| Tamara Molinaro | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Born | (1997-10-10)10 October 1997 (age 28) Como, Italy |
| Extreme E career | |
| Debut season | 2022 |
| Former teams | Xite Energy Racing,McLaren XE,JBXE |
| Starts | 9 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 11th in2022 |
| Championship titles | |
| 2017 | FIA European Rally Championship Ladies' Trophy |
Tamara Molinaro (born 10 October 1997) is an Italian rally driver who most recently raced atJBXE and as the championship reserve driver atExtreme E. She won theFIA European Rally Championship Ladies' Trophy in 2017 before moving on toWorld Rally Championship-2,TitansRX and the Italian Gravel Championship, where she is a double ladies' champion.[1] She has also occasionally competed as aco-driver, most notably partneringCraig Breen in selected Italian and Sammarinese rounds.[2][3]
Molinaro began rallying in 2008 at the age of 11 under the mentorship of long-time family friendGigi Galli, and started her career as aco-driver for Galli and Swiss driver Luca Maspoli. She was picked up byRed Bull early on in her career as one of their sponsored athletes.[4][5]
Molinaro progressed into driving in 2013, competing in several regional rallies in Italy, aboard aCitroën C2. In 2016, she switched the Citroën for anOpel Adam R2, taking part in a series of Austrian and German events alongsideIlka Minor.[6] The following year she entered theFIA European Rally Championship in the same car, coming seventh in the Junior U27 and winning the title in the Ladies' Trophy.[7][8]
2017 would also see Molinaro make herWorld Rally Championship debut, coming 49th at theRallye Deutschland alongside Veronica Gulbæk Engan.[9] She also co-drove forCraig Breen for the first time, at the Monza Rally Show in December.[2] In 2018, she entered a singleERC event at theRallye Açores, and made a further WRC appearance at theRally Sweden, both in aFord Fiesta R5 co-driven byMartijn Wydaeghe. She repeated at theRally Sweden the following season in aCitroën C3 R5 together with Lorenzo Granai, achieving her best championship result with 28th place overall and 11th place inWRC-2.[6]
Molinaro's main programme for 2019 though was arallycross debut in the newly rebrandedTitansRX International Europe Series, where she finished fifth in aHyundai i30, in a championship won by WRX event-winnerKevin Hansen.[10] In 2020 and 2021, Molinaro contested the Italian Gravel Championship, where she finished tenth and seventh respectively, winning the ladies' trophy in both cases.[6]
In July 2021, Molinaro joined the new electric off-road racing seriesExtreme E as the championship's female reserve driver after her predecessor,Jutta Kleinschmidt, was signed byAbtCupra XE for the remainder ofthe season.[11] Molinaro remained in the championship into2022, where she got her debut at the season-openingDesert X-Prix in Saudi Arabia, replacing Xite Energy Racing'sKlara Andersson who had tested positive forCOVID-19.[12] She impressed, outpacing teammateOliver Bennett and almost qualifying for thefinal race.[13][14] She was retained as the championship reserve driver for the2023 season.[15] In September 2023, Molinaro becameMcLaren's second female driver in history when she substitutedEmma Gilmour atMcLaren XE for Round 7 at the2023 Island X-Prix II after Gilmour suffered a fractured rib and a concussion following a crash during the first free practice session.[16] In her debut race start for McLaren in Round 7's redemption race, Molinaro collided withJBXE'sHedda Hosås on the run down to the first jump at the start of the race and rolled the car. Molinaro was uninjured but McLaren had to withdraw from Round 8 due to the extensive damage to the spare car.[17][18] For the final two rounds of the season, Molinaro replaced Hosås at JBXE, who in turn replaced Gilmour at McLaren due to Gilmour still recovering from her injury.[19]
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Tamara Molinaro | Opel Adam R2 | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | POL | FIN | GER 49 | ESP | GBR | AUS | NC | 0 | |
| 2018 | Tamara Molinaro | Ford Fiesta R5 | MON | SWE 35 | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | TUR | GBR | ESP | AUS | NC | 0 | |
| 2019 | Tamara Molinaro | Citroën C3 R5 | MON | SWE 28 | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | TUR | GBR | ESP | AUS C | NC | 0 |
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Tamara Molinaro | Citroën C3 R5 | MON | SWE 11 | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | TUR | GBR | ESP | AUS C | NC | 0 |
(key)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Xite Energy Racing | Spark ODYSSEY 21 | DES 6 | ISL1 2 | ISL2 10 | COP 9 | ENE 8 | 11th | 32 | |||||
| 2023 | Neom McLaren Extreme E Team | Spark ODYSSEY 21 | DES 1 | DES 2 | HYD 1 | HYD 2 | ISL1 1 | ISL1 2 | ISL2 1 10 | ISL2 2 DNS | 17th | 9 | ||
| JBXE | COP 1 8 | COP 2 8 |