she was a third driver in a BMW Mini, but she replaced team leader Vanina Ickx in 2006. Their car was due to be a Ferrari 360, but a heavy practice crash and loss of a sponsor meant this was changed to a BMW 120d. 

The team also took part in some Dutch Supercar rounds and won their class at Spa. 

Belcar was not her first racing adventure. She had begun competing in a 2CV in 2000, which she raced until 2002. One year, she was part of the winning team for the Spa 2CV 24 Hours. She also took part in the 2003 Toyota Yaris Cup in Belgium.

After leaving the Daikin set-up at the end of 2006, she concentrated on her career at Renault Sport, moving from logistics to project management for the Renault Sport experience.

Back in a car on the international stage, she drove a Porsche 997 GT3 for Speed Lover at the 2009 Dubai 24 Hours. Her team-mates were Jose Close, Victor Rodrigues and Jim Michaelian. They did not finish. 

In 2009 and 2010, she competed in Renault one-make series, including the Renault Megane Eurocup in 2010. Unfortunately, her time in the Megane series was ended by a massive crash at Silverstone, which observers note she was lucky to survive. The car flipped five times and lost most of its bodywork, but Caroline walked away from the accident needing only precautionary treatment.

In 2011, she drove again in the Dubai 24 Hours, winning Class A2 in a Renault Clio as part of the iOpener team. She raced in the Endurance section of the Clio Cup the following year.

Apart from a course car run in the 2013 Criterium Jurassien in a Renault Twingo, alongside Margot Laffite, she did not actually compete much for a few years. Her work at Renault led to occasional guest appearances like the Jurassien rally.

After 2014, she took to historic racing. The first historic car she drove was a Porsche 911 in the Le Mans Classic, and she was 31st in Plateau 4. Her co-driver was Carolyn Twaites. 

In 2017, she raced a Chevron B16 at Spa, part of the FIA Masters Historic Sportscar Championship. She was 17th. In 2018 and 2019, she continued in historics, racing the Chevron at Le Mans and also a Ford Escort and Porsche 911 around Europe. The MkI Escort was a favoured car for a few seasons and a video of her racing at Paul Ricard in 2019 became a Youtube hit, earning her plaudits for her impressive car control. She finished sixth in class from 23rd on the grid, with a class win.

She raced the Chevron at Estoril in the 2020 Classic Endurance race, finishing second in class. 

As a team manager, some of her most noted successes were drivers she helped through the DAMS Formula Renault 3.5 team. Among them was 2014 winner Carlos Sainz Jr.

She followed DAMS into Formula E in 2015 and was part of its management team for two teams’ and one drivers’ championship, alongside Alain Prost. After the 2017 season, she left to found her own track day company, Historic Track Day by Caroline, specialising in events for historic cars.

Caroline died suddenly in February 2021. The remaining “By Caroline” track days planned will take place.

Hannah Chapman

 

Hannah Chapman is a Scottish driver who races a Mini Cooper, in Scotland and around the UK.

She began racing the Mini in 2013, with a part-season in the Celtic Speed Mini Cooper Cup. This followed a successful karting career from the age of 14. Her campaign was shortened by a crash which wrote her car off; another competitor went off-track in front of her and she was unable to swerve.

She was both Newcomers’ and Ladies’ champion in the 2014 Scottish Mini Cooper Cup. In the main championship, she was 18th, after a somewhat up and down season. 

Another three seasons racing in Scotland followed, during which time she got right on the pace. In 2015, she was fifth in the overall championship, with a best finish of sixth. She won the Ladies’ trophy from Taeler Shand, her biggest rival at the time. The following year, Taelor fought back for the Ladies’ title. She prevailed despite Hannah having the stronger finishing record, as she had completed more rounds. Hannah was tenth overall but had the consolation of earning her first outright win at Knockhill. 

She returned in 2017 and was fifth in the main championship again, with two wins. 

She was seventh overall in 2018 with two second places at Knockhill. 

Competition further afield beckoned. In 2019, she was ninth in the Cooper Pro class of the UK Mini Challenge, which supports the British Touring Car Championship. It was something of a learning curve but she really improved towards the end of the season, picking up a second place at Cadwell Park. 

She moved up to the JCW class in 2020 and had best finishes of 14th at Knockhill and Silverstone. Her switch-up came about quite quickly and she joined at the fourth round, held at Knockhill. She was 23rd in the final standings, ahead of her Lux Motorsport Team B team-mate. The JCW class uses 240hp+ turbo cars and is the most powerful and competitive in the championship.

Her final position improved to 19th in 2021 and she was the best female driver in the championship. Her best circuit was Knockhill, her home track, although she suffered contact in the first race and had to play catch-up.

Another JCW season beckoned in 2022. After a part-season of just under half of the rounds, she was 28th overall. Oulton Park was her best circuit this year; she earned a 15th and 16th place there.

She did not race in 2023 but planned to return. Her 2024 campaign was another part-season in the JCW Sport class, but she made the most of it by finishing on the podium in all five of her races, winning one at Knockhill.

Hannah is famous for her pink car. She enjoys adding a little femininity to her racing.

(Image copyright Hannah Chapman)

Jasmin Preisig

 

Jasmin Preisig is a Swiss saloon racer whose speciality is endurance events.

She began her senior career in 2012 with a guest spot in the Chevrolet Cruze Cup, before taking on the 2013 Opel Astra OPC Cup season in Germany. Her most noteworthy result was a sixth place in the 6-Hour race that was part of that series. She also competed in hillclimbs in a KTM X-Bow. 

At the beginning of 2014, she was one of a small number of drivers selected for a scholarship drive in the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup. It was a difficult learning year for her, but her results did improve, and her best was an eleventh place at the Nürburgring. Towards the end of the season, she was getting closer to the top ten and was 18th overall. 

In 2015, she took part again in the OPC Astra Cup, a one-make championship within the VLN. She was third overall with one second place. 

She continued to race the Astra in 2016 in some rounds of the ADAC TCR touring car series. Her best finish was a twelfth place at Hockenheim, from four races. 

She did a full TCR season in 2017, driving the Astra, and earned her first TCR top-ten: a tenth place at the Nürburgring. She was 31st in the championship. At the end of the season she had a dramatic accident at Hockenheim and had to be cut from her car, but she escaped serious injury.

She drove a similar car for Steibel Motorsport in 2018 and the Nürburgring was her best track once again and the scene of her best finish, an eleventh place. She bounced back from her 2017 accident to finish 22nd in the championship. 

Her links with the Lubner team, with whom she had competed since 2016, continued in the 2018 VLN. She drove their Astra for one round in the TCR class. 

In 2019, she was part of Carrie Schreiner's all-female "Girls Only" team for the VLN, driving a VW Golf. She did two rounds of the championship, finishing second and fifth in the SP3T class with Carrie Schreiner and Ronja Assmann. The same team entered the Nurburgring 24 Hours but did not finish. 

Jasmin then left Girls Only and joined up with Max Kruse Racing for the rest of the season. She and her team-mates finished four of their six races in their Golf, with every finish being on the podium in their class: three seconds and one third. Jasmin was eighth in the TCR drivers’ standings.

She rejoined the team for two rounds of the 2020 championship. The Golf was now running in the SP3T class for VLN specials up to 2000cc. Jasmin and her team-mates, Benjamin Leuchter and Andreas Gulden won their class twice. They were fifth overall.

For the rest of the year, she moved to the Creventic 24H Series Continents with the Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power team. Their car was a TCR-spec Golf. Jasmin did not finish the Portimao 12 Hours, but she was second in the first part of the Hockenheim race and won the second leg. She also recorded two third places in the two Mugello races. The Number 1 car which she raced in was third in the TCE teams’ standings and Jasmin was crowned 24H Series ladies’ champion. 

Another season in the Golf in the 24H Series gave her a third place in the TCR class, which probably would have been a class title had she contested the whole season with Autorama Motorsport. She and her team-mates won at Hockenheim and the Hungaroring and were second in their other four races.

A similar Golf, run by the Max Kruse team this time, was second in class in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, with Jasmin and three team-mates at the wheel. They were 39th overall from 99 finishers. Jasmin joined them again for three rounds of the NLS (VLN), winning twice and finishing second once.

She only did one race at the Nurburgring in the Golf in 2022, finishing second in class. More of her season was spent in another Golf run by Autorama and Wolf-Power Racing, competing in the 24H TCE Series. She and her team-mates were fourth in class in the season-opening Dubai 24 Hours, then third at Mugello and fourth at Spa, with a fastest class lap.

She entered the 24H of Dubai in 2023, driving an Audi RS3 for Wolf-Power as part of a four-driver team. They were 37th overall and third in the TCR class. She also did the Abu Dhabi, Spa and Barcelona 24H races. She was second in class at Spa and 29th overall, then won the TCR class at Barcelona, finishing 22nd.

The VLN was her main focus in 2024, in an Aston Martin Vantage. She and her team-mates won their class in Round 4. They also entered the Nurburgring 24 Hours, finishing fourth in class and 39th overall, in what was the shortest 24H race in history, curtailed by fog.

(Image copyright Jasmin Preisig)