Michèle Mouton
Michèle Mouton (born 23 June 1951, Grasse) is still the only woman ever to win a world championship rally. She did it four times, and in 1982 she fought for the world title until the penultimate round.
Episode 1 — Birth of a Monster: How Group B Began (1982)
The woman who took on the men of Group B — and nearly beat them.
From co-driver to driver
Mouton started out as a co-driver but soon moved behind the wheel. Her father backed her with a car and one year to prove herself. She drove for Fiat France and finished runner-up in the 1977 European championship behind Bernard Darniche. In 1981 Audi signed her for its works team alongside Hannu Mikkola, partnered by Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons. That year she won the Rallye Sanremo: the first world championship rally ever won by a woman.
1982: so nearly champion
In 1982 Mouton won in Portugal, Greece and Brazil, and went into the final rounds as a genuine title contender. Just before the start of the Ivory Coast Rally she learned that her father had died. She started anyway but crashed, and Walter Röhrl became champion. Mouton finished second with 97 points. Thanks in no small part to her, Audi won the manufacturers’ title for the first time. See 1982 season.
The only woman to win world championship rallies — four of them — and runner-up in the 1982 World Championship. German champion in 1986.
Germany 1986
In 1986 Mouton drove a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 for Peugeot’s German importer and won the German rally championship with Terry Harryman. She retired from rallying after 1986. See European and national championships.
After her career
In 2010 she became the first president of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, and she later represented the FIA in the World Rally Championship. The documentary Queen of Speed (Sky, 2021) tells her story; see documentaries.
World rally wins
| Year | Rally | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Sanremo | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Quattro |
| 1982 | Portugal | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Quattro |
| 1982 | Acropolis | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Quattro |
| 1982 | Brazil | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Quattro |
European and national championships
With Terry Harryman, Mouton won the 1986 Hessen Rallye and the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, both also European rounds, on her way to the German title. In 1985 she drove an Audi Quattro A2 in the British championship. See the German championship.
Career in the Group B years
World Rally Championship podiums of the driver, year by year (1982–1986). win 2nd 3rd
3 WRC wins · 8 podium finishes, 1982–1986
In pictures 4 photos
Further resources
- Motor Sport: Lunch with Michèle Mouton EN · article · subscription
Long interview with Mouton about her Audi career and Group B. - Audi Magazine: The hot seat — Fabrizia Pons EN · article
Interview with Michèle Mouton's co-driver about the quattro years. - Motor Sport (1983): Michèle Mouton, first lady of rallying EN · article · subscription
Period interview after her near-title season of 1982. - Audi: quattro in rallying EN · article
Audi's official account of the quattro rally years, from the first win to the Sport quattro S1 E2.
More from Drivers
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN), Michèle Mouton — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mich%C3%A8le_Mouton
- Sky / Barbie MacLaurin, Queen of Speed (2021) — https://barbiemaclaurin.com/documentaries/queen-of-speed
All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.
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SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: David Merrett from Daventry, England (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Arnaud 25 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Yaamboo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Michelin LIVE UK from Stoke-On-Trent, UK (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Caroline Jonsson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Thilo Parg (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).