The Rising Star of Gwendolyn

Gwendolyn Hertzberger is planning to conquer the racing Olympus.

Gwendolyn is a young world-class racer who was fascinated by giant roaring racing cars since an early age. "My hero was always Ayrton Senna" she said. "I was amazed by his ability to concentrate so hard on winning". She never worried that racing was an exclusive "male-only" sport. Speed, roar of powerful engines — that’s what her spirit strove for.

Gwendolyn dreamt about racing until 2003 when she took the first steps to realise her dream. Her first chance to race was in Italy, where she was given a Formula Renault bolide to test by the Draco Racing team. Talented girl, she handled the 1600cc car without a problem, so she quickly changed to a more powerful and faster the Formule Renault 2000. More speed, more power, but after just a few laps she managed to handle the new car with the same ease.

This opened the doors to the world of racing for Gwen. She started training in a prestigious racing school in Magione 1968 hundreds of young racers have started their careers there under the guidance of Henry Morrogh. Seventeen of them finally made their way to Formula One.

After years of training Gwendolyn was ready. 2006 was the year of her first full season. In the first race at Spa-Francorchamps she finished twelfth despite a collision during the training lap. Soon after she finished in the top 10 during a race at Assen. In each race she competed with more than twenty international racers and, despite racing many tracks for the first time, she did quite well in her first season.

Her favourite flower is a tulip. Gwendolyn says it has everything: "beauty, life power, youth and audacity". The young racer has all these qualities herself. And she is not afraid of being unique. "Let a thousand flowers bloom, but there is always a place among them for a black tulip", she jokes, hinting at her Dutch roots.

Now Gwendolyn, this unique Dutch flower, is ready to climb the racing Olympus. Let’s wish her luck and watch her racing path. On this site you can read more about Gwendolyn’s story, get the latest news and check her racing calendar. And to make it personal you can leave a message in her guestbook.