Cristiana Oprea

Cristiana Oprea is a Romanian rally driver, architect, and founder of Femei în Motorsport who became the first Romanian woman to compete in the World Rally Championship in 2022. She’s the most active female rally driver in Romania and a fierce advocate for dismantling gender stereotypes in motorsport.

EARLY YEARS

Born in Romania in 1992, Cristiana Oprea didn’t grow up dreaming of racetracks. There were no karts, no motorsport family traditions, no grease under her fingernails as a kid. Instead, she was studying architecture and urban planning at “Ion Mincu” University in Bucharest, earning not one but two degrees—because why not overachieve in the most practical way possible before deciding to throw yourself into one of the most impractical, expensive, and male-dominated sports on earth?[2][3]

It was during those university years that something shifted. Between blueprints and urban design theory, she discovered a passion for cars that had nothing to do with traffic flow patterns. By 2015, at age 23, she’d made the kind of decision that sounds either incredibly brave or slightly unhinged depending on who you ask: she switched from architecture to motorsport.[1][2] No previous racing background. No karting résumé. Just a gut feeling that being behind the wheel was, as she later put it, “how I can make the world a better place.”[2]

Her mother believed in her enough to help build her first rally car—a Dacia Sandero—in 2017, using money Cristiana had earned the previous year.[5] That kind of support matters when you’re starting from scratch in a sport that doesn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for women.

OTHER INTERESTS

Oprea never fully left architecture behind—she just expanded the blueprint. Her background in urban planning and design now fuels her work on a Motorsport Excellence Centre project, where she explores urban mobility, education, and the changing automotive industry.[3] She’s also an automotive journalist and blogger, running Cristiana Oprea Emoticar, where she shares racing stories and car reviews with the same sharp enthusiasm she brings to the track.[2][3][6]

Beyond the blog, she’s built a platform. In founding Femei în Motorsport, she created a space to promote and highlight women in Romanian motorsport—past, present, and future.[1][2][6] It’s advocacy work, sure, but it’s also storytelling, record-keeping, and a middle finger to the idea that women are footnotes in racing history. She’s done motorsports PR, given a TEDx Talk in April 2020 titled “Breaking the Glass Ceiling for Women in Motor Sports,” and been nominated as the FIA Women in Motorsport National Representative in 2021.[1][2][4] She’s not just racing—she’s reshaping the conversation around who gets to race.

EARLY SUCCESS

Cristiana’s first rally came in March 2016, and it was a baptism by chaos. She rented a Dacia Logan and entered the Dacia Cup—a grassroots category in the Romanian National Rally Championship—where she promptly encountered snow, black ice, sunshine, and rain, sometimes all in the same stage. She finished dead last. And yet, she called it a victory.[1][5] “Last place can still feel like a victory,” she said later, and honestly? That’s the kind of perspective that keeps you going when you’re starting at the bottom of a very steep, very expensive hill.[5]

She built her own car the next year with her mother’s help and ran a full season in 2017. By 2018, she’d climbed to fifth overall in the Dacia Cup—”among the toughest competition there is,” she noted, because even grassroots rally in Romania is no joke.[5] But the real milestone came in July 2018, when she and codriver Diana Hațegan became the first Romanian ladies crew in 50 years to compete in a foreign rally, tackling Rally Sliven in Bulgaria.[2][5]

In May 2019, she scored her first podium: second overall in the Dacia Cup.[5] Two months later, she made her debut in the FIA European Rally Championship at Rally di Roma Capitale, driving an R2 spec car. She not only became the first Romanian woman to compete in the ERC, but also landed on the ERC Ladies podium and earned the most points in the ERC Ladies Trophy standings that weekend.[2][5]

The climb wasn’t smooth. There were gravel stage failures, bullying, sexism, and the kind of mental health hits that come with being a woman in a space that doesn’t always want you there.[1][4] She’s been open about all of it, refusing to sand down the rough edges of her story. “No matter how much you dream of something,” she said in her TEDx talk, “a dream is made of these ups and downs… mistakes are part of the game… success always comes when you are ready and not a moment sooner.”[4]

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2016: First rally in Dacia Cup (March), finishing last in challenging conditions but counting it as a victory[1][5].
• 2017: Built first Dacia Sandero rally car with mother’s help and ran full season in Dacia Cup[5].
• 2018: Finished 5th overall in Dacia Cup; became first Romanian ladies crew in 50 years to compete in a foreign rally (Rally Sliven, Bulgaria, July) with codriver Diana Hațegan[2][5].
• 2019: Scored first podium (2nd overall) in Dacia Cup (May); became first Romanian woman driver in FIA European Rally Championship at Rally di Roma Capitale (July); won ERC Ladies podium and most points in ERC Ladies Trophy standings[2][5].
• 2021: Became first woman driver in Romanian Junior Rally Team (supported by Sports Ministry through FRAS); nominated as FIA Women in Motorsport National Representative[2].
• 2022: Became first Romanian woman to compete in the World Rally Championship (Croatia Rally, April)[2].
• After two full seasons, became the most active female rally driver in Romania[1][2][4].

INSPIRATIONS

Cristiana has spoken about her mother’s practical support—helping to physically build her first proper rally car in 2017—but she hasn’t publicly cited specific racing heroes or role models.[5] Her inspiration seems to come less from individual drivers and more from a stubborn belief in her own capacity to create change. “Performance is the perfect catalyst for change,” she’s said, and it’s clear she sees her racing as a tool for something bigger than podiums.[2]

Her philosophy is grounded in a kind of pragmatic resilience. “In order to finish first you must first finish,” she noted in her TEDx talk—a reminder that survival is its own form of success, especially when you’re racing uphill against more than just other drivers.[4]

REPUTATION

Oprea is regarded as a trailblazer in Romanian motorsport, not just for her own achievements but for the infrastructure she’s building behind her. Founding Femei în Motorsport wasn’t a vanity project—it’s a deliberate effort to document and celebrate the contributions of women in Romanian racing history, and to create visibility for those coming up behind her.[1][2]

Media coverage has consistently framed her as inspirational, resilient, and unafraid to talk about the hard parts: the bullying, the sexism, the mental health toll.[1][4] She’s been featured in podcasts, on TEDx stages, and profiled by organizations like Ashoka.[1][4][6] The tone is overwhelmingly positive, but it’s not hagiography—she’s respected because she’s honest about the struggle, not in spite of it.

Her public perception leans heavily on her role as a barrier-breaker. She’s racked up a string of “firsts”—first Romanian woman in the WRC, the ERC, the Junior Rally Team, the first Romanian ladies crew abroad in half a century—and each one chips away at the idea that rallying is a boys’ club.[1][2] She’s used her platform to “break gender stereotypes” and “dismantle the woman stereotype in motorsport and society,” language that makes clear she’s not just racing for herself.[1][2][4]

Fans and followers see her as someone who inspires bravery, who proves that you can start late, start from scratch, and still make an impact. She’s less interested in being celebrated as an exception and more focused on making sure she’s not the last.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Cristiana has stated her goal is to “continue to expand my limits with enthusiasm and overcome any challenges with resilience, while inspiring others to be brave and follow their own dreams.”[2] Beyond that, specific racing plans for 2025 and beyond aren’t publicly documented. What’s clear is that her ambitions extend past the driver’s seat—she’s working on the Motorsport Excellence Centre, continuing her journalism and advocacy work, and pushing Femei în Motorsport forward.[2][3][6]

She’s also made it clear that motorsport isn’t just a career for her—it’s a lifestyle and a mission. “Being behind the wheel is how I can make the world a better place,” she’s said, and there’s no reason to think she’s done proving that point.[2]

References:

She Speaks Sport Podcast Interview
Cristiana Oprea Personal Website – About
Diploma Project Author Bio
TEDx Talk: Breaking the Glass Ceiling for Women in Motor Sports (April 16, 2020)
Behind the Wheel Interview
Ashoka Fellow Profile