The first noticeable thing about Balba Camino is her tremendous vitality. This thirty-two-year-old Madrillian� has energy seeping through every single pore in her body: when she speaks, when she moves and when she is racing cars.

The only woman in all the Spanish GT Championship drivers this season and in the Repsol team, Balba Camino has been competing on four wheels since she was fourteen years old, and for the past four years has been running a sports marketing and promoting business along with her team mate Miguel �ngel de Castro, who is from �vila.

What�s more, she is the only woman in the world who has won an open GT championship, the first woman to win three open championships in speed racing, the youngest female driver to have achieved a victory and a pole position in a national or international championship, and the first Spanish to have achieved a victory. Her list of achievements is without doubt impressive.

Balba isn�t a very common name, is it?

My real name is Balbaluz, it is the name of a Romanesque virgin from the 11th Century from the Valle del Pas, in Santander, which is where my father�s family comes from.

How old were you when you started driving for the first time?

My father has always been very involved in the car world. He has a racing team and also a driving school, and although at home we have always lived with the racing world close-at-hand, the truth is that I was not particularly�interested in cars. That was until, when I was fourteen, I wanted to learn how to drive and I enrolled on a course at my father�s school on the Jarama Circuit. From that day on, driving is the thing that I most like in the world.

When did you decide to devote yourself to competing and why?

The first time I competed in a races I was seventeen years old. It took place in the RACE and was a classic sports car race. I drove in that race and in another, and the following season, still being seventeen, I decided to take part in the Spanish Formula Fiat Championship and also in the Spanish Classic Sports Car Championship. Each championship was comprised of seven races and on the same day two races were celebrated, one from each event.

So I did the trials with one car, I got out of the car and everybody was waiting for me on the starting grid for the first race. I always had to start off with the Classic Sports Cars and the sponsors were not the same as those of the second race, so I had to take off the first race�s sponsors publicity from my overalls and put that of the second race�s sponsors whilst running towards the grid. I did this for two years, I raced in two back-to-back championships and I won the Spanish Classic Car Championship twice.

And what came after such an intense start to your career?

When I was 15 years old, I was already sure that I wanted to devote myself to car racing. I started looking for economic support which took time; I couldn�t afford to do this myself, therefore, as soon as I found a sponsor I started racing, which was when I was sixteen. I am very stubborn, when something comes to mind I don�t stop until I achieve it.

I started working on the presentation of sponsor dossiers, as well as taking charge of the team�s communication... I didn�t concentrate solely on being a driver, but rather preferred to work in depth on team tasks so that we could sell it better afterwards. Now it�s different, if someone wants to start racing and looks like they have the potential to be a good racer, there always appears a manager who is prepared to take charge of this type of work. However, before it was much more difficult and one had to work hard to find this type of support.

Then, in 1992, my sporting career took a big step forward as I went from racing in beginners� championships to doing so in our country�s most important championship of that time, which was the �Campeonato de Espa�a de Turismos� (Spanish Car Championship). In that year, I raced the whole year and then, in 1993, I took part in several races. I have participated in many trials, but for me it was very special to win the Spanish GT Championship title in the year 2000.

You are the only woman in the Championship, what does this mean when it comes down to competing?

Very few times in my life have I coincided with another woman whilst racing. This year there are two women racing in the GT World Championship and I have raced against the other girl a couple of times, but there are very few women competing in this event.

From time to time you can notice the difference which exists between men and women, above all when you are just starting out. After that you make a space for yourself and you get used to seeing yourself in front, behind or wherever. At the start you�re the new girl and you place yourself in an unknown world, which may turn out good or bad but you are still classed as being a bit of an odd-ball. I can say now that I don�t notice any difference. Perhaps the comments made by other women, who support me, even though their husbands may be competing in the same race, do make me realise the differences.

How do you see the level of the other drivers this season?

This year there is everything, very good drivers, novices... We have only carried out one trial as of yet, but the level is improving race by race and is going to improve even more. For us it is a challenge as we are competing with a car which have started from scratch with.

We have to improve with each race and in this sense, the fact that there is a good standard of driving helps us. SEAT manufactured� the car last year, we did one race with it and now we are starting the season, therefore, little by little we will be making progress. It is a very nice job, very exciting. You can see how the car is coming along from it leaving the factory until you manage to win, which is what�we all�look for at the end of the day.

Have you raced on this years� circuits before? On which one do you feel most comfortable racing?

I have raced on all of this years� circuits and the truth is that I feel at ease on all of them. I think that it�s important to think this way because, if you don�t, you limit yourself. On the Jarama circuit it is almost as if I were at home; I also like Estoril, Valencia, Albacete. However, if I had to choose one, I would have to say Jerez and Catalonia.

The latter, not only do I like the track, but also the people who work there. They are in constant evolution, always looking for new formulae and are concerned about having the latest technology. You can see that they have a passionate enthusiasm for what they do. On the Jerez Circuit the people are very friendly, they make our job very easy and there are no problems with anything.

Tell us about the businees you run with Miguel �ngel de Castro

Initially, it was based on a training project for young drivers. Both Miguel �ngel and I were very centred on sponsorship. We wanted to bring what we had learnt during the years we have been in the car world to drivers who were just starting out.

Since then, we have widened or scope. We are doing more and more things because the people who work with us are talented in many fields and want to make the most of this advantage. Now we help those who are starting out on their sporting career, we put teams in contact with sponsors...

We also work with driving schools, product trials for car makes, presentations to the Press or public. We carry out the project, development and all that that that specific activity encompasses.

What hobbies do you have away from the circuits?

I like everything! I enjoy so many things that I cannot devote enough time to all things that I would like to do. I love sports, above all mountain biking, trekking, high mountains, swimming, the marathon and any sport which involves taking risks.

In order to avoid�having an accident which may interfere with my season, I prefer not to practice some of these sports. I treat these sports like a training session and, as I like to keep myself motivated, instead of running, I race. In the process I manage to maintain a constant level of training. I also love the cinema, the theatre, photography...

How would you define yourself?

As a person, I would define myself as being somewhat of a perfectionist, as I have always been. I am also very competitive and stubborn. When I think of something, I have to do it or at least try to do so. This is important in all sports. I also consider myself as being happy, I am a very cheerful person, I try to look for the positive side of all aspects of life.