Geunda Eadie

 

Geunda Eadie raced in the BTCC in 1980 and was the winner of the Fabergé Ladies' Fiesta Challenge in 1979.

The Fabergé Challenge was a female-only talent search sponsored by Faberge’s Kiku cosmetics brand and the Radio Times. It featured both racing and rallying and was open to complete novices and experienced drivers alike. Geunda fell into the latter camp.

Since 1972, English-based Scot Geunda had co-driven for Sandy Lawson, who worked in the BMC competitions department. Their first major outing together was the 1972 Scottish Rally, in a Mini. Later in the year, Sandy acquired a DAF 55 and Geunda co-drove for her in it on that year’s RAC Rally. It was the first of three RAC events they did together.

She also took part in circuit racing at club level. This included the ladies’ races organised by John Webb, under the Shellsport banner. She took part in a couple of rounds of the Shellsport Ladies’ Escort Challenge in 1975, driving a Ford Escort Mexico and achieving midfield finishes. 

Later, she entered a Shellsport women’s race at Oulton Park in 1979. The cars were racing school Talbot Sunbeam Tis and Geunda defeated future Formula hopeful Desire Wilson and six other women.

The previous year, she had entered the Fabergé Challenge and beaten almost 2000 other hopefuls in regional trials. These involved straightforward driving tasks as well as more off-the-wall challenges like driving around a quarry blindfolded. The championship itself ran through 1979. Near-standard yellow Ford Fiestas were provided by local dealerships and each driver was paired with a co-driver for the six rally rounds, either chosen herself or assigned. Geunda’s navigator was the experienced Dilys Rogers.

Geunda won through her consistency, rather than spectacular wins. She appears to have done better in the rallies than the races, although the results lists are incomplete. The rallies were BTRDA rounds, with the Challenge running as its own class. Reactions to the women were mixed, although they became known as the “Yellow Perils” due to their yellow cars and Penelope Pitstop’s “Perils of” cartoon.

She won the first rally, the Dukeries Rally in March and was second in the Lakeland Stages a fortnight later. Her second event win was in Wales in the summer, when she topped the Fiesta standings in the Rali Bro Myrddin. She was second or third in each of the other three rallies.

The first part of her prize drive was a run in the RAC Rally in a works-supported Fiesta. She was co-driven by fellow “Yellow Peril” Flip Kerr, as Dilys Rogers was competing alongside Judy Simpson. Geunda sadly did not finish as she went over the time limit.  

Her season in the BTCC was something of a trial. Although she fared well in her class at times, the car was unreliable. She endured several DNFs and withdrew from some of the rounds. Her best class finish was third, which she earned at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix support race. Her best overall finish was ninth at the start of the reason, at Mallory Park.

At the end of the year, she retired from motorsport to start a family. Although her competition career was over, she stayed involved professionally, working for the Jim Russel Racing School at Snetterton. She was the chief instructor on its skid pan from at least 1978, when she put Daily Mirror journalist Paul Hughes through his paces for an article. Among her other students is said to have been a young Ayrton Senna, to whom she taught skid control.

As Geunda Palmer, she appears to have been involved in some way in the 1985 Esso Ladies’ Formula Ford race held at Snetterton, run by the Jim Russell school.

Geunda came out of retirement in 2010 to co-drive for Conor Kelly on the TNR Tour of the Sperrins. The car was a Ford Escort and she helped Conor to 81st place.

(Image copyright projectbobcat.com)

Female Drivers in Touring Cars: the United Kingdom

Anita Taylor in the Broadspeed Anglia

This is another post mostly made up of previous content, created in order to make the blog easier to get around. There are a couple of new names, and more will appear in future. Jem Hepworth, Elizabeth Jones, Barbara Cowell, Jacquie Bond-Smith, Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, Michaelle Burns-Greig, Geunda Eadie, Micki Vandervell, Jean Aley and Joanna Clarke now have their own posts.

Anna Barden - winner of the 2018 CTRC Classic Touring Car pre-2005 championship, driving a Renault Clio. She has been racing since 2016 and sometimes competes against her husband, Steve Barden, in the Classic Touring Car series. Further details of her career are proving hard to find as she previously competed under another name.

Joey Cook (Beale) - sister of Jacquie Bond-Smith. Like her sister, her early motorsport experiences were in her father’s “Wavendon Wombat” special, and they sometimes competed as a pairing. The sisters raced together in the FLIRT team in the 1960s, in a Mini Marcos. As a team, they entered the Nürburgring 1000km, Gran Premio del Mugello and Nürburgring 500 KM in 1967. Joey’s best result was 37th, in the Mugello race. She and Jacquie raced in separate FLIRT Marcoses for the Nürburgring 500km. She is still involved in motorsport through historic racing; she and her husband Stephen own and drive a 1962 Lotus Elite, and are members of the HSCC.

Ilsa Cox - winner of multiple British club championships in saloon car racing. She began in 1987. In 1997, she was the Castle Combe Saloon Car champion, driving a Peugeot 205 GTi. Even in her first year in that championship, 1995, she won eight times, and was narrowly beaten to the trophy. In 2008, she won Class A of the 750MC Hot Hatch Championship. More recently, she has been racing a SEAT Cupra in the Eurosaloons championship, and won a race outright at Oulton Park, in 2009. She was second in the “B” class of the series, with three wins. She has 26 career wins. She continued to race the SEAT in the CNC Heads Saloon/Sports championship in 2014. She won one race, and was second in Class D. As well as racing in the CNC Heads series in 2015, she took part in the Classic Thunder Touring Car Championship, still in the SEAT. She was fifth and seventh in these championships, respectively. She raced the SEAT again in 2016, in the CNC Heads series, but only did some of the rounds, and was 26th overall. In 2017, she did some races in the SEAT, but did not do enough of the championship to mount at serious challenge. She was back to winning ways again in 2018, picking up another Castle Combe GT crown in the Cupra and winning nine races outright. She competed in the CTCC Classic Thunder series in 2019, winning at least one race at Silverstone. As well as this, she works as a performance driving instructor, and promotes women’s track days.

Mary Grinham - races a spaceframe Maguire Mini in club events in the UK. Most recently, she has been part of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Classic Thunder series. She has been racing the car since the 1980s, when she took part in Special Saloons, securing class wins. This followed ten years as a motorcycle sidecar racer, and some time spent in Minicross. She first raced a sidecar outfit in 1972.

Joanne Kraemer - began her career in 2002 in UK Clio Cup. She did not compete for a full season due to injuries sustained in a crash, but managed to return. After a break, she drove in Britcar with her father, Rick Kraemer, in 2004. Their car was a Ford Focus. They managed some top-ten finishes, including one at Brands Hatch.

Clare Newbold - raced in the mid-1960s, always in Ford cars. In 1965, she raced a Ford Anglia in the 1000cc class, in British events. These were mostly at club level, so the results have proved hard to find. In 1966, she raced a “Fraud” Cortina, a heavily-modified Ford Special Saloon belonging to her future husband, “Doc” Merfield. They competed together at least once, in a handicap race at Brands Hatch. In 1965, Clare drove this car in the Brighton Speed Trials, and seems to have won something - a video of the time describes her as the winner, but the official records do not support this. She was an early member of the BWRDC and also raced at Goodwood. After her marriage, she seems to have retired.

Nerys Pearce - raced in the 2020 Britcar Trophy for Team BRIT, driving a BMW 1-Series. She joined the team for the Silverstone races and partnered Abbie Eaton, then drove with Aaron Morgan at Snetterton. As a guest driver, she was ineligible to score points. She is paralysed from the chest down and is hoping to be part of a Le Mans team consisting only of disabled drivers. Previously, she served as an Army medic and competed in para-athletics, powerlifting and rowing, as well as open-water swimming. She has represented Wales at the Invictus and Commonwealth Games. In 2021 she raced for Team BRIT in Britcar again.

Rona Pearson (Galliford) - raced in the UK between 1962 and 1964. She began her career in club events, using a Mini. Later in he first year, she entered her first international race, the Nürburgring 500km. She and Phil Cadman did not finish after their Mini suffered a gearbox problem. The following month, Rona had more luck in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours, finishing 19th in a BMW 700 with Marie-Rose Tibesar. She later married Peter Galliford and went back to club racing in the UK, before retiring in 1964 to have children.

Jacqui Smith – member of the FLIRT (First Ladies’ International Racing Team) team in the 1960s, with sisters Jacquie Bond-Smith and Joey Cook.  They campaigned two Mini Marcoses together in the 1960s, and raced at the 1967 Nürburgring 500km. Jacqui Smith does not seem to have finished. Earlier in the season, she had been included in the official Marcos team for the Nürburgring 1000km, but did not get to drive on the day. The year before, she was second in the BWRDC’s women’s racing championship, behind Jean Denton. She spent that season racing a Hillman Imp, competing in British club events and winning a Ladies’ race at Brands Hatch. She had been racing since at least 1964.

Mary Taylor - mostly raced saloons in the mid-1960s, and is most associated with Minis. She was racing a Mini by 1963, at least. In 1964, she took part in the Britax Saloon championship, and the following year, she won one of the BWRDC’s Embassy Trophies for the highest placed member at an eligible meeting. Frustratingly, it is not clear what cars she used for the 1964 season, although the award win was for a second place in a Mini. In At some point, she raced an MGB, and is named as an entrant for a Ladies’ race at Oulton Park. She also raced a Frazer Imp and a Lotus Elite. Her career was ended by a serious accident at Silverstone in 1966, where she suffered head injuries, although she later recovered. She was married to fellow racer, Sid Taylor, and was a hairdresser by trade.

(Image from Autosport)

The Fabergé Fiesta Challenge

Mary Fullerton and Ellen Morgan

The Fabergé Fiesta Challenge was a PR-led exercise, which also had the aim of encouraging female participation in motorsport. It was originally promoted via the Radio Times as a “Find a Lady Racing Driver” competition. In the competition phase, which ran in 1979, it was sponsored by Fabergé’s Kiku cosmetics brand.

The talent search was announced in February 1978 and had a series of regional selection events, each sending finalists to the next round. Over 2000 women applied to take part. Thirty went through to the finals in Pickering, Yorkshire, which were held at the end of July. The judges included Russell Brookes and John Taylor.

The series encompassed both circuit racing and rallying. Competitors drove identical yellow Ford Fiestas in six races and six rallies around the UK. There were fifteen competitors, who each had a female navigator for the rally events. Both novice and experienced drivers were eligible, and many of the navigators, who included Dilys Rogers and Dorothy Selby-Bothroyd, had international experience.

The eventual winner was Geunda Eadie, who won four of the races and one of the rallies. Her prize was a fully-funded year in the British Touring Car Championship, driving a Ford Fiesta. She was also entered into the RAC Rally.

The Challenge had one of the best prize-drives ever offered in a women-only series, which may have explained its popularity with applicants and the high calibre of entrants. It launched the career of Louise Aitken-Walker, who had her first motorsport experience there, and Jayne Neate and Mary Fullerton had had, or would have, considerable experience in rallying.

Fabergé only ever intended the Challenge to be a one-off, and no more versions were held.

Entry list:
Louise Aitken/Ann Kidd
Viv Ayres/Alison Green
Fiona Butterfield/Marilyn Tricker
Rose-Anne Clinton/Maggie Greenland
Sarah Cohen/Dorothy Selby-Boothroyd
Lesley Cowcill/Ann Roden
Geunda Eadie/Dilys Rogers
Edna Eagleton/Christine Coward
Mary Fullerton/Ellen Morgan
Lyn Jensen/Lesley Hazell
Felicity Kerr/Liz Jenner
Anne King/Helen Locker
Jayne Neate/Lynda Stangle
Trudy Smith/Julie Berrie
Julie Speechley/Helen Hally

Other applicants:

Dinah Bisson

Ruth Claus

Sandra Williamson

Vivienne Morphet

Kathryn Marsh

Linda Morrell

Yvonne Goodridge

Julie Townsend (finalist)

Pamela Sievwright

Teresa Goddard

Georgina Dodd

Rachel Goate

Marilyn Wiggall

Sandra Lindsay

Caroline Willetts (finalist)

Susan Clarke

Jane Turner

Tina Gillingham

Gill May (finalist)

Jacklyn Faulds

Wendy Burkey

Patricia Leroy

Patricia Nichols

Ghislaine Smith

Janet Jones

Sue Northover

Lesley Miles

Nancy Paul-Smith

Veronica Osborn

Diane Luxton

Jill Sadler
Susan Lee (finalist)

Jean McMillan (finalist)

Valerie Hall (finalist)

Janette Johnstone (finalist)

Glenys Atkins

More details of the drivers and events involved in the Challenge can be found here.

(Image from http://fiesta.foxcraft.co.uk/championship_new.html)