Henrietta Lister

 

Henrietta Lister owned and raced an Aston Martin in the 1920s, sometimes competing at Brooklands. She was sometimes known as Mabel, her middle name.

Pictures of her in racing garb next to a car at Brooklands exist from 1924, but no race results. The car was a “Bamford-type” Aston with a 1500cc side-valve engine, according to Henrietta’s obituary in a 1983 edition of the Brooklands Society Gazette. The author, Geoffrey Smith, states that she raced for four seasons only, which would have been between 1924 and 1928. How and why this professional ballet dancer, dance teacher and art graduate came to own and race such a car, no-one really knows.

The car itself was sometimes looked after by Jack Waters, who would later find fame as the actor Jack Warner. His two sisters were the comedy performers “Gert and Daisy”, friends of Henrietta, and it is possible that the Waters family formed the link between her and motor racing. Another is that she had served in the Scottish Women’s Hospital corps during WWI, working as a driver of ambulances and lorries. She saw action on the Eastern Front in Serbia and may have come across Gwenda Glubb, who was active at Brooklands as Gwenda Stewart at the same time as Henrietta.

In 1925, she was second in two editions of the Essex Long Handicap. One of these was captured on a film titled “Woman Motorist’s 90 Mile an Hour!” 

Later in the year, she entered a 50-mile handicap with the same club, although her finishing position is not recorded. Pictures show her car in action at meetings of the Middlesex Motor Club. At the time, the main organising club at Brooklands did not hold mixed races, but many regional clubs did.

The BARC relaxed its stance somewhat on female drivers in 1928 and she was third in a Ladies’ Handicap held during the August Bank Holiday meeting, behind Margaret Maconochie’s Amilcar and Ruth Urquhart Dykes in an Alvis.

There is some confusion about when exactly Henrietta competed, as other drivers often used her car, and she was named as the entrant. Jack Waters was one of those who drove the Aston.

After her time as a racing driver, she married William Burrill-Robinson and took up watercolour painting, exhibiting regularly in Yorkshire. According to her obituary, she had sold the Aston to a passing soldier at some time during WWII for £35, having helped him to hide some contraband petrol.

She had previously been a ballet dancer, using the name "Henrietta Listakova". Under this name, she performed in a “charity ballet” in West Acton in 1923. Her performances included The Dying Swan and a foxtrot with another dancer called Arthur Barron. The event was organised by a Miss Mabel Lister, who may have been Henrietta using another name, or a relative. She had been born in Australia and lived in Acton with relatives as a girl, one of whom could be Mabel. Mabel Lister’s dance school taught “Russian ballet and ballroom”, which tallies well with “Mabel Listakova’s” performance.

Henrietta died in 1983, reportedly after suffering heart trouble for much of her life. This never seemed to stop her from seeking excitement or facing adversity.

(Image copyright Brooklands Gazette. Thanks to James Thorne)

Hanna Zellers

 

Hanna Zellers is a versatile American driver who has competed in single-seaters, stock cars and sportscars.

She began her career in cars in 2013 at the Skip Barber Racing School, after racing karts from 2007 until then.

After a part-season spent campaigning a Mazda Miata (MX-5) in SCCA races, she moved on to open-wheel competition in 2015. She raced in the SCCA Formula Enterprise series in 2015 and 2016, winning two events. She was eleventh in the 2015 championship after an accident in the end-of-season runoffs, but bounced back the following year with a second place overall. Her car was the Mazda-engined Van Diemen DP06 sanctioned by the championship. 

Her single-seater career stalled temporarily In 2017. She attempted to branch out into stock cars, taking part in the NASCAR K&N Series race at Millville. She did not finish. 

It was back to single-seaters in 2018 and she did the second half of the US Formula 4 championship, supported by Jay Howard Driver Development. She recorded a best finish of 20th at the Circuit of the Americas. She also guested in the F1600 championship at Bowmanville, finishing twelfth once. Bowmanville was also the scene of her IMSA Prototype Challenge debut a month later, earning a ninth place. She did the next two rounds at Virginia and Road America, driving a Norma run by Five Miles Out Racing. 

After failing to get through the initial driver assessments for the all-female W Series, she raced several cars in 2019. She did some rounds of the US touring car (TC America) championship in a BMW, scoring best finishes of seventh and eighth at Las Vegas towards the end of the season. Sometimes doubling up over a race weekend, she also competed in the one-make Saleen Cup, winning the Young Driver class at Road America once. 

A break from top-level racing followed, although she still did some events with the World Racing League. In 2022, she raced in the IMSA Prototype Challenge, driving a Ligier LMP3. She was tenth in the championship with George Staikos, with a best finish of seventh at Mosport. Despite a dramatic accident where she rolled the car at Virginia, she came back to finish the season. The accident looked nasty but she was unhurt.

At the beginning of the year, she was third in class in the Dubai 24 Hours, driving a BMW M2 for the Yeeti team.

The IMSA MX5 Challenge was her destination for 2023, although the season did not start as well as she hoped. Her car had problems with its differential in its first race at Daytona, then an engine mount broke. Hanna was also suffering from a severe sinus infection which required surgery. She did not plan on missing much of the championship, but in the end only did six races.

(Image copyright Hanna Zellers)

Lena Buhler

 

Lena Buhler is a Swiss driver who races single-seaters, mainly in Europe.

She moved into cars from karting in 2020. Her first experience in senior motorsport was racing in Spanish Formula 4 for the Drivex School team. She was fifteenth in the championship and her best finishes were two fifth places at Aragon and Barcelona. These fifth places were among six top-ten finishes she achieved from 20 starts. She could be quick but was quite inconsistent at times. 

In 2021, she raced in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, as part of the R-ace team. It was a tough year for her and she earned her best finish of the year, a 23rd place, in the last round at Monza.

During the off-season, she travelled to Arizona in the USA to take part in the W Series F4 tests and was invited back for its Barcelona F3 tests, but she was not offered a seat.

The R-ace connection continued in 2022, with three more FREC races and one finish, a 26th place in Monte Carlo. This followed a part-season in the FR Asian championship, which gave her a best finish of twelfth at Yas Marina. 

She stepped back down to F4 for 2023, entering the UAE championship. Not long after, she was the first driver announced for the FIA’s F1 Academy, an F4-level women-only series, driving for the ART GP team. Lena was one of the oldest drivers in the series, having only started karting at 17 and competing seriously in 2017. She was second in F1 Academy with two wins at Catalunya and Monza. As she was already 25, this would be her only F1 Academy season.

Her 2024 plans were initially unclear, although she became an affiliated driver with the Sauber F1 team as a result of her F1 Academy performances. Later, it was announced that she would be racing in FRECA alongside F1 Academy champion Marta Garcia, although driving for ART again. It was a challenging year and her best finish was 22nd at Paul Ricard. She pulled out of the championship after that.

There was no more single-seater racing for her in 2025, but she did find a seat in a Ligier prototype for the Le Mans Cup. She drove for the French 23Events team, alongside Matteo Quintarelli. It was a very competitive season, with the six potential wins being shared between four teams. The Buhler/Quintarelli pairing was one of these winners, picking up the victory at Le Mans. This was the first time a female driver had won at the Sarthe circuit.

Their other best results were three fifth places, which was enough for championship seventh.

(Image copyright formula1.com)

Madeline Stewart

 

Madeline Stewart races sportscars and saloons in Australia.

She is a former junior and senior karter from New Zealand who began racing in the Super3 Series in Australia in 2019. This championship is the official third-level series for V8 Supercars and she went straight into it from karting.

The then 19-year-old drove a Holden Commodore for Brad Jones Racing and picked up three top-ten finishes. The best of these was an eighth place at Winton. She was fourteenth in the championship. 

As well as saloons, she also raced single-seaters in the bike-engined Formula 1000 series. She was sixth in her state championship, driving a Stohr F1000. She was racing against her sister Ashleigh in a Radical. 

Her 2020 Super3 season was limited to two races due to the international coronavirus crisis, but she showed promise with a pair of fourth places at Sydney Motorsports Park. The team entered her for the Townsville Tin Tops meeting the following month, using the same car. After one second and two third places, Madeline was declared the winner. 

Later, she joined the McElrea team for Super Tin Tops at The Bend, this time racing a Porsche 991 in the Super Cup class. She was fifth, finishing fifth or fourth in all three races. This in turn led to a guest spot in the Australian Super GT championship at Queensland, where she was sixth in the first race and fourth in the other two.

In 2021, she continued racing a Porsche, entering both the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge and part of the Australian Carrera Cup, for Earl Bamber's team. The hookup with Bamber was meant to begin with a run in the 2020 Asian Carrera Cup, but this was cancelled.

The Sprint Cup brought more success, with Madeline narrowly missing out on a top ten at Sydney Motorsports Park. This eleventh place was her best finish in the car; her guest appearance at Mount Panorama for the December Australian Carrera Cup meeting had a best result of 18th. It was a short season, finishing in May.

Her best race of the year was the Bathurst 6 Hours, in which she drove an HSV VXR Turbo with Chris Holdt and David Ling. They were fifth in class. 

Another Bathurst 6 Hours in a Holden Astra in 2022 followed, as well as an extensive sportscar programme. She was tenth in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, driving for the Bamber team again, with a best finish of third at The Bend. 

Before beginning the Sprint Challenge, she also made a guest appearance in a Ginetta G55 for the Fanatec GT World Challenge races at Phillip Island, finishing third twice for Griffith Corp.

For the first time, she raced outside Oceania in 2023, entering the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. She was competing in the 992 Pro-Am class and finished third, with four third places at Sebring, Barber and Mid-Ohio. She combined this with karting in Australia.

Her American adventures continued in 2024, when she moved up to the Carrera Cup, still with JDX Racing. In a large field, she was 15th overall, finishing in the top ten twice. The best of these was a seventh place at Road America.

She competed exclusively in the States in 2025, now in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America but with the same team. She finished in the top ten twice in her first year in the series, coming tenth at Indianapolis and Circuit of the Americas. 

(Image from madelinestewart.nz)

The Automobile Club Feminin

Club members visit an airfield

The Automobile Club de France did not allow female members, so a women’s equivalent was founded in 1926. It was incorporated in 1925 and began its activities early the following year.

Its first president was Anne Rochechouart de Mortemart, the duchess of Uzes. She remained in the post until her death in 1933, when Elaine Greffulhe, the duchess of Gramont, was elected as her successor.

The ACFF’s membership came from the upper classes, with many of the committee members having husbands who sat on the all-male club’s board. A good proportion of the committee was titled and some came from notable families such as the Rothschilds. Giorigina Bingen, wife of Andre Citroen, was among them. Despite its select entry requirements, there were many senior members who were Jewish, such as Bingen, Beatrice Reinach and two Rothschild baronesses.

The founder of the Paris-St. Raphael Rally, Count Edme de Rohan-Chabot, was involved, chiefly as the publisher for the club’s magazine. Many members were regulars in early runnings of the Paris-St. Raphael, although it remained independent of the club itself.

Much of the club’s role was to provide social activities for motor-minded ladies, including tours and meet-ups at members’ (stately) homes. These were recorded in its regular magazine, alongside travel and fashion advice, social gossip, reports from major motorsport events and even poetry.

It did, however, organise its own rallies, including some international ones: the Paris-Rome Rally in 1932 and the Paris-Amsterdam in 1931. In its earliest days, it was responsible for the Paris-La Baule Rally which began in 1925.

A “Winter Sports Rally” ran between Paris and Chamonix in 1935, following a “surprise rally” which ended up in Rambouillet in 1934.

The annual rally in 1936 ran between Paris and Le Touquet and was won by Jacqueline Seligmann. Her car is not recorded. The competitive element this time was a regularity test of some 220km.

Magdeleine, Comtesse de Ganay, was the most successful driver in these rallies. She won the Paris-Cannes event in 1930 and was second in the Paris-Amsterdam Rally the year after, both in a Reinastella. 

From time to time, the Club took itself to the forests for a trial, including one in early 1935 which featured a Chanel dress as a prize, won by Jacqueline Seligmann. There were also “paper chase” and treasure hunt-style rallies in towns.

A few ACFF ladies did go on to have serious and successful motorsport careers, including Marguerite Mareuse, one of the first women to race at Le Mans.

The Second World War curtailed the activities of the club and its magazine ceased publication in 1939.

Louise Lamberjack

 

Louise with Marguerite Mareuse during the 1933 Monte

Louise Lamberjack was a French rally driver active in the 1930s. She competed as both driver and navigator. 

Motorsport was something she had grown up with, as the daughter of motorcyclist and racing driver Dominique Lamberjack and the niece of Jean-Emile Lamberjack, another racer who sold cars. Some sources claim that she was Jean-Emile’s daughter. However, she did not begin her own competition career until she was around 30.

Father and daughter competed at the same time, with Dominique opting for an unusual rally car; a Saurer coach.

Like many French women drivers of the time, Louise began by competing in women-only events, sometimes organised by the Automobile Club Feminin. Her choice of cars was more standard and probably more sensible, beginning with a Fiat. She first appears on an entry list for the 1931 Paris-St. Raphael Rally, winning the class for cars over 17hp and finishing 20th overall. She was one of 23 drivers who finished without penalty. Sadly, her second attempt at the event in 1932 ended in mechanical failure.

Over the course of the decade, she would enter six more editions of the Paris-St. Raphael, driving a number of cars. Her best results were two fourth places, in 1936 and 1937, driving a Hotchkiss and a Delahaye respectively.

Her first major win was the Coupe des Dames in Monte Carlo in 1933, navigating for Marguerite Mareuse. She first drove herself in that event in 1935, and was second in the Ladies' standings in 1936, driving a Hotchkiss which she occasionally used on the circuits. 

She was 18th on the 1939 Monte, driving a Matford. On paper, the mighty V8 Ford-engined Mathis was her most successful car, as she recorded a second place in the 1939 International Rally of La Baule. However, only the sections between drivers’ start points and La Baule itself were counted, as the Second World War was beginning and the rally proper never took place. Louise shared second spot with eight other drivers.

Her best year was probably 1936, when she drove the Hotchkiss in both rallies and races. As well as her Paris-St. Raphael fourth, she was third in the Paris-Nice International Criterium de Tourisme, considerably ahead of her father in his coach. In May, she was eighth in the Lyon Rally, leading Claire Descollas in a Lancia and Germaine Rouault in a Delahaye who were ninth and tenth.

The Paris-Nice was one of her best events: she was sixth in 1937 in the Hotchkiss. This year, the rally included a regularity test, a street race in Monaco and the La Turbie hillclimb.

Unlike some of her contemporaries, she did not return to competition after the war.

She died in 1989, aged 90.

Amber Balcaen

 

Amber Balcaen is a Canadian driver who races stock cars in the USA. She did the full ARCA season in 2022. 

She is from a racing family, but is the first to race on asphalt rather than dirt. Her career began with dirt-track karting when she was 10, in around 2002. As soon as she was old enough to race sprint cars as a senior, she got her own car and started winning.

After two or three seasons in sprintcars, she took part in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity programme in 2014 and 2016, as well as competing in Late Model racing in 2016. She was third in the Whelen All-American Series, with one win and six more podiums. She was the first Canadian female driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned event. 

In 2017, she raced in the NASCAR K&N Series, in a Toyota Camry. She was 20th at New Smyrna in her only major outing. She took part in one race in the CARS Super Late Model Tour series in 2018, at Hickory. However, she crashed out early on. 

In 2019, she made another guest appearance in the same series, finishing fourteenth at Radford. She returned to competition in the 2021 ARCA Menards West Series, driving a Toyota. 

Although she only finished one of her three races, this was an eleventh at Irwindale. 

Her career took a hit in 2020 when she was injured in a midget car crash in July, at Valley Speedway. Her car turned over and she suffered burns, two collapsed lungs and broken bones.

Following several part-seasons, she put together a deal for a full ARCA programme in 2022, partly assisted by Busch beer’s Accelerate Her female driver sponsorship scheme. She was run by Mark Rette and usually drove a Ford, although this was substituted for a Toyota for a couple of races. When schedules allowed, she also made a few guest appearances in the East and West series, picking up one tenth place at Iowa in June.

It was her most successful ARCA main season ever, with six top-ten finishes. The best of these was a seventh at Kansas. 

A quieter year followed in 2023. She did three ARCA races for Bill Venturini's team, the best of these ending in sixth place at Daytona. She retired from the Talladega and Kansas races. She also made a guest appearance in the NASCAR Canada series. Her car overheated but she was classified in 17th place.

By contrast, she ran a full ARCA season in 2024, driving for Billy and Cathy Venturini. Her best finish was a sixth place at Kansas, one of seven top-tens she earned that year. She also did most of the ARCA East series in Cathy's car, but only finished once from five entries.

She did one West series race, and also made another guest appearance in NASCAR Canada, at Ohsweken. She did not finish due to brake problems.

In 2025, she did just two ARCA races, at the Daytona and Talladega superspeedways. Unfortunately, she crashed out both times.

Away from the driving seat, she has appeared on TV in the USA, most notably in the NASCAR Racing Wives reality series. Despite the title, she was shown as a driver rather than a partner.

(Image copyright Amber Balcaen)