Best 5 Latina women in motorsports

The world of sports is increasingly represented by women who, day after day, always show perseverance, effort and dedication to achieve their goals. An example of this is seen in disciplines practiced worldwide such as soccer or basketball, with those that require a lot of resistance such as swimming or athletics, and even those that have always been "dominated" by men such as weight lifting or motor sports .

Precisely, this last branch has historically been considered "not very feminine" and, therefore, the presence of women was limited only to the protocol part. The image of motorsports had always been manly, aggressive and powerful, so seeing a girl behind the wheel ended in expressions of contempt or derision . However, that has been changing in recent years.

To talk about the beginnings of women in the motor world, we must go back to 1903, when the British Dorothy Levitt established herself as the first driver to win a car competition , becoming the first to be part of a team a year later for the Hereford Thousand Mile Test in England. Special mention for the French Hélène van Zuylen and Camille du Gast, who were also pioneers in these competitions between 1898 and 1901 , respectively. Since then, more and more women have opted for these sports, with karting as the starting discipline.

In Latin America we are not far behind and there are several women who, in one way or another, have left their name and their country high, thanks to their skills in the different tracks. Here is a list of the 5 Latinas who have stood out the most in the fascinating world of motorsports .

Milka duno

Although the Venezuelan began her career at 24 years of age , it should be noted that she has an incredible academic training, because, among so many studies, she has one in naval engineering. In terms of her sports record, she is known for achieving the highest position (second place) for a woman in the 24 Hours of Daytona in the 2007 edition .

Milka can be considered as a Latin reference in these sports for her great feats , such as:

• First woman to win a Ferrari Challenge Race in the United States and champion of the one-make Panoz GT Series (1999).
• First woman to win a podium in the American Le Mans Series (2000).
• First woman to obtain points during the European qualifiers of the Nissan World Series (2001).
• First woman to win an international competition in North America, winning two races at the Homestead-Miami Speedway circuit (2004).
• Highest rank – No. 19 – for a woman in the Indianapolis 500 (2008).
• First Hispanic to race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series category (2014).

Patricia Pita Gago

What better achievement than being the first woman in your country to write the history of these sports? That's what happens with Patricia, who has become the first driver to run a rally in Uruguay , during the 2012 edition.

The Uruguayan began to score in the 2013 and 2014 national championships so that, a year later, she made the leap to the competitive Argentine Rally, where she currently continues to participate in the Maxi Junior category. One of his most recent achievements was in 2017 when she took first place in the Punta del Este Rally .

Angelica Fuentes

The Mexican is considered the most experienced rally player in her country . Inspired and motivated by her father, who was also a pilot, Angélica started at the age of 16 in a college rally competition. By 1989, she won the regularities championship, then called the RAC Cup.

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Since then, she has achieved great achievements as a boater:

• She won the Rally México, when she was not yet part of the world championship (1998).
• She was crowned in the Mexican Rally Championship (2002).
• First woman to win a test in the Carrera Panamericana (2006).
• Participated in a World Rally Championship within Category N4 (2007).
• She won the first edition of the Chihuahua Express Rally (2007).
• She earned first place in the Vintage Category at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (2010).
• Champion of the Hamilton Classic Loose Gravel Rally Championship in England (2010).
• Participations in the British Rally Championship, the Targa Tasmania race and the NACAM Rally.

Ana Beatriz «Bia» Figueiredo

It is one of the most recognized pilot in Brazil. The São Paulo-born woman was 8 years old when she met her passion in karting, where she demonstrated her talent at the wheel so that, years later, the instructor Nailor Campos would help her with her sports career.

In 2008, she made her Indy Lights Series debut winning a race and becoming the first woman to do so . Also, for the following year, she repeated the feat at the Iowa Speedway circuit. Beyond Rookie of the Year awards, Bia also stands out for participating in the Indianapolis 500 (2010-2013) and the IndyCar Series (2010-2013) .

Ianina Zanazzi

One of the leading Argentine women in this discipline. In 1996 ahe replaced hwe father in a karting competition and, from there, her sports career was on the rise. Three years later, she participated in the Formula Super Renault Argentina (the fastest in the country at the time) to mark a milestone: to be the first female to achieve a victory .

For 2000, she did not miss her first opportunity in the Light Class of the South American Formula 3, achieving the runner-up. That opened the doors to her in Europe where she participated in the Italian Formula Renault (2001) and Spanish Formula 3 (2002). Although she retired in 2004 due to her first pregnancy, she returned to the tracks in 2018 to participate and win in the Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy Argentina category that opened that year.