Inside the WRC’s search for its next Michele Mouton

Autosport was invited to join a panel of experts to oversee the inaugural Beyond Rally Women’s Driver Talent Programme to help select the World Rally Championship’s next female superstar, as it aims to find a successor to the last woman driver to win a WRC round 44 years ago

“It is easier to dream about doing something when you have seen someone doing it.”

Those are the words of champion co-driver Reeta Hamalainen that strike at the core of what the World Rally Championship is attempting to achieve with its new women’s talent development programme. This global talent search aims to not only unearth the next top female rally driver, who could one day follow in the footsteps of the great four-time WRC rally winner Michele Mouton, but break down the barriers to entry for women in rallying.

Following an intense three-day training camp in Poland this week, three drivers are now no longer dreaming of competing in the WRC. Lyssia Baudet (21, Belgium), Claire Schonborn (25, Germany), and Suvi Jyrkiainen (24, Finland) are now preparing to compete in the WRC’s penultimate round of the season at the Central European Rally (17-20 October) in the WRC3 class, and in doing so inspire the next generation of women drivers. And for one of the trio a life-changing prize is on offer - a fully-funded Junior WRC campaign piloting a Ford Fiesta Rally3 car.

Female participation in the WRC, compared to other motorsport series, has been relatively high. 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.

In the four decades since, this level of success is yet to be replicated but it doesn’t mean the talent isn’t out there. Female success has been notable on the co-driver front, with Hamalainen winning the 2022 WRC2 co-drivers’ title and Enni Malkonen now competing in the top Rally1 class with Toyota alongside Sami Pajari after winning the 2022 WRC3 co-drivers’ title.

The WRC believes the driving talent exists and, to its credit, has put its money where its mouth is by committing funding to unearth its new female superstar. This latest talent search initiative is distinct from the FIA Rally Star programme - funded by the FIA - which fielded four crews in this year’s one-make M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3 Junior WRC. It has already enjoyed success with Romet Jurgenson and Slim Oja winning the JWRC title at their first attempt.

“I think we are missing women participating in rallying a lot,” WRC Promoter sporting director and talent programme chairperson Peter Thul tells Autosport. “We have fantastic co-drivers but I think there is potential that is not discovered yet and maybe we can find somebody like Michele Mouton.”

“We have to encourage female participation as we believe there is hidden potential. We are not looking for the best presenter or the best PowerPoint presentation; we are looking for the best driver, but it is also about attitude and motivation.”

The concept was born a year ago, but in order to properly execute its plan, the WRC postponed the talent search until this year. The programme, set to run annually in the future, attracted applications from across the world which were whittled down to 15 finalists of varying ages, experience levels and backgrounds, some having only limited rally and motorsport experience.

Joining Baudet, Schonborn and Jyrkiainen were Emma Chalvin (23, France), Ann Felke (22, Germany), Joanna Hassoun (20, Lebanon), Mako Hirakawa (27, Japan), Hannah Jakobsson (20, Sweden), Luz Marina Santos Ramos (18, Spain), Nuria Pons Garcia (21, Spain), Aoife Raftery (23, Ireland), Madelyn Tabor (21, USA), Alexandra Teslovan (18, Romania), Hanna Lisette Aabna (18, Estonia) and Dorka Zagyva (19, Hungary).

The Czech Republic’s Steel Ring kart circuit, two hours south west of Krakow, provided a crucial component of the programme - a challenging asphalt test driving the Fiesta Rally3 against the clock

This group was assessed by a panel of experts that included Autosport - enlisted to assist with media training. Each candidate undertook six modules (fitness, media and PR, mechanical skills and technical knowledge, pacenote making and recce, tarmac driving, and gravel driving), receiving a score from 1-5 (five being the best).

A jury made up of Thul, Burcu Cetinkaya (rally driver and FIA women in motorsport chairperson), Pernilla Solberg (FIA WRC Commission president, former rally driver), Maciej Woda (M-Sport Poland managing director) and Isolde Holderied (1994-95 FIA female world rally champion) were tasked with taking the tough decision of selecting only three winners.

This thorough process began at M-Sport Poland’s workshop in Krakow where the fitness, media, mechanical skills and pacenote training modules were completed. The finalists were split into three groups of five, rotating through the modules. Led by M-Sport trainer Marek Olszewski, the candidates were put through a rigorous series of physical assessments ending with a bleep test endurance examination, with the Ford Fiesta Rally3 they would drive for the next two days tantalisingly within sight of the runners to provide that extra mental stimulus.

While one of the groups underwent the fitness evaluation, another gathered around that Fiesta as Woda explained the inner workings of the car the drivers would need to master. Theory test completed, a practical examination pitched the drivers in an against the clock challenge to successfully change a wheel - a process crucial to conquer when competing for real on the stages.

Outside of the main workshop, another group faced a media training challenge headed by Hyundai Motorsport’s senior press officer Nicoletta Russo with assistance from Autosport and Auto Hebdo. Here the candidates were offered advice in how to best represent themselves when dealing with journalists, before heading into a makeshift television studio to put what they learned to practice in front of the cameras facing questions from Autosport.

The contrasting backgrounds of the candidates soon emerged. Baudet reveals that her parents initially tried to steer her away from motorsport and into other sports, but a passion for four wheels eventually prevailed. Raftery, who competes in the Junior ERC, explained how she had taken inspiration from late compatriot Craig Breen.

Felke started out as a co-driver, funding that journey on her own, before turning to driving. Jyrkiainen by contrast has a rich rally background and reveals that her mother, Minna Sillankorva - a WRC points scorer driving a Lancia Delta in 1991 - is her motorsport hero and inspiration.

Her response was among the limited exceptions when the finalists were asked for their female motorsport heroes. Mouton was by far the most common answer, further outlining that four decades on she remains an inspiration. There was one constant from all the candidates - an overwhelming determination to not only succeed but inspire.

The concluding module of the first day edged the finalists a step closer to actually getting behind the wheel. Hamalainen was joined by former co-driver Tanja Geilhausen to run through all the key aspects to conducting a recce of stages and pacenote making. Utilising an onboard video from one of the camp’s driver trainers, William Creighton, the finalists were offered valuable information to ensure the best preparation for tackling the stages.

“I really appreciate being a part of this programme, because for me it is a really big thing if I can inspire somebody to come into this sport because not just rallying, all sports need both boys and girls,” adds Hamalainen. “All these young women are so motivated and passionate about this sport and it really shows.

“They have really focused on what the experts are trying to tell them and that's rewarding to see. If we can get at least one female into this sport, it then becomes easier [for the future generations].”

The Czech Republic’s Steel Ring kart circuit, two hours south west of Krakow, provided a crucial component of the programme - a challenging asphalt test driving the Fiesta Rally3 against the clock. Each driver was given three recce laps before conducting five fast runs of the course that featured a mixture of tight corners, hairpins and fast, flowing sections. Joining the drivers in the co-driver seat to offer advice and assess their skills were 2023 Junior WRC champion Creighton and two-time Norwegian champion Eyvind Brynildsen.

“There are girls with a range of different experiences and for me the most impressive thing has been seeing those with limited experience adapt to the car,” Creighton tells Autosport. “Some have never used a sequential gearbox and never driven four-wheel drive, but they get out there and they show aggression. They want to slide the car and use the four-wheel drive. It has been really nice to see that, I've been really impressed.”

To mimic what they will face in the future, Autosport was on hand to conduct stage-end interviews in front of a television camera, to further test the candidates media skills. While all were seemingly unfazed by this, the reactions once again brought home the sheer adrenaline and excitement only an opportunity to drive in a rally car can produce.

“Maybe I was too much in a rallycross mode [with the tail of the car stepping out] but it is okay,” beamed Chalvin after her first experience of a four-wheel drive rally car. “I had a lot of fun, I just want to do more!”

"I wish there had been something like this when I started my career. To have professionals come in and train them in driving, media, how to work on the cars, fitness and how to prepare yourself, it is just amazing"
Pernilla Solberg

Once asphalt duties were completed, each driver conducted a recce of a tricky narrow asphalt stage that was once part of the Czech Republic rally championship. This put their pacenote skills to the test and offered a taster of the Central European Rally held on roads across the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.

The final chance to sway the jury came in the form of a gravel driving test on a 1.1km technical stage, featuring a series of junctions, hairpins and tricky muddy conditions.

“This is quite a tricky gravel road in Poland and I must say in the morning it was really slippy,” Brynildsen tells Autosport. “The girls did an amazing job and proved quite a lot of skills. They are impressing me all the time; when we give them advice, they follow it.”

Such was the level of competition, the jury faced an incredibly difficult call before eventually deciding to make the WRC dream a reality for Baudet, Schonborn and Jyrkiainen.

“It is about trying to see which one of the 15 girls will do best at the Central European Rally,” says Solberg when explaining the decision-making process. “It is one thing to be a huge talent driving, but it is also a difficult event and you want them to feel they can go there and be confident.”

But having overseen the training camp, Solberg was totally convinced by the initiative.

“I wish there had been something like this when I started my career,” she admits. “To have professionals come in and train them in driving, media, how to work on the cars, fitness and how to prepare yourself, it is just amazing. I really hope with this programme we can inspire and start something so we can find a new female top driver. If we can do this [as] a yearly thing, this is a door opener for years to come.”

For Baudet, Schonborn and Jyrkiainen, there is little time to bask in the glow of winning a dream WRC drive. The work starts again now to prepare for a chance to clinch the potentially life-changing coveted full season in the Junior WRC in 2025. All eyes will now be on the Central European Rally to see how these rising stars perform in the heat of battle.

“There are so many girls with so much experience in rally, so the level was really high,” said Schonborn, a German hillclimb race winner who only made her rally debut earlier this year. “I didn’t think about being one of the three girls so yes, I am so happy!”

Former circuit racer-turned-rally driver Baudet added: “It's amazing, I feel like I am in a dream. But I know that it is only the start of the adventure and I have a lot of work to do, but I am ready for this and I am very thankful.”

“I cannot imagine myself there in the WRC but maybe you know it will sink in in a few days,” said Jyrkiainen, who finished runner-up in the 2023 Finnish Rally Championship Ladies Cup.

Competing against the clock aside, there is a bigger picture story at play here. Inevitably with these talent search competitions there are always winners and those that agonisingly just miss out.

For those unsuccessful, in what proved to be a tough decision for the jury, valuable knowledge has been gained to kick start their careers and of course there is always the second edition of the programme next year. But what is encouraging is that before a wheel has been turned at the Central European Rally the initiative has already proved one thing. There is a pool of talented female rally drivers out there just waiting for an opportunity.