>> Click here to read about : Nice girls and fast cars - Part 1

Auto123.com presents you the second part of its feature about gifted female race car drivers who are working hard to reach the top step of the international motorsport ladder. Some of them drive Funny Cars, others get behind the wheel of rally trucks in the desert while some others keep control their 700-horsepower NASCAR racers!

Here are a few more of these top ladies.

MELANIE TROXEL

Melanie Troxel is a drag racer born August 31, 1971 who competed in her first drag race at the age of 16 in a car with an engine she rebuilt herself as a high-school project. Melanie became one of the fastest females in NHRA history when in 2005 she clocked a 4.458-second pass and 330.31-mph speed in Dallas. In 2008 she switched from the Top Fuel class to Funny Cars. She became the first female to ever record a win in both classes.

MADALENA ANTAS

Portuguese race car driver Madalena Antas competes in rally-raid events, driving all-terrain trucks such as a fully race tuned 400-horsepower Nissan Pathfinder. She began her career in her native Portugal, clinching two female titles in the National Off-Road Championship. In 2007, she competed in the Lisboa-Dakar rally.

ASHLEY FORCE

Ashley Force was selected as the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series' Rookie of the Year in November 2007. On April 27, 2008, she earned her first ever NHRA professional win, defeating her father, John Force, in the final round, and becoming the first woman to earn a win in the Funny Car class at the NHRA Summit Southern Nationals held at the Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia.

NATASHA CHANG

Jamaican rally race car driver, model and radio personality, Natasha Chang made quite an impression on the Jamaican rally car racing circuit and is described by some as Jamaica's Danica Patrick. Natasha Chang made her racing debut under the Jetcon Race Team banner at the Palisadoes international speedway in 2006.


CATHARINA FELSER

Catharina Felser was born October 2nd 1982 in Siegburg, Germany. She competes in a number of different types of auto sports while simultaneously attending law school. She began her career racing karts before graduating to Formula Fords and Formula BMWs. In 2002, she competed in the German Formula 3 series before she switched to sedan cars such as the Seat Leon and a Mazda RX8.


MICHELE SHAPIRO

Michele Shapiro is research editor at Glamour magazine and a true rally enthusiast. In 2004, she teamed up with your sister to compete in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles, an 8-day/1550-mile gruelling event across the Moroccan desert. Michele was the winner of the 2004 European Bullrun Rally - racing at 160 mph across Europe in a Morgan Aero 8 - and one of the top three finalists out of 400 applicants for the Subaru drag racing female driver search in Los Angeles

KATHERINE LEGGE

British driver Katherine Legge competed in 2005's Toyota Atlantic Championship and became the first woman to win a developmental open-wheel race in North America. She then raced in the hotly competitive ChampCar series before moving back to Europe to compete in the DTM series for Audi.

ERIN CROCKER

Erin Crocker made headlines in 2006 as the only woman to compete full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. She also ran in the ARCA and NASCAR Busch Series. She first got behind the wheel of a car at the age of six, racing a kart. The following year, she started racing quarter-midgets. Erin became only the 11th female driver to compete in the NASCAR Busch Series and she also raced in the Craftsman Truck Series.

VANINA ICKX

Vanina Ickx was born on February 16, 1975, in Brussels, Belgium. She is the daughter of famed Belgian Formula One and Le Mans driver Jacky Ickx. A sensation seeker, Vanina raced sedan cars and competed in the Spa 24 Hours race on several occasions. She also contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans and raced for Audi in the DTM series back in 2006.