Deborah Kibble

New Zealand's varied climate and terrain makes it an excellent place for rallying. Deborah married into a New Zealand rallying family and she too was infected by rally fever. A year later she was co-driving for her husband Jamie, and a year after that they switched seats after a couple of trial runs proved that Deborah was a capable driver too.

For a few years the pair gained experience on the club rally scene. In 1998, it was time for a step up and Deborah took to driving a Group A Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, as driven by Tommi Makinen in the WRC. She and Jamie were a promising 42nd on their first Rally New Zealand, and things were going well until a dramatic accident near the end of the season. The Nissan was a write-off and Deborah and Jamie were lucky to survive the multiple airborne roll. The car was replaced with a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, and Deborah has campaigned in various incarnations of that vehicle ever since.

She returned to New Zealand's WRC round in 1999 with Catherine Dobbie and finished 33rd. By now she was competing in the NZ championships and scoring points. 2000 brought a Rally NZ retirement with Jamie back in the co-driver's seat, but the reunited pair finished the following year, in 45th. 2001 was probably Deborah's best year so far. She recorded a World Championship finish and also became New Zealand Group N Rally Champion outright, after an excellent string of results in her domestic championship.

Still in the ageing Evo VI, she defended her crown in 2002 but lost it. She also retired from Rally NZ but was a strong twelfth in the Rotorua Rally, a round of the Asia-Pacific Championship. She was fifth in Group N against an international field.

Deborah sat out most of 2003 while searching for more sponsorship. Although it was difficult, she managed to secure a deal for 2004 with Mitsubishi New Zealand.

In a brand-new Evo VIII named Tommi, after Tommi Makinen,, Deborah returned to the stages for the 2004 season. Back at the Rotorua, they were thirteenth, and twelfth at the Otago Rally in Dunedin. In between, Deborah and Jamie both entered the Race To The Sky hillclimb. Deborah came seventeenth overall, and third rally car, in this classic event.

One of her biggest tests of the year came at the third round of the NZ championships. The weather for the Southland Rally was atrocious, with mountain snow and rain causing havoc. In the freezing conditions, she took advantage of the troubles of others to record her first stage win. The leader was held up by stranded smaller cars and Deborah used her better road position to achieve a good time. She was fifteenth overall and fifth in Group N. It was still wet and cold for the Hawkes Bay rally, but there were fewer problems and she came thirteenth. One of their best finishes was at Nelson, where she was eleventh, and sixth in Group N, in good weather. That took her up to tenth overall in the championship. A small loss of ground in the Waikato event dropped her to eleventh overall in the championship but she kept their Group N position.

Deborah did not compete at all for much of 2005. Tommi was sold in March and, wanting to try something new, Deborah bought a Kawasaki ZX6R motorcycle with the proceeds. Later in the season she found herself missing the stages. The bike was sold and she came back to rallying, but as a navigator rather than a driver. She sat alongside Robert Murray.

In 2006, Deborah continued to navigate for Robert Murray. Their car was a fearsome 1986 Group B Mazda RX7, formerly driven by Neil Allport. The classic bug had truly bitten; she then acquired an ex-Ross Dunkerton EX Mitsubishi Lancer. The intention was to compete in some more classic rallies, both as a navigator and a driver. The Lancer has been in action on the historic stages (and some more modern ones) of New Zealand since 2007. Deborah’s co-drivers have included Nicola Burley, Robbie McKenzie and Heather Johnston. She now describes herself as competing for fun rather than titles.

In 2014, she drove in the Canterbury and Otago Rallies, finishing 21st and 27th respectively, in the Lancer. She was thirteenth in the 2015 Otago Rally, but did not finish the Rally of Canterbury. Heather Johnston was her co-driver.

This arrangement continued for 2016. Deborah was tenth in the Mainland New Zealand Series, in the EX Lancer. Her best overall result was 20th, in the Spring Rally. Using the same car, she did a few New Zealand rallies in 2017.

She had a new car in 2018: a Toyota Starlet. Her best finish was a class win and 31st overall in the Lawrence Rally. The EX Lancer was out again in 2019 and netted its owner three finishes from five rallies. The best of these was 24th and sixth in class on the Rankleburn Rally. Sadly, it did not finish its only 2020 outing, the Spring Rally, due to a broken differential. She did better in 2021, finishing two of her three rallies.

In 2022, she brought out the Lancer for the South Canterbury and Otago Rallies. She was 29th in the Otago event and did not finish the South Canterbury Rally. She entered the Otago event in 2023, but did not finish after an off-road excursion. Driving a different car, an Impreza, she finished the Otago Rally in 2024, in 26th place. The Impreza came out again in 2025 for the Subaru H6 Cup, in which Deborah was fourth. Her best finish overall was thirteenth in the Catlins Rallysprint.

(Thanks to Deborah herself for her contribution.)
(Image source unknown)

Danica Patrick

Danica in 2014

Danica Patrick is the most successful and visible female driver in recent motorsport history.

Danica began her racing career in karting at the age of ten. After a couple of learning years, she won several prestigious championships and set lap records that have not been bettered to this day. When the time came for her to switch to cars, she and her family decamped to Milton Keynes, England, to race in the ultra-competitive junior single-seater formulae there. In 1998 and 1999 she raced in Formula Vauxhall, with some good finishes, coming tenth in the championship in 1999. She moved on to Formula Ford in 2000, with Haywood Racing, who operated as the works Mygale team. That year she made history by finishing second in the prestigious Formula Ford Festival, a first for a female driver and the best for an American since Danny Sullivan in 1988.

She remained at Haywood for most of 2001, but the Mygale was off the pace that year. Her average finishing place was tenth and funds were running out, so she dropped out before the end of the season and returned home. At the time it seemed like a bad move, but it paid off handsomely.

It did not quite seem that way the end of 2001, when she had quit the UK Formula Ford championship and failed to secure drives in British F3 and the ALMS. She tested an F3 car for Carlin Motorsport at Pembrey but nothing came of it. Not long afterwards, she and her fellow American Patrick Long were linked to a works ALMS drive in a BMW M3, but BMW had already decided to finish its sportscar programme. It was a win in the Pro division of the annual Toyota Pro Celebrity race which brought her back into the limelight in 2002.

Danica, from Illinois, was signed on a long-term development deal with Rahal Racing. The result was that she competed in the Champ Car series in the USA for two seasons, and Danica held hopes that this could lead to a Formula One seat. She got the call from Rahal in mid-2002 and was immediately entered for some Barber Dodge Pro Series races, to re-familiarise herself with the tracks. She competed in five races in all and acquitted herself well. Her best finish was fourth, in Vancouver.

The second part of Rahal's driver development plan took her to the 2003 Toyota Atlantic series, which supports the CART championship. She impressed immediately with a third place at Monterey. For most of the season she was a steady top-ten finisher, beside other up-and-coming stars like Ryan Dalziel. She saved her best until the last round in Miami, where she was second.

The team also entered her in some American Le Mans Series sportscar races in 2003 and Danica was said to be keen to race there again.

Still getting back into the swing of ovals, she spent another year in Atlantics before graduating to the Indy Racing League. Her best 2004 finish was another runner-up spot, at Portland. She was an almost permanent fixture in the top ten that year.

Backed by David Letterman and Bobby Rahal, Danica really captured the public imagination in her first IRL season, in 2005. It started inauspiciously, but by May, the Illinois girl was making headlines. On her first attempt at the hallowed Indy 500, she qualified in second position and was widely tipped in the press as a potential winner. Danicamania was here.

On raceday itself, Danica fought hard on the track and managed to work her way back up the order after a spin, narrowly avoiding two other accidents. Gambling with pitstops paid off and she led for two periods, 19 laps in total. Eventually she was reeled in by the eventual winner, British Dan Wheldon, then passed by Vitor Meira and Bryan Herta. She was fourth overall, a female record and an impressive rookie performance.

To prove she was no fluke, Danica followed this up with another fourth place in Texas. A couple of races later she earned her first pole, at Kansas. Her other pole positions came later, at Kentucky and Chicago. As far as actual results were concerned, she managed a series of top tens, with a second-best result of sixth at Chicago. She was twelfth overall in the standings.

Danica had a second season with the Letterman team in 2006.The year got off to a nasty start for the team when third driver Paul Dana was killed in practice at Miami. His two team-mates were withdrawn from the race as a mark of respect. This followed the earlier disappointment of failing to finish the Daytona 24 Hours in a Boss Pontiac Crawford with Rusty Wallace and Allan McNish, but the disappointment was of a different magnitude.

Some of the hype around Danica died down and her results were not as attention-grabbing, although she was a much more consistent resident in the lower half of the top ten. Her qualifying pace appears to have suffered; there were no more starts from the front row. She did not improve on her best finish from 2005 but she did match it, coming fourth at Milwaukee and Nashville. She was ninth at the end of the season.

In the middle of the year it was announced that Letterman would not be renewing their contract with Danica for the 2007 season. Rumours abounded of a switch to NASCAR and the debate over women stock car drivers was reignited for a time. She then announced that she would be driving for Andretti Green Racing instead.

Her tenure at Andretti started inauspiciously with a non-finish at Miami. However, she was back in the top ten in the next race at St Petersburg, coming eighth. She went one better at Kansas, and managed to keep her qualifying position at the Indy 500 with another eighth. At Fort Worth she scored the first of her three podium positions that season: a third. She was also third at Nashville and second at Detroit. This left her seventh overall.

She stayed with Andretti Green for the 2008 season. After a sixth and a tenth at Homestead and St Petersburg, Danica made history at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. She beat Helio Castroneves to win the race, a first for her and a first for a female driver. The media went wild again, mostly in a positive way. Unfortunately, her next two races, Kansas and the Indy 500, ended in retirement, despite top-five qualification spots.

The remainder of her season was fairly inconsistent, although she did achieve seven top-tens out of twelve more races. The best of these was fifth, at Nashville and Sonoma. She was sixth in the final standings, her best so far.

2009 was a good year for Danica, although she did not post another win. Still driving for Andretti Green, she finished consistently in and around the top five, with the exception of the season-opening St Petersburg round. She was fifth in the Indy 500, and was fifth in the championship at the end of the season.

In 2009, she also took part in the Daytona 24 Hours with Childress-Howard Motorsports. She was eighth, alongside Andy Wallace, Rob Finlay and Casey Mears. Their car was a Pontiac Crawford Daytona prototype.

In 2010, Danica launched a two-pronged attack on the US motorsport scene, making her debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with JR Motorsports. Her car was a Chevrolet. Despite early sixth places in an ARCA warm-up event and a NASCAR regional race, she struggled somewhat in NASCAR proper, with a best finish of 21st out of thirteen races. In the IRL, she maintained her position from 2009. After a shaky start to the season and some poor positions, she earned a best finish of second at Texas, and six further top-tens. She was sixth at Indianapolis.

Her NASCAR results showed development in 2011, with a fourth and two tenth places at Las Vegas, Chicago and Daytona respectively, plus several more top twenty finishes. After twelve races, she was 26th overall. On the Indycar side, she had an uneventful year, with a best finish of fifth at Milwaukee. Although she scored several other top tens, including a tenth at the Indy 500, her star was no longer in the ascendant. This would be her last IRL season, and she finished tenth.

Although she had bowed out of open-wheel competition, Danica was nowhere near ready for retirement in 2012, and moved into NASCAR full-time. She took part mainly in the Nationwide series, with some outings in the Sprint Cup. Her team was JR Motorsport, and her car a Chevrolet. Her first Nationwide race of the year, at Daytona, began with a pole, but ended with a disappointing 38th overall. Her first good result was an eighth at Texas, the sixth round of the championship. She managed three more top ten finishes, plus others close to the top ten, and was tenth in the final standings. In the Sprint Cup, she was driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, in a similar car. She only entered ten races, finishing eight, with a best finish of 17th, in her last race at Phoenix.

Danica's adventures in NASCAR continued in 2013. Her first warm-up race, a Nationwide curtain-raiser event at Daytona in a Turner Scott Chevrolet, ended in a DNF, but she bounced back the same day, with a pole position in the Sprint Cup race, and eighth overall, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing. A DNF at Phoenix, then a string of disappointing finishes followed, but she was back in the top twenty at Martinsville, where she was twelfth. Unfortunately, this was to be as good as it got; although her finishing record was reasonable, she was never again among the leaders, in qualifying or on race day. She was 27th overall.

Danica does not shy away from controversy and her presence on the US racing scene has continually raised many of the old questions about female drivers. There has been the usual talk of her getting her race seat because of her gender, plus some more accusing suggestions that her small size (5'1") gives her too much of a weight advantage.

On a more personal note, she caused a stir in 2003 by posing for FHM magazine, in a provocative shoot. Her sudden marriage to a much older man in 2005 provoked a similar reaction (she has since divorced). More recently, a feud with fellow Indy competitor Milka Duno garnered attention, thanks to a YouTube video of the two having a heated disagreement. In NASCAR, she has had to contend with well-reported negativity from the likes of Richard Petty.

In 2014, she continued to race in NASCAR for Stewart-Haas Racing. She was competing in the Sprint Cup series, with some outings in the Budweiser Shootout and Sprint Unlimited championships, at Daytona. 

The Sprint Cup was a mixed experience. She scored three top tens, with the best of these being a sixth at Atlanta. However, her average finishing spot was near the bottom of the top twenty. She was 28th overall. Her car was a Chevrolet. 

Another season with Stewart-Haas followed in 2015, driving the no. 10 Chevrolet. She managed two top-ten finishes: seventh at Martinsville and ninth at Bristol. This surpassed Janet Guthrie's record for the most top-ten NASCAR finishes for a female driver. Danica was 24th overall. Her only real low point of the season was an unseemly spat with David Gilliland. She was fined and docked points for punting him off in retaliation for an earlier crash.

She returned to the Sprint Cup in 2016, driving for Stewart-Haas with a new sponsor, Nature's Bakery. This year, she was not as competitive as she was in 2015, just missing out on a top-ten finish. Her best result was an eleventh, at Charlotte. She was 23rd in the Sprint Cup. She did somewhat better in some of the additional races promoted by NASCAR, finishing seventh in the Daytona Can-Am Duels, and ninth in the Sprint Showdown. 

At the end of 2017, she called time on her NASCAR career, thanking Stewart-Haas for all of the opportunities they had given her. The decision was partly influenced by loss of sponsors, including Nature's Bakery who pulled the plug after one season. This announcement followed another run in the Monster Energy Cup which included a tenth place at Dover, and ended in 28th overall. 

In 2018, she contested the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 one more time as a sort of farewell tour. She qualified seventh in her final Indy 500 but crashed out on lap 67, unfortunately a repeat of what happened in the season-opening Daytona 500. 

After a period of keeping a lower profile, Danica made her debut as a Formula 1 TV analyst towards the end of 2021.

(Image from http://parade.condenast.com/18527/erinhill/danica-patrick-i-want-to-be-the-best-driver-not-the-best-female-driver/)

Christine Dacremont

Christine Dacremont was a French rally driver and sportscar racer of the 1970s. She competed between 1970 and 1979. She began her career in hillclimbing in 1970, and her first competition car was a Triumph Spitfire. She used the same car in her first rally, the Rallye Fleurs et Parfums at Grasse, also in 1970.

The Triumph was replaced with an Alpine-Renault A110 for 1971, which Christine used in French rallies. Her early results were solid, but unspectacular, the highlights being class seconds in the Rallye D'Ouest and the Paris-St.Raphaël women's rally.

In 1972, she joined Team Aseptogyl as one of its all-female driving squad. This was strangely appropriate. The team was sponsored by a brand of toothpaste and run by Bob Neyret, an ex-dentist, and Christine worked as a dental assistant when not rallying. Her first year with the team was spent in the French championship. She carried on all year, despite being on crutches for part of it, due to a motorcycle accident. Away from the team, she entered her own A110 in the Tour de France, but did not finish.

She continued with the team for the 1973 season. One of her more major outings was the Paris-St.Raphaël, in which she was fourth, in a Fiat 124 Spider. Her biggest rally of the season was her first World Championship event, the Monte Carlo Rally. Co-driven by Marie-Odile Desvignes, she retired before the finish, after the engine of her A110 developed problems. For the rest of the season, she continued to gain experience at home with the Aseptogyl set-up.

The following season, Christine gained her first experience of long-distance events. Driving a Peugeot 504, she took part in a rally raid across the Sahara, followed by the Bandama Rally on the Ivory Coast. She was not among the winners, but the experience stood her in good stead for the World Cup Rally later in the year. The route ran across the Sahara and through Europe to Munich. Christine was second in her Peugeot.

1975 heralded her return to the World Championship stages in Morocco. Unfortunately, she and Marie-Pierre Palayer crashed their Peugeot 504 and had to retire. Luckily, despite the proximity of dates, this did not interfere with Christine's first attempt at Le Mans. She was part of the Moynet-Simca team that won the 2000cc class. Her team-mates were Michele Mouton and Marianne Hoepfner. They were 21st overall.

In 1976, she won two French rallies, in Ardennes and Chataigne, at the wheel of an Alpine A310. On the world stage, she was eighth in the Rallye du Maroc and fourth in in the gruelling Bandama Rally, in a Peugeot 504. During her career, Christine proved that she was much more comfortable in endurance events, and on rough terrain. This year, her co-driver was Yveline Vannoni, who was previously the navigator for Marianne Hoepfner. Later in the year, Christine tried out a Lancia Stratos rally car, having sampled Stratos power in her second Le Mans. She partnered Lella Lombardi, and was 22nd, second in class.

The following year, she was sixth in Monte Carlo, driving the Stratos with Colette Galli. This remains one of the highest female finishes to date. The Stratos brought less joy at Le Mans: Christine and Marianne Hoepfner retired after only five hours with engine trouble. More trouble struck on the World Cup Rally, which was the most ambitious yet, running from London to Sydney. Team Aseptogyl entered two diesel-powered Fiat 131s, one for Christine and Yveline and one for Marianne Hoepfner and Bob Neyret. Christine was involved in a serious accident near Darwin and spent three months in hospital recovering, wiping out the rest of her season. Thankfully, she made a full recovery.

She returned to the stages once more in January 1978, for the Monte Carlo Rally. Her car, still run by Team Aspetogyl, was a diesel Citroen 2500 CX. She was off the pace in 69th, but not far behind the first diesel finisher, Claude Laurent in a Volkswagen. She also entered the Tour de Corse in a smaller, more proven Fiat 127, but did not finish after an oil line broke.

1978 also saw her last Le Mans appearance. She and Marianne Hoepfner drove a Peugeot WMP P76 prototype run by Aspetogyl. They lasted until the 19th hour, before a head gasket blew. Throughout the latter part of their careers, Christine and Marianne often drove together, sometimes navigating for one another in French rallies. Christine read the maps for other Aseptogyl drivers on occasion, including Corinne Koppenhague.

1979 was her last year of competition. Her main event was the Paris-Dakar Rally. She drove a Lada and does not appear to have finished. Team Aseptogyl did not last much longer, disappearing at the end of the season, although Bob Neyret returned in 1983 with an all-female driving squad for the Monte. Christine was no longer a part, nor were any of the previous major Aseptogyl drivers.

(Image copyright Libol)

Cyndie Allemann

Cyndie in 2012

Cyndie is a Swiss single-seater racer, currently based largely in the USA. She began karting in 1998 and went on to win two Swiss junior championships. She moved up to cars in 2004, making her debut in Formula Renault in Germany. She contested the Swiss and German championships, staying mostly in the Swiss series. Her final result was fourth, after third places at Varano and Most and a fastest lap at Varano. In the German championship, she was 37th, but she had only driven at two meetings.

In 2005, she made the jump up to competing in German Formula Renault full-time, with some extra races in the Formula Renault Eurocup. She was considerably more successful in the German series this time and was twelfth overall, despite not visiting the podium during the season. In the Eurocup races, she struggled for pace somewhat. Her best finish was seventeenth, at Oschersleben.

She was ninth overall in German Formula Three in 2006 and had a best finish of second at the Lausitzring, after starting from pole. The second Lausitz race gave her a third. The rest of her season was a mixed bag, but she did manage a further ten top-ten finishes. Her next-best result was fifth, at Salzburg. That year, she was driving for the Seyffarth team, supported by the Mercedes Junior team.

The Mercedes connection continued through 2007. Her move to the F3 Euroseries, driving for Manor, was not overly successful. Her best finish was tenth at Mugello, mid-season, but Cyndie was plagued by retirements, and rarely came close to the top ten again. She managed a twelfth and a fourteenth in the next round at Zandvoort, but the rest of the season consisted of retirements and lower finishes.

However, the Euro F3 season led to a deal to run in the Champ Car Indy Lights championship in 2008. She had a promising debut year, including a fourth-place finish at Lexington and three more top-ten places at St Petersburg and Watkins Glen. She was fourteenth at the end of the season, having had an up-and-down but mechanically trouble-free time.

After 2008, Cyndie's Indy Lights deal came to an end. She couldnot find another race seat and spent the first half of the season karting in the States and Europe. Later, she returned to Germany and took part in two rounds of the ADAC GT Masters at the Nurburgring. She was driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Buchbinder Rent-A-Car and was seventeenth in one race, retiring from the second.

In 2010, her career got back on track, but taking a different direction. She was signed up by the Matech sportscar team to drive the Ford GT. This is an FIA GT1 car, the fastest of the closed GT classes. Cyndie did not partake in a full season, but raced in some rounds of the FIA GT1 championship and the Le Mans Series. Her first race was the LMS event at Spa-Francorchamps, and she, Rahel Frey and Yann Zimmer were an excellent third. A little later, the team paired Cyndie and Rahel up with Natacha Gachnang for the FIA races. They were less successful, only managing an 18th and 22nd place at Brno.

This was all preparation for the team's main event: the Le Mans 24 Hours. Matech was entering the first all-female team since 1991, driving an iconic car. The team was all Swiss, also. Sadly, a fire put the GT out of the running quite early. Although mechanics attempted a series of repairs, the team had to retire.

After that, Cyndie's career experienced a long hiatus. She was determined to continue her sportscar activities, but lacked backing and a race seat. Before 2012, she signed a deal for the i1 Super Series, driving a Radical SR3. She would have competed against the likes of Jacques Villeneuve and Karun Chandok, in events across south and east Asia and the Middle East. The championship was meant to begin in 2012, but shortly before the proposed start, it was postponed for a year. Luckily, Cyndie managed to find another opportunity, in the shape of the Japanese Super GT Series. In 2012, she raced an Audi R8 LMS with Hitotsuyama Racing. In the end, she only completed five rounds of the eight. Although she did not achieve any podium positions, she proved a capable driver, with top-ten finishes to her name.

She also drove in one round of the Malaysian Super Series, in a Ginetta G50Z GT3. She and Samson Chan won the GT class.

2013 was mostly spent doing TV work in Germany, including making a programme about the Nürburgring. This led to a drive in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Her car was a Mercedes SLK and her team-mates were Thorsten Drewes, Sven Hannawald and Bertin Sing. The first two were also making the Nürburgring show with Cyndie, which was called "Destination: Green Hell". Although they were running mid-field in their class after a bad start and heavy rain, a crash put them out before the end.

2014 was spent doing media work, testing, and driving instruction. Cyndie returned to the circuits in 2015, in the Dubai 24 Hours. She was driving a SEAT Leon Supercopa as part of a five-driver Stieglitz team. They were 79th overall, and fourth in class.

Since then, she has concentrated on development and TV work.

(Image from www.fourtitude.com)

Claudia Hürtgen

Claudia in 2014 (Image from www.bmwblog.com)

Claudia's profile on the original Speedqueens site was in the Sportscar section, purely because that is what she was doing when she first came to my attention. She could have easily fit into the Touring Cars or Other Racing pages, so wide is her experience.

After a few years of karting, she showed signs of her versatility as soon as she started racing cars. In her first full year, she picked up her first championship, the German Fiesta Cup. She was also runner-up in German Formula Ford 1600 and moved straight into the very competitive German Formula Three series the following year. Her best finishes were a fourth at the Nürburgring and two sixths, at Singen and the second Nürburgring race. The fourth place finish was only her second ever Formula 3 race.

In 1993, Claudia tackled some of the European F3 rounds at some of the classic circuits. Unfortunately, her season was marred by a big crash at the St. Devote corner of the famous Monaco track. She escaped serious injury, but was very shaken.

The accident was probably on of the things that pushed her to return to her saloon racing roots in 1994. She drove a Ford in the German Touring Cup (DTC) and was third overall after some excellent results. She stuck with Ford the following year in a double-attack on German Super Touring and Austrian Touring Cars. She could only manage 26th place in the final German standings, but collected the second outright championship win of her career in Austria.

Buoyed her her Austrian success, she and her Ford returned to Super Touring the next year and did slightly better, coming 22nd. However, it was time for a new challenge, and Claudia had found another racing discipline in which to excel.

She had tried GT racing before, but it became the main focus of her 1997 season. She did a full season of the FIA GT Championship in a Roock Porsche 911 and exceeded all expectations. She won the GT2 class three times, was second twice and third, three times. Her overall positions were good for fifth in the drivers' standings at the end of the year. As well as the FIA races, she and Stephane Ortelli were also seventh in an endurance race at Zhuhai. In a similar car, run by the AG team, she had tackled the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time and acquitted herself well, coming in thirteenth. Her team-mates were Hugh Price and John Robinson.

There was more of the same in 1998: Claudia stuck with Roock and the Porsche 911 in FIA GTs. The car was not really reliable enough to challenge for class honours, and often broke down, but she and Stephane Ortelli managed a ninth overall at Homestead. She also renewed her acquaintance with Le Mans, finishing seventeenth this time, with Michel Ligonnet and Robert Nearn.

She returned for more FIA GT races in the Porsche in 1998, and was rewarded with eighth place overall at Monza and fifth at Silverstone, as well as less exalted finishes at Hockenheim, Zolder and the Hungaroring. At Le Mans, she was 20th with Vincent Vosse and Andre Ahrle. That year, the Roock racing team decided to expand its activities to the USA, and she took part in her first American Le Mans Series races. Her co-drivers were Hubert Haupt and others. They were 39th at the Sebring 12 Hours after an accident, 26th at Petit Le Mans, seventeenth at Laguna Seca and fourteenth at Las Vegas. Although they were not among the top drivers, they kept improving and the car was more reliable.

Her sportscar programme for 2000 was based in the States. She was 31st in the Sebring 12 Hours with Vic Rice and Hubert Haupt, driving for Roock once more. Unfortunately, back in Europe, their Le Mans entry was not accepted. In her other US race of the year, the Daytona 24 Hours, she scored a class win in GT2. This was not her only win of the year, however. Claudia had been invited to drive a Maserati 300S from the 1950s in the Grand Prix-supporting Monaco Historic Grand Prix for sportscars, mid-season, and became the legendary street circuit's first female winner. She beat many historic racing specialists in the process and got rid of any residual doubts after her 1993 crash in the principality. Monaco was not her only extra-curricular activity either; on another street circuit, she was sixth in the season-ending Macau Guia touring car race, driving a Ford Focus.

Having proved that she was as good as ever in a saloon, Claudia returned to German Supertouring in a BMW for the 2001 season. She was a respectable tenth. Over in the USA, she contested five ALMS events with the amalgamated Roock and KnightHawk teams. She was fifth in the smaller LMP675 prototype class, driving a Lola-Nissan. Her best finish was twelfth, second in class, at Mid-Ohio, driving with Steve Knight. She was also part of their Le Mans team with Chris Gleason and Rick Fairbanks, but the car overheated on lap 93 and retired. Porsches were not forgotten either; she returned to Daytona for another go at the GT class, but did not fare as well this time.

By 2002, Claudia was leaning back towards touring cars as her main focus. She teamed up with KnightHawk again for a part-season in the ALMS and helped them clinch the LMP675 championship, coming tenth in the individual LMP675 driver standings herself. However, her full-time return to the DTC paid off handsomely. She won three championship races and one non-championship one, which was a commanding lights-to-flag victory from pole, in the style of her countryman Michael Schumacher.

Still with the Schuberth BMW team, she won the 2003 championship comfortably and convincingly after a string of wins. The following year, she defended her title in the same emphatic fashion. She also branched out into the tougher European Touring Car Championship for its German rounds. In the Oschersleben races, she was fifteenth and eleventh in her BMW against a strong, experienced field, including touring car specialists like Andy Priaulx and Gabriele Tarquini.

For 2005, she decided to tackled the VLN endurance series, raced at the old Nürburgring. Her car was a WTCC-spec BMW 320i E36 and she was joined for the longer races on the calendar by Torsten Schubert and Marc Hennerici, with WTCC champion Andy Priaulx joining in on a couple of occasions. Claudia finished the year as the VLN champion after a set of storming results. It was another outright championship to add to her collection, and the only time a woman had won the series outright, as Sabine Schmitz's previous win was jointly, with Johannes Scheid. In addition to this, she finished both eleventh and fifteenth in the Nürburgring 24 Hour race, driving two different BMW 320is. This kind of dedication to motorsport is not often seen now.

In 2006, the 35-year-old made and ambitious attempt to win a second VLN title, racing two cars at every meeting. She remained a member of the Schuberth team in the WTCC-spec 320i and also ran in a diesel-powered BMW 120d. Although she could not secure another title, she was awarded BMW's Sports Trophy for the best performance by a privateer in a BMW that year. The team had been running for the top spot until late in the season, but were beaten in the end.

Despite not winning any championships, 2006 was still eventful for Claudia. In April, she set a new record for the greatest number of consecutive race wins in a single weekend, taking two victories in VLN races before flying across the country, along with the 320i, to take part in a pair of Belgian/ADAC Procar races at Oschersleben, winning both of them. She won a number of other Procar races too, usually assisted by one of her Schuberth team-mates.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours brought more excitement. Again, Claudia was entered in two cars, and drove for a total of eleven hours over the weekend. The little 120d proved to be her top finisher: she was fifth overall in this car, rather than the more powerful 320i. Her team-mates were Marc Hennerici, Johannes Stuck and Torsten Schuberth. Their rivals included Maseratis and Aston Martins. The other car finished, but was way down the order after technical problems. The 120d had also been an effective weapon in the early-season Dubai 24 Hours, winning its class and defeating its sister car, which suffered a string of misfortunes, including a fire.

For 2007, Claudia continued to race in the VLN, and stuck with BMW power. She was sharing a Z4 M Coupe with Johannes Stuck, with his father, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Pierre Kaffer and Richard Goransson joining the team on occasion. The car was not wholly reliable, but when it did make the finish, it was never out of the top five. Claudia and Johannes were 28th overall. The team was fifth in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with Claudia, the Stucks and Goransson making up the quartet of drivers.

After sitting out the official test and the first race of the season, Claudia returned to the Nordschleife in April 2008. Her new team-mates were Stian Sorlie and Jorg Viebahn. Their Z4 suffered a string of problems and the trio recorded one finish, a second place in the Adenauer Rundstrecken-Trophy. After missing some rounds, Claudia reappeared in a BMW 320d, sharing with a series of different drivers. It was much more reliable, but down on power, and only gave her a few good class finishes. The 24-hour race also ended in disappointment: the Z4 was up to its usual tricks and did not make the finish.

Driving in the Toyo Tyres 24-Hour series, Claudia won one of her races and achieved a second and fourth, driving a Z4 and a 120d; in the case of the last race, both during the same event. She and her Schuberth team-mates won the championship.

Away from modern competition, Claudia also did some more historic racing at the Goodwood Revival. She was driving the Ferrari 250 GT "Bread Van", a distinctively-bodied sports prototype, in the RAC TT Celebration. Although both Claudia and Marco Werner were blindingly fast in qualifying, the car proved too fragile and dropped out of the race almost straight away.

In 2009, Claudia drove a different BMW, an Alpina B6 GT3. She competed not only in the VLN, but also returned to international sportscars in the form of the FIA GT3 Championship. Her main focus in the Alpina was the FIA series. Alongside Csaba Walter, her best result was fifth, at Oschersleben. The pair also scored three eighth places. Driving the same car, she entered four rounds of the ADAC GT Masters, winning two of them. Driving a BMW Z4 run by Al Faisal Racing, she won the Dubai 24 Hour race, assisted by Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Stian Sorlie and Paul Spooner.

She also drove at Goodwood again, in another Ferrari.

She returned to the GT3 championship in 2010, as well as dipping into the ADAC GT Masters. Her cars were swapped round this time, with the Z4 being her vehicle for the GT3 series. She and Csaba Walter were fourth overall, with one win at Jarama and a further seven top-ten finishes. In the Alpina, she did not manage any significant finishes in her guest spots in GT Masters. However, driving once more for Al Faisal in the Dubai 24 Hours, she was second in a Z4, with Marko Hartung, Abdulaziz Al Faisal and Prince Khalid Al Faisal.

Despite entering her forties in 2011, Claudia kept up a full racing schedule with the Schubert team. Her vehicle all year was the Z4. A full season in the GT3 championship with Csaba Walter yielded an eleventh place, with second and fifth places at Algarve being their best finishes. A disqualification after a promising fifth in their first race dented their ambitions during the second round, and their results thereafter went downhill. A visit to the Nürburgring 24 Hours led only to a retirement, but a guest spot in the Blancpain Endurance Series at Spa gave her a second place.

In 2012, Claudia entered the Dubai 24 Hours again with Schubert, assisted by Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Jörg Muller, Faisal Binladen and Edward Sandstrom, in a Z4 GT3. The rest of her season was focused on the ADAC GT Masters with Schubert, in the BMW. Out of 16 races, she finished 15, and achieved one win, at Hockenheim. Her other best results were three second places. She was fifth overall in the championship. As well as the GT Masters, the team entered her into the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with Nico Bastian, Dirk Adorf and Dominik Schwager. They were eighth overall.

The ADAC GT Masters was her main championship once more in 2013. She was driving the Schubert Z4 again with Dominik Baumann, and they were fifth overall, with wins at Spa and the Nürburgring, plus four other podium finishes. Driving solo, Claudia tackled one round of the VLN Endurance series, and finished in the top three for her class. Driving with Dirk Adorf, Jens Klingmann and Martin Tomczyck, she was sixth in class at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race. As has become her custom, she started her season with the Dubai 24 Hours, and was ninth in class, alongside Dirk and Jörg Muller, Faisal Bin Laden and Abdulaziz al Faisal. Her season ended with a bit of fun - a run in a BMW 2002 Ti in a historic race at the Nürburgring. She won the up-to-1975 2000cc class.

2014 continued in a similar fashion. Her year began with the Dubai 24 Hours, where she was sixth, driving a BMW Z4 run by Walkhorst Motorsport. Her team-mates were Daniela Schmid, Jens Richter, Henry Walkenhorst and Ralf Oeverhaus. The rest of the season was spent with the Schubert team, also in a BMW Z4. She and Dominik Baumann were fourth in the ADAC GT Masters, with two wins, at Lausitz and the Slovakiaring. The same pair, joined by Martin Tomczyk and Jens Klingmann, were sixth again. In practice for this, Claudia, driving solo, took part in two VLN races, coming fourth and fifth.

Historics had not been forgotten either. In a similar BMW Ti to the one she raced in 2013, Claudia and Gaby von Oppenheim were third in the Nürburgring Historic Trophy.

She continued to race a BMW Z4 in the ADAC GT Masters championship in 2015. Her best finish was a third, achieved at Lausitz. She also became the first female driver to start from pole in the championship. She entered the Nürburgring 24 Hours, but did not finish.

2016 started with the Dubai 24 Hours, in which she drove an Audi R8 LMS, as part of a mostly German team that included Markus Winkelhock. They were 23rd overall. Later in the season, she resumed her place in the Schubert team for the ADAC GT Masters, in their BMW M6. This was just a part-season, and she was not competing to her usual high standard.

She was back in the Z4 in 2017 and her season was based around the VLN, with the Walkenhorst team. Her best result was fifth in the SP9 class.

It was another season in the GT Masters in 2018, but a new car. She shared a Chevrolet Corvette C7 GT3 car with Sven Barth. Their best result was sixth at Hockenheim in September and they were 29th in the championship.

Driving with Angelo and Manolo di Casa, she also tried some more historic racing. The trio raced a Porsche 911T in the ADAC Classic 24 Hours and was second in class. The 911 was one of three cars Claudia raced at the Le Mans Classic, the other two being an OSCA 2000S and a Porsche 911 Carrera. In May, she had warmed up with two races in the Heritage Touring Cup at Spa, racing a BMW 2002.

She joined the Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport team in 2019 for a season in ADAC GT4, driving a BMW M4. She and co-driver Michael Fischer won one race at the Red Bull Ring during a very inconsistent season. They were ninth in the drivers' championship. The pair joined two other Hofor drivers in an M4 for the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and were second in the SP10 standings, 24th overall.

Her second season with the Hofor team again took in ADAC GT4 and the VLN. Claudia and Sebastian von Gartzen were tenth in the championship, with two sixth places as their best finish. Their team-mates won the championship. The two teams combined for the Nurburgring 24 Hours and won the SP10 class, finishing 26th overall.

Driving with Angelo de Casa, she was eighth in the ADAC 24H Classic, driving the 911 again.

In 2021, she was signed to race for the Abt Cupra team in Extreme E, an electric off-road series. She partnered Mattias Ekstrom in the Abt Cupra car for the first round at AlUla, Saudi Arabia, but was injured and had to withdraw from the championship. Her car flipped over hard after colliding with another, negotiating the downward slope of a steep sand dune. This cut short her season in the ADAC GT4 series too and she was only able to join the Hofors team in their BMW M4 for the final rounds of the championship.

Since then, she has won races at the Monaco Historique in 2022 and 2024, driving a 1960 Ferrari 246 Dino.

Claudia was the Chief Instructor for the BMW Driving Experience, and in this capacity, set a lap record at the Zhuhai circuit in 2014. She was driving an M6. 

Clare Rix

Clare in the Ka, in 2013

The Ford Ka rally championship was one of the most competitive series for novice drivers in Britain. When thirtysomething mum Clare Rix decided to take up rallying, she jumped straight in at the deep end. Instead of trying out club rallying in a production model, she went straight to the national Ka championship, interspersed with some club outings in the same car.

Clare was the Ladies' Champion in 2001, when the competition was part of Formula Rally. She managed to out-drive 2003 British Ladies' Champion Shelly Taunt in the same machinery. Her best finish was third in class. She continued to drive in the Ka class in 2002, when it supported the British Rally Championship. Her co-driver was Scotswoman Aggie Foster.

A quieter year followed in 2003, with Clare competing in club rallies in her Ford. She gained several respectable midfield finishes in this little vehicle. Following this, she continued to be active in the BTRDA rally series and was one of its leading female drivers, regularly scoring well in her class.

In 2005, she contested the MSA English Rally Championship in Class E1. In 2006, she was ninth in this class, and in 2007, she was fifth in the BTRDA Class A5 standings and third lady driver overall. In 2008, she moved back to the BTRDA and was eleventh in class, 28th overall.

In 2009, still driving the Ka, Clare competed in some club rallies. She continues to drive in club events and is an active member of the West Suffolk Motor Club, whose rally prize she won in 2009. In 2013, she was still rallying regularly, in the Ka. Her best 2013 result was 26th, in the Flying Fortress Stages.

In 2014, she returned to BTRDA competition, mostly in forest events. Her best finish was 54th, in the Trackrod Stages.

Her best result in 2015 was an 18th place in the MiddleWick Stages, in the Ka. She also won her class. At the end of the season, she entered the Wales Rally GB National event, but does not seem to have finished.

Her best event in 2016 was the Malcolm Wilson Rally. She was 74th, fifth in class, in the Ka.

She is also an active member of the British Women Racing Drivers' Club and won its rally championship in 2001.

As of 2018, she is still involved in rallying but leaves the driving to her son Aaron, who uses her Ka.

(Image copyright Opposite Lock Photography)

Christine Driano

Christine (right) and Guylaine Juillot

Frenchwoman Christine had been rallying for three years when she got her big break in 1984. Citroen France had organised a challenge to find a new female works driver, and Christine was one of the winners, alongside Sylvie Seignobeaux, having impressed the judges with her abilities and finished second in the championship. In 1985, she took up her Citroen prize drive, and competed in a full French Championship programme.

After a couple of years of rallying the Citroen AX Sport, first in France, then in Spain also, Christine hit a good run of form and won the French Class A Championship in 1988. This was a feat she repeated in 1989 and 1990, and soon the bigger stage was beckoning. Her first World Championship rally was the Tour de Corse in 1990, co-driven by Marie-Christine Lallement. The AX failed to finish.

At the same time, the French championship had not been forgotten. In 1989, driving the Citroen, Christine was twelfth in the Rallye des Garrigues Languedoc-Roussillon. In 1990, she was seventh in the Rallye Antibes-Rallye d'Azur.

1991 saw her move away from Citroen. She drove an Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo on the Tour de Corse, supported by Alfa Romeo France, but did not finish.

1992 saw two WRC outings for Christine, co-driven by Cathy Francois this time and back in the Citroen. Driving for a private team, the two women were fourteenth in Corsica and won Class A5. Despite having works support for the Catalunya Rally, they were only second in class there, although still a good 16th overall. Driving an AX, the new pairing were sixth in the Rallye des Garrigues and twelfth in the Rallye d'Antibes.

A more ambitious Christine entered seven WRC rounds in 1993, as a works Citroen driver. She started well in the Monte Carlo Rally, coming thirteenth in the larger-engined AX GTI, third in Class A7. Thirteen was her lucky number that season as her second rally of the year, Portugal, gave her another thirteenth place. She was back in the AX Sport and came second in Class A5. Her home rally, Corsica, was a disappointment, as she and Guylaine Juillot retired, and the Acropolis ended in another non-finish. Things picked up in the tough Argentinian mountains with a 21st place, but she could not quite maintain the momentum for New Zealand and San Remo, where she and Marie-Christine were 44th and 26th respectively. Still, her early-season performances were enough to secure her the WRC Ladies' Cup. This was not well-received by some of the other female competitors. They believed that she had been awarded the cup for entering more rallies than other women who had scored better individual results, and she was labelled a "pot hunter" by some. I think this is a trifle unfair, as she started the season very well and managed some creditable overall finishes.

She also competed in French rallies in a Lancia that year.

After a considerable lay-off, Christine returned to the stages in 1997, driving the Citroen Saxo Kit Car which would later become the car to beat in the Super 1600 class. She was fourteenth in the Rallye Internationale du Var, with Karine Tabone.

Her rally career seems to end there. As well as taking on the stages, Christine also took part in ice-racing in France, as part of the high profile Andros Trophy series. In 2009, she made a guest appearance in two races of the French Super Production Championship, driving a Peugeot 306. She won one race from pole.

Since then, she has kept a low profile.

(Image from a Citroen promotional card)