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Since the inception of motorised competition, men have dominated the auto racing world. Throughout the history of the sport there have, however, been a few notable exceptions. Intrepid females intent on competing with the best male drivers in the world. Their stories have ensured a long and colorful legacy.

In the early part of the century two women made a real impact on the racing community. The attractive Helen Delangle, a well-known French dancer, and the petite Czechoslovakian Eliska Junkova campaigned Bugatti cars all over the world. Both adapted their names. Helen was known as Helle Nice while Eliska changed hers to Elisabeth Junek following her marriage to another racing driver. While Elisabeth was the more talented of the two, it was Helle, with her sultry looks and provocative poses, who received most of the attention. Elisabeth's talent was made obvious with her performance in the gruelling Targa Florio, where a mechanical failure caused her to crash while in fourth place. On the daunting Nurburgring circuit she won the sports car class. She may well have had further success but retired abruptly following the death of her husband after an accident during the 1928 German Grand Prix. Helle Nice had a long career, including racing in America. Her life did not have a happy ending, however. Although she lived into old age she died in poverty with only a single box of press clippings recalling her time as one of the most famous drivers in the world.

Following the Second World War a new World Championship was formed, to be called Formula 1. The first female competitor was the Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis. Her ability was enough to earn a works drive with Maserati, although she competed in only five championship races, having a best finish of tenth. She was well aware of what was required to compete against men and said in a recent interview that, "the physical strength needed is not a feminine characteristic."

The 1970s were a golden time for female Formula 1 drivers. Former ski racer Divina Galicia, South African Desire Wilson and Italian Lella Lombardi all competed in motor racing's premier category. Lombardi still holds the distinction of being the only woman ever to score a Formula 1 championship point, in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. Desire Wilson went on to win the 1980 British Formula 1 title. Apart from a disastrous attempt at Formula 1 by Giovanna Amati in 1992 there have been no more female drivers in the category.

Other racing series have provided

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