Marie with her Aseptogyl-sponsored Hemicuda in 1974
Marie
Laurent was a French driver who was most known for her membership of Team Aseptogyl, and her performances on-track in a Chrysler Hemicuda in the 1970s.
She
first appears on the entry lists in 1970, competing in hillclimbs, although details
of this are sketchy. Her car was a Simca.
Next,
she raced on the circuits, winning the French Simca Challenge in 1971. Her car
was a CG Proto. Early in the season, she raced the car in some rounds of the
Championnat des Circuits in France, finishing fifth at Albi, and tenth in the
Coupe de Printemps at Montlhéry. As well as providing her with her first
championship, the Challenge brought her into contact with Jean-Claude Géral,
the 1970 winner, who sold her a 1970 Hemi-engined Plymouth Barracuda, known as
a Hemicuda and used to great effect by the French Chrysler team. The pair raced the car together at least
once, at Magny-Cours, during a round of the Championnat des Circuits. Driving solo, later in the season, she was
third at Paul Ricard and second at Montlhéry in the Hemicuda, behind Géral both
times.
In
1972, she drove the enormous, 7000cc Hemicuda in the Championnat des Circuits.
Although she was unable to match the dominant sportscars of the series, she was
one of the front-runners in Group 6 and the National section. She won at least
one race, the Coupe de Salon on the old Montlhéry circuit, and was second in at
least one other, behind Frank Alesi in a Chevrolet Camaro. As well as the
Championnat, she competed in hillclimbs, finishing second in class at Mont
Ventoux and third overall at Chamrousse, in the Hemicuda.
The
results for the National part of the 1973 Championnat des Circuits are proving
very hard to find. It seems likely that Marie raced the Hemicuda in at least
some of the rounds. Hillclimbing was definitely still on her agenda, and she
competed at Ampus in a Ford Capri, finishing in 39th place.
For the
first part of 1974, she was once more one of the front-runners in the
Championnat des Circuits. She was second in the Group 1 race at Montlhéry,
fourth at Nogaro, then second again at Montlhéry, after a battle with
Marie-Claude Beaumont and Henri Greder, both in Opel Commodores. Apart from one
more non-finish at Montlhéry, her season in the series ended there. The
Hemicuda was not the force it once was, compared to the Alfa Romeos and Opel
Commodores that now dominated. She was tenth in the championship.
Despite
the big American car being a little outdated on the circuits, it still remained
competitive on the hills. This year, Marie competed in hillclimbs as part of
Team Aseptogyl, Bob Neyret’s all-female, toothpaste-promoting rally and race
team. For the Tour de France, she paired up with another Aseptogyl driver,
Marianne Hoepfner, in an Alpine A310. They were thirteenth, and won the Coupe
des Dames.
In
June, she was part of another all-female team, for Le Mans this time. She was
part of Christine Beckers’ Ecurie Seiko Scato, sponsored by a watch firm. The
other team members were Christine Beckers herself, and Yvette Fontaine, both
Belgian. Their car was a Chevron B23. They were seventeenth, and won the 2000cc
class, which was the best finish for an all-female team since the 1930s.
After
1974, she raced less frequently. Despite her success, she did not return to Le
Mans, and Team Aseptogyl concentrated more on rallying as the 1970s progressed.
She took part in some occasional road races and hillclimbs, in different cars.
In 1977, she was 29th in the Ronde Cévenole, driving an Alpine 1300.
The latest result available for her is a 20th place in the 1979 Mont
Dore hillclimb. Unusually, she was in a single-seater, a Ralt RT1.
Some
time around then, she married Jean-Pierre Gabreau, another racing driver, and
had a daughter. She died in 2015, at the age of 71, after having been ill for a
long time.
(Image
from http://club.caradisiac.com/motor-head)
Wow! She seemed like quite the racer. I love reading about the early women, and wish I could sit down with more of them to listen to their stories. It must have been so different then that it is for the ladies out here now.
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