Female Drivers in the Spa 24 Hours, up to 1973

Elyane Imbert and Simone des Forest with their Porsche in 1953

The Spa 24 Hours has been in existence for almost as long as Le Mans, having begun the year after, in 1924. Pre-war, no female drivers made it on to the grid. 

Initially, it was a race for sports racing cars. After 1949, it did not run for a few seasons, but reappeared in 1953 as a round of the World Sportscar Championship. Following another long hiatus, it became a race for touring cars in 1964, Between 1966 and 1973, it was a round of the European Touring Car Championship. 

Listed below are the results for every female driver in the Spa 24 Hours, up to 1973. As ever, in the case of a mixed team, the woman's name comes first, for clarity. More posts will follow with the rest of the results.

1949

Yvonne Simon/Germaine Rouault (Delahaye-Delage) – 11^th (1^st in 4000cc class)

1953

Annie Bousquet/Gilberte Thirion (Fiat 1100) – 16^th

Elyane Imbert/Simone des Forest (Porsche 356 Super 1500) – disqualified

Joyce Leavens/Barry Leavens (Jowett Javelin) – DNF

1964

Claudine Bouchet/Ada Pace (Lancia Flaminia) – DNF

1966

Yvette Fontaine/Nicole Sol (Alfa Romeo 1300 TI) – 19^th

1967

Christine Beckers/Marie-Claude Beaumont (NSU 1000 TTS) – 24^th

Natalie Goodwin/Cyril Williams (Ford Lotus Cortina) – N/C

Yvette Fontaine/Jean-Marie Lagae (Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA) – DNF

Nicole Sol/Tom Sol (Ford Lotus Cortina) – DNF

1968

Christine Beckers/Nicole Sol (Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina) – 23^rd

1969

Yvette Fontaine/John Fitzpatrick (Ford Escort TC) – 11^th

Liane Engeman/Bob Wollek (Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina) – 13^th

Hannelore Werner/Ferfried von Hohenzollern (BMW 1600) – DNF

Christine Beckers/Jacques Demoulin (Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA) – DNF

1970

Christine Beckers/Liane Engeman (Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm) – DNF

1971

Liane Engeman/Christine Beckers (BMW 2800) – DNF

Yvette Fontaine/Hans Akersloot (Ford Escort RS 1600) – DNF

Gabriel Konig/Marie-Claude Beaumont (Chevrolet Camaro) – DNF

1972

Christine Beckers/Jean-Claude Sola (Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV) – 15^th

Yvette Fontaine/Gillian Fortescue-Thomas (Ford Escort RS 1600) – DNF

Jenny Dell/Dennis Thorne (Ford Escort TC) – did not qualify

1973

Christine Beckers/Huub Vermeulen/Patrick Neve (Opel Commodore GS/E) – 7^th

Yvette Fontaine/Frans Lubin (Ford Escort RS 1600) – DNF

(Image copyright Mike Copperthwaite)