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• We look at five of the best female racing drivers.
• From Michele Mouton who made her name in rallying to Sophia Floersch who races in F3.
• In Women's Month our focus is to shine the light on females in various spheres of the motor industry.
It's Women's Month in South Africa and Wheels24 has made an effort to shine the light on women doing great things in the motor industry.
From public relations professionals at the largest car brands to advanced drivers, there are local women making huge strides and cemented their place in a largely male dominated industry.
If we cast our eye to women in motorsport, there are a significant female racing drivers who have paved the way for the new generation.
French racing driver Michele Mouton is someone who carved her name into motorsport. She participated in rallying from 1976 to 1984.
During her career, she would win four WRC rallies and achieve nine podiums, at a time when manufacturers were pouring Formula 1 budgets into gravel and snow motorsport, Wheels24 reported.
At just 19 years of age, Sophia Flörsch is a German racing driver competing in the Formula 3 championship, the first ever female to do so. Her goal is to be first female F1 drivers' champion and she definitely has the drive and competitveness to get there.
Her career took a major setback in 2018 when Flörsch almost died after her car hit a fence at over 270km/h at the Macau Grand Prix. She suffered spinal injuries and underwent surgery after the crash and made a full recovery.
Putting those demons to rest, Flörsch raced at the 2019 Macau GP to complete an astonishing comeback. She was awarded the 2019 Laureus World Sports Award for World Comeback of the Year.
Across the Atlantic a woman who held her own for many years in racing is Danica Patrick. She broke down barriers in Nascar and the IndyCar Series. Patrick is only woman to win an IndyCar Series race and and score pole position in the Nascar Cup Series.
Closer to home we also celebrate circuit racer Tasmin Pepper and kart racers Ivana Cetinich and Fabienne Lanz.
SA's Tasmin Pepper. Image: Motorsportmedia
In Formula 1 the name Wolff is synonymous with the sport in recent times. And of course you're thinking of Mercedes team principal Toto. But his wife Susie is a former racing driver. The 37-year-old competed in Formula Renault, Formula 3, DTM and even had a stint at Williams in Formula 1.
Susie was announced as the team's development driver in 2012 and in 2014 became the first woman to participate in a F1 weekend since 1992 when Giovanna Amati made three unsuccessful GP qualification attempts.
A growing number of women have proven themselves in the traditionally male domain of motorsports. DW presents five of the best: from Michele Mouton and Jutta Kleinschmidt to Ellen Lohr, Susie Wollf and Sophia Flörsch.
Watch the video above to see who five of the fastest female racing drivers are in the world.
