Frankie Bogg (Francine Duncan)

Francine Bogg, known as Frankie, was one of the youngest-ever participants (at the time) in the RAC Rally. She first entered aged 19, in 1991. 

Her final position was 68th, from 82 finishers. This was her only World Championship rally, but she enjoyed quite a long career in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The RAC Rally drive came about after she won the Radio Times “Rally Quest” competition, held in conjunction with Top Gear. There were 36,000 competitors for the £80,000 prize drive in a works-supported Vauxhall Nova, which included the RAC entry and a programme of British rallies beforehand as training. The latter part of the competition was televised and Frankie became popular with Top Gear viewers.

Although Frankie had already done a couple of rallies before Rally Quest, she had thought her career was over as the car she bought herself suffered a blown engine. She found herself in a similar situation at the end of 1991, when the prize drive concluded.

The RAC Rally was one of six events she did in 1991, including the Audi Sport Rally, which was a round of the British championship. She was 34th, sixth in class. In real terms, the RAC Rally was her best event, followed by the Dukeries Rally, where she was 99th out of 116 drivers.

She did manage to drive her Vauxhall Nova in the second round of the British Championship in 1992. Unfortunately, she only got to the third stage of the Pirelli Rally before retiring with steering problems. Her only other outing that year was the Rally Cars Forest Stages in September. She was 57th overall. Despite sponsorship drives in local newspapers and something of a media profile, Frankie then disappeared from the stages for five years.

In 1997, she reappeared as Francine Duncan, now married and running a skid training facility with her husband, Ecosse Skid Control. She had picked up some sponsorship and a new SEAT Ibiza, which she took to the Scottish islands for the Tour of Mull, finishing 82nd. 

The following year, she competed more extensively in the Ibiza, concentrating on asphalt events. Her seasons started badly with a fire on the Apex Cheviot Rally in February, then another retirement from the Tour of Epynt. However, three class wins followed in the Tour of Cornwall, Mewla National and Wexford rallies. The Wexford event, her first rally in Ireland, was her best: she was 42nd from 72 finishers. At the end of the year, she was awarded the Motorsport UK Asphalt championship’s junior award.

1999 began with another class win in the Cheviot Rally, again running on asphalt. Frankie was 29th overall. She also finished the Tour of Epynt this year, finishing 28th from 71 cars still running at the end. The Jim Clark Rally gave her another 28th place to finish her season. 

After this, her career goes into hibernation again. Apart from one rally in 2004, the RalliTrak Premier Rally, she did not compete again.

As well as rallying, Frankie competed in mountain biking. She is from Hull.

(Image copyright Hull Daily Mail)

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)

Laia Sanz

 

Laia with Carlos Sainz

Laia Sanz races in Extreme E for Carlos Sainz's team, sharing an electric Odyssey 4x4.

The Spanish racer, whose full name is Eulalia Sanz Pla-Giribert, is better-known as a motorcycle endurance rider who has won 14 ladies' European trials championships and ridden in the Dakar ten times on a motorbike. She has finished every Dakar she has entered, between 2011 and 2020, with a women’s award each time. Her best overall finish has been ninth in 2015.  

She had been competing in trials aged seven, in 1992. Her first win was in 1997 and she won her first women’s title in 1998, still aged only twelve.

Her four-wheel career began at around the same time as her Dakar debut. Interestingly, she did not opt for off-road competition.

She entered a couple of Clio Cup races in Spain in 2011 and won class A2 of the 2011 Barcelona 24 Hours, driving a Renault Clio. She was 18th overall, assisted by Enric and Jordi Codony, Francesc Gutierrez and Santi Navarro. 

In 2014, she did some ice racing in Andorra, in the G Series, and competed directly against Ingrid Rossell in a match race. She also did two rounds of the SEAT Leon Supercopa, in Catalunya, and was 19th and 20th. 

In 2015, she returned to enduros, and was ninth in the Dakar on a KTM. She did do some four-wheeled outings in a SEAT Leon, including two races in the Supercopa and the Catalunya 24 Hours, at Barcelona. She was 16th overall and second in class, as part of a two-driver team. 

At the end of the season, she was signed by the works KTM team, and concentrated on motorcycles for a season. 

She did another car race in 2017, finishing 15th in the TCR 24H race at Catalunya. Her car was a SEAT Leon. 

She entered the same race in 2018, driving a SEAT Cupra for the Monlau team. She and her team-mates won their class. 

Her first start in Extreme E came after a long recovery period for wrist injuries sustained in the 2020 Dakar where she was riding for the works Gas Gas team. Her warm-up was a run in a Can-Am SxS vehicle at the Baja Dubai. She was fourth in the UTV class.

Carlos Sainz himself had requested that she join the Acciona Sainz XE team. Each Extreme E must have a male and a female driver and Laia was the first choice for the Spanish team’s female seat.

The first Extreme E race was held in Saudi Arabia and the second event in Senegal and this was her first time visiting the country, as the Dakar had stopped visiting Dakar itself by the time she made her debut. She and Carlos Sainz were ninth in Senegal, having finished fourth in Saudi.

Despite saying that she would carry on with motorcycles when her seat in Extreme E was announced, she decided to commit to four wheels during 2021, including her first run in the Dakar in a car for 2022.

Her first E-Prix in Saudi was a relative success and she and Carlos qualified second, although they were dropped to fourth in the final by mechanical problems. The pair tended to qualify well but come up against issues in finals and their best finish was third in Greenland. They were fifth in the championship.

The second season of Extreme E featured an unchanged Acciona Sainz driver pairing. They were third overall, with two second places in the Saudi desert round and the Chile race. Both drivers usually qualified well, but did quite not have the pace for the final.

Her Dakar adventure ended in a solid 23rd place in the Car class, driving a Mini All4 with Maurizio Gerini. The car was run by the X-Raid team.

Laia's third season in Extreme E featured a new team-mate in Mattias Ekstrom. The pair won two races in Saudi and Sardinia from pole, on their way to second in the championship. They were also second four times. They were also the fastest qualifiers for the second Chile race, but were beaten by the Veloce team, who won the championship.

She entered the Dakar again in 2024, driving an Astara T1.2 prototype. Her co-driver was the Italian Maurizio Gerini. They were 15th in the Car class.

Back in Extreme E, Laia partnered Jamaican driver Fraser McConnell. They won the second Desert E-Prix and were second in both Hydro races, finishing second overall in the final Extreme E championship.

The same pairing as 2024 entered the 2025 Dakar, driving for the Century Racing Factory Team, but they had to retire on the second stage.

(Image from enduro21.com)

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)

Ilsa Cox

 

Ilsa Cox is a multiple champion in UK club saloon car racing. 

She began in 1987 at Castle Combe, which would be the scene of many of her future triumphs. Her first car was a Suzuki Swift that she entered into the Production Saloon Car Championship. She became a Combe regular despite living in Brighton, a considerable distance away.

In 1997 she was the Castle Combe Saloon Car champion, driving a Peugeot 205 GTi. Even in her first year in that championship, 1995, she won eight times, and was narrowly beaten to the trophy. 1995 was the first year that the series ran and Ilsa became one of its established stars very quickly. 

Much later, she won back to back Castle Combe GT championships in a SEAT Cupra, in 2017 and 2018.

It’s not only Combe-based series in which she has triumphed. In 2008, she won Class A of the 750MC Hot Hatch Championship, driving a Peugeot 206 GTi. 

More recently, she has been racing the SEAT Cupra in various club championships. One of her first successes was in the Eurosaloons championship, where she won a race outright at Oulton Park in 2009. She was second in the “B” class of the series, with three wins. 

She continued to race the SEAT in the CNC Heads Saloon/Sports championship. In 2014, she won one race and was second in Class D. 

As well as racing in the CNC Heads series in 2015, she took part in the Classic Thunder Touring Car Championship, still in the SEAT. She was fifth and seventh in these championships, respectively and won her class in the first.

Her schedule for the next couple of years took in some of the CNC Heads rounds. She was 26th overall in 2016 but did not do enough of the championship to mount a serious challenge in 2017. 

She was back to winning ways again in 2018, picking up another Castle Combe GT crown in the Cupra and winning nine races outright. This was not her only championship either; she won the Hammerite Classic Thunder Touring Car series as well.

She attempted to defend her CTCC Classic Thunder crown in 2019, winning at least one race at Silverstone and three others on the way to a class win. The shortened championship ran in 2020 but Ilsa did not race.

As well as this, she works as a performance driving instructor, and promotes women’s track days. Her driving career began with her working as a road driving instructor in the 1980s.

Ilsa won the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club’s Gold Star award in 2010. She was also part of a BWRDC team in the 2013 Birkett Relay at Silverstone, driving the Cupra. The Birkett is an event she has returned to, finishing ninth in 2017 as part of an all-SEAT team.

(Image copyright paddock42.com)

Alba Cano

Alba Cano is a driver from Malaga who is the 2019 Spanish TCR Champion.

Even though she is one of the world’s most successful female drivers today, she is relatively unknown outside Spain.

Her 2019 championship year was her second in the TCR series in its current format, following a part-season in 2018. She did all but one of the 2019 races single-handed, apart from the final round at Catalunya when she shared with her Monlau-Repsol team-mate David Cebrian.

After a low-profile 2020 she was one of the leading drivers in the 2021 Spanish TCR series, racing a SEAT Cupra Leon. Her win tally increased at Jarama mid-season, when she finished ahead of Michelle Halder. She was second twice and third in the first round of the championship, on the way to fifth in the final standings.

She has been racing with Monlau since at least 2015, when she came second in the Alcaniz 500km race in a Renault Clio. As this attests, she was far from a new face on the scene in 2019. 

Her career began in 2012. In her first year of racing, she tried out one-make cups for Mazda and Hyundai, and won the Andalucian category in the Mazda championship. A part-season in the pre-TCR incarnation of the Spanish Endurance Championship followed, driving a Renault Clio. Even without the whole championship, she was ninth overall.

In 2014, she won the Ladies’ award in the Spanish Clio Cup, and was tenth overall, with one fourth place as her best finish. She won the outright championship for Andalucian drivers. 

She raced in the Spanish Clio Cup again in 2015. This was her fourth year of senior competition, and her second in the Clio Cup. She achieved at least two podium places, although she has always been a stronger driver in endurance events than sprints. 

In 2016, she did another few rounds of the Spanish Clio Cup, with a best finish of tenth at Jarama. She drove a SEAT Leon in the 24H TCR Endurance series in 2017, and was sixth in the championship after her all-Spanish Monlau team won two races at Magny-Cours and Misano. Monlau gave her another outing in the 2018 Catalunya 24 Hours, driving a Cupra. She and her team-mates won the TCE class. 

Despite not racing much in 2022, but she was selected as part of Team Spain for the second FIA Motorsport Games. She was part of the four-driver karting endurance team. The team was second in the final.

Previously, she was active in karting from the age of twelve, and was the first Spanish female driver to win a championship. Away from the track, she works in motorsport engineering and divides her time between the UK and Spain.

(Image from https://www.tcr-series.com/)

Sabrina Shaw

Sabrina Shaw found fame as the youngest-ever competitor on the RAC Rally, aged seventeen years and two months, in 1998. 

She was briefly British rallying’s “next big thing”, following on from Janie Eaton and Francine Bogg who had been the youngest women drivers before her earlier in the decade.

Her 1998 RAC Rally car was a SEAT Ibiza and she was 79th. This was not her first rally car; she had used a Daihatsu Charade to do her first events in order to get the appropriate signatures on her license. Her first rally came just four days after gaining her driving license and she ended up rolling the Daihatsu down a cliff after a suspension component failed. She was not seriously hurt, although the car was a write-off. It had been borrowed and incredibly, she was loaned another car for the five more rallies she needed to complete to get her international license. 

Her father Lindsay was a rally driver himself and acted as Sabrina’s co-driver for her early events. Experienced navigator Mike Panes sat with her for the RAC Rally.

The SEAT drive was a one-off and Sabrina’s car for her next outing was a Ford Ka. She drove it in the 1999 Vauxhall Astra Stages Rally. She and Julia Rabbett were 54th overall and second in class. This was replaced by a Peugeot 106 which she used for the rest of the year. Most of this was spent in the UK, with outings in the British Rally Championship and the National Rally Championship. She entered the Ulster Rally but did not finish, and was 59th overall on the Bulldog Rally.

She also drove a Peugeot 106 Rallye in the China Rally in 1999, finishing in 25th place, alongside Chinese navigator Shouli Xu. The drive came about through the Chinese magazine Champion Racers, for which Shouli Xu was the editor, and Sabrina’s manager Andy Moss, who was instrumental in bringing rallying to China. Sabrina’s second World Championship rally ended in a 25th place. She had taken part in one of the earliest rallies in mainland China open to international drivers, as part of a female crew.

Later, she acquired an Impreza for the 2000 RAC Rally, but failed to finish, going out on the fourth stage with a mechanical problem. 

She continued to drive the 106 in 2000, in rallies including the BTRDA North Humberside Forest Rally. 

Early on, Sabrina expressed a wish to become a professional driver and she took time out from catering college in 1998 to commit herself. She was instructed and mentored by Gwyndaf Evans and SEAT UK provided her with her car for the 1998 RAC Rally but her family was still having to find large sums of money for each event. The 2000 RAC was her last international rally.

(Image copyright Getty Images)

Michelle Halder

Michelle Halder races in the German TCR series and became the first female driver to win a race outright in 2019. 

She was driving a Honda Civic Type-R and her historic win came at Zandvoort. The car is run by Profi-Car Team Halder, her family team. Michelle races against her brother Mike, who drives for the Profi-Car ADAC Honda team. Their respective team-mates, Marcel and Dominik Fugel, are also siblings.

Michelle started competing in the TCR championship full-time in 2018 in a SEAT Cupra, following some time in single-seaters. She earned her first podium positions this year: two overall second places at Most and Sachsenring. She was ninth in the championship. 

As well as TCR, she tried some more powerful machinery in the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup, picking up a fifth place at Hockenheim as the best of her three finishes.

She has not always raced with a roof over her head; following a karting career that included a championship win in 2013, she initially gravitated towards the single-seater ladder. At the age of 16, she began her senior career in the ADAC Formula 4 championship.

It was a very steep learning curve and her best result in 2015 was a 20th place, in the last round of the season at Hockenheim. Her final championship position was 47th, and 19th in the Rookie standings. She was driving for the Engstler team. 

Another Formula 4 season beckoned for 2016, for Engstler. It turned out to be a part-season, and her best finish was 24th, at Hockenheim and Oschersleben. She missed the mid-part of the racing calendar and struggled for finances.

In 2017, she took her first steps in touring cars, racing a SEAT Leon in the STT (Spezial Tourenwagen Trophae) series with her brother, Mike. They earned a second and two third places at the Nurburgring and were tenth overall. This was Michelle’s first top-ten finish in cars and her first podium. 

She did consider a return to single-seaters in 2019 and was one of the initial 55 drivers under consideration for the all-female W Series. However, she chose to stick with TCR and ruled herself out of the W running before its first selection event, as the timetables of the two championships clashed. Her TCR victory was ironically overshadowed by the W Series finale.

2020 began in the German TCR series but the Halder team jumped ship to the European championship after deciding that they would get better value for money there. Michelle had already earned another podium at the Nurburgring in her Honda Civic. The first European round at Paul Ricard was a settling-in period and Michelle finished twelfth and thirteenth. In a very inconsistent and frustrating season, she won again at Zolder and had further top-ten finishes at Zolder, Monza and Catalunya. She was 15th in the championship.

Halder Racing entered a Cupra in to a couple of VLN races in the summer for Michelle and Mike, but they did not finish.

Michelle and Mike did much better in their 2021 VLN (now NLS) season. They were fourth in the SP3T class with one second and five third places.

Driving solo, Michelle competed in the Spanish TCR series, driving a Honda Civic. She was on the pace very quickly, sharing wins with her brother at Navarra in May, but two DNFs at Jarama followed and her chances of a title took a hit. She was third in the championship after another win at Valencia and three podiums at Barcelona.

Returning to European TCR, she ran for the full year. This was not a vintage season for Michele or the Halder Honda Civic; her best finish was thirteenth at the Norisring and she was 21st overall. A few guest appearances in the Danish TCR series at Jyllandsringen gave her an eleventh place.

A second season in TCR Denmark, driving the same car, gave her an eleventh place in the championship. Although she managed two fifth places early on at Jyllandsring and Djursland early on, her season was affected by several DNFs near the middle and missing the Bellahoj rounds completely.

In 2024, she switched her attention to sportscars, racing a Porsche 911 GT3. With her family team, she did two rounds of the Porsche Endurance Trophy at the Nurburgring. She shared the car with Mike. With a different four-driver team, including the rapper Smudo, she entered the Nurburgring 24 Hours. This Porsche was a concept car running on recycled biofuel. They were 53rd overall and won their class by default. The same team did two rounds of the VLN in the same car, winning their class in one race.

Her chief aim is to compete in the WTCR championship and she had put together a deal for 2021, although funding issues meant she had to scale back her plans.

(Image copyright reifenpresse.de)

Marika Diana

Marika in 2011

Marika Diana is an Italian driver who is most famous for winning the 2005 Italian Formula Ford Challenge.

Her 2005 victory was only her second season of car racing, and her second in motorsport. She began karting in 2003, and did her first races in a Formula Ford in 2004, aged seventeen.

Winning the championship brought her to the attention of the motorsport world. Observers including racing instructor Henry Morrogh commented on her speed and commanding performance. She was keen to progress up the single-seater ladder and looked to the rest of Europe for opportunities.

She raced in Formula Three in Germany in 2006 and 2007. 2006 was a tough season for her. She drove for Ombra Racing and could only manage thirteenth as her highest finish, at the Nürburgring.

Ombra retained her for another year. Her best result of 2007 was ninth, at the Nürburgring. She was fifth in the Class B championship, with one runner-up spot and a series of podium places.

In 2008 she resumed racing in Italy, in the Campionato Italiano Prototipi, a sportscar series. However, she only managed two races in a Ligier, driving for two different teams. She scored one third place at Vallelunga.

In 2009, she managed a brief comeback, competing in three Prototipi races. This translated into a longer Prototype season in 2010, driving a Wolf for BF Motorsport. She was thirteenth overall, and had a best finish of fourth in class.

She stuck with the Wolf in 2011, but only appears to have competed in the first two rounds, the best being the Misano race, in which she was fourth.

Another comeback in 2013 took in a couple of races in the Prototype championship again, at Vallelunga. She had taken two years out in order to have a child, a daughter named Danika. Even then, she expressed a desire to try a different motorsport discipline, possibly touring cars.

In 2016, she finally switched to saloons, and did two rounds of the Italian Touring Car Championship, in a SEAT Leon Cupra. She scored two ninth places at Magione. This was her first experience of touring cars, apart from a test session at Mugello. She had linked up again with the BF team.

She has not competed since then and her official Facebook page has not been updated.

(Image from /www.acisport.it)

Cora Schumacher

Cora in 2005

Cora Schumacher has raced in a number of one-make series in Germany. At one point, she was the highest-paid female racing driver in the world.

Cora came into motorsport quite late. She married Ralf Schumacher, then a Formula One driver, in 2001. Her own racing career began in 2004, at the wheel of a BMW Mini.

For her debut, she was part of the celebrity team in the Mini Challenge in Germany, with four other drivers who were all TV presenters. She qualified in 22^nd place out of 24 for her first race, at Lausitz, and finished in 18^th. Her part-season that year gave her a 27^th place. Many had been rather disparaging about her going racing, given her “F1 WAG” status and former work as a model, but she kept out of trouble and surprised a few people. One of her most vocal critics was former DTM racer, Ellen Lohr, who made remarks about Cora’s breast implants adding weight to the car.

She surprised even more onlookers in 2005, when she returned to the Mini Challenge and scored her first top ten, and eighth place. Unfortunately, her season was curtailed by a nasty accident, which caused her to sit out much of it. She was 34^th in the championship.

After that, she signed up for the 2006 SEAT Leon Supercopa alongside Christina Surer, in a deal that was said to make her the highest-paid woman driver in the world, and the fourth highest-paid German driver, according to the German press. This was billed as the first step on the way to a drive in the DTM. Cora and Christina shared the car, and Cora ended up only racing in two of the rounds.

After her short run in the Supercopa, she took a break from motorsport. In 2010, she returned to the MINI Challenge, with Lechner Racing, for the second half of the season. Her best finish was thirteenth, at Hockenheim, and she was 19^th overall.

Her finishing positions improved a little in 2011, and she was more consistent. She just missed the top ten on three occasions, all at Hockenheim, finishing eleventh each time. She was 14^th overall.

In 2012, she drove in the Dubai 24 Hours in a MINI, winning class A2. She and her four team-mates were 25^th overall. She also spent some time testing a Chevrolet Camaro GT3 car. For most of the season, she raced in the MINI Trophy, scoring six top-ten finishes, the best being an eighth at the Red Bull Ring. This was good for 15th in the championship.

Another break from motorsport followed, during which time she did more modelling, appeared on the German version of Strictly Come Dancing (in 2015) and split up with Ralf Schumacher. They were divorced in 2015.

In 2016, she made a comeback, and signed up for the DTC (Deutsche Tourenwagen Cup), racing a Mini in the 1600 Production class. She joined the championship for the second half of the season, and scored two class seconds in her first races, at the Red Bull Ring. She was also third at the Nürburgring, and was sixth overall in class.

Cora’s racing plans included the 2017 Dubai 24 Hours, in an Audi TT, but she pulled out of the race with an injury. She recovered in time for the third round of the GT4 European Cup, in which she drove a Reiter KTM X-Bow. She was 13th in the Amateur class of the Northern series, with a debut podium position at Brands Hatch. She was third. Driving for the Besagroup team, she entered the Catalunya round of the Southern series in a Porsche Cayman, and was ninth. 

There was more action with Besagroup in 2018. Cora was part of a five-driver team for the Dubai 24 Hours, driving a Mercedes AMG GT. They were 33rd overall and fourth in the GT4 class.

Later in the year, she was part of the team again for the GT4 Central European Cup rounds at the Red Bull Ring and the Nurburgring. She and Franjo Kovacs picked up two fifths, a sixth and a seventh place.

(Image from motorsport.com)

Lucile Cypriano

Lucile on the podium in 2015

Lucile is a French driver who races saloons. She was the winner of the 2013 FIA Women in Motorsport Scirocco-R Shootout.

Prior to her burgeoning senior career, she raced karts from the age of twelve, winning her first race at seven years old, and finishing in the top ten of several French championships. During her time in karting, she was scouted by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission as a future talent.

Her first step into senior motorsport was in 2013, in the French F4 championship. She was still not quite seventeen. Her best finish was eighth, at Le Mans, at the start of the season. It was not the most consistent of years for her, and she was troubled by non-finishes later on, but this was a learning period. She was 21st overall in the championship.

At the end of 2013, she was selected for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s Scirocco-R Shootout. She was one of twelve young drivers who got through to the final stage, and she beat the likes of Naomi Schiff and Gosia Rdest to the award. Her prize was a funded season in the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Championship in 2014.

In 2014, she took her prize drive in the VW Scirocco-R Championship. She held her own on track, and finished all ten rounds. Her best overall finish was eighth, achieved at the Norisring and Oschersleben. She also finished in the top ten on three more occasions: two ninths and a tenth. She was twelfth overall, second out of the championship’s four female regulars.

In 2015, the Scirocco Cup was shelved, to be replaced by the Audi TT Cup. Lucile was set to make a double-pronged attack on the Audi TT one-make series, and the SEAT Leon Eurocup. After quietly dropping out of the TT Cup, her main focus became the SEAT series, and it was a good move. Lucile scored her first senior win at Catalunya, in the last round of the season, having managed two previous thirds, at Estoril and Monza. She was ninth in the championship. 

She also had her first taste of full international competition, making a guest appearance in the Spanish rounds of the TCR International Series, driving a SEAT Leon. Out of two races at Valencia, she scored one twelfth place.

The SEAT Leon Eurocup was her chosen destination for 2016, building on her 2015 success. Her best finishes were a second place at Estoril and a third at Paul Ricard. Despite only completing just under half of the season, she was seventh overall. 

In 2017, she tried something more powerful, in the shape of the French Porsche Carrera Cup. She was thirteenth in the championship for the Racing Technology team. Her best finish was seventh, at Paul Ricard. Her season included a run in the Le Mans Carrera Cup support race, in which she was twelfth out of 21 starters.

She switched to rallying in 2018, entering two French events in a Citroen DS3. Her best finish was 22nd in the Rallye Pays du Fayence. As part of a more extensive programme in 2019, she drove the DS3 in the Pays du Fayence again and was ninth.

She spent the rest of the season in an R2-spec Peugeot 208 which was not quite as fast, but she still ended the year runner-up in the French ladies' championship. Her best finish was a 22nd place in the Rallye Coeur de France. 

In 2021 she got back in a rally car, albeit for one event. She drove the Peugeot in the Rallye d'Antibes Cote d'Azur and was 54th overall.

It was a quiet year for Lucile in 2022, but she announced her return to the circuits for 2023. She was chosen as a member of the all-female Volant Matmut Akkodis ASP team alongside Gabriela Jilkova. They raced a Toyota Supra GT4 in the FFSA France GT championship. Lucile was fifth in the Pro-Am championship with five thirds and one second place in class. 

(Image copyright Lucile Cypriano)

Valentina Albanese

Valentina on the podium

Valentina is an Italian one-make specialist who often drives a SEAT, and is involved with the make on an official basis. She has achieved good results in individual and team racing.

Born in 1974, she got her first steps in motorsport in 1994, winning a “Volante Rosa” women’s driving competition, organised by a motoring magazine. Although she was not from a motor racing family, she had been interested in cars from a young age. She gravitated towards saloon racing from the start. Two years later, she took to the track in the Citroen Saxo Cup. She won her first championship in Italy in 1998, the Ladies’ class of the Saxo Cup.

Sticking with one-make championships, she had her next notable success in 2001, when she won some rounds of the Smart Cup in Italy, and was second in the championship. These were the first outright wins of her career.

That year, she also had her first races in the Volkswagen Fun Cup, driving a Beetle. The Cup would be her main sporting home until 2008. During her time in the Fun Cup, Valentina won several races, and was invited to be a part of the Uniroyal team in 2005. For two seasons, she was part of a Uniroyal all-female team with Francesca Pardini, following on from the “Rain Tyre Ladies” (Sylvie Delcour, Fanny Duchateau and Sabine Dubois.) In 2008, driving for a different, mixed team with Luca Trevisol, she won the European and Italian Fun Cups.

Valentina, driving alone, also raced in the Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance that season, driving a diesel SEAT Leon TDI. This was the first year of a partnership with SEAT that has lasted many years. Driving for the Italian SEAT team, she won one race, and was tenth in the championship.

In 2009 she once again drove for SEAT in the Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance, and won the diesel class. Alongside Gianni Giudici of Scuderia Giudici, who was the runner-up, she dominated the season.

In 2010, she was third in the main class of the same championship, driving a similar SEAT Leon, powered by petrol this time. Although she was not able to record a win, she finished on the podium a number of times. Of the four SEAT Italy drivers, she was the highest-placed.

A period of relative competitive inactivity followed. In 2011, she only made some guest appearances in the Ibiza Cup section of the CITE, as she was working for the SEAT team. She retained her SEAT links in 2012, but seems to have only carried out media work for the marque.

Her only big race during this time was the Zhuhai 500-mile race in December 2012. Sharing a Mercedes C63 AMG with Michela Cerruti, she was second overall. The team challenged for the win at some points during the race.

 In 2013, she seems to have concentrated on test-driving for SEAT, although she also demonstrated a Mercedes in Jerusalem.

Again, in 2014, she tested cars for SEAT, but did not race.

She returned to competition in 2015, in a SEAT Leon. She won the Italian Endurance Touring Car Championship (CITE) outright, partnered by Jordi Gené for part of the season. After leading for most of the season, she won the penultimate race to seal her victory. It was her fifth win of the year, from eight races, and she was forty points ahead of her nearest rivals, Stefano Valli and Vincenzo Montalbano.

Away from her racing and her promotional work for SEAT, Valentina works as a lawyer. She has stated that her motorsport ambition is to race a Super Touring-spec car in a major championship.

She was announced as the head of Porsche Motorsport in Italy in 2016.

(Image from http://www.hdmotori.it/)

Women Drivers in One-Make Series: the Netherlands in the 21st Century

L-R: Sandra Douma, Kim van den Berg, Laura Kool, Suzanne Jager, Theresia Balk

A large number of female drivers competes in one-make series in the Netherlands. Those who began their careers after 2000 can be found here. For earlier one-make specialists, please go to the original post. 

Kim (Guven) van den Berg - Dutch saloon specialist. She began racing in 2007, in the Suzuki Swift Cup, and was eighteenth overall after seven races. Her best finishes were two tenth places at Zandvoort. She also took part in the Barcelona 24 Hours in a VW Golf, with a Dutch team, and was 45th. Later in the year, she scored her first win in the Dutch Winter Endurance Series, in the Swift. In the 2008 Swift Cup she was 27th, after missing some races, and only managing a best finish of fourteenth, at Zandvoort and Zolder. She returned to the series in 2009 and showed much improvement, becoming a regular visitor to the top ten and scoring her first top-five place, a fourth in the penultimate round, at Zandvoort. She was tenth overall. She had a less successful season in 2010, mainly down to only contesting six races. This was reversed in 2011, when she ran in most of the Swift Cup, earning her first podium position. She was eighth in the championship. In 2012, she bettered her record again, with sixth overall, and four top-three finishes. In 2013, she took part in the Lotus Ladies' Cup in Eastern Europe. Her best finish was ninth, and she was thirteenth overall. 

Carlijn Bergsma - races in one-make series in her native Netherlands, initially the Light division of the Benelux Racing League, from 2006 to 2008. From her first season, she proved herself capable of finishing in the top ten. Due to website issues, her full race results were unavailable at the time of writing. She did not compete for the full season in 2008. Previously, she took part in the Pearle Alfa 147 Challenge in 2002, and also the Toyota Yaris and SEAT Cupra Cups. In 2011, she competed in the BMW Z4 Zilhouette Cup with Pieter de Jong. They were sixth overall, with six top-three finishes. Carlijn continued in the Zilhouette Cup in 2012, driving with Sipke Bijzitter this time. They were third overall, after nine podium finishes, although no wins. In 2013, she had another season in Zilhouette racing, with Piet de Jong this time. They participated in at least two rounds, and achieved podium positions at both. With the same team-mate, she won the championship in 2014, winning three times. She continued her winning ways in the Sport division of the Supercar Challenge in 2015, winning three races in a Lotus Exige. She was fourth overall, losing a few points due to DNFs. She returned to the Supercar Challenge in 2016, with Pieter de Jong. They were fifth in their class, with two wins. In 2018, she returned to the Zilhouette Cup in a BMW, scoring at least two podiums. 

Bente Boer - races in the electric NXT Gen Cup in Europe, driving a Mini Cooper. She made her debut in the series in 2023 at the Nurburgring, where she finished eleventh in both of her races. Although these were her only NXT Gen outings, she has also raced a Mazda MX5 and was thirteenth in the 2022 Dutch Max5 Cup. Her best result was a fifth place overall. She and three other drivers also entered an MX5 into an eight-hour enduro at Zandvoort, finishing 26th and fourth in class. She continued to race the MX5 in 2024 and was fifth in the Dutch one-make championship.

Cynthia Boezaart - made a late debut in motorsport in 2009, at the age of 38. She contested the Volkswagen Endurance Cup in a Golf, for Certainty Racing. The four-driver team, including Cynthia's husband, Martin, was 28th in the championship. Cynthia contested the Diesel Touring Cup in a BMW in 2010. She was 45th out of 63 drivers. Returning to the series in 2011, she was 27th, and managed to score her first pole position. In 2012, she raced in the Burando Production Open in a Ginetta G50. She was seventh overall, her best championship result to date. In 2014, she raced an Avenger kit car in the Avenger Cup, but lost out on a podium place in the final leaderboard, due to not scoring any points in the last three rounds. In 2015, she raced in the DNRT Endurance Cup in a BMW 320d. Driving as part of a team of three, she was second overall in the Zandvoort 6 Hours. She raced a Mazda MX-5 in the Max5 Cup in 2016, as part of a two-driver team with Martin. 

Myrthe Bos – raced in the PTC Cup in the Netherlands in 2011 and 2012. Both times, her car was a Toyota Aygo. In 2011, she was ninth, after doing just under half the season. A shorter programme in 2012 gave her twelfth place. She was only sixteen years old when she started in the PTC Cup. She returned to the PTC Cup in 2013, driving with Perry Grondstra, but was not among the frontrunners. After 2013, she does not appear to have raced, probably due to funding issues. Her website has been taken down.

Danielle Geel - competed in the Dutch Fiesta Sprint Cup in 2021. She was fifth in Division 1 after a part-season. Her best result was a class second at Assen, twelfth overall. Having come from a motorsport family, she raced karts between 2011 and 2015, but gave up as her family could not afford to run her alongside her brother. She is also involved in the organisational side of motorsport, working alongside the management team at Van Amersfoort Racing.

Lisette Grinwis - began her senior career in 2021, aged 16. She raced in the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup in the Netherlands, driving for Bas Koeten Racing. She was third in Division 1 after completing eight of the twelve rounds. Her best finishes were three class thirds, achieved at the DTM support races in September and at Assen in August. In 2022, she raced in the Mazda MX5 Cup. She was previously active in karting and is supported by KNAF Academy as one of their young drivers.

Liz Grondel – raced a Toyota Aygo in the Netherlands in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, she competed in the M-Lease Aygo Cup, and was third overall, with eleven podium finishes from twelve races. The following year, she took part in the Aygo-based PTC Cup, but did not do a full season. She was tenth in the final standings. After this, she seems to have left motorsport, in favour of running her own cafe business.

Sharona van den Haak - drove in the SEAT Endurance Cup in 2009, in a diesel Ibiza. She and the SR Competition team were twelfth, with one pole position. This appears to have been Sharona's first competitive season on the circuits. In 2012, she was racing a BMW E30 in club endurance events. Previously, she raced karts.

Nicolette van der Hoek Ostende (Koster) - Dutch driver with wins in touring car endurance races. She was given an award for being the leading female driver in the Netherlands in 2002, after competing strongly in the Toyota Yaris Cup. Her final result was fourth overall. In 2001, she had a similar season, and led the Coupe des Dames standings from Paulien Zwart. Nicolette’s endurance successes came in the Dutch Winter Endurance series between the 2001 and 2002 seasons, where she was a race-winner. She has not competed since the birth of her daughter in 2003.

Suzanne Jager - Dutch saloon racer who competed in the Suzuki Swift Cup from 2007. She was seventh in 2007 and thirteenth in 2008. As well as the one-make championship, she shared a car with Laura Kool for the Dutch Winter Endurance Series. The pair first drove together in 2006 in the Winter Endurance Series, sharing a BMW E30. Suzanne’s partner in 2007 was Kim van den Berg, and she drove the Swift. After several years of karting, Suzanne began full-size motorsport in 2004, racing a Volvo 360. She won the 360 class in the Volvo championship in 2006, after winning five races. She did some Swift races in 2009.

Laura Katsma - competed in the Suzuki Swift Cup in the Netherlands in 2009. She was 18th in the championship, and had a best finish of ninth at the Paasraces meeting at Zandvoort. Her form dipped towards the end of the season, possibly due to an accident that put her out of one of the races. Previously, she had raced the Swift in one round of the 2008-2009 Dutch Winter Endurance Series. In 2010, she returned to the series, and was fifteenth overall. Her best finish was fourth.

Laura Kool - drove in the Suzuki Swift Cup in the Netherlands in 2007. She was fifteenth overall in what was her first full season of car racing. Later in the year, she drove the Swift in a round of the Dutch Winter Endurance Championship. As well as the Suzuki, she also did some club racing in a BMW 325i at Zandvoort, in 2006 and 2007. Prior to 2007, she was a successful karter on the European circuit, with a best result of third overall in her national championship. She does not appear to have raced since the end of 2007, despite being linked with the Dunlop Sport Maxx series.

Melanie Lancaster - one of the youngest Dutch drivers ever to race in a senior series, aged sixteen, in 2007. She started competing full-time in 2008, after some testing and race school events, in the Dacia Logan Cup in the Netherlands. Her best finish was a second at Zandvoort, and she was seventh overall after a further two third places and some more top tens. In 2009, she entered the DNRT BMW E30 Cup, after a guest spot in the Dutch Winter Endurance Series. She only appears to have competed in two races, perhaps due to funding problems. Since then, she has done some drifting and worked in race tuition and development.

Renate Sanders (Wilschut) - Dutch one-make saloon regular. She has raced in the Toyota Yaris Cup and the SEAT Cupra Cup, the latter alongside Paulien Zwart. She drove the Yaris between 2001 and 2003. Her best result was seventh in 2003. After that, she moved to the SEAT Cupra series, initially with her father Bertus, and then with Paulien Zwart. She was seventh in 2004 and sixth in 2005. In 2006, she entered the Dutch Endurance Championship in a BMW 120d, assisted once again by Bertus and Frank Wilschut. She and Frank remained team-mates for 2007, back in SEAT Cupras. The third driver was Jacco Valentijn. In 2008, they entered the Toyo Tyres 24-Hour series. They were 25th in the Dubai race, in the BMW. Using the same car, they competed in a touring car series for diesel vehicles in Holland. As Renate Wilschut, she drove a BMW 123d in the 2011 Dutch Toerwagen Cup, and was 29th in the championship. In 2013, she competed in the Lotus Ladies' Cup, and was eleventh overall, with two second places. As well as this, she drove a BMW 120d in the Burando Production Open, and was third overall. She returned to the Lotus Cup in 2014, and fared much better, coming third, after two podium places at Oschersleben.

Karen Schipper – raced in the SEAT Endurance Cup during the 2007 and 2009 seasons. In 2009, she was fifth in the championship, with one podium finish. Her car was a SEAT Ibiza, and she was racing as part of a four-driver SNA Racing team. In 2007, she raced for the SP-Support team, in the Unipart Endurance Cup. Results are harder to come by, but the team was eighth in the season finale at Zandvoort.

Femke Terpstra - karter and saloon racer from the Netherlands. After three years of championship karting, she entered the Light division of the Benelux Racing League in 2007, driving a Ford Focus silhouette car. She was sixteenth overall after car trouble marred her season. As well as the BRL, she did four races of the Mini Challenge, won two of them and came second in another. This was enough to win her the championship. In 2008, she returned to BRL Lights. It was a much stronger year for her and she was seventh. Her best race finish was fourth, at Zolder, and she was consistently in the top ten finishers. She took part in two BRL races in 2009, but retired after that, following some sponsorship deals that turned out to be false.

Femke Thijssen – finished fourth in the PTC Cup in 2012, driving a Toyota Aygo. She won one race. Later that year, she did at least some races in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, driving the Aygo with Henk Thijssen. In 2013, she did some more PTC Cup racing, and won at least one race, as part of a two-driver team with Joyce Kraan. They were thirteenth in the ACNN PTC championship, as a team. 

Madelon van der Vossen - competed in the Toyota Yaris Cup in the Netherlands in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, she only made one guest appearance, but in 2002, she completed most of the season and was  27th overall. That year, there was quite a strong female presence in the series, and in the Ladies’ Cup, she was normally third. She seems to have missed part of the season due to injuries sustained in a crash, and did not return to the circuits.

Maaike de Wit - began racing full-time in 2008, in the Formido Suzuki Swift Cup in the Netherlands. She was 29th in the championship, with a best finish of fourteenth at the Jubileumraces at Zandvoort. Her first season was marred by quite a lot of DNFs. After a brief run in her Swift in the 2008-2009 Dutch Winter Endurance Championship, she returned to the Swift Cup in 2009. She was 23rd in the points, after a slightly more consistent season, with more finishes. Her best result was fifteenth at the Masters of Formula 3 meeting at Zandvoort. On her return in 2010, she improved that to a tenth place at Zandvoort.

Ella Zander - began her racing career in 2009, in the Dutch Suzuki Swift Cup. She did not enter all of the races, and had best finishes of 17th and 18th in the final races of the year, at Zandvoort. In spite of this, she had a reliable season and finished all of the races she started. She was 24th in the championship.

(Image copyright Chris Schotanus)