The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the most famous sports car endurance race in the world and to win it is the pinnacle of success for any endurance driver. Run since 1923, the race is a test of both car and driver. It tests the driver's ability and his/her stamina as well as the durability of the car over a winding eight mile road course which includes the Mulsanne straight allowing drivers to reach speeds in excess of 200mph

In June, when the 165 drivers lined up in the town center for the traditional drivers' parade, one person stood out more than the rest. For the second consecutive year, 28-year old UK-based Californian Liz Halliday was the sole female representative on the grid for the round-the-clock race as she sought to attain her goal of winning Le Mans driving a 700 hp LMP2 Courage race car. "I feel privileged to be able to compete at Le Mans . It is really the big one and has such a long, illustrious history behind it. It's cool to be the only woman in the race, but when I am on the track it's not a case of me being a woman racing against the men, it is a case of going out and competing as professionally as I can."

In addition to several podium finishes, Liz has the most wins for a female in the American Le Mans Series with six. She was voted "Rookie of the Year" by experts from www.dailysportscar.com in 2005 and was presented with the prestigious "Opportunity Award" by the Lynn St. James Foundation. Because of her success and the fact that she has raced at Le Mans three times, she has obtained the respect of her fellow drivers and gained confidence even though she is the only woman in the race.

Le Mans , like all endurance races, demands physical strength, stamina and balance. Each driver remains in the cockpit during several "stints" or stages, the duration of which may be as long as three hours in heat over 100 degrees, subjected to gravitational forces, or "Gs", as high as 4+. "Your neck isn't inherently as strong as a man's," says Liz "and your upper body, as a female driver, is something that you have to accept that physiologically is not equal to a man's. You have to say 'I'm going to make myself equal.'" In order to prepare herself to tolerate these conditions, Liz works with a personal trainer three days a week, rides her three horses as well as runs, sculls, or kick boxes to improve her cardiovascular conditioning.

Hoping to better last year's fourth in class finish, Liz and her teammates had a solid start and were running a strong second, then advanced to first with a brilliant stint by Liz. At 12 hours into the race, the car developed gearbox problems forcing it into the pits. After an hour, the initial problem was corrected, but the team had lost track position. When Liz returned to the controls, she says "the car felt great and I was able to move up the field. After my first pit stop, the car developed a leak spraying oil on the back tires and causing me to loose handling, narrowly missing the wall by about an inch." Unfortunately, the team was forced to retire the car 17 hours into the race.

Although disappointed, Liz is undaunted in her dream to win Le Mans and looks forward to celebrating the win by spraying champagne on the podium winners and crowd, a race tradition began at Le Mans by Dan Gurney in 1967.

If winning Le Mans was not a lofty goal in itself, Liz is also an accomplished equestrian in Three-Day Eventing with another mighty ambition; to claim a place on the US Olympic equestrian team. When not racing, Liz and her three horses compete in high level events in England , Spain , and France . Eventing or Horse Trials is the triathlon of the equestrian world as it tests both the rider and horse in their ability to compete in the three phases which include Dressage, Cross-country, and Show Jumping.

"Everyone thinks I am mad to have this twin sporting focus in my life. However, both are high adrenalin and dangerous and they do compliment each other. The cars demand focus, accuracy and strength. In Eventing it's the same but the horses, as well as the rider, must possess these attributes in order for the two to work as a successful partnership."