Chantal Röhner carved out a decades-long racing career in Germany’s fiercely competitive touring car scene, battling through everything from one-make Polo cups to the grueling Nürburgring 24 Hours—and in 2019, she finally claimed the distinction no woman had managed before her in the STT championship.

EARLY YEARS

The record on Röhner’s early life is frustratingly thin. No birthdate, no hometown, no stories about a father who tinkered with engines in the garage or a childhood spent sneaking into karting tracks. What we do know is that by the late 1980s, she was already competing at the Nürburgring—arguably the most demanding circuit in the world—which means somewhere along the line, she learned to drive fast, learned to drive smart, and decided this was what she wanted to do with her life.

OTHER INTERESTS

Beyond the cockpit, Röhner’s world remains a mystery. No interviews surfaced discussing hobbies, side hustles, or what she does when she’s not strapped into a race car. For a driver with such a long career, the silence is notable—but maybe that’s the point. Some racers live for the track and nothing else.

EARLY SUCCESS

Röhner cut her teeth in the VLN endurance racing series at the Nürburgring, piloting a Volkswagen Golf GTi and later a Ford Escort RS through the Green Hell’s relentless 15.77 miles. Before she retired from that series in 1989, she’d already notched three class wins—a respectable tally on a circuit that chews up egos and machinery with equal enthusiasm. By 1987, she was racing in the Polo series, and the following year she tackled the Nürburgring 24 Hours in a Peugeot 205 GTI while also winning her first Polo race at Zolder and finishing fifth overall in the championship. It wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t Formula 1, but it was real racing—the kind where you learn racecraft by fighting for every tenth of a second with drivers who want it just as badly as you do.

In 1990, she returned to the Nürburgring 24 Hours, this time sharing a Ford Fiesta XR2 with Jutta Fischer, Thomas Marschall, and Thomas Wirtz as part of the Mixed Cup. At some point during this era, Röhner also set a speed record in a Volkswagen Corrado, though the specifics—where, when, and what speed—have been lost to time or never properly documented in the first place.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 1987: Competed in Polo series
• 1988: Raced Peugeot 205 GTI in Nürburgring 24 Hours; won first Polo race at Zolder, finished 5th overall in championship
• 1989: Retired from VLN series with three class wins (Volkswagen Golf GTi and Ford Escort RS)
• 1990: Competed in Nürburgring 24 Hours (Ford Fiesta XR2, with Jutta Fischer, Thomas Marschall, Thomas Wirtz)
• Undated: Set speed record in Volkswagen Corrado
• Undated: Test drove for Abt Sportsline team in ADAC GT Masters
• 2014: Competed in Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup; best finish 11th at Red Bull Ring
• 2015: Finished 5th in Procar championship (Mini); best result 3rd at Spa
• 2016: Runner-up in Deutsche Tourenwagen Cup Production class (Mini) with 1 win and 12 podiums
• 2017: Competed in STT
• 2018: Raced STT with new car
• 2019: Won STT championship (Opel Astra)—first title for a female driver in series history
• 2020: Competed in one STT race at Sachsenring (Opel Astra)
• 2021: Raced in ADAC GT4 championship (Mercedes-AMG GT4 for Besagroup Racing, partnering Franjo Kovacs); finished 27th overall, best result 15th at Zandvoort
• 2024: Competed in NXT Gen championship (electric Mini); finished 6th overall after completing first two meetings

INSPIRATIONS

Who lit the fire? What race made her think, “I need to do that”? The record doesn’t say. Röhner’s influences—whether a particular driver, a family member, or a single pivotal moment—remain undocumented.

REPUTATION

Röhner’s 2019 STT championship win was historic: she became the first woman to claim the title in the series, and she didn’t back into it—she fought for it in a close battle that came down to the wire. That alone tells you something about how she’s regarded: as someone who showed up, put in the work, and delivered when it mattered. Beyond that single, significant milestone, though, the chatter around Röhner is oddly quiet. No quotes from fellow competitors praising her racecraft, no media profiles digging into her mindset, no public controversies or feuds. She seems to have operated largely under the radar, letting her results do the talking in a way that’s both admirable and slightly maddening for anyone trying to piece together her story.

Her resume shows serious staying power—racing across four decades, from the 1980s through 2024—and the versatility to handle everything from screaming hot hatches to a state-of-the-art electric Mini. Test driving for Abt Sportsline, one of the most respected teams in German motorsport, suggests she had the skills and the trust to evaluate high-performance machinery at the highest level. But the broader narrative—how she was seen by the paddock, what made her distinctive as a driver, whether she mentored younger women coming up—remains frustratingly out of reach.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of 2021, Röhner’s last documented race was in the ADAC GT4 championship. Whether she’s still racing, retired, or simply flying under the radar in a series that doesn’t make headlines is anyone’s guess. At 55-plus (estimated, given her late-1980s career start), she could be pursuing business interests, mentoring, or just enjoying life away from the paddock. Or she could still be out there, hustling for podiums in a regional series that doesn’t generate press releases. Without current information, we’re left only with what she’s already accomplished—which, to be fair, is plenty.

References:

Speedqueens – Historical Female Motorsports Archive