The rollercoaster road to Le Mans undertaken by 2023's female starters

Three cars will feature female drivers in their line-ups at this weekend's Centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The five women taking the start share their stories of reaching endurance racing's crown jewel

James Newbold Jun 6, 2023, 9:58 AM

Upd: Jun 6, 2023, 10:02 AM

Female participation has been an intrinsic feature of Le Mans history since the very earliest editions of the race. The best overall finish by a woman remains the fourth place attained by Odette Siko in 1932, although not for a lack of trying.

Class wins, following Siko's 2.0-litre triumph aboard an Alfa Romeo 6C with Louis Charavel in 1932, have been in plentiful supply down the years. And there is a strong chance of a first class win at Le Mans in the World Endurance Championship era this weekend.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.