Rita Rampinelli

Rita Rampinelli was a Swiss driver active in the 1950s. 

She mostly competed in hillclimbs across Europe, first in a Cisitalia D46, and later, a Porsche 550 Spyder. 

The Cisitalia was a Formula 2-spec car. She drove it extensively in hillclimbs, although she does not seem to have raced it on track. Between 1951 and 1955, she was a regular top-three finisher in the class for racing cars up to 1100cc, including a second place in the 1953 Ollon-Villars climb, which was faster than the time set by bigger cars. She repeated this at the 1953 Mitholz-Kandersteg event. This hillclimb was one of her favourites; she scored another class third in it in 1955. 

She is sometimes described as the first Swiss woman to buy a Porsche, although this might mean a racing Porsche, as glider pilot Jolanda Tschudi owned one of the first ever production Porsches, as a road car. 

Before the cessation of circuit racing in Switzerland, she came fourth in the Swiss national championship twice, although details of which race series this referred to, are hard to pinpoint. It is likely that hillclimbs played at least some part.

In 1953, she drove in a sportscar race supporting the Swiss Grand Prix, at Bremgarten, and was sixth, in a Porsche 356. Driving a 1500cc Porsche, she crashed out of the Preis von Bremgarten later in the year.

She appears in the start list for a similar event in 1954, but the result is not forthcoming. 

For the summer of 1956, she bought the 550 Spyder, first racing it in the Saint Ursanne-Rangiers hillclimb in June.

As well as circuit racing and hillclimbs, she also participated in rallies, including the Monte Carlo Rally in 1954, alongside Max Brunner, a hot-air balloonist. Her car was an Opel Olympia and she just made it to the finish in 215th place, having started at Munich. Early in the rally, she was penalised for damaging the car's wing in collision with a lorry. This was probably not the first time she had entered. 

Rita was quite self-motivated in her racing career, although she was from a family with motorsport heritage. Her father, a car dealer, had competed in the 1930s. She herself was involved in the motor trade, giving her profession as "garagiste" in an interview during the 1953 Monte. 

Rita died in 2011, at the age of 88. She outlived her partner, opera singer Hansy von Krauss, by three years.

(Image copyright Berner Zeitung)

Liliana de Menna

Liliana de Menna was a stalwart of the Italian touring car scene who was active between 1963 and 1994. 

Her first efforts were in races for small-engined saloons, when she competed under the name of "Liliana" in the hope that she wouldn't worry her family. She had got into motorsport after visiting the Vallelunga circuit with friends who raced; throughout her career, Vallelunga would remain her favourite circuit. She had seen world karting champion Susy Raganelli testing with her father and decided to try it for herself.

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 hillclimb. She did several hillclimbs during her career; the Italian touring car championship was a combination of hillclimbs and circuit races at the time. In 1968, she finished the Cesano-Sestriere climb, in the middle of a group of Giannini Fiat 500s, as well as winning her class in the Bolzano-Mendola event.

She was the Italian ladies' champion in 1968. Her marriage to Italo Cantera did not slow her down and the pair even raced together in the Vallelunga 2 Hours one year. 

Some time at the end of the '60s, she had a daughter and took a lengthy hiatus from motorsport. She stopped attending race meetings because she didn't enjoy them without being able to compete herself. It wasn't until the late '70s that she came back. According to her, Giancarlo Naddeo asked her to join the Renault 5 one-make series, and she agreed. She also raced in single-make series for the Fiat 127 and MG Metro. This was the car she shared with her husband.

One-make racing led back to the Italian Touring Car Championship in the 1980s. In 1989, she raced at Pergusa in a Renault 5, coming 11th. She was then tenth at Vallelunga. For the second Vallelunga round, she shared an Audi Europa-run VW Golf with Michele Rayneri, but did not finish. 

She even raced for Lella Lombardi's team in the Italian Supertouring series in 1991, using a Ford Escort for the Pergusa 2 Hour race. Her team-mate was Walter Santus and they finished 18th. Earlier in the season, she had raced a Toyota Corolla in the Trofeo Mario Angiolini at Monza. 

Later in her career, she raced sportscars, including a Nissan 300ZX in 1992, which she used for that year's Vallelunga 6 Hours. She and Francesco Ramacciotti were 2st overall. In 1994, she entered the Italian Supercar GT championship in a Mazda RX-7, driving solo.  She was disqualified from the first meeting at Monza, but won her class twice at the next round, held at Magione. Her overall results were a fifth and fourth place. The next race she appeared in was round 5, at Varano, but she could only manage one twelfth place.

She raced in America for the first time in 1999, more than 30 years after she made her debut, when she did some rounds of the all-female Women's Global GT series, driving a Panoz Esperante. Her programme consisted of two guest appearances. 

She died in 2021.

(Image from Il Messaggero)

Cindy Gudet

Cindy Gudet is a championship-winning French hillclimber who has made the jump from speed events to sportscar racing.

Her background is predominantly hillclimbs, although not exclusively. She made guest appearances in rallies and in ice racing for several seasons before making the switch to sportscars on circuits in 2024.

She has been successful in hillclimbing since 2017, winning six national titles in production sportscars, most notably a Revolt 2P0 prototype. In 2023, she signed up for the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, a single-make rally championship based in Germany, running as an official FFSA Academy entry with Cecile Marie as co-driver. Sarah Rumeau, a future French champion and Iron Dames driver, was also selected. After a guest appearance in the Rallye Regional de Quercy, driving a Peugeot 106, she was tenth in the Opel class in her first event in the car, the Rally Sulingen. Her best result of the year was a sixth place in her home Opel event, the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est. Her final position on the e-Rally Cup leaderboard was eighth, after six to-ten finishes.

As well as the ADAC series, she did another French regional rally in a Peugeot 208 R2, finishing the Savoie-Chautagne National Rallye in 29th place, from 58 finishers.

Her circuit career began in 2022, although on ice rather than on asphalt. She was invited to contest the Andros Stars ice racing series, which used electric cars and was open to selected guest drivers only, from the worlds of motorsport, other sport and celebrity. This seems to have been her first experience of driving on a track with other cars around her. She must have impressed Yvan Muller's team, which took her on for the 2023-2024 season as a driver in the Elite class. This was the last running of the Andros Trophy.

In 2024, she raced on the circuits, entering the GT4 European Series in a Toyota GR Supra, sharing with Gabriela Jilkova. Their car was run by Matmut Evolution, Jerome Policand's team, which had been taking steps to support female talent in the past season or so.

They were seventh in their class, with two podium finishes, a third place in Round 1 at Paul Ricard and another third at the season finale in Jeddah.

Driving solo, Cindy was fifth in the Ligier European Series, with her best finish being second at Portimao. She did almost the full season, only missing the Spa races, driving for the M Racing team. She was their highest-placed finisher in the squad.

She and Gabriela were signed again to race in the Supra in the 2025 GT4 European Series. She will also do another season in the Ligier. 

(Image copyright Cindy Gudet)

Lady Mary Grosvenor

 

Lady Mary Grosvenor was a British driver in the mid-20th century who could have been the first woman to race in Formula One.

Blessed with a huge family fortune as the youngest daughter of the Duke of Westminster, she was able to afford a series of increasingly powerful cars. Her father was, at the time, one of the richest men in the world.

She most often competed in hillclimbs and sprints, but did both circuit racing and rallying before and after World War II. 

It was in rallies that she first came to prominence. She entered the 1936 RAC Rally in a Riley, starting from Buxton. She is recorded as having finished 156th in the 1938 event. She also rallied in Scotland early in her career.

She first appears on the circuit racing entry lists in 1937, as a member of the Lancs & Cheshire Car Club’s relay team for a race at Donington. Her team-mates were AC Molyneux (Lea Francis) and Hugh Cocker, who drove a Riley like Mary. They were fourth.

Her second major race was a Short Handicap at Crystal Palace in 1939, and she was second, in a Riley Sprite. This was the first of her racing cars; she favoured the Sprite in the early part of her career and owned several. 

The same year, and in the same car, she was second in a two-lap Scratch Race at Donington, held by the Cambridge University Auto Club. She also entered a three-lap relay with Midge Wilby (Atalanta) and a T Winstanley in a Bentley, finishing second. 

After the war, she raced a Riley and an Allard, which she used for hillclimbs and sprints, sometimes driving both cars in a single meeting. 

She was third in a sportscar race at Gransden Lodge in 1946, in the Riley, and continued to compete strongly in hillclimbs until 1949, using a 1929 Bugatti T37A and an Alta as well as the Allard. The Bugatti was a particularly strong car for her and she set a ladies’ record at Prescott in 1947 that stood for more than 30 years.

The Alta, once it had been fitted with a 1500cc engine, would have been eligible for Formula One, but despite having the means, Lady Mary declined to pursue this. She preferred to use the car in speed events. Throughout her motorsport career, Lady Mary was always very independent, choosing her own path. She does not appear to have competed outside the UK, although she travelled extensively in Europe and Africa, and was never part of any of the women-only rallies that took place on the continent.

She had bought her first Alta, a 69IS in 1939 but never got the chance to race it and sold it after the war. Later, she ran a different Alta in both 1500cc and 2000cc guises. As a 1500cc Grand Prix car, it took her to sixth place in class in a hillclimb at Prescott in 1949. That summer, she used the Alta at another Prescott climb, at Shelsley Walsh and the Chester Motor Club’s sprint, where she was second in class.

Later, she raced a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica at Silverstone and Goodwood, finishing third in a handicap at Goodwood in 1951. 

She retired from motorsport in 1953, after the death of her father, the Duke of Westminster, and devoted her time to running the family estates. Only once did she come out of retirement, in 1955, when she entered a Bentley Drivers’ Club event at Oulton Park driving a Triumph TR2.

The Westminster title could only pass to a male heir, so neither Mary nor her sister Ursula could inherit. It passed to Mary’s second cousin William. Mary herself never married, although she was suggested as a potential bride for The Prince of Wales, later briefly Edward VIII, as a young woman.

She died in 2000, aged 89.

(Image copyright Tips Editorial)

Bianca Steiner

Bianca Steiner is an Austrian driver who has competed across Europe in almost all categories of single-seaters. 

She began racing in 2004 in Hungary, in the E-2000 Championship for 2000cc single-seaters. Despite being only fourteen years old at the time, she came fourth, driving a Formula Renault. 

She was ninth in 2005, and that year, she branched out into Formula Junior in Italy, driving for the Hungarian Szsasz team. At that time, Italian Formula Junior was a Formula Renault 1600 series. This arrangement continued in 2006, and she was tenth in the championship. As well as the Italian Junior series, she entered a Formula Renault Winter series. Never scared of ccs or horsepower, she even did a few Italian Formula 3000 races with the Coloni Rookies team. She was ninth and tenth at Misano, the closing rounds of the season.

For 2007, her programme was more focused, and she now had her own team. She drove to a disappointing 31st place in Italian Formula Renault, and made a few outings in the Eurocup at the Hungaroring. 

In 2008, she moved to the Northern Europe Championship, but did not fare much better. 

After four races back in the Italian championship in 2009, with a best finish of fourth, she appears to have left the series. She also did some hillclimbing in a Formula Nippon car in 2009. She had borrowed the car from a French driver called Lionel Regal, who died in 2010.

A long time on the sidelines followed while Bianca and her family saved money for a more powerful and better car.

In 2018 she made a comeback in the BOSS GP series for major single-seaters. She drove an ex-Timo Glock Dallara GP2 car in five rounds and scored one podium, a third at the Red Bull Ring. From the very beginning of the season she had been on the pace, finishing fourth in only her second race. She was eleventh in the championship. 

In the same car, she did the first two rounds of the 2019 Maxx Formula series at Zandvoort, finishing fourth and third. She had followed her Top Speed team-mate Veronika Cicha to the new championship.

Her 2020 plans were affected by the coronavirus crisis, but she did manage one outing in BOSS GP. Her GP2 car took her to a eighth place at Brno. She entered the first two 2021 BOSS rounds but had to withdraw, then missed the rest of the championship.

In 2022, she returned for the first four rounds, again competing in the Formula Car class in the GP2 car. Her best finish was fifth at the Red Bull Ring and she was eighth in the championship.

(Image copyright noen.at)

Gabrielle Renault

A Renault R8 Gordini from 1966, similar to those rallied by Gabrielle

Gabrielle Renault, often known as Gaby, competed in European rallies in the 1960s. She was the winner of the Paris-St. Raphael women’s rally in 1961. 

She competed on at least two Monte Carlo Rallies, winning the European Championship Coupe des Dames in 1961. She recorded another finish in 1966, starting from Lisbon with Colette Gassier who was her regular navigator that season. The team was captured on a Pathe newsreel film that focused on the British entrants. They tackled the Rally dei Fiori in the Gordini later in the year and finished 14th. 

The Paris-St. Raphael appears to have been one of her favourite events. Following her 1961 victory, she was second in the 1962 running, driving a Dauphine. She was third in the same car in 1963.

She usually drove Renault cars, normally a Gordini-engined Dauphine or R8 for rallies, but she also competed in hillclimbs in other cars. In 1964 she raced an Alpine A108 in the Mont Ventoux hillclimb, finishing 16th. The A108 was based on the Dauphine, but with a sporty fibreglass body. The following year, she drove a Ford Lotus Cortina at the Mont Ventoux climb and was twelfth. 

Among the other cars she sampled are an Alpine-Renault A110 at the 1969 Ronde Cevenole and a rotary-engined NSU Ro80 in the 1970 Tour de France. This proved less successful; she and Francoise Brun were disqualified for being too slow. 

Her career continued until at least 1972, when she entered the Mont Ventoux hillclimb again in an Alpine A110, finishing 37th.

Gabrielle always appeared on entry lists as “Madame Renault”. Her own family name is unclear and it is equally vague as to whether she was married to a member of the Renault motoring family. 

(Image copyright Hagerty Insurance)

Veronika Cicha (Jaksch)

Veronika Cicha is a Czech driver who races a GP2 car in the BOSS and MaxxFormula championships in Europe. 

She began her career in hillclimbs, driving Mitsubishi Lancers. Between 2011 and 2014, she competed extensively around central Europe in both a Lancer Evo IV and a WRC05 Lancer. In 2014, she also had a go at rally co-driving in a similar car, sitting alongside Karel Stehlik in the Rallye Liberec. 

In 2015, she started competing in the BOSS series, in a GP2 car from 2005. This car ran in the Formula class, alongside that of her Top Speed team-mate and partner, Wolf Jaksch. She was eighth overall in her first season, with a best finish of fourth in class at Assen. 

In 2016, she only did a part-season and was 18th. This was partly due to a string of non-finishes mid-season and Monza and Assen. Her best result was sixth in the Formula class at Hockenheim. 

She struggled with reliability again in 2017, but has also managed two seventh places and one ninth. She was fourteenth overall. Mid-season, she changed teams from FXtreme to H&A Racing and also changed cars, from a 2005 to a 2008 Dallara GP2.

2018 was a better year; she was seventh in the championship and earned one second place at Assen, back in the 2005 car that she knew best. 

At the end of 2018, she was announced as one of the 55 initial candidates for the all-female W Series. Despite her experience in handling very powerful single-seaters, she did not make the initial cut at the first selection event. She did not seem overly concerned and concentrated on her new venture for 2019, a debut season in the MaxxFormula championship. This series is very similar to BOSS. She also married Wolf Jaksch and began racing under the name Veronika Jaksch.

She continued to use the GP2 car and was rewarded with two second places at Zandvoort to start her season, having qualified fourth. These were her best finishes, the next best being several fourth places.

Maxx Formula managed a short season in 2020 and Veronika was part of it. Her best finishes again were fourth places at Monza. She was also sixth twice at Most.

Three more sixth places were her best results in 2021, in the same car. She was eleventh in the championship and third in the Prestige class.

(Image copyright BOSS GP)

Marie-Luise Kozmian (Kozmianowa)

Marie-Luise Kozmian is the anglicised name of Maria-Ludwika Kozmianowa, who raced a Bugatti T37 and other cars in central and eastern Europe in the 1930s. She is occasionally also called Maria von Kozmian.

She was born in 1892 as Maria Komorowska and married Andrzej Kozmian, an engineer. She was a wealthy landowner in what is now Poland.

Her first racing car seems to have been an Austro-Daimler.

The first major outing for this car may have been the Rajd Pan (Women’s Rally) in 1930. She was the winner of the fourth edition of this event, held that year, as well as one other running of the rally. This was a city-to-city road rally; the 1930 route passed through Warsaw, Zakopane and Wisla then back to Warsaw, some 1150km.

Many sources describe her as winning the 1930 Lwow (Lemburg) Grand Prix, but contemporary results do not support this. Other sources call it a race for touring cars. Motor Sport magazine reports that she won the class for “dominant type cars”, run over 15 laps (45km). “dominant type” cars were “the models on which the manufacturer was concentrating”, which suggests it was a production car class. There were additional races for Sports and Racing cars.  

The next big event for her was the 1931 Baltic Cup, in which she won the Touring class. The event was held in Poland and was a 7km time trial.  

Some time after this she acquired a new car, a Bugatti T37. This car could run in Voiturette races and she used it in two editions of her home Grand Prix, at Lwow. She was sixth in the voiturette race at the 1933 event and was an entrant for the 1934 race, which did not go ahead.

During her career, Marie-Luise travelled around central Europe to compete. In 1933, she travelled to Hradec Kralove in what is now the Czech Republic for a street race. She was second in the 1500cc class.

In 1934, she took the Bugatti to Switzerland for the Berne Grand Prix, run to Voiturette regulations. This race supported the Swiss Grand Prix. She was tenth overall, behind the French driver Anne Itier.

The same year, she took part in the Klausen hillclimb, also in Switzerland. She was second in the 1500cc class, behind “Johnny” Lurani’s Maserati.

Hillclimbs were said to be her best events, although results are not often forthcoming. A series of pictures show her racing the Bugatti up the Semmering pass in Austria, but it is not known which year she entered. She did set a new ladies’ record on that course in 1933 and was third in the 1500cc Sports class, but she may have driven there more than once. She is meant to have raced until 1937.

She died in 1955.

Eleanor Allard

Eleanor Allard competed in trials, sprints and hillclimbs from the 1930s onwards, with some success, but she is best known for rallying during the early 1950s.

Married to Sydney Allard, she had access to works Allard cars. The couple met through Eleanor’s brother, Alan May, who was a fellow car owner and racing colleague. They were all members of Berkhamstead Motor Club.

Before the war, she was mainly active in trials. She and Sydney sometimes drove together. In 1936, they had a lucky escape on the Colley Experts’ Trial; their Allard-built CLK5 overturned and trapped them underneath.

It was not until the late 1940s that she began to compete seriously. Starting in 1947, she made a name for herself in sprints and hillclimbs. Her first major result was a second place in the ladies’ class for unlimited sportscars in the 1947 Brighton Speed Trials, in an Allard. She came second to Betty Haig. The following year, she was ninth in the class for standard sportscars over 2000cc.

In 1949, she won the ladies’ award in the Blandford hillclimb, in a 3622cc Allard. The same year, she entered the RAC British hillclimb championship and was third in class at Prescott, behind Sydney, who won. The couple competed against each other again at Craignantlet, with Eleanor in a J2. Her third Brighton Speed Trial resulted in an overall ladies’ class win, seven seconds faster than Mrs Treen in her Riley.

She improved even more in the 1950 Speed Trials, finishing seventh overall. Her car was a Cadillac-engined Allard. Once more, she was just behind Betty Haig.

Her first big rally was Monte Carlo, in 1950, which she did not finish after starting at Glasgow. She was driving a 4400cc Allard P1, and had her sister, Edna Wood, as navigator.

In 1951, she drove in the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally, and was one of the fastest on the hillclimb and sprint stages. Unfortunately, she managed to get lost in the Alps after winning the Lausanne hillclimb. She had telephoned her husband to say that she had had to retire her Allard P1 owing to engine trouble, and that she was on her way to Geneva to find a suitable garage. Only a short time later, she turned up in St. Raphaël. By the time the story of her disappearance had hit the British papers, she had reappeared again, with Edna in tow.

In 1952, she drove an Allard P1 on the Monte, the year Sydney won, although her own efforts were seriously affected by an off-road excursion. She and her navigator knew that Sydney was due to pass them on the road, and hoped that he would stop to help. When he did pass, however, he did not stop. Having seen that the crew were unhurt, he passed on his way, apparently shouting “see you in Monte Carlo” out of the window.

Later, she won the Coupe des Dames in the Daily Express Rally. This event had a huge entry list of over 400 cars, but it is proving very difficult to find a complete results list.

Her navigators were always one, or both, of her sisters, Edna (Wood) and Hilda (Johnson).

She died in 2001, aged 88.

(Image from http://www.allardownersclub.org)

Paula Elstrek

Paula Elstrek is an Australian driver who is known for racing touring cars, as well as breaking records on four wheels.

Paula began racing cars in 1994, after a long international karting career, which lasted from 1978 to 1986. She moved into cars after a sabbatical from karting, during which she qualified as an electrician.

For the first couple of seasons, she stuck to sprints and hillclimbs, in a Formula Libre single-seater, a Pirahana. She was instantly competitive, winning the Victorian Sprint Championship, the GCC Hillclimb Championship and the Asphalt Championship. In 1994, she also tackled her first circuit race: the Winton 24 Hours, in which she drove a Ford Escort.

The following year, she won the Formula Libre class of the Australian hillclimb championship, and won her class at the Bathurst climb, finishing fifth overall.

Her first attempt at a circuit championship was the Mazda 121 Challenge, for female drivers, in 1996. She was among the leading drivers, winning three races, and finishing second in three more. She was an early leader in the championship, but was overhauled by Tania Gulson. 1996 was a busy year for Paula, in which she continued to excel at speed events. She won another Victorian Hillclimb title, but the biggest achievement of the year was probably her outright FTD and course record at the Rob Roy hillclimb. This year also saw her first overseas event, the Gurston Down hillclimb in the UK, in which she was second in class, and eighth overall.

After another year of testing and speed eventing, she raced in the Australian GT Production Car Championship, in a Ford Falcon run by Ross Palmer Motorsport. She was tenth in class C. As well as this, she was fourth in the OAMPS Insurance Classic enduro at Sandown, in a Ferrari F355. She shared the car with Perry Spiridis. Another highlight was a drive in a Mondeo in the Bathurst 1000, although she did not finish. This time, her co-drivers were Heidi O’Neil and Damien Digby.

1998 was characterised by variety for Paula: away from modern machinery, she was second in a Historic race, driving an Austin 7. Away from Australia, she drove a Proton in a 300km endurance race in Malaysia.

In 1999, she returned to production GT racing, in a Mazda RX-7. She was third in class B, after three class wins, at Winton and Oran Park. In addition to this, she drove a Maserati in the Bathurst 3 Hour Showroom Showdown. The car was a Ghibli Cup, shared with Matthew Coleman, but she did not finish, despite having qualified fourth. This was her first outing in Class A of the championship, and she found the Maserati harder to handle than the Mazda.

Later, she became quite famous for her involvement in land-speed record attempts. In 2000, she set a new Australian women’s record of 575 km/h, driving the jet-propelled Aussie Invader 3. The attempt took place at Gairdner Lake saltflats in South Australia. The aim had been to take Kitty O’Neill’s outright women’s record, but the weather intervened, and Paula only got one run in the car. In 2011, she was linked to the Bullet Project, another land speed record car, but it is unclear how far the project actually progressed. She competed on and off in drag racing until at least 2014.

(Image copyright News Corp Australia)

Ivy Cummings

Ivy and friend at Gaillon, 1921

Ivy Cummings is most famous for being the youngest person ever to lap Brooklands, aged twelve, in 1913. She became a successful racing driver as an adult, and particularly excelled at hillclimbing.

According to the story, Ivy and her father had driven down to Brooklands in her father’s SCAR touring car. While his back was turned, watching the flying from the airfield, the pre-teen Ivy drove off in the car, and got onto the track. She was driving surprisingly quickly, and resisted being caught. She was only apprehended when the car developed a puncture, and she hurt her hand trying to jack it up.

There may have been some exaggeration going on with this story, which has become something of a Brooklands legend, but it certainly started somewhere. No date is ever given for when it happened, but it has remained remarkably consistent over the years. Ivy’s age is often quoted as being eleven at the time, but she was born in 1900, so she was twelve or thirteen.

Just a few years later, during the First World War, Ivy was driving around in her own car, a Peugeot. She helped out at a convalescent home for injured soldiers, and kept their spirits up by taking them out for drives, as well as taking her mother and grandmother on errands.

She started her legitimate racing career after World War I, possibly as early as 1919. In 1921, she raced a Coupe de l’Auto Sunbeam 12/16 in France. It is said that she won a race, possibly on sand, but further details are rather hazy. Pictures from that year show her posing in the car at Gaillon, which ties in with contemporary reports of her entering the hillclimb there, driving a 130hp car.

She won the 1922 Duke of York Long Distance Handicap in the Coupe de l'Auto Sunbeam. Shortly after, she drove well in the Sunbeam in the Car Speed Championship, finishing third in the Essex Senior Short Handicap, and second in the Essex Junior Long Handicap. 

In June 1923, she won a Bexhill speed trial in a Bugatti. Further details about this car are not forthcoming. In September, a second speed trial was held at Bexhill, over a mile. Ivy won this event, too. Her car on this occasion was the famous 5000cc 1913 Bugatti, “Black Bess”, as named by Ivy. In March, she had driven “Bess” in the Kop Hill climb, in Essex.

In 1925, she won her class in the Skegness Speed Trials in this car. Ivy was not the only female driver; Cecil Christie was there with her Vauxhall, and the two seem to become friends. Reports in Motor Sport suggested that this would be Ivy’s last event before marrying, but this does not seem to have transpired just yet.

In between, Ivy also raced the GN “Akela”, normally in hillclimbs. She won her class in the South Harting climb, organised by the Surbiton Motor Club. In the Arundell Speed Trial, which, like the South Harting event, was run over a half-mile course, she also won the 1500cc class, finishing just four-tenths of a second behind the winner, Woolf Barnato in a Hispano-Suiza. The GN appeared at the Spread Eagle Hill climb, the Brighton Speed Trials and the Herne Bay Speed Trails that year. Akela was sold on at the end of the season. For the Aston Clinton hillclimb, she drove the Bugatti instead.

In 1926, she raced the Bugatti in France. She entered the Grand Prix de Boulogne, run on sand, and led for the first three laps, but rolled her car into a ditch and did not finish. After this mishap, she is reported to have telephoned her father, to tell him that she was all right. Motor racing was very much a family thing for Ivy, who sometimes had her mother in the car with her, as her riding mechanic. She had also taken a Frazer Nash along, which she used in the speed trial.

Back in England, she raced again on the sand at Southport, in a Frazer Nash, with Cecil Christie. In June, she was back at Brooklands for the JCC High Speed Trial.

After 1926, she competed much less frequently. She drove a Riley in the JCC Half Day Trial, which seems to have been her last event.

Ivy married a radiologist and this put an end to her racing career. She died in 1971.

(Image from http://gallica.bnf.fr/)

Ada Pace

Ada Pace was an Italian rally driver and touring car ace of the 1950s and 1960s. She went by the nom de course of “Sayonara”.

Ada was from Turin, which would be her home base throughout her career, and her life. She enjoyed sports growing up, and her earliest memories are of riding on her father’s motorcycle and sidecar. All of her early racing experiences were on two wheels, not four; Ada raced scooters in Italy from quite a young age. In 1947, she started racing her Vespa, in both circuit events and long-distance trials. It was in trials that she really excelled. After 1948, she rode for the works Piaggio team. She would continue in scootering on and off until 1953; she won two Ladies’ 125cc titles in 1952 and 1953.

The date and nature of her first steps into four-wheeled competition is not entirely clear. Some sources claim that her first race was in 1950, when she was 26. Little additional detail is offered, although Ada was said to be disappointed with her own performance, as well as the car’s. The race may have been at the Circuit Piazza d’Armi in Turin, where Ada did drive a Moretti early in her career, although some sources have her first car as a Fiat 1500. Speaking in 1990, she describes the Turin event as her first race, held in heavy rain, although she says it happened in 1953. She did own and race a 600cc Moretti in 1953, which adds credence to her own recollections (or the reporting thereof).

In 1951, she is said to have earned her first win. This is said to have come in a “Torino-San Remo race”. Her car was a Fiat 1500 6C. The nature of this event is unclear; it could have been a time trial rather than a mass- or group-start race, or even a regularity rally. I have been unable to find any official records of this event.

She definitely did race a Moretti in 1953, and was fourth in class in the Sassi-Superga hillclimb.

 The following year, Ada may have entered her first Giro Di Sicilia, driving a Fiat 1100. She is down as a starter, but her finishing position, if any, is not recorded. This is not certain, as another driver called Pace was active in Sicily at this time. Ada certainly did drive an 1100 at some point, but her car in 1954 was the little Moretti. She mainly raced locally, entering the Sassi-Superga climb again and a Coppa Michelin at Torino. She also became involved in the growing women’s motorsport scene in Italy, and entered both the Perla di Sanremo Rally and the Como-Lieto-Colle Coppa delle Dame, a hillclimb. She was second in class in Sanremo.

In 1955, she was fourth overall in the Coppa delle Dame, driving an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Variations of this model would become her signature car. She also raced a Fiat 1100 in hillclimbs at Sassari and Corallo.

Her next major race was also her first overseas event: the 1956 Nürbrugring 1000km. For this, she teamed up with Gilberte Thirion, in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce. Gilberte, an experienced international sportscar racer, was the entrant. They were sixteenth, and fourth in class.

The same year, Ada, driving solo and normally in the Giulietta, was becoming a regular figure in Italian hillclimbs and races. She was fifth in the Perla di Sanremo and third in the Coppa delle Dame, as well as scoring some highly respectable finishes in hillclimbs, and the Supercortemaggiore regularity trial. She even tried her hand at a conventional rally, the Rallye dei Rododendri, and was tenth overall.

1957 was the year that Ada really committed to four-wheeled competition, and began to race as a professional driver. She underlined her new role with an entry into the Mille Miglia, driving the Giulietta, solo. Unfortunately, she did not finish, stopping near Rome. Later in the year, a run in the Coppa Inter-Europa led to a finish, albeit as the last runner. The race was a one-make affair for Giulietta SVs, at Monza. In November, she did proportionately better in the Targa Florio; she was 48^th, out of 129 finishers. This would be the first of four attempts at the Sicilian classic. A season-ending Vallelunga 6 Hours was good for eleventh place.  

This schedule of major events was augmented with a busy calendar of domestic hillclimbs and rallies. These included the Perla di Sanremo, in which she won her class, and the Coppa Colle San Rizzo climb, which gave her a GT1300 class win. She ended the year as the Italian women’s GT champion.

She raced a Zagato version of the Giulietta SV in 1958, supported by the Racing Club 19 team, so-called because it consisted of nineteen drivers. She finished the Targa Florio on her second attempt, sharing the car with Carlo Peroglio and earning a fifteenth place. This year’s Targa was a race of high attrition, and it was an achievement to finish at all. The Vallelunga 6 Hours was a happy hunting ground for her, driving solo this time: she was third. She repeated her podium finish in the Coppa Sant Ambroeus at Monza, finishing third again. Her team-mate, Carlo Peroglio, was seventh, in a similar car. The Giro di Calabria was another good event for her; she was fourth.

That year, she took part in many hillclimbs, and won her class in the Stallavena-Bosochienesanuova event. This helped her to third in the GT1300 class of the Italian hillclimb championship. She retained her national Ladies’ title.

The Sant Ambroeus Cup was moved to May the following year. Ada entered the 1300cc GT race in the Giulietta, and was third again. A run in an Osca S1100 in the 1100cc sportscar race was not as successful; she did not finish. Three weeks later, she and Carlo Peroglio tackled the Targa Florio together for the second time, but did not finish. In June, Ada tried out a new Giulietta, a Speciale, and was fourteenth at Monza in the GT Grand Prix.

In a similar car, she contested the Mille Miglia, now run as a regularity trial. She and Piera Bertoletti were fifth overall, and won the GT1300 class. She managed another GT1300 win in her heat for the Vallelunga 6 Hours, but did not finish the final. She ran well in the Sestriere Rally, finishing second overall. This must have been very satisfying for her, as she dropped out of the previous year’s rally within sight of the finish.

In both the Osca and the Giulietta, she performed well in hillclimbs, including some long classic climbs such as the Catania-Etna event, in which she was sixth. Her best hillclimb moment came in the Veglio Mosso – Mosso San Maria climb, which she won in the Alfa. She was third in her class in the Italian championship at the end of the year, as well as defending her ladies’ crown, and adding the Italian ladies’ Sportscar title to her collection. In the overall Italian racing championship, she was runner-up in both the GT1300 and the Sport 1100 classes.

1960 saw a lot of change happening around Ada, but it seemed to bring out the best in her. She scored her first major race win in October, winning the Coppa d’Oro di Modena. Her car was an Osca 1100. She would later describe this car as her favourite. The same car gave her her career-best finish in the Targa Florio earlier in the year, an eleventh place. She was sharing the car with Giancarlo Castellina, and won the 1150cc Sports class.

Further excitement came from the furthest “away race” of her career. She was invited to Cuba for the Grand Prix, one of only a small number of “Western” drivers to compete there during Castro’s presidency. The race had begun in 1957, but this was the first edition to be run in Communist Cuba. She drove an Osca MT4 and was fifteenth. She also took part in the supporting Formula Junior race, making a rare single-seater appearance in a Stanguellini. She did not finish. Later in the year, she drove a De Sanctis FJ in the Pescara 12 Hours, but did not finish. She did tentatively enter another couple of single-seater races, but did not actually compete.

Once more, hillclimbs made up most of her sporting schedule, both in the Alfa and the Osca. She scored many class wins, and was second in class in the Italian hillclimb championship. A third ladies’ GT championship and a second Sports championship added to her tally, and she was runner-up in the 1150 category of the Italian racing championship.

In 1961, she spent much of the year competing under the name “Sayonara”. Much later, she claimed that this was to make it less obvious that she was a woman. During her early career, she experienced some quite open negativity. This sometimes came in the form of over-zealous scrutineering, based on complaints from other competitors.

She had intended to enter the Targa Florio again, in a works Osca, but this did not happen. For circuit racing, she normally used her Giulietta SV. Driving with Carlo Baghetti, she did not finish the Coppa Ascari at Monza, after a spectacular crash on lap 14, which sent the car rolling at 200mph. Ada escaped through a window just before it caught fire. The following month, she did much better in the GT Grand Prix at the circuit. She was seventh, and fifth in class. Breaking with tradition, she drove a non-Italian car in the Pescara 4 Hours: a Lotus XI, albeit Osca-engined. She drove with Roberto Lippi, but did not finish. Alone, she used the Lotus in some hillclimbs, finishing seventh in the Trieste-Opicina climb and winning her class. The Osca 1100 was her usual mount for hillclimbs, scoring some class wins.

It was back to Italian power for the 1962 season, although Ada expanded her car repertoire once more. She drove a Ferrari 250 GT in the GT Trophy at Monza, and was second overall. She was also second in two other events in the car: the Stallavena-Bosochienesanuova and Coppa Fagioli long-distance climbs.

Mostly, she drove a 1184cc Osca, in which she earned another outright win, in the Campagnana Vallelunga. She also had some outings in an Abarth-Simca. Her best result in this car was an eighth place in a GT race at Vallelunga. The Giulietta was sold towards the end of the year.

1963 was spent switching between the Osca and the Abarth-Simca, which she used in the Targa Florio. Driving the Osca, she was third in the Campagnana Vallelunga. This was her best result of the year. She was fifth in the Shell Trophy at Cesenatico, and managed some top-five class finishes in hillclimbs.

1964 was her last year of competition. She drove a Lancia Flaminia for HF Squadra Corse in the European Touring Car Championship, including the Spa 24 Hours. She shared the car with Claudine Bouchet at Spa, but did not finish. The car’s rear axle broke after just over five hours.Her best finish in the championship was eighth, at Zolder. She never really got to grips with the Flaminia and found it hard to drive. Driving for the same team, she drove a Lancia Flavia in the Polish Rally, but did not finish.

In her later years, she took to living alone with her menagerie of rescued dogs and birds. She occasionally appeared at historic races and rallies, although for the last few years of her life, she retired from public appearances. She died in November 2016.

This post would not have been possible without the research published by John de Boer.

(Image from http://www.aisastoryauto.it/)

Women Drivers in One-Make Series: Croatia

Alenka Jurašić

Croatia is home to a surprising number of one-make Speedqueens. The Skoda Fabia Cup of the mid-2000s was a favoured series among female drivers.

Alenka Jurašić – Croatian driver who competed in the Skoda Fabia Cup in the 2000s. She first raced in the series in 2005, with a best finish of eighth, at Grobnik. In 2006, she was a regular top-five finisher, and the best of the four regular female drivers that year. She was not quite as competitive in 2007, although she did repeat her fourth place at Pozega. At the same time, and for some years previously, she was active in the discipline of auto-slalom, and won three Croatian championships. She has been competing on and off in Croatia since at least 1998, when she was eighth in the Clio Cup. In 1999, she enjoyed some success in a Peugeot 106, and she has also raced in the Croatian touring car championship.

Mirna Kljucaricek - drove a Skoda Fabia in Croatian road races in 2007. She was part of the Billa Ladies Racing Team with Diana Markt. They were competing in the Skoda Fabia Cup series. Mirna was tenth in the championship, with a best finish of sixth, at Dugopolje.

Tajana Koren - Croatian who races a variety of saloon cars in Europe, including in the Skoda Fabia Cup in 2005, in Croatia. She began racing in 1996, driving in the Clio Cup. She then spent part-seasons in the Skoda and Citroen Saxo Cups, in Croatia and Italy, in the case of the Saxo series. Her best result in Italy was eleventh. In Croatia, she scored some podium positions. In 2001, she switched to the Ford Focus Cup, where she remained until 2005, usually doing part-seasons. Her best championship result was seventh, in 2001. Following a break after the 2005 season, she drove in some rounds of the Alpine Renault Clio championship in 2009. She was 16th overall.  

Dina Marenić – raced in the INA Skoda Fabia Cup between 2005 and 2007. During her first season, her best finish was twelfth, at Grobnik. Her second year in the championship was better, and she reached the top ten on three occasions, the best of these being a seventh place, again at Grobnik. She was third in a ladies’ race at Zagreb. At Grobnik again, she improved her best finishing place to sixth in 2008. During this time, she competed in hillclimbs in the Fabia, as well as circuit races. She appears to have got her start in motorsport via rallying, having finished 24^th in the Croatia Rally in 2004, driving a Fiat Seicento.  

Diana Markt - races in Croatia. She took part in the Skoda Fabia Cup in 2007. She drove for the Billa Ladies’ Racing Team with Mirna Kljucaricek, and usually out-scored her team-mate. She had been active in the series since 2005, usually finishing midfield. Her best result was second in a women's race, in Zagreb, in 2006.

Martina Mihok – raced in the Skoda Fabia Cup in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, she was slightly behind the other female drivers, and was fourth in the Ladies’ race. Her best overall finish was eleventh, at Dugopolje. As well as racing, she won her class in a women-only “Sesvete Rally”. In 2007, she visited the top ten twice: eighth at Pozega and tenth at Grobnik. The same year, she did some hillclimbs in the same car, but was not really successful. After that, she appears to have stayed involved with motorsport, although she became a mother to a seriously ill child some time before 2013, when a charity motor show was organised for her.

Ivana Vidanec – active in Croatian one-make motorsport since at least 2002, when she raced a Skoda Fabia in circuit races and slalom events. In 2003, she raced in the Ford Focus Cup, with a best finish of thirteenth, at Grobnik. She was 21^st in the championship. A second season allowed her to improve a little, managing an eleventh at Grobnik, but she was still only 23^rd overall. That year, she also did some hillclimbs in the Focus, and was involved in street racing in a Honda Civic (possibly drifting). She does not appear to have raced since then.

(Image from http://riautosport.hr/)

Marie Laurent

Marie with her Aseptogyl-sponsored Hemicuda in 1974

Marie Laurent was a French driver who was most known for her membership of Team Aseptogyl, and her performances on-track in a Chrysler Hemicuda in the 1970s.

She first appears on the entry lists in 1970, competing in hillclimbs, although details of this are sketchy. Her car was a Simca.

Next, she raced on the circuits, winning the French Simca Challenge in 1971. Her car was a CG Proto. Early in the season, she raced the car in some rounds of the Championnat des Circuits in France, finishing fifth at Albi, and tenth in the Coupe de Printemps at Montlhéry. As well as providing her with her first championship, the Challenge brought her into contact with Jean-Claude Géral, the 1970 winner, who sold her a 1970 Hemi-engined Plymouth Barracuda, known as a Hemicuda and used to great effect by the French Chrysler team.  The pair raced the car together at least once, at Magny-Cours, during a round of the Championnat des Circuits.  Driving solo, later in the season, she was third at Paul Ricard and second at Montlhéry in the Hemicuda, behind Géral both times.

In 1972, she drove the enormous, 7000cc Hemicuda in the Championnat des Circuits. Although she was unable to match the dominant sportscars of the series, she was one of the front-runners in Group 6 and the National section. She won at least one race, the Coupe de Salon on the old Montlhéry circuit, and was second in at least one other, behind Frank Alesi in a Chevrolet Camaro. As well as the Championnat, she competed in hillclimbs, finishing second in class at Mont Ventoux and third overall at Chamrousse, in the Hemicuda. 

The results for the National part of the 1973 Championnat des Circuits are proving very hard to find. It seems likely that Marie raced the Hemicuda in at least some of the rounds. Hillclimbing was definitely still on her agenda, and she competed at Ampus in a Ford Capri, finishing in 39^th place.

For the first part of 1974, she was once more one of the front-runners in the Championnat des Circuits. She was second in the Group 1 race at Montlhéry, fourth at Nogaro, then second again at Montlhéry, after a battle with Marie-Claude Beaumont and Henri Greder, both in Opel Commodores. Apart from one more non-finish at Montlhéry, her season in the series ended there. The Hemicuda was not the force it once was, compared to the Alfa Romeos and Opel Commodores that now dominated. She was tenth in the championship.

Despite the big American car being a little outdated on the circuits, it still remained competitive on the hills. This year, Marie competed in hillclimbs as part of Team Aseptogyl, Bob Neyret’s all-female, toothpaste-promoting rally and race team. For the Tour de France, she paired up with another Aseptogyl driver, Marianne Hoepfner, in an Alpine A310. They were thirteenth, and won the Coupe des Dames.

In June, she was part of another all-female team, for Le Mans this time. She was part of Christine Beckers’ Ecurie Seiko Scato, sponsored by a watch firm. The other team members were Christine Beckers herself, and Yvette Fontaine, both Belgian. Their car was a Chevron B23. They were seventeenth, and won the 2000cc class, which was the best finish for an all-female team since the 1930s.

After 1974, she raced less frequently. Despite her success, she did not return to Le Mans, and Team Aseptogyl concentrated more on rallying as the 1970s progressed. She took part in some occasional road races and hillclimbs, in different cars. In 1977, she was 29^th in the Ronde Cévenole, driving an Alpine 1300. The latest result available for her is a 20^th place in the 1979 Mont Dore hillclimb. Unusually, she was in a single-seater, a Ralt RT1.

Some time around then, she married Jean-Pierre Gabreau, another racing driver, and had a daughter. She died in 2015, at the age of 71, after having been ill for a long time.

(Image from http://club.caradisiac.com/motor-head)

Rosadele Facetti

Rosadele Facetti in 1969

Rosadele Facetti was an Italian driver who raced in Formula 3 in the late 1960s.

Rosadele had the advantage of being born into a motor-racing family. Her father, Piero, had worked as a racing mechanic in the early days of Formula One, for the likes of Alberto Ascari and Piero Taruffi. Her two brothers, Giuliano and Carlo, also raced. (Carlo went on to be very successful.) Rosadele and Carlo sometimes raced together, and against each other.

References are made to her having begun her career in 1962, in touring cars. The Facetti family was often associated with Lancia cars, so her first car may well have been one of them. However, her age seems to suggest that she was not active until somewhat later, as she is described as being only twenty years old in 1966, in other sources. The results of any touring car championship held in the early 1960s in Italy are not forthcoming. In 1965, her name starts to appear in the entry lists for hillclimbs. In 1965, she was ninth overall in the Malegno-Borno climb, driving a Lancia Fulvia, just two-and-a-half seconds below her brother, Giuliano, in an Alfa Romeo. She won the class for 1150cc touring cars. The same year, she is also pictured taking part in the Sarezzo-Lumezzane hillclimb. She won the first of two consecutive Italian women’s championships that year.

The family received delivery of a Lancia Fulvia 2C in 1966, which was raced that year by Rosadele. She was active once more in hillclimbs, and is recorded as having finished fourth in class in the Coppa Teodori.

In 1967, she made her first major international appearance, and her first races in a formula car. Her brother, Carlo, had become involved with Tecno single-seaters the previous season, and in 1967, they both drove Tecno TF/66s for Scuderia Madunina. Their racing schedule included the Argentine Formula 3 championship. Rosadele was 20^th in her first race at Mar del Plata, but during the second, was involved in a serious accident in which spectators were killed. She was not badly injured herself, but played no further role in the championship.

The accident at Mar del Plata must have been quite traumatic for her, but she did not give up, and rarely, if ever, spoke about it to the press. In 1968, she went back to driving Lancia GT cars, and entered the Targa Florio. She and Pat Moss were sharing a Lancia Fulvia HF. The two women, both from motoring families and with famous racing brothers, got on very well. Rosadele later spoke about her esteem for Pat, who shared some of her driving tips and tricks. They were 19^th overall and ninth in class.

Rosadele was less visible in 1969, although she carried on competing in a Fulvia, often in hillclimbs. This continued into 1970, when she won her class in the La Castellana-Orvieto climb and the Coppa Teodori.

In 1971, she entered the Italian Group 4 championship, driving a 1300cc Fulvia. She was eleventh in the Trieste-Opicina hillclimb and 21^st in the Trento-Bondone climb. She entered the Cesana-Sestriere event, but did not finish. In a rare circuit outing, she was third in the Lombardi AC Trophy 1300 race, at Monza, at the end of the season.   

The following year, she had a second run in the Targa Florio. Moving out of her comfort zone once more, she shared an Opel Commodore with Marie-Claude Beaumont. They did not finish, due to an engine problem during their second lap, whilst Rosadele was driving.

The rest of her sporting year was quite similar to 1971. She drove a Fulvia in some of the hillclimb rounds of the Italian championship, and was eleventh in Group 4 in the Trieste-Opicina event. This was the best of her three finishes that year, driving for the Jolly Club team. She did enter the Rieti-Terminillo hillclimb in an Opel GT for the Conrero team, with whom she raced in the Targa Florio. For reasons unknown, she did not make the start.

1973 saw the Italian touring car championship becoming a circuit-based series, and Rosadele did not enter that year. She was only really happy when driving uphill on twisty mountain roads; it is unusual that she did not take to rallying. She remained active in hillclimbing, and was second in the Group 4 class of the Malegno-Borno climb, in her usual Fulvia. She was one place below Erasmo Bologna, who would become her husband.  

After this, she fades from the scene, although she is mentioned as being involved in supporting her brothers in their racing endeavours.

During her career, Rosadele sometimes used the nom de course of “Faros”.

(Image copyright Actualfoto)