As it happens, it is not easy for women to get into the elite of modern motor sports. However, the few who make it here compete on equal terms with men. You won’t believe it, but girls have won the Dakar Rally, WRC stages, scored points in Formula 1, and successfully competed in endurance races. We are going to tell you about the fastest women in auto and motor sports.
Lella Lombardi
Highest achievement: 6th place at the Spanish Grand Prix (1975)
Except for test drivers, the last time women started a Formula 1 race was two and a half decades ago. The most successful of them at the moment is the Italian driver Lella Lombardi. She is the record holder for the number of Grand Prix (17) and the only woman to earn points in the championship. And this is despite the fact that in the mid-1970s there were only six places in the points zone.
Jutta Kleinschmidt
Highest achievement: winning the Paris-Dakar Rally (2001)
German Jutta Kleinschmidt has come a long way from being a fan of motor sports to a factory-backed racer. Her story began with a visit to the Dakar in 1987 as a spectator. Two years later, she started the rally in the motorcycle class, and 14 years later she became the first woman to win the Dakar in the overall car classification. During this time, Jutta tried herself in all classes except trucks.
Vanina X
The highest achievement: 7th place in the LMP1 class (2011)
Vanina is the daughter of Jean Bernard X, a former Formula 1 driver and six-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. She started her career in endurance racing quite late, at the age of 26. Her first attempts were unsuccessful, and Vanina decided to try her hand at other series and championships.
In the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the Belgian racer competed in the DTM, but never managed to finish in the points. After that, she returned to the WEC. X’s best result is the seventh place in the overall standings of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP1 class in 2011.
Anastasia Nifontova
Highest achievement: 2nd place in the women’s standings at the Dakar (2017)
Anastasia Nifontova is a versatile motorcycle racing soldier. She is equally successful in enduro, motocross, rally and supermoto. In 2014, Nifontova took part in the Cross Country World Championships, where she became a silver medalist in the women’s event. A year later, she won the Africa Eco Race and repeated this success in 2016. This year, Nifontova conquered a new peak – she finished the legendary Dakar Rally with a silver medal in the women’s standings.
Michelle Mouton
Highest achievement: 2nd place in the world championship (1982)
Michelle Mouton is the most successful woman in the history of world rally and motorsport in general. The Frenchwoman was the only one to ever win the WRC stages, competing with such drivers as Ari Vatanen, Walter Röhrl, Timo Salonen, Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist.