Garnering a tremendous amount of international publicity was Team Aseptogyl, created in 1971 by dentist Bob Neyret who was trying to promote his new brand of toothpaste. He organized a ruthless selection process, in live conditions, during the Chartreuse Rally, with the girls driving small Group 3 Alpine saloon cars. A roster of over 10 female drivers were engaged, (all wearing pink) including Belgian Christine Beckers, who went on to a successful international racing career, and Leila Lombardi, who went on to successfully race in international sports cars in addition to her achievements in F1.
Lombardi en route to an historic sixth place at Montjuich Park in 1975. Motorsport Images

Michele Mouton had a profound effect on a century of racing in the 1970s when she was six-time French female rally champion, five-time European rally champion, finished runner-up in the rally drivers’ world championship and helped Audi win its first manufacturers’ title. In 1985 she won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, setting a record in the process. Today she is the first president of the FIA Women Motor Sport Commission and the FIA’s manager in the World Rally Championship.

Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify and race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. She competed in the Indy 500 in 1977, 78, 79, with a top finish of ninth in 1978. Janet was also the first woman to lead a lap in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. She was inducted into the 1980 International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, the 2006 International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the 2019 Automotive Hall of Fame, and this year will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

This gives you a little taste of the history of the extraordinary women who competed in motorsports around the world. Next we’ll take a look at the women who followed them, before bringing you into the current crop of racers, then a peek into the future!