Natascha Zaugg

Natascha Zaugg (born 1 November 1972 in Innsbruck, Austria) is an austrian racing driver who owns the Zeroforce team. She has driven in the Life GP Series, Alternate CART, RoLFS and the RTCC.

Life GP Series (1991 - 1993)

1991

She became Zeroforce's test driver when the team entered the Life GP Series in mid 1991, bringing her own sponsor with her. She made her debut on the 13th round of the calendar, at Silverstone, managing to sneak to 6th until her suspension gave up on the last lap. After this little achievement for her first official race, she would race for two more rounds without notable results.

1992

She scored her first point in the 1992 Life GP Belgian round, where she had been battling for fourth before retiring. In her last race in 1992, she managed to get another point, and ended 39th in the standings with 2 points.

1993

In 1993, Zeroforce decided to not retain Rockets to Russia's Algernon Bell due to financial problems, Zaugg promoted herself to the race seat but it quickly became evident that the car and herself weren't fast enough to score points on a regular basis. Despite earning her then career best fifth place in Brazil, the car was soon dropped to the prequalifying lot. Even worse, she was declared Reject of the Race at Mosport after an awkward crash. This may have been the wake up call she needed, as she started to improve with a two points finishes in a row, and a second place in Poland. Her first victory took place at the French Grand Prix, with the help of massive attrition. However, it didn't seem to be a fluke as she won the next round in Namibia, making her an outsider in the title hunt. Now constantly qualifying around the top of the grid, she was starting to become a major threat in the championship when she won the Indonesian round and scored the fastest lap as the track was drying up. Her momentum then died on the next two races, as she failed to make it to the chequered flag on each occasion. She remained in contention for the title at the season finale in Macau. James Davies and Vic Sunset retired early in the race, ending the latter's title chances. To win the title, Natascha needed to win the race. Leading didn't seem to be a problem but staying on the black stuff in the narrow streets of Macau was painful. She damaged her front wing on many occasions, forcing her to stop for repairs multiple times. On lap 16, her aggressive approach probably cost her the victory and the title as she knocked her rear wing off, leading to her retirement and making James Davies the only two times Life Grand Prix Series champion. The series came to an end and she finished 3rd in the final standings with 3 victories, 2 fastest laps and 44 points.

Rejects-1 World Championship

1994

Following her good 1993 season, Natascha signed a pre-contract with Mackenzie Finacial for the inaugural season of the Rejects-1 World Championship. However, at the beginning of 1994, the team instead signed Rachel Graham and Christopher Arthurs, forcing the Austrian to look for a seat elsewhere. A few weeks later, she signed with Foster's Good Call Racing to partner Jose Braggia in the number 2 Rial ARC2.

Alternative CART (2002)

Natascha signed a three races contract with Michael Bright Racing when they decided to run a fourth car for a few rounds. She would later come back with Zeroforce in a Opel rebadged Holden engine powering a Swift chassis. The Grand Prix of Miami was rather successfull for her as she started from pole position and finished fifth. Montreal was another good race, after fighting with Sébastien Bourdais, Zaugg finished third and earned her first podium in the series. The 2003 Alternative CART was cancelled, leaving Natascha with no other real option than going to race touring cars in Europe.

Reject Touring Cars Championship (2016)

Natascha attempted to resurrect the Zeroforce team to race in the new GTR World Championship series. The team wasn't selected and lost their long time sponsor Repsol. With what was left from the budget, Zaugg entered the team in the RRC and RTCC. She gave both drives to norwegian rally ace Ståle Øivind Røsbjørgen who brought major sponsorship with him. She returned behind the racing wheel when the RTCC put a ban on double dutying, replacing Røsbjørgen who focused on the RRC.