Last year, the World Rally Championship set out on a bold mission to unearth its next female star. This global talent search wasn’t purely focused on finding a driver who could perhaps one day follow in the footsteps of the great four-time WRC rally winner Michele Mouton; it was also intended to break down the barriers to entry for women in rallying.
Relatively speaking, the WRC, compared to other motorsport series, has led the way in female participation. Mouton’s run to finish runner-up in the 1982 WRC title race smashed the glass ceiling, proving women could achieve success at the very top level of motorsport. Four decades later, this level of success is yet to be replicated, but it doesn’t mean the talent isn’t out there. On the co-driver side, female participation is growing and so is the success, withReeta Hämäläinen winning the 2022 WRC2 title, while Enni Malkonen competed at the top level last year alongside Sami Pajari after claiming the 2022 WRC3 crown.
