For motorsport fans, certain names echo long after the engines fall silent — and Michèle Mouton is one of them. Long before hashtags and highlight reels, she was out on the world’s toughest rally stages, dust in her wake, proving something the sport wasn’t quite ready to hear: she was fast, fearless, and fully capable of beating the best. Now, at last, her story is getting the screen treatment it deserves.
A Pioneer in a Male-Dominated World
Long before the world began asking when we’d finally see a woman shine in Formula 1 or the WRC, Michèle Mouton was already doing it. Born in 1951 in the hills of Grasse, she climbed the motorsport ranks at a time when young girls were rarely encouraged to climb into go-karts — a gap that experts say still limits female participation in elite racing today, according to the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.
Yet Mouton broke through. Her raw speed caught the attention of Audi in 1981, who handed her the keys to the formidable Quattro Sport Groupe 4 at the dawn of the legendary and terrifying Group B era.
By the following season, she wasn’t just competing — she was beating her teammates, including future world champion Hannu Mikkola and rally star Stig Blomqvist. And she rattled the establishment. Walter Röhrl famously admitted he “didn’t want to be beaten by a woman,” while Ari Vatanen confidently claimed he never would be… until Mouton outran him at San Remo in 1981.
A Legendary 1982 Season Worthy of Television
Now, HBO and France Télévisions are teaming up to bring her extraordinary journey to the screen in a four-part mini-series titled Rallye 82. With actress Ana Girardot playing Mouton, the show will recount the pivotal 1982 World Rally Championship season — one that saw her nearly clinch the world title, missing out by just 12 points after a heartbreaking mechanical failure and the personal tragedy of losing her father.
According to the producers, the series will explore her meteoric rise “in a world where she had to prove herself at every turn” and showcase one of the most thrilling chapters in motorsport history.
A Major International Release
The series is slated for a 2026 release, premiering first on HBO before airing free-to-watch on France Télévisions. For long-time fans of rally racing — and for anyone who simply loves an underdog story — it promises to be required viewing.
Michèle Mouton didn’t just compete with the greatest drivers of her era; she changed the way the sport sees women. And now, millions of viewers will finally get to see why.
