Women in Motor Racing Trivia Quiz

Answer: No

Mouton debuted as a co-driver in rallying but quickly proved her mettle as a rally driver for Alpine-Renault. In 1977 Mouton finished as runner-up in the European Rally Championship for Fiat. By 1981, Mouton was signed by Audi Sport for the World Rally Championship and won her first WRC event in Italy.

In 1982, Mouton won three rallies and finished second overall to Walter Rohrl. Mouton's runner-up finish was the highest finish for any female driver in a top-level Championship in the 20th Century. Mouton competed in WRC until 1986, in which she won the German Rally title and announced her retirement.

In 2011, Mouton was made a Legion of Honour by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Answer: 2008

Patrick started racing full-time in IndyCar in 2005 for Rahal Letterman Racing and soon proved to be one of the most popular personalities in the paddock while also proving to be a very skill individual behind the wheel. Patrick moved to Andretti Green Racing for 2007 and scored 3 podiums in 17 events.

In 2008 Patrick became the first female to win an IndyCar race at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Patrick moved to the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2012 and took pole position for the Daytona 500 in 2013.

Answer: Maria Teresa de Filippis

de Filippis began racing in touring and sports car racing, and after success in local sports car racing, de Filippis was hired by Maserati. de Filippis made her Formula One debut in 1958 at the Monaco Grand Prix, where she failed to qualify. She would compete in three more races in 1958 and would also attend the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix. de Filippis walked away from racing after the 1959 German Grand Prix after the death of her close friend Jean Behra.

Answer: Lella Lombardi

After competing in Formula 3 and Formula 5000 during the early 1970s, Lombardi made her Formula One debut at the 1974 British Grand Prix, where she failed to qualify a Brabham. Racing for March in 1975, Lombardi became the only female to finish in the top six of a Formula One race in the 20th Century by finishing 6th at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.

The race was stopped early, which meant half points were awarded, but Lombardi was still awarded half a point and therefore finished 21st overall in the World Drivers Championship. Sadly, Lombardi passed away in 1992 at the age of 50.

Answer: Desire Wilson

Born in South Africa, Wilson only attempted to qualify for one World Championship Grand Prix, at Brands Hatch in 1980 in which she failed to qualify. Wilson did race for Tyrrell at the 1981 South African Grand Prix, but due to politics the race is not counted as an official FIA sanctioned Grand Prix.

The British F1 series started up in 1978 and ran until 1982. Wilson won an F1 race in the Aurora British F1 Series, at Brands Hatch in 1980, becoming the only woman to ever win an F1 race during the 20th Century.

Answer: Lyn St. James

Prior to her Indianapolis 500 debut in 1992, Lyn St. James competed at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1989 and 1991 and has proven to be successful before and after in sports car racing. For the 1992 Indianapolis 500, St. James qualified 27th, becoming only the second female to qualify for the 500, and would finish 11th for Dick Simon Racing on race day. St. James would compete at each Indianapolis 500 until 2000 but would never equal the results of her debut year.

Answer: Yes

Fisher made her debut in IRL in 1999 and became only the third woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 at only 19 years old. In the same year for Walker racing, Fisher would finish on the podium in 3rd place at Kentucky Speedway though would only finish 18th overall in the Championship.

Although Fisher would prove to be one of the most popular drivers in the IRL (later IndyCar) series, any major success would elude the popular American before she announced her retirement late in 2010. However, although no longer a driver, Fisher continued to run a team in the IndyCar series.

Answer: 9th

Guthrie holds the record of being the first woman to qualify for both the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500. Guthrie did attend the 1976 Indianapolis 500 but did not attempt a qualifying run. In 1977, Guthrie qualified 26th and would finish 29th after numerous troubles ended her race after 27 laps.

However, the 1978 edition was far more competitive as Guthrie qualified 15th and would eventually finish in 9th place, 10 laps behind the leader though it was revealed later that she drove the event with a broken wrist.

Answer: Brabham

Amati became only the fifth woman to drive in Formula One when she signed for the struggling Brabham team for the 1992 season. Amati's career prior to her debut included four years in International Formula 3000 in which she had often failed to qualify, but the hiring of Amati at least produced positive news for a Brabham tea on its last legs.

In South Africa, Amati struggled due to lack of practice and would fail to qualify. Mexico was not much better as both Brabhams struggled for pace and another non-qualification while Amati's final appearance in Brazil was also another struggle for both cars.

After Brazil, Amati was replaced by Damon Hill. After Formula One, Amati would spend many years driving sports and touring cars.

Answer: 1st

22 all-female teams have entered the Le Mans 24hr between 1930 - 2010, with four all-female teams entering the 1935 Le Mans alone (three of those four finishing the race). Twice in the history of Le Mans have an all-female team taken a class victory - 1974 with Christine Beckers, Marie Laurent and Yvette Fontaine driving a Chevron B23 (overall finish of 17th) and 1975 with Christine Dacremont, Michele Mouton and Marianne Hoepfner driving a Moynet LM75 (overall finish of 21st).