Jean Aley

Jean at the Brands Hatch ladies' race. She is fourth from the right, turning away from the camera

Jean Aley drove saloon cars in the 1960s, and also competed in rallies.

She was born into a motor racing family. Her father Anthony Curtis was one of the founding directors of HRG sportscars and both he and her mother Nancy were regular visitors to Brooklands. Jean's first practical involvement was through working for motor clubs, including the BARC and BRSCC. Between 1958 and 1960, she sprinted a Cooper sportscar and was second in class in the 1958 Brighton Speed Trials. 

Jean married John Aley in 1960, and he encouraged her to race again from 1961 onwards, usually in a Mini. She had taken some time out after an accident at Silverstone in the Cooper.

Her best year for saloons was 1962, when she drove a Mini in the Nürburgring 6 Hours and 500km races. She and Daphne Freeman did not finish the 500km, but she was fifth in class in the 6 Hours, driving with her husband John. Their Mini was described as "very standard". 

She was also one of nine women who entered a ladies' race at Brands Hatch, organised by the fledgling British Women Racing Drivers' Club. She was third, driving a Mini, behind two Lotus Sevens driven by Liz Osborn and Wendy Hamblin. Talking to the Daily Express, she said that the race had been a warm-up for the Nürburgring, and that John had lent Daphne their other Mini, a "shopping car", for the race. 

A second run in the Nürburgring 6 Hours followed in 1965, driving a little Fiat Abarth with John and Tim Lalonde. Their finishing position is unclear. Her year had begun inasupiciously, with John taking over her Mini for a round of the British Saloon Car Championship at Snetterton. His team had entered two DKWs for German drivers, but John's own car was out of action, so he took Jean's. 

Competing against each other apparently caused some friction between the Aleys, and Jean concentrated on sprints and hillclimbs after that.

Plans were discussed for an endurance trial in a smaller Fiat-Abarth in February 1967. John, Jean and drivers from the Cambridge University Automobile Club aimed to run the car day and night at Snetterton for a week, covering 1000 miles per day. It is not clear whether this ever took place.

In rallies, she occasionally navigated. She sat alongside Sheleagh Aldersmith for the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally. Unfortunately, their rally ended before they had even got on a ferry to the Continent; the radiator exploded within a few miles of Jean's house. John took some responsibility, claiming he should have checked it. 

Both of the Aleys were now involved in motorsport outside of active competition. John sometimes served as Clerk of the Course at Snetterton, with Jean as Secretary of the Meeting. Later, they managed the circuit and founded the BRSCC East Anglian branch.

Her career seems to have ended after a road accident in 1967, when a tanker sideswiped her car at a junction. She and her female passenger were both injured. After this, she continued with her administrative work, organsising two European Touring Car Championships with John.

The couple ended up divorcing. Jean remarried.

(Image copyright Daily Mirror)

Ann Moore

Ann leaps over her FF2000 car on Psalm

Ann Moore was a British showjumping champion who had a brief motorsport career in 1976, promoted by John Webb of Shellsport.

Ann won a silver medal in individual showjumping at the 1972 Munich Olympics, riding her horse Psalm. This made her the most successful of Britain’s female equestrians at a time when showjumping had a sizeable TV audience. She was voted the Sports Journalists’ Association Sportswoman of the Year in 1973, having been runner-up in the two years previously.

John Webb was the director of Brands Hatch circuit at the time. He was both sharp to the promotional value of female drivers and supportive of their abilities. He had one of his biggest successes the year before with Divina Galica, a former Olympic skier who would go on to attempt to qualify for a Formula One race in the same year that Ann Moore took the wheel. Ann’s public profile was far higher than Divina’s was due to the relative popularity of her sport. There was also a strong history of successful female drivers having first competed in equestrian events. Pat Moss was a showjumper like Ann, and another of the Webb protegees was Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, a former amateur jockey. The appeal to John Webb and his publicist wife Angela was obvious. Ann was signed up for what was referred to as the Webb “Charm School”.

Ann’s first race was in 1975. She was one of the celebrity racers hired to fill out the grid for the Shellsport Escort Ladies’ series, at Brands. Previous celebrity entrants had included TV announcer Linda Cunningham and actress and porn performer Fiona Richmond. The championship used the Shellsport fleet of Ford Escorts, which was kept at the circuit. Ann was eleventh after a spin. Divina Galica was the winner.

The next phase of her career was a move into single-seaters. It was announced early in 1976 that Ann would compete in “around 30 races” that year in an Elden Formula Ford 2000 car, arranged by the Webbs and sponsored by Rolatruc. She made her debut at the start of the season with two races at Brands, then one at Mallory Park in March.

Among her events that year was a charity single-seater race in aid of a sports-related cause. Ann’s car, complete with her livery and name, is seen being used by boxer Joe Bugner for training. 

The FF2000 car was perhaps not the best choice for a novice; Formula Ford 1600 may have been more suitable, or more outings in the Escort. Spectators of the time remark that Ann was slow and often spun her car. Her much-vaunted “professional” racing career came to a halt after only six races. 

A statement made to the press explained that she had not realised how much of her time would be taken up by motor racing, and that she would only take part in occasional celebrity races in the future. It is not clear whether she did appear in any more of Shellsport’s celebrity races, which usually used Escorts, but they were held throughout the season and there would have been plenty of opportunity.

Ann had already retired from showjumping two years previously, aged 24.

(Image by Nick Rogers, copyright Shutterstock)

The Fast Girls Consul GT Challenge

Gillian Fortescue-Thomas

1. Gillian Fortescue-Thomas

2. Jenny Birrell

3. Micki Vandervell

4. Rosemary Smith

5. Yvette Fontaine

6. Gabriel Konig

7. Susan Tucker-Peake

8. Margaret Blankstone

9. Carolyn Tyler-Morris

10. Sheila Islip-Underwood

11. Jenny Dell

12. Juliette Scott-Gunn

13. Jill Robinson

14. Vicki Graham

15. Tish Ozanne

DNF Liz Crellin

DNF Trisha Morris

The “Fast Girls Consul GT Challenge” was held on August 26th, 1972 at Brands Hatch, during the Formula 5000 meeting.

It was a launch event for a Ford Consul one-make series and was intended as a one-off. The British Women Racing Drivers’ Club supplied many of the drivers. Some had come through the Shellsport “charm school” at Brands Hatch, including winner, Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, and Juliette Scott-Gunn. Some very experienced rally drivers took part as well as circuit racers. Tish Ozanne, Liz Crellin and Rosemary Smith had been active much earlier. Jill Robinson was more current. Yvette Fontaine was the only international entrant.

It was run over ten laps of the club circuit. Jenny Birrell started on pole.

The winning driver was presented with a mink coat by none other than Graham Hill.

(Image copyright Autosprint, 1971)

The Fast Girl Trophy

Sally Stokes in her Mini

Brands Hatch, 19th May 1963

1. Joey Freeman (Aston Martin Spa Special)
2. Michaelle Burns-Grieg (Austin Mini)
3. Wendy Hamblin (Lotus 7) - fastest lap
4. Sally Minter (Austin A40)
5. Sally Stokes (Austin Mini Cooper S)
6. Ann Glover (Morgan Plus Four)

Anita Taylor (Ford Anglia) - DNF

Jean Dorken (Lotus Ford) - DNF

Entered, finishing position unknown:

Gabriel Konig (Austin Healey Sprite)

Mary Wheeler (Vauxhall VX4/90)

Gillian Sturgess (Daimler SP250)

Isobel Robinson (Ford Anglia)

Kim Stevens (Austin Healey Sprite)

Fritzi Landes (Austin Mini Cooper)

Wendy Atkinson (Austin Mini)

Sylvia Mason (Austin Mini)

Entered, did not race:

Jenny Tudor Owen (MGB)

Rosemary Seers (Sunbeam Rapier?)

Louisa Squires (Porsche 1600)

Tessa Hollis (Austin Healey Sprite)

Jean Aley (Mini Cooper)

The original Fast Girl Trophy was part of the BRSCC’s Members Meeting at Brands that weekend. Fifteen drivers took the start; as many as 21 may have attempted to qualify. The race was open to female drivers in saloon or sports cars and was run in a handicap format.

It was originally scheduled to run for ten laps, but was shortened to twelve minutes. Michaelle Burns-Grieg and Gabriel Konig had a low-speed collision on the formation lap, which had to be dealt with before the race commenced. On the fifth lap, Jean Dorken’s clutch blew up, then Anita Taylor rolled her Anglia after puncturing a tyre on the debris. The resulting pictures were picked up by several daily newspapers, who were all over this story of women drivers and carnage. Anita Taylor joked to a reporter that she would have to do her shopping by bicycle until the car was repaired. Some of the drivers used their own cars, while others were borrowed, from the likes of Chris Craft and Gordon Spice.

The race was won by Joey (Jocelyn) Freeman in an Aston Martin. This was her comeback race after a heavy crash in 1962, and her first all-female event. Anita Taylor and Michaelle Burns-Grieg had previously raced each other in the BSCC, the fore-runner of the BTCC. Fifth-place finisher, Sally Stokes, was making her competition debut. She was better-known as the long-term girlfriend of Jim Clark.

Another Fast Girl Trophy was apparently held at Mallory Park later in the year, but no results are forthcoming.

Full results for the race are rather hard to track down. There were fifteen starters, who were pictured in the Daily Express. One of the names on the list must have either dropped out or not qualified.

I am grateful to Richard Page, John Winfield and Richard Armstrong for their help in finding entry lists.

(Image copyright Alamy)

Juliette Slaughter

Juliette with the Kelly Girl Lola

Juliette Slaughter (née Scott-Gunn; also Brindley) was most famous for her Le Mans entry in 1978.

Her racing career began in 1970, as Juliette Scott-Gunn, after she inherited some money. There was some history of motorsport in her family; her father had the distinction of being a racing vicar at Brooklands. In 1971, she won the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club’s Helen Spence Trophy, for the best newcomer. She competed in Class C of the Castrol Production Saloon Championship in 1972, in a Ford Escort, scoring one class win at Brands Hatch. In August, she raced in the BWRDC’s “Fast Girls Ford Consul Challenge” at Brands, and was twelfth, out of seventeen drivers, after a spin. The winner of this event, Gillian Fortescue Thomas, was presented with a fur coat by Graham Hill.

She met her first husband, Andy Slaughter, on-track, when he drove into her car! They were both racing in Production Saloons at the time. Between 1972 and 1974, she concentrated on her career in personnel. At one point, she was part of Mark Thatcher’s management team.

When she returned in 1975 as Juliette Slaughter, she was involved in the sport both on and off the track. Her day job was in the press office at Brands Hatch, under the management of John and Angela Webb. The Webbs were skilled promoters, and Juliette gained a reputation is a marketing expert.

One of John Webb’s favourite marketing ploys was using female drivers to create media interest. He had trained up a “stable” of women racers, some from the world of celebrity, or other sports, who raced under his Shellsport banner. They became known as “the Charm School”, and were not always taken seriously. Although John Webb always had one eye on the promotional value of his drivers, he also believed in them as racers, and helped to launch the careers of Divina Galica and Desiré Wilson.

Shellsport acted as the sponsor for the BWRDC’s invitation Ford Escort one-make challenge. It began in 1974, and Juliette took part in two of the three races, with a best finish of second. This was achieved at her home track, Brands Hatch. The series ran as a championship proper in 1975, and she entered three of the four rounds. She was sixth twice, this time at Mallory Park and Snetterton. She managed another two second places at Brands in 1976, behind Divina Galica, but had the consolation of a joint fastest lap and class record in the second race. She set another lap record at Snetterton in 1977, in the same car, and was second in the race itself.

She was an enthusiastic member of the BWRDC. Their 40th anniversary book, Mary’s Girls, tells of her participation in a women’s Demolition Derby in 1975, and a humorous imaginary film called “The Bird Life of a Northamptonshire Village”, in which she was going to discuss “fashion on the grid”.

In 1977, Juliette mainly raced a Shellsport Renault 5 in the Production Saloon championship. She scored at least one fourth place, at a Christmas meeting, and won her class at Thruxton, leading to another BWRDC accolade, the Embassy Club Championship. That year, she was also announced as the second driver in Divina Galica’s Sports 2000 Lola T290. Reports suggest that she took part in at least one event in the car, which was sponsored by the Kelly Girl employment agency. This may have been down to Juliette’s own negotiation, as she had previous experience in the field, and was now a marketing manager at Brands Hatch.

The Lola was one of several cars she raced in 1978. The Renault was kept on for use in Production Saloons, and she also had the use of a Triumph TR7 for production sportscars.

Her biggest race of 1978 was undoubtedly Le Mans. She was driving a Kelly Girl-sponsored Lola T294S, with Ian Harrower and Brian Joscelyne. They suffered engine trouble and did not finish, only managing 61 laps. That said, all drivers had put in some respectable times, particularly considering the age of their car, and their lack of big-race experience.

The following year, Juliette drove a Porsche 924 in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours with Win Percy, and they won their class, finishing 22nd overall. Again, this was a strong performance in an underpowered car, which had proved hard to qualify.

At the same event in 1980, she was ninth with John Sheldon and John Brindley, in a Lola T492. They won the Sports 2000 class.

Away from the major races, and after her Le Mans outing, she accepted a drive from Gerry Marshall Racing in Production Saloons, driving a Triumph Dolomite, in 1979. Unfortunately, no results are forthcoming for this car/driver combination.

Later, she drove a VW Scirocco in the same championship. She finished on the Production Saloon podium six times during 1980, with a best finish of second. This included a drive in the Willhire 24 Hours, as part of a team that included Stirling Moss and Desiré Wilson, and was sponsored by the “mens’ magazine”, Mayfair. She continued with the Scirocco in 1981, when she teamed up with Tony Lanfranchi.

She retired in 1982 to pursue her business career, and other interests. For many years, she put her promotional and organising expertise to good use on the committees for various horse trials, having taken up riding.

Sadly, she died in 2012, at the age of 67, after an eleven-year battle with cancer.

(Image copyright Getty Images)

Heather Baillie (McAlpine)

Heather is a Scottish racer, active in the 1980s and 1990s. She was a race winner in different driving disciplines, and enjoyed modest success on the track.

Her career began in earnest when she won a season’s Kit Car racing in a driving competition, having been entered by her father. This was in 1984, when she was 19, and followed some sprinting and hillclimbing in a Formula Ford. Her Kit Car season, in 1985, resulted in a class second overall.

In 1987, she went back to single-seaters, and raced in Formula First, the entry-level formula of the time. The 1987 season was not the easiest, with a crash putting her out of the first round at Brands Hatch. However, her second year as a Formula First driver saw her make progress, with a best finish of fifth, and tenth in the championship. Her time in this series was marred by a pitlane accident involving another Formula First car, at Brands Hatch. The car was driven by a novice, whom Heather was actually instructing at the time. She broke both of her legs and had to take time out from racing.

In 1989, she had another go at single-seaters, in Formula Forward. This resulted in another best finish of fifth, and eighth in the championship.

During this time, she was also racing a Suzuki Swift in saloon races, including the Willhire 24 Hours, held at Snetterton, in 1988 and 1989. She won her class in 1988.

She was a race-winner in the Ford Fiesta championship of 1990, finishing third in the points. Her win came at Oulton Park. The same year, she mastered small saloons as well as much bigger machinery, winning a British truck racing championship. Her British truck record included three wins and three seconds, from six races. She raced in some European Truck championship rounds, too, and was fourth in one race at Paul Ricard.

1991 was again focused around saloons, and she raced a Ford Sierra Cosworth in the Production Saloon championship. Although she could not quite repeat her heroics of the previous year, she had a best finish of second, and was sixth overall in the championship.

In a surprise switch back to single-seater racing, she contested eight rounds of the Japanese F3 championship, in 1992. She was part of the She’s Racing team. This was not an easy season for Heather, who did not manage to score any points.

1993’s activities are not completely clear, but it seems that she did some more truck racing, in the British Chamionship. It is clear from pictures that she also took part in one European championship round, at Le Castellet, driving a Chris Hodge TRD. The results are not forthcoming.

Back in the Asia-Pacific area in 1994, she raced a Toyota Celica with Gwenda Searle, at the James Hardie 12 Hour race in Australia. They did not finish.

Heather’s last significant motorsport activity was winning two AC Cobra races in the UK in 1995, racing as Heather McAlpine, following her marriage.  The same year, she was one of the instructors for the Daewoo Lady Driver competition.

Although she claimed in 2002 that she had not retired, she has not been seen competitively on the circuits since then. She has, however, been on them; in 1996, she started an all-female track day team, driving a SEAT Ibiza. Among her “fellow” drivers was Barbara Armstrong.

(Image copyright Rexscanpics)