Susanne Callin, a two-time European champion in Top Fuel drag racing, describes competing in this extreme motorsport as akin to being shot out of a cannon. The sport features cars reaching over 300mph in just four seconds and experiencing more g-force than astronauts during launch. Women dominate the field, winning seven out of nine recent European Championships and holding past world speed records. In contrast, women are scarce in elite Formula 1 competitions. Top Fuel drag racing stands out for its gender equality, with women comprising about 20% of participants this year compared to just 4% across all motorsports.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Like "being shot out of a cannon" is the closest comparison that driver Susanne Callin can come up with for the extreme motorsport she competes in.
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she → shoot → motorsport
She is a two-time European champion in Top Fuel drag racing - often described as the fastest sport on the planet.
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She → describe → planet
Races begin with a bone-shaking roar, as the world's fastest-accelerating cars leave the starting line, flames bursting out of their exhaust pipes.
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flames → begin → pipes
The cars surge to more than 300mph (483km/h) in races that last just four seconds, with drivers experiencing more g-force than an astronaut launching into space.
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drivers → surge → space
It is the only elite class of motorsport where women frequently beat men to major titles.
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women → beat → titles
Women have won seven out of the past nine European Championships, while, until recently, female US driver Brittany Force held the world speed record in the sport.
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Force → win → sport
In comparison, it is 50 years since a woman even competed in a Formula 1 Grand Prix race.
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woman → compete → race
Women account for about 10% of participants across motorsport, and just 4% of elite drivers, according to campaign group More Than Equal.
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Women → account → Equal
However, they made up 20% of the drivers competing in this year's US and European Top Fuel seasons.
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they → make → seasons
So why is this high-velocity motorsport bucking the trend?
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motorsport → buck → trend
More Than Equal has described drag racing as "the most gender-equal motorsport in the world".
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More → describe → world
Top Fuel is its most extreme form, named in reference to the powerful nitromethane fuel the cars run on.
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cars → name → fuel
Races take place on a straight track, just 1,000 feet (305 metres) long.
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Races → take → track
Usually, two cars race each other.
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cars → race → other
The intense g-force hits in the first second of the race, as the cars go from stationary to 100mph, with a second gut punch following as the clutch fully engages about half-way through.
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clutch → hit → mph
It can look terrifying.
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It → look → ?
The adrenalin rush is "extremely addictive", Swedish driver Callin, aged 43, tells BBC Global Women.
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Callin → tell → Women
Concern over the risks "is always there" she says, but "the safety really does work".
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safety → say → risks
Drivers are highly protected and safety precautions have been boosted further after fatal crashes in nitromethane-fuelled cars in 2004 and 2008, with races reduced in length.
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races → protect → length
Even just watching from the stands is a visceral experience, with vibrations shaking your body and the ground.
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vibrations → watch → body
Spectators are advised to wear ear defenders - the noise is comparable in decibels to standing next to a fighter jet taking off.
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noise → advise → jet
The highest official speed ever reached in a Top Fuel drag race is over 346mph, compared to 231mph in a Formula 1 Grand Prix.
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speed → reach → Prix
Brakes alone cannot slow the cars fast enough, so parachutes are deployed from the car's rear at the finish.
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parachutes → slow → finish
The abrupt halt is "like someone kicking you in the chest", says Callin.
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Callin → kick → chest
"You lose your breath."
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You → lose → breath
Top Fuel drivers need lightning-fast reactions and the physical endurance to withstand the intense forces.
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drivers → need → forces
Precision driving skills are crucial as constant tiny adjustments are needed to keep the car on track.
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adjustments → need → track
"It has to be instant reactions with everything," says Callin.
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Callin → have → everything
"By the time you've thought about it, it's too late…
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it → think → it
You really have to be one with the car."
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You → have → car
And drivers need sheer guts.
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drivers → need → guts
As Callin's rival and friend, 32-year-old Swiss driver Jndia Erbacher, jokingly tells the BBC - it takes "balls".
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it → tell → balls
Callin clinched her second successive European Top Fuel title in September at the Santa Pod drag strip near Northampton.
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Callin → clinch → Northampton
It is the fourth year in a row that a female driver has won the title.
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driver → win → title
Meanwhile in the US, the record-setting Brittany Force won the US championship - run by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) - in both 2017 and 2022.
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Force → set → 2017
Drag racing is "highly unusual" among motorsports, says Fran Longstaff, chief innovation officer at More Than Equal, which supports and campaigns for women in motorsports.
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which → say → motorsports
Seeing women competing and winning in the sport has become "normalised rather than treated as exceptional", she says, including with "sustained success" in Top Fuel.
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she → see → Fuel
Research she co-led into why drag racing leads the way for equality in motorsport did not identify physical or biological factors, she says.
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she → co → factors
Instead, she points to a "continuous stream of visible female role models", as well as the sport's "accessible grassroots structure, junior programmes, open pits and family-oriented, collaborative culture".
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she → point → models
In drag racing, points out Callin, women started winning major races "decades and decades ago".
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women → point → races
…and 47 more, not listed.
The Aporia
