Marie-Jeanne Marinovitch

 

Madame Marinovitch with Louise Lamberjack in 1935

Marie-Jeanne Marinovitch, always credited as “Madame Marinovitch” and sometimes named as Jane, was a Serbian-French rally driver living in France who was active in the 1930s and 1940s. 

She was part of a prominent Serbian family living in France, probably by marriage, which included a World War I flying ace, Pierre Marinovitch, and a prime minister of Serbia.

One of the earliest mentions of her as a driver comes from June 1927, when Le Journal covered the first Journee Feminine de l’Automobile. She drove a 7hp Fiat and came fifth in a heat for the major race, then fourth in a repechage. This did not qualify her for the final and the paper described this as a shame.

Many of the women who raced in the Journee went on to compete in the all-female Paris-St. Raphaël Rally. Her first entry was in 1931 and she drove a 13hp Voisin. This was the car she used for four editions of the rally between then and 1934, scoring a best finish of third in 1933. A further outing in 1935, driving a Ford, gave her a 27th place.

In  June 1931, she took part in the Aero Club’s Rallye-Parachutes, driving the Voisin. This event involved following other competitors in aircraft and retrieving as many parachutes dropped by them as possible. In the write-up for this event, she was described as an experienced rally driver, and named as the “baronne Marinovitch”.

The Monte Carlo Rally was one of her favourite events and she entered on four occasions, beginning as a navigator to Marcelle Leblanc in 1934. They were 42nd overall in a Peugeot 301.

She won the Monte Carlo Coupe des Dames in a Ford in 1935 and a Matford in 1936, with Louise Lamberjack and Hellé-Nice as her navigators. The Matford entry with Hellé-Nice also gained them a “Challenge Officiel de la Couture” award for style. The car was an Alsace V8 model which had previously been raced by Ford France head Maurice Dollfus. Their starting point was Tallinn. Her 1935 Coupe began with a Palermo start.

A third Monte as a driver occurred in 1938. She shared the Matford with Odette Siko and finished 32nd, fifth in the ladies’ standings.

After 1934, Fords and Ford-powered cars were her usual choice for rallies. Occasionally, she drove other cars, such as the Mercedes she used for the 1935 Grand Circuit de Vosges (resulting in a non-finish) or the Delahaye she shared with Odette Siko for that year’s Liege-Rome-Liege Rally.

Another rally she returned to over and over again was the Criterium Paris-Nice, which she entered four times between 1932 and 1936. Her best result was a 16th place in 1933, driving the Voisin. 

She was one of the drivers who contested the 1939 ladies’ championship which was held in France, using Renault Juvaquatres. She crashed out of the second race at Comminges on the sixth lap, rolling her car and breaking her collarbone, but was fourth in the first.

The Second World War broke out shortly afterwards so there was plenty of time for her to recover. Her final event seems to have been the Rallye International Feminin de Paris, a continuation of the Paris-St. Raphaël. She drove a Citroen.

(Image copyright L’Eclaireur du dimanche illustre)

La Journée Féminine de l’Automobile

Colette Salomon in her Bugatti

France between the wars had a thriving women’s motorsport scene. As well as comparatively high levels of female participation in Grands Prix, rallies and other races, there were a number of dedicated women’s events. The best-known and longest-standing of these was the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally, which began in 1929. The competitions varied from celebrity gymkhanas to races for serious drivers in highly prepared cars.

One such contest was La Journée Féminine de l’Automobile, one of the biggest of its kind.

This event was held at Montlhéry, from 1927. It was organised by the newspaper, Le Journal, who promoted it and ran the Concours d’Elegance. The French Women’s Automobile Club also had a hand in it. The first event was officially started by the Duchesse d’Uzes, Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart, who was the club’s founder, and the first French woman to obtain a driving license.

The first event was held on the twelfth of June in 1927. Contemporary reporting of the Journée concentrates mainly on the Concours d’Elegance part, which attracted both female motorists, such as the rally driver, Madame Mertens, and music-hall celebrities such as Mistinguett, who won one of the categories. There were cars bedecked with flowers, driven by members of the Women’s Automobile Club, cars and drivers in classical-themed decor, and interiors made from exotic materials.

Actual racing played a supporting role. There was at least one major race, a handicap, for which three prizes were awarded, for the overall winner (the Coupe de l’AC), the winner on scratch (Coupe du Journal) and a production car prize. As well as wheel-to-wheel racing, a prize was awarded for the best time in a speed trial. The drivers were a mix of enthusiasts and genuine racers, including Lucy O’Reilly Schell, Jannine Jennky in her Bugatti, the Belgian driver, Madame Mertens, in her Lancia, and Albertine Derancourt, in a Salmson. Colette Salomon, an actress and dancer who also raced, was crowned the winner.

The races were all handicaps, with the fastest cars being penalised. The handicapping was arranged the day before the Journée, and was carried out by a group of male professional racing drivers, who drove each car and assessed its chances.

The next Journée was held on the eighth of July, 1928. It incorporated a sprint speed trial as well as the handicap races. There were fewer established names this year, although Charlotte Versigny and Marie Depret, who later raced at Le Mans, performed well. This was also the competitive debut of Hellé-Nice, then still a nightclub performer. She was driving a Citroen.

A third Journée on the third of June, 1929, included Hellé-Nice scoring her first win, in the “Grand Prix Féminin”. She won ahead of the favourite, Violette Morris, in a Donnet. This year, the blue riband event was the “Championnat Féminin”, run over 150km. There was also a “Grand Prix Féminin” of 50km in length. The Grand Prix was for the five fastest cars in the championship race. The focus of the 1929 event was more on the sporting side, the novelty value of an all-female race meeting having worn off. Marcelle Leblanc, a regular at Montlhéry at the time, won the Championnat, despite some disputes over handicapping from a Madame Le Bigot. Other famous names present included Lucy O’Reilly Schell and Gwenda Stewart.

By 1929, there were at least nine circuit races run, according to Miranda Seymour’s The Bugatti Queen. Le Journal in 1930 mentions a “Challenge” and “interclubs”. A club prize was certainly awarded in 1930, to a three-woman team from the Automobile Club de l’Île-de-France.

The 1930 meeting did not attract quite as many of the top names, although the grids were healthy. The event was downsized somewhat for a year in 1931, with only 16 entrants, then does not seem to have run in 1932, before returning in 1933. Reports describe the 1933 event as the sixth, suggesting the 1932 meeting did not happen.

This year, the Championnat element of the competition was a one-make race in 301s provided by Peugeot. At this point, Le Journal may not have been involved, as there is little reporting of the event in its pages, apart from a few references to the 1933 Journée, in a discussion of a one-make Renault series for women, held in 1939.

As well as motor racing, there was an array of other entertainment on show, including dancers, air displays and celebrity appearances.

Below are the available results of the major races.

1927

Coupe du Journal: Colette Salomon (Salmson)

Coupe de l’Auto Club: Marguerite Dupêchez (Amilcar)

Production car class: Madeleine Bachmann (Chatou)

1928

Coupe de l’AC: Mme Johnston (Steyr)

Coupe du Journal: Marie Depret (Lorraine)

Speed Trial, open cars: Charlotte Versigny (Bugatti)/Marcelle Leblanc (Peugeot)

Speed Trial, closed cars: Mlle Sauer (Amilcar)

1929

Championnat Féminin: Marcelle Leblanc (Peugeot 5CV)

Grand Prix Féminin: Hellé-Nice (Omega Six)

Speed Trial: two class wins for Violette Morris in two different cars, one for Madame Mertens.

1930

Championnat Féminin: Comtesse de Lesguern (Simca-Standart)

Grand Prix Féminin: Marion Rogée (BNC)

Coupe du Journal: Helene Véniel (Chenard-Walcker)

Interclub Challenge: Automobile Club de l’Île-de-France (Comtesse de Lesguern, Mlle du Verger, Mme Lemaitre)

1931

Championnat Féminin: Estelle Lang (Rosengart)

Grand Prix Féminin: Lucy O'Reilly Schell

Coupe de l’Auto Club de l’Île-de-France: Estelle Lang

Coupe du Journal: Odette Siko

1933

Championnat Féminin: Fernande Hustinx (Peugeot 301)

Grand Prix Féminin: Hellé-Nice

This article was made possible by the Le Journal holdings at http://gallica.bnf.fr/

(Photo by George Hoyningen-Huené, first appeared in French Vogue in 1927.)

Odette Siko

France's Odette Siko was a true pioneer of women's motor racing, and was the first lady ever to drive at Le Mans, in 1930. Not only was she the first woman to race at the fabled Sarthe circuit, she was also the most successful female entrant so far.

It has proved almost impossible to find out when Odette's first taste of motorsport occurred, but it is likely to have been during the late 1920s. Her first forays into serious competition appear to have been in 1930, when she took part in her first Le Mans with Marguerite Mareuse. Their car was Marguerite's own Bugatti T40, a 1500cc model. That year's race was a difficult one, with a high rate of attrition, but the Siko/Mareuse partnership proved to be a good one, and they finished seventh, not a bad first attempt at all.

The same car was used by Odette and Marguerite in the 1931 running of the 24 Hours. This time, they were not so fortunate. Despite reaching the end of the race in a healthy ninth place, they were disqualified for refuelling too early at the beginning. Odette herself had misunderstood a pit signal and brought the car in before the allotted time.

Both women came back to Le Mans in 1932, but with different cars and co-drivers. Odette teamed up with "Jean Sabipa", also known as Louis Charaval, in an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750. The car belonged to Odette, and she would use it in various events for the next few seasons.

The Siko/Sabipa partnership was another excellent one. In another race of heavy attrition, they managed to battle to the end and finish fourth overall, winning the two-litre class and keeping pace with the three-litre cars in front. This was the best-ever finish for a woman driver at Le Mans, a second first for Odette, and one which has not yet been beaten, over seventy years later.

Teaming up with Sabipa again the following year was not so fruitful. Although the Alfa was on the pace and running well in fifth, disaster struck on the 120th lap when Odette skidded off the circuit. Her car hit a tree, hard, and caught fire. Miraculously, she was unhurt, despite being thrown out of the car at high speed. Unbelievably, she tried to put the fire out with the aim of continuing the race.

During the period above, Odette also took part in events across France and, I believe, in the North African sportscar races which took place every year. In 1931, she won the sportscar class of the Picardie Grand Prix, and was fourth in the overall standings. She was driving a different Bugatti this time, a T43, and it may have been in this car that she won the 2000cc class of the Circuit d'Aisne in 1932. For that year's Circuit de Torvilliers, she used her Alfa, and was second in the class for sportscars up to 3000cc.

After the 1933 season, she appears to have concentrated on rallying, as a driver and also as a navigator. In 1934 she shared her Alfa with the infamous Hellé Nice for the Paris-St Raphaël ladies' rally. I have been unable to track down their finishing position. It may have been here that the pair struck up a friendship, for according to Hellé Nice's biographer, Miranda Seymour, Odette was one of Hellé's few female friends in the world of motorsport.

Odette sat beside another skilled French driver, the young Simone des Forest, in 1935. They did at least the Monte Carlo Rally together. The following year, she took the driving seat herself in the Critérium Paris-Nice, a high-speed rally popular with sportscar racers of the time. She was 86th in a Bugatti.

Her most noteworthy activity in 1937 was her participation in the Yacco Oil speed trials at Montlhéry. She was chosen as the captain of a team of four female drivers who were set to spend ten days breaking a series of speed records. The other drivers in the group, all French, were Hellé Nice, Simone des Forest and Claire Descollas. Both Claire and Simone made little effort to hide their dislike of Hellé, and Odette's captain's role was sometimes one as peacemaker as well as leader on the track.

Their car was a huge Ford-engined Mathis "Matford", with a 3600cc V8 engine. It was nicknamed "Claire" by the team, perhaps after Claire Descollas. After an abortive first attempt, during which Descollas dropped out, the crew eventually managed to set 25 records between them, driving at high speed around the Montlhéry banking in shifts for ten whole days. Ten of these records were world records for automotive endurance and fifteen were international Group C records. Some still stand today.

This was not Odette's last involvement with Matford cars; in 1939 she partnered Louise Lamberjack on the Monte Carlo Rally in a different vehicle. They were 18th, having started from Tallinn and battled their way through black ice and extremes of temperature.

Like so many of her European contemporaries, male and female, Odette's racing career appears to have been ended by the advent of the Second World War. I have found no record of her resuming it after 1945.

She is still remembered today as the highest-finishing female entrant at Le Mans and as the holder of her Yacco speed records.

(Image source unknown)

"Madame Hellé Nice"

Hellé Nice with the Alfa Romeo 8C

One of motorsport's brightest characters is now once more in the public eye, thanks to a recent biography by Miranda Seymour. Mariette Hélène Delangle, as she was christened, never did anything by halves, and was racy in every sense of the word. After escaping her dull, provincial home village she earned a living as an exotic dancer and occasional nude pin-up in 1920s Paris. When dwindling audiences put an end to that, she re-trained as a circus acrobat, as this required less rhythm, and wowed the crowds by performing the splits on a high wire. She only took up motor racing full time when a skiing accident put paid to her performing career.

However, her motorsport activities began before that. While still dancing, she started entering celebrity races, which were popular in France at that time. The "Championnat des Artistes", held every year at Parc des Princes, was the biggest of these, and attracted stars of stage, radio and screen in wheeled contest.

Her first experience in more mainstream motorsport was in 1928, when she entered the Journée Féminine de l'Automobile at Montlhéry, driving a Citroen, which she also entered into the Concours d'Elegance. She is said to have been inspired to take up motor racing by watching Charlotte Versigny's performances in races and rallies, in a Talbot.

After her final injury in 1929 she was lent a Bugatti T35, and won every race she entered in the Championnat des Artistes. This was followed by a run in an Omega Six in the Journée Féminine de l'Automobile. She entered both the Grand Prix and Championnat races, winning the Grand Prix after finishing last in the Championnat. After this race Hellé Nice decided that she would compete on the major race circuit, and began a regime of physical training in order to strengthen herself for the rigours of high-speed competition, long before this was common practice.

Back in the Bugatti T35, she began her professional career with a speed record attempt at Montlhéry, where she set a new Ladies' Record before crashing. Her exploits were now big news, and she embarked on a tour of the USA, sponsored by the Williams Morris Agency. Driving a Ford V8, and other borrowed cars, she entered invitational races, and attempted speed records on dirt and board ovals across the country. A big accident eventually sent her back to France, and she would later describe her American experiences as some of the most frightening of her life.

Back home in 1931, she returned to her faithful Bugatti and entered some French Grands Prix. She was seventh at Dieppe, ninth at Comminges and seventh in the Circuit du Dauphine in a Bugatti T37 voiturette. In 1932, she competed around Europe in the T35. She was eighth in the GP d'Oranie in Italy and was the fastest lady at the Mount Ventoux hillclimb. Germany's Klausen hillclimb only gave her the "Second Lady" prize behind Emma Munz. Hellé Nice, who was fiercely competitive, was not happy with this, and caused quite an unpleasant scene.

Back to the track in 1933, Hellé was ninth in the Marseilles GP, her last race with the T35. Later in the year she acquired an Alfa Romeo Monza, which she had painted in French racing blue. With her new car she drove in the Pescara 24 Hour road race and was ninth in the Italian GP. This was another in a long series of lucky escapes for Hellé, as many drivers crashed and two were killed. She also did some rallying in a Bugatti. With a Mr Bonnet as her navigator, she tackled the Coupe Internationale des Alpes, although they missed out on an award.

1934 was one of her busiest years. She was due to compete in the Casablanca GP but withdrew after the death of Bruni d'Harcourt, a racing friend and rival. In the Alfa Monza she was seventh in the Picardie GP, eighth in the Comminges event and seventh at Alger. She was seventh in a heat of the Vichy GP and failed to reach the final, but drove better at Dieppe, coming fifth in her heat and seventh in the final. The Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring was her only major non-finish of the year. In hillclimbing, she was second in class at Mont Ventoux.

The following year was also a good one. Hellé was very famous by this time, and a number of her odd habits were commented on. She wore driving overalls with decorative bows, and apparently always drove with her mouth open, to the amusement of some. Nevertheless, she was improving as a driver. In the Alfa she was eighth at Pau, an excellent fourth at Picardie, sixth in a heat of the Biella GP and seventh at Comminges. She failed to finish at Penya Rhin. She continued to be a capable hillclimb driver, and was second in the 3000cc class at Latourne.

1936 also began well. Renewing her acquaintance with Ford power, Hellé won the Coupe des Dames in the Monte Carlo Rally, navigating for Marie-Jeanne Marinovitch, in a Matford. A disappointing crash in the Pau GP put her out for a while, but towards the end of the year she decamped to South America to sample the Grand Prix scene there. She was eighth in the Rio GP, a street race, against experienced rivals.

During the following year's São Paulo GP, tragedy struck. On a tricky section of the course, Hellé swerved to avoid a marshal and went straight into the path of a straw bale, thrown by a member of the crowd for reasons best known to themselves. The Alfa crashed heavily and threw its driver out of the car. She fell onto a male spectator who was killed, along with two others. Hellé Nice was seriously injured and in a coma for a while. This was the end of her Grand Prix career.

However, it was not the end of her motorsport career. Hellé did not give up easily, and was attempting speed records again by the end of 1937, as part of the Yacco Oil all-female team with Claire Descollas, Simone des Forest and Odette Siko. The following year she took to rallying again, in a DKW owned by Huschke von Hanstein.

Later, in 1939, she entered a ladies’ one-make championship for 750cc Renault Juvaquatres, and achieved some good results, including at least one win. However, these results have proved hard to find.

After the end of the Second World War, Hellé was ready to race again. Unfortunately, tragedy of a different kind struck. In 1949 she was accused of having been a Gestapo agent by Louis Chiron, a respected French driver. The claim was never substantiated and she eventually cleared her name in court, but mud sticks, and she was ostracised by the motorsport community, no longer a big media draw.

She did attempt to carry on racing for a while; she navigated for her former rival Anne-Cécile Rose-Itier in the 1950 Monte Carlo Rally, but they crashed their Renault 4CV early on.

Her last race was in 1951, when she failed to finish the Nice GP in another 4CV. After that she became rather reclusive, and lived in obscurity with the aid of a charity for retired actors. Sadly and unfittingly she died in poverty in 1984, largely forgotten in Europe but not in South America, where "Hellenice" or "Elenice" was a popular girls' name for many years.

(Image source unknown)