Cecilia Rabelo

Cecilia Rabelo is a Brazilian driver who began her senior career in 2022.

She was 15 years old when she took part in two rounds of the Paulista Formula Delta championship, finishing ninth and eighth.

Her first full season was meant to be spent competing in the Brazilian F4 championship in 2023, driving for the Cavaleiro Sport team. After two tenths and an eleventh in the first meeting at Interlagos, she missed a couple of meetings due to an injury she sustained in a crash at Interlagos. She returned for the fourth round at Goiania, improving over the weekend with a twelfth, eleventh and then seventh place. The series moved back to Interlagos and Cecilia surprised onlookers with two pole positions, although she could not convert these to podium finishes: she was seventh and 13th in the two races she finished. Her season finished with a disqualification, a tenth and an eleventh place. She was 15th overall.

Her second F4 season started with a move to the Bassani Racing team. The year began well with a sixth and fourth place at Mogi Guacu, as well as a ninth, although her early improvements were overshadowed by her female rival Rafaela Ferreira finishing on the podium. The fourth place remains her best finish of the year, although she did manage to out-perform Rafaela Ferreira in the next round at Interlagos. A series of DNFs later on did not help her. At present, she is thirteenth in the championship.

At the end of the 2024 season, Cecilia joined up with Porsche racewinner Antonella Bassani and former skateboarder Leticia Bufoni to enter the Interlagos 500km. Their car was a Porsche 991 and they were 30th overall, seventh in class. They had been running slightly higher, but a slow pitstop lost them a place. This was Cecilia's second Porsche Cup race, having entered the round at Buenos Aires earlier in the season.

Sportscars then became her focus for 2025. She entered both the Carrera Cup and the Porsche Sprint Challenge in Brazil, finishing both of her Carrera Cup races at Estoril and Portimao, albeit near the back. She did better in the Sprint Challenge, quickly becoming a reliable class finisher and top-ten overall achiever. In the first overseas race at Portimao, she picked up her first class win, despite the heat outside and in the car being difficult to handle. She was seventh in the championship.

(Image from blogdomadeira.com.br)

Janis Taylor

Janis and Del Russo Taylor in 1983

Janis Taylor raced sportscars in the 1980s, in the USA.

She was from Denver, but settled in Florida. Her father had been an automotive enthusiast and she had grown up around fast cars, dabbling in the drag racing scene in her youth. In a 1983 interview with the Poughkeepsie Journal, she described buying her own first car at "15 or 16". It was a Triumph Spitfire and she worked on it herself.

Her first year of major competition was 1980, when she drove an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV in the Sebring 12 Hours. She and her two team-mates, including her husband, Del Russo Taylor, did not finish. Del Russo married Janis in 1974 and was an experienced racer.

Her second attempt, in 1981, was as part of an all-female team in the Alfetta, with local drivers Carol Cone and Pat Godard. The team only had one male member, a chief mechanic who was allergic to oil. Two of the crew were air stewardesses. They had serious problems in the qualifying race, but managed to get onto the grid for the 12 Hours. Sadly, the car expired on the first lap, with Janis at the wheel.

For the next two seasons, she mostly drove a Buick-engined Chevron GTP prototype in IMSA events, often sharing with Del Russo. She was named as the car owner in 1981. Their best result together was a 29th place in the Mid-Ohio 500km, from a 15th-place start.

Her activities included the Sebring 12 Hours, which she entered twice more in 1982 and 1983, once in the Chevron and once in a Ford Pinto, driving for different team owners and finishing once in 1982, in the Pinto.

As well as some outings with Del Russo, she drove different cars in the IMSA-supporting Kelly American Challenge, including a Chevrolet Camaro in 1983.

In 1984, she switched to a Pontiac Firebird owned by Walter Johnston as her main car. Her best result was 21st, in the 1984 Riverside 6 Hours. A 1985 Daytona entry in the Firebird went ahead without her in the driving line-up, which consisted of Del Russo, Bob Lee and John Hayes-Harlow. After this, she disappears from the entry lists.

(Image copyright Poughkeepsie Journal)

Annick Girard

Annick (right) and Francoise Conconi in 1970

Annick Girard rallied in France in the 1970s. She was one of the original members of Team Aseptogyl and probably the most successful driver in its first line-up.

She began rallying an Alpine-Renault A110 with the team in 1971, starting her first event, the Rallye d’Istres, on New Year’s Day that year. She did not finish.

Although Aseptogyl initially paired her with Francoise Conconi, she earned her best finishes in open events with Marie-Odile Desvignes alongside her. Just three months after dropping out at Istres, she finished in the top ten for the first time in the Criterium National de Touraine, taking a ninth place.

This was followed by an eighth place in the Rallye des Roses, held at Antibes, then fifth in the national section of the Alpine Rally.

She and Francoise did score one win together, however, finishing first in the National section of the Paris-St.Raphael Rally.

Previously, she had driven in the Tour de France with Francoise in 1970, driving an A110. They were sponsored by Aseptogyl toothpaste, although the Aseptogyl team itself had not yet been assembled.

As well as rallying, she drove an Alpine-Renault A110 in hillclimbs at the same time, including the famous Mount Ventoux climb in 1971. 

Although she showed a great deal of promise in a car, Annick’s motorsport career was a short one and she seems to have dropped out at the end of 1971. Had she continued, we may have seen her performing well on major international rallies or in sportscar races, which Aseptogyl also entered.

Maurizia Baresi

 

Maurizia Baresi (left, with car 75) is an Italian rally driver from Cremona who won at least one national ladies’ championship in the 1970s.

She was a member of the famous all-female Team Aseptogyl in some of its later line-ups, in 1978 and 1979. By that time, the team was using Fiat 127s and mainly Italian drivers. The car proved unreliable in 1978, but she was reasonably successful in Italian rallies in 1979. Her best event was that year’s San Marino Rally, in which she was 24th. Her 35th place, with a class win, in the Rally Team 971 was also impressive as there 119 finishers and 186 entries. That year, her Aseptogyl team-mates included Caterina Baldoni, Isabella Bignardi and Betty Tognana. 

Isabella Bignardi would later join her in one of Aseptogyl’s last ventures, a multi-car, multinational women’s team for the 1983 Monte Carlo Rally. Maurizia was one of the few to qualify for the rally itself in her Alfasud Ti. Only the top 100 advanced to the points-scoring “Parcours Final”. She was classified 120th, fifth of the Aseptogyl crews.

The Monte was not an event in which she ever had much luck. She first tried in 1973, driving an Innocenti Mini Cooper, but the route taken by Stage 4 was blocked, meaning that a large number of cars, including Maurizia’s, went over the time limit and had to retire. She was already on the back foot, as she had prepared for the event in a Citroen and only fell back on the Mini very late.

The 1974 Monte was cancelled due to the fuel crisis so she entered again in 1975, in a Fiat 124 Abarth, but does not appear to have finished.

The Mini was her first rally car and she initially used it in hillclimbs. She would later describe it as her favourite car.

A big portion of her career was spent in the Trofeo A112 Abarth, a one-make series for the Lancia-associated compact car. She did two seasons in the championship in 1977 and 1978, first navigated by Anna Meli and then, usually, by Iva Boggio. Her best result was probably a ninth place in the 1978 Targa Florio Rally. Her next rally, the Costa Smeralda event, gave her an eleventh place.

After 1979 she only competed occasionally. In 1982, she entered a Porsche 930 Turbo into the Rally Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio, although she does not appear to have finished.  A few years later, in 1985, she drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 in the Rally Citta di Modena, finishing 43rd. She was part of another all-female team sponsored by Alitalia; her team-mate Daniela Angei was a few places above her and three other crews did not finish.

Throughout her career, Maurizia did not often compete outside of Italy, but in 1979, she travelled all the way to Brazil for the first Rally of Brazil, then a prospective WRC event. She and local navigator Ana Mulhen did not finish in their ethanol-powered Fiat 147.

Away from the special stages, she worked as a journalist and a photographer. She covered the Dakar Rally and other rally raids for Autosprint magazine, following the cars and bikes in both her own vehicle and a helicopter. Her interest in raids was sparked by her taking part in the 1979 Dakar as part of a truck crew.

She also taught law at a university.

(Image from http://www.nobresdogrid.com.br/)

Doriane Pin

 

Doriane Pin is a French driver who races sportscars in Europe. She was one of the finalists in the FIA’s official Girls on Track - Rising Stars programme.

She began her senior career in 2020, racing in the Clio Cup in France. Her best finish in the Clio was a ninth place at Paul Ricard and she was fourteenth overall, but second in the Junior standings. This was combined with her Rising Stars assessments, in which the leading young female drivers competed for membership of the Ferrari Academy. Doriane finished second to Maya Weug.

She had intended to compete in French F4 in 2021 and was also one of the finalists for the Elf Winfield Scholarship. As a prize for being the best of the girls there, she tested an F4 car, but the Iron Dames all-female GT team signed her up and her focus became sportscars. She had already tested the team’s Ferrari as part of her Girls on Track assessments; the Iron Dames team works closely with Girls on Track.

Before this new phase of her career could get under way, she tried ice racing at the Andros Trophy, finishing fifth in an invitation race at Andorra. She was driving an Enedis electric prototype.

Back with petrol power, her first race as an Iron Dame was meant to be in April, but she sat out the first round of the Le Mans Cup. She made her debut in the team’s Ferrari 488 in July, at Paul Ricard, finishing third in the GT3 class. Her co-drivers for the season were Sarah Bovy and Manuela Gostner. This was one of six podium finishes for the team, who finished second at Monza and third at both Le Mans and Spa. Doriane was fifth in the GT3 drivers’ standings.

She also joined Iron Dame Sarah Bovy in a Ferrari for two rounds of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. They were sixth at Catalunya and Paul Ricard.

Late in the season, she joined another Iron Dames driver, champion Michelle Gatting, in the Ferrari Challenge. Doriane scored two sixth places at Mugello.

Before her Ferrari guest drive, she tested an FIA Formula 3 car at Magny-Cours, alongside Maya Weug.

She stayed an Iron Dame in 2022, taking up the seat vacated by Michelle Gatting in the Ferrari Challenge. It was soon clear that she was the driver to beat, taking two wins from two pole positions in the first two races at Portimao. She won four of the six races, finishing third in another and fourth in another, both at Paul Ricard. Her dominance led to a win.

As the season went on, she played a bigger part in the main Iron Dames team. In July, she helped Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting to a class win in the ELMS LMGTE Drivers Trophy at Portimao, after a second at Spa. 

She remained part of the Iron Dames setup in 2023, although she raced for Prema in the LMP2 class in the WEC. She shared her car with ex-F1 driver Daniil Kvyat for most of the year, and they were ninth in their class. Mirko Bortolotti joined them for Le Mans, but a crash during Kvyat's night stint put them out at about one-third distance. Theyhad run as high as second in LMP2. Their best finish was a second in class at Sebring, at the beginning of the season.

She joined the Iron Dames in their Lamborghini Huracan for three rounds of the IMSA championship, beginning at Daytona. In what was a learning year, their best finish together was twelfth at Petit Le Mans. They also competed together as a four at the Spa 24 Hours, but did not finish. 

At the end of the season, Doriane made a surprising move back to single-seaters, with Prema. She did the Sepang rounds of the F4 Southeast Asia series, winning one race and scoring podium finishes in three more. She was linked to a Prema seat in the all-female F1 Academy for 2024 and the rumours were true; she became Mercedes' supported driver. After a win in the first race at Jeddah, she looked like a strong bet for the title, but a disqualification for post-race speeding dropped her to ninth in Race 2. She was then injured during her parallel campaign in FRECA for the Iron Dames, pulling out of the second Spa race, then the Zandvoort and Hungary rounds when she became ill. 

Although she did not miss any F1 Academy races, she was off the pace somewhat mid-season. She recovered and scored two more wins, at Zandvoort and Abu Dhabi, finishing second in the championship to Abbi Pulling. 

Her FRECA season was not as successful. This was the first time she had driven a single-seater at this level in competition and her best finish was only a fourteenth place at Paul Ricard. She was 27th in the championship.

As part of her continuing relationship with Iron Dames, she joined their sportscar team for the Daytona 24 Hours and two rounds of the World Endurance Championship, driving a Lamborghini Huracan. She and her team-mates Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey were sixth in the GTD class at Daytona, 25th overall. In the WEC, she did the Qatar and Imola rounds, finishing 23rd overall and eighth in class at Qatar, as part of a three-driver team.

She continued as a Mercedes junior in F1 Acadamy in 2025, making the championship her main focus. She and Maya Weug were the frontrunners from the beginning and were close for the entire season. Going into the final round at Las Vegas, either could have won; they both had three wins each. In the end, Doriane claimed her fourth win in Race 1, and as Maya had been taken out on the green flag lap, she only had to finish reasonably well in Race 2 to claim the title. She was fifth and finished the year as champion.

Formula Regional was also still on her calendar, although she had to work around the F1 Academy season. Prema ran her in some rounds of the Middle East series in the 2025 early winter season, but it was a tough challenge and her best finishes were two 16th places in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Her part-season in FRECA panned out similarly, with 17th spots at Paul Ricard and the Hungaroring its highlights. She was 30th overall.

(Image copyright Girls on Track)

Faye Kusairi

 

Faye Kusairi, birth name Dayangku Faratiwan Adnil Binti Awang Kusairi, is a Malaysian driver who is best known for her win in the 2016 Sepang 1000km, as part of a four-driver team in a Proton Suprima.

She has been active in motorsport since 2012 and circuit racing since 2016. Her career began in gymkhana-style events.

Her first races were in the Malaysian Speed Festival and was fourth in the 1600 Race Car series, driving a Honda Jazz. Her best finish was third. Her Sepang win came as part of the Mayhem-FX Tuning team. 

The following year, she formed a female team with Sharina Ramlle for the MSF series, although they did not do the full season. 

She came back to racing in the MSF Super Production series in 2019 after a one-year hiatus, sharing a Honda Civic with Syahmi Mahzan. Her campaign only lasted for the first two races and she did not finish either.

At the end of the year, she returned to the Sepang 1000km in a Proton Saga, finishing sixth overall alongside Leona Chin and Nurul Husna Nasharuddin. All four team members were recruited through the MSF R3 Ladies Racers Search, which was both a mentoring programme for existing women racing in MSF series and a talent search for unaffiliated drivers. The race was the first time that the three drivers had competed together and they had started from 26th and last due to a problem in qualifying.

Away from the track, she is a TV and film actress. Acting as a professional came after she first became involved with cars; her first TV appearances were in 2013.

She was pregnant for a good chunk of 2020 and has spoken since about developing the facial nerve disorder Bell’s Palsy since then.

In 2025, she was back out on track, in the Merdeka Endurance race at Sepang. Her Chevrolet Matiz developed problems on Lap 31 and she and her team-mates did not finish. She also took part in some MSF Super Turismo races.

(Image copyright Faye Kusairi) 

Siti Shahkirah Shaharul

 

Siti Shakirah Shaharul, often known as Siti Shahkirah, is a Malaysian driver who mainly competes in endurance racing.

She began her senior career as one of the winners of the Red Bull Rookies driver search in 2011, aged just seventeen. Red Bull Rookies had been a female-only competition previously, but that year it had both male and female winners. Although she got her break through a competition, she was not new to motorsport as a whole and had been karting since the age of nine. At the end of 2010 she trained at the Petronas Formula Xperience Racing Academy.

Her prize drive was a seat in a Red Bull Proton Satria for the Sepang 1000km. She also took part in a Malaysian Grand Prix support race in the same car, which counted as a round of the Malaysian Super Series. 

After 2011, she was retained as a driver by the Red Bull Rookies team and did at least two more Sepang 1000km races in 2013 and 2014. Her co-driver in 2013 was a Bruneian driver named Siti Zirwatul Iradah Awang Adninin. They were eleventh. The following year she was twelfth overall, with fellow Rookies Geraldine Read and Illy Aquila. 

In 2018, she made her single-seater debut in the Southeast Asia Formula 4 championship, taking part in the last six races at Sepang. Her best results were three eighth places.

She was one of the 60 drivers chosen to try out for the all-female W Series, but she was eliminated after the first round of assessments.

She returned to her favourite haunt, Sepang in 2019 for the 1000km race, partnering Angeline Lee in a Toyota Vios for the Hi-Rev SIC Dream Chaser team. They were 29th overall and won the Vios Enduro class. The same pair tackled the race again in 2020, in a similar car. 

Leading an all-female team, she had another go at the Sepang 1000km in 2022. She drove a Suzuki Swift with celebrity racers Monica Picca and Zulaikha Ahmad and finished 42nd overall.

(Image copyright Siti Shahkirah)

Kerryn Brewer

Kerryn Brewer took part in Australian Touring Car races in the 1990s, including the Bathurst 24 Hours. 

Her earliest motorsport success was a championship win in the Australian Superkart championship, when she was 20. She won the 100cc non-gearbox class of the full-circuit karting series before moving on to cars. 

In 1996, she was fourth in the all-female Mazda 121 Challenge. Her first race in the one-make series was eventful; she finished fourth despite spinning twice and tangling with other drivers at Eastern Creek. The third round at Symmons Plain gave her another fourth. She was quick and aggressive but unable to match the pace of leaders Paula Elstrek and Tania Gulson. Unfortunately, the rest of the race results are not forthcoming. 

After her 1996 performances she was picked up by the Castrol Cougars team, run by Larry Perkins. Supported by Castrol in order to promote its products to female drivers, it was originally meant to be a two-car effort, with a four-woman line-up of Kerryn, Melinda Price, international netballer Michelle Fielke and TV presenter Kim Watkins. Despite her two wins in the celebrity race that supported the Australian Grand Prix, Michelle was prevented from racing by her other sporting commitments and Kim also dropped out. 

The team made its debut in the latter part of the V8 Supercar season, with Kerryn and Melinda alternating in the team’s Holden Commodore. Kerryn was the first Cougar to take the wheel at Lakeside. She was fourteenth and last in the first race, which was a dramatic one with a first-lap crash. The other three races resulted in safe but unspectacular fourteenth places, although she did finish ahead of Mike Conway in the last race. When it was her turn in the car again at Mallala, things panned out in a similar manner, with a 15th and 17th place, but she was unable to start the third.

The Cougars entered the 1997 Bathurst 1000 and it turned out to be their best run of the year. They were twelfth overall, the highest finish for an all-female team. Forty-one cars started and 21 finished. 

They also entered in 1998, and came eleventh, beating their own female team record. This time, 45 cars made the start and 20 finished. It was a hard race with several crashes and spins by experienced drivers. 

Her Supercars season was quite similar to 1997. Melinda was the main driver for the Cougars car and entered nine races to Kerryn’s six. Kerryn raced at Launceston and Lakeside, picking up a best result of 16th at Launceston. This was probably her best meeting in the Commodore; she did not run as well at Lakeside after a spin in the first race. Her best finish was 21st.

The Cougars project was retired for the 1999 season. Kerryn attempted to return to Supercars with Owen Parkinson’s team but this only amounted to a single appearance. She did not finish in another Commodore.

Kerryn tended to leave most of the promotional chat to Melinda, so we hear less about her than her team-mate. 

She made some appearances in the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship in 1999. She appeared in a “Beauties and their Beasts” calendar of glamorous female racing drivers in 2000, but does not appear to have competed. 

After this, Kerryn faded from the scene. In 2011, she tweeted that she missed racing cars.

Jayne Auden-Row

Jayne Auden-Row is a regular on the UK club rallying scene and Britain’s only hearing-impaired rally driver.

She has been competing in the UK since 2001, initially as a co-driver. She was soon winning class titles in the BTRDA rally series. She started off competing in the North of England, co-driven by her father, but was soon driving all round the UK. An early career highlight was a fourteenth place in the 2003 Roskirk Stages.

Her first couple of rallies were single-stage events on asphalt, but she gravitated towards gravel and began competing almost exclusively on loose surfaces in 2005.

She kept using a Peugeot 106 until 2007, when she changed to a Super 1600-spec green MG ZR part-way through the season. Jayne was a member of the “Babes in the Wood” rally team in 2007 alongside Amanda Cornforth and Shelly Taunt. They were tenth in the BTRDA team standings. Jayne’s best finish was third in class in the Cambrian Rally, 66th overall. She rolled the ZR during her final event, the Grizedale Stages, but was unhurt. She did, however, rally a different ZR for her first 2009 outing, the Malcolm Wilson Rally. 

She continued to drive the rejuvenated ZR through 2008 and 2009, usually in BTRDA rallies, picking up class and club championships including the ANWMC ladies’ award. The car remained reliable, getting to the finish of eleven out fourteen rallies.

Co-driven by her father Dave Auden once more, she rallied the ZR in BTRDA rallies in 2010 and 2011. It was still going strong for the 2012 season; she competed in all eight BTRDA rounds, and was ninth in the 1400cc championship. She was also third in the MGZR class, and won the ladies' prize. 

Continuing with the ZR, Jayne carried on rallying in 2013, mainly in BTRDA events. Her best finish was fourteenth on the Wales Rally GB National event. This was the first of four Rally GBs for Jayne and her best overall finish, although she managed class seconds in 2014 and 2016. 

Wales Rally GB was her strongest finish of 2014. She did an extensive programme of BTRDA rallies and finished every one, netting herself eighth in the 1400S class.  

Her 2015 schedule was very similar, including a run in the National event of the Wales Rally GB. Her best result came from a one-off drive in a Mitsubishi Lancer, with former team-mate, Amanda Cornforth, co-driving. She was 22nd overall in the Phoenix Stages. She was reunited with the Lancer for the Cambrian Rally in October, although she and Dave Auden did not do as well.

In 2016, she contested the Welsh Forest championship, switching between the Lancer and the ZR. Her second Phoenix Stages in the Lancer gave her a strong 17th place, co-driven by Chris Row. The pair were married by now, having been in a relationship for the past few years.

Her best result in the MG was when she was 46th in the Wales Rally GB National event and second in her class. 

A break ensued while Jayne had her first child then she returned to rallying in 2018, first as a co-driver. She returned to the driver's seat in 2019 and did three BTRDA events in her trusty MG ZR. Her father Dave was sharing her now-famous “Green Machine” as his own car was not ready. She rallied the MG in one event in 2021, the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally, but did not finish. It came out for another single appearance in 2022, the Neil Howard Stages at Oulton Park. Jane and David were 63rd overall.

(Image copyright Manchester Evening News)

Arlene Hiss

Arlene Hiss was the first woman to qualify for and complete an Indycar race, in 1976. 

Her single Indycar outing was at Phoenix. Although badly off the pace, she reached the finish in fourteenth. Plans had been set out for Arlene to compete in the Indy 500, but they never came to fruition and the honour of being the first woman at Indy went to Janet Guthrie. 

At the time of the Phoenix race, Arlene was 35 and divorced from racer and crew chief Mike Hiss. She had raced as an amateur for almost 13 years previously, winning three consecutive SCCA Showroom Stock championships in the 1970s. Despite her long association with motor racing, she was never a professional driver and made her living teaching high school, mainly dance but later on, car maintenance.

As Arlene Lanzieri, she began racing in 1964, in an Austin-Healey Sprite that she sometimes shared with Shirley van Kleeck until 1966. Among her early rivals was Donna Mae Mims. Arlene and Shirley competed that year as “The Female Racing Team” and were sponsored by Stan Engleman Enterprises. They were competitive in the H-Production class, with Arlene normally the faster driver.

This was when she and Mike got together at a race circuit in Connecticut, according to a 1970 article in the Monrovia Daily News Post. Arlene helped to crew his junior single-seaters as he progressed through the pro ranks, as well as racing her own Sprite in the H-Production championships. Due to her crew commitments, she was unable to contest full championships although she was a quick driver. 

Her switch from sportscars to stock cars was partly due to Mike’s increasing success. He was named as the 1972 Indy Rookie of the Year and was subsequently unavailable to act as her crew chief. Arlene responded by buying an Opel 51 which she could drive to and from the tracks herself, according to the Indianapolis Star in 1973. 

She had been entered into the Phoenix event by Copper State Racing, in a 1974 Offenhauser previously used by Lloyd Ruby. Her USAC license, earned during a stock car race, would have allowed her to also take part in the second round of the Indycar championship at Trenton, but Lloyd Ruby drove instead.

Her single-seater debut was well-received by the press but not so much her fellow drivers. After the Phoenix race, Bobby Unser, Gary Bettenhausen and Bill Vukovich II were all scathing in their criticism of Arlene, accusing her of dangerous driving by going too slowly and taking the wrong lines. Unser blamed the media for pressuring USAC into licensing a female driver who was not ready. Neither Bettenhausen or Vukovich had qualified.

Arlene’s testing times were acceptable if not world-beating and she had managed to qualify for the race in the 21st of 22 grid spots, from 24 qualifiers. Her qualifying times were slower than her test times and her race pace was even slower.

Much later, in her autobiography, Janet Guthrie tells of how established male drivers encouraged her to hold her line when being passed by faster drivers, instead of moving off the racing line and allowing them to pass. In practice, this was a foolish idea, which she soon found out. Having watched Arlene race, Janet is convinced that she was acting on similar bad advice. A newspaper reported that the car’s owner Mike Devin had admitted giving her this guidance.

Janet also observed that Arlene’s head was bent over at an angle as she cornered. Most other drivers of the time used some sort of headrest or strap, but Arlene did not. This may have caused discomfort and affected her pace.

Arlene attended another test with Copper State at Ontario, but this was her last involvement with the team. She claimed in the papers that this was down to a lack of funding, rather than the criticisms she had received.

After her retreat from single-seater racing, she attempted to break into NASCAR, entering the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway in a Chevrolet sponsored by Let’s Eat Out. Sadly, despite her previous stock car experience, she was one of a large number of drivers who did not make the 40-car grid.

She did manage to qualify for a round of the USAC Stock Car series in June. Arlene was one of two women to enter the Texas 500, alongside Martha Wideman. She finished ninth overall and would have been even higher up without tyre trouble early on. This time, AJ Foyt was complimentary about her driving. In October, she was invited to the Long Beach street circuit by Toyota to race a Celica in a forerunner of the Toyota Pro-Celebrity race. 

She retired from the circuits in 1978, having struggled to find sponsorship.

(Image from flashbak.com)

Marie-Pierre Palayer

Marie-Pierre Palayer is a multi-talented French driver who raced between 1968 and 1973. She is most famous as a member of the all-female Team Aseptogyl rally squad.

Considering the time period, Marie-Pierre began her career very early. She first appears in hillclimbs in 1968, driving a BMW 1600Ti. She was 18 years old at the time. This led to a BMW works drive in France in 1969, which included the Ronde Cévenole, Tour de France, Criterium Jean Behra and the AGACI 300 at Montlhéry, in a 2002 Ti. She was sixth, with a class win, at Montlhéry. 

In 1970, she switched to a Porsche 911 S run by the works team, and was 15th in the Tour de France, with Ginette Derolland. She also performed very well in rallies, finishing tenth in the Rallye de Lorraine and seventh in the Geneva Rally, in the Porsche, as well as an eighth place in the Lyon-Charbonnières-Stuttgart-Solitude Rally in the BMW. Her best result in open competition was a fifth place in the Rally of Picardie, but her first win came from the women-only Paris-St. Raphaël Rally. She ended the year second in the French ladies’ rally championship.

After 1971, rallying became her main focus as she joined Team Aseptogyl. Aspetogyl founder Bob Neyret had competed at Mont Ventoux against Marie-Pierre in 1968. She mostly drove one of the team’s pink-and-red Alpine-Renault A110s. A highlight of her first year with the team was a fifth place in the Geneva Rally, with Christine Rouff. Back in the familiar Porsche, she was fourth in the Paris-St. Raphaël. 

She was part of a works Peugeot team for the 1972 Bandama Rally in the Cote d’Ivoire, driving a 304 with Ginette Derolland. This event was unusual in that it had no finishers at all. Her going over the time limit was no real shame as she was one of at least six drivers who ran out of time.

She was third in the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally in 1973. That year, the podium was completely filled with Alpine-Renault drivers. This was the second to last of the original Paris-St. Raphaël rallies

She retired from driving herself after the 1973 season, and her last event was a rally raid, the Nice-Abidjan-Nice. She drove an Iveco truck. However, she continued as a navigator until 1975, partnering Claudine Trautmann and Christine Dacremont. Even after her disastrous 1972 Bandama, she usually competed on the rougher African events as a co-driver and helped Marianne Hoepfner to eighth in the 1973 Bandama, driving a Peugeot 504.

(Image from a Team Aseptogyl promotional shoot)

Marie-Odile Desvignes

Marie-Odile Desvignes was a rally driver and one of the original members of the all-female Team Aseptogyl as well as one of its longest-serving. 

She began her rally career with the team in 1971, alongside her twin sister, Anne-Marie, as a complete novice. Aseptogyl founder Bob Neyret selected the sisters not only due to their experience with Alpine mountain roads, achieved through their jobs in ski resorts, but also because blonde identical twins were a handy media draw. Anne-Marie was only part of the team for a very short time, but Marie-Odile proved herself to be one of Aseptogyl’s most effective members.

For major rallies, she usually acted as a co-driver for Claudine Trautmann, until she retired in 1975, but she was also a decent driver in her own right.

Her first year in the navigator’s seat was spent next to Claudine Trautmann at the wheel of either an Alpine-Renault A110 or for rougher events, a Renault 16. The two Frenchwomen were particularly skilled on very difficult, car-breaker rallies and finished third on that year’s Bandama event, held in the Ivory Coast.

Throughout her career, she was often partnered by Francoise Conconi. Christine Rouff and Brigitte Carrier also sat beside Marie-Odile in 1971 and 1972, in the Chataigne, Bayonne and Rallye de l’Ouest events, plus more on the French calendar. One of Marie-Odile’s biggest events of 1971 was the Criterium des Cevennes, which she entered with Francoise. Marie-Pierre Palayer sat beside Claudine.

She also had a short but successful partnership with Annick Girard, another of the original Aseptogyl team. They were eighth in the Antibes Rally and fifth in the National section of the Alpine Rally. 

Marie-Odile and Francoise were entered into the 1972 Paris-St. Raphael Rally and were third in the National standings. The same year, they won the Coupe des Dames in the Criterium des Cevennes. Marie-Odile did her first Neige et Glace Rally as a driver, having co-driven for Claudine Trautmann the previous year in one of their earliest events together, finishing twelfth. She encountered more snow on the Lyon-Charbonnieres event and seems to have finished, although the result is not forthcoming.

Although she is mainly associated with Aseptogyl, Marie-Odile did drive for other teams and in other cars. She did some French rallies in an Alfa Romeo 2000 and finished the 1973 Rally Mistral in 54th place. She also sampled a Porsche 911 for the 1973 Tour de France, assisted by Brigitte Carrier.

In her Aseptogyl Alpine, she entered the Ronde Giraglia in Italy.

1973 to 1975 were mostly spent in the navigator’s seat. As Claudine Trautmann wound down her career, Marie-Odile shared co-driving duties for Christine Dacremont with Francoise. She usually took on the rougher events, as before. She and Claudine were fourth overall in the 1974 World Cup Rally, which took a very circuitous route via the Sahara desert between London and Munich. Only 19 out of 70 cars finished, and Claudine’s Peugeot 504 was the second of three Aseptogyl entries. Co-driving in a non-Aseptogyl 1800 Alpine-Renault, she helped Michel Alibelli to a win in the 1974 Bayonne-Cote Basque Rally.

After 1975, she seems to take a step back from motorsport. One of her latest events seems to have been the 1975 Rallye Côte-Côte, driving a Peugeot 504 with Yveline Vanoni. A reference on the French “Forum Auto” is made to a serious accident on the Rallye Antibes, which may have something to do with it.

She was part of a later iteration of the Aseptogyl team in 1976, driving an Autobianchi A112. She entered the Monte Carlo Rally with Jacqueline Perrin on the maps, although they did not finish. 

Much later, in the 2010s, she came out of retirement to do some historic rallies in an Alpine A110. 

She died in October 2023.

(Image from the “Team Aseptogyl” Facebook page)

Ronja Assmann

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Image copyright Ronja Assmann)