CLAIRE SCHONBORN Beats 14 Global Finalists to Win WRC Women’s Programme

March 8, 2025

by Tom Howard // from www.motorsport.com

• CLAIRE SCHONBORN, a 25-year-old German automotive engineer, won the WRC’s inaugural Beyond Rally Women’s Driver Development Programme after beating LYSSIA BAUDET in a head-to-head shootout at Rally Sweden. The victory earns her a fully-funded Junior WRC campaign driving an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3 – transforming what she called a “pipe dream” into reality as she reduces her engineering work to focus on racing.
• The global talent search attracted applications worldwide, narrowing down to 15 finalists including BAUDET, SUVI JYRKIAINEN, and drivers from Japan, Lebanon, Estonia, and the US. After intensive testing at M-Sport Poland covering everything from driving skills to media interviews, three finalists emerged. When judges couldn’t separate Schonborn and Baudet after the Central European Rally, they staged the Sweden showdown where Schonborn finished 2m56.3s ahead despite never driving on snow before.
• The programme addresses rallying’s ongoing challenge of breaking barriers for women drivers, building on progress by co-drivers like REETA HÄMÄLÄINEN (2022 WRC2 champion) and ENNI MALKONEN (2022 WRC3 winner). This year also features the all-female Iron Dames crew of SARAH RUMEAU and JULIE AMBLARD competing in WRC2, showing the sport’s commitment to creating pathways that don’t require massive personal funding to reach the top levels.

ford fiesta, junior wrc, m-sport, rally3