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)

Women in the Dubai 24 Hours

The Reiter Engineering team in 2017

The Dubai 24 Hours is an endurance race for sports, GT and touring cars, promoted by the Dutch Creventic organisation and run at the Dubai Autodrome. It is a mass-start event with multiple classes and a large field of both professional and “gentleman” drivers. It is now part of a worldwide endurance series run by Creventic.

Women drivers have been involved in every edition of the race, since its inaugural event in 2006. In 2011, Claudia Hürtgen, driving a BMW Z4 for the Schubert squad, was part of the winning team. She has scored several podium finishes in BMWs. In recent years, Swiss Chantal Kroll of the Hofor team has been the leading female driver, with four class wins and a championship class win in 2016. Flick Haigh, from the UK, has also challenged for overall honours, along with her team-mates.

For the 2006-2009 races, the data below may not be complete, as entry lists with full team listings are hard to find. Team names have been included, for those who wish to refer to the earlier results lists.

2006

Schubert Motors 3 Claudia Hürtgen/Pierre von Mentlen/Johannes Stuck/Bernhard Laber/Thomas Jager (BMW 120d) - 9th (class win)

First Motorsport Belgium Kelly Jamers/Kevin Leest/Pascal Nelissen Grade/Dirk van Rompuy (Porsche 997 Supercup) - 20th

Orbit Autosport 1 Sheila Verschuur/Mike Verschuur/Tim Buijs (SEAT Ibiza) - 25th

Realizer Team Kati Droste/Stephanie Halm/Nicole Lüttecke/Catharina Felser (Mazda RX8) - DNF

2007

Pro Speed Competition 1 Alexandra van de Velde/Rudi Penders/Franz Lamot/Stephan Schrauwen (Porsche GT3 RS) - 3rd

Team Rhinos Stefanie Manns/Marcel Leipert/Joe Schmidtler/Igor Skuz/Vitaliy Bilotserkivskyy (Ford Fiesta) - 41st

Seyffarth Motorsport Gina Maria Adenauer/Jan Seyffarth/Hannes Plesse/Christian Hohenadel/Philipp Wlazik (Porsche GT3) - DNF

2008

Schubert Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Stian Sorlie/Heinz Schmersal/Jörg Viebahn (BMW 120d) - 15th (class win)

G Force Racing Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Philippe Greish/Christian Kelders (Porsche 997) - 18th

Achterberg Motorsport Renate Sanders/Frank Wilschut/Pim van Riet (BMW 120d) - 25th

Equipe Verschuur Sheila Verschuur/Harrie Kolem/Mickey Bertram (Renault Clio) - 26th

2009

Al Faisal Racing Claudia Hürtgen/Stian Sorlie/Paul Spooner/Abdulaziz al Faisal (BMW Z4 Coupe) - 2nd (class win)

TeamA Sweden Sandra Oscarsson/Per Oscarsson/Anders Frid/Jimmy Johansson (Volkswagen Golf) - 51st

2010

Al Faisal Racing Claudia Hürtgen/Abdulaziz al Faisal/Marko Hartung/Khaled al Faisal 9BMW Z4) - 3rd

Nicholas Mee Racing 2 Corentine Quiniou/Jalal Mahmoud/Tarek Mahmoud/Greg Audi (Aston Martin V8 Vantage) - 49th

RED Motorsport Karolina Lampel-Czapka/Marco Deutsch/Martin Roos/Gunther Deutsch (Lotus Exige) - 62nd

First Motorsport 1 Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Philippe Greish/Christian Kelders (Ferrari F430 GT3) - DNF

2011

Need for Speed Schubert 1 Claudia Hürtgen/Tommy Milner/Edward Sandström (BMW Z4 GT3) - 1st

Auto Sport GT 2 Caroline Grifnée/Thierry Mulot/Fabien Vericel (Renault Clio) - 29th (class win)

Besaplast Racing Team 2 Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Rainald Mattes/Christian Leutheuser (Mini Cooper) - 30th

K&K Racing Valek Motorsport Karolina Lampel-Czapka/Michaela Peskova/Marcel Kusin/Petr Vallek (BMW 130i) - 40th

Nooren Autosport 2 Liesette Braams/Maurice Bol/Rich Pham/Sunny Wong BMW 123d) - 67th

Springbox Cyndie Allemann/Jade Handi/Amandine Foulard/Corentine Quiniou (Renault Clio) - 70th

2012

Saudi Falcons by Schubert Claudia Hürtgen/Edward Sandström/Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Faisal bin Laden/Jörg Müller (BMW Z4 GT3) - 4th

Fach 1 Auto Tech Andrina Gugger/Marco Zolin/Daniel Allemann/Martin Rogginger/Swen Dolenc (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 13th

Exagon Engineering Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Christian Kelders/Maurice Gouteyron (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 21st

Besaplast Racing Team 2 Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Fredrik Lestrup/Reinhard Nehls (Mini Cooper) - 25th (class win)

Besaplast Racing Team 1 Stephanie Halm/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Roland Asch/Sebastian Asch (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 28th

Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Raffi Bader/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 36th

Racingdivas Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Sheila Verschuur/Gaby Uljee (Renault Clio) - 39th

Gulf Team First Keiko Ihara/Yusuf Bassil/Martin Baerschmidt/John Iossifidis (Aston Martin Vantage) - 50th

2013

B2F Competition Laetitia Tortelier/Pascal Colon/Benoit Fretin/Bruno Fretin (Porsche 997) - 23rd

Racing Divas Team Schubert Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Sheila Verschuur/Gaby Uljee (BMW 320D) - 26th (class win)

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Lee Mowle/Joe Osborne/Ryan Ratcliffe (Ginetta G50) - 27th

Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 35th (class win)

Saudi Falcons Team Schubert 2 Claudia Hürtgen/Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Faisal bin Laden/Jörg Müller/Dirk Müller (BMW Z4 GT3) - 38th

GT Academy Team RJN2 Sabine Schmitz/Peter Pyzera/Alex Buncombe/Steve Doherty/Mark Schulzhitskiy (Nissan 370Z) - 43rd

2014

Walkenhorst Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Daniela Schmid/Henry Walkenhorst/Jens Richter/Ralf Oeverhaus (BMW Z4 GT3) - 6th

SX Team Schubert Claudia Hürtgen/Dirk Werner/Paul Dalla Lana/Bill Auberlen/Dane Cameron (BMW Z4 GT3) - 10th

Racing Divas Team Schubert Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Gaby Uljee/Shirley van der Lof/Natasja Smit Sø (BMW 320D) - 31st (class win)

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Jörg Hatscher/Michael Bonk/Max Partl/Ralf Oeverhaus (BMW M3 GT4) - 40th

Hofor-Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 54th

2015

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Gaby Uljee/Max Partl (BMW M235i) - 23rd (class win)

Speedworks Motorsport 2 Flick Haigh/John Gilbert/Paul O’Neill/Devon Modell (Aston Martin Vantage) - 29th

Hofor-Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Sarah Toniutti/Martin Kroll/Hal Prewitt/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 34th (class win)

KPM Racing 2 Gosia Rdest/Javier Morcillo/Tom Wilson/Lucas Orrock (Volkswagen Golf) - 51st

Frensch Power Motorsport Lisa Christin Brunner/Martin Heidrich/Reinhard Nehls/Friedhelm Erlebach (Peugeot 207) - 65th

Car Point S Racing Schmieglitz Cyndie Allemann/Daniel Schmieglitz/Axel Wiegner/Heine Bo Frederiksen/Heinz Jürgen Kroner (SEAT Leon Supercopa) - 79th

2016

Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3) - 4th (class win)

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Ryan Ratcliffe/Joe Osborne/Frank Stippler (Audi R8 LMS) - 5th

Artthea Sport Nanna Gøtsche/Martin Gøtsche/Klaus Werner/Jens Feucht (Porsche 991) - 22nd

Century Motorsport Anna Walewska/Nathan Freke/Tom Oliphant/Aleksander Schjerpen (Ginetta G55 GT4) - 24th (class win)

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Michael Bonk/Axel Burkhardt/Volker Piepmeyer/Phillip Bethke (BMW M235i) - 49th

Team Altran Peugeot Sarah Bovy/Thierry Boyer/Jérôme Ogay/Michael Carlsen/Mathias Schläppi (Peugeot 208 GTI) - DNF

Sorg Rennsport Rebecca Jackson/Ricardo Flores/George Richardson/Chris James/Ahmed al Melaihi (BMW M235i) - DNF

Car Collection Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Markus Winkelhock/Heinz Schmersal/Pierre Ehret/Peter Schmidt (Audi R8 LMS) - DNF

2017

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Ryan Ratcliffe/Joe Osborne/Christopher Haase (Audi R8 LMS) - 4th

Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3) - 7th (class win)

Zest Racecar Engineering Gosia Rdest/John Allen/JT Coupal/Philippe Ulivieri/John Weisberg (SEAT Leon TCR) - 52nd

Reiter Engineering Naomi Schiff/Anna Rathe/Marylin Niederhauser/Caitlin Wood (KTM X-Bow) - 72nd

2018
Phoenix Racing Gosia Rdest/Joonas Lappalainen/Philip Ellis/John-Louis Jasper (Audi R8 LMS) - 26th
Besagroup Racing Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovacs/Roland Asch/Sebastian Asch/Fidel Lieb (Mercedes AMG GTR) - 33rd
Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF

2019
MRS GT-Racing Gosia Rdest/Helmut Rodig/Wolfgang Triller/Yutaka Matsushima/Christopher Zochling (Porsche 991) - 18th
Hofor Racing Chantal Prinz (Kroll)/Alexander Prinz/Michael Kroll/Kenneth Heyer/Christiaan Frankenhout (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF
Hofor Racing/Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Martin Kroll/Michael Fischer/Gustav Engljaehringer/Michael Schrey (BMW M4 GT4) - DNF
ERC Sport Katarina Kyvalova/Ryan Ratcliffe/Jon Minshaw/Gabriele Piana (Mercedes AMG GT4) - DNF

2020 (race stopped at 7h due to track flooding)
MRS GT-Racing Gosia Rdest/John Hartshorne/Ollie Hancock/Jukka Honkavuori (Porsche 991) - 18th
Cicely Motorsport Katarina Kyvalova/Adam Morgan/Jon Minshaw/Adam Butel/Jake Giddings (Mercedes AMG GT4) - 37th
ST Racing Samantha Tan/John Boyd/Nicklas Wittmer/Jon Miller (BMW M4 GT4) - 38th
Heide Motorsport Rahel Frey/Heinz Schmersal/Alex Welch/Mike Beckhusen (Audi R8 LMS GT4) - 41st
3Y Technology Beitske Visser/Gilles Vannelet/Nidal Baumgartner/Petr Lisa (BMW M4 GT4) - 57th

2021

ST Racing Samantha Tan/Jon Miller/Chandler Hull/Nick Wittmer (BMW M4 GT4) - 15th (class win)

Vortex V8 Karen Gaillard/Lionel Amrouche/Philippe Bonnel/Alban Varutti (Vortex V8) - 35th

2022

SPS Automotive Performance Reema Juffali/Valentin Pierburg/George Kurtz/John Loggie (Mercedes-AMG GT3) - 9th

Leipert Motorsport Betty Chen/Jean-Francois Brunot/Kerong Li/Joel Eriksson/Brendon Leitch (Lamborghini Huracan) - 16th

ST Racing Samantha Tan/Bryson Morris/Harry Gottsacker/Tyler Maxson/Anthony Lazzaro (BMW M4 GT3) - 25th

Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing Jasmin Preisig/Fabian Danz/Constantin Kletzer/Paul Sieljes (VW Golf) - 47th

2023

S'Aalocin by Kox Racing Stephane Kox/Peter Kox/Nico Pronk/Tom Boonen/Dennis Retera (Porsche 911 GT3 R) - 21st

Wolf-Power Racing Jasmin Preisig/Ivars Vallers/Kalle Bergman/Andreas Hofler (Audi RS3 LMS TCR) - 37th

Dragon Racing Rhea Loucas/Leonidas Loucas/Bradley Ellis/Charles Hollings (Mercedes AMG GT4) - DNF

2024

S'Aalocin by Kox Racing Stephane Kox/Peter Kox/Nico Pronk/Tom Boonen/Dennis Retera (Porsche 911 GT3 R) - DNF

Century Motorsport Rianna O'Meara Hunt/David Holloway/Piers Johnson/Nick Halstead (BMW M4 GT4) - DNF

2025

Heart of Racing by SPS Hannah Grisham/Ian James/Gray Newell/Zacharie Robichon (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 10th

Haupt Racing Team Reema Juffali/Hubert Haupt/Romain Andriolo/Salman Owega (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 15th

asBest Racing Pia Ohlsson/Thomas Alpiger/Nadir Zuhour/Christian Ladurner/Mohammed al Owais (SEAT Leon) - 47th

Vortex V8 Solenn Amrouche/Lionel Amrouche/Philippe Bonnel/Gilles Courtois (Vortex V8) - DNF

Hofor Racing Chantal Prinz/Michael Kroll/Alexander Kroll/Carsten Tilke/Timo Rumpfkeil (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF

WS Racing Emely de Huis/Jeroen Bleekemolen/Keith Gatehouse/George King/Tim Pappas (BMW M4 GT4) - DNF

2026

Pure Rxcing Michelle Gatting/Max Hofer/Alex Malykhin/Alexey Nesov (Porsche 911) - 6th

Hofor Racing Chantal Prinz/Alexander Prinz/Torsten Kratz/Manuel Metzger/Maximilian Partl (Mercedes AMG GT43 - 12h

Seblajoux Racing Solenn Amrouche/Sebastien Lajoux/Enzo Joulie/Mathys Jaubert (Porsche 992) - 20th

ARMotors by HRT Performance Maya Hartge/Grigorii Burlutskii/Nick Halstead/Alex Renner/Dmitriy Shishko (Porsche 911) - 30th

asBest Racing Pia Ohlsson/Silas Pasos/Lutz Obermann/Henrik Seibel/Junichi Umemoto (Cupra Leon TCR) - 41st

asBest Racing Desiree Muller/Zaamin Jaffer/Dylan Pragji/Ragwad Sarieddine/Marco Grilil

Rossa Racing Amna al-Qubaisi/Ismail Ahmedkodjhaev/Viacheslav Gutak/Roman Rusinov/Evgeny Kireev (Rossa LM GT) - 51st/DNF

TG-RR Rio Shimono/Aimi Saito/Miki Onaga/Kokoro Sato/Rami Sasaki (Toyota GR Supra) - 53rd/DNF

(Image copyright Naomi Schiff)

Female Drivers in Brazilian Endurance Races

Isadora Diehl, Sabrina Koronuma and Patricia de Souza in 2011.

Brazil has a lengthy tradition of endurance racing, sometimes held on roads, but often on circuits, including Interlagos and Tarumã. These races were, and continue to be, for a mix of prototypes, sportscars and saloons.
Women have been part of the motor racing scene since at least the 1950s. One of Brazil's earliest female racing drivers was Juze Fittipaldi, mother of Emerson, who was fourteenth in the 1951 24 Hours of Interlagos, with Darly Ribeiro. Lulla Gancia raced in the 1960s. More recently, in the 1980s, women drivers have won major races. Alline Cipriani now has her own profile.

Mayara Bianchi – best-known for racing a Porsche in Brazil. She started out with track days, then moved into the Audi DTCC Series in 2012. Her best finish was fifteenth, at Interlagos. It was only a part-season. She started with the Porsche in 2013, in the Brazilian GT3 Cup, the first female driver to do so. Although she was not one of the front-runners, she was usually able to score points. In 2014, she carried on racing the Porsche in club and national events in Brazil, scoring a few points here and there, as well as racing in America, in endurance events. Her car was a Ginetta G40, shared between three drivers, and she normally raced in the FARA series. 

Larissa Cruzeiro - raced in the 1600cc Marcas championship in Brazil from 2006. She raced alongside her father Rogerio and took part in several editions of the Cascavel de Ouro endurance race, often as the only female driver. Their cars included a Ford Ka. She raced in Brazil until the 2017 season, after which she moved to Portugal to practice as a nutritionist. She aimed to return to the Brazilian circuits in 2020 and in 2022, she made a guest appearance in the Hyundai Copa Shell HB20 one-make series at Interlagos.

Isadora Diehl - class champion in the Gaucho Endurance Championship in 2011, driving a Volkswagen. She was also runner-up in the Brazilian national endurance championship, with her father, Airton Diehl, and Roberto Trenttin. The same driver trio won at least one Brazilian endurance race during that season. That year, she was eleventh in the Tarumã 12 Hours, driving a Golf with Sabrina Koronuma and Patricia de Souza. Earlier, in 2008, she raced in the Interlagos 500km, in the Golf, partnered by her father and Luciano Cardoso. They were 36th. Isadora and Airton were seventh in that year’s Tarumã 12 Hours, driving a Chevrolet Corsa. As well as endurance, Isadora regularly competed in the Drivers & Makes championship, and also seems to have done some dirt-track racing. It is unclear whether or not she is still active in motorsport.

Graziela Fernandes - one of Brazil’s earliest female drivers. Her first big race was the Circuito de Paricicaba, in a Renault Dauphine, and she was ninth. She entered the 1000 Milhas sportscar race in 1970 and drove an Alfa Romeo GTA 1600 to seventh overall, with Carlos Alberto Sgarbi. The same year, she took part in a road race in honour of the opening of the Kennedy Highway, and was fourth, in the same car. The following year, she raced an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA in endurance events, including the 500km of Interlagos, in which she was thirteenth. She was active in motorsport on and off from the 1964 to 1986, and mainly drove saloons and stock cars, including a Fiat, a Renault 1093 and a Willys jeep.

Luciane Klai - takes part in endurance races in Brazil, sometimes as part of a team with Fernanda Aniceto and Renata Camargo. They raced together in the 2021 Mil Milhas, driving a Volkswagen Voyage and finishing 16th. Previously, she raced a Volkswagen Gol she named “Hulk” in Paulista regional classic touring car events. This car came out again for the Classicos Wiboo series in 2022, sometimes as part of its Racing Girl class. She raced “Hulk” in the 2020 Interlagos 500km, as part of a four-driver team. In 2023, she did at least some rounds of the Paulista championship, including a race at Potenza. After a quiet year, she signed for the Brazilian NASCAR series for 2025, but this drive does not appear to have come off.

Silvia Lauda - raced in the 2000s. Her first race was the 2003 12 Hours of Tarumã, in which she was fourth in a VW Golf, driving with her brother, Fernando, and her father, also called Fernando. The same team won Class II of the same event in 2005. She may also have taken part in some Drivers and Manufacturers races in Brazil. The family are not related to Niki Lauda.

Patricia de Souza - winner of the Tarumã 12 Hour race in 1989, driving a Volkswagen Passat with her brother, Paulo. That season, the pair also earned a second place in the 3 Hours of Guapore. Later, Patricia contested the Women Corsa Cup in 1999, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Fiesta Feminino in 2001, as well as taking part in some more endurance races, and the Brazilian TC1600 series. Her most recent appearance was the Tarumã 12 Hours in 2011, in which she drove a Volkswagen Golf as part of an all-female team, with Isadora Diehl and Sabrina Koronuma. They were eleventh overall.

Leticia Zanette - came into the public eye in 2002, when she was second in the Mil Milhas Brasileiras, driving a Chevrolet-engined Vectra prototype. Her co-drivers were Cláudio Ricci and Otávio Mesquita. Her achievement was even more noted because she was only 17 years old. Previously, in 2001, she competed in Formula Ford, and before that, karting. Her Mil Milhas drive was part of a Brascar season, which was affected by unreliability and sponsorship worries. Using the same car, she competed in the 2003 Mil Milhas, with Cláudio Ricci and Carlos Alberto Benedetti. They were 20th overall. After that, Leticia seems to have returned to karting, although she did do at least some races in the Brazilian Pick Up championship in 2006.

(Image from http://www.correiodopovo.com.br/blogs/pitlane/?p=4427)