Michèle Mouton
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| Michèle Mouton | |
|---|---|
 |
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| World Rally Championship record | |
| Nationality |  French |
| Active years | 1974 - 1986 |
| Teams | Audi |
| World rallies | 50 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Podium finishes | 9 |
| Stage wins | 160 |
| Points | 229 |
| First world rally | 1974 Tour de Corse |
| First win | 1981 San Remo Rally |
| Last win | 1982 Rally Brazil |
| Last world rally | 1986 Tour de Corse |
| edit | |
Michèle Mouton (born June 23, 1951 in Grasse) 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, in 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 reliability of the Audi Quattro that she was driving ultimately enabling Opel rival Walter Röhrl to snatch the title.
In 1985, she was the first woman to win the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb race in the US. 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Russell, Richard. History of Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system. CanadianDriver. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
