Female Rally Drivers After 1950: Belgium

Vicky van de Walle and navigator Michelle Demeestere with the Mini Cooper, in 2013

Belgium's most successful female driver, Melissa Debackere, has her own profile here.

Daisy Cols - former Belgian driver. She competed in the Belgian Division Two Championship in a Fiat Punto in 2003, as part of a team with her brother, Larry. In 2004, she continued in the Fiat and won the Coupe des Dames and Class A7 in the Boucles de Spa. She repeated her A7 win in the Rallye de Wallonie. Her career began in 1999, driving a Citroen Saxo.

Evelien de Corte – competed on and off in the Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy in Belgium, between 2011 and 2013. She began rallying at the age of 20, in 2010, in a Peugeot 106, and drove a Renault Twingo in the Moorslede rallypsrint in 2011. As a Fiesta Sport Trophy driver, her best 2011 result was 30^th, in the Criterium section of the TAC Rally. After 2011, her funding started to run out, and she only managed the Rally of Wallonie in 2012, in which she was 61^st. In 2013, she finished the Geko Ypres Rally in 53^rd place, but did not compete for the rest of the season. Her website is no longer being updated. 

Valina Dechamps - driver and  co-driver who usually competes in rallysprint and Belgian club events. She was her club’s female champion in 2011 and 2012. In recent years, she has driven a Peugeot 206 and 306. In 2006 and 2007, she competed in some major Belgian rallies, in a Toyota Yaris. She was 39th in the 2007 East Belgian Rally and 104th in the 2006 Rallye Condroz-Huy. Her club activities often seem to be in the Hannut region. On the navigation side, she sat with Sebastien Honnay in the Micky Rallysprint in 2013. She remained active as a driver in 2014, competing the Achene Rallysprint at least, in a Peugeot 306. In 2015, she rallied a Peugeot 207, but did not finish any of the events she entered. 

Aurélie Dehaye - Belgian driver, active since 2006. Her first car was a VW Polo, which she used in Belgian rallies. She continued to rally a Polo for the next couple of seasons, and by 2008, she was winning her class. Both the Rally of Wallonie and the East Belgian Rally gave her N1 wins. After a break, she returned in 2012 in a VW Golf, and immediately scored her first top-twenty finish, an eleventh in the Criterium section of the Rally of Wallonie. She carried on entering major stage rallies in 2013, but also some more rallysprints, in which she was quite successful, finishing second in the Rallye Sprint Winning and fifth in the Villersois event. She continued to rally a Golf and a VW Polo in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, she was twelfth in the Trois-Ponts Rally, in the Golf. This event was her best rally in 2016, too, and she was fifth, in the Golf. She finished in the top twenty in three more Belgian rallies in 2016. In 2017, she took a leap forward in terms of results. She picked up her first podium, a third in the Achene Rallysprint, and was fourth in the Trois-Ponts Rally. These were two of four top-ten finishes she had. Her car the still the VW. She continued to shine in rallysprints in 2018, finishing second in the Villersois event. A return to rallysprints in 2021 gave her an eighth place in the ASRT event. In 2022, she was twelfth in both the Principaute and Hautes Fagnes rallies. The Golf came out again for the 2023 East Belgian Rally, but did not finish. In 2024, she finished both the Haute Fagnes and Rallye des Cretes events in the top twenty.

Julie Devalet - won the Citroen Racing Junior Trophy in Belgium in 2013. She won her class in the three rounds that she entered: the Ypres Rally, Rallye du Condroz and East Belgian Rally. Her car was a Citroen DS3 R1. She also drove in the Luxembourg Rally, and was 30th overall. Her usual navigator, Jennifer Thielen, was Luxembourgish. Previously, she did some Belgian rallies in 2006, in a Skoda Fabia. She also navigated from 2004 onwards, and helped her partner Caren Burton to second overall in the 2013 Rallye des Trois-Ponts. In 2014, she rallied in Belgium and Luxembourg, in the Citroen. Her best finish was 43rd, with a class win, in the Rally of Luxembourg. In 2015, she switched between driving an navigation, in Belgian rallies. As a driver, she used an Opel Adam, and was 39th in the East Belgian Rally. In 2016, she did some co-driving, but her only outing behind the wheel was as the course car in the Spa Rally. In 2019, she rallied a Skoda Fabia R2 in the Herock Spa Rally, finishing 28th.

Christelle Fameree - has competed on and off in Belgium since at least 2000. She has driven or co-driven in at least 16 runnings of the Rallye du Condroz, in cars including an Opel/Vauxhall Astra and a Peugeot 106. In 2013, she was 77th, in a Peugeot 207. Apart from major rallies, she is a regular in club and lower-level events, including rallysprints. She has entered the Micky Rallysprint on several occasions, and was 41st in 2013. In 2014, she was thirteenth in the Criterium section of the Rallye de Wallonie, in the 207. Another season in the 207, in 2015, was mainly rallysprints, and she competed exclusively in rallysprints in 2016. In 2017, she tried some multi-stage events again, the Condroz-Huy and Wallonie rallies. 2018 was similar and she had a best finish of 25th in the Haillot rallysprint. She did more stage rallies in 2019, including the Wallonie and Condroz-Huy events. In 2021, she used the Peugeot in the Belgian Criterium championship, scoring one top-twenty finish in the South Belgium Criterium Rally. She carried on with this in 2022, although her results were not as strong. In 2023, she performed well in rallysprints, finishing 17th in the Zoning d'Achene event. She picked up a top-ten finish in 2024, finishing tenth in the Legend Condroz Rally in the 207. She is from a rallying family: her father and partner prepare her cars, and she is navigated by her mother, Arlette Faniel. 

Anita Fol - usually known simply as "Anita". She was normally a co-driver and sat beside Christine Beckers at different times in her career, among others. In 1968, she had a go at driving herself in the Belgian championship, driving a Renault 8 Gordini. Her best result was 16th in the 12 Hours of Ostend. Her co-driver was Claude Collaer, a driver she often navigated for. She was married to Vic Elford twice and died in 2022, aged 77. 

Dorothée Jacquemin - rallied mostly in France and Belgium in the 1980s and early 1990s. Her earliest car was a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, which she used between 1983 and 1985. Her best result in it was a ninth place in the Rallye Internationale Charlemagne in France, in 1985. In 1987, she started driving a Peugeot 205, and in 1988, the focus of her motorsport activities switched to France. She achieved two more top-ten finishes during her career: a fifth in the Charlemagne event in 1988, and a ninth in the Picardie National Rally in 1989, both in the Peugeot. In 1992, she had one last season, and rallied a Citroen AX Sport in Europe, including a run in the Manx International Rally in the UK. She was 35th. Between 1989 and 1992, she was ladies’ champion of France in Division 2. Her husband, Jean-Marie Jacquemin, was also a rally driver. Much earlier, Dorothée occasionally acted as his navigator.

Patricia Nijs - driver and co-driver who has moved between the two roles. She first appears in the Belgian championship in 2004, navigating for Phil Nijs. In 2006, she had a season as a driver, competing in the Belgian championship and the Ypres Westhoek Rally, a round of the IRC and European Championship. In this rally, she drove a Ford Fiesta, and was 60th overall. Her best result was 19th, seventh in class, in the Rally of Haspengouw, in a Subaru Impreza WRX. In 2013, she returned to the stages in a different Impreza, and was 22nd in the Shortrally of Suikerstreek and 19th in the Rally van Sint-Truiden. She made a one-off return in 2017, driving the Impreza in the Criterium Jean-Louis Dumont. 

Daisy van Overstraeten - competed in European rallies in the 1950s, driving a variety of cars. Her career best finish was an eleventh place in the 1955 12 Hours of Huy, driving an Austin-Healey 100-4. She had done the event the year before in a similar car, but did not finish. Her other favourite event seems to have been the Liege-Rome-Liege Rally, which she tackled in 1951 in a Pontiac and 1953 in a Panhard. She was 57th in 1953.  

Magali Schutz – Belgian driver and co-driver who has been competing since at least 2005. For most of her career, she has remained in the co-driver’s seat, but she began driving herself in 2015. Her first car was a Citroen Saxo, which she mostly used in rallysprints. In 2016, she used a Peugeot 206 and a Renault Clio, finishing most of her events. Her best result was a 39^th overall, in the Boucles Clavieroises, driving the Peugeot. She was also second in class in the Villersois Rallysprint, in the Clio. 2017 was spent doing some rallysprints in the Clio. She did two more rallies in 2021, driving a Citroen Saxo. Her best finish was 33rd in the ASRT Rallysprint. After a break, she returned in 2024, still in the Saxo, for two rallies.

Vicky van de Walle - long-time navigator who has recently switched to the driver’s seat. She has been co-driving since at least 1999, and was Hans Vancampenhoudt’s regular navigator in 2000. She also co-drove Melissa Debackere, and did a one-off rally with her in 2013. She had her first driving experience in a Mini in 2011, in the Tour of Flanders, with a Mini. She did not finish. In 2013, in another Mini Cooper, she did four rounds of the Belgian championship, plus the Rally of Luxembourg. Her best finish was 29th, in the ORC Canal Rally, which was won by Melissa Debackere. She drove the Mini again in 2014, and was 55th in the 6 Uren van Kortrijk. In 2015, she returned to co-driving, in historic rallies. 

(Image from http://www.bfo-brc.be/)

  

Jill Robinson

Jill in the Alpine-Renault, in the 1972 RAC Rally

Jill was one of Britain's leading lady drivers in the 1970s. She was a regular entrant in the major British rallies, and also competed quite extensively abroad, particularly in Finland. Although she never achieved the stellar results of Pat Moss or Rosemary Smith, whose careers overlapped with hers, she was capable of holding her own on a special stage, and was able to draw upon considerable resources and contacts to support her motorsport activities.

Born Jill (Margaret) Simpson, she was part of the Simpson family who were the “Simpson” in “Clarke & Simpson”, an upmarket Ford dealership in London. Her sister, Judy, was also a rally driver, although she took it up some years after Jill. Jill herself seems to have started competing some time after her first marriage, and the birth of at least one child, a daughter.

On the international stage, she competed in the RAC Rally seven times. Her first RAC Rally was in 1969, and she drove a BMW 2002 TI with Audrey Scott. They were 58th overall and won the Ladies’ Cup. In 1970, she entered again, this time in a Ford Escort RS 1600. She would continue to drive Escorts of various kinds throughout her career. In this particular one, she is not recorded as a finisher. Her navigator was Frances Cobb. They renewed their partnership in 1971’s RAC Rally, in a similar car, but again, did not finish. The duo also did the Ypres Rally together, in an Escort RS1600 run by Clarke & Simpson. They also drove in the Dukeries Rally, finishing 49th in the Escort. That year, Jill, with local co-driver Leila Loukimo alongside, entered her first 1000 Lakes Rally, in a Twin Cam Escort. They were 42nd overall, and second female crew, behind the experienced and local Eeva Heinonen.

In 1972, Jill started her season back in Finland, for the Arctic Rally. She and Kirsti Pätiälä retired in their Twin Cam Escort. For a change, Jill drove an Alpine-Renault A110 in the Daily Mirror RAC Rally, alongside Dilys Rodgers. They do not appear to have finished.

Jill’s most famous rallying exploit came in 1973, during the Daily Mirror RAC Rally. In a Ford Escort Mexico, she was roped into driving alongside the now-disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile, which did not end well. They dropped out very early on, after performing quite poorly. That year, she also teamed up with Frances Cobb again for the Avon Tour of Britain, a Tour de France style combination of rally sections and circuit races. They drove a Ford Cortina and do not appear to have finished.

The following year, she returned to the RAC Rally with a more skilled navigator, Dilys Rodgers. They drove a Ford Escort RS1600, and were 52nd overall. Later in the year, Jill moved away from Ford power temporarily, and drove an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV in the 1000 Lakes Rally. Her navigator was Kirsti Airikkala, a British-based Finn who was married to Pentti Airikkala, another entrant into the rally. Pentti was sponsored by Clarke & Simpson, and both Jill and Kirsti would drive under Castrol sponsorship. Jill and Kirsti were 80th overall, but third in the one-litre class. They was also third in the ladies’ standings, behind her regular rival, Eeva Heinonen, and Trine Jensen.

Another attempt at the RAC Rally in 1975, assisted by Dilys Rodgers and in a Ford Escort RS1800 this time, ended in retirement again. She was part of an Avon Tyres-backed team with Russell Close. The following year, she had her best RAC Rally result of her career: 28th, and winner of the Coupe des Dames. She was driving an RS1800 with Pauline Gullick. During the summer, she made another trip to Finland, for the Hankiralli this time, driving an RS2000. She did not finish.

Her programme was similar in 1977. This time, she finished the Hankirally in 39th place, driving an RS2000 with Ian Parry. She was 47th in that year’s RAC Rally, in another Escort, with Dorothy Selby-Boothroyd. This year, she was also active in British rallies, and was part of Team Castrol in the British championship, driving an RS1600 with Dilys Rodgers.

By 1978, her career was winding down, and she only appears to have driven in one major rally this year. She was 40th in the Safari Rally in an Escort RS2000, co-driven by another experienced local, Yvonne Pratt.

In 1979, she did her last big international events. One was her debut visit to the Rally of Madeira, which she does not appear to have finished. Another was the Sunriser Forest Rally in the USA. Jill drove an ex-Rod Millen Datsun 510, with Pauline Gullick. They did not finish. This deal was partly arranged by Jill’s partner, David Sutton, a rally driver and preparation expert. Some time after this, the couple married. Jill and David sometimes competed together, and David, a former sales manager at Clarke & Simpson, was instrumental in brokering some of Jill’s drives. He took over Clarke & Simpson in 1975, which became David Sutton Cars.

In 1979, Jill’s daughter, whose name is not forthcoming, attempted to start her own rally career in the Fabergé Fiesta Challenge. She was eliminated in the preliminary rounds. Jill and David are still together, and live in Northamptonshire.

 (Photo by, and copyright of, Tony Gardiner) 

Ramona Karlsson

Ramona and Miriam (left) after their Uppsala win

Ramona is Sweden’s most successful modern female driver, emulating and surpassing the triumphs of Ewy Rosqvist in the 1960s.

She was interested in motorsport from a very early age, and competed in motocross, kart-cross and rallycross as a junior driver. She won championships in both junior rallycross, and kart-cross, before commencing her rally career in 2001. In addition to her motorsport activities, she was also a junior champion in pistol shooting in Sweden.

She was fairly young when she started stage rallying seriously, 23 years old, and her first rallies were completed in a Saab 900, as were those of many Swedish drivers of the last twenty years or so. In 2004, she was 60th in the Kullingstrofén with Henrik Darius.

The Saab was exchanged for a newer Volkswagen Golf in 2005, although it did not prove to be much faster. Her second attempt at the Kullingstrofén gave her 70th place this time. She retired from the Silverratten rally. An Audi 90 Quattro, a prophetic but not particularly well-suited rally car, also proved rather fragile, and she retired from the 2006 Kullingstrofén rally. A year on the sidelines followed.

By 2008, Ramona had managed to invest in a more powerful car, a Subaru Impreza. By now, she was running her own rally team. She was also supported by Subaru Sweden for some of her events, including the South Swedish Rally, in which she was 30th, and her first WRC event, Rally Sweden. She was 40th, and 29th in her class. In between these two events, she drove in the Kvarnturen Rally, and was a career-best tenth. This year, she also developed a partnership with Miriam Walfridsson, her new co-driver and a member of the Walfridsson rallying clan.

In 2009, she drove for Pelle Palmqvist’s team in a Mitusbishi Lancer Evo 5 and 9, competing in Group N. She won her class in at least one round of the KMK Trofen, in the Evo 5. Her only big rally of the year seems to have been the South Swedish Rally, from which she retired.

In 2010, she picked up sponsorship from Mattel's Barbie brand, and competed in the Swedish championship once more, as well as making a visit to the UK for the Trackrod Rally, and Norway for the Rally Sorland. Unfortunately, she did not finish either. Driving a Lancer Evo 9, her best result was fourth, in the Gastabudstrofen. Her next rally, the Kvarnturen rally, gave her a seventh place. Later, she was twelfth in the KMK Trofen.

The Lancer was upgraded to an Evo X model for 2011. Ramona was immediately on the pace, finishing fifth in the Vinterpokalen. After a retirement from the Rally Sweden SM round, she was also sixth on the snow, in the Fäviken Winter Rally. After another retirement from the South Swedish Rally, she scored her third top ten of the season, finishing tenth in the AM-Tryck Snapphanerally. Fourteenth in the East Swedish Rally followed, and then two trips abroad: the Rally of Poland and the Lausitz Rally in Germany. She finished the Polish event in 23rd, third in class.

Encouraged by her improving form and the sponsorship and exposure it brought,  she contested the Production WRC in 2012, driving a Mitsubishi Evo X, run by her own team. She managed four rounds: Mexico, Argentina, New Zealand and Germany. She started quite well, with 18th place in Mexico (sixth in the PWRC standings), but did not finish in Argentina, due to car trouble. In New Zealand, she became the first female driver to record a PWRC stage win, and was running in a consistent 18th/19th place, but her car caught fire, forcing her and Miriam to evacuate it and run away during stage 15. Neither was hurt. They had a functional car again for Germany, but went out on the second stage with a mechanical problem.

In 2013, she acquired a Skoda Fabia WRC car, which, after she got used to it, was used to great effect in Swedish rallies. Her first two events, the Tractive Rallysprint and the Vinterpokalen, were distinctly underwhelming in terms of results, but by the time the Östersund Winter Rally came around, Ramona had got to grips with the Fabia, and was ninth overall. Over the season, she just kept getting better, finishing sixth in the South Swedish Rally, fifth in the Snapphanerallyt and third in the East Sweden Rally. Her season culminated in her first win, in the Uppsala Rally. She was runner-up in the Swedish championship.

For 2014, Ramona decided to move away from rallying, despite her success in 2013. She raced in the World Rallycross Championship, as its first female driver. As a way to raise funds for this, she offered her services as a taxi driver to Swedish marketing people in December 2013.

Her first year as a rallycross driver was hard-going, going straight into the Supercar class, and competing against former WRC stars, such as Petter Soblerg, and experienced rallycross professionals. She used both a Saab 9-3 and a Peugeot 208. She was only 39th in the championship, scoring some points at the Montalegre round. She did not enter all of the races, and had a mid-season gap where she switched teams.

In 2015, she continued in rallycross, and drove a Volkswagen Scirocco, run by her own RamonaRX team. This was the first time a female-run team had entered the World Rallycross Championship, although she only got to enter one round, in Sweden. She spent most of the season in the European Supercar series, where she was 23rd overall, with a best finish of fourteenth, in Germany.

She sat out the 2016 competition season, due to pregnancy, but remained involved in motorsport as the Marketing Director for the World Rallycross Championship.

In 2017, she returned to rallycross, and earned several top-ten finishes in the Nordic RallyX championship. Her car was a Volkswagen.

She sat out 2018 due to pregnancy.

She is a member of the FIA's Women In Motorsport Commission.

 (Image from www.uppsalabilder.se)

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. Her new car for 2025 gave her a hike in power: it was an RGT-class Alpine-Renault A110. She mostly rallied in tarmac in France and won another ladies' title, but her best overall finish was in Switzerland itself. She was 17th in the Rallye International du Valais.

(Image from www.campioni.cn)

Female Rally Drivers Around the World: Turkey

Simin Bıçakcıoĝlu in Bulgaria in 2012

Burcu Çetinkaya now has her own post. 

Ayşegül Bacak – rallied a Fiat Palio in some Turkish events in 2010. She managed one finish in a major rally: a 31^st place in the second round of the Istanbul Rally Championship. The first round ended in an off. That year, she was also active in hillclimbing, and won at least one Ladies’ Trophy. In 2012, she did some circuit racing in the Volkicar V1 Challenge, a one-make series. She was the fastest of three female drivers taking part that year. 

Nisa Bozkurt -  began her career as a navigator. She has rallied a variety of cars around Turkey, including a Ford Ka in 2001, Citroen Saxo in 2002 and a Fiat Palio in 2004. She drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 in the 2005 Rally of Turkey. The same year, she appears to have achieved her best result, eleventh in the Fiat Rally.

Burcu Burkut Erenkul - has been rallying in Turkey since 2008, when she was 19. Previously, she had done some karting, and done some circuit racing - the VW Polo Ladies’ Cup in 2006, and some junior racing in a Fiat Palio in 2007. Her first rally was the Istanbul Rally, and she was 30th in a Fiat Palio, seventh in class. In 2009, she did not have the funding for much rallying, so she did some powerboat racing, and entered the Istanbul championship at the end of the season. She won the Ladies’ and Junior category. For 2010, Ford of Turkey stepped in, and she entered three rounds of the Turkish championship in a Fiesta, finishing two. Her best result was 19th, second in class, in the Bosphorus Rally. The following year, she entered the full Turkish championship, in the Fiesta. She got her best result in the Yeşil Bursa Rallisi - eleventh, and third in class, and followed it with 17th in the Hittit Rallisi. She was third in her class at the end of the season. In 2012, she was more consistent, with three 19th places, and a best of fifteenth, in the Hittite Rally. She won Class 8, and was second in the ladies’ standings, behind her rival Simin Bıçakcıoĝlu. In 2013, she gained a new regular navigator, Seyma Yagiz, and continued to improve. She was in the top twenty in four of her seven rallies, with a best finish of thirteenth, in the Bosphorus Rally. She also won her class in the Kocaeli Rally. Only a retirement and an exclusion in the last two rallies of the season kept her from winning Class 8. She was 16th in the Turkish championship, and second lady, again behind Bıçakcıoĝlu. She continued to rally in 2014, in the Turkish championship. Despite her season being affected by a string of retirements, she was still quite competitive. Her best finish was a fifteenth place, in the Istanbul Rally. She was also 17th in the Bosphorus Rally, a European Trophy event. After missing the 2015 season, she drove a Ford Fiesta in the 2016 Saygili Rulman Ege Rally, but did not finish. 

Didem Coksayar - raced in the Turkish Ladies’ VW Polo championship in 2005 and 2006. She was not among the front-runners. At the same time, she rallied a Fiat Palio run by Delta Sport in the Turkish championship. She entered the 2006 Rally Turkey but did not finish due to mechanical problems. Her best result was a 21st place in the 2005 Castrol Istanbul Rally. She had been active for even longer as a co-driver. Now retired from active competition, she lives in the UK and is married to Michael Vergers.

Yasemin Culfaz – rallied in Turkey in 2010 and 2011. She started off in a Fiat Palio, and contested the Istanbul Rally Championship. Her best finish was 34^th. For her 2011 season, she used a Ford Fiesta, and entered the Turkish championship. It was not an overly successful season, with three out of four rallies ending in retirement. She was 24^th in the Bosphorus Rally, third in class.  

Ozlem Uludag Gulcan - rallies a Nissan Micra in Turkey. Her career seems to begin in 2017 and her first event of 2018, the Hittite Rally, gave her a ninth place, her first top ten. The Hittite Rally was her best event again in 2018 and she was tenth. She did six other Turkish rallies, finishing five of them. In 2019 and 2020, she continued to rally the Micra, picking up her first top ten in the Hittite Rally. She won her first Turkish ladies' title in 2021. Ozlem also competed as a co-driver early in her career.

Ayşe Kar – competes in both rallying and rallycross in Turkey. In 2010, she rallied a Fiat Palio in Turkish National and other events. Her best finish was sixteenth, in the Yeşil Bursa Rally. She was also third in class. The same year, she was active in rallycross in Antalya, in a similar car. Further details are not forthcoming. Photos seem to suggest she did some more racing in 2011, but the specifics of this are also proving hard to find.

Zeynep Merkit - rallied in Turkey between 2000 and 2007. She mostly drove a Fiat Palio kit car, although she started with a Citroen Saxo and achieved her career-best result - 16th in the Yesil Bursa Rally - in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII. Her career included four runs in the Rally of Turkey, including one start in the WRC version in 2003. She was driving the Fiat but had to retire. She is still involved in motorsport in Turkey, despite losing her husband Kemal to a motorcyle enduro accident in 2012.

Serpil Pak - one of Turkey’s first female rally drivers. She began her career in 2005, driving a Fiat Palio in the Turkish championship. This was replaced by a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII in 2006. After a quiet couple of seasons, she drove a Ford Fiesta in the Turkish championship in 2010, with some good class finishes. A change to a Subaru Impreza gave her her first top-twenty finishes in 2011, including thirteenth place in the Yeşil Bursa Rally, with a class win. In 2012, in an Impreza, she was 20th in the Istanbul Rally. In 2013, she returned to driving a Fiesta, although it was not the most reliable. Her best finish was fourteenth, in the Bosphorus Rally. In 2014, still in the Fiesta, she achieved her first top-ten finish: tenth in the Rally 34 event. 2014 was a good year for her; she was a consistent top-twenty finisher in the Turkish championship, although she did non-finish twice, at the end of the season. She was also twelfth in the Istanbul Rally. In 2015, she managed another top ten finish, a tenth place in the Istanbul Rally. She was still in the Fiesta, and was seventeenth in the Turkish championship. 2016 was a less busy season for her, although she did fit in some travel, to the ACI Como National Rally, in Italy. Her car was a Peugeot 208, and she did not finish. Back at home, she drove the Fiesta in the Marmaris Rally Turkey, but also retired. In 2017, she entered the Istanbul Rally in a Fiesta, and was 25th overall. 

Melissa Tahincioglu – did a season in the Turkish Rally Championship in 2008. Her car was a Fiat Palio. Her best finish was 18^th, in the Ford Otosan Kocaeli Rally, and she was fourth in class. Her biggest event was the Istanbul Rally, a round of the IRC, and she was 34^th. In 2010, she did one rally, the Kocaeli event, in a Ford Fiesta. She was 25^th overall, third in class. She has also taken part in circuit racing, and was fourteenth in the 2006 Volkswagen Polo Ladies’ Cup, held in Turkey. In 2011, she was one of the leading drivers in the V1 Challenge, held at Istanbul Autodrome. Previously, she had done some one-off rallies in the Turkish championship, in 2002 and 2003, in the Fiat.

Burcu Ürkmez – rallied a Fiat Palio in Turkey between 2008 and 2010. Her first season was her best one, with three top-twenty finishes in Istanbul Castrol rallies. Her next two years were plagued with non-finishes, although she did manage twelfth place in the 2009 Ford Otosan Kocaeli Rally. After that, she seems to have switched to circuit racing, and is listed as a driver in the Turkish Toyota Yaris Cup.

Nehir Yilmaz- erstwhile co-driver who started driving in Turkish rallies in 2016. She was 26th in that year’s Otosan Kocaeli Rally, driving a Fiat Palio. She has been competing as a co-driver since 2002, when she was 23. Among the drivers she has sat beside are Burcu Cetinkaya, Burcu Burkut Erenkul and Serpil Pak.

(Image from www.siminbicakcioglu.com)

Female Single-Seater Drivers Around the World: Finland

Emma Kimilainen

Sanna Pinola  and Milla Makela now have their own posts. 

Pinja Forsman – raced in Formula Ford in 2010. She was driving for the Söderman team. Her best overall finish was sixth, at Alastaro. She was eleventh in the final championship standings, and fifth in the Zetec-engined class. Her race programme also included two North European Zone Formula Ford Cup races, which gave her 19^th in that championship. After 2010, she does not seem to have raced again. 

Laura Koivoluoma - former karter in Europe, who also did some single-seater racing. In 2007, she drove for the Pekka Saarinen team for two rounds of the Asian Formula Renault Challenge. After a few more years of karting, she entered the Finnish  Formula Ford Junior Championship in 2011. She was seventh overall. In summer 2012, she announced her retirement from motorsport, at the age of 24, for reasons never fully explained.

Netta Pekkala – former karter who raced in the 2014 Formula Ford championship. Despite being only fifteen years old, she already had ten years of karting experience, plus some Formula Ford testing, undertaken in 2013. Her best finishes in 2014 were two fifth places, at Ahvenisto and Alastaro, and she was seventh in the championship, winning the Zetec class from three other drivers. This class win was her objective for the year, and she hoped to make an attempt at the outright championship in 2015. Unfortunately, she does not seem to have raced in 2015. She now races snowmobiles.

(Image from http://pwrracingteam.com/)

Female Drivers in Touring Cars: the United Kingdom

Anita Taylor in the Broadspeed Anglia

This is another post mostly made up of previous content, created in order to make the blog easier to get around. There are a couple of new names, and more will appear in future. Jem Hepworth, Elizabeth Jones, Barbara Cowell, Jacquie Bond-Smith, Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, Michaelle Burns-Greig, Geunda Eadie, Micki Vandervell, Jean Aley and Joanna Clarke now have their own posts.

Anna Barden - winner of the 2018 CTRC Classic Touring Car pre-2005 championship, driving a Renault Clio. She has been racing since 2016 and sometimes competes against her husband, Steve Barden, in the Classic Touring Car series. Further details of her career are proving hard to find as she previously competed under another name.

Joey Cook (Beale) - sister of Jacquie Bond-Smith. Like her sister, her early motorsport experiences were in her father’s “Wavendon Wombat” special, and they sometimes competed as a pairing. The sisters raced together in the FLIRT team in the 1960s, in a Mini Marcos. As a team, they entered the Nürburgring 1000km, Gran Premio del Mugello and Nürburgring 500 KM in 1967. Joey’s best result was 37th, in the Mugello race. She and Jacquie raced in separate FLIRT Marcoses for the Nürburgring 500km. She is still involved in motorsport through historic racing; she and her husband Stephen own and drive a 1962 Lotus Elite, and are members of the HSCC.

Ilsa Cox - winner of multiple British club championships in saloon car racing. She began in 1987. In 1997, she was the Castle Combe Saloon Car champion, driving a Peugeot 205 GTi. Even in her first year in that championship, 1995, she won eight times, and was narrowly beaten to the trophy. In 2008, she won Class A of the 750MC Hot Hatch Championship. More recently, she has been racing a SEAT Cupra in the Eurosaloons championship, and won a race outright at Oulton Park, in 2009. She was second in the “B” class of the series, with three wins. She has 26 career wins. She continued to race the SEAT in the CNC Heads Saloon/Sports championship in 2014. She won one race, and was second in Class D. As well as racing in the CNC Heads series in 2015, she took part in the Classic Thunder Touring Car Championship, still in the SEAT. She was fifth and seventh in these championships, respectively. She raced the SEAT again in 2016, in the CNC Heads series, but only did some of the rounds, and was 26th overall. In 2017, she did some races in the SEAT, but did not do enough of the championship to mount at serious challenge. She was back to winning ways again in 2018, picking up another Castle Combe GT crown in the Cupra and winning nine races outright. She competed in the CTCC Classic Thunder series in 2019, winning at least one race at Silverstone. As well as this, she works as a performance driving instructor, and promotes women’s track days.

Mary Grinham - races a spaceframe Maguire Mini in club events in the UK. Most recently, she has been part of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Classic Thunder series. She has been racing the car since the 1980s, when she took part in Special Saloons, securing class wins. This followed ten years as a motorcycle sidecar racer, and some time spent in Minicross. She first raced a sidecar outfit in 1972.

Joanne Kraemer - began her career in 2002 in UK Clio Cup. She did not compete for a full season due to injuries sustained in a crash, but managed to return. After a break, she drove in Britcar with her father, Rick Kraemer, in 2004. Their car was a Ford Focus. They managed some top-ten finishes, including one at Brands Hatch.

Clare Newbold - raced in the mid-1960s, always in Ford cars. In 1965, she raced a Ford Anglia in the 1000cc class, in British events. These were mostly at club level, so the results have proved hard to find. In 1966, she raced a “Fraud” Cortina, a heavily-modified Ford Special Saloon belonging to her future husband, “Doc” Merfield. They competed together at least once, in a handicap race at Brands Hatch. In 1965, Clare drove this car in the Brighton Speed Trials, and seems to have won something - a video of the time describes her as the winner, but the official records do not support this. She was an early member of the BWRDC and also raced at Goodwood. After her marriage, she seems to have retired.

Nerys Pearce - raced in the 2020 Britcar Trophy for Team BRIT, driving a BMW 1-Series. She joined the team for the Silverstone races and partnered Abbie Eaton, then drove with Aaron Morgan at Snetterton. As a guest driver, she was ineligible to score points. She is paralysed from the chest down and is hoping to be part of a Le Mans team consisting only of disabled drivers. Previously, she served as an Army medic and competed in para-athletics, powerlifting and rowing, as well as open-water swimming. She has represented Wales at the Invictus and Commonwealth Games. In 2021 she raced for Team BRIT in Britcar again.

Rona Pearson (Galliford) - raced in the UK between 1962 and 1964. She began her career in club events, using a Mini. Later in he first year, she entered her first international race, the Nürburgring 500km. She and Phil Cadman did not finish after their Mini suffered a gearbox problem. The following month, Rona had more luck in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours, finishing 19th in a BMW 700 with Marie-Rose Tibesar. She later married Peter Galliford and went back to club racing in the UK, before retiring in 1964 to have children.

Jacqui Smith – member of the FLIRT (First Ladies’ International Racing Team) team in the 1960s, with sisters Jacquie Bond-Smith and Joey Cook.  They campaigned two Mini Marcoses together in the 1960s, and raced at the 1967 Nürburgring 500km. Jacqui Smith does not seem to have finished. Earlier in the season, she had been included in the official Marcos team for the Nürburgring 1000km, but did not get to drive on the day. The year before, she was second in the BWRDC’s women’s racing championship, behind Jean Denton. She spent that season racing a Hillman Imp, competing in British club events and winning a Ladies’ race at Brands Hatch. She had been racing since at least 1964.

Mary Taylor - mostly raced saloons in the mid-1960s, and is most associated with Minis. She was racing a Mini by 1963, at least. In 1964, she took part in the Britax Saloon championship, and the following year, she won one of the BWRDC’s Embassy Trophies for the highest placed member at an eligible meeting. Frustratingly, it is not clear what cars she used for the 1964 season, although the award win was for a second place in a Mini. In At some point, she raced an MGB, and is named as an entrant for a Ladies’ race at Oulton Park. She also raced a Frazer Imp and a Lotus Elite. Her career was ended by a serious accident at Silverstone in 1966, where she suffered head injuries, although she later recovered. She was married to fellow racer, Sid Taylor, and was a hairdresser by trade.

Issabelle Woolley - races a Suzuki Swift in the 750MC Swift Sport Challenge. Her first season was 2025, the inaugural one, and she was only 16. In 2026, she continued to race in the Challenge, competing against her father Jonathan. She had a dramatic crash in the first round at Donington and wrote her car off, but she and Jonathan built a whole new one in time for the Silverstone meeting. 

(Image from Autosport)