Cindy Gudet

Cindy Gudet is a championship-winning French hillclimber who has made the jump from speed events to sportscar racing.

Her background is predominantly hillclimbs, although not exclusively. She made guest appearances in rallies and in ice racing for several seasons before making the switch to sportscars on circuits in 2024.

She has been successful in hillclimbing since 2017, winning six national titles in production sportscars, most notably a Revolt 2P0 prototype. In 2023, she signed up for the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, a single-make rally championship based in Germany, running as an official FFSA Academy entry with Cecile Marie as co-driver. Sarah Rumeau, a future French champion and Iron Dames driver, was also selected. After a guest appearance in the Rallye Regional de Quercy, driving a Peugeot 106, she was tenth in the Opel class in her first event in the car, the Rally Sulingen. Her best result of the year was a sixth place in her home Opel event, the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est. Her final position on the e-Rally Cup leaderboard was eighth, after six to-ten finishes.

As well as the ADAC series, she did another French regional rally in a Peugeot 208 R2, finishing the Savoie-Chautagne National Rallye in 29th place, from 58 finishers.

Her circuit career began in 2022, although on ice rather than on asphalt. She was invited to contest the Andros Stars ice racing series, which used electric cars and was open to selected guest drivers only, from the worlds of motorsport, other sport and celebrity. This seems to have been her first experience of driving on a track with other cars around her. She must have impressed Yvan Muller's team, which took her on for the 2023-2024 season as a driver in the Elite class. This was the last running of the Andros Trophy.

In 2024, she raced on the circuits, entering the GT4 European Series in a Toyota GR Supra, sharing with Gabriela Jilkova. Their car was run by Matmut Evolution, Jerome Policand's team, which had been taking steps to support female talent in the past season or so.

They were seventh in their class, with two podium finishes, a third place in Round 1 at Paul Ricard and another third at the season finale in Jeddah.

Driving solo, Cindy was fifth in the Ligier European Series, with her best finish being second at Portimao. She did almost the full season, only missing the Spa races, driving for the M Racing team. She was their highest-placed finisher in the squad.

She and Gabriela were signed again to race in the Supra in the 2025 GT4 European Series. She will also do another season in the Ligier. 

(Image copyright Cindy Gudet)

Sarah Rumeau

 

Sarah Rumeau is a French rally driver who had her first season of competition in 2021, finishing thirteenth in the French junior championship and winning a French women’s title. 

Her entry into rallying came after a single year spent racing a Caterham in France. This brought her to the attention of the FFSA’s Rallye Jeunes programme, which produced Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier. She made the final of its selection event and was the best female driver. Initially, she wrote off rallying as unaffordable for her, but she managed to put a schedule together for 2021.

She started off in a Ford Fiesta but switched to a Peugeot 208 in September. Her first rally in it was the Mont Blanc-Morzine Rally, and she was 67th from 163 finishers. It was in this car that she had her best finish of the year, a 22nd place in the Antibes-Cote d’Azur Rally with a Junior class win. The Fiesta was not as quick as the Peugeot. She managed one of her four women’s class wins on the Rallye Aveyron-Rouergue Occitanie, but her results were notably not as strong.

Her new car for 2022 was an Opel Corsa Rally4. She began her year with a Coupe des Dames in the Rallye Le Touquet - Pas-de-Calais, finishing 40th out of 124 crews with Julie Amblard, her regular navigator. Another ladies’ win was supplemented with a second place in Rally4 in the Rhone Charbonnieres event, 25th overall. This was one of four Rally4 runner-up spots she earned in 2022, helping her to second in the 2WD Tarmac championship and also in the Amateur Trophy. Her best overall finish was a 22nd place in the Rallye d’Antibes - Cote d’Azur, although she was a consistent top-25 finisher this year, sometimes in events with a longer list of finishers.

Her plans for 2023 included moving on to a Rally3-spec car, but she remained with a Rally4 Peugeot, as well as an Opel Corsa-e Rally, an electric car in a one-make series. She travelled throughout Europe with the Corsa-e and was competitive, finishing fourth in the championship. Her best finish was third, in the Rallye Mont-Blanc-Morzine. In the Peugeot, a 208, her best finish was 23rd in the Terre de Vaucluse Rally.

At the start of 2024, Sarah and Julie were picked up by the Iron Dames team as their first rally drivers. They entered the French Tarmac and Gravel championships in a Ford Fiesta Rally2. Sarah's pace instantly improved and she was sixth in her first event in the car, the Rallye Nationale de la Cote Fleurie. She was a consistent top-ten finisher on both surfaces, with a best finish of fifth, achieved twice in the Aveyron Rouergue-Occitanie and Terre de Lozere rallies, one asphalt and one gravel. Her final championship position in both championship was sixth and she picked up another ladies' trophy.

In 2025, she will be competing again for the Iron Dames in a Citroen C3 Rally2, taking on the World Championship this time.

Prior to her motorsport career, she played handball competitively.

(Image copyright Sarah Rumeau)

Kirsti Airikkala

 

Kirsti Airikkala rallied in Finland from 1968 and throughout most of the 1970s. She was twice runner-up in the Finnish ladies’ championship.

One of her first cars was an Isuzu Bellett, which she used in her first attempt at the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1968.  Her navigator for her early rallies was multiple Finnish ladies’ champion Eeva Heinonen. They were 24th in the 1000 Lakes, having already scored a 21st place in the Itaralli that year. Both Kirsti and her more famous husband, Pentti Airikkala, drove Isuzu cars at the time.

Her second 1000 Lakes Rally was in 1969, driving a Renault Gordini with Ulla Mäkelä. She drove in the event four more times, in 1971, 1972, 1975 and 1976. In 1970 she took time out from rallying to have her son, Niko Airikkala.

Her best result was a 24th place in 1972 and she also won her class in 1975, both times driving Opel cars with Tarja Takanen. Her 1972 car was a Kadett, which was updated to an Ascona in 1975.

She also scored a class win in the Arctic Rally in 1972, and was a career-best 18th overall in a European championship event, driving an Opel Kadett. In Finnish rallies, she bettered this, also in 1972, finishing fourteenth overall in the Tott-Porrassalmi Rally.

Her most frequent navigator was Tarja Tarkanen, but she also had Ritva Rossi sitting beside her at different times. For the 1976 Mantta 200-ajo Rally, she was co-driven by Marianne Avomeri, another Finnish woman better known as a driver with a famous partner, like Kirsti herself. She would later marry Markku Alen.

In 1974, she also tried her hand at co-driving, partnering Jill Robinson in the 1000 Lakes Rally, in an Alfa Romeo. 

Kirsti never competed outside Finland, but she did settle in England with Pentti after her retirement. She stayed in the UK after her divorce from Pentti.

From a rallying family, Kirsti’s younger brother is Timo Jouhki.

(Image copyright LAT Images)

Estelle Hallyday

 

Estelle Hallyday, later known as Estelle Lefébure, is a French driver who competed in cross-country rallies and other events in the 1990s and 2000s.

She drove in rally raids in 1999 and 2000, as part of a Mitsubishi-based private team run by Luc Alphand. Among her events in this debut year was the 1999 Rally Optic 2000, co-driven by Bernadette Sacy. She competed for the team in the 2000 Tunisian Rally, and also in the Dakar, driving a Pajero. She was paired with the experienced Eric Vigouroux for the Tunisia and Dakar rallies. In an interview with Le Parisien, he praised her driving ability. Luc Alphand also admitted to being surprised by her talent in his own autobiography.

Later, she was associated with an Italian team running a Nissan Pathfinder, but she does not appear to have actually competed. 

Rally raids were not her first forays into motorsport. In 1993, she raced a Venturi prototype in the Andros Trophy. This was when she first teamed up with Bernadette Sacy. They both competed alongside Julien Beltoise in 1994. In 1996, Estelle and Bernadette shared an Opel Astra for the Chamonix 24 Hours, another major ice race. They were 29th overall.

Estelle is better known as a model and actress. She modelled throughout the 1980s and 1990s, working for many designers and appearing on the covers of fashion magazines. 

She was married to singer-songwriter David Hallyday at the time she was competing. They separated in 2001.

(Image copyright BestImage)

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)

Ann Taieth

 

Ann Taieth is a highly successful rally driver in Africa who competed between 1972 and 2011. 

She was born in Norway but lived in Kenya, where she did almost all of her rallying. 

She became the first female driver to win a Kenyan rally in 1984, when she was the victor in both the Guru Nanak and Raymond rallies. Her car was an Opel Ascona and she was second in the Kenyan championship after a second place in the Kenya Sanyo 2000 Rally, behind Shekhar Mehta. 

She did enter the Safari Rally at least seven times (in 1972, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1982 and 1984) but did not always get to the finish. Her first attempt was in a Datsun 1600 and she was 18th from 18 finishers, although 67 others did not complete the event. She had received penalties for exceeding speed limits on the road sections, which prompted some newspaper writers to express surprise that she worked as a driving instructor away from the stages.

In 1973 she drove a Datsun and was sponsored by a cosmetics company called ”Lady Gay”, finshing fourteenth. The same combination of car, driver and co-driver Silvia King did not finish the 1974 edition and they were absent from the scene for some time. Ann and Silvia did not finish the 1977 Safari in a Datsun 120Y and then retreated from the scene again. 

Ann paired up with the experienced Yvonne Mehta for the 1980 Safari, although further information is hard to find. It is likely that their car was a Datsun, as both were associated with the make at the time. A final run in a Datsun in the 1982 event ended in another DNF and it was only when she switched Japanese power for German that she really started to get the results.

Her first podium finish was in the 1983 Sanyo 2000 Rally, held around Lake Nakuru. Her car was now an Opel Ascona 400. She and Silvia were third. At the end of the year, they were seventh in the Cholaco Jamhuri Rally. Ann then teamed up with Quentin Thomson and was fourth in the Firestone Coast 600 Rally. 

Her winning season followed in the Ascona and she was second in the Kenyan championship before retiring for many years.

After a long break, she returned to the Kenyan stages in 2010, driving a Volkswagen in the S&L Mortgages Rally. At 61, she was the oldest driver to ever tackle the event. She came back in 2011 for the KCB Bankika Rally in the same car. 

She has been involved in dog breeding in East Africa in recent years.

(Image copyright Robin Hutton)

Ronja Assmann

Ronja Assmann is a Swiss driver who mainly races saloons in Germany and has competed in the Nurburgring 24 Hours as part of the all-female “Girls Only” team.

She often races a Renault Clio in Germany, driving for her family team, usually with her father, Winfried.

She began her motorsport career in 2012, at the age of 17, in a KTM X-Bow, driving in the rookie championship of the X-Bow Battle series. She was 18th overall after four races. These were her first legitimate races, although she had been learning and training in a Volkswagen Polo for a year beforehand, until she was old enough for a senior license. Unusually, she did not come through karting and jumped straight into cars. 

In 2013, she acquired the Clio, and used it in the Bohemia Clio Cup, with a best finish of eleventh, at Most. She was 20th overall and fourth in the Junior rankings, as well as becoming the championship’s youngest ever female driver.

Back in Germany, she competed in some rounds of the German Touring Car Cup, in the 2000cc and under class. She normally ran well compared to the other Clios in her races, and her best finish was eleventh overall, at Lausitz. 

In 2014, she continued to race in the same series, and used the Clio to begin with. Later, she changed it for a Porsche GT3 Cup, which gave her better results, averaging about tenth. She did not complete the season. The Porsche was run by Flying Horse Racing, her family’s team. She sampled several different championships in it, including the Porsche Sports Cup and the P9 Endurance series.

Elsewhere, she was part of the dmsj–youngster-Team for the Rundstrecken Challenge (RCN), at the Nürburgring. In a Vauxhall Astra, she achieved one win in the Junior class. During the season, she also drove the Clio and a Honda Civic in the RCN.

The dmsj team retained her services in 2015, and she competed in the VLN, in the Astra. She was twelfth in the OPC Astra Cup class of the VLN, as part of a team of three. She finished the Nürburgring 24 Hours on her first attempt, and was fourth in the Cup1 class, with Winfried and two Flying Horse team-mates. They were 61st overall. 

It was back to the RCN for the 2016 season, in the Flying Horse Porsche. She did two races in the series, as well as a decent run in the Porsche Super Sports Cup, finishing eighth in the main championship and fourth in the Endurance class. During the winter season, she travelled to the Netherlands for the Winter Endurance Championship, and was second overall in a race at Zandvoort. 

In 2017, she did her first races in the Porsche Carrera Cup, making two guest appearances at the Lausitzring. She was driving for the Cito Pretiosa team in its debut year. 

She was also fourth in the Cup 3 class of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, driving a Porsche Cayman. This was run by Arkenau team and shared with her father, Kai Riemer and Peter Scharmach. 

She did not race much in 2018, but did some training and planned to return in 2019, which she did. Ronja became part of the “Girls Only” WS team for the VLN and the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Girls Only was led by Carrie Schreiner and driving duties were shared between her, Ronja and Jasmin Preisig. The car was a Volkswagen Golf GTi, run by an all-female engineering and management team.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours was meant to be their showcase event and in a way, it was. The Golf suffered problems and had to retreat to its garage for a full engine replacement, but the team got it back on track. The car took the finish but was not classified.

The VLN was a mixed bag of outcomes. They were second in the SP3T class in the first race, although they were only 79th overall. The second race in April was abandoned due to snow, then they did not enter the third. Ronja joined another team for the ninth round, driving a Porsche Cayman alongside her father. They were eighth in the Cup 3 class.

As well as the VLN, she raced a Porsche 911 in the Porsche Super Sports Cup in Germany.

The 911 came out for the 2020 VLN, competing in the SP7 class for cars up to 4000cc. Her regular team-mate was Karl Pflanz and they were twelfth in their class championship after a part-season, missing the first round. Their best class finish was third in Round 5, held in August.

(Image copyright Ronja Assmann)

Eeva Heinonen

Eeva Heinonen was the Finnish Ladies’ Champion four times, between 1971 and 1974.

Born in 1946, she had quite an early start to her rally career, taking on her first major rallies as a driver in Finland in 1969. She had been navigating for longer, however, from at least 1965. In 1968, she sat beside Kirsti Airikkala in an Isuzu Sport.

She drove an Opel RK on the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1969, but did not finish.

The RK was a car she used for most of the early part of her career. She scored her first 1000 Lakes finish in it in 1970, when she was 25th.

At this stage of her career, she was still only competing within Finland. Her first Finnish ladies’ title was in 1971. With it came her first top-twenty finish, a 17th place in the Salpausselkä Rally.

Her first overseas event was the 1972 RAC Rally. She drove a Volvo 142 for the works team and had a British co-driver, Liz Crellin. She was 29th and beaten to the Ladies’ award by Marie-Claude Beaumont by less that two minutes. Opel driver Marie-Claude was Eeva’s regular rival for Coupes des Dames.

Marie-Claude never went near the 1000 Lakes, which was at that time dominated by local drivers, so Eeva faced less of a challenge for the Ladies’ Prize there. She was 20th overall, and this counted towards her second Finnish Ladies’ Trophy. That year, she also had her first top ten finish, coming tenth in the Arctic Tunturi Rally.

Her best international result was 18th, on the 1973 1000 Lakes Rally. She was driving a Volvo, as she usually did during the second half of her career.

She picked up another works drive for Volvo at the 1973 RAC Rally and went one-up on her French rival, Marie-Claude Beaumont. Although Eeva was only 32nd on the stages, Marie-Claude had to retire in her Opel Commodore. This international Coupe des Dames was in addition to a third Finnish ladies’ title that year.

Her 1974 season may have been curtailed by pregnancy; Ford’s Tony Mason offered her a Ford drive at the RAC Rally, which she was unable to take up. This could have been for 1974 or 1975. Tony Mason’s own writings suggest it was 1974, but it could have been either.

She was able to compete in the Arctic Rally at the end of January 1974, finishing 24th, but this was followed by a break until June. Her shortened season proved enough to retain her Ladies’ crown in Finland, but she did not get to square up to Marie-Claude Beaumont again. Domestically, her best results were two 18th places in the Kalakukko and Länsirannikon rallies, both of which had in the region of 50 finishers.

Eeva’s last season of rallying was 1975, and she finally got herself a Ford drive. She drove an Escort RS in three Finnish rallies. Her best finish was 15th in the Arctic Rally. Her season ended in March, so a pregnancy is a possible reason.

She later married Saab driver Pertti Lehtonen. In recent years she has appeared at classic motor shows in Finland. Like her countryman Ari Vatanen, she had a sojourn in politics, running for local office in the mid-1980s.

(Image from http://suomenmuseotonline.fi)

Marketta Oksala

Marketta Oksala is three-times Finnish Ladies' Champion, winning her titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977.

She was a six-times entrant of Rally Finland, with a best result of 22nd, in 1976. Her car was a Lada 1300.

Her best result in all of her eight WRC outings was 17th, in the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally, in an Alpine-Renault A310. She was competing as part of the all-female Team Aseptogyl, alongside Christine Dacremont and Colette Galli in a Lancia Stratos. Marketta was partnered by the experienced Yvonne Pratt (Mehta), rather than her usual navigator Pirjo Pynnä.

1974 seems to have been her first season of international rallying. She was 28 years old at the time. Earlier, she raced a Ford Capri on the circuits in Finland, as part of the Teboil junior team. One of her team-mates in the Finnish state oil company’s squad was Ari Vatanen.

She did one season in the Finnish rally championship in 1973, driving an Opel Ascona. She scored two top-twenty finishes in the Helsinki Rally and the Pohjola Rally. Her first 1000 Lakes ended in a 24th place.

Her first overseas rally was the 1974 RAC Rally. She drove a Hillman Avenger but did not finish. This came after a second season in the Finnish championship, driving a range of cars: Fiat 124, Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Opel Kadett. She only managed one finish, a 31st place in the Kalakukkoralli.

The Avenger became her favoured car for 1975. She won the first of her Finnish ladies’ titles with three Coupes des Dames, including one on her third 1000 Lakes Rally (she was 36th overall). Her best result was a 16th place in the Hankiralli. Away from Finland, she competed in one ice rally in Sweden, the Polar Bergslagsrallyt.

Her second Finnish ladies’ title came at the wheel of a somewhat unlikely car: a Lada 1300. This rather underpowered car nevertheless gave her her best-ever 1000 Lakes finish. She was the third Lada driver to finish and the second of the 1300cc cars. Her 21st place was the best overall result she had all season.

She also put together a string of six ladies’ awards and finished top of the women’s leaderboard, 20 points ahead of her nearest rival, Marja-Liisa Korpi.  

1977 was an inconsistent year for Marketta. She began the year with her Monte Carlo  adventure as part of Team Aseptogyl, which was a one-off drive. She then switched to a Ford Escort Mexico and then an Escort 2000 for Finnish rallies. She was the top lady on both the Hanki and Mantta events, but was not quite as high up the overall leaderboard as she could be. A switch to an Opel Kadett led to another top-twenty finish on the Itaralli in June. She was 19th.

Although she won more ladies’ awards, her overall finishes in the Kadett were indifferent and she retired from the 1000 Lakes and Nokia rallies. In November, she accepted another international guest drive in the Tour de Corse, in a Toyota Celica, but she did not finish.

Team Aseptogyl called for her services again for the 1978 Monte. This time, they were running diesel-powered Citroen 2500 CXs. Neither Marketta nor her team-mates Marianne Hoepfner and Christine Dacremont finished.

1978 was a short season, and her last one on the stages. The Nortti team ran her Kadett for the Hankiralli, then she drove a Mercedes 300 D for her final attempt at the 1000 Lakes. The Mercedes was another diesel car. She won the diesel class from Hans Sevelius’s VW Golf and was 36th overall.

After her retirement, she retained her interest in rallying and was a regular spectator at the 1000 Lakes.

(Image from http://suomenmuseotonline.fi)

Tamara Molinaro

Tamara Molinaro won the 2017 European Ladies’ Rally Championship, driving an Opel Adam.

She was interested in rallying from a very early age, and apparently drove rally cars as early as 2008, when she was eleven years old. Her father, Giorgio, is involved in rallying.

At the start of her career, she was mainly known as a co-driver, sitting beside Luca Maspoli and former Mitsubishi works driver, Gigi Galli. She partnered Galli in a Ford Fiesta WRC and helped him to ninth at the 2014 Monza Rally Show. He had seen her driving on an ice circuit at Livigno before she was old enough to enter rallies and supported her during the first part of her career. She was quickly picked up by Red Bull as one of their sponsored athletes.

In 2013 and 2014, she did her own first rallies in her native Italy in a Citroen C2. The best of these for her was a 42nd place in the Misano World Circuit Rally Event. She concentrated on rally show-type events, both as a driver and co-driver.

In 2016, she drove an Opel Adam as the course car in the Schneebergland Rallye in Austria, with Ilka Minor as her co-driver. This drive was the first of three course-car outings in the Adam, the other two being Rallye Wartburg and Rallye Deutschland.

Her first competitive outing of the year was the Skoda Rallye Liezen in Austria. Tamara drove the Adam, and was thirteenth overall. She was third in the Austrian Junior standings. Later in the year, she did another Austrian rally, the Waldviertel International event. She was 30th, and seventh in both the Junior and RC4 classes. In between, she entered the ADAC 3-Stadte Rallye in Germany, finishing second in the RC4 class and 23rd overall.

Next, she was 22nd in the Mikulas Rally, in Hungary. She won her class. Her final event of the year was the Rallye Ronde Prealpi Rally Show in Italy. She retired on SS2.

She took a big step forward in her career in 2017, entering the ERC3 category of the European Rally Championship. Her car was an Opel Adam again, but this time run by the Opel Junior team. The Austrian Ursula Mayrhofer, who had sat beside her in Hungary last year, was her regular co-driver for the first part of the season. They did three ERC rounds together, the best of these probably being the Azores Rally, in which Tamara was 24th overall and first lady, as well as fourth in the ERC3 and Junior classes. Their last rally together was the Rzezsowski Rally. Although Tamara was only 42nd overall, she was seventh in both the ERC3 and Junior Under 27 classes.

She repeated her 24th place and seventh in ERC3 in the Roma Capitale Rally, driving with Giovanni Bernacchini this time. This was another of her Coupe des Dames wins, and she was the sixth Under 27 driver. She entered six ERC rounds - the Azores, the Canary Islands, Rzezsowski, Barum Czech Rally Zlin, Roma Capitale and Liepaja - and was the top female driver in four of them. Away from the ERC, she competed in Austria and Eastern Europe again, and was sixth in the Austrian Junior championship.

At the end of the season, she even found some time for more co-driving. She sat beside Citroen WRC driver Craig Breen in a Citroen DS3 WRC for the Monza Rallyshow. They did not finish. She was dating Breen at the time.

She ended the year as the ERC Ladies' champion, tenth in ERC3 and seventh in Under 27s. She is the second-youngest champion after Catie Munnings, who was born a month after Tamara, but won her title a year earlier.  

In 2018, she moved up again, to the World Championship. She rallied a Ford Fiesta R5 in the WRC2 class, but her season was sadly halted by a lack of sponsorship. She was 14th in the Azores Rally and then got to do her only WRC event of the year, Rally Sweden. She was 35th overall from 58 finishers.

In 2019, she planned to make another attempt on the WRC2 class, this time with a Citroen C3 R5. However, she only got to one WRC rally: Sweden, where she was 28th. Apart from a couple of Italian rallies, she spent the rest of the year in the Titans RX rallycross championship. She was fifth in the championship, with three fifth places from Fuglau and Nyirad her best final positions. She won several qualification races.

It was back to rallying in 2020. Tamara was active in the Italian gravel championship, driving either a Citroen C3 or Ford Fiesta R5 car. Her best result, an eleventh place in the Rally della Val d'Orcia, was in the C3. This was one of four top-twenty finishes, including a 16th place in the San Marino Rally and 17th in the Tuscan Rewind event. She finished the year second in the Under 25 standings and first in the Ladies.

2021 was another good year for her in the Italian championship, although she lost her Ladies title to Rachele Somaschini. Driving the C3, she was seventh in the Italian gravel championship after two top-ten overall finishes. The first of these was a seventh place in the Rally of Sardinia, two places ahead of Rachele Somaschini, then she was tenth in the San Marino Rally. At the end of the season, she made a guest appearance for the Hyundai Italy team and was fourth in the non-championship Fiorio Cup, driving the i20 R5.

Away from stage rallying, she was named as a "championship driver" by Extreme E after their regular series reserve Jutta Kleinschmidt was called into action at the Cupra team. In 2022, the Xite team signed her as a permanent driver alongside Oliver Bennett, Timo Scheider and Ezequiel Perez Companc. She and Timo achieved the team's best finish, second in Sardinia. Tamara was eleventh in the championship.

With her Extreme E commitments, she still found time for a few stage rallies in a Skoda Fabia R5. She was eleventh in the Rally del Brunello and fifth in the Fiorio Cup rallysprint event.

She moved back to a championship driver position in 2023 but made three appearances, one for McLaren in Sardinia and two for JBXE in Chile. She and Andreas Bakkerud were eighth both times in Chile. The JBXE drive came about when Hedda Hosas moved to McLaren to cover for the long-term injured Emma Gilmour.

She did one stage rally in 2023: the Fiorio Cup in Italy. Her car was a Citroen C3 Rally2 and she was fourth. Her relationship with rallying suffered after her erstwhile boyfriend Craig Breen was killed in a testing accident.

She returned to gravel stages in 2024, doing five Italian gravel rallies in a Skoda Fabia Rally2. All apart from the Val d'Orcia event yielded top-twenty finishes, including eleventh in the Rally delle Marche and thirteenth in the Rally Citta di Foligno. Her best result was a third place in the Fiorio Cup, behind 2023 WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera in a Toyota Yaris. 

(Image copyright Red Bull)

Sylvia Österberg

Sylvia Österberg was Swedish driver active in the 1960s and 1970s, winner of the European Ladies’ Rally Championship in 1963.

Her earliest motorsport experiences were in rallycross, at club level. She only took up rallying after some strong encouragement from her husband, Ingemar. After seeing her drive in treasure hunt-type road rallies, he signed her up for the Swedish ladies’ championship in 1960, and the two competed together during that season. Their first stage rally together, an event for novices, led to a fifth place, with a class win.

Her performances in the Swedish championship caught the eye of the Volvo team management, and she was offered a contract as a works driver for 1962. Her car was to be a 122. Her first major rally in it was the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland. With Inga-Lill Edenring as co-driver, she did not disgrace herself with a 21^st place, narrowly missing out on the Coupe des Dames to her Swedish rival, Ewy Rosqvist. Later in the year, she was tenth in the RAC Rally, driving the same car. This was her first international top-ten finish, and she did particularly well on the forest stages, tying with Paddy Hopkirk for third on the Wark Forest stage.

Her performances in 1962 were enough to convince the Volvo team to keep her on in 1963, with an expanded programme of rallies across Europe. Once again, she teamed up with Inga-Lill Edenring, who would be her regular co-driver for much of her career. She started with a 20^th place in the Monte Carlo Rally, losing the Coupe des Dames to Ewy Rosqvist, in a Mercedes. After the Tulip Rally, in which she was thirteenth, she drove in the Acropolis Rally for the first time, and scored another tenth place, ahead of Ewy Rosqvist this time. Her second top-ten of the season came in the Deutschland Rally, along with a Coupe des Dames. The best was still yet to come, however; she then broke into the top five in the Polish Rally, in fourth place. Before the end of the season, she had secured another fourth place, in the Geneva Rally. This was enough to secure her the European Ladies’ Championship.

For most of 1963, she drove the 122 again, although she did have at least one outing in the PV 544, the Midnight Sun Rally, which she does not seem to have finished.

1964 started with another run in the Monte in the 122, in which she was 33^rd, a somewhat disappointing result, but not a bad performance in the ageing 122, and ahead of her rival, Ewy Rosqvist. The rest of the season was spent in a PV 544, which was faster, but not quite as sturdy as its predecessor. Sylvia could not finish her first Safari Rally, a brute of an event which almost three-quarters of the field failed to complete. She does not appear to have finished the Acropolis Rally, another car-breaker, or the Midnight Sun Rally, which, despite being her home event, was never her favourite. Later in the season, she was fifteenth in the 1000 Lakes Rally, and back in the top ten for the RAC Rally, in tenth. Her navigator this year was Siv Sabel, as Inga-Lill Edenring was taking some time out from rallying.

After 1964’s ups and downs, Sylvia went back to the 122 for 1965, trading some power for reliability. In February, she was rewarded with a sixth place in the Rallye dei Fiori, among Lancias and Renaults in the top ten. The KAK Rally in Sweden followed, and then the Tulip, which she finished over the time limit. She was in good company, and her Volvo team-mate, Tom Trana, also in a 122, was another on the OTL list. The Acropolis was another non-finish, and she followed it up with a 24^th place in the 1000 Lakes, with a Coupe des Dames as a consolation prize. She ended the year with the RAC Rally, but does not seem to have been classified.

She and Siv Sabel stuck with the Volvo for one more rally in 1966, the Rallye dei Fiori, which had been a good event for them last year. They did not finish, and the 122 was promptly replaced with a Renault 8 Gordini, supported by the Swedish arm of Renault. Sylvia picked up another Coupe des Dames in the 1000 Lakes, and was 23^rd overall, but did not finish the Alpine Rally. Reunited with Inga-Lill Edenring, she was tenth in the season-ending RAC Rally. On the first special stage, Bramshill, she was second, behind Roger Clark.

Her second season in the Gordini was shorter, but more fruitful. In January, she finally managed to pick up a Monte Carlo Coupe des Dames, finishing 25^th overall, just behind her countryman and fellow Gordini driver, Harry Källstrom. A non-finish in the Swedish rally followed. She was then nineteenth in the 1000 Lakes Rally, before enjoying a good run in the French tarmac rallies. The Alpine Rally, usually a good event for her, led to a tenth place, and she was sixth in the Tour de Corse. Both times, she was the fastest lady. Her season was to have ended with the RAC Rally, but it was cancelled, due to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

After 1967, Sylvia’s career wound down somewhat. She began driving Opel cars, beginning with a Kadett in 1968. She and Ingemar teamed up once more and tackled the Swedish championship. They were thirteenth in class at the end of the year, with a best finish of tenth, in the Jämt Rally.

A couple more seasons in the Kadett followed, although it seems that Sylvia and Ingemar were part-time competitors at this point, rallying within Sweden and not regularly in major events. Another attempt at the Swedish Rally in 1971 led to another non-finish.

Despite her profile being lower than previously, the Opel works team took an interest in Sylvia. In mid-1972, she was part of a six-driver team that attempted a series of speed records in a diesel-powered Opel GT prototype. The tests took place at Dudenhofen in Germany. The other drivers were Marie-Claude Beaumont, Giorgio Pianta, Paul Frère, Henri Greder and Joachim Springer. As a team, they set a whole series of class records for speed, endurance and economy.

1972 saw a revival of Sylvia’s rally career, too. She was once again reunited with Inga-Lill Edenring, her most successful co-driver, and they drove a works Opel Ascona in Europe. The faster Ascona seemed to suit Sylvia’s driving style; after a slightly tentative 26^th place on snow in the Swedish Rally, she was seventh in the Olympia Rally in Germany. Sadly, the RAC Rally, one of her favoured events, led to a retirement.

Sylvia’s last major international rally looks to have been the Monte in 1973. She drove an Ascona to 28^th place. She carried on competing occasionally until 1975, then retired as a driver. This retirement was meant to be final, but she reappeared about ten years later, as a navigator in historic rallies. She assisted Tom Trana, her old Volvo team-mate, to two historic championships, and carried on in this role until the mid-1990s.

She died in 2012, at the age of 78.

Having been most active in an era where there were some extremely competitive female drivers – first Ewy Rosqvist, then rally winner, Pat Moss – Sylvia’s achievements are overshadowed somewhat. She was a very capable driver, particularly on forest stages and on asphalt, and perhaps would have scored an outright win, had she had a few more opportunities in big rallies and powerful cars.

(Image from http://rallyklassikerna.se/)