Susanne Callin reflects on second European Top Fuel title in BBC report

Susanne Callin has described her second consecutive European Top Fuel championship as a major achievement in a new BBC report examining women's success in drag racing. The Swedish driver secured the title at Santa Pod near Northampton in September, making it the fourth successive year that a woman had won the championship, according to the broadcaster.

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The BBC reported that women have taken seven of the past nine European titles and accounted for 20% of competitors across this year's European and US Top Fuel seasons. Campaign group More Than Equal estimates that women represent about 10% of participants across motorsport and only 4% of elite drivers, figures that underline the different competitive picture in drag racing.

Callin, 43, told BBC Global Women that she had never felt underestimated or badly treated because she was a woman in the sport. She grew up around racing through her father and uncle, both competitors, but stepped away for more than a decade to raise her daughter and stepdaughters. Her career gathered momentum after she returned at 35, and her father remains involved in her team.

More Than Equal's chief innovation officer, Fran Longstaff, attributed drag racing's stronger female representation to factors including established role models, junior programmes and a supportive family culture. She said research she co-led did not identify physical or biological explanations. The BBC also highlighted cooperation between competitors: Swiss driver Jndia Erbacher offered Callin spare parts after damage to her car during last year's championship.

The sport's history includes Shirley Muldowney, who became the first woman to win the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977 before adding titles in 1980 and 1982. Brittany Force won the US championship in 2017 and 2022. In Europe, Finland's Anita Mäkelä has claimed four championships, three after a six-year break devoted to her children and the family's chicken farm, the BBC reported.

Top Fuel races cover a straight 1,000-foot track, with cars exceeding 300mph and deploying parachutes to slow down after the finish. Callin acknowledged the risks despite the protection provided by modern safety measures. Having retained her European championship, she said her next ambition was a third consecutive title, extending a career she successfully resumed after a long period away.