The breakthrough (1987)

Following the advice of Karl Bußjäger - who believed in the skills of his young co-driver - Isolde contested a driver search course organised by the motor racing magazine 'rallye racing' and the Sunday tabloid 'Bild am Sonntag' back in 1987. Günther Frauenkorn, the organiser of the nationwide competition, was determined to find the most promising candidate among the bunch of skilled young female rally drivers.

In summer, Isolde contested the first stage, behind the wheel of Bußjäger's Opel Corsa. "The first tasks were rather easy," recalls Isolde. "You had to drive circles, brake on the spot and contest a slalom. Step by step, the tasks got more challenging and more and more participants had to give up."

From the second stage, Isolde was driving an Opel Kadett GSI. And in the qualifying contest, she once again proved her driving skills. Furthermore, she convinced the members of the jury with her knowledge of the theoretical and her unlimited commitment.

At the end of the course, Isolde had defeated some 1,000 female drivers. By winning the driver search course, she had secured a seat in the 'Rallye-Club Deutschland's' (RCvD) 'Ladies-Junior-Team' and an entry in the 1988 'Deutsche Rallye-Trophäe'.

"I had hoped to have the necessary talent", says Isolde. "And when I was selected, it was a dream come true. But the events of the years that followed were even more exciting." Now, the young Bavarian began a three-year motor racing apprenticeship and gained not only a lot of experience alone but also clinched her first successes.

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