Angela Palfrey

Angela Palfrey rallied in the 1950s, and for a couple of seasons was Britain's leading new female driver.

She is chiefly known for winning the Ladies’ Prize on the 1956 RAC Rally. Her car was an Austin A40, and she was navigated by Aileen Jervis, with Pauline Pither as a third team member. The rally ran between Blackpool and Hastings and had 2100 miles of navigation. The car itself belonged to her and was an older model no longer in production. She defeated Pat Moss and Mary Handley-Page, with Pat Moss taking a wrong turn around a pylon during a driving test.

The following month, she won the ladies' award in the Birmingham Post Rally. 

Previously, she had competed in a Morgan 4/4, and is recorded as the winner of the Worcester Motor Club’s Autocross event in 1955. She was only 20 at the time. Her first major rally award came in this car, the ladies' prize in the 1955 MCC Rally. The Morgan was borrowed from her boss at the fruit and vegetable canning factory where she worked, Barrie Phipps. Aileen Jervis had been her navigator again and they won £50 from the Daily Mirror. It was her first rally as a driver.

She drove another borrowed Morgan later in 1956, entering the Morecambe Rally, also sponsored by the Mirror. She also entered the MCC National Rally for a second time, starting from Kenilworth as she did before.

As well as rallies, she also competed on track occasionally. In summer 1956, she took to the circuits at Oulton Park, taking part in the Lancashire & Cheshire MC's high-speed trials. There were two trials lasting half an hour each, and Angela used the A40 she had driven in the RAC Rally. 

Angela was from Pershore in Worcestershire. Her competition career was very short and she does not appear to have rallied after 1957. During her brief time as a rally driver, she enjoyed the spotlight. The newspapers liked reporting on this very young, pretty and talented new star.

Her married name was Phipps; she married Barrie Phipps in 1958. She died in 2018, aged 83.

(Image copyright Daily Mirror)

Annie Neil

Annie Neil, alongside her navigating sister Chrissie, rallied in the 1950s. Their first international event seems to have been the 1953 RAC Rally, driving a Morgan Plus 4, which was given to Annie by Peter Morgan, in recognition of her performance in a trial. 

Annie’s given name appears to have been Ines or Innes and she was sometimes known as Andy as well. Chrissie was also known as Kiki. She was awarded a Silver Garter in recognition of her being the “best woman driver in Britain” in 1953, following her Coupe des Dames in the Hastings Rally.

Having been interested in motorsport for a while, Annie entered her first rally and named her sister as her navigator, even though Chrissie could not drive. Her niece Candy says that she had to take a week-long crash course in order to be allowed to compete. They initially rallied mostly in Scotland and in the north of England, including the Morecambe Rally.

Quickly they became popular local media figures and even donned Edwardian outfits for a Glasgow-Largs-Kilmarnock veteran car race in 1957. They were driving a 1912 Vulcan.

As well as the RAC Rally in 1953, the Neil Morgan made an appearance in the Daily Express Rally in November. It had been successfully repaired after a roll on the RAC event.

The sisters competed abroad for the first time in January 1954, driving the Standard Vanguard they would become associated with in the Monte Carlo Rally. The Scotsman described them as being welcomed with flowers by spectators. The Morgan came out again for the MCC National Rally later in the year. 

In 1955, they entered the Monte Carlo Rally again, but retired after a lighting failure on their Standard Vanguard in Belgium. They drove the same car in the 1956 Monte, but appear to have retired again, possibly after missing a time control at Besancon. As ever, the reports of their Monte adventures mentioned their matching tartan-lined ski suits and tartan berets.

They are on the list of finishers for the 1955 Scottish Rally but their final position is not noted.

The Neil sisters were regulars in Scottish rallies until 1957, when Annie retired from major competition to start a family. Her daughter Candy was born in early 1957. Chrissie carried on for a short while, co-driving for her brother-in-law, Annie’s husband Frank Dundas.

Both were involved in motorsport administration as well as competition and were committee members for the Lanarkshire Motor Club. Chrissie even ran a local rally with an all-woman organising team in 1954, calling it “La Flop Des Dames”.

Annie had learned to drive during the War, and after her rallying days were over, ran the family pig farm in Tollcross. She died in 2004 aged 80. Chrissie became a fashion designer. She died in 1991, aged 64.

Listen to a podcast featuring Candy and Donald Dundas here. Photos from the same page.

Inès Taittinger

Inès at Le Mans

Inès Taittinger is best known for her appearance at Le Mans in 2016. She mostly races sportscars in her native France.

She made her debut in 2009, driving a Ligier prototype in the VdeV championship, at Magny-Cours. This was her only race of the year, and she was 22^nd, driving the car with her father, Hugues. They were sixteenth in class. She had been encouraged by her godfather, Philippe Alliot, who had let her drive a Ferrari a few years earlier.

She continued in this car in 2010, supported by the Blue One team, and scored her first points at Aragon. She entered five races that year. In the first race, at Jarama, she and Hugues finished, but were unclassified. Inès did not race at Mugello, but was eleventh overall at Aragon, tenth in class. Another non-classified finish followed at Lédenon, then a line-up change for the Paul Ricard race gave her a fourteenth place. Olivier Dupard partnered her instead of Hugues. Back together with her father, she did not finish at Dijon. Blue One entered two Ligiers at Magny-Cours, and  Inès was seventeenth, with Philippe Alliot and David Tuchbant. The last round, at Estoril, led to another DNF.

In 2011, she remained in VdeV, driving another Ligier JS51 for two rounds, for Springbox Concept this time. She and Amandine Foulard were nineteenth overall at Dijon, seventh in the Open class. At Magny-Cours they were tenth and third in class, one above Hugues in a similar car.  

Driving for a different team, she also raced a Formula Renault in the VdeV series’ Monoplace (single-seater) Challenge, at Magny-Cours. She took part in three races, with a best finish of seventeenth.

Away from VdeV, she drove in the SPEED Euroseries for Springbox, partnering Amandine Foulard in a Ligier again for four rounds, at Paul Ricard and Silverstone. Their best finish was seventh, at Paul Ricard, and they were 49^th in the championship.

2012 proceeded in a similar manner, with Springbox, although the car had been updated to a Ligier JS53. She raced at Dijon and Paul Ricard, sharing the car with Amandine Foulard and Jonathan Cochet respectively. She and Amandine were twentieth, but Inès and Jonathan Cochet did not finish. In the SPEED Euroseries, she entered the Paul Ricard and Spa races, four in all. She was eighth at Paul Ricard and ninth at Spa, leaving her in 37^th in the championship.

For 2013, she returned to VdeV full-time, in the modern Endurance Challenge. Her car was a Norma prototype, run by CD Sport, and her team-mate was Kvin Bole-Besancon. She started well, qualifying second at Catalunya, and finishing in eighth place. Despite qualifying quite well at Mugello and Paul Ricard, she did not finish at either circuit. She and her team-mates were then sixth at Dijon, and an impressive third in the Aragon 12-hour race. Inès finished the season with a sixth at Magny-Cours and a fifteenth place at Estoril. She and Kvin Bole-Besancon were eighth in the championship.

As well as a full season in VdeV, she took part in the TTE touring car series, which confusingly has a prototype class. She won one race at Albi in the Norma, and was third in a six-hour race at Magny-Cours. Proving that she had a taste for real endurance, she drove in the Fun Cup 25 Hours at Spa, as part of a six-driver Kronos Racing team that included Margot Laffite.

She drove the CD Sport Norma in VdeV again, in 2014. Her season started well enough with ninth at Barcelona. By the fourth round, at Dijon, she was really getting into her stride, and was third overall. She was then a disappointing 23^rd at Aragon, where she had run so well the year before. A little later, she was back on the podium at Magny-Cours, with second place. Her inconsistent but not bad season was enough for thirteenth in the championship. 

2015 was the year that she started setting her career sights higher. She stated her aim to race at Le Mans in 2016. For the past few seasons, she had been working on her fitness and stamina, which had paid off in VdeV. Grabbing any chance she could for a Le Mans race seat, she signed up for a racing reality TV show called “Race to 24”, where the prize for the winning driver was to compete at the Sarthe classic. The show never made it into production, but Inès used the publicity generated to raise her public profile, with several TV appearances. This made her a more attractive prospect for sponsors, especially when public reaction to her was very positive.

She did do some racing in 2015, competing for CD Sport in VdeV, in the Norma again. Barcelona was a forgettable race for her and her team-mates, and Mugello was slightly more encouraging, despite being far from what Inès was capable of doing. Things improved at Dijon with an eighth place, but then she did not finish at Paul Ricard. The season ended well, with sixth place at Magny-Cours and tenth at Estoril. She was 23rd in the championship.

Everything changed at the start of the 2016 season. Inès left the CD Sport set-up and joined Pegasus Racing. Her former team-mate, Amandine Foulard, had been part of the team for some time a few seasons ago. She would be racing a Nissan-engined Morgan in the LMP2 class, both in the European Le Mans Series and at Le Mans itself. Her team-mates were Léo Roussel and Rémy Striebig. In interviews, she stated that her aim for 2016 was to learn, and it was certainly a tough beginning to the season, when the car only lasted 90 laps at Silverstone, after setting some strong times. She was twelfth at Imola, again setting very competitive lap times. The Austrian round was another disappointment, retiring after 123 laps. A seventeenth place at Paul Ricard was a little more promising. Her best finish in the LMP2 class was eighth, at Estoril, and she was 21st in the championship.

Inès’s individual performance at Le Mans itself was barely criticised, but during one of her stints, the Morgan caught fire, meaning a risky trip back to the pits and instant retirement. Still, she was the only Frenchwoman to race that year, and her profile was higher than ever, which bodes well for future sponsorship.

In October, she returned to the VdeV series for two races, in the Norma. She was eighth at Magny-Cours, and seventeenth at Estoril. 

She did not come back to Le Mans in 2017, but she did race in VdeV again, in the Norma. It was a competent year, with a best finish of fifth at Jarama. Portimao, where she was sixth, was her other best circuit.

At the start of 2019 she attempted to resurrect her career via the all-female W Series, but she was rejected after the first selection event.

She did get back on track in 2021, racing in the Le Mans Cup. Her car was a Nissan-engined ADESS-03 Evo LMP3 prototype run by Revere Racing. Her only appearance in the car was at Le Mans,

Throughout her racing career, she has supported the French charity, Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, which helps children born with heart defects. This is a cause close to her own heart, as she was born with cardiac problems herself. This has not stopped her from pursuing a sporting career at the highest level.

(Image copyright Frédéric Veille)

Margot (Marguerite) Laffite

Marguerite (usually known as Margot) Laffite was the winner of the Andros Trophée Féminin in 2005, on her first attempt. It was her first taste of motorsport, despite having grown up as the daughter of former Formula One driver, Jacques Laffite. Her elder sister Camille also competed that year. She has returned to ice racing almost every winter since then, and is one of its most recognisable and decorated female participants.

In 2006, she was part of a works Fiat female team for the Promotion class of the Andros Trophy, with Justine Monnier. Their cars were Stilos. Margot’s best finish was second, in Andorra. Sadly, her form tailed off towards the end of the short ice-racing season, and she was 23rd overall, with Justine in fourteenth.

The summer counterpart of her winter adventures revolved around some appearances in the VW Fun Cup, including the 25-Hour race at Spa.

Since then, she has raced different cars on the ice. In 2007, this was a Peugeot 206 CC, and she was 27th overall, just above her team-mate Marlène Broggi, in 29th. The following season, in a Kia Rio this time, she was back to form, despite only running a part-season. She was 20th overall, with a best finish of sixth, at Alpe D’Huez. In 2008-2009, she was very much a part-time entrant, but still managed some top-ten race positions in her Rio. She was 24th overall. 

At the same time, she became involved with the FIA GT3 Championship, driving a Morgan Aero 8 GT. This car was not the fastest or most reliable in its class, but she and her co-driver finished four races in it in 2007, at Monza and Brno, twice beating her father, Jacques Laffite. In 2008, she was paired with George Alexandre Sturdza in the Morgan. After the official tests, they entered five European GT3 meetings. Out of ten races, the Morgan made it to the end three times, twice in 22nd place (at Monza and Nogaro) and once in 27th (at Silverstone). The sister cars did not fare much better, only occasionally getting into the top twenty.

That year, she also made guest appearances in several domestic series, including the French Porsche Carrera Cup. She took part in two races at Dijon. Later in the season, she appeared at the Le Mans round of the Mégane Eurocup, and was fifteenth in both of her races. She was supported by Boutsen Ginion Racing, who also ran her cars in the Andros Trophy. In between, she drove in the MitJet silhouette series. The results for this have not been forthcoming.

In 2009, she drove in the Renault Mégane one-make series, making two appearances, again as a guest driver for the Boutsen Ginion team. She was 16th in Catalunya and twelfth at Spa. This was the limit of her summer activities.

For the 2009-2010 Andros season, she drove in the new Electric category with Marlène Broggi, and was third in the team standings. She was tenth overall, behind Marlène in seventh, despite a third place at Alpe d’Huez.

The following season, she was ninth in the Electric class, with some top-five overall finishes but no big scores. She was sixth in 2011-2012, after another third place at Isola. This year, she won her first Coupe des Dames in the Electric Trophy.

Away from the ice, she concentrated more on media and advocacy work, and her only summer racing in 2010 was two guest appearances in the SEAT Leon Supercopa in France. She finished eleventh in both of her races, at Lédenon.

In 2012, she increased her summer calendar, and ran in Clio and Mégane Eurocup events, with mixed results. She was better in the Mégane, with a seventh and an eighth at Paul Ricard and Catalunya. Her best Clio finish was 16th, . She also did two guest rounds of the Peugeot RCZ Cup in France, at Lédenon again, finishing twelfth and eleventh.

Margot’s main job now is as a presenter of Eurosport’s French-language Formula One coverage, which takes up much of her time. She has received praise for her work. Despite this, she still had time to contest the 2012-2013 Andros Electric Trophy, and earn her second Ladies’ Cup. She was fourth overall. 

In spite of her TV schedule, she was also able to take part in the Megane Trophy Eurocup again. Again, it was a somewhat up-and-down season. Her best finish was sixth, at the Red Bull Ring, but she was usually in the lower part of the top ten. She mostly stayed out of trouble, and her performances were enough to get her into twelfth place in the championship. She also had the distinction of racing alongside her father on a few occasions this year.

She was set to race in the Andros Trophy again at the end of 2013, driving a Citroen DS3. However, she crashed whilst practising for the first round, at Val de Thorens, and fractured two cervical vertebrae. She had to sit out the Trophy. Although her injuries sounded dramatic, she was expected to make a full recovery.  

She did not race in 2014, but did continue with her TV work. She also became a mother at the start of 2015. At the end of the year, she returned to motorsport, racing a Citroen DS3 in the Andros Trophy, in the Elite class. She was eighth in the championship, second of the female drivers, and just two points behind Marlène Broggi. Super-Besse was her best meeting, and she was third overall.

She was back on form for the 2016-17 Andros Trophy, in which she was fourth, driving a Mazda 3 in the Elite class. Her best results were two second places, at Alpe d'Huez and Isola 2000. 

In 2018, she finished the Andros Trophy season in sixth place, in the Elite class. Her car was a Mazda3 run by Sainteloc. Her best finish was a second at Val Thorens, which she repeated at Isola 2000. This was her best meeting; the first race also gave her a third place.

Another Andros entry beckoned in 2019, also with a Mazda3. In between, she had been part of an all-female R24 Motorsport entry for the Sepang round of the 2019 Asian Le Mans Series, driving a Ligier LMP3. The team, consisting of Margot, Katherine Legge and Michelle Gatting, was eighth in class.

Her return to the ice of the Andros Trophy in 2021 was a success. She was fifth in the Elite championship after winning one race at Andorra and finishing second at Serre Chevalier, driving for Sebastien Loeb's team. 

She drove for the SLR Enedis team for the 2021-22 Andros Trophy, now running as a completely electric championship. She shared the car with Elite driver Sebastien Loeb. A return to the Andros Trophy in late 2022 began very strongly with two wins. She continued to be very strong throughout the winter season and was second in the Elite championship.

At the beginning of 2024, she announced that the 2023-24 Andros Trophy would be her last, as the championship was coming to an end. She raced in the Elite class for Sebastien Loeb's team and won one race at Andorra, as well as finishing on the podium several more times.

(Picture from http://enpleinelucarne.net/2013/03/margot-laffite-joker-834)  

Pauline Mayman

Pauline (standing) at the 1964 Tour de France, with Val Domleo

Pauline is remembered by many as navigator to Pat Moss in 1962, as well as being a driver in her own right. Most notably, she and Pat won the Baden-Baden rally together, in a Mini. Also in a Mini, they were third in the Geneva Rally. In the Austin-Healey 3000, Pat’s signature car, they were second in the Polish Rally and third in the Alpine and RAC Rallies.

Pauline began her driving career in club rallies in the 1950s, and her first international event was the 1959 RAC Rally. Her car was a Morgan 4/4, which she had been using previously on British rallies. Daphne Freeman was co-driving. Pauline’s husband, Lionel, was also a Morgan driver. It was as his navigator that she got her start in rallying.

In 1960, her biggest achievement was probably a second place in the Express & Star Rally, driving the Morgan once more, with Valerie Domleo. This was described as a difficult event, and many crews missed the first control.

She made her first Monte Carlo appearance the following year, driving a Sunbeam Rapier, with Mary Handley-Page and Daphne Freeman. Her finishing position is unknown. A return to the Express & Star Rally led to a very swift retirement - after ten minutes of navigational test, the electrics failed on her car. She also drove in the London Rally in an MG 1100.

For 1962, she was contracted to BMC as a navigator, so driving was put to one side for a time. Although she was a successful co-driver, Pauline, however, wished to return to the driving seat, which she did in 1963. She was retained by BMC, and drove the Mini Cooper with Val Domleo. They were 28th in Monte Carlo, and 21st in the Tulip Rally, with a third in the Ladies’ Cup, behind Pat Moss and Sylvia Österberg. They won the Coupe des Dames in the Trifels Rally, as well as winning their class. The Alpine gave Pauline probably the best finish of her career: sixth, with a Coupe des Alpes. She was 30th in the season-ending RAC Rally.

In 1964, she was involved in a serious accident in Monte Carlo. Her Mini was hit by a farmer’s truck, and she suffered multiple injuries, including a broken leg. After five months out of action, Pauline returned in time for the Alpine Rally, and was thirteenth, sixth in the Touring class, and first lady, driving a Mini with Valerie Domleo. She later drove in the Spa-Sofia-Liège marathon rally, as well as the RAC Rally, in an MGB.

As well as rallying, Pauline raced on the circuits occasionally. Before her rally career began in earnest, she drove a Cooper T39, and her Morgan, in handicap races. Later, she and Elizabeth Jones drove a Mini together in the 1962 Brands Hatch 6-Hour race, and she also took part in some rallycross events. She participated in the Tour de France twice, both times in a Mini: in 1963, she and Elizabeth Jones failed to make the finish, but in 1964, she and Valerie Domleo were 28th, first in the one-litre Touring class.

1965 was Pauline’s last year of competition. She was still experiencing trouble from her 1964 Monte injuries and had had enough. The highlight of this year was a thirteenth place and class win on the Alpine Rally, which was always her best event.

After her retirement from the stages, Pauline helped to run her family autoparts business, and was involved in the management of the Kieft racing car company. She also devoted a lot of time to breeding and rescuing Irish Wolfhounds.

She died of cancer in 1989, aged 61.

(Image from http://www.pinterest.com/pin/129056345547260391/)

Gwenda Stewart

Gwenda's Derby Miller

Not many women have broken records on two, three and four wheels. Gwenda Stewart, also known as Hawkes and Janson, began by racing a motorcycle, then a Morgan three-wheeler, then a series of cars. She attempted her first motorcycle speed record in 1921 at Brooklands. Between 1921 and 1930, she set a whole series of motorcycle speed records, for endurance and top speed, at Brooklands and Montlhéry. Among her chosen machines were those by Ner-A-Car, Trump and Terrot, the latter two being JAP-engined.

By 1931 she was one of the fastest people on three wheels in her record-breaking Morgan Aero. She set and held records for the standing and flying kilometre at Montlhéry in France which were not bettered for years, including the fastest speed ever recorded in a Morgan. The previous year, she had earned the one hour speed average speed record, in the same car.

Later, she set a new set of records in an American Miller, of the type that competed at Indianapolis. She also used this car at the Arpajon Speed Trials, where she had a dramatic engine blowout at 140 mph. The Miller was later developed with Derby parts, and became known as the Derby-Miller.

Although Gwenda had been known to say that she preferred record-breaking to racing as it required less effort, she was nevertheless a quick and skilful racer. She raced at Montlhéry and Brooklands, and twice at the Le Mans 24 Hour race, in 1934 and 1935. She drove a Derby on both occasions. She was partnered by "Bonne" and Charlesworth respectively, but retired fairly early both times.

Gwenda in 1934

In 1935, she shared the Derby-Miller with Pat Driscoll for the Brooklands 500 Mile race, but they did not finish. Gwenda is listed as the entrant for George Duller and Elsie Wisdom in a Derby-Maserati, but they did not start. She often used Derby machinery and her third husband, Douglas Hawkes, had a large stake in the company.

In contrast to her motorcycling and Morgan past, Gwenda seemed to prefer big, heavy cars, like the Derby-Miller. She also drove a 1933 Duesenberg in which she came seventh in the 500 Mile race at Brooklands in 1936. This was probably her best race result. She was driving with George (Jack?) Duller, whom she is known to have shared cars with in minor Brooklands events. They were third in the 5000cc class.

She even tried her hand at rallying, like most other racers of her era. In 1934, she entered the Monte Carlo Rally in a Derby, starting at Valencia. However, for a true speed demon like Gwenda, it is likely to have been too pedestrian. She does not appear to have taken part in any more major rallies.

She was somewhat overshadowed by other lady racers of the time but proved she could be the quickest on an open track, if not during a race. A great rivalry was set up between her and Kay Petre, which culminated in a competition for the Women's Outer Circuit Record at Brooklands. The contest was drawn out over the 1934 and 1935 seasons. Kay initially took the record but Gwenda was the final victor at 135.95 mph. She was driving the Derby-Miller.

A little later, again in the Derby-Miller, she returned to her favourite stamping ground, Montlhéry, and claimed the outright lap record. Her racing career concluded at the end of the 1930s, like so many others of the period. When war broke out she trained as a lathe operator and served in munitions factories. After the war she settled with her husband in the Greek islands and lived there until her death in 1990, at the age of ninety-six.

(Portrait image from www.sportscars.tv/car image copyright Rachel H-G)