CLARE VALE
Clare Vale is a director of The Truck Man in Boksburg, dealers in used trucks and trailers for over 25 years. She was previously a director of new truck franchises in Cape Town.
In 2010, she was appointed as a Road Safety Ambassador for the Road Safety Foundation and in 2011 was appointed as Chairperson of the Women in Road Safety Forum. She was the Regional Winner (SADC Region) – Sport at the Most Influential Women in Business and Government Awards, 2014. Clare has also been a brand ambassador for Continental Tyre South Africa’s Vision Zero road safety campaign. She is a member of the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists and enjoys writing about road safety, motorsport and reviewing commercial vehicles.
Clare was a finalist in the Motoring Women of the Year Awards 2024, in the category of Women in Motorsport. She is a well-known motorsport competitor, and is a past President of Motorsport South Africa’s Women in Motorsport panel.
Clare won her first race during the Springbok series at Cape Town’s Killarney circuit in 2006, racing a Shelby Can-Am sports car. She has raced in the national Shelby Can-Am series as well in Production Cars Class A, in a Subaru STI. She has also raced a Porsche 917 in the International Sports Prototype class, finishing 2nd in the Championship in 2011 despite missing a number of races.
At Kyalami in November 2007, Clare Vale became the first lady racer to race in the premier national WesBank V8 Supercar series. In March of 2009 at the WesBank V8 race at Kyalami, she became the first lady racer to start on pole as well as lead a V8 race. Clare also became the first lady racer to have a podium finish in WesBank V8 Supercar history: at the historic East London Grand Prix circuit Clare finished a podium 3rd place in October 2010.
She is also an accomplished driver in the motorsport discipline of drifting, becoming the first female driver to participate in the national Supadrift Series. Her Black Art Racing Mustang produces serious muscle, 800hp and 450kW of naturally aspirated power. The Black Art Racing Team has also developed a turbo charged Subaru BRZ, which Clare drives in events such as Hill Climbs, Drift City and the international Gymkhana Grid event.
She has taken on the Ann Van Dyk Cheetah Centre – De Wildt as a personal cause and has been nominated twice for the Colin Watling Award for service to motorsport.
In 2024, Clare will be competing with in the Simola Hillclimb with the Subaru BRZ. As a member of the Knysna Hillclimb Ladies’ Team, she will raise funds for the Knysna Sedgefield Hospice.
Together with her team mates, she finished fourth in the ILamuna 9 Hour endurance race at Red Star Raceway in March 2024, racing a VW Golf Mk1, having placed second in the ILamuna 24 Hour endurance race in October 2022. The team will race their Golf in the 2024 24 Hours of ILamuna again in November this year.
Clare will be competing with her Ford Mustang in the Driftmasters SA series, and is also planning to race a Nissan bakkie in some regional off-road races.
