Yvette Fontaine

Yvette in a Ford promotional shot, 1969

Yvette was the winner of the 1969 Belgian Saloon Car Championship. She was the first woman to win a Belgian national championship.

She actually began her motorsport career as a rally driver, in 1964. Her first car was an Austin Mini, like many other drivers of her era, both male and female. She did not get a particularly auspicious start to her career, as she went over the time limit for both of the events she entered that year, which were the Tour of Belgium and the 12 Heures d’Ixelles. The Tour of Belgium was her first-ever rally. The 18-year-old Yvette had only a vague idea of how a rally ran, and was not even used to driving at the 60 kph average speed expected.

In 1965, she exchanged the Mini for a Saab 93 Sport. Although her first rally in it, the Routes Blanches, ended in another OTL, she soon worked out what was what, and began posting some decent results. She won three Ladies’ Trophies, in the Circuit des Ardennes, Ostend 12 Hours and 12 Heures d’Ixelles, and was class runner-up in the Picardie Rally, in France. For at least part of the season, she was navigated by Anita Elford, who was Belgian, but married to Porsche driver, Vic.

1966 was the year her career really took off. She drove an Alfa Romeo Super 1600, and not just in rallies. As a teenager, she had often visited the Zolder circuit whilst on holiday with her parents, and now, she was racing there for real. In March, she entered the Grand National race at the circuit, and was 34th in the final race, tenth in class. She was then eleventh in her race at the Belgian Cup meeting, also at Zolder, and seventh in class at the Coupes de Spa. Later in the season, she travelled to Germany for the Marathon de la Route, at the Nürburgring, where she shared her Alfa with Hannelore Werner. They did not finish. In a different Alfa, a 1300, she won her class in the Spa 24 Hours. She and Nicole Sol were 19th overall, supported by Alfa Romeo Benelux.

On the rally side, she had a mixed season, with her fair share of retirements. She crashed out of the Tulip Rally, and missed out in the Circuit des Ardennes, by missing a time control. However, she almost made up for it with her first top-ten finish, a ninth on the Routes du Nord event. She did it again with a tenth place on the Rallye des Nivelles, near Brussels. She was co-driven, at different times, by “Gaby Poison” and “Puce” (“Flea”), who were both occasional racers on the Belgian scene.

Another new thing for Yvette this year was hillclimbs. Still in her works 1600, she tackled several Belgian and French speed events, and was Group One winner in four of them.

She continued as a multi-purpose Alfa driver in 1967. Her rally record continued to be a little hit-and-miss, with more than one incidence of missing time controls, or making mistakes with the route. This was tempered by some very creditable performances, including a seventh place in the Le Touquet rally, in France. Her car was a GTV 1600.

In the Belgian Touring Car Championship, she was picking up speed. In the Grand National races at Zolder, she was eighth in Group 2, driving a 1600 GTA, despite its rear axle being broken. At the Belgian Cup meeting, she scored her first win, in the Class D+E race, as well as finishing third in the C+D race. She was fourth in the Coupes de Spa, just ahead of Lucien Bianchi, and then second in the Chimay 500km (Grand Prix des Frontières), driving for Bianchi’s team with her rival and “fellow” Alfa racer, Nicole Sol. The second Belgian Cup meeting gave her a fourth place, after finishing third in her heat. She was second in the championship.

Across the border, in Germany, she was part of an Alfa Romeo team for the 84-hour Marathon de la Route, driving a 1600 GTA with rally driver, Jean-Marie Jacquemin, and J-M Heilman. They did not finish, due to an accident. Back at Zolder, she was third in the Division 2 race of the Limbourg Grand Prix, driving a 1600 GTA again. Her second ETCC outing came at Spa, for the 24 hour race, where she drove for Lucien Bianchi’s team again, with Jean-Marie Lagae. They did not finish, due to a con-rod failure.

Again, the Alfa team entered her into lots of hillclimbs, in which she was increasingly successful, normally driving a GTA. It was in this car that she was second in the Maquisard climb and third in the D’Houyet event. This was enough for third in the Belgian championship. As well as hillclimbs, she took part in a speed record attempt over a kilometre, in both a GTA and 1600 GTV. She broke a class record in the former, and was the best in class in the latter.

In 1968, her co-operation with Alfa Romeo ended, and she was promptly signed up by Ford of Belgium, who recognised her speed and versatility. They were interested in the promotional value of a female driver, but as previous winners of both the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles, and only supported the most competitive. In the first race of the championship, the Belgian Cup meeting at Zolder, Yvette was second in the 1300cc race, in a Ford Escort GT 1300, run by the British Broadspeed team.

Her next race was at Chimay, over 300km, but she did not finish, due to an engine problem. Her car this time was a Twin Cam Escort, run by the works Ford team, which was still in development, and somewhat unreliable. She was third in the North Sea Trophy, and fifth in her Zolder heat, although she did not finish the main race.

She also raced in the European Touring Car Championship, driving the Broadspeed Escort at the Limbourg Grand Prix and in the Nürburgring round, sharing the car with Brian Robinson. Both ended in non-finishes, due to a water leak and a broken accelerator respectively.

As well as Belgian events, she travelled to Denmark and the UK for Ford-sponsored races, taking the works Escort to seventh at the Jyllandsring, and the Broadspeed car to sixth, at Mallory Park. She was also eighth in the Coupe du Salon, at Montlhéry.

Hillclimbing was still very much on the agenda, and she won her first climb this season, the La Roche event. She was driving a Twin Cam, although she also drove a Lotus Cortina and a Mustang during the season. Remarkably, she was also twelfth overall, with a class win, in the same climb, driving a Formula Ford. Ford Belgium experimented with putting Yvette in a single-seater in speed events and circuit races, and she even managed an eighth place in the Limbourg Formula Ford race.

Ford retained her services in 1969, and decided to allow her to concentrate mostly on saloon racing. Rallying, never her strongest discipline, was restricted to a single co-driver outing with Gilbert Stapelaere, on the Routes du Nord. She did a few hillclimbs, but achieved no more wins.

This year, she made a bigger assault on the ETCC, in the revitalised Escort Twin Cam. It began haltingly, with DNFs at Monza and Vienna, but picked up when she returned later in the season, with a sixth in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours, with Freddy Semoulin (Alain Dex). She was then eleventh in the Spa 24 Hours, with John Fitzpatrick, and won the Division 2 race at Zandvoort.

The Belgian championship also began slowly. During the Belgian Cup meeting, Yvette was moved into a Welcker Cortina, to make way for Jacky Ickx, and could only finish twelfth. Back in her usual car, she won the 1300cc race at the Zolder Grand Prix, and was fourth at Spa and third at Chimay. The Zolder Grand National and the North Sea Trophy gave her fourth, and the Coupes Benelux at Zandvoort, another win. She was second in the second Belgian Cup meeting. This, combined with her results in the ETCC, was enough to give her the Belgian Saloon Car Championship, her first championship and a first for a female driver. She had defeated Jean-Pierre Gaban, in his Porsche 911, in the last race.

Still with Ford, she returned to the Belgian series to defend her championship in 1970. She started where she left off, with a win in the Zolder Grand National race. After a DNF at the Belgian Cup races, she won again at the Zolder Grand Prix. A broken accelerator put her out at Spa, but she was sixth at Chimay, and third in the Coupes Benelux. A practice accident stopped her from competing in the final round, at Zolder. She retained her class championship, quite narrowly.

The ETCC was more problematic. Ford of Belgium, despite Chevron sponsorship, did not have the resources to run her in the full series. They entered her into the Silverstone and Zandvoort rounds, in a Twin Cam, but she did not finish the main race in either. Ford of Germany picked her up for some races, usually partnering Hannelore Werner, but she did not always make the start, due to car problems and insufficient preparation. Driving the fierce, 2300cc Capri, she did not finish at Monza, Salzburg or the Nürburgring, and was pulled out of the Spa 24 Hours line-up.

She also did one Formula Three race, at Chimay, but went out early on following a crash. Among her opponents were James Hunt and David Purley. This was her last single-seater outing. 

Ford continued to employ Yvette in 1971. Her schedule was exclusively saloon races, driving an Escort BDA. Her Belgian season began well, with a win in the Group 2 Final of the North Sea Trophy. She was then second in the Zolder Grand Prix, but only 29th in the Coupes de Spa, after not finishing a heat. Her car’s engine failed at Chimay, but she was second in the Belgian Cup. The Benelux Cup gave her a third place. She was fifth at Nivelles, and could not retain her championship, although she was awarded the ladies’ championship as a consolation.

In the European championship, she got some support again from Ford of Germany, although in an Escort, rather than one of the now-dominant Capris. She was fourth at the Nürburgring, with Gerry Birrell. Driving for the BP-sponsored British Vita team, she did not finish the Spa 24 Hours. A works drive in the Zandvoort Trophy did not help either, as she lost fuel pressure. The Paul Ricard double six-hour race also ended in retirement.

A late high point of 1971 was Yvette’s part in some Ford speed records, set over a kilometre on a Belgian motorway. As part of a team including Jackie Stewart, she set new records in an Escort, Capri, and, most famously, a Transit Van with a Formula One engine.

Her 1972 season was mostly based around the Belgian championship. She drove for the Ford BP team once more, and started the season in a 3-litre Capri, in which she was fourth and second at Zolder, but did not finish at Nivelles, after the throttle linkage failed. For the Coupes de Spa, she drove an Escort, but was only seventh. She was fourth at Chimay and Nivelles. A win in the last round, at Zolder, pushed her up to fourth in the championship.

The Spa 24 Hours was disappointing again: Yvette shared an Escort RS 1600 with Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, but the head gasket blew. Her only other outing was a trip to England, where she was fifth in a Ford Consul race at Brands Hatch.

The Ford team was struggling a little by 1973, and Yvette drove a private car this year in some rounds of the Belgian championship. She was fifth in the EEG Trophy, at Zolder, and a battling third at the Nivelles 24 Hours meeting. She was also eighth in the Zolder Grand Prix race. Her Spa 24 Hours ended in another blown engine.

For the first part of 1974, Yvette continued in the Belgian championship, with a 1300cc Escort. She did two races at Zolder, finishing the second in third place. Later, after missing one round, she got a last Ford works drive, in a Capri. She was seventh in one Zolder race, and fourth in the EEG Trophy. They also backed her for the Spa 24 Hours, driving a Capri with Claude Borgoignie, but the car’s head gasket went.

Yvette's Capri at Zolder, 1974

Through Ford’s links with Chevron, Yvette’s career received a welcome new challenge, in the shape of sportscar racing. She raced a Ford-engine Chevron B21 in the Spa 1000km, with her erstwhile rival, and replacement at Alfa Romeo, Christine Beckers. They did not finish, but this proved valuable practice for Le Mans, the following month. Driving as the “Ecurie Seiko Sato”, Yvette and Christine, with Marie Laurent, were 17th overall, and won the 2000cc class.

Despite her continuing good performances in the face of decreasing support, Ford dispensed with Yvette’s services at the end of the 1974 season. The fuel crisis had hit them hard, and sponsorship was getting harder to come by. Her modest Le Mans success was recognised, and she was invited to be part of Anny-Charlotte Verney’s Porsche 911 Carrera RS team. They were eleventh overall and second in class. The third driver was Corinne Tarnaud.

The Belgian touring car championship itself had gone into decline, and now only had three rounds. The European series was plagued by problems. Yvette had been in talks with BMW about a drive, but it did not materialise. She was picked up by Atlas Racing for a couple of rounds of the Trophée l’Avenir, driving a BMW 3.0 CSi. Her team-mate was Noel van Assche, known as “Pedro”. They were eleventh in the EEG Trophy, but second in the Spa 24 Hours. This was Yvette’s best-ever finish in that race.

After this, Yvette called time on her professional racing career, at the age of 29. Although she had won many races and achieved considerable success, there was now less money in motorsport than ever, and she had never been paid anything near the amounts her male team-mates had. In 1976, she accepted a couple of drives in a Chevrolet Camaro in the ETCC, but these were her last big races. She shared Reine Wisell’s car with him and Stuart Graham for the Spa 24 Hours, but did not finish. In a different Camaro, for “Team Zip-Up”, she was 20th, but not classified, in the Tourist Trophy at Silverstone. Her team-mates were Rune Tobiasson and Rudy Host.

The end of her professional career was not the end of her involvement with motorsport. Yvette continued, and continues, to compete, on and off, in club rallies, hillclimbs and races, and historic events. She has also organised track days for female drivers. In 2018, she did some parade laps at Brands Hatch in a celebration of 50 years of the Ford Escort.

(Images from www.forum-auto.com and www.touringcarrracing.net (Paul Kooyman).

Jill Robinson

Jill in the Alpine-Renault, in the 1972 RAC Rally

Jill was one of Britain's leading lady drivers in the 1970s. She was a regular entrant in the major British rallies, and also competed quite extensively abroad, particularly in Finland. Although she never achieved the stellar results of Pat Moss or Rosemary Smith, whose careers overlapped with hers, she was capable of holding her own on a special stage, and was able to draw upon considerable resources and contacts to support her motorsport activities.

Born Jill (Margaret) Simpson, she was part of the Simpson family who were the “Simpson” in “Clarke & Simpson”, an upmarket Ford dealership in London. Her sister, Judy, was also a rally driver, although she took it up some years after Jill. Jill herself seems to have started competing some time after her first marriage, and the birth of at least one child, a daughter.

On the international stage, she competed in the RAC Rally seven times. Her first RAC Rally was in 1969, and she drove a BMW 2002 TI with Audrey Scott. They were 58th overall and won the Ladies’ Cup. In 1970, she entered again, this time in a Ford Escort RS 1600. She would continue to drive Escorts of various kinds throughout her career. In this particular one, she is not recorded as a finisher. Her navigator was Frances Cobb. They renewed their partnership in 1971’s RAC Rally, in a similar car, but again, did not finish. The duo also did the Ypres Rally together, in an Escort RS1600 run by Clarke & Simpson. They also drove in the Dukeries Rally, finishing 49th in the Escort. That year, Jill, with local co-driver Leila Loukimo alongside, entered her first 1000 Lakes Rally, in a Twin Cam Escort. They were 42nd overall, and second female crew, behind the experienced and local Eeva Heinonen.

In 1972, Jill started her season back in Finland, for the Arctic Rally. She and Kirsti Pätiälä retired in their Twin Cam Escort. For a change, Jill drove an Alpine-Renault A110 in the Daily Mirror RAC Rally, alongside Dilys Rodgers. They do not appear to have finished.

Jill’s most famous rallying exploit came in 1973, during the Daily Mirror RAC Rally. In a Ford Escort Mexico, she was roped into driving alongside the now-disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile, which did not end well. They dropped out very early on, after performing quite poorly. That year, she also teamed up with Frances Cobb again for the Avon Tour of Britain, a Tour de France style combination of rally sections and circuit races. They drove a Ford Cortina and do not appear to have finished.

The following year, she returned to the RAC Rally with a more skilled navigator, Dilys Rodgers. They drove a Ford Escort RS1600, and were 52nd overall. Later in the year, Jill moved away from Ford power temporarily, and drove an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV in the 1000 Lakes Rally. Her navigator was Kirsti Airikkala, a British-based Finn who was married to Pentti Airikkala, another entrant into the rally. Pentti was sponsored by Clarke & Simpson, and both Jill and Kirsti would drive under Castrol sponsorship. Jill and Kirsti were 80th overall, but third in the one-litre class. They was also third in the ladies’ standings, behind her regular rival, Eeva Heinonen, and Trine Jensen.

Another attempt at the RAC Rally in 1975, assisted by Dilys Rodgers and in a Ford Escort RS1800 this time, ended in retirement again. She was part of an Avon Tyres-backed team with Russell Close. The following year, she had her best RAC Rally result of her career: 28th, and winner of the Coupe des Dames. She was driving an RS1800 with Pauline Gullick. During the summer, she made another trip to Finland, for the Hankiralli this time, driving an RS2000. She did not finish.

Her programme was similar in 1977. This time, she finished the Hankirally in 39th place, driving an RS2000 with Ian Parry. She was 47th in that year’s RAC Rally, in another Escort, with Dorothy Selby-Boothroyd. This year, she was also active in British rallies, and was part of Team Castrol in the British championship, driving an RS1600 with Dilys Rodgers.

By 1978, her career was winding down, and she only appears to have driven in one major rally this year. She was 40th in the Safari Rally in an Escort RS2000, co-driven by another experienced local, Yvonne Pratt.

In 1979, she did her last big international events. One was her debut visit to the Rally of Madeira, which she does not appear to have finished. Another was the Sunriser Forest Rally in the USA. Jill drove an ex-Rod Millen Datsun 510, with Pauline Gullick. They did not finish. This deal was partly arranged by Jill’s partner, David Sutton, a rally driver and preparation expert. Some time after this, the couple married. Jill and David sometimes competed together, and David, a former sales manager at Clarke & Simpson, was instrumental in brokering some of Jill’s drives. He took over Clarke & Simpson in 1975, which became David Sutton Cars.

In 1979, Jill’s daughter, whose name is not forthcoming, attempted to start her own rally career in the Fabergé Fiesta Challenge. She was eliminated in the preliminary rounds. Jill and David are still together, and live in Northamptonshire.

 (Photo by, and copyright of, Tony Gardiner) 

Beate Nodes

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 Wunstorf, 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.

(Image copyright Kurt Sikora)

The Shellsport Escort Ladies' Championship

Divina Galica, winner at Snetterton in 1977

This series was organised and promoted by John and Angela Webb of Shellsport, who were running Brands Hatch at the time. It was mainly a PR exercise, but ran at major race meetings, and attracted decent fields. It started in 1974, as a series of three one-off races for invited female drivers, in identically-prepared Ford Escort Mexicos. Two of the races were won by Lella Lombardi, and the last was won by Jenny Dell. The rest of the grid was made up of members of the British Women Racing Drivers' Club, who were also involved in the series.

In 1975, the number of races was extended to four, and the series became a registered championship. It was still by invitation only, and organised through the BWRDC. The championship was won by Susan Tucker-Peake, despite the fact that she did not manage to win a race. Divina Galica, Maggie Anderson and Wendy Markey shared that honour.

1975 Championship:
1. Susan Tucker-Peake
2. Divina Galica
3. Wendy Markey
4. Lorina Boughton
5. Georgie Shaw
6. Alison Davis

Divina Galica was the winner of the 1976 championship, after a clean sweep of all four races. The series remained popular, and there was a waiting list of potential drivers.

1976 Championship:
1. Divina Galica
2=Susan Tucker-Peake
2=Alison Davis
4. Maggie Anderson
5. Juliette Slaughter
6. Wendy Markey

In 1977, the championship was extended to five rounds. Maggie Anderson was the eventual victor from Alison Davis and Divina Galica, but the championship itself suffered from low turnout, partly due to erstwhile regulars being on duty in bigger events.

1977 Championship:
1. Maggie Anderson
2. Alison Davis
3. Divina Galica
4. Susan Tucker-Peake
5. Glenys Atkins
6. Gill Rindlisbacher

1977 was the last full year of the Ladies’ Escort Series. It was relegated to two standalone events in 1978, composed of BWRDC members and a few celebrities. The races were won by Alison Davis and Julie Chimes. After that, it was quietly retired.

The Shellsport championship was distinctive, in that it encouraged entries from experienced and successful racers, which perhaps explains its relative longevity.

Full results for all five seasons are recorded in the BWRDC book, Mary’s Girls: 40 Years of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club.

Below are profiles of some of the major players.

Fiona Butterfield - competed in both circuit racing and rallying in the 1970s and 1980s. She began in 1977, taking part in some Formula Ford races in a hired car at Brands Hatch. She was apparently sixth and seventh in her first two races. This led to some drives in the Shellsport Escort series; she led one race until contact with another car took her out. She raced in Formula Ford until at least 1980, when she is described as owning a Crossle. In 1979, she tried rallying and was part of the Faberge Fiesta Challenge with co-driver Marilyn Tricker. She may also have raced in the 1980 Debenhams Fiesta Challenge and Formula Talbot on-track. Photos show her with shot putter Geoff Capes as part of a sports celebrity race at about that time.

Rachel Goate - raced in the 1970s and was a member of the BWRDC. She took part in the Shellsport Escort Ladies Championship in its later editions, although she was not among the frontrunners. She also raced historics in the 1970s and was a member of the Aston Martin Owners’ Club. Later, in 1978, she attempted to win a place in the Faberge Fiesta Challenge, although she had never done any rallying before. She did not reach the finals.

Angela Kearns – got into motor racing through John Webb’s Shellsport “charm school”, based at Brands Hatch. She took part in some of the Shellsport Ladies’ Escort races in the mid- to late 1970s. In 1973, she was part of the winning team in the Brands Hatch Relay Triathlon, taking the driving leg of the event. She was partnering runner Dave Bedford and cyclist Morris Burton. Other details of Angela’s career are proving hard to find.

Georgie Shaw - raced saloons in the UK in the 1970s. She began in a Mini, in club races, but moved on to a Triumph TR7 and a Mazda RX-3. This last car was often shared with Wendy Markey in the National 1275 GT Championship, as well as one entry into the 1976 6 Hours of Silverstone. She was an active member of the BWRDC and participated in the 1974 and 1975 Shellsport Ladies’ Escort series. She retired in 1979 and became a motorsport journalist, as well as continuing her involvement with the British Women Racing Drivers' Club.

Theodora (Theo) Sibley - raced in British club and National events in the late 1960s and 1970s. She was noted at the time for being the oldest female racing driver competing, when she entered the British Formula Ford Championship in 1968 and 1969. In the 1970s, she was an enthusiastic member of the BWRDC and drove in the Ladies’ Shellsport Escort series in 1974 and 1975.

Mary Wheeler - raced a Triumph TR2 and a TVR in club and National races in the south of England between 1959 and 1973. She won a race at Goodwood in her debut season, and went on to win several more there over the years. Among her last competitive outings were the first Shellsport Ladies' Escort races. She also competed in hillclimbs. She is chiefly remembered for setting up the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club, and running it for many years. She died in 2003, aged 93.

(Image copyright Maurice Bennington)