Joana Mascarenhas de Lemos (born 24 April 1972 ) is a Portuguese former

rally raid Rally raid is a type of off-road motorsport event competed with different types of vehicles. Along with shorter Baja (cross-country rally), baja rallies, rally raid constitutes cross-country rallying. Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Aut ...

racer. She raced on motorcycles between 1990 and 1995 and automobiles between 1996 and 2004. When she ended her racing career in 2006, she maintained her connection to sport, this time as an organizer of major sporting events, being largely responsible for the two editions of the Lisbon-

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

. Since 2012, she is Head of the Family Office of Maude Queiroz Pereira.

Biography

Lemos started doing sports at the age of six. She did swimming, tennis, gymnastics, biking and fell in love with the mini-trampoline. Her father attempted to divert her into horseback riding; instead, Lemos took a liking to motor sports. She began with mini-motorbikes, then followed with motorcycling and later motoring. After taking part in the first off-road rides in 1990, Lemos began her racing career, first on motorcycles and then in automobiles. She was the first Portuguese driver to compete in desert races and the youngest in the world to finish the Paris-Dakar Ladies Cup in a car, a race she won in 1997, alongside Carine Duret and behind the wheel of a

Nissan Patrol The is a series of off-road vehicles and full-size SUVs manufactured by Nissan in Japan since 1951 and sold throughout the world. It is Nissan's longest running series of models. The Patrol has been available as either a short-wheelbase (SWB) ...

. The car with which she achieved this feat was even made into a toy-shaped replica. Among her best results was placing in the 1999 Rally de Portugal, in a golden edition of the men's event, which had on the podium

Colin McRae Colin Steele McRae, (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007), was a British rally driver. He was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion, and in 1995 became the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title. At 27, ...

and

Nicky Grist Nicholas Mark Grist (born 1 November 1961) is a British former rally co-driver from Wales, born in Ebbw Vale. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1993 to 2002. He won 21 rallies with more than one driver. Grist' ...

(1st), Carlos Sainz and

Luis Moya Luis Rodríguez Moya, better known as Luis Moya (born 23 September 1960) is a Spanish former rally co-driver, synonymous with driver Carlos Sainz. He is the third most successful co-driver in the history of the World Rally Championship (WRC), ...

(2nd) and

Didier Auriol Didier Auriol (born 18 August 1958) is a French former rally driver. Born in Montpellier and initially an ambulance driver, he competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first drive ...

and

Denis Giraudet Denis Giraudet (born 16 December 1955) is a French rally co-driver. Rally career Giraudet started his career in 1981. He won his first rally at 1993 Rally Finland alongside four-time world champion Juha Kankkunen. His most successful partner ...

(3rd). Lemos has two sons, Tomás and Martim, from her first marriage to Portuguese banker Manuel da Costa Lobo Reymão Nogueira. On October 7, 2021, she was married a second time to

Lapo Elkann Lapo Edovard Elkann (born 7 October 1977) is an Italian businessman, philanthropist, and socialite. He is the chairman, founder, and majority shareholder (53.37%) of the Italia Independent Group. He is also the president and founder of and Ind ...

, an Italian businessman heir and member of the prominent

Agnelli family The Agnelli family () is an Italian multi-industry business dynasty family founded by Giovanni Agnelli, one of the original founders of the Fiat motor company which became Italy's largest automobile manufacturer. They are also primarily known fo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemos, Joana 1973 births Living people Racing drivers from Lisbon Portuguese motorcycle racers Portuguese rally drivers Enduro riders People from Esposende Off-road motorcycle racers Dakar Rally drivers Dakar Rally motorcyclists Female motorcycle racers Female racing drivers Female rally drivers