Suzanne Largeot

Suzanne Largeot (born Suzanne Daviet) was a French rally and endurance driver who competed both before and after the Second World War.

Her entry into motorsport came after her marriage to Pol Largeot, a car preparer, when she was in her mid-thirties. She took part in three Le Mans races between 1937 and 1939. With Just-Emile Vernet, she won her class in 1937 and was twelfth overall. The car was a Simca, a make Suzanne used quite a lot during her long career. The same team and marque entered again in 1938, but did not finish. Driving a similar car, Suzanne competed again in 1939, with Anne-Cecile Rose-Itier, but again, did not make the finish. Their car went off during the fourth hour of the race, missing a corner at Arnage.

She and Yvonne Simon were also eighth in the 1938 Paris 12 Hours, held at Montlhery, in a Simca 8.

Most of her motorsport activities centred around rallying. The two strands of her career began at the same time in 1937. Suzanne's first major rally was the Criterium Internationale de Touisme Paris-Nice, which consisted of a regularity trial, a hillclimb at La Turbie and a test at the Monaco Grand Prix circuit. She was 24th overall in her familiar Simca. 

In the same event in 1938, she was 30th, but in the Paris-St. Raphael women's rally, she was fourth, with a class win. Her 1100cc Simca proved more effective than some of the bigger cars, including Germaine Rouault's Delahaye and Amy Johnson's Talbot.

In 1939, she drove a Simca T8 to fourth overall in the Criterium Paris-Nice. In a reversal of fortune, she retired from the Paris-St. Raphael. Her last event, just before the war broke out, was the La Baule Rally, which had to be shortened due to growing forces mobilisation. She was 20th overall. 

That year, she had also navigated Yvonne Simon to eighth position in the Monte Carlo Rally. Their car this time was a Hotchkiss, one of the large cars that Suzanne had beaten in the 1938 Paris-St. Raphael.

After the war, she got back involved in motorsport, almost exclusively in rallies now. Her first event back was the Rallye dess Alpes Francaises in 1946. Her car was a Lancia Aprilia and she did not finish. Her first post-war women's rally was in 1947, when the Rallye International Feminin de Paris took place. She was back in a familiar Simca 8, but again, does not appear to have finished.

Later in her career, she competed almost exclusively in long-distance rallies in North Africa, driving a Renault 4CV. She and Ginette Francois-Sigrande attempted the Atlas Mountains Rally in Morocco in 1951 for the first time, the first of three yearly attempts at the Moroccan national event. Sadly, they do not look to have finished.

Back in France, Suzanne entered the Renault into the 1952 Evian-Megeve Rally, but she does not appear on the list of finishers.

In 1954, a French girls' magazine, La Semaine de Suzette, interviewed her and described her as a "grandmother on wheels". Writer Leah Lourie stressed that Suzanne loved the sound of engines and the smell of tyres, but also that she was an excellent cook and devoted mother.

She also discussed her work as a driving instructor and how male learners would be taken aback when she got in the car with them, having assumed she was an administrator.

She died in 1991.

(Image copyright Le Semaine de Suzette)

Maria La Caze de Noronha

Maria La Caze de Noronha was a noble Portuguese-born driver who rallied in Europe in the 1930s. She married into a French family in 1913 and lived for quite some time in North Africa. She was usually named as "Dona La Caze de Noronha".

Her motoring career began in the women's rallies that started up in France at the end of the 1920s. Driving an American Oakland, she entered the first running of the Paris - St. Raphael Rally. Other cars she used included a Morris-Leon-Bollee, which she took to eleventh place in the Paris-Vichy Rally, also a women-only event. 

She is most associated with the Amilcar marque, and she started rallying one in 1930. In her first year, she secured a joint win in the Paris-Pyrenees-Paris Rally, a mixed event. Earlier in the year, the same car and driver combination tackled the Paris-Vichy Rally, another mixed one, although she could only manage 35th then. She was eighth in her class and ninth in the women's standings. Her other two big rallies were female-only, organised by the French Ladies' Automobile Club. She was fourth in the Paris-St.Raphael with a class win. 

The French "Eve" newspaper covered her 1931 adventures, in which she narrowly avoided crashing her BNC out of the Monte at the end of the concentration stage, near Nice. She had the 2000 miles plus solo, singing Portuguese fado music to keep herself awake. Unfortunately, she was over the time limit once she got going again. Other reports sya that she struggled on the braking and acceleration tests.

As well as rallies, she sometimes drove in wheel-to-wheel races. Driving a Ruby-engined MLC cyclecar, she finished the 1931 6H Routes Pavees, held at Pont-a-Marcq. She was 24th overall and fifth in class. Earlier in the year, she entered the Bol d'Or at Montlhery, driving the same or a similar car. She does not appear to have finished.

She drove an Amilcar in the 1932 Monte Carlo Rally and a Mathis in the 1934 event, although she may have retired very early in 1934. Her start points were Lisbon and Valencia respectively. 

Although she mainly competed in France, she also did some events in her home country. In 1932 and 1933, she took part in the Grand Prova de Resistencia, held at Foro near Estoril. The first time, she drove her Amilcar, but the second time, she was in an MLC, which was a similar car to both the Amilcar and the BNC. She was sixth overall in this car. 

After 1933, she appears to stop competing.

Away from rallying, she worked as a journalist, sometimes reporting from French-occupied North Africa. She was the Paris correspondent for a Portuguese magazine called "Illustracio". She was related to Formula 1 driver Robert La Caze through her husband.

She died in 1974, aged 85.

(Image copyright Biblioteque National de France)

Jackie Astbury

Jackie Astbury was a British driver who rallied from 1933, in the UK and France. She is normally credited as "Miss J Astbury".

She drove a Wolseley Hornet in the 1933 RAC Rally, which was then held in March, and finished 70th in class 2, having started at Bath. In the summer, she used an MG Magna in the Scottish Rally, having started at the opposite end of England in Harrogate. Her first outing in the Singer Nine which became her regular car was the Ulster Rally in August. In December, she tried a lower-paced event, entering the London to Gloucester Trial in the MG. She won a silver medal for keeping 90% of her starting score.

There was more trial action in 1934, when she took part in the Colmore event in a Singer. Again, she was among the second-class award winners. Driving the Magna this time, she won a first-class award in the trial section of the Women's Automobile and Sports Association's Day in the Hills. 

The biggest brush with fame she had in 1934 was not completely related to her performance on the rally stage. She had protested the result of the Ulster Rally, claiming that she had waited for a signal to leave one stage and not received one, making her late for the Bangor time control. Her protest was upheld and she was promoted to third place, winning herself £20 and the Visitors' Cup in the Singer.

In 1934, she finished the RAC Rally in a Singer. Using the same car, she won the Thistle Cup for best Scottish-starting driver in the 1935 Monte Carlo Rally. Her final finishing position was 50th. She also won her class in the RAC Rally. In between, she competed in the JCC's Brooklands Rally, winning a second-class award. She also travelled back to France for the Criterium International de Tourisme Paris-Nice, finishing 13th behind Grand Prix driver Raymond Sommer. She was second in the Coupe des Dames standings and third in the Light Car class.

In 1936, she repeated her Monte Carlo achievements, still in the Singer, improving her final position to 40th. This was in spite of a double spin on a sharp corner, before she even left Scotland. The Coventry Evening Telegraph acknowledged that she "did well",  taking time to praise her "fair curls in immaculate order" and her "smart khaki driving suit adorned with a Scotch thistle". She took the same car to the Brooklands Rally and won another second-class award, and finished another RAC Rally. Back in France again, she entered the all-female Paris-St. Raphael Rally for the first time, and was sixth overall, behind Betty Haig and Enid Riddell.

Jackie occasionally raced on track, including a run in a ladies' race at Donington in 1935. She was second in a Frazer Nash, behind Fay Taylour in a similar car.

Her motorsport career ends in 1936, although she did present a "Perseverence Prize" at the 1937 Scottish Rally. John M Archer was the winner; this award went to a driver who had entered the rally three or more times and had never previously won a prize. A Sketch report from September 1937 says that she had been "very ill indeed", and that "motoring friends crowded round congratulating her on her recovery" at Shelsley Walsh. This would explain her abrupt disappearance.

She may also have played badminton competitively before she began her motoring career.

(Image from the Brian Goodman Collection)

Dorothy Patten

 Dorothy Patten was a British driver who mainly competed in rallies, but also raced before and after the war. 

Her origins are rather obscure and “Dorothy” was not her real given name. It is likely that she was originally named Alice Minnie Patten and had come from a working-class background. Both of her parents died before she was ten and she and one of her sisters were sent to St Mark’s Home for Girls, a domestic science school where Minnie trained as a maid. 

A 1939 summons for speeding close to Brooklands in the name of Dorothy Minnie Patten, in her car, seems to prove her identity. 

Alice Minnie Patten was born in 1906 in Flintshire. As a teenager, she worked as a housemaid in a surgeon’s house, but at some point in the 1920s or early 1930s, she seems to have come into some money and moved to the south of England.

She got her start in motorsport very early, in 1933. Her first car seems to have been an Alvis, which she drove in that year’s Alpine Rally, finishing fourteenth in class and 53rd overall. She tried again on the 1934 Alpine but does not seem to have finished. 

Starting from John O’Groats, she tackled her first Monte Carlo Rally in 1935, still with the Alvis. She was 79th overall.

Another of her early cars was a British Salmson, which was the first she used for circuit racing. She was second in the Unlimited Standard Sports Car class for women in the 1936 Brighton Speed Trials in it, narrowly beaten by Kay Petre in a Frazer Nash. The following year, she raced it at the Crystal Palace circuit, finishing third in an Unlimited Sports Car handicap at the United Hospitals and University Motor Club meeting.

She drove the Salmson in the 1936 RAC Rally and the 1937 Monte Carlo Rally. The same, or a similar, car, also finished the 1938 Monte. This car belonged to Rainer Dorndorf. It took her to a 43rd place in the 1937 Monte, from 81 finishers. Some results lists have Dorothy entered as a co-driver to Rainer Dorndorf in a Salmson in the 1938 Monte and crashing out, but this sounds unlikely given her own entry.

She was named as a car entrant for R.E. Dorndorf's special-bodied Darl’mat Peugeot in the 1939 Sydenham Plate. This was a car that Dorothy didn’t race much herself at the time, although she used it in rallies. Her first major result in it was probably an eleventh place in the 1939 Paris-St. Raphael Rally. She was fourth in Class B, for drivers with no previous podium finishes.

Later, she married Rainer Dorndorf, a German based in Ireland, and began styling herself “Baroness von Dorndorf”, although her husband does not appear to have held such a title. As a British national married to a German, she was briefly interned during the war, although she was soon cleared of being any risk and released. By 1942, the pair had divorced and Dorothy was apparently engaged to Captain Anthony Ryan. They never actually married. It was claimed in the Tatler that Rainer Dorndorf had died in a hunting accident in 1938, but this was untrue. In 1947, she did remarry, to David Treherne. 

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Dorothy was able to resume her career after the war. She entered the speed trials held at Elstree Aerodrome in April 1946, taking the Peugeot to a class win. She covered the quarter-mile course in 22.8s.

The following year, she went back to the Brighton Speed Trials, but could only manage 17th in class and sixth-fastest lady. Her only circuit race in this car seems to have been a three-lap contest at Goodwood in 1948, although her finishing position is not recorded.

She died in 1975, aged 68.

Thanks to Adam Ferrington for information.

Claire Descollas

 

Claire Descollas was a French rally driver who enjoyed a long career in the 1930s and 40s. 

Born in 1905 as Claire Mancis, she began competing very young, and was driving an Amilcar in French hillclimbs from at least 1923, when she was seventeen. She normally raced in the Marseilles area where her family lived and her father worked in the motor trade. Earlier, he had been an agent for Le Gui and Zebre cars in modern Vietnam, where Claire was probably born.

Claire continued to race after her marriage to Gaston Descollas, the brother of a childhood friend. Her car at the time was an Amilcar, described as white with a 5hp engine. her first major result as Madame Descollas was a sixth place in the 1932 Paris-St.Raphael Rally. Claire was second in her class and the first Amilcar finisher. That year, she ran in her first major open rally, the first running of the Rallye des Alpes Francaises. She did not finish and also did not finish in 1934, when Gaston Descollas won.

With Gaston, she won several class awards and rallies, often in a distinctive and quite famous Bugatti Type 57 Atalante with aerodynamic bodywork. She entered the 1935 Paris-St. Raphael in this car, but retired with mechanical problems. In 1936, she used it again for the Alpes Francaises event, and in 1937, for another Paris-St. Raphael, but she could not get it to the finish. As a consolation, she did win the Mont Ventoux hillclimb section in the Alpine rally and was third in her class.

The Amilcar was still very much in evidence. She won her class in the 1936 Chamonix Rally and was ninth overall in the Rallye de Lyon.

In the later part of her career, particularly after World War II, she favoured Lancia cars. She won her class award and finished without penalties in the 1939 Rally des Alpes Francaises, driving an Aprilia. She was 17th in the same event in 1947. One of her best Paris-St.Raphael showings was in this car in 1938; she was third and won the 1500cc class.

She does not appear to have driven in any more rallies after 1947, although she co-drove for Gaston in an Aprilia in 1948. The couple divorced in 1953.

As well as rallying, Claire was part of the Yacco speed trial team in 1937, although she withdrew after the first runs. Her team-mates for the Montlhery record attempt were Helle Nice, Simone des Forest and Odette Siko. Claire may have clashed with Helle Nice. Despite her departure, the Matford car itself was named Claire, possibly after her.

Claire died in 1985, aged 80.

For more information, see this Zebre site.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

"Mrs AC Lace"

 

“Mrs AC Lace” is the name used by Phoebe Elizabeth McQueen, born Mylchreest in 1910, when she raced between the two wars. AC (Alfred Clucas) Lace was a driver himself and was in a relationship with her, but the two never married. She often used the forename Betty.

Her first event under this name seems to have been a hillclimb at Shelsley Walsh in September 1934, driving a Hispano-Suiza. In March 1935, she appears at Brooklands for the first time, racing a Singer in the New Haw Long Handicap. It appears to be the same car that she used at Donington in May for a women’s handicap. She was not placed in either race. 

The Singer was still her car of choice for the 1936 First Mountain Handicap, held at the March Handicap meeting at Brooklands. Again, she was not placed, nor in the Second Mountain Handicap at the same event. 

A run in a Fiat followed, as part of a three-car, three-woman Fiat team for the 1936 Light Car Club Relay race at Brooklands. She and her team-mates Elsie Wisdom and Dinah Chaff, the team leader, were fourth, from eight finishers.

A gap then follows before she reappears driving a works-supported Alta in 1938. She won the Ladies’ Cup race held at Crystal Palace as part of the London Grand Prix. 

She did enter two Brooklands races in Talbot-Lago: the JCC International Trophy and the BRDC Road Race. It was possibly the Road Race she was practising for in September when she was hit on the head by a passing seagull “at over 100mph”. She “swerved violently” but was unhurt and able to continue. 

Both times, she was co-driver to AC Lace, but did not get to drive. AC himself seems to have pulled out of the latter event and their relationship may well have broken down by then. Both were declared bankrupt at different times in 1939.

Her first forays into rallying appear in 1936, when she drove a Marendaz in the RAC Rally. The only other Marendaz entries were driven by DMK Marendaz, the car’s creator, and Aileen Moss, mother of Stirling and Pat Moss. 

By the time the RAC Rally came round again in 1937, she was driving a Railton, but she was disqualified from that year’s event. This was her only time out in that car. Driving a French Delahaye 135, she also entered the Scottish and Welsh rallies, plus an MCC rally in Torquay. That car also disappears at the end of the summer.

Making up for this somewhat, she managed to out-drive AC Lace on the 1938 Monte Carlo Rally, finishing 27th to his 47th, navigated by Elsie Wisdom. They were both driving Talbot-Darracq cars. It was a successful year on the stages for her; a month later, she and the Talbot were second in the Paris-St.Raphael women’s rally, behind Betty Haig’s MG. 

She returned to Monaco in the Talbot in 1939, and was 25th. Her co-driver was the famous pilot Amy Johnson, in what was her last rally. They had previously competed against each other in the Paris-St. Raphael. Betty’s bankruptcy later in the year was almost certainly a factor in the end of her own career.

After leaving motorsport and AC Lace behind, Betty married Brian Carbury and had two sons. The fact that she was still married to Gerald McQueen did not deter her; she possibly remained married to him until her death in 1971. It did not deter her either from marrying twice more, in 1944 and 1958. Multiple bigamous marriages were only one aspect of a dishonest and criminal side to her character, which becomes obvious after she left AC Lace. Throughout her life, she was convicted many times of theft and financial fraud, usually in the form of passing bad cheques from accounts that were either closed or non-existent. Brian Carbury was also convicted of cheque fraud in 1941 and both were accused of stealing savings from their children’s nanny in 1943. A pattern emerges of her being caught, then changing her name and carrying on as before. As she got older, she tended to move her date of birth forward by a few years with each name change.

Later, she spent a long period of time living in South Africa, where her father had previously had business interests. She married a waiter called Antonio Giocondi and began calling herself Babette Giocondi. Under this identity, she embarked on a high-profile career as a boxing promoter in 1961, alongside her husband who managed the fighters. They made very little money and attempts to bring South African boxers to the UK failed. There may have been an element of fraud involved in this. “Babette Giocondi” gave interviews to the South African press and claimed to have raced at Le Mans.

Betty died in a car crash in Worthing in 1971. She was a passenger in a Daimler Sovereign driven by pub landlord Brian Samain, who also died in the accident. At the time, she was calling herself “Babette Dale-Lace” and it took the police some time to discover anything close to her real identity.

(Thanks to Adam Ferrington for sharing his research on Betty/Phoebe/Babette.)

The Automobile Club Feminin

Club members visit an airfield

The Automobile Club de France did not allow female members, so a women’s equivalent was founded in 1926. It was incorporated in 1925 and began its activities early the following year.

Its first president was Anne Rochechouart de Mortemart, the duchess of Uzes. She remained in the post until her death in 1933, when Elaine Greffulhe, the duchess of Gramont, was elected as her successor.

The ACFF’s membership came from the upper classes, with many of the committee members having husbands who sat on the all-male club’s board. A good proportion of the committee was titled and some came from notable families such as the Rothschilds. Giorigina Bingen, wife of Andre Citroen, was among them. Despite its select entry requirements, there were many senior members who were Jewish, such as Bingen, Beatrice Reinach and two Rothschild baronesses.

The founder of the Paris-St. Raphael Rally, Count Edme de Rohan-Chabot, was involved, chiefly as the publisher for the club’s magazine. Many members were regulars in early runnings of the Paris-St. Raphael, although it remained independent of the club itself.

Much of the club’s role was to provide social activities for motor-minded ladies, including tours and meet-ups at members’ (stately) homes. These were recorded in its regular magazine, alongside travel and fashion advice, social gossip, reports from major motorsport events and even poetry.

It did, however, organise its own rallies, including some international ones: the Paris-Rome Rally in 1932 and the Paris-Amsterdam in 1931. In its earliest days, it was responsible for the Paris-La Baule Rally which began in 1925.

A “Winter Sports Rally” ran between Paris and Chamonix in 1935, following a “surprise rally” which ended up in Rambouillet in 1934.

The annual rally in 1936 ran between Paris and Le Touquet and was won by Jacqueline Seligmann. Her car is not recorded. The competitive element this time was a regularity test of some 220km.

Magdeleine, Comtesse de Ganay, was the most successful driver in these rallies. She won the Paris-Cannes event in 1930 and was second in the Paris-Amsterdam Rally the year after, both in a Reinastella. 

From time to time, the Club took itself to the forests for a trial, including one in early 1935 which featured a Chanel dress as a prize, won by Jacqueline Seligmann. There were also “paper chase” and treasure hunt-style rallies in towns.

A few ACFF ladies did go on to have serious and successful motorsport careers, including Marguerite Mareuse, one of the first women to race at Le Mans.

The Second World War curtailed the activities of the club and its magazine ceased publication in 1939.

Louise Lamberjack

 

Louise with Marguerite Mareuse during the 1933 Monte

Louise Lamberjack was a French rally driver active in the 1930s. She competed as both driver and navigator. 

Motorsport was something she had grown up with, as the daughter of motorcyclist and racing driver Dominique Lamberjack and the niece of Jean-Emile Lamberjack, another racer who sold cars. Some sources claim that she was Jean-Emile’s daughter. However, she did not begin her own competition career until she was around 30.

Father and daughter competed at the same time, with Dominique opting for an unusual rally car; a Saurer coach.

Like many French women drivers of the time, Louise began by competing in women-only events, sometimes organised by the Automobile Club Feminin. Her choice of cars was more standard and probably more sensible, beginning with a Fiat. She first appears on an entry list for the 1931 Paris-St. Raphael Rally, winning the class for cars over 17hp and finishing 20th overall. She was one of 23 drivers who finished without penalty. Sadly, her second attempt at the event in 1932 ended in mechanical failure.

Over the course of the decade, she would enter six more editions of the Paris-St. Raphael, driving a number of cars. Her best results were two fourth places, in 1936 and 1937, driving a Hotchkiss and a Delahaye respectively.

Her first major win was the Coupe des Dames in Monte Carlo in 1933, navigating for Marguerite Mareuse. She first drove herself in that event in 1935, and was second in the Ladies' standings in 1936, driving a Hotchkiss which she occasionally used on the circuits. 

She was 18th on the 1939 Monte, driving a Matford. On paper, the mighty V8 Ford-engined Mathis was her most successful car, as she recorded a second place in the 1939 International Rally of La Baule. However, only the sections between drivers’ start points and La Baule itself were counted, as the Second World War was beginning and the rally proper never took place. Louise shared second spot with eight other drivers.

Her best year was probably 1936, when she drove the Hotchkiss in both rallies and races. As well as her Paris-St. Raphael fourth, she was third in the Paris-Nice International Criterium de Tourisme, considerably ahead of her father in his coach. In May, she was eighth in the Lyon Rally, leading Claire Descollas in a Lancia and Germaine Rouault in a Delahaye who were ninth and tenth.

The Paris-Nice was one of her best events: she was sixth in 1937 in the Hotchkiss. This year, the rally included a regularity test, a street race in Monaco and the La Turbie hillclimb.

Unlike some of her contemporaries, she did not return to competition after the war.

She died in 1989, aged 90.

Michele Vallet

 

Michèle Vallet is a rally driver who competed in France in the 1970s. 

She drove an Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider in 1971, and won her class in the Paris-St. Raphael women’s rally, finishing fifth overall. She was also eleventh in the Alpine Rally, 15th in the Mont Blanc and 20th in the Cevenole Rally. Only an accident in the Tour de France Auto was a disappointment.

For a couple of years, she competed less frequently, although she was a regular in the Mont Blanc Rally. She used a Fiat 127 and an Alpine-Renault A110. During this time, she also navigated for her husband Roger Vallet, who usually drove a Fiat. They did three major rallies together: Monte Carlo in 1975 and 1976, and the 1975 Morocco Rally. The couple had been active in rallying since at least 1969 and their early cars included a Simca. Michèle may also have done some hillclimbs with Roger.

Later, she drove a more powerful Alfa 2000 GTV. It was in this car that she finished the 1976 Mont Blanc Rally in 20th place, from 63 finishers. Her second Tour Auto gave her a 24th place in September. 

A couple of years in an Opel Kadett followed. She used this car in two Monte Carlo rallies, finishing 71st in 1978 after recording a DNF in 1977. Her best result in this car was a 21st place in the 1977 Tour Auto.

The last car that she used in major rallies was a less powerful Autobianchi A112 Abarth, a car that would surprisingly become popular in rallies. She entered the Monte and the Tour Auto in it, but did not finish either.

During her career, Michèle remained loyal to a couple of co-drivers, including Monique Rodt who sat beside her on and off between 1971 and 1977, and Martine Peirone.

Unusually, she was never part of the Aseptogyl setup, preferring to compete on her own account.

(Image copyright user “thais66” from Caradisiac’s Forum Auto)

Annick Girard

Annick (right) and Francoise Conconi in 1970

Annick Girard rallied in France in the 1970s. She was one of the original members of Team Aseptogyl and probably the most successful driver in its first line-up.

She began rallying an Alpine-Renault A110 with the team in 1971, starting her first event, the Rallye d’Istres, on New Year’s Day that year. She did not finish.

Although Aseptogyl initially paired her with Francoise Conconi, she earned her best finishes in open events with Marie-Odile Desvignes alongside her. Just three months after dropping out at Istres, she finished in the top ten for the first time in the Criterium National de Touraine, taking a ninth place.

This was followed by an eighth place in the Rallye des Roses, held at Antibes, then fifth in the national section of the Alpine Rally.

She and Francoise did score one win together, however, finishing first in the National section of the Paris-St.Raphael Rally.

Previously, she had driven in the Tour de France with Francoise in 1970, driving an A110. They were sponsored by Aseptogyl toothpaste, although the Aseptogyl team itself had not yet been assembled.

As well as rallying, she drove an Alpine-Renault A110 in hillclimbs at the same time, including the famous Mount Ventoux climb in 1971. 

Although she showed a great deal of promise in a car, Annick’s motorsport career was a short one and she seems to have dropped out at the end of 1971. Had she continued, we may have seen her performing well on major international rallies or in sportscar races, which Aseptogyl also entered.

Olga Thibault

Olga Thibault was one of France’s most successful female rally drivers in the 1930s.

She was the winner of the 1935 Paris-St. Raphael Rally, driving a Peugeot. This was one of two events she won outright that year. The other was the Rallye de Berck-Plage, three months later. 

The Paris-St. Raphael was not her first win, either. She was the victor in the Circuit d’Endurance de Haute-Normandie, held in 1934. Eleven drivers finished the event without penalties.

Her career began in 1932, with that year’s Paris-St. Raphael as her first rally. Only a couple of months later, she was fourth overall in the Circuit d’Orleans, winning the 1100cc class. Her car was a Peugeot 301, whose marque she would stick with throughout her five-year career. From her first year in rallying, she was a popular figure in the newspapers, who were keen to promote her victories.

Among her favourite events was the Dieppe Rally, which she contested four times. Her best finish was eleventh in 1935. This was her best year all-round in motorsport: as well as her two wins, she was second in the Rallye du Touquet-Paris Plage and third in the rally held as part of the Fetes de Paris. This was won by Rene Le Begue.

The Berck-Plage event was another favourite, which she entered three times: in 1933, 1935 and 1936. It was her last major rally and she won its Coupe des Dames in 1936.

Olga competed almost exclusively in France, but she did cross the border into Belgium for the finish of the 1934 Liege-Rome-Liege Rally. She and her co-driver Rouxel were eleventh.

(Image copyright Marianne)

Alexandra Hammersley

 

Peugeot 203 in rally trim

Alexandra Hammersley was a French driver who entered both races and rallies. Her British name came from her husband, who was also a rally driver.

She was a regular in rallies in France and Europe in the 1950s, often with her daughter, Genevieve, as her navigator. 

In 1950, she co-drove for her husband in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally. She entered the event for the first time in 1951, sharing a Peugeot with Ginette Francois-Sigrande.

Genevieve first joins her mother later that year. In 1951, they were 40th in the Tour de France, driving a Peugeot 203. In the 1952 Tour, they were 50th. 

They entered the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally together, but retired shortly after the start when Genevieve Hammersley was hit by a bicycle. They had arrived on time from their start point at Lisbon but the accident happened at Cannes, not far away. Genevieve was taken to hospital.

The same year, they were 19th overall in the ADAC-Rallye Travemunde and second in the Paris-St. Raphaël, driving a Lancia Aurelia. This was her second go at the women-only rally, having finished sixth in the Peugeot in 1951. 

An outing in the Aurelia for the Alpine Rally ended in retirement. Driving the Peugeot 203, the mother-daughter team finished 72nd in the Tulip Rally, starting from Paris.

In 1951, Alexandra was also sixth in the Bol d’Or endurance race in Paris, driving a Peugeot 1.5. She only raced occasionally on circuits.

She disappears from the entry lists after 1953. Other than the accident to Genevieve, Alexandra’s career went largely unremarked-upon in the French press. Her origins and later life are a mystery and no photos of her have come to light.

Martine Renier

Martine Renier is a rather enigmatic driver who competed in both circuit racing and rallying in and around France in the 1970s.

She was probably a more prolific rally driver, but she showed considerable skill on the track and was trusted in major endurance races.

She entered Le Mans twice, in 1974 and 1976, driving a Porsche both times. She was thirteenth in 1974, driving with Anny-Charlotte Verney and Pierre Mauroy. Her second attempt gave her an 18th place, fourth in class, with Thierry Perrier and Guy de Saint-Pierre. 

In 1973, 1974 and 1975, she piloted an Alfa Romeo on the Tour de France. Her car in 1973 was a 2000 GTV. Despite it being a rather underpowered Group 1 model, she was 32nd overall and second in the Ladies’ standings. Earlier in her career, she had won the Coupe des Dames on the Tour, driving an Alpine in 1971. 

Her association with the Alfa marque was quite a long one and encompassed circuit racing as well as rallying. In 1974, she drove in two separate 2000 GTVs in the Spa 24 Hours, finishing fourteenth with Eric Mandron and Edgar Gillessen, and seventh with Guy Deschamps and Jeannot Sauvage. Both cars were run by Promoteam. She raced the same car in a round of the 1974 French touring car series at La Chatre, finishing fourth in Group 2.

Her rallying career is harder to follow, mainly because she did not often enter under her own name. Throughout her career, she used the nickname “Tintin”, a moniker she still uses when posting online about her experiences. Her regular co-driver Marie-Dominique Cousin went by “Marie Do”. “Tintin” also appeared on the circuits and it is under that name that her 1974 Spa achievements are recorded.

Alfa Romeo features in her rallying history but her first car seems to have been a Renault 8 Gordini, which she used in 1970. She and Joelle Godart were 16th in that year’s Chauny National rally.

In 1974, “Tintin” and “Marie Do” finished the Criterium International Saint-Amand-les-Eaux in a familiar Alfa. They were 35th overall.  This was far from their only rally together.

The following year, Martine made a rare foray outside France for the Morocco Rally, driving an equally unfamiliar car: an Opel Ascona. She and co-driver G Nault did not finish.

Unusually for a French female driver of the time, she never seems to have driven for Team Aseptogyl, although Marie-Dominique Cousin certainly did later.

Although quite a prolific driver, a lot of Martine’s rally experience came from the navigation side. She finished the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally with Jean-Claude Lagniez, driving another Alfa GTV, having already sat alongside him in an Alpine-Renault for French rallies. Her first experience of the Ascona came as a co-driver to Bernard Vautrin on the 1973 Le Touquet Rally. In 1976, she was hired by Ford France to sit alongside Anny-Charlotte Verney in an Escort, and they did the 1000 Lakes Rally together. Her last major stage event seems to have been the 1976 Bandama Rally, which she failed to finish in a Toyota Trueno with Alain Cerf driving.

Towards the end of her international career, she entered the 1974 Paris-St. Raphael women’s rally, finishing ninth in an Alfa 2000 GTV with Marie-Madeleine Fouquet, driving as herself for a change. 

Her last attempt at a big international race was Le Mans in 1978. She attempted to qualify in a Lola T296/7 with Pascale Guerie and Anna Cambiaghi. This would have been her first race in a prototype, but they were only on the reserve list and did not actually race. Only Anna Cambiaghi drove the car.

She also competed in early runnings of the Paris-Dakar rally, as a motorcyclist and driver. Her experience in Morocco and the Ivory Coast would have helped her, although her first attempt in 1979, riding for the Moto Guzzi team, ended in a crash.

She co-drove for Catherine Dufresne the following year in a Range Rover, again not finishing. Back in the driving seat, she piloted a VW-engined Sunhill buggy in 1983, navigated by Babette Schily. Neither of the two Sunhill buggies finished that year. 

(Image from motor.rocabal.com)

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)

Marie-Pierre Palayer

Marie-Pierre Palayer is a multi-talented French driver who raced between 1968 and 1973. She is most famous as a member of the all-female Team Aseptogyl rally squad.

Considering the time period, Marie-Pierre began her career very early. She first appears in hillclimbs in 1968, driving a BMW 1600Ti. She was 18 years old at the time. This led to a BMW works drive in France in 1969, which included the Ronde Cévenole, Tour de France, Criterium Jean Behra and the AGACI 300 at Montlhéry, in a 2002 Ti. She was sixth, with a class win, at Montlhéry. 

In 1970, she switched to a Porsche 911 S run by the works team, and was 15th in the Tour de France, with Ginette Derolland. She also performed very well in rallies, finishing tenth in the Rallye de Lorraine and seventh in the Geneva Rally, in the Porsche, as well as an eighth place in the Lyon-Charbonnières-Stuttgart-Solitude Rally in the BMW. Her best result in open competition was a fifth place in the Rally of Picardie, but her first win came from the women-only Paris-St. Raphaël Rally. She ended the year second in the French ladies’ rally championship.

After 1971, rallying became her main focus as she joined Team Aseptogyl. Aspetogyl founder Bob Neyret had competed at Mont Ventoux against Marie-Pierre in 1968. She mostly drove one of the team’s pink-and-red Alpine-Renault A110s. A highlight of her first year with the team was a fifth place in the Geneva Rally, with Christine Rouff. Back in the familiar Porsche, she was fourth in the Paris-St. Raphaël. 

She was part of a works Peugeot team for the 1972 Bandama Rally in the Cote d’Ivoire, driving a 304 with Ginette Derolland. This event was unusual in that it had no finishers at all. Her going over the time limit was no real shame as she was one of at least six drivers who ran out of time.

She was third in the Paris-St. Raphaël Rally in 1973. That year, the podium was completely filled with Alpine-Renault drivers. This was the second to last of the original Paris-St. Raphaël rallies

She retired from driving herself after the 1973 season, and her last event was a rally raid, the Nice-Abidjan-Nice. She drove an Iveco truck. However, she continued as a navigator until 1975, partnering Claudine Trautmann and Christine Dacremont. Even after her disastrous 1972 Bandama, she usually competed on the rougher African events as a co-driver and helped Marianne Hoepfner to eighth in the 1973 Bandama, driving a Peugeot 504.

(Image from a Team Aseptogyl promotional shoot)