Speedqueens

Female Drivers in the 2011 Wales Rally GB

2011-11-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

Becky Kirvan in action

The finale of this year's World Rally Championship concluded on Sunday, and was won by Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala in a Ford Fiesta.

A couple of speedqueens took part in the rally this year: Australian Molly Taylor, driving a Ford Fiesta with Seb Marshall, dropped out on Stage 17, which gifted the Ladies' Cup to Becky Kirvan, who was 39th.

Despite Molly's non-finish, she was still able to claim fifth in the WRC Academy class, after winning one stage.

Becky was co-driven by Will Rogers, and was also driving a Ford Fiesta.

In the National B event, the fastest female driver was Sara Williams, who was 17th overall. She was driving a Subaru Impreza with Patrick Walsh.

(Picture from http://www.beckykirvan.co.uk/)

Hazel Dunham

2011-11-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hazel Dunham was the daughter of Gerry Dunham, a gentleman racer who had competed in non-championship Grands Prix and many club races, sometimes in his own Alvis special. Hazel appears to have begun her motorsport career in a Rover, which could have been Gerry’s Rover Special, although it is unlikely. She did not share any of his other cars.
Hazel competed in both circuit racing and rallying, achieving some success in both fields. She really put herself on the rally map in 1952, winning Coupes des Dames on the Tulip and RAC Rallies, driving the Rover. Her first award, on the RAC Rally, was in the Closed Car class. Her second was an outright ladies’ trophy. It is possible that she entered some British events prior to this, but the results are not forthcoming.
She continued to rally the Rover in 1953, and is listed as an entrant in the Monte Carlo Rally, although she did not win any awards this time, and may not have finished. The following year, she seems to have switched to an AC, and crashed out of the Stella Alpina. This appears to have been her last major rally.
In 1955, she moved from the stages to the circuits, driving an AC Ace that may have been the same car she rallied in 1954. She entered three races at Goodwood, all Ladies’ events. Her results were a third and two seconds, against tough opposition in the form of Jean Bloxam, Nancy Mitchell and Patsy Burt.
The following season, she continued to base her activities around Goodwood. The AC had now been exchanged for an MGA. Her first race, a ladies’ handicap, gave her a cautious fourth place, but her first big mixed handicap, later that day, led to a runner-up spot behind Mike Sleep. These positions were repeated in her next meeting, in July. After that, she ventured across to Crystal Palace in August, where she was fifth in an Invitation Handicap, and second in a Ladies’ Handicap, behind Jean Bloxam, a close contemporary.
Hazel’s last recorded outing is at Goodwood in September of that year. She was third in a mixed handicap and won her first Ladies’ race, ahead of Beatrice Naylor in her Lagonda.
After that, Hazel’s name vanishes from the entry lists. Her father retires at around the same time. It is not known whether Hazel retired completely, or married and continued to compete under another name. She was rather an enigmatic driver, and no reliable, widely available photographs exist of her. Although her career was rather short, she showed considerable skill and deserves to be remembered.
This short biographical post is a work-in-progress. If you have any information about Hazel, please get in touch.

Maria de Villota

2011-11-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Maria with the Atletico Madrid Superleague car

Maria de Villota was born in Madrid in 1980, the daughter of Emilio de Villota. From the ages of sixteen to twenty, she raced karts in Spain, after having won the first race she ever entered.

Her first experience of senior motorsport came from Formula Toyota in Spain, in 2001. She apparently won at least two races at Albacete and Valencia, although the details are not forthcoming.

After a year of learning the ropes, she drove in the Spanish F3 championship between 2002 and 2005. During her first season, she was tenth, and thirteenth and twelfth positions in 2003 and 2004 must have been something of a disappointment. Both years, her best finish was fifth, earned at Jerez and Jarama respectively. In 2005, she switched down to the Copa Espana, and only drove in the first two rounds at Jarama, scoring a twelfth and a DNF.

After that, Maria left single-seaters for a while. Her main activity in 2005 appears to have been the Trofeo Pirelli Ferrari Challenge in Europe. Her car was a Ferrari 430 and she was part of the Baron Motorsport team with Tamara Vidali. The two shared a car for part of the season. Results for this series are rather fragmented, but Maria and Tamara were eighth and ninth in the championship, following some solid results. Away from Europe, she also drove in that year’s Daytona 24 Hours, with Luca Drudi, Luis Monzon and Gabrio Rosa. They were 24th in a Ferrari 360 Modena.

Maria continued in the Ferrari Challenge in 2006, and she managed a pole position at the final at Mugello, plus at least one top-five finish. She was eleventh overall.

In 2006, she made her first World Touring Car appearance, driving a Maurer Motorsport Chevrolet Lacetti. Driving for the Valencia meeting, she was 21st in her first race and did not finish the second. She repeated this exercise in 2007, finishing eighteenth and twentieth.

A major part of her 2007 season was taken up with the ADAC Procar championship in Germany, driving the Maurer Lacetti. Here, Maria fared much better, with a win and seven other podiums, out of fifteen races. She was third in Division I. Ferraris had not been forgotten either; she drove a 360 Modena in six rounds of the Spanish GT championship for Playteam. Her best position was a fourth at Estoril, although she only managed 21st in the championship.

2008 was another mixed year. Returning to single-seaters, she drove one race in Euro F3000, finishing seventh at Spa. She also raced in the Italian Superstars Championship, in a Chevrolet Lacetti. Her results have not been forthcoming.

At the beginning of 2009, she took a step down to contest Formula Palmer Audi in the UK. She was not one of the frontrunners, and only managed 22nd due to quitting the championship after three rounds. Her best finish was seventh, at Silverstone. However, other opportunities came up, which she took. A guest spot in the Fiat 500 Abarth Trophy led to two retirements at Valencia, but more drives came her way.

Elsewhere, she competed in the Atletico Madrid car for the Superleague Formula. Her best finish was seventh at Jarama, and she was fifteenth overall, after three rounds.

The following season, she remained in Superleague, and improved her best result to fourth, at the Nurburgring. She also managed two other top-ten finishes at Magny-Cours and Brands Hatch: a sixth and a seventh.

Mid-season, she made a return to the Spanish GT Championship, for the Jarama and Albacete meetings. Her car was a Ferrari 430 GTS. At Jarama, she was third, and at Albacete, third and second. This was enough for seventh in the championship

In 2011, she stayed with the Superleague Formula. Atletico Madrid retained their entry, despite smaller grids and many more teams running as “national” rather than sports club concerns. Atletico Madrid only entered two rounds, Assen and Zolder, and were left in second to last place in the standings. Maria only managed a twelfth place, having crashed out in qualifying at Assen.

The big news this year was that Maria tested a Formula One car for the first time. In August, she drove a Lotus-Renault F1 car at Paul Ricard, in a serious test. The results have not been made public. Shortly afterwards, she did some demonstration laps in another Lotus at the World Series by Nissan meeting at Montmelo in October.

At the time of writing, it is possible that Maria will become the first female driver to drive in F1, in either an official test or race capacity, since Giovanna Amati in 1992.

(Picture from automobilsport.com)

Women drivers in Formula One tests since 1992

2011-10-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

1992 marks the last time that a female driver, Giovanna Amati, drove a contemporary Formula One car in a Grand Prix. Since then, other women racers have been linked with F1 drives, although none has ever materialised.

There have been a few women who have tested F1 machinery, however; in most cases, the tests were well-publicised, but in one case, their status remains unclear. Below are details of these F1 excursions.

Sarah Kavanagh—Irish racer Sarah’s name was linked with more than one active Formula One team in the early and mid-2000s. She may well have undertaken some testing laps for more than one team. Statements made by the teams themselves about her have been ambiguous or lacking, so it is hard to gauge exactly what the nature of the testing was. In 2001, she passed a fitness test organised by McLaren, and confirmed by team director Martin Whitmarsh stating that “there is nothing in the results that suggest that Sarah could not drive a Formula One car right away”. Driving tests at Pembrey followed, but these were done through the Carlin Formula Three team, and did not involve F1 machinery. Again, this was confirmed by a positive statement by team owner Trevor Carlin. The tests did not lead to a racing or development seat.

In 2004, she was linked to a testing and development drive for the Jordan team, following her performances in a Jordan in EuroBOSS. The deal was said to have collapsed at the last minute due to a lack of funding, or due to contractual issues. The Jordan team made no official communications relating to this deal. It is not known whether Sarah ever did test a current Jordan.

At the same time, she was linked to a very similar role at Jaguar, which was confirmed by the team themselves. She was offered a testing and development seat in return for a sufficient sponsorship package to allow her to compete in British F3 with Carlin, as preparation. The package was said to be in the £1 million range. Sarah and her management were unable or unwilling to raise the money, and the testing went no further.

Sarah Fisher - IRL regular Sarah definitely tested a then-current McLaren-Mercedes F1 car in 2002. The test, which was more of a demonstration, was carried out in the very public arena of a support slot for the US Grand Prix at the Indianapolis road circuit.

The test did not lead to any further test laps, and was done more for publicity purposes than as genuine driver assessment. At the time, Sarah was one of the IRL’s most popular drivers, and Formula One wanted to capitalise on her fame in order to promote itself in the United States.

Katherine Legge - prior to her Champ Car season, Katherine tested for the Minardi F1 team in 2005. The test itself appeared to be a genuine driver assessment, carried out at an official test day at Vallelunga. During the first day, Katherine spun her car after only three laps, damaging the front right suspension. The car was repaired for the second day, and she completed 27 laps, with a fastest time of 1:21:17, only sixteen hundredths of a second slower than official Uruguayan driver, Juan Caceres. She was faster than official Minardi tester, Chanoch Nissany.

Although Minardi boss Paul Stoddart pronounced himself impressed with Katherine, her test did not lead to a race seat. Minardi had already been sold to Red Bull at that point, and the new Toro Rosso squad was selected by them.

Maria de Villota - tested for the Lotus Renault team in August 2011. The tests took place at Paul Ricard as part of official sessions. Maria covered 300km in the 2009-spec R29, which would be enough for her to be awarded a Superlicence, should a race seat be offered to her. Eric Boullier, the Lotus team principal, described her as “not putting a foot wrong all day”. No lap times have been published.

Further to the test, Maria will also do some demonstration laps at a World Series by Renault meeting, this time in a 2010-spec car. Negotiations to drive with Lotus are said to be ongoing.

(Picture from http://photos.indystar.com/galleries/11311-starfiles-sarah-fisher-s-racing-career)

Female Drivers at the 2011 Goodwood Revival

2011-10-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

This year’s Goodwood Revival was one of the best I’ve attended yet in terms of on-track action: the right mix of audacious moves, skilful racing and beautiful cars. Highlights were the Whitsun Trophy and the Freddie March Memorial Trophy for sportscars, although the single-seaters and motorcycles were all great. My Driver of the Meeting was Sam Wilson, a young male driver who won the Chichester Cup and Earl of March Trophy in fine style, driving a Cooper T59 and Kieft-Norton respectively. The Goodwood awards panel agreed.
Speedqueens were very much in evidence, although not among the winners this year. Desiré Wilson probably stood the best chance in the all– E Type Fordwater Trophy, but crashed out spectacularly through the circuit’s beleaguered chicane. She was unhurt, although she declined to drive in the RAC TT Celebration the following day. She was awarded a trophy for the fastest female lap of the meeting, at 96.6mph in the Jaguar.
Below are the results for all speedqueens (and their team-mates) competing during the weekend.

Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy Race 1:
Sophie Smith/Tony Smith (McIntyre Matchless G50) - 16th
Race 2:
Sophie Smith/Tony Smith (McIntyre Matchless G50) - 19th

St. Mary’s Trophy Race 1:
Claudia Hürtgen (Austin Mini Cooper S) - DNF/NC

Fordwater Trophy
Desiré Wilson/Emmanuele Pirro (Jaguar E-Type) - DNF

Freddie March Memorial Trophy
Holly Mason Franchitti (Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica) - 23rd

Richmond Trophy
Niamh Maguire (Cooper-Bristol Mk1 T20) - 18th

Julia de Baldanza (Maserati A6GCM) - 21st

(Fordwater Trophy picture from http://www.ultimatecarpages.com/)

Follow Speedqueens on Tumblr

2011-10-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Speedqueens is now also on Tumblr:

http://speedqueensmotorsport.tumblr.com

All of the usual profiles, statistics and articles will remain here. The Tumblr blog will have images, videos and news, and will be updated at regular intervals.

Paddie (Eirane) Naismith

2011-09-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Eirane Naismith, always known as Paddie, began her racing career inauspiciously as part of Barbara Cartland's set-up race for "Society Ladies" in 1931. Billed as an erstwhile chauffeur to the Prime Minister, she either won, or came third in, the “Brooklands Society Ladies’ Handicap”, depending on which account one reads.

Despite the inauspicious beginning to her motorsport career, she actually became a decent racer. The following year, having lived down the Cartland débacle successfully, she won a bona fide Ladies' Handicap at Brooklands. There were ten entrants, including Fay Taylour and Elsie Wisdom, who had won the 1000 Mile race earlier in the year. She was driving a Salmson.

In 1934, she was third in two challenging Long Handicap races: the BARC First Long Handicap in July, and the First Kingston Junior Long Handicap in October.. Her car was a supercharged Salmson, which belonged to her lover, Sir Derwent Hall-Caine. This was her last Brooklands appearance, following a fine and a race exclusion for running over the lines at the track edge.

In the intervening period, she drove in the 1932 RAC Rally, in a Standard. The following year, she entered the event again in the same car, finishing 93rd in Class 3. She occasionally competed with her sister, Jill, in this vehicle, although Jill’s involvement with cars was mainly as a Concours d’Elegance entrant. The sisters owned a Ballot which they used for this purpose.

In between her racing exploits, she found time to gain her pilot’s license, and aviation increasingly took up her time. The high point of her career as an aviatrix was her flight to Australia in 1934, as part of the Centenary Air Race. As well as piloting her own aeroplanes, she also flew as a stewardess professionally.

Paddie was primarily an actress by trade, who appeared in small parts in a couple of feature films. She is most famous for being the image first transmitted as a colour television picture in 1940. John Logie Baird thought that her distinctive red hair would show up well on screen.

(Picture from http://www.historicracng.com/)

Eileen Ellison

2011-09-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

Eileen Ellison began racing in around 1930, perhaps slightly earlier. She was born in 1910, and was one of the younger members of the Brooklands ladies’ motor racing set. Her quiet, watchful demeanour and blond hair led some to believe that she was a German or an Austrian, who did not speak much English, according to Sammy Davis.

Her early involvement was as a car entrant, with Thomas Cholmondeley Tapper as driver in her Bugatti, and other cars. Eileen was wealthy and well-connected, and had access to any number of high-quality racing cars.

Her first major achievement was winning the Duchess of York's race for lady drivers in 1932. Her car was a a Bugatti T37. The opposition was stiff, and included Kay Petre (who was second) and Elsie Wisdom, both race-winners. The same year, she was third in the August Senior Mountain Handicap, driving with Cholmondeley Tapper.

The following year, she entered the Cobham Junior Short Handicap in the Bugatti, and finished second to Esson-Scott. In 1934, she was part of the all-female Singer works team for the Brooklands relay race, with Kay Petre and Sheila Tolhurst. They were fifth overall, after sandbagging when they discovered that the Ladies’ Prize could not be awarded to a top-three finishing team. As the Ladies’ Prize meant a Le Mans entry, they slowed down. For various reasons, Eileen never got to Le Mans, nor did Sheila Tolhurst.

Starting in 1935, she attempted several major races abroad, beginning in France. The Albi Grand Prix was one of her first, and she was seventh overall in the T37A after two heats, after running as high as fourth in one race. Later, she was meant to drive in the Coppa Acerbo in Italy, but could not make the start for some reason.

Her best result was third, in the Voiturette class of the 1935 Lorraine Grand Prix. She was twelfth in the main standings, driving a Bugatti T40. Her Voiturette Bugatti was the T37. Both times, Cholmondeley Tapper finished one ahead of her.

In 1936, she travelled even further afield to race. She entered the South African Grand Prix in the T37, but could not finish due to engine trouble. An entry into the Hungarian Grand Prix did not lead to a race appearance. Closer to home, at Limerick in Ireland, she shared a Maserati with Cholmondeley Tapper and was second.

She is also said to have excelled at hillclimbs, by none other than Sammy Davis, in his book “Atalanta”. These are described as being “long continental climbs”, but results have proved tricky to track down. She is known to have raced a Maserati at Shelsley Walsh in 1936. The Continental events included the long Grossglockner climb, which she tackled in a Bugatti, and was once fourth in class. At the famous Klausen circuit, she is said by Davis to have been third in one event.

As well as Grands Prix and hillclimbs, Eileen also tackled the odd rally. She first entered the RAC Rally in a Bugatti in 1932, starting in London. She is also said to have driven in the same event in a Lagonda at some point.

After 1936, Eileen’s racing career seems to peter out, following one of her busiest years.

She lost her first husband, a fighter pilot, during the Second World War. She later remarried and settled in South Africa, scene of some of her earlier racing activities. She moved between here and Jersey until her relatively early death from liver cancer, in 1967. Her death is often attributed to jaundice, due to prejudices surrounding cancer in the past.

The relative merits of Eileen’s career are still debated today, with some observers regarding her as a talented driver, while others consider her a plucky amateur at best. She appears to have been one of those characters on whom everyone has an opinion, both during life and after death.

(Picture from http://www.eileenellison.com/)

Germaine Rouault

2011-09-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

Germaine and Odette Siko with a Salmson

Germaine Rouault raced in sportscar and Grand Prix races from the 1930s to the 1950s, as well as competing in rallies, as a driver and co-driver.
She was born in 1905, in France. Other biographical details are not forthcoming, and she was not often photographed either.

Her racing activities included two attempts at Le Mans, in 1938 and 1950, which both ended in retirement. In 1938, she drove an Amilcar Pegase with Fernande Roux. They lasted 101 laps. In 1950, her team-mate was Régine Gordine, and her car an 1100cc Gordini-engined Simca.

Her earliest motorsport experience appears to have come in a Salmson in 1933. She drove with Julio Quinlin in the Monte Carlo Rally. They also drove together in the same event in 1934. Some time early in her career, she appears to have competed with Odette Siko, probably in a rally, in a Salmson. The date of this is very unclear, but it is likely to be 1934.

Her career received a lift in 1935, when she raced Delahayes alongside Lucy O'Reilly Schell. Her first event was the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally in a Delahaye, probably a 135CS, with Lucy, who was then heavily involved with the Delahaye marque. They were second overall. The same year, she entered her first Grand Prix, the Marne at Reims, in the Delahaye 135CS. She was fourth in the three-litre class, one behind Lucy.

In 1936, she drove the 135CS, which appears to have been her own car, in the Marseilles three-hour race. She was ninth out of fifteen finishers, although 28 drivers started. The quality of the opposition was high, and included Laury Schell, René Dreyfus and Albert Divo. It is likely that she entered the Paris-St. Raphaël, too, almost certainly in the same car. The following year, she won the event, probably still using the Delahaye.

The Paris-St. Raphaël was not her only activity in 1937: driving her own 135Cs once more, she entered the Marseilles 3-hour race and revisited the Marne GP. She was seventh in Marseilles, but did not finish at Reims due to an accident. Again, both races were against strong opposition.

In 1938, we see her next well-documented experience in a major mixed-entry rally. She won the Coupe des Dames of the Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Matford with a Madame d’Herlique. In addition to her first Le Mans experience, sportscars were definitely on the menu. Driving the Delahaye with Annce-Cécile Rose-Itier, she scored what was probably the best result of her career: third in the Paris 12 Hours.

At this point, the worsening situation in Europe meant that there was little circuit racing, although the winter rallies carried on to start with. Back in the Matford, Germaine entered the 1939 Monte Carlo Rally with Madame Bagarry as navigator. Driving solo in the Delahaye, she also entered the Criterium Paris-Nice road race, but did not finish. She entered the Paris-St. Raphaël once more in the Delahaye, and won the Saint-Eutrope hillclimb stage.

The next time we come across Germaine is in 1948. She returned to the Paris 12 Hours, this time driving an 1100cc Simca with Emmanuel Baboin. Unfortunately, she was only 27th this time. In 1949, back in a now-elderly Delahaye, she and Yvonne Simon drove in the Spa 24 Hours. They were eleventh, and won their class.

In 1950, Germaine’s name begins to appear on rally entry lists once more. Driving a Simca Eight with Régine Gordine, she won the Coupe des Dames on the Monte Carlo Rally, finishing sixteenth overall. The same pairing would tackle Le Mans later in the year.

The following year, it seems that she took a break from competition, but she returned in 1952. Making the trip over to Morocco, she raced in the 12 Hours of Casablanca with Gilberte Thirion. Their car was Gilberte’s Porsche 356. Sadly, the gearbox went and they did not finish. Germaine also renewed her partnership with Régine Gordine for the Tour de France. They were nineteenth overall in a Renault 4CV.

At this point, Germaine’s competition career really starts to wind down. She is described in some sources as a rally co-driver, and she may have co-driven in some rallies in France in the 1950s. The results of these are proving elusive, as is data about Germaine herself. She certainly made a comeback for the Monte in 1956, driving a Simca with Louisette Texier and Annie Soisbault.

It is known that very early in her career, she was one of the founding members of the French independent drivers’ association, alongside Anne Itier and Jacques Delorme.

(Picture found at http://www.forum-auto.com/)

Betty Haig

2011-08-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Betty Haig was born in 1906, the great-niece of Field Marshal Haig. She learnt to drive at an early age, and by sixteen, owned her own car. When she was old enough to drive legally, she moved through a series of increasingly sporty cars, including a Salmson and a Singer Le Mans.

Despite this interest, it was not until she was 29 that she entered her first motorsport event: the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally in 1935. She drove a Singer, partly backed by the factory, in exchange for reporting back on its performance. The Paris-St. Raphaël was chosen after Betty had seen it advertised whilst travelling in France.

She was the winner of the 1936 Olympic Rally, driving a Singer, once more supported by the works team. This rally was centred on Berlin, tying in with that year’s Olympics. The car ran perfectly throughout the event, although it broke down on the way home from Germany. It is recorded in some places as the only car to have won an Olympic medal.

She is reported by some sources as having won the Paris-St Raphael rally in 1937, on her third attempt, in an MG Midget. However, this is contradicted by some reliable sources. Betty’s win may have come in 1936, as there is a gap in the records there. If this is so, she would have been driving a Singer rather than an MG. Her other 1936 events as a Singer works driver included speed trials at Brooklands, and long-distance trials elsewhere.

In 1938, she drove in the Paris-St Raphael again, for the last time before the war, in the MG. She was second, reportedly after being held up on a stage by another competitor.

Post-war, Betty took up motorsport once more, with even more vigour than before. Now, she was taking on major, mixed entry rallies, as well as trials and hillclimbs. In 1946, she won the 2000cc class on the Rallye des Alpes Françaises, as well as winning the Coupe des Dames, in a nine-year-old AC. Later, in 1949, she drove a Morris Minor in the Monte Carlo Rally, co-driving with Elsie Wisdom and Barbara Marshall. The same year, she entered the Rallye des Alpes Françaises again, winning the 1500cc class and the Coupe des Dames with Barbara Marshall, in an MG TC. At this time, she was competing regularly in European hillclimbs in her own BMW.

In 1950, she joined forces with Barbara Marshall once more for the Monte Carlo Rally, driving an MG. In 1951, she was back in the Paris-St Raphael rally, finishing third, with a class win, in an MG TD. At some point, she is also described as having rallied a Healey 100 in this event.

Betty also raced on circuits, and partnered Yvonne Simon to fifteenth place in the 1951 Le Mans race, in Yvonne's Ferrari 166 MM. They were third in the 2000cc class, having challenged for the lead throughout.

Despite her seeming talent on the circuits, she rarely competed in major meetings, although she was a regular on the club motorsport scene in the UK. As well as circuit racing, she enjoyed a considerable hillclimb career, and held the Ladies’ record at Prescott for six years. Among the cars she owned and drove were an HRG, a pre-war Frazer Nash and models by MG and AC. In 1953, she raced an MG Magnette at Goodwood, coming third in a handicap race. In 1955 she drove in a Goodwood ladies’ Whitsun race in an AC Ace, and she raced a Climax-engine Elva in similar events the following year. It was her custom to favour British vehicles.

She continued to race and rally numerous cars until 1967. As time progressed, she stuck with the machinery of her heyday and was a regular on the burgeoning historic circuit. Her last competitive outings were in the Griffiths Formula, for 1940s and 1950s international sports racers. Towards the end of her career, she was a major force for the establishment of the Historic Sports Car Club.

She died in 1987.

(Photo from www.jmrw.com)

Victoria Worsley

2011-08-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

Victoria in her MG in 1930

Victoria was the daughter of a baronet. Despite her family’s title, she is said to have had little money of her own, and worked for her father as a chauffeur.

She began her motorsport career in trials in 1928, after a lucky bet on a horse race allowed her to buy her first racing car, a Salmson. This car was her preferred choice for the 1928 season, and she is pictured driving it in various places. She continued to drive it in 1929, although she also had some outings in a Jowett, which she used in both trials and grass-track events. During this time, Victoria competed in both long-distance and high-speed trials, and had her first Brooklands experiences during a speed trial.

After trying a few different cars, she bought an MG in 1930. She used it in that season’s Brooklands Double Twelve, and was 20th, seventh in class. Her team-mate was Derek Foster, and their pits were manned by various members of the Worsley clan and their social circle.

Victoria’s preference was for the longer, higher-profile races at the circuit and her best finish was seventh in the 1931 Double Twelve, driving an Ulster Austin with Latham Boote. This was a difficult race, held at high speed in very wet conditions, and as hard on cars as on drivers. That year, the slower and more reliable small cars did particularly well. In addition to this major race, she also drove as part of a three-driver Austin team for the LCC Relay. They were eleventh, after leading the race for a while before the handicapped cars overtook.

In 1932, she drove another MG, a Midget, in the Brooklands 1000 Miles, with Joan Chetwynd. Joan and Victoria’s paths had often crossed at Brooklands, usually as rivals, and Victoria was probably the better driver. Unfortunately, they did not make the finish following engine trouble. She also took part in the Light Car Club’s team relay race once more, but failed to finish that either. Her car is recorded as a “Worsley-Harris Special”, and her team-mates were one S. Watt in a Fiat, and A.M. Conan Doyle in a Frazer Nash.

She retired from motor racing after that season, following her marriage to Roland King-Farlow, who was involved in motorsports as a timekeeper. During her short career, she entered fourteen events at Brooklands.

Her niece, Katharine, is the Duchess of Kent, who is also related to the rally driver and Liechtenstein princess, Shelagh Brunner, on her mother’s side.

(Picture from Haymarket/Autocar)

Margaret Allan

2011-08-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Margaret Allan was born in 1909 in Scotland. She had the good fortune to be born into a wealthy family where women were encouraged and expected to be accomplished and useful people. Her aunt was a Suffragette.

Her mother encouraged her to learn to drive, and she was soon acting as the family’s driver, in their large Lagonda. She became very interested in driving and cars in general, which led to an interest in motorsports. Apparently unimpressed by the trials drivers of the Women’s Automobile Sports Association, she was allowed to enter the family car into one of their events, which she won. The event was part of the London-Gloucester Trial in 1930. Margaret continued to compete in the Lagonda, and entered her first Brooklands races in it. It was too slow and cumbersome to be competitive.

It was replaced by another, supercharged Lagonda by her father in 1932. Apparently, she entered it into that year’s Brooklands Inter-Club Meeting, but the result has been lost. However, she is listed as a finisher in both the RAC and Scottish rallies in this car, starting at Bath and Glasgow respectively. Her first rallying experience had come in that year’s Monte Carlo Rally, as co-driver to Eve Staniland, who finished tenth in the Light Car class, in a works Riley. Some sources have Margaret as winning a Coupe des Alpes and Glacier Cup on that year’s Alpine Trial. She certainly took part that year, in a Wolseley, but her results have proved hard to verify.

In 1933, Margaret acquired the first of a series of big Bentleys, a 4.5-litre model. She was particularly successful in this car, winning the Junior Handicap at the Inter-Club meeting and coming third in a JCC handicap. She also won a Ripley Long Handicap at an Easter meeting, in 1933 or 1934. The Bentley even proved effective as a rally car, netting Margaret a twelfth place in the Large Car class of the Scottish Rally.

For most of 1934, she abandoned big Bentleys. Her main exploit at Brooklands was finishing third in the Light Car Club’s annual relay, driving an MG Magnette. Her team-mates were Doreen Evans and Irene Schwedler. This led to an entry in the 1935 Le Mans 24 Hours, despite gamesmanship from Kay Petre’s Singer team that won them the official Ladies’ prize. Elsewhere, Margaret drove a Triumph in the Monte Carlo Rally, starting at snowy Umeå in Sweden. She was 60th overall.

Her motorsport year in 1935 appears to have been dominated by her Le Mans appearance, the only one she made during her career. She was part of a semi-works MG team, led by George Eyston and comprising of six female drivers. Margaret shared her MG Midget PA with Colleen Eaton. They were 26th overall, the last of the “Dancing Daughters” over the line, but their measured race helped MG to the team prize.

Away from Le Mans, she finished the Monte Carlo Rally once more, driving an AC to 40th place from Umeå.

1936 was a busy year for Margaret. She started with a record run at Brooklands in a Frazer Nash and managed to set a new Outer Circuit record: 127 mph. This preceded a move back to Bentley power, in the shape of “Mother Gun”, a 6500cc single-seater, so-called for the loud bangs its engine produced on a regular basis. Margaret was rather fond of, and adept at driving, very large-engined, powerful cars. This was in contrast to many of her female contemporaries such as Doreen Evans and Kay Petre, who competed most often in little Austins, MGs and Rileys.

Her earliest outing in Mother Gun, the March Short Handicap, resulted in her almost winning a Brooklands 120mph badge, although she was not able to keep up with the leading drivers. She won the badge, a rare achievement, during the Whitsun Long Handicap, which she also won. One of the abiding images of Brooklands is Margaret in this car, tackling the banking with one front wheel off the ground.

1936 was her last full year of competition. As well as her heroics in Mother Gun, she drove a Frazer Nash at Shelsley Walsh, and possibly in some Brooklands events.

In 1937, she married Christopher Jennings, another racer, and started a family shortly afterwards. However, this was not the end of her motoring exploits, as she carried on as an automotive journalist for many years. Her road tests remained in demand until she was in her eighties.

During the war, she drove ambulances and worked at Bletchley Park as a code-breaker.

In 1950, in order to show she had not lost her touch, she drove in one last rally, the Circuit of Ireland. She won the Coupe des Dames.

She died in 1998, aged 89.

(Picture from http://www.hvauctions.com/)

Doreen Evans

2011-08-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

Doreen in 1935

Doreen was born into a motoring family in 1916. Her two brothers, Denis and Kenneth, were both racing drivers, and their parents were long-standing members of the Brooklands set. All three Evans children learned to drive as soon as they were of age, and all three got their start in motorsport very young. They initially competed together in MG J2s, in sprints, hillclimbs and trials.

Doreen raced at Brooklands from the age of 17. Apart from Ivy Cummings, who was not an official competitor, she must have been one of the youngest women to drive on the Brooklands oval. Her next racing car was another MG, a Magna L-Type, and her first major event was the five-lap handicap at the 1934 BARC meeting in July. A couple of weeks later, she was third again, in the Light Car Club’s annual relay race. She was part of a three-woman MG Magnette team backed by the MG factory. Her team-mates were Irene Schwedler and Margaret Allan. She finished one place above her brother, Kenneth, but failed to win the Ladies’ Prize after the Singer team of Kay Petre, Eileen Ellison and Sheila Tolhurst exploited a loophole in the rules, stating that the Ladies’ Prize, and the Le Mans entry that went with it, could not be awarded to a team in the top three. They sandbagged and finished fifth. In October, Doreen won a Ladies’ Handicap on the Brooklands Mountain circuit in an MG Q-Type, defeating Fay Taylour and Bill Wisdom.

Using a rebodied version of the Q-Type, she won the Outer Circuit race at the Brooklands March meeting in 1935. In yet another MG, an R-Type, she and Kenneth entered the Brooklands 500 Mile race, but did not finish due to valve trouble.

Despite not winning the LCC Ladies’ Prize, she was part of the works MG team for Le Mans in the summer. George Eyston was managing a three-car ladies’ team of Midgets, all three of which finished. Doreen was in the middle in 25th, driving with Barbara Skinner. The team became known as “The Dancing Daughters”, perhaps after a radio show of a similar name.

Away from circuit racing, she competed in that year’s RAC Rally, driving an MG Magnette, and scored a class win. In May, secured the Ladies’ Record at the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, driving the 750cc MG R-Type. In September, she was involved in a battle for that same record with Kay Petre, her rival who had risen to prominence at the same time. A mistake during the final run-off gave the award to Kay, in her White Riley.

In 1936, Doreen drove the R-Type at Brooklands, finishing third in the BARC Second Mountain Handicap. She entered the Brooklands International Trophy in the same car, but suffered a dramatic accident. Her car caught fire and crashed on the Members’ Banking, although she had slowed it sufficiently to allow herself to jump out. Although she suffered only minor injuries, the car was badly damaged. She was also scheduled to compete in the Tourist Trophy in an Aston Martin, but her team-mate Alan Phipps crashed out on the first lap, before she got the chance to drive.

Despite this setback, she married Phipps and moved to America with him. Like her brother Denis, she stopped racing upon her marriage. Later, she earned her pilot’s license, and took up flying.

She died suddenly, at home in California, in 1982.

(Picture from burblers.com)

Female Drivers in Touring Cars in Italy

2011-07-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Italy has produced a fair number of female saloon racers. Some, such as Tamara Vidali and Romana Bernardoni, reached the highest echelons of touring cars and have their own dedicated posts. Others competed in the Italian CIVT series, or in Europe, or in one-make series.

Valentina Albanese (pictured) - Italian one-make specialist who often drives a SEAT. She has achieved good results in individual and team racing. She began in 1996 and won her first championship in Italy in 1998. In 2008 she also drove a VW Beetle in the Uniroyal Fun Cup, assisted by Luca Trevisiol. They won the Italian and World Fun Cup titles. They have competed together in this category since at least 2005. Valentina, driving alone, was runner-up in the Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance that season, driving a SEAT Leon. In 2009 she once again drove for SEAT in the Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance, and won the diesel class. In 2010, she was third in the main class of the same championship, driving a similar car.

Emanuela Bellini - raced in the Alfa Romeo 33 Trophy in Italy in 2006. She was not among the front-runners, but gained some notoriety for a spectacular crash in the wet at Magione. She continued to race the 33 for some time afterwards, reappearing in the championship in 2008, but by 2010, the car had been sold.

Leonida Bellini - competed in at least two seasons of senior Italian motorsport. She took part in the Renault Clio Cup in 2003 and 2004. In 2003, she managed at least two top-ten finishes, an eighth at Magione and a third at Vallelunga. Her 2004 results are not forthcoming. Previously, she was active in karting in Italy, and won the National 125cc championship in 1997.
Deborah Broccolini - active in Italian club motorsport on and off since 1988. She competed in the CIVT throughout the 1990s after some years in junior formulae, but retired for ten years in 1997. As of 2007, she has mainly raced Alfa Romeo cars, particularly the 33, which she used in its one-make cup in 2007 and 2008. After that, she drove it to fifth overall in the Alfa Romeo Touring Cup. In 2011, she is driving an Osella sportscar in Italian hillclimbs.

Katia Ciancabilla - raced in the Citroen C1 Cup in Italy in 2008. She was 21st overall. As well as competing herself, she is the team manager and press officer of the Scuderia Grifo Corse team, which competes throughout Europe, mainly in sportscars. She did some more C1 Cup races in 2010.
Angela Fontana - raced an Abarth 1000 TC in Europe in 1963, including a run in the Nürburgring 12 Hours with Attilio Zuppini. They did not finish. In the 500 mile race at the same circuit, they were twelfth, driving a Fiat-Abarth 1000 Berlina. In the Nurburgring 12 Hours of 1962, Angela drove yet another Abarth, a Fiat 700, with Fulvio Sestilli. They were 22nd and fourth in class. That year, Angela won two Italian GT races, at Monza, driving solo. Her car was a BMW 700. She also competed in hillclimbs in an Abarth.

Alexandra Gallo—raced GT and touring cars in Italy in the 1990s and 2000s. She drove an Alfa Romeo SZ in the Italian GT Championship in 1994, winning the GT4 class at Vallelunga. The same year, she drove an Alfa Romeo 33 in the CIVT touring car series, winning its Ladies’ award. She had been active in the championship since 1991. Later, in 2004, she drove a Jaguar in the Superstars series, alongside Tamara Vidali, an old CIVT rival. She also competed in the Maserati Trofeo Corse. She now works as a journalist and F1 broadcaster.

Stefania Grassetto - raced touring cars in Italy early in her career, competing in the Campionato Italiano Velocita Turismo between 1994 and 2001 in a variety of smaller cars. Her best result was a race win at Monza in 1998, driving an Opel Corsa. She was the ladies’ champion four times and entered the Six Hours of Vallelunga three times, winning her class once in 1996. After a year racing historics, she entered Formula Gloria in 2003, doing two complete seasons and winning the ladies’ award in 2004. In 2005 and 2006, she also raced in some rounds of the Maserati Trofeo, before returning to Formula Gloria. Another hiatus in the Italian Diesel Endurance Cup occurred in 2008, and she was fifth overall in a BMW 120d. She returned once more to Formula Gloria in 2009, and was fourth in her first race back. She returned to karting in 2010, as part of an all-female endurance team.

Liliana de Menna - stalwart of the Italian touring car scene who was active from 1963 to 1994. She won a saloon championship in her first year of racing, winning nine races outright. Her car was a 600cc Fiat 500 Montecarlo. The following year she won Class 2 of the Coppa Carotti mountain race. Later in her career, she raced sportscars, including a Nissan 300ZX in 1992 and a Mazda RX-7 in 1994.

Updates

2011-07-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a break from Speedqueens while getting on with other things for a while, but from now on, I'm going to be updating the blog again.

Pages for Le Mans and the Indy 500 now with 2011 results.

Female Drivers in the 12 Hours of Sebring: Part II, 1980-present

2011-03-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

In 1999, the stewardship of the 12 Hours of Sebring passed from IMSA to the American Le Mans Series, which currently runs the race. It has also been part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup since 2010.

Women drivers have continued to enter the race most years, with some success, although there was another serious lull in their numbers in the early 1990s. Liz Halliday is the race's most successful female driver, after her second place in 2007 with Clint and Jon Field. However, Lyn St. James has recorded several class wins and top ten finishes, as well as seven separate entries, which is a female record.

Below is a list of the more recent women's results. As always, the female driver is always mentioned first in the case of a mixed team, for clarity.

1980

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/James Moxley (Porsche 911) - 24th

Lyn St. James/Ralph Kent-Cooke (Porsche 935) - 49th

1981

Kathy Rude/Divina Galica (Mazda RX-7) - 31st

Vicki Smith/Tom Alan Marx/Bob Lee (AMC AMX) - 42nd

Elizabeth Kleinschmidt/Charles Kleinschmidt/Alan Levenson (Chevrolet Corvette) - 70th (withdrawn)

1982

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 22nd

Desiré Wilson/Janet Guthrie/Bonnie Henn (Ferrari 512 BB/LM) - 26th

1983

Lyn St. James/Reggie Smith/Drake Olsen (Nimrod NRA-C2) - 5th

Deborah Gregg/Kathy Rude/Bonnie Henn (Porsche 924 Carrera) - 35th

Carmen Lista/David Marks/Roy Newsome/Bobby Diehl (Chevrolet Camaro) - 47th

Patty Moise/Tom Nehl/Nelson Silcox (Chevrolet Camaro) - 60th

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 68th

1984

Deborah Gregg/Jim Trueman/Alfredo Mena (Porsche 924 Carrera) - 63rd

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Arvid Albanese (Porsche 911) - 65th

1985

Patty Moise/Les Delano/Andy Petery (Pontiac Firebird) - 9th

1986

Patty Moise/Les Delano/Jeremy Nightingale (Chevrolet Camaro) - 12th

1987

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Lance Jones (Tiga GT285) - 15th

Lyn St. James/Tom Gloy (Ford Mustang) - 31st

1988

Lyn St. James/Deborah Gregg (Mercury Merkur XR4Ti) - 8th

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Jim Miller (Spice SE88P) - 51st

1989

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Tom Blackaller (Spice SE88P) - 25th

1990

Lyn St. James/Calvin Fish/Robby Gordon (Mercury Cougar XR-7) - 6th, class win

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot (Spice SE88P) - did not start, fire in qualifying

1993

Bernadette Hubbard/Ludwig Heimrath, Jr./Ken McKinnon/Tom Rathbun (Porsche 944) - 42nd

1994

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR) - 9th

Linda Pobst/Kat Teasdale/Leigh Miller (Chevrolet Camaro) - 42nd

1996

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Ulli Richter (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR) - 47th

1997

Claudia Hürtgen/Michel Ligonnet/Zak Brown/Dirk Layer (Porsche 911 GT2) - 10th

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Ulli Richter (Porsche 964) - 14th

1998

Lyn St. James/Jeret Schroeder/Tom Volk (Kudzu DL-4) - 17th

Giovanna Amati/Craig Carter/Andy Petery (BMW M3) - 32nd

1999

Melanie Snow/Martin Snow/Patrick Huisman (Porsche 911 GT2 Evo) - 9th, class win

Claudia Hürtgen/Hubert Haupt/Zak Brown (Porsche 911 GT2) - 39th

2000

Claudia Hürtgen/Hubert Haupt/Vic Rice (Porsche 911 GT2) - 31st

2001

Claudia Hürtgen/Mel Hawkins/Steve Knight (Lola B2K/40) - 30th, class win

2002

Milka Duno/Scott Maxwell/John Graham (Panoz LMP07) - 45th

2003

Melanie Paterson/Jason Workman/Ben Devlin (Lola B2K/40) - 47th

2004

Milka Duno/Justin Wilson/Phil Andrews (Lola B2K/10) - 22nd

Amanda Stretton/Christopher Stockton/Gareth Evans (TVR Tuscan) -24th

2005

Liz Halliday/Clint Field/Gareth Ridpath (Lola B2K/40) - 33rd

2006

Liz Halliday/Clint Field/Jon Field (Lola B05/40) - 2nd, class win

2007

Liz Halliday/Darren Turner/Antonio Garcia (Aston Martin DBR9) - 11th

Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/Arie Luyendyk, Jr. (Panoz Esperante GTLM) - 34th

2008

Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/David Murry (Ford GT-R) - 24th

2009

Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/David Murry (Ford GT-R Mk.7) - 14th

2010

Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/David Murry (Ford GT-R Mk.7) - 22nd

2011

Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/Boris Said (Doran Ford GT) - 26th

Female Drivers at the 12 Hours of Sebring: Part I, 1955-1979

2011-03-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

The 1963 race

The 12 Hours of Sebring is the second-oldest sportscar race on the calendar, after Le Mans. It has run almost continuously since 1952, with only one break, caused by the 1974 energy crisis.
After one year as a non-championship event, the 12 Hours was run as a World Sportscar Championship round between 1953 and 1972, when it became an IMSA GT event. Its early-season position makes it a favoured early shakedown for Le Mans.

Beginning in 1955, women drivers have competed at Sebring in most runnings, although there was a lull in the 1970s. Below are their results between 1955 and 1979. Denise McCluggage was the most frequent starter during this period, and Isabelle Haskell has the highest finish: eighth, with a class win.

The rest will follow in a further post.

1955

Isabelle Haskell/Dick Irish (Bandini) - DNF

Greta Oakes/Sydney Oakes (Austin-Healey 100M) - DNF

1956

Margaret Wyllie/M.R.J. Wyllie (Lotus Mk IX) - 24th

Isabelle Haskell/Alejandro de Tomaso (Maserati 150S) - DNF

1957

Gilberte Thirion/Nadège Ferrier/G. Spydel (Renault Dauphine) - 35th

Evelyn Mull/John B. Mull (AC Ace) - DNF

Margaret Wyllie/M.R.J. Wyllie/Charles Moran (Lotus Eleven Le Mans) - disqualified

Isabelle Haskell/Alejandro de Tomaso (OSCA MT4 750) - DNF

1958

Isabelle Haskell/Alejandro de Tomaso/Robert Ferguson (OSCA S750) - 8th, class win

Denise McCluggage/Ruth Levy (Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato) - DNF

Margaret Wyllie/M.R.J. Wyllie/Chuck Dietrich (Elva Mk. II) - DNS (accident in practice)

1959

Isabelle Haskell/Alejandro de Tomaso/Denise McCluggage/Ricardo Rodriguez (OSCA S750) - 18th

Smokey Drolet/Fred Lieb (Turner 750 Sport) - 43rd

Margaret Wyllie/M.R.J. Wyllie/Skip Lange (Elva Mk. IV) - DNF

1960

Denise McCluggage/Marianne “Pinkie” Windridge (OSCA 187S) - DNF

1961

Denise McCluggage/Allan Eager (Ferrari 250 GT) - 10th, class win

Peggy Gelder/Ed Gelder/Jim Fuller (Elva Courier) - 35th

1962

Denise McCluggage/Allan Eager (OSCA S1000) - DNF

1963

Denise McCluggage/Christabel Carlisle (MG B) - DNF

1964

Donna Mae Mims/Alan Pease (Austin-Healey Sprite) - DNF

1966

Donna Mae Mims/John Luke (Yenko Stinger) - DNF

1967

Denise McCluggage/Marianne “Pinkie” Windridge (Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Spyder) - 17th

Suzy Dietrich/Donna Mae Mims (ASA 411) - not classified

Smokey Drolet/Anita Taylor (Alpine-Renault A110) - not classified

Liane Engeman/Janet Guthrie (Matra Djet 5S) - not classified

1968

Janet Guthrie/Liane Engeman (AMC Javelin) - not classified

Donna Mae Mims/Michael Summers (Yenko Stinger) - not classified

1969

Janet Guthrie/Donna Mae Mims/Liane Engeman (Austin-Healey Sprite) - 23rd

Smokey Drolet/Rosemary Smith (BMW 2002) - 26th

1970

Janet Guthrie/Rosemary Smith/Judy Kondratieff (Austin-Healey Sprite) - 19th, class win

Donna Mae Mims/Jim Corwin (Chevrolet Corvette) - 21st

1971

Janet Guthrie/Rosemary Smith/Jennifer Birrell (Chevron B16) - DNF

1974

No race due to fuel crisis

1976

Janet Guthrie/Stephen Behr (Chevrolet Monza) - 63rd

1978

Lyn St. James/Luis Sereix/Phil Currin (Chevrolet Corvette) - 17th

Kathy Wallace/Tom Wallace/Gene Rutherford (Oldsmobile Cutlass) - 53rd

1979

Bonnie Henn/Lyn St. James/Janet Guthrie (Ferrari 365 GTB/4) - 17th

Female Drivers in the Andros Electric Trophy, 2010-2011 season

2011-03-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

Marguerite Laffite

The Andros Electric Trophy for electric-powered cars was a new addition for 2009, and has now replaced the buggy class that formed the basis for "Ice Girls". The Electric Trophy attracted several female drivers this time, including several who were involved in various ways with Ice Girls, from former champion Margot Laffite to TV presenter Nathalie Marquay, who did promotional work for the Trophy previously. Below are their results.

Due to a recurring error, it has not been possible to display full results for this series on this blog.

Overall

Marguerite Laffite 9th

Marlène Broggi 10th

Cathy Muller 11th

Elodie Gossuin 14th

Nathalie Marquay 18th

Anne-Christine Horent 22nd

Female Drivers in the Andros Trophy, 2010-2011 season

2011-03-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Berenice Demoustier

After the discontinuation of the Andros Trophy's "Ice Girls" women's championship, female drivers have continued to compete in the French-based ice-racing classic. The 2010-2011 season was no different. Berenice Demoustier, an Ice Girls graduate and previous Elite class competitor, was the ladies' champion. Although Anne-Sophie Lemonnier won a race and appeared to score better results, Berenice managed to get into the Elite Superior finals, making her points haul higher than her rival's. Below is a list of all of the female results of the main Andros Trophy.

Val Thorens

Day 1 Elite Final 1

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 3rd

Emilie Petit (Fiat Stilo) - 6th

Day 1 Elite Final 2

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 6th

Day 2 Elite Final 1

Emilie Petit (Fiat Stilo) - 5th

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 6th

Day 2 Elite Final 2

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 4th

Andorra

Day 1 Elite Final 1

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 4th

Day 2 Elite Final 2

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 2nd

Alpe d'Huez

Day 1 Elite Final 1

Emilie Petit (Fiat Stilo) - 2nd

Day 1 Elite Final 2

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 3rd

Day 1 Elite Superior Final 2

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 7th

Day 2 Elite Final 1

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 1st

Emilie Petit (Fiat Stilo) - 3rd

Day 2 Elite Superior Final 1

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 7th

Isola 2000 Alpes Maritimes

Day 1 Elite Final 1

Emilie Petit (Fiat Stilo) - 5th

Day 1 Elite Final 2

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 3rd

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 4th

Day 2 Elite Final 1

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 4th

Day 2 Elite Final 2

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 4th

Emilie Petit (Fiat Stilo) - 7th

Saint-Dié-des-Vosges

Day 1 Elite Final 1

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 4th

Day 1 Elite Final 2

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 2nd

Day 2 Elite Final 2

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 4th

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 5th

Clermont Superbesse

Day 1 Elite Final 2

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 5th

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 7th

Lans en Vercors

Day 1 Elite Final 1

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 2nd

Day 2 Elite Final 1

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 6th

Day 2 Elite Final 2

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 5th

Stade de France

Elite Final 1

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (BMW 1 Series) - 3rd

Elite Superior Final 1

Berenice Demoustier (Toyota Auris) - 8th

Overall

Berenice Demoustier 19th

Anne-Sophie Lemonnier 22nd

Emilie Petit 29th

Female Drivers in the Daytona 24 Hours

2011-03-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

The Daytona 24-Hour sportscar race is the traditional curtain-opener on the international motor racing scene, held in the last week of January, or the first week of February, each year. Only two races, in 1972 and 1974, have been cancelled or shortened.
It was first run in 1966, after four successful, shorter international sportscar races in the early season. Originally, it was part of the World Sportscar Championship, but this ceased in 1982. Between then and 1992, it was run by IMSA, then the Grand-Am Road Racing Series. It is currently sponsored by Rolex.
Women racers have taken part in most editions, in varying numbers, although sadly, none for the past two years. In the past, many notable women have entered, including Lyn St. James, the woman with the most starts, Smokey Drolet, Kathy Rude and Lilian Bryner. Milka Duno scored the best result in 2007 - eighth - and Lilian Bryner had a string of consistent top-five finishes in the 1990s. Usually, these entries were part of mixed teams, although all-female crews took part in 1966, 1967, 1977 and 1994.

Below is a list of all women drivers who have taken part, by year. In the case of a mixed team, the woman's name always comes first, for clarity.

1966

Rosemary Smith/Smokey Drolet (Sunbeam Alpine) - 30th

Janet Guthrie/Donna Mae Mims/Suzy Dietrich (Sunbeam Alpine) - 32nd

1967

Anita Taylor/Janet Guthrie/Smokey Drolet (Ford Mustang) - 20th

Donna Mae Mims/Suzy Dietrich (ASA 411) - not classified

1969

Smokey Drolet/John Tremblay/Vince Gimondo/John Belperche (Chevrolet Corvette C2) - 16th, class win

1970

Smokey Drolet/Norbert Mastandrea/Rajah Rodgers (Chevrolet Camaro) - 25th

Donna Mae Mims/Jim Corwin/Fred Pipen (Chevrolet Camaro Z) - DNF

1972

No race

1974

No race

1977

Christine Beckers/Lella Lombardi (Inaltera Ford) - 47th

1978

Janet Guthrie/Hugh Kleinpeter/Jef Stevens (De Tomaso Pantera) - qualified, but did not start

1980

Anny-Charlotte Verney/Skeeter McKitterick/Bob Garretson (Porsche 935) - 9th

Lyn St. James/Mark Welch/Tom Winters (Mazda RX-7) - 17th

Kathy Rude/Tom Nehl/Peter Kirill (Chevrolet Camaro) - 25th

Christine Beckers/Kenper Miller/Dave Cowart (BMW M1) - 47th

1981

Kathy Rude/Philippe Martin/Lee Mueller (Mazda RX-7) - 7th

Gail Engle/Philip Keirn/Bard Boand (Chevrolet Corvette) - 36th

Vicki Smith/ Sam Miller/Bob Lee (AMC AMX) - 56th

1982

Kathy Rude/Lee Mueller/Allan Moffat (Mazda RX-7) - 6th (class win)

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 25th

Desiré Wilson/Marty Hinze/Preston Henn (Porsche 935 K3) - 45th

1983

Kathy Rude/Bonnie Henn/Deborah Gregg (Porsche 924 Carrera) - 13th

Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 35th

Lyn St. James/John Graham/Drake Olson (Nimrod NRA/C2) - 44th

1984

Margie Smith-Haas/Paul Gilgan/John Zouzelka (Porsche 911 Carrera) - 27th

Vicki Smith/Carlos Ramirez/Jack Miller (Nimrod NRA/C2) - 49th

Deborah Gregg/Jim Trueman/Alfredo Mena (Porsche 924 Carrera GTR) - 69th

1985

Lyn St. James/Tim Coconis/Eric Lang (Argo JM16) - 68th

1986

Deborah Gregg/Mike Brockman/Steve Durst/Jim Trueman (Tiga GT285) - 47th

1987

Lyn St. James/Scott Pruett/Bill Elliot/Tom Gloy (Ford Mustang) - 7th, class win

Deborah Gregg/Scott Pruett/Scott Goodyear/Bobby Akin (Ford Mustang) - 9th

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Jim Brown (Tiga GT285) - 16th

1988

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Jim Brown (Spice SE88P) - 43rd

Lyn St. James/Deborah Gregg/Mark Martin/Pete Halsmer (Mercury Capri) - 44th

1989

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/John Williams (Spice SE88P) - 26th

Lyn St. James/David Loring/Marty Roth (Ford Mustang Probe) - qualified but did not start

1990

Lyn St. James/Robby Gordon/Calvin Fish (Mercury Cougar XR-7) - 5th, class win

Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Tomas Lopez (Spice SE88P) - 17th

1993

Tomiko Yoshikawa/Desiré Wilson/Ron Fellows/Pieter L. Baljet (Ford Mustang) - 47th

1994

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ruggero Grassi (Porsche 911 Carrera) - 15th

Kat Teasdale/Leigh Miller/John Graham (Porsche 968) - 17th

Tammy Jo Kirk/David Murry/Angelo Cilli/Anthony Lazzaro (Porsche 911) - 34th

Linda Pobst/Kat Teasdale/Margy Eatwell/Tami Rai Busby/Leigh O’Brien (Chevrolet Camaro) - 47th

1995

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ulli Richter (Porsche 911 Carrera) - 5th, class win

Margie Smith-Haas/Craig T. Nelson/Ross Bentley/Dan Clark (Spice SE90) - 62nd

1996

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ulli Richter (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR) - 4th, class win

1997

Claudia Hürtgen/Ralf Kelleners/Patrice Goueslard/André Ahrlé (Porsche 911 GT2) - 4th, class win

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Ulli Richter (Porsche 964) - 22nd

1998

Lyn St. James/Jeret Schroeder/Pete Halsmer/Tom Volk (Kudzu DL-4) - 25th

1999

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro/Carl Rosenblad (Ferrari 333 SP) - 4th

Claudia Hürtgen/Stéphane Ortelli/Enrico Bertaggia/Robert Nearn (Porsche 911 GT2) - 25th

2000

Allison Duncan/Christian Vann/Stephen Watson/Raffaele Sanguiolo (Dodge Viper GTS-R) - 6th

Claudia Hürtgen/Hubert Haupt/Hisashi Wada/Robert Nearn/Nigel Smith/Stephen Earle (Porsche 911 GT2) - 55th

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Angelo Zadra/Marco Zadra/Carl Rosenblad (Ferrari 333 SP) - 64th

2001

Kim Hiskey/Hugh Plumb/Michael Culver (Porsche 996 GT3) - 10th

Milka Duno/David Gooding/Raffaele Sanguiolo/Stefano Zonca (Dodge Viper GTS-R) - 31st

Claudia Hürtgen/Robert Orcutt/Jürgen Lorenz/Heinrich Langfermann (Porsche 996 GT3) - 42nd

Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Ulli Richter/Jürgen Alzen (Porsche 996 GT3-R) - 52nd

2002

Kim Hiskey/Randy Pobst/Steven Ivankovich/Spencer Pumpelly (Porsche 996 GT3) - 73rd

2004

Mae van Wijk/Tracy Krohn/Ron Forristall/Andres van der Dys/Armando Trentini (Porsche 993 GT3 Cup) - 31st

Milka Duno/Robby Gordon/Doug Goad/Stéphane Grégoire (Crawford DP03) - 35th

2005

Maria de Villota/Luca Drudi/Luis Monzon/Gabrio Rosa (Ferrari 360 Modena) - 24th

Milka Duno/Dario Franchitti/Marino Franchitti/Dan Wheldon (Crawford DP03) - 33rd

Mae van Wijk/Dave Gaylord/David Murry/Rod Emory (Porsche 996 GT3 Cup) - 39th

2006

Milka Duno/Dario Franchitti/Marino Franchitti/Kevin McGarrity(Riley Mk XI) - 8th

Danica Patrick/Jan Lammers/Rusty Wallace/Allan McNish (Crawford DP03) - 50th

2007

Milka Duno/Patrick Carpentier/Darren Manning/Ryan Dalziel (Riley Mk XI) - 2nd

Katherine Legge/George Robinson/Paul Dallenbach/Wally Dallenbach Jr (Riley Mk XI) - 25th

2009

Danica Patrick/Andy Wallace/Casey Mears/Rob Finlay (Crawford DP08) - 8th

Claudine Trautmann (also Vanson-Bouchet; born Claudine Bouchet)

2011-03-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

Claudine was a multiple French champion, active from the 1950s to the 1970s. She won the French national title nine times, between 1960 and 1968, with the Citroen and Lancia teams. During this time, her participation in non-French events was mostly as co-driver to her second husband, René Trautmann.

She was not from a motorsport background, but a generally sporting one. Skiing was her sport of choice before taking up rallying. She was working in her father’s clock business when she entered her first rally, driving her own Simca Aronde. This was at the suggestion of a friend who worked as a Simca dealer, who had noticed Claudine’s flair for driving. She was a surprising fourth overall, and first in the Touring class. This was no local club rally either, but the Mont Blanc International Rally. In order to even enter, she had had to engage the services of Lise Renaud, an experienced navigator with the correct license. An entry in the Rally of Beaujolais followed, which led to a drive in the Tour de Corse, encouraged by René Cotton. Sadly, the Aronde lost a wheel early on.

Still in the Simca, she continued to enter French rallies in 1958, winning Coupes des Dames in the Mont Blanc. Limousin and Lavande rallies. During her travels, she met Patrick Vanson, another French driver, and the pair married. This cut short Claudine’s driving opportunities somewhat, but she returned to the stages in 1959, her marriage in no way curtailing her ambition. This year, she entered her first Monte Carlo Rally, although she did not finish. After Coupes des Dames in the Mont Blanc, Limousin and Printemps rallies, she was second in the French ladies’ championship, after Annie Soisbault.

1960 saw her take another step on the road to international rally glory. Another meeting with René Cotton led to a seat with the Île de France Citroen team, after coming third in class in the Austrian Alpine Rally. Coupes des Dames followed in the Mont Blanc, Cévennes and Armagnac rallies, but her best result was probably an eighth place overall in the Liège-Rome-Liège marathon rally, driving a Citroen ID19 with Renée Wagner. Earlier in the year, still in the Simca, she had finished her first Monte Carlo Rally, in 38th place. At the end of the year, she was French ladies’ champion for the first time.

The association with Citroen continued for another three years. In 1961, she drove alongside Ginette Derolland, and came to the end of the Monte once more. Her second outing in the other major French rally, the Tour de Corse, gave her a Coupe des Dames this time, and she added more ladies’ trophies for French rallies to her collection. Her best result was a fourth overall in the Rallye Neige et Glace. Away from the stages, she competed in the last running of the Mille Miglia, and won the Coupe des Dames, in an ID19 with Renée Wagner. With Mlle Kissel, she won the Coupe des Dames in the Touring class of the Tour de France, finishing sixth overall in class.

Claudine carried on driving the Citroen ID19 in 1962, gaining more and more experience. The Liège-Sofia-Liège rally gave her another Coupe des Dames, but no top ten. A string of fastest lady awards in French rallies ensured that she kept her Ladies’ title. 1963 was a more exciting year, with two top-ten finishes in major international rallies: sixth in Corsica and third in Catalunya. She also won the Coupe des Dames in the Spa-Sofia-Liège and several big French rallies, including a seventh Mont Blanc ladies’ award.

Away from the stages, she was also very busy. She had befriended Marie-Claude Beaumont, who would become her regular navigator for a while, then go on to much bigger things, on the circuits as well as the stages. She had also become close to her fellow Citroen driver, René Trautmann, and practically ended her marriage to Patrick Vanson, although the couple would not divorce until later.

It was all-change in mid-1964. Claudine and René both moved to the Lancia works team. Initially, they were both taken on as drivers. After another finish on the Monte in a Citroen DS19, Claudine set about defending her French title, and increasing her international tally. This year, she debuted at San Remo, in a Lancia Flavia. She also finished strongly in French rallies, with a class second on the Alpine Rally and a class third on the Neige et Glace event, one of her favourites. This year saw her first win: the Paris-St. Raphael ladies’ rally.

The following year, the pace of Claudine’s career changed. Although she was still a fixture on the French rally scene, her involvement in international events decreased, as a driver at least. She began navigating for René on a regular basis, still with Lancia. They scored their first win that year, on the Alpine Rally.

This arrangement continued until 1969. During this time, Claudine still performed well in French rallies, winning four more Paris-St. Raphaël events and repeating her débutante finish in the Mont Blanc Rally in 1968 with a fourth place. She was also third in the Forez Rally that year, and had been fifth in the Rallye Pétrole the year before. However, for major events, she travelled with René and acted as his navigator. In 1967, they got married. By 1969, she was in semi-retirement, and did very little driving, apart from a few road races. This was the first year for nine years that she did not win the French Ladies’ title.

Her international career began again with a drive for Citroen, in the World Cup Rally. She managed to get a good deal of the way from London to Mexico City, and although her car broke down in Colombia, 1000 kilometres from the finish, she was classified 24th.

At about the same time, a new enterprise in French rallying brought her back into the fold. Robert Neyret was putting together his Team Aseptogyl, an all-female rally-driving force in pink toothpaste-sponsored Alpine-Renaults, and persuaded Claudine to take part. Eventually, she would manage the day-to-day running of the team, alongside René in a business capacity. However, to begin with, she was one of the drivers, and even joined in with the promotional activities, matching colourful outfits and all. “Les girls” of Team Aseptogyl competed around France from 1971 onwards. Claudine drove in that year’s Tour de France, with Marie-Odile Desvignes. Her best result was a fifth place, in Bayonne. She also navigated occasionally for Neyret himself.

Claudine and Marie-Odile Desvignes

She only really excelled again in international events after 1971, when she was third in the Bandama Rally in a Renault 16. Desert events seemed to be her favourite, despite her background on the Tarmac of the French stages. She was sixth in the 1972 Moroccan Rally in a Renault 16 TS, after failing to get to the end of the Monte in an Alpine-Renault A110. The following year, she was eighth in the Bandama and tenth in that year’s Moroccan event, driving a Peugeot 504 run by Team Aseptogyl. Her co-driver that season was Marie-Pierre Palayer.

One of her last major events was the 1974 World Cup Rally, which ran from London to Munich via the Sahara desert, in which she was fourth, driving a Peugeot 504. It was another Aseptogyl entry, and her navigator was Marie-Odile Desvignes. Back at one of her more fruitful stamping grounds, she was eighth in Morocco in 1975, the year she retired into team management. She was 44.

Female Rally Drivers after 1950: France in the 21st century

2011-02-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

Charlotte Berton

Currently, France is home to many of Europe's female rally drivers. At any one time, there are multiple female crews on French rallies, seemingly more than in other European nations, and certainly more than in the UK.

Below are profiles of some of them. A few have already been published on other posts on this blog.

Charlotte Berton—2010 ladies’ champion in the French Rally Championship. Her main car was a Suzuki Swift, and her navigator was Cécile Pagès. Later in the season, she switched to a Peugeot 206, but it was underprepared and unreliable. She was mostly competing in the Suzuki Swift Cup, and she was one of the strongest drivers, regularly finishing on the podium. In 2009, she also drove the Suzuki. Previously, between 2006 and 2008, she rallied a Peugeot 206 in one-make series, after reaching the finals of a FFSA driver search in 2006.

Delphine Brigaudeau—French driver who has been rallying a Peugeots in recent years. She entered many rallies in 2008 and 2009 in a 106, assisted by Caroline Potier. This car was exchanged for a 306 in 2010. Her driving career began in 2007, after starting out as a navigator. For the past three years, her performances in regional rallies have been good enough for her to qualify for the season-ending Finale of the French championship season.

Sylvie Cancellieri - has competed in France in a Peugeot 206 kit car since at least 2007. In 2009 and 2010, her co-driver has been Dominique Sereni. They have been very active all over the country in the French championship during the past two years. Sylvie has one WRC start, the 2008 Tour de Corse, but she retired with a mechanical problem. Her co-driver then was Jeanne-Dominique Cancellieri.

Rosine Chauffour—has been competing in France since 2004, after co-driving for her father for three seasons. In 2004 and 2005, she rallied a Peugeot 106 in her local area of Limousin, and was regional champion in 2005. The 106 was upgraded to a 206 in 2006, which was initially used for circuit racing. She returned to the stages in 2007. After another car upgrade, she was local champion once more in 2009. In 2010, she continued her progress, and qualified for the Finale of the French championship in the Pays-Basque.

Julie Galpin—driver and co-driver in France, in a Citroen C2. As a co-driver, she partners Olivier Bacle in the IRC, and other major events. As a driver, she competes in the French championship, where she has been active since at least 2008, when she drove a Team FJ Mitsubishi. In 2009, she was part of the Citroen Racing Trophy in the C2-R2 category, and she has stayed with the marque ever since. She and Anais Faussabry were the first all-female crew in the Rallye Le Touquet. In 2010, she took part in more French rallies with Amélie Arrivé, including the Le Touquet and St. Emilion events. Her father is Jean Galpin, a regular on the French scene.

Danielle Gamba—rallied a Citroen Visa GTi in 2010. She came second in her region’s Ladies’ rally championship, after a series of solid, if unspectacular finishes. Among the rallies she entered were the Rallye du Chasselas, Rallye du Quercy and the Rallye des Thermes. Her co-driver was usually Alexandre Gamba, although Marina Perel stood in on occasion. Danielle and Alexandre have returned to the stages in 2011, still in the Visa, and continue to compete in their regional championship.

Camille Henry - drove in French rallies in 2004 and 2005 in a Peugeot 206 XS. Her best result was 12th in the 2004 Rallye Montagne Noire. She was also 17th in the 2005 Rallye des Vins at Macon, driving the same car.

Laure Jaussaud - Tarmac specialist who has rallied in France since at least 2004, driving various Renault Clios. Her usual co-driver is her sister, Carine, and they are from a rallying family. They have also used all-female crews in the past, and won the 2007 French Ladies' Championship working with a female team. They normally perform well in the Formula 2 class, particularly on tarmac. They were active in the French championship in 2010, driving a Renault Clio RS.

Sophie Micheneau—has been rallying in France since 1997, first as a navigator. She began driving seriously in 2007, first in local events in the south of France, then much farther afield. From the start, she won Coupes des Dames, and was a contender in her class. Her overall finishes were midfield, although she was not immune to car trouble. In 2010, her best finish was a 24th place in the Rallye de Bonaguil, with a class win and a Coupe des Dames. Her car since 2007 has been a Citroen Saxo. She is mostly navigated by Marie Noëlle Ratier.

Charlotte Rongiconi - driver and co-driver, seemingly active since 2008. When driving, her car is usually an F2-spec Peugeot 205. With different co-drivers, she has entered several rallies in France during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, usually based on Corsica. She started off as a navigator to Charles Rongiconi in a Talbot Samba. They occasionally swap seats. In 2010, Charlotte also navigated for Xavier Quilici in a Peugeot 306.

Sabrina Sanchez—has rallied mainly in the south of France since 2004, when she was 22. Together with navigator Loriane Forgues, she is a regular Coupe des Dames winner in the rallies she enters, as well as often winning class A7. There are usually about five female crews on these events. Up to 2007, she drove a Peugeot 205, but after 2008, this has been replaced by a 206. Her best overall finish seems to be a 28th place in the 2008 Rallye des Printemps.

Stephanie Verne—competed in French rallies in 2010. Her car was a Peugeot 205 and her co-driver was Audrey Minery. She also drove in regional events around Vosges in 2008 and 2009 in the same car, but with different navigators. She has qualified for the Finale of the French championship three times, in each year of competition. Her best results so far have been Coupes des Dames, as her F2 Peugeot is not powerful enough to challenge for the major honours.

Female Rally Drivers after 1950: the Americas

2011-02-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

Vanina Schaffer

The United States of America is not a country associated with rally drivers, full stop, although the likes of Gail Truess (profiled elsewhere on Speedqueens) are flying the flag for the USA.
South America, however, is very different, and rallying is much more popular there. Recently, female drivers have started to enter the major events.
Below are profiles of some recent rally drivers from the American continent.

Nadia Cutro—Argentine driver who competes alongside her navigating sister, Florencia. They have been rallying since at least 2006, and now enter rallies across South America, including the 2010 Rally Argentina, in which they were 19th. Previously, they have won the N4 Light class in Argentine rallies, and their best overall finish in 2010 was tenth, in the Rally de Tucuman. Their car in 2010 was a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, run by Marcos Ligato’s Tango team. They have been selected for the Pirelli Stars driver development programme in 2011.

Alicia Reina—has been rallying in her native Argentina since 2008. Her first car was a Fiat 147, which was then replaced by a Fiat Palio. She won her class in the 2008 Salta Rally, one of the first events she entered. She has continued to drive in Argentine rallies through 2009 and 2010, still in the Palio, and is usually in the top three of the 2WD class. Her first IRC outing, the 2010 Rally Argentina, resulted in a 27th place overall, third in group N2 and second in the 2WD class.

Vanina Schaffer—rallies a Fiat 147 in Argentina, after spending some time as a navigator. She scored some class wins in Argentine rallies in 2009, which appears to be her first season as a driver. In 2010, she does not seem to have entered many major rallies, but may have competed in gliding competitions. One exception was the Rally of Cordoba, where she was the second-fastest female driver. She has returned to the stages for 2011, with an appearance in the Zavalla Rally. She did not finish.

Jamie Thomas - rallies a Subaru in the USA and her homeland of Canada. Has scored many class wins in "Burnsie", her Impreza WRX Estate, since 2003. In 2004, she was third in the USA ProRally championship, and won her regional title. She has been a class winner in SCCA, NASA and Rally-America competition. In 2008, she was fourth in the National PGT standings and tenth overall in the National rally championship.

Women at the Nassau Speed Weeks: Part II - The Ladies' Races

2011-02-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

Heather Bethell in her Austin-Healey

Ladies' races were a feature of Nassau Speed Week between 1956 and 1962. They attracted a mix of female professionals, SCCA racers, local drivers and the wives of male drivers.
Below are the results of these races, by year.

1956

Ladies—Race 1

1. Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550)

2. Sally Chapin (Ferrari 500 TR)

3. Evelyn Mull (AC Ace)

4. Suzy Dietrich (Porsche 550)

5. Jean Speidel (Porsche 356 Speedster)

6. Mary Constantine (Jaguar D-Type)

7. N. Pearce (Austin-Healey 100)

8. Greta Oakes (Porsche Speedster)

9. Marion Lowe (Jaguar D-Type)

Ladies—Race 2

1. Marion Lowe (Jaguar D-Type)

2. Sally Chapin (Ferrari 500 TR)

3. Suzy Dietrich (Porsche 550)

4. Evelyn Mull (AC Ace)

5. Denise McCluggage (Osca MT4-2AD)

N. Pearce (Austin-Healey 100) - result not known

Jean Speidel (Porsche 356 Speedster) - result not known

Mary Constantine (Jaguar D-Type) - result not known

Greta Oakes (Porsche Speedster) - result not known

1957

Ladies—Heat 1

1. Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550)

2. Isabelle Haskell (Osca S1500)

3. Evelyn Mull (AC Ace)

4. Jean Speidel (Porsche 550)

5. Ruth Luedeke (Alfa Romeo Giulietta)

Suzy Dietrich (Elva) - DNF

Ruth Levy (Aston Martin DBR2) - DNF

Ladies—Heat 2

1. Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550)

2. Ruth Levy (Aston Martin DBR2)

3. Evelyn Mull (AC Ace)

4. Jean Speidel (Porsche 550)

5. Suzy Dietrich (Elva)

6. Ruth Luedeke (Alfa Romeo Giulietta)

Ladies—Final

1. Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550)

Suzy Dietrich (Elva) - DNF

Ruth Levy (Aston Martin DBR2) - DNF

Jean Speidel (Porsche 550) - result not known

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - result not known

1958

Ladies—Heat 1

1. Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven)

2. Evelyn Mull (Lotus Eleven)

3. Pinkie Windridge (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce)

4. Fifi Fleming (Osca S750)

5. Gladys Cam (Berkeley SE 328)

6. A. Goodfellow (Berkeley SE 328)

7. Greta Oakes (Berkeley SE 328)

8. M. Kelly (Berkeley SE 328)

9. Denise McCluggage (Lotus Eleven)

Ladies-Heat 2

1. Denise McCluggage (Lotus Eleven)

2. Evelyn Mull (Lotus Eleven)

3. Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven)

4. Fifi Fleming (Osca S750)

5. Gladys Cam (Berkeley SE 328)

6. A. Goodfellow (Berkeley SE 328)

7. Greta Oakes (Berkeley SE 328)

8. M. Kelly (Berkeley SE 328)

Overall

1. Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven)

2. Evelyn Mull (Lotus Eleven)

3. Fifi Fleming (Osca S750)

4. Gladys Cam (Berkeley SE 328)

5. A. Goodfellow (Berkeley SE 328)

6. Denise McCluggage (Lotus Eleven)

7. Greta Oakes (Berkeley SE 328)

8. M. Kelly (Berkeley SE 328)

9. Pinkie Windridge (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce)

1959

Ladies—Heat 1

1. Prudence Baxter (Lotus Eleven)

2. Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven)

3. L. Grimm (Alfa Romeo Giulietta)

4. Greta Oakes (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spyder)

5. Heather Bethell (Austin Healey Sprite)

6. Joan Galloway (Austin Healey Sprite)

Ladies—Heat 2

1. Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven)

2. Prudence Baxter (Lotus Eleven)

3. L. Grimm (Alfa Romeo Giulietta)

4. Greta Oakes (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spyder)

5. Heather Bethell (Austin Healey Sprite)

Joan Galloway (Austin Healey Sprite) - DNF

Ladies– Final

1. Prudence Baxter (Lotus Eleven)

2. Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven)

3. L. Grimm (Alfa Romeo Giulietta)

4. Greta Oakes (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spyder)

5. Heather Bethell (Austin Healey Sprite)

6. Joan Galloway (Austin Healey Sprite)

1960

Ladies’ Race

1. Smokey Drolet (Daimler SP250)

2. Heather Bethell (Austin-Healey 100-6)

3. Greta Oakes (Lotus Eleven)

4. Vivian Publicker (Ferrari 250 GT LWB California)

5. A. Stephens (Austin-Healey Sprite)

6. V. Moore (MG A)

7. A. Goodfellow (Triumph TR3)

1961

Ladies’ Race

1. Prudence Baxter (Lotus Eleven)

2. Alice Stephens (Porsche 356 Carrera)

3. Susan Northcutt (Triumph TR3)

4. Susan Baron (Lotus Seven)

5. Lou Moseley (Porsche 356 Carrera)

6. Janet Madsen (MG A)

7. Patsy Kennedy (Jaguar XK120)

1962

Ladies—Heat 1

1. Alice Stephens (Porsche 356B Carrera)

2. Smokey Drolet (Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ)

3. Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera)

4. Nedra Ware (Fiat-Abarth)

5. Heather Meyers (Austin-Healey 3000)

6. Sibilla O’Donnell (Lotus Super Seven)

7. Joanne Gambal (Alfa Romeo Giulietta)

Ladies—Heat 2

1. Smokey Drolet (Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ)

2. Alice Stephens (Porsche 356B Carrera)

3. Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera)

4. Heather Meyers (Austin-Healey 3000)

5. Nedra Ware (Fiat-Abarth)

Overall

1. Smokey Drolet (Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ)

2. Alice Stephens (Porsche 356B Carrera)

3. Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera)

4. Heather Meyers (Austin-Healey 3000)

5. Nedra Ware (Fiat-Abarth)

(Photo from the Terry O'Neil Bahamas Collection)

Women at the Nassau Speed Weeks, Part I

2011-02-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

Nassau Speed Week was an annual festival of motorsport, held in Nassau in the Bahamas, between 1954 and 1966. It was traditionally held during the off-season. It was organised by Red Crise and Sydney Oakes, the millionaire president of the Bahamas motorsport association and sometime racer. Although it was never part of any official championship, it attracted large entry lists, which included the big names of the era. Stirling Moss, Masten Gregory, Alfonso de Portago and other stars of the international racing scene, were regular entrants. This was due to its generous prize fund and starting money, provided by a Bahamian government subsidy. The rest of the field tended to comprise of American drivers in the higher echelons of national racing, plus a few local racers.

Most of the races were for sports and production vehicles, but there were also some single-seater events. The results for these are harder to track down than the sportscar results. There was no actual Speed Week overall championship, but the Nassau Trophy was its blue-riband event.

Women drivers were initially welcome, and some years, dedicated ladies’ races were held. As with their male counterparts, the Nassau lady competitors tended to be a mix of international professionals, such as Denise McCluggage, and mainly US-based club racers, often competing alongside their husbands. After 1960, female participation reduces drastically.

Early on, one of these ladies was Greta Oakes. She was the wife of Sydney Oakes, and the two had previously competed in international sportscar events together. She drove at Speed Week even after the couple divorced in 1956.

After 1957, Speed Week itself was held on the Oakes family’s own track, the Oakes Course. Its previous home was Windsor Airfield.

Nassau Speed Week ended in 1966, in large part due to the death of Sydney Oakes in a road traffic accident earlier in the year.

Below is a preliminary list of women competitors at Nassau Speed Week, by year. Results of the Ladies’ Races will be published later.

1954

Nassau Speed Trials

Mrs J. Bird (Jaguar XK120) - 4th
Greta Oakes (Austin-Healey 100M) - 10th

Production Car race

Greta Oakes (Austin-Healey 100M) - 4th

1955

Governor’s Trophy

Isabelle Haskell (Maserati 150S) - 16th

Marion Lowe (Frazer Nash Targa Florio) - 31st

Local Residents’ Race

Ruth Ballard (Jaguar XK120) - 4th

Greta Oakes (Austin-Healey 100) - DNF

Nassau Trophy

Isabelle Haskell (Maserati 150S) - 21st

1956

Governor’s Trophy (under 2000cc)

Marion Lowe (Frazer Nash Targa Florio) - 31st

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - 35th

Local Residents—Race 1

Greta Oakes (Porsche 356A Speedster) - 8th

Local Residents—Race 2

Greta Oakes (Porsche 356A Speedster) - 4th

Preliminary Nassau Trophy (under 2000cc)

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - 18th

Marion Lowe (Frazer Nash Targa Florio) - final position not known

Nassau Trophy Consolation Race

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - DNF

Nassau Trophy

Marion Lowe (Frazer Nash Targa Florio) - 29th

1957

Nassau Memorial GT Race

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - 7th

Nassau TT

Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550) - 9th

Jean Speidel (Porsche 550A RS Spyder) - 13th

Preliminary Governor’s Trophy (under 2000cc)

Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550) - 6th

Isabelle Haskell (Osca S1500) - 13th
Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - 15th

Governor’s Trophy (under 2000cc)

Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550) - 4th

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - 18th

Ruth Luedeke (Alfa Romeo Giulietta) - 28th

AC Bristol & Austin-Healey Race

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - 2nd

Porsche Race

Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550A RS Spyder) - 4th

Nassau Memorial Trophy

Denise McCluggage (Porsche 550) - 9th

Evelyn Mull (AC Ace) - 20th

Ruth Luedeke (Alfa Romeo Giulietta) - 26th

1958

Nassau Berkeley Race

Gladys Cam (Berkeley SE328) - 3rd
Greta Oakes (Berkeley SE328) - 6th
Marie Kelly (Berkeley SE328) - 7th
A. Goodfellow (Berkeley SE328) - 8th

Preliminary Governor’s Trophy (under 2000cc)

Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven) - result not known

Governor’s Trophy

Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven) - result not known

Locals Race

Gladys Cam (Berkeley SE328) - DNF

Bahamas Cup

Gladys Cam (Berkeley SE328) - result not known

Greta Oakes (Austin-Healey 100) - DNF

Nassau Trophy

Marion Lowe/Denise McCluggage (Lotus Eleven) - 9th (class win)

1959

Preliminary Governor’s Trophy (over 2000cc heat)

Josie von Neumann (Ferrari 250 TR 58) - 16th

Preliminary Governor’s Trophy (under 2000cc heat)

Denise McCluggage (Osca S750) - 13th

Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven) - 17th

Governor’s Trophy (over 2000cc)

Josie von Neumann (Ferrari 250 TR 58) - 16th

Governor’s Trophy (under 2000cc)

Denise McCluggage (Osca S750) - 17th

Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven) - 34th

Locals’ Race

Heather Bethell (Austin Healey Sprite) - 10th

Austin-Healey & Locals’ Race

Heather Bethell (Austin Healey Sprite) - not classified

Ferrari Classics

Josie von Neumann (Ferrari 250 TR 58) - 5th

Nassau Trophy

Josie von Neumann (Ferrari 250 TR 58) - 18th

Denise McCluggage (Osca S750) - 27th

Marion Lowe (Lotus Eleven) - 38th

1960

Nassau Locals Race 2

Heather Bethell (Austin-Healey 100-6) - 3rd

Bahamas Cup

Heather Bethell (Austin-Healey 100-6) - 4th

1961

Preliminary Governor's Trophy (under 2000cc)
Prudence Baxter (Lotus Eleven) - 6th

Governor's Trophy (under 2000cc)

Susan Baron (Lotus Seven) - 23rd
Prudence Baxter (Lotus Eleven) - DNF

Governor's Trophy (over 2000cc)

Prudence Baxter (Lotus Eleven) - DNF

Locals Race

Lou Moseley (Porsche 356 Carrera) - 13th
Patsy Kennedy (Jaguar XK120) - DNF

Bahamas Cup

Lou Moseley (Porsche 356 Carrera) - 6th

1962

Nassau TT

Joanne Gambal (Alfa Romeo Giulietta) - 36th

Nassau Porsche & Alfa Romeo Race

Joanne Gambal (Alfa Romeo Giulietta) - 8th

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - result not known

Nassau Locals Race 1

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - 5th

Heather Meyers (Austin-Healey 3000) - 6th

Nassau Locals Race 2

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - 6th

Heather Meyers (Austin-Healey 3000) - 21st

Bahamas Cup

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - 6th

Heather Meyers (Austin-Healey 3000) - 18th

1965

Locals—Heat 1

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - 3rd

Locals—Heat 2

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - 3rd

Porsche Challenge Race

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - 6th

Bahamas Cup

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B Carrera) - 4th

1966

Governor’s Trophy & Nassau TT

Anita Taylor (Shelby Mustang 350GT) - 24th

Locals Race 1

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B) - 2nd

Locals Race 2

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B) - 3rd

Nassau Trophy

Anita Taylor (Shelby Mustang 350GT) - 15th

Bahamas Cup

Patsy Kennedy (Porsche 356B) - 2nd

(Photo from Getty Images)

Carmen Jorda

2011-02-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Carmen Jorda is a single-seater racer from Spain. She began karting at the age of eleven, in her native Valencia. Her first taste of full-sized circuit racing was in Master Junior Formula in 2005. This is a single-seater racing series for drivers under the age of eighteen. Carmen was sixteen when she started, and was seventh in the championship in her first year.

She did her first Formula 3 races the following year, as well as carrying on in Master Junior Formula. The junior series gave her a ninth place overall. The Formula 3 Copa España guest spots she took gave her a pair of eighteenth places at Valencia.

In 2007, she was fourth in the F3 Copa España, with three podium finishes: third places at Albacete, Magny-Cours and Jerez. Her other races resulted in fourths and fifths. In the main F3 championship, she did not fare as well, with her best result being a twelfth, at Jerez, late in the season. Her other races resulted in finishes ranging from thirteenth to 21st, and she was twentieth in the final standings.

This arrangement continued throughout 2008, although Carmen was now driving for Campos Racing, rather than Meycom Sport. Again, her best results came in the Copa, with fourth places at Albacete and Jerez. As well as these, she earned eight further top-ten finishes, and was eighth overall in the championship. In the main F3 draw, she once more found it more challenging, but her results were an improvement on those of 2007. She broke into the top ten twice, at Jerez and Magny-Cours, and was 21st overall, despite scoring her first points, which she failed to do in 2007.

Her single-seater schedule remained the same in 2009, although Spanish F3 was now the Euro F3 Open, and she was mainly under the care of GTA Racing with Campos. On the track, a string of DNFs mid-season dropped her down the rankings. Her best Open finish was ninth at Magny-Cours, while in the Copa, it was second, also at Magny-Cours. In the main championship, she did not visit the top ten again, although she managed several further top ten finishes, with one more podium at Catalunya, in the Copa. She was 21st in the Euro F3 Open, and sixth in the Copa España.

As well as her F3 activities, Carmen also did some sportscar racing in the Le Mans Series, driving a Judd-engined Lucchini LMP2 for the Hache Q8 Oils team. One of her two team-mates was the MotoGP rider Fonsi Nieto, who was her boyfriend at the time. The other was Maximo Cortes. The trio were entered into the Algarve, Nürburgring and Silverstone rounds, but did not finish any of them.

In 2010, she moved to the USA to compete in Firestone Indy Lights. The deal she had with Andersen Racing was initially for the full season, but this was curtailed to five events, for reasons never fully explained (likely to do with sponsorship). She started brightly enough at St. Petersburgh, coming eleventh on her debut, but did not finish at Barber Motorsports Park with gearbox trouble. She bounced back at Long Beach, scoring her best finish: tenth. A temporary absence from the championship followed, but she was back for round seven, in Toronto. Sadly, she did not finish there, or at Edmonton shortly afterwards. Her season ended there.

Carmen has stated that her goal is the Indy Racing League, but at the time of writing, her future plans are unclear.

Away from the track, Carmen has done quite a lot of fashion modelling, which has helped her profile in Spain.

Beate Nodes

2011-02-12T09:22:00.000-08:00

Beate is most famous for being the first woman to finish on the podium in a DTM race in 1986. Her third place came at Avus. She was driving a Ford Sierra XR4 Ti.

Her earliest noted motorsport experience seems to have been Formula Ford in her native Germany, in 1982. Interestingly, she was driving alongside Ellen Lohr, and both of them would end up competing in the DTM, with varying degrees of success.

Her first steps in touring cars came in 1983, when she was nineteen. She entered the Ford Fiesta Ladies’ Cup in Germany, and was second in her first season. On her return in 1984, she won the championship. This began a long relationship with Ford and Ford-engined cars, which Beate raced almost exclusively during her professional career.

That year, Beate tried a few different styles of motorsport. She drove a Cosworth DFV-powered Gebhardt JC843 prototype in one Interserie race at the Nürburgring, finishing sixteenth, towards the end of the year, followed by a visit to Sandown Park in Australia with the Gebhardt team. Beate, Frank Jelinski and Günter Gebhardt were twelfth overall, third in class in the 1000km event. Driving a Fiesta similar to her Ladies’ Cup car, she scored a class win in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, finishing 22nd overall.

Her DTM career began in 1985, and her first car was a Ford Escort RS Turbo. She entered three races, driving for the Grab Ford team. Her only finish was a fourteenth place at Siegerland; she did not finish at either the Nürburgring or Zolder. Away from the DTM, she also entered some German Formula 3 rounds, as well as some production car races. She and her Manfred Burkhard were due to take part in the Zolder ETCC round in another Escort RS, but the clutch failed, and they did not make the start.

1986 saw her DTM programme increased to nine races. Her AVUS podium came during the fourth round. Elsewhere, she was eighteenth at Zolder, ninth at Hockenheim, eleventh at the Nürburgring, fourteenth at Mainz and eleventh at Wunstorf. The second Nürburgring round gave her a DNF, she was then eighteenth at Zolder again, and twelfth at the Nürburgring, all in a Grab Ford Sierra XR4 Ti. Her final championship position was eleventh, the best of her career.

The car and team stayed the same for 1987, with the season extended to all ten rounds. Beate was nineteenth at Hockenheim and fifteenth at Zolder, then a disappointing 27th at the Nürburgring. Back at her lucky track of AVUS, she was sixth, her best result of the season. She was then thirteenth at Mainz, eleventh at Nürnberg, 25th at the Nürburgring and 23rd at Wunstorf. The last two races of the season, Diepholz and Salzburg, ended in DNFs. This less-than-satisfactory season netted Beate a 21st place in the final standings.

Another attempt at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in a Group N Sierra seems to have ended in a DNF.

1988 was her last DTM season. The Grab team retained her services for six races, still in the Sierra. At AVUS, she was twelfth and eighteenth. As ever, her best results were achieved there. At the Nürburgring, she scored one 25th place and one DNF, and at Wunstof, two 25ths. She finished the season 42nd overall.

Away from the DTM, she won the 1990 Ford Fiesta Mixed Cup with Thomas Beyer, after a year-long break from motorsport. Driving with Achim Stegmüller, she was second in the 1992 Mixed Cup. In between, she campaigned a Sierra in the VLN, but did not achieve much success.

She retired after the 1992 season and concentrated on business interests, between then and her sudden death in 2008, following a heart attack. She was 44 years old.