Speed Queens

Fast and fabulous, we hit the grid with the first ladies of motorsport

To the misogynists among us, the idea of putting a woman behind the wheel of a high-powered racing car might seem as ridiculous as the Blue Bulls campaigning in the Super 15 with an all-male cheer-leading squad. Luckily, the latter will never happen but, like it or not, it's becoming more commonplace to catch speedy members of the fairer sex mixing it up with guys in some of the world's most demanding racing series.

No longer afraid to go wheel-to-wheel with their macho counterparts, an increasing number of women from around the globe are stepping out of their stereotypical glad rags, donning fireproof Nomex suits, and setting about taming machinery many of us so-called men would never have the balls to. From thunderous, crowd-pleasing dragsters to agile GT4 sports cars, here are five sisters of speed you don't want to meet at the traffic lights.

Danica Patrick: Nascar and Indy Car

She's a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and dedicated follower of international fashion, but give her a helmet and a furious mechanical animal and that sugary-sweet demeanor dissolves into a red mist of ruthless competitiveness. An undeniable driving talent, Patrick started her racing career in '92 and, after climbing through the gritty ranks of Formula Ford and Atlantic, made her Indy Car debut in 2005.

The American equivalent of Formula One, these open-wheeled racers can travel at an intimidating top speed of 354km/h, but the femme from Phoenix took the bit between her pearly whites to win her first race at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in 2008.

A favourite with motorsport fans of both sexes, she recently bridged out into the world of Nascar oval racing - a sport well known for harbouring its fair share of hicks and chauvinists. Of course, juggling the two disciplines has been tough on the 28-year-old and Patrick hasn't been successful in either series this year - but the challenge is yet to discourage her.

Sabine Schmitz: Sports and GT Cars

The gutsy and likable Sabine Schmitz crashed into the public eye after she trounced Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson around the Nürburgring in a diesel-powered Ford Transit van. Now a sought-after TV motoring personality in her native Germany, she also has an envious motorsport career that's seen her twice win the challenging 24 Hours of Nürburgring endurance race at the helm of a BMW M3.

Nowadays Schmitz, 41, can be found charging around some of the meanest European race circuits in her Frikadelli (that's German for meatball, by the way) Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R. When not competing, she supports her passion by terrifying tourists and locals alike with one-on-one hot laps around the Nürburgring in the circuit's official "taxi".

Ashley Force Hood: NHRA Funny Car

For those who don't know, the Funny Car dragster is one of the most terrifying racing spectacles you'll ever see. Powered by nitromethane - a rudimentary type of liquid explosive - their toxic exhaust fumes are 10 times stronger than any pepper spray.

Then there's the brute power, around 5965kW worth of the stuff, and the ever-present danger of losing control at speeds of up to 550km/h. You couldn't pay me enough money to drive one of these things and yet 27-year-old Ashley Force Hood seems to thrive on it. Nominated Rookie of the Year in her first season, the ex-cheerleader has all the makings of a drag strip legend as her tenacity and lack of fear saw her end last year's championship second overall. The most successful woman in NHRA history, Force Hood is equally scorching off the track - her foxy features winning her The Hottest Athlete in Sports award on an AOL poll.

Vanina Ickx: GT and Touring Cars

The daughter of legendary Belgian Formula One racer Jacky Ickx, Vanina has the right sort of minerals flowing through her veins for a life on the track. Although a relative latecomer to the international motorsport arena, the 35-year-old is one of the most experienced female speedfreaks.

From the insanely demanding Dakar Rally to the energy sapping intensity of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft series, Ms Ickx is pretty much game for anything. Like her father, she has developed a penchant for endurance racing, with her name featuring on the entry lists of races such as the Spa and Le Mans 24-Hour. She's competed in the latter no less than six times and managed to come home a fairly respectable 11th place while ensconced inside a Pescarolo Judd LMP1 sports prototype.

Catharina Felser: KTM X-Bow Hillclimb Trophy

The next time I'm in Munich I'll be looking out for 27-year-old law student Catharina Felser. One of those annoyingly talented people - she's into everything from sailing and linguistics to motocross and piano - Felser won her first go-kart race at the age of 16. Since then, she's climbed inside the cockpits of a variety of exotic racing cars and has enjoyed two full seasons in both the German and Recaro Formula 3 championships.

Still focused on her studies, Felser has chosen a less hectic racing schedule by running in the six-round KTM X-Bow Hillclimb Trophy that sees drivers racing against the clock up some of Europe's most perilous Alpine passes. In case you don't know, the KTM X-Bow is a serious piece of racing kit; one that snorts its way up to 100km/h with the same urgency as a Porsche 911 Turbo. It takes a skilled pilot to wring the best out of this machine and Felser is more than up to the task.