Michèle Mouton (pictured in 2011) won her class in the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans .
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (French : 24 Heures du Mans ) is an annual 24-hour automobile endurance race organised by the automotive group Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and held on the Circuit de la Sarthe race track close to the city of Le Mans , the capital of the French department of Sarthe . It was first staged as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency in 1923 , after the automotive journalist Charles Faroux , the ACO general secretary Georges Durand and the industrialist Emile Coquile agreed to hold the race for car manufacturers to test vehicle durability, equipment and reliability. From the first event in 1923, the ACO advocated sexual equality by permitting women to participate at Le Mans, ranking them equally with men under its performance standards. After the fatal accident of Annie Bousquet at the 1956 12 Hours of Reims , the ACO barred women from entry. as well as spectator deaths in the 1955 Le Mans disaster and the 1957 Mille Miglia . The restriction was lifted in 1971 , possibly due to the women's liberation movement reaching French motorsport.
As of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans , there have been 66 female drivers representing 15 countries who have started the race a total of 158 times and have finished on 88 occasions. Anne-Charlotte Verney of France holds the record for the most starts in the race with ten. Belgian Vanina Ickx and Rahel Frey are second with seven starts each and Marie-Claude Beaumont of France and Michelle Gatting of Denmark are third with six starts each. The first two female drivers to compete at the event were Marguerite Mareuse and Odette Siko in 1930 . France is the most represented country, having produced 23 female participants, followed by the United Kingdom with 16 female drivers and Belgium with five female racers. Colombia and the Netherlands became the latest countries to be represented when Tatiana Calderón and Beitske Visser made their debuts in 2020 . The most recent woman to make her Le Mans debut was Doriane Pin in 2023.
Since the first race in 1923, there have been 30 all-female squads, consisting of either two or three drivers. There have been two all-female teams who have won their class. The first all-female crew to win their category was the "Christine" – Ecurie Seiko team of Christine Beckers , Yvette Fontaine and Marie Laurent in the 1974 edition and the second was the Société Esso trio of Christine Dacremont , Marianne Hoepfner and Michèle Mouton in the 1975 race . The race to feature the highest number of all-female squads was the 1935 event featuring four teams. The highest overall finish by an individual woman at Le Mans was achieved by Siko, who came fourth in the 1932 edition . The best performing all-female team was the seventh-placed Mme Mareuse duo of Maruese and Siko in the 1930 edition.
Drivers
By name
Key
1
Number in the best finish column denotes a driver's highest finish
DNF
Did not finish
NC
Not classified
Odette Siko was one of the first two women to drive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed in four editions overall.
Joan Richmond was the first Australian woman to compete at Le Mans.
Lella Lombardi drove in four Le Mans races and finished second in her class at the 1976 race .
Vanina Ickx finished a career-high seventh place at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans .
Sophia Flörsch was one of the three women to debut at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans .
Sarah Bovy made her 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 2021 .
24 Hours of Le Mans female drivers by name
No.
Country
Name
Years
Starts
Best finish
Wins
Top 10
Class wins
Ref
1
France
Odette Siko
1930 –1933
4
4
0
2
1
2
France
Marguerite Mareuse
1930 –1931
2
7
0
1
0
3
United Kingdom
Joan Chetwynd
1931
1
DNF
0
0
0
4
United Kingdom
H.H. Stisted
1931
1
DNF
0
0
0
5
United Kingdom
Elsie Wisdom
1933 , 1935 , 1938
3
DNF
0
0
0
6
France
Marie Desprez
1933
1
DNF
0
0
0
7
United Kingdom
Dorothy Champney
1934
1
13
0
0
0
8
Canada
Kay Petre
1934 –1935 , 1937
3
13
0
0
0
9
France
Anne-Cécile Rose-Itier
1934 –1935 , 1937 –1939
5
12
0
0
0
10
United Kingdom
Gwenda Stewart
1934 –1935
2
DNF
0
0
0
11
United Kingdom
Eva Gordon-Simpson
1935
1
24
0
0
0
12
Australia
Joan Richmond
1935 , 1937
2
14
0
0
0
13
United Kingdom
Doreen Evans
1935
1
25
0
0
0
14
United Kingdom
Barbara Skinner
1935
1
25
0
0
0
15
United Kingdom
Colleen Eaton
1935
1
26
0
0
0
16
United Kingdom
Margaret Allan
1935
1
26
0
0
0
17
United Kingdom
Dorothy Stanley-Turner
1937
1
16
0
0
0
18
United Kingdom
Joan Riddell
1937
1
16
0
0
0
19
United Kingdom
Marjorie Eccles
1937
1
DNF
0
0
0
20
France
Fernande Roux
1938
1
DNF
0
0
0
21
France
Suzanne Largeot
1937 –1939
3
12
0
0
1
22
United Kingdom
Marjorie Fawcett
1938
1
13
0
0
0
23
France
Germaine Rouault
1938 , 1950
2
DNF
0
0
0
24
France
Viviane Elder
1949
1
DNF
0
0
0
25
France
Régine Gordine
1950
1
DNF
0
0
0
26
France
Yvonne Simon
1950 –1951
2
15
0
0
0
27
United Kingdom
Betty Haig
1951
1
15
0
0
0
28
France
Marie-Claude Beaumont
1971 –1976
6
12
0
0
1
29
Belgium
Christine Beckers
1973 –1974 , 1976 –1977
4
11
0
0
1
30
France
Anne-Charlotte Verney
1974 –1983
10
6
0
1
1
31
Belgium
Yvette Fontaine
1974 –1975
2
11
0
0
1
32
France
Marie Laurent
1974
1
17
0
0
1
33
France
Martine Rénier
1974 , 1976
2
13
0
0
0
34
France
Corinne Tarnaud
1975
1
21
0
0
0
35
France
Christine Dacremont
1975 –1978
4
20
0
0
1
36
France
Michèle Mouton
1975
1
21
0
0
1
37
France
Marianne Hoepfner
1975 , 1977 –1978 , 1980
4
21
0
0
1
38
Italy
Lella Lombardi
1975 –1977 , 1980
4
11
0
0
0
39
Italy
Anna Cambiaghi
1977
1
DNF
0
0
0
40
United Kingdom
Juliette Slaughter
1978
1
DNF
0
0
0
41
South Africa
Desiré Wilson
1982 –1983 , 1991
3
7
0
1
0
42
United States
Margie Smith-Haas
1984 –1985
2
DNF
0
0
0
43
United States
Lyn St. James
1989 , 1991
2
DNF
0
0
0
44
France
Cathy Muller
1991
1
DNF
0
0
0
45
Japan
Tomiko Yoshikawa
1992 –1995
4
15 (NC )
0
0
0
46
Switzerland
Lilian Bryner
1993 –1995 , 1997
4
9
0
1
0
47
Germany
Claudia Hürtgen
1997 –1999 , 2001
4
13
0
0
0
48
Belgium
Vanina Ickx
2001 , 2003 , 2005 , 2008 –2011
7
7
0
1
0
49
Venezuela
Milka Duno
2001 –2002
2
DNF
0
0
0
50
United States
Liz Halliday
2005 –2007
3
19
0
0
0
51
United Kingdom
Amanda Stretton
2008
1
DNF
0
0
0
52
Switzerland
Natacha Gachnang
2010 , 2013
2
11
0
0
0
53
Switzerland
Cyndie Allemann
2010
1
DNF
0
0
0
54
Switzerland
Rahel Frey
2010 , 2019 –2024
7
30
0
0
0
55
United States
Andrea Robertson
2011
1
26
0
0
0
56
Japan
Keiko Ihara
2012 –2014
3
14
0
0
0
57
Denmark
Christina Nielsen
2016 –2018
3
31
0
0
0
58
France
Inès Taittinger
2016
1
DNF
0
0
0
59
Denmark
Michelle Gatting
2019 –2024
6
30
0
0
0
60
Italy
Manuela Gostner
2019 –2020
2
34
0
0
0
61
Colombia
Tatiana Calderón
2020 –2021
2
13
0
0
0
62
Germany
Sophia Flörsch
2020 –2022
3
13
0
0
0
63
Netherlands
Beitske Visser
2020 –2021
2
13
0
0
0
64
Belgium
Sarah Bovy
2021 –2024
4
30
0
0
0
65
France
Lilou Wadoux
2022 –2023
2
13
0
0
0
66
France
Doriane Pin
2023
1
DNF
0
0
0
By country
24 Hours of Le Mans female drivers by country
Country
First
Drivers
Starts
Top 10
Class Win
France
1930
23
55
4
10
United Kingdom
1931
16
20
0
0
Belgium
1954
4
17
1
1
Switzerland
1993
4
14
1
0
United States
1984
4
8
0
0
Italy
1975
3
7
0
0
Japan
1992
2
7
0
0
Denmark
2016
2
9
0
0
Germany
1997
2
7
0
0
Canada
1934
1
3
0
0
South Africa
1982
1
3
1
0
Australia
1935
1
2
0
0
Colombia
2020
1
2
0
0
Netherlands
2020
1
2
0
0
Venezuela
2001
1
2
0
0
All-women teams
Key
1
Number denotes team's class and overall finishing position
DNF
Did not finish
DSQ
Disqualified
The Moynet LM75 car that Christine Dacremont , Michèle Mouton and Marianne Hoepfner used to win their class at the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans .
The Ferrari 488 GTE shared by Rahel Frey , Michelle Gatting and Manuela Gostner at the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans .
See also
Notes
The ACO also cited Bousquet's driving style as a reason for banning women from racing at Le Mans until 1971.
Gilberte Thirion was barred from competing for Equipe Gordini in the 1954 race because of her gender. Her place was taken by her father Max Thirion.
Chetwynd entered under the name "The Honorable Mrs. Chetwynd" because she was married to Viscount Chetwynd .
Beckers competed using only her forename.
Visser replaced Katherine Legge , who sustained multiple injuries in a July 2020 European Le Mans Series pre-season test session accident at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France.
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