Women drivers in the Sepang 1000km

 

Faye Kusairi, Nurul Husna Nasharuddin and Leona Chin in 2019

The Sepang 1000km is an annual race for touring cars, normally lasting somewhere between eight and nine hours. It evolved from the Merdeka Millennium Endurance race, held at the same circuit, which included both saloons and sportscars and ran over twelve hours. It was originally run to celebrate the festival of Merdeka (Malaysian independence day).

Cars are limited to 1900cc and are mostly models from Asian manufacturers, including Malaysia’s own Proton.

Women have started every single edition of the race. For several seasons, the Red Bull Rookies team fielded an all-female crew. The 1000km’s first female winner was Faye Kusairi in 2016, driving a Proton as part of a four-person team.

All known women entrants are listed below, although there may be others I have not identified due to language barriers. In the case of a mixed team, the woman’s name always comes first and male drivers’ names are in italics.

2009 

Leona Chin/Puteri Ayu Jasmin/Diana Chin/Nur Hayati Omar (Honda DC2) - 21st

Carmen Lim/Akina Teo/Amir - (Proton Satria) - DNF

2010

Philippa Yoong/Hiroko Nakamura/Frank Yee (Proton Satria Neo) - 15th

Puteri Ayu Jasmin/Noradzlianayati Abdul Radzak/Carmen Lim/Melline Jaini (Honda DC2) - 28th

2011

Puteri Ayu Jasmin/Emmiline Ang/Fauziah Haziz (Honda DC2) - 15th

Hiroko Nakamura/Eric Yeo/Melvin Choo (Proton Satria) - DNF

Amirah Mokhtar/Siti Shahkirah Shaharul/Mark Darwin (Proton Satria) - DNF

2012

Melissa Huang/Siti Zirwatul (Proton Satria) - 13th

2013

Siti Shahkirah Shaharul/Siti Zirwatul Irdah (Proton Satria Neo) - 11th

2014

Nurul Husna Nasharuddin/KJ Yee/YC Foo - (Proton Satria Neo) 9th

Siti Shahkirah Shaharul/Illy Aquila/Geraldine Read (Proton Satria Neo) - 12th

2015

Nurul Husna Nasharuddin/YC Foo/KJ Yee/Nasharuddin (Suzuki Swift) - 8th

Geraldine Read/Wong Yat Fan (Suzuki Swift) - DNF

2016

Faye Kusairi/Kefili Othman/Djan Ley/Zizan Razak (Proton Suprima S) - winners

2017

Leona Chin/Kenneth Shak/Woo Siew Chong/Chong Yee Hing (Suzuki Swift) - 9th

Rina Ito/Tomokazu Sato/Ken Foo Kwok Hsing (Toyota Vios) - 16th

2018

Leona Chin/Dato Nasri Said/Kefili Othman/Alifa Hamdan (Toyota Vios) - 7th

Joan Lee/Steven Wan/Goh Eng Peng (Toyota Vios) - 18th

Nurul Husna Nasharuddin/Shasha Shafie/Boey Chai (Suzuki Swift) - 31st

2019

Leona Chin/Nurul Husna Nasharuddin/Faye Kusairi (Proton Saga) - 6th

Angeline Lee/Siti Shahkirah Shaharul (Toyota Vios) - 28th

2020

No race held

2021

Leona Chin/Mohd Nasri Bin Md Said/Yik Choon/Akina Teo (Suzuki Swift) - winners

Natasha Seatter/Nurul Husna Nasharuddin/Muizuddin Musyaffa (Honda City) - 29th

Dilys Lee/Alfred Chong Seong Huat/Choo Chia Chin (Proton Satria Neo) - 30th

Shasha Shafie/Fikri Rahmin/Syafiq Samsudin (Toyota Vios) - 31st

2022

Rina Ito/Takahisa Ohno/Karurosu Honda/Ng Kim Ngee (Suzuki Swift) - 13th

Nurul Auni Nasharuddin/Mohd Yuszaidi/Nasharuddin Abd Aziz (Toyota Vios) - 33rd

Siti Shahkirah Shaharul/Monica Picca/Zulaikha Ahmad (Suzuki Swift) - 42nd

Leona Chin/Adele Lew (Toyota Vios) - 44th

Akina Teo Chai Yong/Eddie Lew Karwai (Toyota Vios) - DNF

2023

Gladys Lam/Roni Risman/Azmeer Yusri Yusof (Suzuki Swift) - 32nd

Nurul Auni Nasharduddin/Loke Yin Yi (Toyota Vios) - 37th

Vicky Law(?)/Ng Teck Ming/Wai Siu Kit/Wong Ka Chun Kendrew (Suzuki Swift) - 46th

Leona Chin/Mark Chew Shin Wong/Danny Chin Hwa Lip (Suzuki Swift) - 58th

2024

Sophia Zara/Mohd Shafiq Samsudin/Kelvin Yap Su Deng (Toyota Vios) - 39th

Genevieve Ooi/Charlie Hine/Alex Hine (Suzuki Swift Sport) - 48th

Vicky Law(?)/Wai Siu Kit/Wong Ka Chun Kendrew (Suzuki Swift) - NC

(Image copyright Proton)

Vivien Keszthelyi

Vivien Keszthelyi is a Hungarian driver who had her first senior races in 2014, aged only thirteen. She was competing in the Suzuki Swift Cup in Central and Eastern Europe.

Her best result was second, achieved at the Panonniaring and her home race at the Hungaroring. She finished in the top ten in all races she finished, and was on the podium in the Junior class every time. Her overall position at the end of the year was sixth. An outing in the Austrian Suzuki Cup gave her a fourth place. This was all despite having almost no prior motorsport experience. She had not been a junior karter in any serious way and only attended her first motor race a year earlier. Having said that, her parents liked cars, and she got an electric jeep for an early birthday.

In 2015, she returned to the RCM Swift Cup, and was a much stronger driver, despite a shaky start. Her first race ended in eleventh place, the first finish outside the top ten of her career. She scored her first win at the Pannoniaring, one of two this season. She was second three times, at the Hungaroring and the Slovakiaring. At the Hungaroring, she was also third in a multi-marque endurance race, driving solo in the Swift.

Always adding to her experience, she entered a couple of rounds of the Central European Touring Car Championship in Slovakia, in the same car. She was fifteenth and ninth, third and second in class.

In 2016, she raced an Audi TT Cup car in the Hungarian touring car championship. She was among the leading drivers, and won five races, mostly the sprints. The first of these wins was at Brno, where she won two in a row, with two fastest laps. Later in the season, at the Hungaroring, she won another three races at the same meeting. This gave her the Hungarian Touring Car and CEZ Endurance titles.

She stayed with the TT Cup car in 2017, but took a further step up into the Audi TT Cup in Europe. She is now a member of the Audi Sport Academy and receiving professional coaching from Pierre Kaffer. She was still only sixteen at the start of the season, having had to wait for a year to be allowed to start in the series.

Her season began badly, with a non-start in the first race, then a non-finish in the second. She was struggling without her race engineer, who had been in hospital, then had the embarrassing experience of sliding off during the parade lap and damaging her car. It was patched up for race two, but tyre problems intervened. Things got worse at the Nürburgring; she was caught up in a Fabian Vettel’s crash on the first lap, hit the wall, and spent the next two days in intensive care.

At the Norisring, she had recovered sufficiently to take part, and was rewarded with her first points finish, an eighth place. It was one of four top-tens she achieved that year. She was thirteenth in the championship.

In 2018 she contested the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup, finishing second in the championship. She was third twice in the opening races at Hockenheim and second at the Hungaroring.

Her project for 2019 is a move into single-seaters. She entered the Asian F3 Winter Series at the end of 2018 with BlackArts Racing, and got into the second round of qualifying for the W Series all-female F3 championship. She was eventually selected as a reserve driver and contested four of the six rounds, with a best finish of tenth at Misano.

She was thirteenth in the Asian F3 series, one place behind her team-mate Charles Leong. The first race of the season gave her her best finish: eighth at Buriram in Thailand.

Vivien had little opportunity to compete in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis stopping a lot of motorsport from happening. She did test a Formula Regional car towards the end of the year.

Her aim is to race in the DTM or the WEC.

(Image copyright Gabor Muranyi)

Anett György

Anett in 2016

Anett György is a Hungarian driver who races a Lotus Elise in the Hankook Racer Cup in Hungary.

She began her racing career in 2013, in the Lotus Ladies’ Cup, which was based in Eastern Europe. She was seventeen years old, and the youngest driver on the grid. It took her a few races to get into her stride, but she was soon fairly competitive, and averaging fourth or fifth place. Her first podium was at the Hungaroring, behind Adrienn Bende and Liesette Braams. She was fifth in the championship.

Anett returned to the Ladies’ Cup in 2014, and was soon one of the front-runners. By the time the series was cancelled in August, due to a dispute with the Hungarian motorsport authorities, she had scored three third places from six races, and had started from pole at the first round at Oschersleben. Unfortunately, she did not finish that race. She was fourth overall.

Later in the season, she joined the RCM Swift Cup for the last three races, at the Hungaroring. It proved a tough initiation, and her best results were two fourteenth places.

In 2015, she did the full series, and was a much improved driver. In her first race at the Hungaroring, she broke into the top ten, finishing ninth. During the season, she averaged tenth place, with a pair of sixths, at the Slovakiaring and the Hungaroring, as her best results. She was tenth in the championship.

In 2016, she went back to racing a Lotus Elise, but now in mixed competition. She entered the Hankook Racer Cup, and started the season in the best way possible, with a maiden win. This was followed by a second and third win at the same meeting. The wins kept on coming, and she was never lower than fifth in the final classification. She won the championship.

Her championship win allowed her to progress up the European ladder and pick up a drive in the European Touring Car Cup. She drove a SEAT Leon for Zengo Motorsport for most of the season, in the ETCC1 class. It was a challenging season, but she was 14th overall, and a consistent top-ten finisher when she was able to get to the end of races. She also did a couple of guest races in the TCR International Series at the Hungaroring, but was not among the frontrunners. 

During her first Lotus season, Anett became one of a tiny handful of father/daughter racing pairs to compete in FIA-sanctioned series at the same meeting. Her father, Gábor, also competes in the RCM Cup, and they raced against one another in 2015. The same year, Anett navigated for her father on the Szilveszter Rally, in a Suzuki Swift.

(Image copyright Anett György)

Female Drivers in One-Make Series: Hungary

Vivien Keszthelyi

Hungarian female drivers are making big strides into their domestic motorsport scene. The current favoured series is the RCM Cup, which allows very young drivers to race alongside more experienced competitors. The Lotus Ladies’ Cup also attracted a largely Hungarian field, especially in its earlier seasons. Anett György now has her own post. 

Annamaria Abari – Hungarian-born, but now a US passport holder. She did some races in the 2014 RCM Suzuki Swift Cup, finishing 19^th overall, with a best finish of ninth, at the Pannoniaring. Previously, she competed in karting in the USA, and she returned to senior competition after her Hungarian races. In 2016, she returned to cars, but in rallycross. She contested at least some rounds of the Hungarian Junior championship in a Suzuki Swift. She was also a competitive swimmer.

Edina Bús - winner of the Lotus Ladies’ Cup in 2011 and 2012, after an appeal in the case of the 2012 championship. She has 17 wins from 24 races in that series. Before the Ladies’ Cup, she raced Suzuki Swifts in her native Hungary. In 2008, she was fourth in the Hungarian Suzuki Swift Cup, and in 2009, ninth. In 2010, she raced in a bio-fuelled version of the Swift Cup, and was fourth in that. As part of the Ladies’ Cup, she has undertaken various media duties for Lotus. Her activities in 2013 included racing a Ferrari in the Central Europe Zone championship, alongside Norbert Kiss. She also did one race in India as part of the Lotus Ladies set-up. In 2014, she raced in the SEAT Leon Eurocup. Her best result was eighth, at Salzburg. She was 21st overall. Another season in the SEAT gave her 25th overall, with a best finish of thirteenth, at the Red Bull Ring. In 2016, she raced the SEAT in some rounds of the Hungarian touring car championship, and earned a second and third place at the Hungaroring. 

Stefánia Havellant - Hungarian driver who had her first season of racing in 2014. She competed in the Suzuki Swift Cup, in the Hungarian national class. Her best result has been seventh, at the Slovakiaring. She does not appear to have completed all of her races this season. Stefánia may well be from a motorsport family, as there are others in Hungarian motorsport with the surname Havellant. 

Vivien Miss – raced in the RCM Swift Suzuki Cup in Hungary in 2014. She did a part-season in the second half of the year, driving for the Proex team. Her best finish was fourteenth, and she was 23^rd in the championship. She was competing alongside her father, János Miss. She does not appear to have raced in 2015.  

Diána Simon – Hungarian driver who races in the Suzuki Swift Cup in Europe. She was a team-mate to Vivien Keszthelyi in 2015. Her best result so far has been a 17^th place. Diána was still only fifteen years old, but under Hungarian motorsport authority rules, could race as a senior. 2015 was her first year of senior competition.

(Image from http://www.oxxoenergydrink.com/)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: Italy in the 21st Century

Federica Lio

This post discusses the large number of Italian rally drivers who have begun their careers since 2000. For earlier Italian rally drivers, look here. Tamara Molinaro has her own post.

Sara Baldacci - started her career as a co-driver in 2004, and still navigates as well as driving herself. Her first rally as a driver was the Rallysprint Monteregio in 2006. driving a Peugeot 106. She returned to Monteregio in an MG ZR in 2011, to take part in the Ronde del Monteregio, and was 61st. In 2013, she had a bigger programme of events as a driver. One highlight was a class win on the Rally del Friuli Venezia Giulia. She was 42nd overall. That year, she used both a Citroen C2 and a Citroen Saxo, both running in class A6. In 2014, she spent most of the year in the co-driver's seat, but made at least two starts in Italian rallies. She came 49th in the Rally del Ciocchetto and the Rally Alta Val di Cecina, using a Clio and a Saxo respectively. In 2015, she rallied a Peugeot 208, and had a best finish of 35th in the Alta Val di Cecina. For 2016, she returned to the co-driver's seat. In 2021 she made a small comeback as a driver, rallying a Peugeot 208 and an MG ZR in Italian national events. She revisited the Ciocchetto rally in 2022, driving the 208, but did not finish. She finished it in 2023, coming 58th. Another visit in 2024, driving a Rally5 Clio, gave her 60th place.

Luciana Bandini – active in Italian rallies since at least 2001. Her first car was a Peugeot 205, but for most of her career, she has driven a Renault Clio. Her career best finish is 21^st, in the 2015 Coppa Città di Lucca. That season, she went back to rallying a 205. In the same car, she achieved a class win in the Reggello e Valdarno Fiorentino Rally, and was 24^th overall.  Among the co-drivers she worked with in 2015 was fellow driver, Susanna Mazzetti.  She was competing against Barbara Lencioni for the Italian women’s title. In 2016, she rallied a Renault Clio Williams, and scored three top-twenty finishes. The best of these was a seventeenth place in the Rally Alta Val di Cecina. She continued to be competitive in 2017 in the Clio, and was 16th in the Rally di Reggello. 2018 started badly with a run of DNFs but she improved later on, picking up a best finish of 17th in the Rally di Casciana Terme. Casciana Terme was her best event in 2019 also: she was 24th. She later won her class in the Rally Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio. 2020 was very similar for her, with a best finish of 30th in the Casciana Terme Rally, one of her usual scheduled events. She was 26th in the 2021 Rally di Casciana Terme, from 70 finishers, in the Clio. This was one of six rallies she did that year. The Clio came out again in 2022 for three events, including a 29th place (from 54) in the Rally degli Abeti e dell'Abetone. She did not finish her two rallies in the Clio in 2023. 

Alice Binello - rallies a Renault in Italian asphalt events. She began in 2019, driving a Twingo. Her best result was a 51st place in the Rally Nazionale Il Grappolo. Her co-driver was her younger sister Alessia. In 2020, she drove a Clio, supported by Turismotors. She has entered two WRC rallies, the Alba events in 2019 and 2020, finishing both times and with a best finish of 105th. The Alba Rally was relegated to national status again in 2021 and Alice managed to roll her car, although she returned to the stages later in the year. Her year in 2022 was similar, including an accident on the Rally Trofeo delle Merende. She did two rallies in the 208 in 2023, finsihing both. A couple more followed in 2024, still in the 208, and she came back from a crash mid-season. She is from a rallying family; her and Alessia’s father Claudio also rallied in the 1990s and 2000s.

Monica Burigo - Italian Ladies’ rally champion in 2007, and winner of ladies’ prizes in Italian rallying since 1995. She has been involved in the major national scene since 2000, when she drove a Renault Clio in the Italian championship. After that, she switched to a Fiat Seicento, followed by another Clio, an Astra, a Subaru Impreza, a Saxo and another Clio. Her best result, 16th, came on the Rally Apennino Ligure in 2000. In 2008, she drove a Clio in European events, including the Mille Miglia rally, as well as doing some circuit racing in a BMW 1-series in Italy. In 2009, she moved away from stage rallying to compete in drifting in Japan, and in 2010, she combined drifting, appearances at car shows and a few rallies, some in a camera car. Since then, she seems to have concentrated on drifting, snow racing and record-breaking. 

Michela Campostrini - rallies Peugeot cars in Italy. She has been active since at least 2016. Her first car was a Peugeot 106, which she drove on and off between 2016 and 2021, along with three other 106s, usually run by Best Racing Team. The best result she achieved in a 106 was probably a 59th place in the 2019 Rally dei Colli Scaligeri, from 71 finishers. In 2022, she moved on to a Peugeot 208 in Rally4 spec. Her best result in it so far has been a 50th place in Rally della Valpolicella.

Monica Caramellino - active in Italian national rallies since at least 2014. Her car since 2016 was a Peugeot 208. Her best result in this car has been a 15th place in the 2017 Il Grappolo Rally Day. She continued to rally this car in 2018 but was not as successful. She fared bettwe in 2019 and had a best finish of 26th in the Rally Team 971 event. In 2014 and 2015, she rallied a BMW Mini Cooper, initially for the GO FAST Rally Team. She was less successful in this car, although she did many rallies in it. Her first WRC rally was in 2020: the Alba Rally, which was an emergency addition to the calendar. She finished in 85th position. Ealier in the year, she had finished sixth on the women-only Grande Sfida Trofeo R2 Lady, an event for Peugeot 208s. Her best finish in 2021 was a 33rd place in the Rally delle Palme, driving the Peugeot. In 2022, she did one rally each in the Peugeot and a Skoda Fabia R5. She used the Peugeot exclusively in 2023 and was second in the Grande Sfida Trofeo Lady. In 2024, she did three more rallies in it, finishing the Rally di Castiglione Torinese. She favours sealed-surface events.

Anna Dusi – co-driver and driver active since 2001. As a driver, she has mainly competed in historic rallies in Italy. In 2014, she rallied a Fiat Ritmo and won her class twice, including a ninth place overall in the Rally Città di Modena Storico. In 2015, she tried out some more modern machinery, and was 26^th in the Rally Bianco-Azzurro in San Marino. The car was a Renault Clio. She tried out more small cars in 2016, a Peugeot 106 and a Citroen Saxo. Her best finish was a 38th place in the Rallye Due Valli, driving the Peugeot. In 2017, she only did one major event, the Rally della Romagna. She was 39th overall in the 106. As a co-driver, she has been part of a rally-winning team with Stefano Ciresola, in both historic and modern rallies. 

Corinne Federighi – young driver who rallies small cars in Italy. Her career began in 2014, in a Fiat 600, which was exchanged part-way through the year for a Renault Twingo, which she continues to use. That year, she concentrated on tarmac events. In 2015, she entered the Twingo R2 Trophy, and registered for the Italian ladies’ championship. After winning four Coupes des Dames, she was awarded the Italian Ladies' championship. The Targa Florio was one of the best rallies of her year, with fourth in the Junior class for drivers under 25, and 24^th overall, but she did even better in the Roma Capitale Rally, finishing fourteenth, and winning the Ladies' and Junior awards. She was third in both the Junior and Twingo championships. In 2016, she won the Coppa ACI Ladies' championship, driving a Renault Clio. Her best overall result was 22nd, in the Rally del Friuli Venezia Giulia. She was second in class. In 2017, she won the women's class of the Italian International Rally Cup. She earned one top-twenty overall finish, a 16th place in the Il Ciochetto Rally. In 2018, she was ladies' champion in the Coppa ACI rally series and also won the R3 class in the Clio. Her best finish was 23rd in the Due Valli event. She only did a couple of rallies in 2019 and unfortunately had to retire from both. 

Paola Fedi - a regular in Italian rallies between 2001 and 2004, and 2009 to the present day. She did not start rallying seriously until she was 30. Her car is always a Renault Clio of some description. At first, she used a Clio Williams, and was fourteenth in the 2001 Rally Salento. Later, her seasons were affected by various problems, and she did not often finish. In 2012, she drove two different Clios, a S1600 model and an R3, and had a good season, with one 17th-place finish in the Rally degli Abeti e Dell’Abetone, and two just outside the top 20, in the Monteregio and Maremma events. In 2014, in a S1600 Clio, she scored her first top ten: ninth in the Rally Elba Nazionale, with a class win. She came close again on the Rally del Casentino, in which she was twelfth. That year, she also drove a Renault Twingo in some rallies. In 2015, she was less active, driving the Clio in two Italian national events. She made a small comeback in 2020, driving the Clio in the Rally Day di Pomerance event. In 2021 and 2022, she drove the Clio and a Rally4-spec Peugeot 208 in a few Italian rallies. In 2023 she kept rallying the Peugeot, picking up two ladies' class wins. She used it for half of 2024, picking up her best finish of the season: thirteenth in the Rally Tuscany, with a class win. It was replaced by a Skoda Fabia R5.

Laura Maria Galliano - active in Italian rallies since 1991. She has driven a number of usually small cars, including a Renault Twingo and Clio between 2010 and 2016. Her most commonly-rallied car is a Peugeot 205, which she first used in 1992 and last used in 2021. Her best event is the Rally Pietra di Bagnolo; she scored her best finish of twelfth in the 2012 running, driving the Clio. It was also one of the first rallies she finished in 1991, driving an Opel Kadett. In 2018, she tried out a Suzuki Swift for a few rallies, scoring a fourteenth place in the Rally Bianco Azzurro. After a quiet 2020, she rallied both a Peugeot 205 and a Volkswagen Golf in Zone 1 National events. A BMW 318 and 125d were added to her stable of cars for 2022, although she went back to the Peugeot in 2023. Her best result was 23rd in the Il Grappolo historic rally. She remained active in it in 2024, winning a ladies' award in the Trofeo Rally series.

Barbara Lencioni - has been rallying in Italy since 2007, always driving a Renault Clio. In 2009, she put herself on the map and won the National and International Ladies’ cups for Italy. In 2010, she did not do as well, and was plagued by retirements, and she missed most of 2011, due to pregnancy. However, she came back in 2012. In 2013, she was more competitive in the overall standings, achieving a top-twenty position (19th) in the Rally di Valdinievole. She was second in the S1600 class, and finished quite strongly in class on other rallies that year. In 2014, she rallied a Jolly Racing Team Clio, in the S1600 class. Her best finish was 27th , in the Rally Casciana Terme. She made a small comeback in 2018 in the Coppa Citta di Lucca Rally, but did not finish. As ever, she was co-driven by Alessandra Benedetti. 

Federica Lio - erstwhile co-driver who switched to the driving seat full-time. She drove a Fiat 600 Abarth in Italian and European rallies in 2010, including the IRC-counting Rallye Sanremo, in which she was 37th. She also competed in the car in 2009, and was 60th in the Sanremo rally. Previously, she only drove occasionally, and navigated for a series of drivers in both historic and modern machinery. Her normal co-driver is Serena Giuliano. They were 44th overall in the 2011 Rallye Sanremo, in the Fiat. In 2012, they competed in the Fiat Sei 100 Cup, rallying mainly in Italy. She was second in the championship. She continued rallying the 600 in Italy in 2013. Her best finish was 33rd, in the Rallye Sanremo. In 2014, she achieved her first top-ten finish, a fifth place in the National section of the Sanremo Rally. Her other results were solid, but less spectacular. In 2015, she was third in the Italian womens' championship, winning the Coupe des Dames in Sanremo. She was 36th overall, and also won her class. Her best result was 29th, in the Valli del Giarolo Rally. Her car was again a Fiat Seicento. In 2016, she did some rallies in France, in a Fiat Seicento. Her best finish was 33rd, in the Jean Behra National Rally, and she also won her class in the Escarene National Rally. Her programme was the same in 2017, although it was the Jean Behra event in which she won her class this time. She did one event in 2019 in the Seicento, the Ronde della Val Merula, finishing 76th. The Seicento came out again for the 2020 Sanremo Rally, but the event was stopped. 

Michela Lorigiola - started rallying in 2019, usually driving for the Hawk Racing Club team. She normally competes in the Raceday Ronde Terra series and her first rally was the Rally delle Marche in November 2019, driving a Ford Fiesta R2. At the start of 2020, she continued with the Fiesta, but when rallying recommenced after the coronavirus outbreak, she had upgraded it to a Skoda Fabia R5. This gave her a first top ten, eighth place in the After Corona Rally Party in Croatia. Her co-driver is Carlo Covi, who sometimes drives the car while Michela navigates.

(Maria) Gabriella Mainiero - Italian driver who appears to have begun her career in the navigator’s seat, in 1998. More recently, she has driven Mitsubishi Lancers and a Renault Clio in the Italian championship. In 2005, she had a best result of 30th in the Rally Internationale Oltrepo, and that year, she was frequently in the top five of her class. In 2007, she took part in the Italian rounds of the IRC, with a best finish of 40th in Sanremo,driving a Lancer Evo 9. In 2008 and 2009, she repeated this programme, taking in the revived Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Costa Smeralda rallies. She was the Italian Ladies’ champion in 2005, 2008 and 2009. Using a Lancer Evo IX, she drove in major rallies in 2011, including the Mile Miglia and Rally del Friuli de delle Alpe Orientali. 

Susanna Mazzetti - regular navigator to Alessio Santini since 2010, who now competes as a driver in her own right. She began in 2013, driving a Renault Clio S1600. Her best result was 29th, in the Rally degli Abeti d Dell’Abetone, and she also won the S1600 class. That year, she was also her local ladies’ champion. In 2014, she continued in the same car, driving mostly in Italy Rallyday events, with Rita Ferrari as co-driver. She had one finish, a 50th place in the Rally del Carnevale. This is in addition to her navigation duties, which included a win with Alessio Santini. She continued to rally the Clio in 2016, and earned a second in class in the Rally Terra Sarda, finishing 28th overall. In the same car, she earned her first top-twenty finish in 2017, coming 18th in the Rally Alta Val di Cecina. She was 24th in this event in 2018. In 2019, she was twelfth in the same rally in the Clio, one of two top-20 finishes that year. The other was a 17th place in the Abeti e dell'Abetone event. Her programme for 2020 featured three rallies but she only finished one, the Rally Day di Pomerance. She was 33rd. Her main car for 2021 was a Skoda Fabia R5, although she used three different versions. She was 19th in the Rally Casciana Terme. She rallied the Skoda exclusively in 2022 and was 20th in the Rally delle Abete e dell'Abetone. She scored another top 20 in the Skoda in 2023, finsihing 18th in the Rallye di Reggello - Citta di Firenze event. She just missed out on a top-20 in the same event in 2024, finishing 21st. 

Rebecca Mei - driver and co-driver active since 2013. For her first season, she used a Fiat 600 Sporting in some Italian rallies, co-driven by Giulia Antongiovanni. Her best finish was 33rd, in the Rally Ronde dei Colli Luni. In 2014, she initially continued with the Fiat and scored her first top-twenty finish - 17th in the Rally il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio. She then started rallying a Renault Clio Williams, and was fourteenth, second in class, in the National Elba Rally. This was her best result of the year. She also drove a Citroen Saxo in 2014, but it was not as successful. As a navigator, she usually sits alongside either Simone Mei, her father, or Lorenzo Bonuccelli, in a variety of smaller cars.

Silvia Micheletti – mainly a co-driver, active since 2001, although she has driven some rallies of her own, between 2003 and 2008. One of her first rally cars was a Lancia Delta HF Integrale, but she has had better results in more modern machinery. In 2004, she did a full season of rallying in Italy, in a Peugeot 206. Her best finish was 29^th, in the Rally Tutta Terra Toscana. After that, she competed only sporadically, although she continued to navigate for different drivers. Her last rally as a driver was the 2008 Mille Miglia, in a Fiat Punto. She did not finish.

Alice Poggio - member of a rallying family in Italy who has been active since 2022. Her first major event was the women-only Automoto  Racing - La Grand Sfida Trofeo Lady, in which she was third in a Peugeot 208. In 2022 and 2023, she normally drove either a Suzuki Swift or a Suzuki Baleno for the Alma Racing team, mainly in asphalt rallies. In 2024, she started rallying a Suzuki Swift 1000 Turbo for New Racing, with a best finish of 55th in the Rally Lana. Both her mother and sister, as well as her father, are rally drivers.

Vanessa Polonia – began rallying at the age of 18, and having done a few rallies in a Peugeot 106, jumped straight into the Monte Carlo Rally, a few months later, in 2009. She was 29^th, third in class, in a Suzuki Swift. After that, she returned to Italian rallies, and the Peugeot 106, a car she still used in 2015. For several seasons, she rallied around Italy, often in the Alpe Adria Rally Cup. In 2014, she had a best result of 30^th overall, in the Rally di Majano, second in class. In 2015, she was one of the leading drivers in the Italian women’s championship, after a Coupe des Dames in the Rally Il Ciocco e Valli del Serchio. Her best overall finish was 23^rd, in the Rally Day Cittá di Maniago. She was fifth in the womens' championship. 

Lorella Rinna - active in Italian rallies since at least 2015. Her normal car is a Renault Clio and she has used several different versions of this vehicle since 2015. Her best season in it was 2017, when she had a best result of 20th in the Rallye di Roma Capitale. She also won her class in the Rally Due Valli. In 2018, she rallied a Mini Cooper, finishing fourth in the Italian R1 Cup with class wins in the Sperlonga and Palladio events. She returned to rallying a Clio in 2020.

Silvia Rocchi - driver and co-driver active since 2010. She has sat beside a number of Italian and Swiss drivers, and earned top-ten finishes. As a driver, she has mostly used a Renault Clio, sticking to asphalt rallies in the Lombardy region, which stretches into Switzerland. 2016 was her best year, and she was partnered by the experienced Swiss navigator, Tania Canton. Her best result was a 40th place in the Ronde Gomitolo di Lana, and she was third in class. She won that year’s Lombardy Ronde Women’s Cup. In 2017, she only did one major event, in the Clio. She and Tania retired from the Coppa Valtellina. Her only outing in 2020 was the women-only Grande Sfida Trofeo R2 Lady, which she won in a Peugeot 208.

Giovanna (Jenny) Rubini – has rallied on and off, in and around Italy, since 2000. Her first car seems to have been a Renault Clio. Since her first major rallies in 2000, she has driven a Subaru Impreza, Autobianchi A112 Abarth, Ford Fiesta and SEAT Ibiza, among others. The SEAT is her most recent car. In 2014 and 2015, she has rallied it in San Marino, and she was 27^th in the 2015 Rally Bianco-Azzurro. Her best overall results have been two 21^st places, achieved in 2014. One was in the Impreza, at an Imola rally event, and the other was in the San Marino Rallylegend event, in a VW Golf. As well as driving, she has also done some navigating in modern and historic rallies. 

Silvia Spinetta - driver and co-driver, active since at least 2011. As a driver, her usual car is a Peugeot 106, and since 2015, this has often been run by the Scuderia Monferrato. Silvia’s best events are the shorter rallies, and her best overall result was a 42nd place in the 2015 Rally del Colli del Luni. As a navigator, she has helped Simone Miele to at least two wins, as well as sitting alongside Elisa Spinetta, presumably her sister, who has also co-driven for her on occasion.

Giulia de Toni – winner of the Italy Rally Talent contest in 2014, despite having never done any rallying before. That year, she participated in four rallies in Italy, using a Peugeot 106, a Renault Clio and a Peugeot 208. She was third in the Rally Talent section of the Bologna Motor Show. Her prize in 2015 was a supported drive in a Peugeot 208. Her best finish has been 37^th, in the Rally Il Ciocco e Valli del Serchio, and she was also 40^th in the Rallye Sanremo. She was second in the Italian womens' championship. Her usual co-driver was Sofia Peruzzi. In 2022, she made a comeback in a Peugeot 208 Rally4, finishing 44th in the Targa Florio Rally. More rallies in Italy's International Rally Cup followed in 2023.

Sabrina Tumolo - active in Italy since at least 2002, when she drove a Renault Clio Williams in events including the Rally Cittá de Schio. She continued with this car in 2003. In 2010, she was still using this car in Italian national rallies, as well as a Peugeot 205, although it is not clear whether she has competed continuously. In 2007, she is also recorded as rallying a Citroen C2. In 2011, she was very active in the Italian championship again, and was named Italy’s top female driver. She remained active between 2013 and 2015, driving the Clio still. Her best finish was 23rd, in the Rally Cittá di Modena. In 2016, she rallied three different cars: a Mini Cooper, a Clio and a Peugeot 106. She was ninth in the Rally Day della Romagna in the Clio. 2017 was quite similar for her; she drove both cars again, and was most successful in the Clio. She won her class in the Rally della Romagna and Rally Ronde Colli del Monferrato e del Moscato. For 2018, she stuck with the Clio. She won her class on the Benacus Rally and was 16th overall. She continued with the same car in 2019 and won the Ladies' award on the Citta di Modena Rally. Away from rallying, she is also involved in the business side of motorsport. In 2020 she only did one rally, the Rally Due Valli in October. She did not finish. Back in the 208 in 2021, she competed in three events, earning a best result of 41st in the Rally del Bardolino. In 2024, she did the Rally di Salsomaggiore Terme in a Peugeot 106, finishing 60th.

Lucia Zambiasi – active as a driver in Italian rallying, between 2000 and 2006. She switched between three cars: a SEAT Ibiza for the 2001 season, Opel Astras, and a Renault Clio Williams. She was probably most successful in the Astra, which she used at the beginning and the end of her career. Her best overall result was 26^th, in the Rally di Cagliari in 2000. She was driving the Astra, and was fourth in class N3. During her career, she also scored top thirty finishes in the Piancavallo and Targa Florio rallies, among others. After retiring from the driving seat in 2001, she stayed involved in rallying as a navigator. This was something she had always done on and off, but she now competes almost full-time in the Italian historic championship.

(Image from http://www.formulaitalia.info)

Women in UK Rallycross

Paige Bellerby

This post has been split off from the original Women in Rallycross post, with some additions. Shelley Wakeling, Sue Jeffery, Suzie Brailsford and Amy Binks have their own posts.

Frankie Helliwell (Fyfe) - active in British rallycross since at least 2009, when she competed in Junior Rallycross in a Mini. In recent seasons, she has used a BMW Mini. In 2016, she contested the Mini Rallycross Championship, with a best finish of third, which she earned twice during the year. She was fifth overall. In 2015, she also raced the Mini, and reached at least one “A” Final, at Croft. In 2017, she made one appearance in the British championship, at Croft. She did a longer season in 2018 and earned two sixth places.

Beccy Holland - drove in rallycross events in the UK between 2004 and 2006. Her car was a Peugeot 205 GTi, which she raced in the Stock Hatch class. She started out in the Winter series in 2004, before tackling some of the main season. In 2005, she only qualified for one “A” Final, but was competitive in “B” Finals. The following year she reached three British Championship (BRDA) finals and was tenth overall in the championship. She does not appear to have competed since then. 

Sue Lane - front-runner in the BTRDA 1600cc Production Rallycross championship in 2018, driving a Honda Civic. She scored her first win at Blyton at the end of 2017 and won again at the same track in mid-2018. She ran as high as second in the Production championship points table and finished sixth, second in the 1600cc class, with two wins. In 2019 she won the 1600cc class and was third in Production. She has been active in rallycross since at least 2016.

Samantha O’Flanagan - has driven in Minicross in British championships since at least 2008. In 2010, she was seventh in the Minicross Open Championship. This was the same position in which she finished in 2009. Her best finish in a single round was sixth. In 2010, she improved this to fifth. She was sixth in the 2011 championship, with a best finish of fourth. In 2013, she may have competed in Classic Minicross, but her results are not forthcoming. She remains in the sport as an administrative member of the Minicross Drivers' Association.

Tina Pinder (Scott) - one of Britain’s leading contemporary female rallycross drivers. In 2005, she drove a Peugeot 205 in the Stock Hatch class, with a best finish of fourth in BRDA events. She maintained her momentum the following year, qualifying for some “A” Finals and finishing eighth in the championship, driving both the 205 and a Peugeot 106. This was despite a dramatic crash at the Croft round. The 106 was upgraded to a 206 in 2007, and Tina was eleventh in Stock Hatch. She switched to a Citroen C2 for the 2008 season and was rewarded with second in the small but competitive Stock Hatch B class. She won the Super Modified title in 2009. 

Rebecca Ryder – raced in the BMW Mini class of the British Rallycross Championship in 2014. She was second in the championship, with two runner-up positions. In 2015, she stayed with the BMW Mini, but moved into circuit racing, contesting the Mini Challenge UK. 2014 seems to have been her first season of racing. She returned to straight circuit racing in 2019, contesting the Ford Focus Cup.

Leigh-Anne Sedgwick - winner of the 2017 British Rallycross Hot Hatch title. She won four rounds outright and was second twice, driving a Citroen Saxo. In 2016, she drove in the Irish rallycross championship, and was fourth in the Stockhatch class. Before that, she raced bangers and stock cars on short ovals, having made her debut in 2003, aged ten. She remained in British rallycross in 2018, in the BMW Mini class. She was sixth overall, with a best finish of second. In 2019, she raced two cars, the Mini-class Mini and another Mini prepared to Supermodified spec. She won the championship for 2000cc Supermodified cars and was fourth overall in the class. During the three-race 2020 season she raced a BMW Mini, finishing seventh in the Mini class. She made a guest appearance at Lydden in 2022 after time off for illness, before returning to the BTRDA series in 2023. She was seventh in the Mini class and 32nd overall. In 2024, she won the Mini class twice and was third in the championship.

Jordine Wadge - races a Citroen C2 in British rallycross. She won the 1600cc Supermodified title in the 2018 BTRDA Clubmans championship and was seventh overall in the 1600cc Production standings. She also raced in Minicross in the Netherlands. She has been active in motorsport since at least 2016, when she did some sprints in a Ford Fiesta. That was also the first year that she co-drove in a rally, sitting alongside Todd Crooks. She continues to navigate occasionally.

Tania Wilson (Jeffery) – made a comeback in 2009, driving a Peugeot 205 in the Revivals class of the British Championship. She scored some decent finishes, just out of the top three. Previously, she had competed in the contemporary championships in the late 1990s, although details of this are not readily available. She and Sue Jeffery are sisters.

(Image from http://www.swiftrallycross.com/)

Female Rally Drivers Around the World: Switzerland

Stéphanie le Coultre and Sonia Boi

Circuit racing is illegal in Switzerland, but it has some rallies, and an active rally championship based mainly in France and Italy. Swiss drivers also compete in other championships.

Stéphanie le Coultre - Swiss driver, active in major rallies since 2007. Her first car was a Citroen Saxo VTS, which she used in events in Switzerland itself and France. Her first finish in a major rally came in 2008, when she was 37th in the International Rallye du Valais, in Switzerland. In 2009, she entered the Valais rally again, but could not drive because her navigator, Sarah Dussex, was ill. After this, she exchanged the Citroen for a Fiat Abarth 500. When she shifted the focus of her rally activities to Italy, her results really started improving. In 2011, her best result was 19th, in the Rallye Antibes Côte d’Azur in France. She was also 34th in the Rally Appenino Reggiano. Mid-season, she entered her first IRC rally, the San Remo Rally, but did not finish. After a quiet season in 2012, where she changed car again, to a Suzuki Swift, and gained a new navigator, Sonia Boi, They attacked the Italian Suzuki Rally Cup together in 2013, driving partly for Team Nyonnais and partly for Butterfly Motorsport. Stéphanie’s best result was 17th in the Mille Miglia National Rally, fifth in class and ninth in the Suzuki Cup. Her best Suzuki Cup finish was eighth, in the Sanremo Leggende Rally. She was 34th overall. As well as rallying, she also competes in hillclimbs occasionally. In 2014, she did not do any driving, but navigated for Jean-Marie Renaud. She became a mother in 2016. 

Maude Crepin - Swiss rallyist active as a driver in French rallies since 2009. She began as a slalom driver, before entering rallying as a navigator in 2008. In 2009, she competed in four French national rallies in a Citroen Saxo, as well as hillclimbs, slaloms and even circuit racing. The following year, her programme extended to six rallies, still in the Citroen. She managed to finish some rallies, although she was still learning, and had problems with tyres. In 2011, she entered the Saxo into both gravel and tarmac events, with tarmac giving her a best finish of 37th in the Rallye du Gard. Her best gravel finish was 77th, in the Terre des Causes rally. In 2012, she was less active, but drove a Peugeot 106 in some French rallies, including the Rallye des Vins du Gard. She seems to have done some navigation in 2013. In 2014, she returned to the driver's seat, in the Swiss Rally Ronde del Ticino, and the French Rallye Terre des Cardabelles. She won her class in the French event, driving a Ford Fiesta. She was 67th overall. In 2015, she did some rallies in a Citroen Saxo, and finished the Fourme d'Ambert Rally in 100th place. She used the Saxo for one rally in 2016, the Terre des Cardabelles, but mostly drove a Peugeot 206. In this car, she had her best result, a 58th place in the Rallye National du Gard, fourth in class. In 2017, she did another rally in the Saxo, the Terre des Causses event in France. She was 65th out of 102 finishers. Another gravel outing in 2018, driving a Citroen DS3 R3T, ended in retirement. She entered the Rallye Terre de Vauclusebut dropped out on the second day with mechanical trouble.

Nathalie Golaz – Swiss driver who mostly competes in France. She began in 2007, driving a Peugeot 206 in France and Switzerland, taking on the Rallye du Valais in her first year. Her other cars have included a Toyota Yaris and a Peugeot 306. In 2013, she started to concentrate more on using bigger, Group N4 cars, such as a Subaru Impreza and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6. She was quite effective with the Impreza in 2014, managing three Group N podiums in French regional rallies, and a fifteenth overall in the Ruppéen Rally. She was second in class. In 2015, she drove a WRC-spec Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9. Her best result was a 45^th place, in the Monts de Vaucluse Rally. She used the Lancer again in 2016, and scored her best finish of the season in it: 23rd in the Bourgogne International Rally. She also rallied a Citroen C2 and a Ford Fiesta in French national and regional rallies, with mixed results. After a long break, she brought out the Lancer again for two rallies in 2021. Her best result was a 50th place in the Rallye National de Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise. Another outing in this event in 2022 gave her a fourth place, driving a Volkswagen Golf. Until 2010, she was also a co-driver for several different drivers, and this is how her rally career began, in 1996.

Laurence Jacquet - Swiss driver who rallied in Europe, particularly in France, in the 1980s and 1990s. She often drove a Renault 5 Turbo and it was in this car that she earned her first top ten, a tenth place in the 1990 Rallye du Valais. She won the French ladies’ championship in 1991, using the Renault 5 for a couple of rounds and then replacing it with a Clio. Her best result was an eighth overall in the Rallye du Limousin. In 1999 she did some events in a Peugeot 106, but appears to retire after that.

Michela (Micky) Martinelli - Swiss driver active in the 1970s and 1980s. She often drove an Opel Kadett or an Alfa Romeo. One of her most famous drives was her 27th place in the 1981 Targa Florio, in the Kadett. She competed in the Italian championship that year and appears to have won the Ladies’ prize, ahead of Pierangela Riva. At some point prior to this, she won the Swiss championship as well. She is now active again in historic events, often in Italy. In 2015, she was seventh in the Rally Storico dell'Appenino, driving an Opel Kadett. She continued in historic events with the Kadett in 2016. 

Iris Thurnherr – Swiss driver with single-seater and rallying experience. She raced in the German junior formulae in 2002 and 2003, before taking up rallying with the Suzuki Ignis Cup. A season in the Swiss championship followed. She changed to a Swift in 2007, for the Suzuki Rallye Cup. She scored some good class podium places in European rallies as part of the Cup and was usually the fastest woman. Her class-winning ways in the Ignis continued into 2008, with an N2 win on the Rallye Pays du Gier, and she was first in class, second in group and 15th overall on the Rallye Oberehe. This time, she was driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 instead of the Ignis. In 2009, she continued with the Lancer, competing in German rallies, rallysprints, and the occasional circuit race. The situation was the same in 2010. Her best finish was third in the ADAC Rallye Oberehe.She drove in the Swiss championship in 2011, in an Evo VIII run by Emil Frey Motorsport. She was tenth overall, fourth in class, with a best finish of seventh, in the Rallye delle Valle Cuneesi.

Mireille Vidueira - Swiss driver who rallies almost exclusively in France. She has been competing since at least 2018. Her first car was a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX which she campaigned until 2021. The best result she achieved in this car was a thirteenth place in the 2021 Rallye National Monts et Couteux in the Rhone valley, an asphalt event. After this, the car was replaced by a Ford Fiesta in Rally3 spec, which gave her a sixth place in the Rallye Regional de Meuse at the start of 2022. She won her class in the 2022 Alps Rally Trophy. In 2023, she was ninth in the Chartreuse regional rally and won the French women's championship. A shorter programme in 2024 included the Central European Rally in Germany, her first WRC rally. She was 29th overall.

(Image from www.campioni.cn)