Michèle Mouton
 Michèle Mouton in an Audi Quattro S1, 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  French |
| Born | 23 June 1951 |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1974–1986 |
| Teams | Fiat, Audi, Alpine-Renault, Peugeot |
| Rallies | 50 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 4 |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Stage wins | 160 |
| Total points | 229 |
| First rally | 1974 Tour de Corse |
| First win | 1981 San Remo Rally |
| Last win | 1982 Rally Brazil |
| Last rally | 1986 Tour de Corse |
Michèle Mouton (born 23 June 1951 in Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes) is a former French rally driver. She is the most successful and well-known female rally driver of all time, as well as arguably the most successful female in motor racing as a whole.[1]
She was the first (and so far the only) woman to win a round of the World Rally Championship, the Rallye Sanremo in 1981. She went on to finish a close second overall in the 1982 WRC after wins in Portugal, Brazil and Acropolis, with only the unreliability of the Audi Quattro that she was driving ultimately enabling Opel rival Walter Röhrl to snatch the title.
In 1984, she was the first woman to win the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb race in the United States. She won again in 1985, breaking the record of the race. Mouton effectively quit rallying after the Group B category was banned in late 1986, both unwilling to take part in a new, slower championship under Group A rules, and eager to start a family. However, she was to be a key figure in the organization of the rallying Race of Champions in 1988, in memory of Henri Toivonen.
She also has taken part in the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans, in an all-female team.
In 2000, she finished 2nd driving a Porsche 911 in the London-Sydney Marathon with co-driver 1993 winner Francis Tuthill, behind ex-teammate Stig Blomqvist.
In 2010, she became the first President of FIA's Women & Motor Sport Commission.[2] In November 2010 she was demonstrating her Quattro at the Race of Champions in Düsseldorf's Esprit Arena when she clipped a curb and rolled the car onto its roof.[3] Both Mouton and her passenger escaped uninjured.[4]
WRC victories
References
- ^ Russell, Richard. "History of Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system". CanadianDriver. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ FIA. "FIA establishes Women & Motor Sport Commission". Formula 1(TM). Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2010/11/team-germany-retain-roc-nations-cup-on-home-soil/
- ^ "2010 Race of Champions Michèle Mouton Audi Sport Quattro S1 Flip". Youtube. Retrieved 2010-11-29.