March was a busy month for motorsport across the globe. From Formula 1 to IndyCar to the W2RC Championship, the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America Series, F1 Academy and many others, you didn’t have to wait long for the next motorsport series to be back on your screens. With that in mind, The Paddock Chronicle takes a look back at a handful of those women in motorsport who impressed the most in March of 2026.
If you missed last month’s edition of this series, find it here.
Sara Price & Saydiie Gray
One of the many fantastic elements of motorsport is discovering races and events that you’ve somehow been unfamiliar with up to now. But thanks to Sara Price and Saydiie Gray, the Mint 400 is now firmly on my – and your – radar. What is the Mint 400? Created by a man called Norm Johnson in 1968, it was initially a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt. But that soon snowballed into a world famous desert race, known for being both incredibly tough and spectacular in equal measure. The race ended in 1988 when the hotel was sold but was thankfully revived twenty years later in 2008.
“The course was brutal and it was an eventful one, but we pushed through and got it done.” – Sara Price
It is in that race that Sara Price and Saydiie Gray competed together early on in March and went on to win in the UTV Pro Stock Mod class. Anybody who though that Price might be taking things easy after her awesome Dakar run back in January would be sorely mistaken.
Anna Cecchi
The brand new season of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America Series kicked off in Sebring in March. Competing in the Cayman Pro/Am Series was the sole female driver in that category, Anna Cecci. 2026 marks Cecci’s second full season in the series and she wasted no time in making one heck of an impression.
Starting both races in Sebring from Pole Position, Cecci put on a simply outstanding performance across the weekend. In the first race, she was kept under pressure for the duration by Keith Grant. But Cecci didn’t lose her cool and kept him at bay all the way to the end, beating him to the win by 0.205 seconds. What was even more impressive though was that by focusing on beating Grant, she edged out a gap to third place finisher, Dan Drohan, of a whopping 22.995 seconds!
Could she achieve a similar feat for the second race? You bet. Once more, it was Keith Grant behind her. Despite a late race charge, Cecci fought him off again and this time beat him to the finish by 1.623 seconds to claim first place. The gap to Tom Rogers in third was a very respectable 13.176 seconds.
“Last weekend was a really exciting start to the season. I kept building confidence in the car each session, and with the support of the team it was great to see that progress come together on track. Race one was definitely challenging with the pressure behind, but it was a lot of fun and I couldn’t be happier with the result.” – Anna Cecchi
At that point, she led the Championship by thirteen points from Grant in second. Finally, in Sunday’s last race of the weekend where all of the categories race together, Cecci made it three for three in terms of podium appearances across the weekend. While she finished in P17 overall, she came in third in the Cayman Pro/Am category, rounding out a stellar weekend.
Fast forward to the second round of the Championship in Barber, she finished both races on the podium in second and third. Cecci now leads the Championship by thirty one points.
Kayla Yaakov
Over in MotoAmerica’s AMA Superbike Series, Kayla Yaakov made history in March. At the 84th edition of the Daytona 200, Yaakov bested fellow competitor Darryn Binder to finish in an outstanding third place. At just eighteen years of age, Yaakov became the first woman in history to achieve a podium at the Daytona 200.
Emma Felbermayr
Emma Felbermayr kicked off her sophomore F1 Academy campaign in style in Shanghai. In Saturday’s first race of the year, Emma converted P6 into a P3 podium finish. On her way to the podium, she pulled off a slick overtake on Rafaela Ferreira in the closing moments of the race.
Sunday’s race saw the Austrian start from P3. By keeping her head down and taking advantage of the opportunities around her, Felbermayr remained level headed to keep Palmowski behind her and clinched the win.
Emma then left Shanghai as both Audi F1’s first podium sitter and race winner, but also as F1 Academy Championship leader.
Notable Mentions
Natalia Granada
Announced to be joining F1 Academy just days before the start of the season, rookie Natalia Granada blew everyone away when she finished her debut race on the podium in second place. To make the story even more impressive, the Shanghai weekend marked the Spaniard’s first time ever competing in single seater machinery.
“Yesterday, I was standing on the podium in my first ever single-seater race, in front of the massive crowd here in Shanghai, and together with Sephora we became the first ever partner car to be on the podium in F1 Academy, something incredible to share with them as they were supporting me here in China. I really hope that my performance yesterday can inspire other young drivers, showing that when everything seems impossible, passion and determination can overcome any obstacle.” – Natalia Granada
If that’s not worthy of a notable mention, then quite frankly we don’t know what is.
Sara Price (Again)
Following up from her victory in the Mint 400, Sara returned to the World Rally-Raid Championship this month too as it held its latest round in Portugal. Price podiumed throughout in the Stock category, alternating between P2 and P3 across the five stages of the race.
“So proud of this team and to be a part of it. Even when the cards weren’t in our favour this rally, we proved we can run with the best on terrain that’s completely new to us.” – Sara Price
Feature Image: Audi F1 Media Centre, Red Bull Content Pool & Anna Cecchi