Michèle Mouton

Michèle Hélène Raymonde Mouton (born 23 June 1951) is a French former rally driver.

Michèle Mouton was born 23 June 1951 in Grasse, a town on the French Riviera, close to the mountain stages famously featured in French rallies.

Her parents grew roses and jasmine on their large property.

After graduating from high school, Mouton began law studies, but would soon drop out and concentrate on a career in rallying.

Although Mouton began driving her father's Citroën 2CV when she was 14 years old, she did not turn her interest to rallying until 1972, when her friend Jean Taibi asked her to practise the Tour de Corse with him.

Mouton later co-drove for him in the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, the first-ever World Rally Championship (WRC) event.

After a few more rallies, Mouton's father suggested a switch to driving if she wanted to continue in rallying, and promised to buy her a car and give her one-year to prove herself.

Driving an Alpine-Renault A110, she debuted at the Rallye Paris – Saint-Raphaël Féminin and then tackled the Tour de France Automobile.

In the Île de Beauté, a complementary event to the Tour de Corse at the end of 1973, Mouton finished eighth overall.

In the World Rally Championship, Mouton made her driver debut in 1974, finishing 12th in the Tour de Corse in an Alpine A110.

It was rumoured her good performances were the result of a special engine, however her car passed inspection by WRC scrutineers.

At the end of the year, Mouton was crowned both French and European ladies' champion.

Re-entering the Tour de Corse the following season, she took seventh place.

In 1975, she competed in circuit racing and won the two-litre prototype class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Mouton successfully defended her ladies' titles, and also competed in circuit racing: In an all-female team with Christine Dacremont and Marianne Hoepfner, she won the two-litre prototype category of the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 1976, Mouton drove the A110 to 11th place in Monte Carlo and retired at the Rallye Sanremo.

At the Tour de Corse, her debut in the newer A310 also ended in retirement.

After being signed by Fiat France for 1977, Mouton finished runner-up to Bernard Darniche in the European Rally Championship.

For the 1977 season, Fiat France signed Mouton to partner Jean-Claude Andruet.

She was not impressed by the handling of the Fiat 131 Abarth, stating it was "like a big truck, not a car" and "terrible to drive".

However, the car would prove successful and Mouton put in very consistent results, finishing eighth in the Tour de Corse in 1977 and fifth three years in a row from 1978 to 1980.

Outside the World Rally Championship, Mouton drove a Porsche Carrera RS to victory in the 1977 RACE Rallye de España and to second place in the 1977 Tour de France Automobile.

She also finished runner-up to Bernard Darniche in the overall European Rally Championship (ERC).

She went on to win the 1978 Tour de France Automobile and record consistent results in her home events in the WRC; the Tour de Corse and the Monte Carlo Rally.

In Monte Carlo, she drove the car to seventh place in 1979 and 1980, equalling the result she had achieved in the event in a Lancia Stratos HF in 1978.

In 1980, she had been running as high as second before her engine died for a time.

For 1981, Audi Sport signed Mouton to partner Hannu Mikkola.

In her first year with the Audi Quattro, she took a surprise victory at the Rallye Sanremo.

Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runner-up in the drivers' world championship in 1982.

Mouton debuted in rallying as a co-driver but quickly moved to the driver's seat, steering an Alpine-Renault A110 in national rallies.

In the 1982 World Rally season, Mouton finished a close second overall to Walter Röhrl, after wins in Portugal, Brazil and Greece, and helped Audi to its first manufacturers' title.

Her campaign the following year resulted in fifth place.

With the team having four top drivers for 1984, Mouton's participation on world championship level became part-time.

In 1985, she won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States, setting a record time in the process.

In 1986, she moved to Peugeot and won the German Rally Championship as the first female driver to win a major championship in rallying.

Soon after securing the title, Mouton retired from rallying due to the ban of Group B supercars.

In 1988, she co-founded the international motorsport event Race of Champions in memory of her former rival Henri Toivonen.

Recalling the race in 2008, Mouton said: "It started to rain I remember, and I started to pass everybody. I was running on slicks. In the pits they were saying 'Michele you must stop', but I did not want to because I was passing everyone."

Her results attracted a major sponsor in the form of the French oil company Elf.

Mouton became the first president of the FIA's Women & Motor Sport Commission in 2010 and the FIA's manager in the World Rally Championship in 2011.