The World Rally Championship has selected 15 aspiring female drivers that will compete to win a fully funded drive in the Junior WRC next year.
The WRC launched its women’s driver development programme in the hope of unearthing new talent and increasing female participation in the discipline.
In recent years women have enjoyed success in co-driving with Reeta Hamalainen and Enni Malkonen winning world titles in WRC2 and WRC3 respectively in 2022, but 1982 title runner-up Michele Mouton remains the last woman to win a round of the championship as a driver, 42 years ago.
Applications from drivers aged 27 or under from around the world have been filed, resulting in the championship organisers forming a group of 15 finalists – representing 13 countries – that will progress to the next phase.
These drivers will now attend a three-day training camp at M-Sport Poland’s Krakow headquarters from 16-18 September, where they will undergo a series of challenges testing their rally preparedness, mechanical knowledge, media nous and driving ability on mixed surfaces.
Three successful applicants will then be selected by a panel of judges to compete in the Central European Rally, which hosts the penultimate round of the 2024 WRC season from 17-20 October. The trio will drive Ford Fiesta Rally3 machinery.
Following on from Central European Rally, a driver will be selected to contest a fully supported campaign in the 2025 FIA Junior WRC.
The finalists selected are: Lyssia Baudet (Belgium), Emma Chalvin (France), Ann Felke (Germany), Joanna Hassoun (Lebanon), Mako Hirakawa (Japan), Hannah Jakobsson (Sweden), Suvi Jyrkiainen (Finland), Luz Marina (Spain), Nuria Pons (Spain), Aoife Raftery (Ireland), Claire Schonborn (Germany), Madelyn Tabor (USA), Alexandra Teslovan (Romania), Hanna Lisette Aabna (Estonia) and Dorka Zagyva (Hungary).
“We were completely overwhelmed by the number and quality of applicants,” said WRC Promoter’s Senior Director of Sport Peter Thul.
“Selecting the final 15 was an incredibly challenging task and there were some difficult calls to make.
“We do not want any of the unlucky candidates to be discouraged and we do hope they will apply again in the future as we are absolutely committed to this programme for multiple years. We are now excited to focus on next month’s training camp.”