Logan Hannah

 

Logan Hannah is a Scottish single-seater driver who won a round of the 2020 Scottish Formula Ford championship outright.

She made her senior motorsport debut in 2017, racing a Formula 4 in the UAE Championship, which runs over the winter season. Logan is a British national but mostly competed in the Middle East to begin with, first as a junior karter.

She was only sixteen when she did her first race at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. Her results were two sevenths and one eighth place, having finished three of her four races. 

In 2018, she trained for more F4 races with the Arden team, but her actual races were with Graham Brunton’s Formula Ford team. She travelled to the UK for the Walter Hayes Trophy but ran into car trouble with her Ray GR10.

In 2019, she raced in the Scottish Formula Ford championship with Graham Brunton Racing and was fourth overall, with three podium finishes in her 2015-spec Ray. She also raced FF1600 in England, in two Champion of Brands races and the season-ending Walter Hayes Trophy, which has become a regular event for her. Back in the UAE and F4 in December, she took part in the non-championship support race for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and was eighth and ninth. 

She won the David Leslie Trophy at Knockhill in 2020, the first time a Scottish woman had won a national Formula Ford race. Later, she qualified for the Walter Hayes Trophy final, finishing 15th.

Her Formula Ford season in 2021 was restricted to the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy, but she announced that in 2022 she would be contesting the GB4 (formerly British F4) championship. This was a new series and GBR was one of the first teams to commit to it.

She took advantage of the reverse grid for Race 3 during a GB4 meeting to win a race at Donington, the fourth weekend of her season. This followed a second place in the reverse-grid race at Silverstone. The rest of the season was consistent rather than spectacular, and she was tenth in the championship.

After her traditional appearance in the Walter Hayes Trophy in November, she hinted that this had been her last single-seater race as she was looking to switch to sportscars, possibly Porsches. Mid-season in 2023, she entered a round of the GT Cup at Snetterton, sharing a Lamborghini with Iain Loggie. Loggie crashed the car before she got to drive.

Most of her 2024 racing was in sportscars, in the form of the Ligier European Series. She did four races, sharing the car with Ben Caisley. The pair had a best finish of fourth at Paul Ricard. Later in the year, she was a surprise wildcard entry for the all-female F1 Academy, competing at Yas Marina in Bahrain. Her best finish from her three races was tenth.

She intimated on social media that she was retiring from competition at the beginning of 2025.

(Image copyright Laser Tools Racing)

Louise Smith

 

Louise after a crash at Occoneechee in 1949

Louise Smith was a successful NASCAR driver from its earliest days, who has become part of the legend of the series. 

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, 1916, she made her NASCAR debut at Daytona in 1949, although had driven in some local, informal races before that.

Her driving style was aggressive and she often crashed, endearing her to spectators. Her nickname was “The Good Ol’ Gal” and she became the subject of NASCAR legends; it has proved impossible to work out which stories about her are true. For example, she is supposed to have come third in her first race, but failed to stop at the chequered flag, because the team owner had told her only to stop in the event of a red flag. She may also have destroyed her husband’s car in a beach race during her first competition. Neither of these was the 1949 Daytona event, although some reports say that she did flip her car during that race, only to be helped by spectators and carry on. Some sources suggest that this happened in 1946.

Other rumours abounded about her background, with some claiming that she was a moonshine runner who could drive faster than all of the local police.

A newspaper report from May 1950 claims that she “became a driver only last winter”. Searches of newspaper archives bring up nothing from before 1949, so this could be the truth. Other reports suggest that she started racing a little earlier, perhaps in 1948. 

Evidence comes from before Daytona in 1949, she was recorded as entering a ladies-only race at Greenville Speedway with her “student” Barbara Peigler in two cars. Barbara had apparently been taught to drive by Louise and was having her first race. This does suggest that Louise had been driving for longer than a couple of months.

 She won 38 races during her seven-year career, taking in most of the NASCAR categories, including Grand Nationals (now the Sprint Cup). Most of her wins (28 of them) came in the Modified class. She did eleven Grand National races between 1949 and 1952, with a best finish of 16th at Langhorne in 1949. Langhorne was later described as her favourite track. This was one of three races she entered that year, normally competing against either Sara Christian or Ethel Flock Mobley as well as the male drivers of the time. Both of these women were also present at Greenville when Louise and Barbara raced there, along with Sara Christian’s sister, Mildred Williams. NASCAR’s founder, Bill France, was keen for the three women to race as it was good publicity for his fledgling series.

She never ran even close to a full Grand National season, with 1950 being her biggest campaign. She entered six rounds, qualifying for all except Darlington and finishing two. Both of these were 19th places, at Dayton and Hillsboro. Her second Daytona start ended in a first-lap crash. 

After not racing in 1951, she did three races in 1952, but did not finish any of them, two due to mechanical problems and one due to her falling ill early in the race itself at Morristown.

Among the other drivers she raced were Buckshot Morris, Lee Petty, Curtis Turner and Bob and Fonty Flock, Ethel Flock Mobley’s brothers.

As well as mixed events, she often raced against other women. In 1954, she travelled to Knoxville, Tennessee and took on local drivers Mildred Beets and Joyce Gunter, among others. At the time, she was described as “the 1953 Southeastern States women’s stock car champion.” She travelled widely during her career, racing in the northern and eastern states.

This part of her racing life is not particularly well-documented, as her novelty value had worn off somewhat by now and Bill France was no longer promoting her.

Her career ended very suddenly in 1956. She had just finished a race at Bronx, New York and was on her way to Daytona when her husband decided to “rededicate himself to the Lord” with the help of a local preacher. After speaking to her husband and the preacher, Louise decided to follow suit and pulled out of the Daytona event.

After a long period away from motorsport completely, she returned as a car owner in 1971, continuing for some years. She also oversaw the beauty contest attached to the Southern 500 race. The drivers who used her car included Ronnie Thomas in 1978, the year he won Rookie of the Year. While she was racing, she often ran a car for another driver at the same time.

She died of cancer in 2006, aged 89.

Chelsea Angelo

 

Chelsea Angelo races single-seaters and touring cars in Australia. Her career began in Formula Ford and she almost won a National class Formula 3 championship in 2014, but she now races saloons.

She has been involved in senior-level motorsport since 2012, when she was 16. At first, she raced a Formula Ford in the Victoria state championship,  but that turned into an attack on both the Victorian and Australian championships in 2013. She scored her first outright win in the Victorian series. Her best finishes in the Australian championship were sixth places at Surfers Paradise and Sydney. She was thirteenth overall. Despite her win in the Victorian championship, she was only 15th overall as she did not do the whole calendar. 

She raced in Australian Formula 3 in 2014, in the National class, where she was a front-runner. She was either first or second in all of her races, winning seven times, and missed out quite narrowly on the championship. This was the high point of her single-seater career, although the issue of finances was beginning to rear its head.

As well as single-seaters, she has also tested Supercars, and this led to a last-minute race seat for 2015 with the THR Developments team. However, this only stretched to the first round and Adelaide, and she sat the rest of the season out. She finished 18th and 22nd in her two races. 

She signed with the Dragon team for the 2016 Supercar Dunlop championship. After almost a full season she was 21st overall, getting into the top ten once at Sandown. This was impressive, as it followed a DNF due to contact with another car. Her car was a Prodrive Ford Falcon FG and the only known Supercar to be fitted with a cup holder, a nod to her sponsor, Rush Iced Coffee.

Her programme was very limited in 2017, with only one major race. The Dragon team had signed Renee Gracie in her place. She drove a Ford Falcon in the Winton 300 but did not finish. 

2018 was spent in the Australian Porsche Supercup with Wall Racing, who won the championship the year before. Sportscars suited her and she was fifth overall. Her best finish was second at Sandown, one of four podium places including one third place at Phillip Island. 

Hoping to resurrect her single-seater career, she put her name down to try out for the inaugural season of W Series. She was long-listed and attended the winter selection event at Melk in Austria, but was not selected. Chelsea took to social media to express her anger and lack of confidence in the W selection criteria, which she claimed were very unclear and not fully related to on-track performance.

After her W Series disappointment, she threw herself into the Australian TCR Series, driving a Holden Astra for Kelly Racing. It was not the easiest of seasons and she had car problems to contend with, as well as being taken out by another competitor in the third race. She sat out the middle part of the season while the team sorted out the car troubles and returned in November at The Bend. Sadly, a first-race crash put her out for the weekend. Her best finish was twelfth and she was 25th in the championship. Among her team-mates that year was Molly Taylor. 

She also raced a Hyundai Excel in some one-make endurance races with the Brett Parrish Race Organisation, finishing tenth and sixth. Her co-drivers were Ashley Izod and Tim Slade. The sixth spot was with Ashley Izod and was a charge through the field from 20th to sixth.

She planned to race in TCR again in 2020, but the season was cancelled due to coronavirus. 

The following season ran and Chelsea did most of it in a Volkswagen Golf. It was a hard year for her and her best finish was eleventh at Phillip Island. She was 20th overall.

At the beginning of 2022, she posted on her social media that she did not have sponsorship to race, although she has not retired and has not ruled out a return later in the year. She works as a driver coach and personal trainer.

(Image copyright Chelsea Angelo)

Michele Vallet

 

Michèle Vallet is a rally driver who competed in France in the 1970s. 

She drove an Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider in 1971, and won her class in the Paris-St. Raphael women’s rally, finishing fifth overall. She was also eleventh in the Alpine Rally, 15th in the Mont Blanc and 20th in the Cevenole Rally. Only an accident in the Tour de France Auto was a disappointment.

For a couple of years, she competed less frequently, although she was a regular in the Mont Blanc Rally. She used a Fiat 127 and an Alpine-Renault A110. During this time, she also navigated for her husband Roger Vallet, who usually drove a Fiat. They did three major rallies together: Monte Carlo in 1975 and 1976, and the 1975 Morocco Rally. The couple had been active in rallying since at least 1969 and their early cars included a Simca. Michèle may also have done some hillclimbs with Roger.

Later, she drove a more powerful Alfa 2000 GTV. It was in this car that she finished the 1976 Mont Blanc Rally in 20th place, from 63 finishers. Her second Tour Auto gave her a 24th place in September. 

A couple of years in an Opel Kadett followed. She used this car in two Monte Carlo rallies, finishing 71st in 1978 after recording a DNF in 1977. Her best result in this car was a 21st place in the 1977 Tour Auto.

The last car that she used in major rallies was a less powerful Autobianchi A112 Abarth, a car that would surprisingly become popular in rallies. She entered the Monte and the Tour Auto in it, but did not finish either.

During her career, Michèle remained loyal to a couple of co-drivers, including Monique Rodt who sat beside her on and off between 1971 and 1977, and Martine Peirone.

Unusually, she was never part of the Aseptogyl setup, preferring to compete on her own account.

(Image copyright user “thais66” from Caradisiac’s Forum Auto)

Rio Shimono

 

Rio Shimono is a Japanese driver who won her class in the Japanese TCR championship in 2020.

She made her major debut in the 2020 Japanese TCR series, although this was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak. 

The 19-year-old drove a Honda Civic run by Drago Corse when the championship restarted and won the Bronze class outright. She was second in the main Saturday series championship with one race win at Suzuka. She was fourth in the Sunday series that ran alongside it, with third places at Twin Ring Motegi and Suzuka.

During 2020 she became friendly with her fellow Drago Corse driver Tatiana Calderon, who was racing for the team in Super Formula. 

In 2021, she was third in the Kyojo Cup, an all-female one-make sportscar championship in Japan. Drago Corse ran her car. She entered the Kyojo Cup, which has a short season, again in 2022.

Rio previously raced in the Super FJ Series in Japan, an entry-level championship based at the Okuyama circuit. She scored two wins during the 2019 season, which was her first as a racing driver.

In 2022, she returned to single-seaters, entering the F4 Japan championship with Zap Speed team. Her season started badly with a lowly 34th place at Fuji, but she improved dramatically to 16th place in the second Fuji race. At the next rounds at Suzuka, she was 22nd and 34th, falling in the middle of the three Zap Speed cars. She did four more races, entering the top twenty once more at Suzuka with an 18th place.

Her second F4 Japan season gave her a 19th place. She was seventh in the first round at Fuji, but could not match that performance for the rest of the year. Normally, she was in the lower half of the top 20.

She improved slightly in 2024, driving for the Dr Dry team she had joined in the second half of 2013. She picked up two top-ten finishes at Motegi and Suzuka, the best of these being a ninth at Motegi. She was also third in the Kyojo Cup.

In 2025, she won her first Kyojo Cup, which was now running as a single-seater championship. She won eight of the ten races and was never off the podium. Dr Dry were supporting her for a combined Kyojo/Japanese F4 season, but she was not able to repeat her Kyojo syccess in mixed competition. Her best finish was a 15th place at Autopolis and she was 28th in the championship. 

As well as FIA F4, she also entered some rounds of the F110 Cup, which uses an F4-spec car built by Japanese manufacturer Dome. She was second and third at Motegi, after doing double duty for Dr Dry in the Minute Endurance Championship. 

Her long-term ambition is the World Touring Car Championship.

(Image copyright Japan TCR)

Maya Weug

 

Maya Weug is a Spanish-Dutch-Belgian driver who was the winner of an FIA Women in Motorsport single-seater talent search in 2020. She was accepted into the Ferrari driver academy as a result. Throughout her short career, she has represented all three countries, having been born in Spain to a Belgian mother and a Dutch father.

She was entered into the 2021 Italian F4 championship by the Iron Lynx team as part of her development. The squad is part of the same team that runs the all-female “Iron Dames” sportscar operation. Her best finish in the opening rounds was a 15th place at Paul Ricard, which was a rookie class win. She was later twelfth overall at Misano and came close to a top ten at Vallelunga. 

Her six guest races in German F4 gave her a debut top ten: ninth at the Red Bull Ring. 

Her second season in Italian F4 started with her first top ten finish, at Imola. She was tenth in Race 1 and sixth in Race 2. By the end of the season, she had racked up six more top-ten finishes at Misano, Vallelunga, the Red Bull Ring and Spa, the best of these being a pair of sevenths at Misano and the Red Bull Ring.

Her guest spots in the German series did not go so well to start with, although she scored another ninth at Zandvoort.

The FIA’s support is long-term and seems to be paying off; Maya was not on the pace right away, but she improved rapidly in her second year.

She moved up to Formula Reginal Europe (FRECA) in 2023, driving for KIC Motorsport. She was the Finnish team's only full-time driver and the highest-performing of the five who raced with them that year. She began as a midfielder but gained confidence mid-season, breaking into the top ten at Spa with a seventh and sixth spot, the first of six top-tens earned in the middle three rounds of the series. She was 17th overall.

For 2024, her links with the Ferrari F1 team led her to a rather odd move: a seat in the F1 Academy all-female F4 series as a Ferrari supported driver. She drove for the Prema team and finished third in the championship, after a win in the final round at Abu Dhabi. She had been a regular visitor to the podium for most of the year. There was also time for a guest appearance in FRECA at Imola, where she rejoined the KIC team. She was 22nd and 14th in her two races.

She continued in F1 Academy in 2025, now driving for MP Motorsport as a Ferrari-supported driver. She was one of this year's front-runners and the closest rival to Doriane Pin, who eventually won the title, helped by Maya being taken out on the green flag lap in the final round at Las Vegas. She was second in the championship, winning races at Jeddah, Zandvoort and Singapore.

Mid-season, she made a brief return to FRECA, deputising for the injured Tim Gerhards. She scored one 21st place at Hungary.

As she has now completed two seasons in F1 Academy, she has to move on. As part of her prize for her 2025 second place, she tested a Ferrari 296 GT3 with AF Corse.

Previously, she competed in international karting between 2013 and 2020 and won a junior title in 2016. She began karting in Spain in 2011, when she was seven.

(Image copyright Maya Weug)

Maud Manville

 

Maud Manville raced Daimlers in the UK and Europe in 1905 and 1906. 

She was a contemporary and rival to Dorothy Levitt, her equivalent at Napier, although her public profile was not as high.

Her interest in practical motoring dated back to at least 1904, when she drove her Daimler from London to Germany in order to watch the Gordon Bennett races. The same year, she impressed reporters at a meeting of the Ladies’ Automobile Club with her “splendid Daimler carriage” decorated with flowers. In August, she entered the Bexhill Speed Trials and won her heat in an 18hp Daimler. The car was in the well-supported class for cars costing between £2750 and £3750.

She competed in the inaugural Brighton Speed Trials in a 35hp model. She lost out to Claudia Lasell in the main draw, but won a race for 35hp Daimlers against male drivers. A Ladies’ Handicap was also held and she reached the final, losing to Mrs Herbert Lloyd in her own Daimler.

In the same car, she drove in the Herkomer Trial in Germany in 1905 and 1906. She did not finish the 1905 Trial, but won her class the speed trial section, going faster than several larger cars including Willy Poge’s 60bhp Mercedes, which won a later timed section. 

The following year, she finished the event in eleventh place. 

Born Maud Wallis, her husband was Edward Manville, who was the chairman of Daimler, and they competed against each other. In 1906, they were both participants in the Herkomer Trophy. When Maud heard that Edward’s car had suffered a puncture, she reportedly asked the German official observer in her car whether she would be allowed to stop for “a cry”.

Maud was an early member of the Ladies’ Automobile Club, joining in 1903, who encouraged its members to try competitive driving. She drove in at least two of the club’s gymkhanas, winning a “Bomb Race” in 1905.  In 1906, not long after her return from the Herkomer Trial, she was yet again one of the winning drivers in the club’s annual gymkhana, held at the Ranelagh Club. She won the Bending Race and was second in a “Tilting at the Ring” competition. This was a game adapted from an equestrian event where a contestant in a moving car had to catch a hanging ring with a lance or similar. 

The same year, she gave a talk to the club about her experiences in the Herkomer Trophy.

Her motoring career seems to end after 1906. She died in 1909, aged 37. 

(Portrait by Amata Bouwens, 1901)