Vintage Lady Racing Drivers

With Russia hosting their first ever F1 Grand Prix, it got me thinking about female racing drivers from the past.

Known as the "fastest woman on earth", English-woman, Dorothy Levitt (1882 - 1922) was a successful motor-racing driver, speedboat driver and pioneer of the use of the rear view mirror.   She was also holder of the Ladies World Land Speed Record and taught Queen Alexandra and the Royal Princesses to drive.  Quite a Lady!!

Canadian born motor racing star, Kay Petre (1903 - 1994) was the first female driver to lap Brooklands at 130mph and over.

Donna Mae Mims (1927 - 2009) was the first woman to win a Sports Club of America (SCCA) national championship.  Known as the Pink Lady as she always wore a pink helmet and overalls.  

American, Janet Guthrie (1938) is the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.

Shirley Muldowney (1940) is known as the "First Lady of Drag Racing".  Shirley started off street racing in the 1950s but went on to become the first lady to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a top fuel dragster.  She won the championship in 1977, 1980 and 1982.

Italian Lella Lombardi (1941 - 1992) participated in 17 F1 Grand Prixs, debuting on the 20th July 1974.  She is the only female F1 driver to have a top six finish in a World Championship race at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.  As well as F1, Lella also raced in NASCAR.

And Today:

This year, Scottish-born Susie Wolff (1982) was the first woman to take part in a F1 race weekend since 1992 at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.  She works as a development driver for the Williams Formula One team.