Written by Brianna Mignogna

stanningthestuffs

October 8, 2025

“Overpower. Overtake. Overcome.” A quote by Serena Williams defines these racing pioneers who faced many stereotypes being in a male dominated sport they had to overcome those who told them they weren’t worthy of a spot in their respective series, or that they should “go back to the kitchen and leave the racing to the men”. These empowering women shaped the way motorsports is today. They broke the barrier for these young girls who want to get into racing and this article is to honor them and to tell their stories.

Camille Du Gast was a daredevil of a sportswomen,animal rights activist,and feminist. She grew up a tomboy in middle class society in France. Camille’s liberal upbringing and financial freedom allowed her to push past gendered social norms of her social class and to pursue sporting and adventure with relative freedom that a woman did not have in the 60s. Her professional career as a motorist gained traction after her husband’s death. After developing an interest in car racing she began collecting cars and became one of the first women to obtain her drivers licences. By 1904 she had become the first and only female official for the Automobile Club de France (ACF).

Mariette Hélène Delangle better known as Hellé Nice was a theatre artist,an acrobat,and a dancer before starting her racing career. She was a frequent starter in the mid-1930’s Grands Prix first at the wheel of a Bugatti and then in a blue Alfa Romeo Monza. She is remembered as The Bugatti Queen. Hellé was a fast and remarkable woman for the first time she took the opportunity to do things women had never thought to do before. She was an avid sportswomen, she practiced skiing and bobsleigh, she even climbed Mont Blanc which was 107 Miles (170-172 Kilometers),and was always motivated by physical courage.

Janet Guthrie’s role as an indy 500 pioneer in the mid 70s does not go unnoticed. She was born in Iowa but grew up in Florida she received a degree in physics in the 60s from the University of Michigan. Janet earned her pilot’s licenses at the age of 17 and after first racing locally she began competing in the Sports Car Club of America and turned it into a profession in 1972, earning two class victories at the 12 hours of Sebring. Janet became the first woman in history to start a NASCAR Cup series race on a superspeedway at the World 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Indianapolis 500 opportunity came at the invitation of a longtime car owner and mechanic by the name of Rolla Vollstedt. She tested one of his cars in Ontario in early 1976 and became the first woman to be named to drive a 500 entry but she fell short and did not make a qualification attempt that year.

Formula One Academy (f1 academy) founded by Suzie Wolf in November of 2022 highlights the young and talented women of the modern age. The program empowers young women to break boundaries and strive to be the best of the best and climb the ladder to Formula One (f1).

These are just some of the female racing legends that have shaped the way for women in motorsports and who have broken

barriers for those girls who want to get into racing professionally.