Motorsport has always been considered a male domain, but history shows that women can also be exceptional drivers capable of winning on the track. Despite numerous challenges and stereotypes, some women were able to distinguish themselves in motor sports and become real queens of speed.
Contrary to stereotypes, representatives of the beautiful half of humanity have achieved considerable success in the automotive industry. And even in such a difficult sport as auto racing, women have achieved remarkable victories. We will talk about six of the greatest female racers in history. Their examples disprove the claim that motorsport is a purely male hobby.
The founder of motor sports
Not everyone knows that motorsport is essentially a female invention. The world's first long-distance car race was made by Berta Benz, the wife of the inventor of the automobile Karl Benz.
A significant event took place on August 5, 1888. Frau Benz with her sons Eugen and Richard decided to visit her mother in the nearby town of Pforzheim and used the three-wheeled Benz Patent-Motorwagen No. 3 for this purpose.
At the end of the 19th century, the first cars were considered toys. Berta Benz decided to test a new vehicle to prove that this invention has the right to life.
The distance from the home of the Benz family in Mannheim to Pforzheim was 106 km. By today's standards, this is not much, but 130 years ago it was not without problems. First, the fuel ran out, and Berta had to look for a pharmacy to buy ether (the engine ran on it, not gasoline).
Then the drive chain broke, but it was repaired by the village blacksmith. Mrs. Benz cleaned the fuel pump herself with a pin, and an ordinary stocking served as insulation for the frayed wire. After reaching her mother, Bertha telegraphed her husband about the successful completion of the run.
Nowadays, retro car rallies are held along its route, and a monument to the founder of motor sports now stands near the same pharmacy where gasoline was bought. In addition, Mercedes-Benz released a short film about Berta Benz.
Queen of the steering wheel
The interwar years are considered the golden era of motor sports. A hundred years ago, the competition gathered thousands of spectators. One of the stars of those years is rightfully considered the Czech racer Elishka Yunkova. At first, she was a navigator and mechanic in the crew of her husband Vincent, and when he injured his hand, she herself got behind the wheel of a Bugatti Type 30.
In 1924, Elishka won her debut victory in the Czechoslovak race "Lohotin-Trshemoshna", and two years later she announced herself at the international level - she became the first in her class at the famous German Nurburgring race track.
In 1928, Ms. Yunkova moved to a more advanced and faster yellow Bugatti Type 35 and took fifth place in the legendary Italian Targa Florio race. Famous aces Tazio Nuvolari and Ernesto Maserati were left behind. Journalists called Elishka the queen of the steering wheel.
However, the racing driver's career was soon cut short due to the tragic death of Vincent Yunek at the German Grand Prix. Elishka could not come to terms with the loss - she sold the Bugatti and never participated in competitions again.
In addition, the communist authorities of Czechoslovakia did everything to forget about Elishka Yunkova - they did not write about her, she was not released abroad. Only after the fall of the communist regime in 1989, the 89-year-old racer was able to go to the United States, where she became the guest of honor at a gathering of Bugatti owners.
The perfect Michelle
Frenchwoman Michelle Mouton is considered to be the most successful rally driver. In the 80s, she impressed with her skill at the stages of the World Rally Championship.
Michelle has been interested in racing since childhood and already at the age of 14 competed in her parents' modest Citroen 2CV. Then she moved to the Alpine A110 sports car and in 1974 became the European rally champion. And a year later, the women's crew of Michelle Mouton, Marian Hefner and Christine Dacremont became the first in its class in the famous 24-hour race "24 Hours of Le Mans".
In 1980, the Audi factory team came to the World Rally Championship and Mouton was invited to pilot the famous Audi Quattro. All-wheel drive car with a capacity of 320 hp. almost immediately obeyed the charming French woman. In the 1981-1982 seasons, the rider won four victories on it, and in 1982 she even won a silver medal in the championship.
And in 1985, Michelle Mouton sensationally won the most difficult Pikes Peak mountain race in the USA, and with a record time. Two years later, the racer retired from motorsport, but occasionally participated in iconic competitions. So, in 2000, in a Porsche 911, she came second in the London-Sydney marathon. In 2010-2012, Michelle Mouton headed the women's commission of the international motor sports federation FIA and helped novice female drivers. And in 2011, she was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.
Conqueror of the desert
The Paris-Dakar Rally is considered one of the most difficult races in the world, but German racer Jutta Kleinschmidt dreamed of winning it from a young age. She is a physicist by education, but very quickly realized that science is not her vocation. Since 1988, Jutta participated in the Paris-Dakar marathon on a motorcycle, and in 1994 she decided to switch to a car.
Three years later, Kleinschmidt became the first woman to win one of the stages of the rally, and in 2001, on a Mitsubishi Pajero, she sensationally won a grueling marathon. A year later, Yutta became a silver medalist in Paris-Dakar, and in 2005 she came to the finish line in third place.
IndyCar star
In the third millennium, motor sports became more popular among the fair sex. Women have increased in various racing series, and one of the most successful of them was Danica Patrick from the USA. Danica has been racing since she was 10 years old. In 2005, she got behind the wheel of an IndyCar car and immediately impressed everyone with a fourth place in the iconic Indianapolis 500 race. Cars accelerate to almost 400 km/h on this oval track!
Three years later, the American became the author of a real sensation - she won the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix and became the first woman to win in IndyCar. Danica repeatedly climbed the podium, and her best achievement in the championship was the fifth place in the results of 2009. From 2011 to 2018, Danica Patrick competed in the equally difficult NASCAR championship, and now comments on races on television.
Invincible street racer
Erika Enders is the most successful female race car driver of all times and nations. The American became champion in drag racing six times. She has been involved in car racing since she was 8 years old. At age 16, Erika began competing in the NHRA Championship, and at age 19 she won her first stage win. She already has 48 victories in total.
The American racer performs on a seriously modernized Chevrolet Camaro SS — in fact, there is nothing left of the serial car in it. It's a real beast with an 8.2-liter V8 with 1350 horsepower. The dragster starts up to hundreds in just 0.8 s and covers the standard 1/4 mile (402 m) distance in just 6.5 s, reaching 340-350 km/h at the finish line. And the braking parachute slows it down - like in a fighter plane.
