Kathy Rude

Kathy Rude (born 1956) was an American sports car driver who was one of the first female drivers to attract international attention. Growing up in Vancouver, Canada, she began competing as a teenager in karting events. By her early 20s, after competing in Formula Ford and Formula Atlantic, she attracted the attention of several top-tier car owners, and tested an IndyCar owned by Dick Simon. She was a member of the original North American Toyota factory-sponsored IMSA GT Championship sports car team in 1981. In February 1982, co-driving a factory-sponsored Mazda RX-7 with Allan Moffat and Lee Mueller, she became the first woman to win a major international sports car race with a GTU class victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona. She signed a deal to make her debut at the Indianapolis 500 in 1984, but during an IMSA sports car event at Brainerd, Minnesota in July 1983, she suffered horrific injuries in a crash which ended her career. Noted sports car champion Brian Redman once referred to her as the only female driver he'd encountered who posed a genuine threat to win major professional automobile races. She is now a commercial pilot, and is married to Canadian sports-car racer and three-time Indianapolis 500 veteran Ludwig Heimrath, Jr. Kathy is currently involved in an airfrieght company called Air Tahoma which is co-owned by her brother Noel Rude and her father Bud Rude.