Belén García

Belén García Espinar is a Spanish racing driver who’s carved out her place in motorsport history as the first woman to win a European F4 race and the first Spanish woman to claim a single-seater victory, now competing in endurance racing’s LMP3 category.

EARLY YEARS

Born July 26, 1999, in L’Ametlla del Vallès near Barcelona, Belén García grew up in a household where motorsport wasn’t just a passion—it was the family business. Her father, José Luis, was a professional rally driver, and her parents ran Al Kamel Systems, a motorsport timing company. Racing talk at the dinner table wasn’t occasional; it was constant. She was surrounded by the smell of fuel and the sound of engines before she could probably even walk.

With that kind of upbringing, it’s no surprise García developed what she calls “a passion for anything with engines.” But interestingly, she didn’t jump straight into karting as a kid. Her athletic energy went elsewhere first—into pole vaulting, of all things. The discipline, timing, and physical precision required for launching yourself over a bar with a fiberglass stick would later translate surprisingly well to four-wheel racing. When she finally did start her racing journey in 2015 at age 16, she was already an athlete who understood what it meant to perform under pressure.

While pursuing her racing ambitions, García also committed to studying for an engineering degree—because apparently, driving fast cars and understanding how they work at a molecular level is the ultimate power move.

OTHER INTERESTS

Beyond the cockpit, García’s other interests are surprisingly grounded. Her pole vaulting background gave her an athletic foundation that carries over into racing—the core strength, timing, and mental focus required for both sports overlap more than you’d think. She’s also deep into her engineering studies, which means she’s not just turning laps; she’s understanding the science behind why the car behaves the way it does. That combination of physical skill and technical knowledge is rare, and it shows in how she approaches her racing career.

Outside of those pursuits, García has kept her personal life relatively private. There’s no public record of hobbies like gaming, art, or traveling—at least not that she’s sharing. Given her own words about how motorsport “gets you in every way,” it’s fair to assume that racing, training, simulator work, and chasing sponsors consumes most of her waking hours.

EARLY SUCCESS

García’s karting career started in 2015, and by 2018, she was dipping her toes into car racing with a partial season in the Toyota Aygo Kobe Cup. But 2019 was when she made headlines. Competing in the Spanish F4 Championship with Global Racing Service, she became the first Spanish woman to win a single-seater race at the Navarra circuit during round 2. Now, here’s where it gets a bit messy: her win came after several competitors were excluded for failing to respond properly to a red flag. She’d finished 15th in race one, so the victory had an asterisk. Still, a win is a win, and it put her name in the record books.

That season, she racked up 10 top-10 finishes across 21 races, finishing 14th overall and claiming the Female Trophy. She also became the first woman to win a European F4 race—though the exact details of when and where remain frustratingly undocumented. Navarra and Algarve became her strongest circuits, with a seventh-place finish at Algarve adding to her Navarra success.

In 2020, she switched gears—literally—and joined her father for a Spanish GT Championship race at Aragon, their first race together. Driving a Ginetta G55, they claimed a class win in the final round. The family that races together, wins together, apparently.

By 2021, García had caught the attention of the W Series and earned a spot on the grid. She also made a part-time appearance in the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) with G4 Racing, marking her debut in F3-level machinery. Her first race was rough—she admitted to being “a bit nervous” and messing up the start, finishing 23rd. But in race two, something clicked. After a safety car, she went for it, overtaking multiple cars and climbing to 22nd (after a penalty). “After the second Safety Car I said ‘what the hell, let’s go for it!’ and I started to remember things from my season in formulas,” she said. The rust was off.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2019: First Spanish woman to win a single-seater race (Spanish F4, Navarra)[2][5].
• 2019: First woman to win a European F4 race[1].
• 2019: Spanish F4 Female Trophy winner with 10 top-10 finishes in 21 races[2][3].
• 2020: Class win in Spanish GT Championship at Aragon with father José Luis García, driving a Ginetta G55[2].
• 2021: Won female edition Vroom Awards for the second consecutive year[6].
• 2022: Fifth in W Series; second place finish at Paul Ricard[1][2].
• 2023: Competed in Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 with Graff Racing, finishing ninth overall with best result of seventh at Yas Marina[2].
• Undated: LMP3 win at Le Castellet (4 Hours) in Ultimate Cup Series[1].
• FIA Silver-rated driver[1][3].

INSPIRATIONS

García’s biggest influence is obvious: her parents. Growing up with a rally-driving father and a mother involved in the motorsport timing business meant racing was in her DNA. The family environment didn’t just expose her to motorsport—it made it inevitable. Her father’s career and the family business provided both inspiration and access, two things that are often the difference between dreaming about racing and actually doing it.

Beyond her family, there’s no public record of other racing heroes, mentors, or inspirational figures who shaped her path. It’s possible she’s kept those influences private, or it’s possible that growing up so close to the sport meant she didn’t need to idolize drivers from afar—she was already living it.

REPUTATION

García has built a reputation as a versatile driver who isn’t afraid to jump between disciplines. She’s gone from single-seaters to GTs to endurance racing, and she’s found pace in all of them. That adaptability has earned her recognition as a rising star and one of the top female racers in the paddock. Winning the Vroom Awards female edition twice in a row speaks to her popularity and the respect she’s earned from fans.

On track, she’s known for her patience and racecraft. Her FRECA debut showed she could recover from a bad start and find speed when it mattered. “You can’t brake hard here, you have to be very patient,” she said about her learning curve in F3 machinery. That ability to adapt and learn quickly is what’s kept her moving forward in a notoriously unforgiving sport.

Her 2022 W Series season was inconsistent, but she still finished fifth overall before the series ended due to financial troubles. The media has covered her milestones positively, particularly her pioneering achievements as the first Spanish woman to win in single-seaters and the first woman to win in European F4. There’s no record of major controversies—unless you count the fact that her first single-seater win came with an asterisk due to disqualifications, which some might.

In the paddock, she’s respected for her work ethic and technical knowledge. That engineering degree isn’t just for show—it’s part of how she approaches racing. She’s also raced alongside and against other top female drivers like Nerea Martí and Irina Sidorkova, contributing to a generation of women pushing into higher levels of motorsport.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of the most recent available information, García is competing with DKR Engineering in the European Le Mans Series, continuing her shift toward endurance racing that began in 2023 with her Asian Le Mans campaign. She’s clearly committed to the sportscar world, focusing on LMP3 machinery where she’s shown strong pace.

In a 2021 interview, she expressed hope to combine W Series with FRECA, and mentioned plans to do her first rally with a female co-driver—a nod to her father’s rally roots and a sign she’s open to exploring multiple racing paths. However, with the W Series folding after 2022, that particular plan didn’t come to fruition.

Her long-term goals beyond 2023 haven’t been publicly documented, but given her trajectory, it’s reasonable to expect she’ll continue climbing the endurance racing ladder. Whether that means pushing for LMP2, aiming for a Le Mans 24 Hours seat, or exploring other sportscar championships remains to be seen. What’s clear is that García isn’t done making history yet.

She summed up her life in motorsport best herself: “Motorsport gets you in every way—you’re always thinking about training, preparing, doing time on the simulator and looking for sponsors and opportunities to race. It’s your whole life.” That level of commitment is what separates the drivers who make it from the ones who don’t. And García? She’s making it.

References:

51gt3.com Driver Profile: Belén García Espinar
Speed Queens: Belén García Career Summary
Racers Behind the Helmet: The Rust is Off – Belén García Makes F3 Race Debut in FRECA
Females in Motorsport: Belén García – Motorsport Gets You in Every Way
Formula 4 Wiki: Belén García
Vroom International Magazine: February 2021 Awards Announcement