Motor racing remains a predominantly male-dominated sport, but one dynamic young female driver is determined to change that. At just 24 years old, Nicole Donker-Torres, a social worker from Gauteng, has set out to create greater awareness, excitement and interest in motorsport amongst young girls and women.
“Theo Vermaak, my business partner, and I had an idea to start a single-seater series just for women. We decided to build new cars with women in mind and promote women in motorsport, which is something I’m very passionate about,” Donker-Torres says.
Making her Simola Hillclimb debut in 2026, she comes from a motor racing family with her father, Graham Donker, having raced everything from karts to Formula M single-seaters, Polo Cup and classic Minis. As a result, it’s no surprise that Nicole and her brother, Tyron, have followed suit.
“With my dad racing I was at the track from when I was just a couple of weeks old, so it’s always been part of my life,” she says. “I started in karting, and then moved on to main circuit. I know I’ll never be the next best thing, but I want to give a girl a chance who could well be.
“Our intention is to get young girls into racing from an early age, and the car needs to be affordable and attainable, not something that you need a big wallet for. So, we started building this car, a 2025 Forza 3H Formula Vee. It’s called ‘Rosie’ and is bright pink. I don’t even really like pink, but I had to go with the theme of the car and our goal of appealing to young girls,” she says.
With the car build in progress, the discussion then moved to what the best platform would be to launch the project. The answer was simple, and it was the Simola Hillclimb which the duo has eagerly followed. “We entered before we even had the car finished. We had an idea, and it was fantastic to have our entry application accepted and to ultimately be here,” she says.
Donker-Torres and Vermaak both competed in the Single Seater, Sports Car and Sports Prototypes category of King of the Hill. ‘Rosie’ is powered by Volkswagen’s turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, while Vermaak’s 2020 Forza uses a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder VW engine. He races in the Formula Vee South African championship.
“I think the Simola Hillclimb is something to be respected, not underestimated. This is completely different to circuit racing,” she says. “In a normal race you have eight or 10 laps, whereas here it’s just a single run every time you go out. The challenge is much greater, and it adds to the thrill of the event.”
The 2026 Simola Hillclimb was the first time that Donker-Torres drove the car properly, as it was only completed a couple of days before the event. Adding to the challenge, she had previously only done about five laps last year in another Formula Vee.
Although she had to contend with gear selection issues on the opening day of King of the Hill, she wrapped up the car’s high-profile debut with a best qualifying time of 52.516 seconds, placing her fourth in class C1, less than 1.5 seconds off a top three time that would have slotted her into the Class Finals.
“The Simola Hillclimb weekend was absolutely awesome. It is such an amazing experience, with a brilliant atmosphere and energy. I love the interaction with the crowd, and had young girls getting so excited about the car because it is pink and I’m a girl. Having so many of them getting in the car, having their pictures taken and saying that they want to go racing too is amazing,” she says. “After one of my runs, coming back down the hill I could hear people shouting, ‘Go Rosie’, which is just incredible.
“Next year our Forza Women’s Single Seaters series is going to be up and running. Maybe we’ll come back to the Simola Hillclimb with this car, or we’ll bring something else, but I definitely want to come back again.”
