Jenny Tudor-Owen

Jenny Tudor-Owen raced and rallied, mostly in Europe, during the 1960s. She normally drove British cars.

Her first car, lent to her in 1962 by John Coombs, was a Mini, which she crashed. Her then-boyfriend Mike Parkes built her another Mini, in which she qualified on pole for her first race at Brands Hatch, only to over-rev on the startline due to valve bounce. 

She quickly moved on to an MGB. This particular car is the one most associated with her, and she raced several different versions. The first of these was run by Barwells in 1963. 

In 1964, she was fourth in the Copenhagen Cup at the Roskildering. Her MGB was the first one to race in Denmark.

Tracking down her race results has proved difficult, but she did enter at least some of the Freddie Dixon Challenge Trophy and other club meetings organised by the BARC and BRSCC. The MGB was often up against much more powerful cars, such as Ferrari 250s and Jaguar E-Types. Among her rivals were Jackie Stewart, Bernard Unett and Alan Minshaw. Her best result in the MG, in the UK at least, was a fifth place at Oulton Park in June. Later in the year, she tried out a Lotus Elan for a couple of races, and she was third at Mallory Park in a 1600cc GT race. 

The Elan was her main focus in 1965, although it looks to have been a much shorter season for her. The biggest event on her calendar was an early-season race at Goodwood for small-engined sportscars, in which she was eleventh. She also tried out single-seaters, in the shape of a Formula Vee. 

After another spell in the MGB, which included an entry in a BWRDC ladies' race at Oulton Park in 1967, she acquired a Jaguar E-Type, which she used in 1967 and 1968, winning the 1968 BWRDC Racing championship following an outright second place at Thruxton. She had been leading the race on a wet track and recovered from a spin to hold on to the runner-up spot.

Racing a Bamford MGB at Oulton Park in October 1968, she managed to crash during practice and write off the car at Cascades. Her accident was overshadowed by James Hunt famously throwing an Alexis Formula Ford in the lake at the same meeting. That year, she also raced an E-Type for Warren Pearce's team. 

On the rallying side, she is best known for her Coupe des Dames in the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon, driving a Volvo 145. She was part of a four-woman team with Elsie Gadd, Anthea Castell and Sheila Kemp. The car belonged to Elsie Gadd, who had no rallying experience, so she hired Jenny and Sheila as her lead drivers. They were 41^st overall, just in front of Jean Denton’s MGB, which had been the favourite for the Ladies’ prize. They had their share of troubles, including a fire in the car's battery in the closing stages in Australia, and large cracks in the car's bodywork, which needed to be welded, after crossing the gravel roads of Turkey and the Middle East.

After the London-Sydney, Jenny disappears from the entry lists. Her marriage ended and she seemed to retire from motorsport completely, although she occasionally popped up in the papers. One such appearance was in the Kent Evening Post in 1970, where the "really expert driver" opined that other women drivers "don't concentrate enough".

She moved to America and then South Africa, where she used her skills at the wheel as a film stunt performer. She also bred Pekinese dogs successfully.

(Image courtesy of Greening Australia)

Susanne Kottulinsky

Susanne Kottulinsky was Sweden’s leading woman rally driver in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Her best WRC finish was thirteenth, in the 1986 Swedish Rally. She was driving a Volvo 240. This was one of ten World Championship rallies she entered, five of them in Sweden and five in the UK. Her best year for the RAC Rally was 1985, when she was 17th and first in Class A8, also in the Volvo. The RAC was also her first WRC event in 1982, before she even entered her home rally. She was 47th overall in an Opel Ascona.

She sampled a number of cars during her long career (over 20 years), but was most competitive in the Volvo, her regular car between 1984 and 1986, and the Audi 200 Quattro she used in 1987 and 1988. She picked up multiple top-ten finishes in both of these cars. 

From the beginning of her international career in 1982, Susanne always seemed to run best in Germany and Austria, better even than on the Swedish snow rallies in which she would be expected to excel. Her first international top ten was a tenth place in the Eisenwurzen Pyhrn Rally, held in Austria in 1983. She was driving the Ascona. The same event in 1984 gave her a sixth place in the Volvo and she followed this up with her first big German finish, an eighth place in the ADAC 3-Städte Rally. After a year spent competing all around northern Europe in the Volvo in 1986, she began to concentrate almost exclusively on the German championship.

Her first season proper in Germany coincided with her move to Audi as a works-supported driver for VAG Sweden. She was following in the wheeltracks of 1986 champion Michele Mouton and part of a strong cohort of female talent that was finally being taken seriously again. The season started well, with a fifth place in the Sachs Winter Rally. This was five places better than her future husband, Jerry Ahlin managed and the best of the group N finishers. Two more top-tens and a class win in the Rallye Hessen were enough to secure championship fifth.

Although Susanne became a more consistent top-ten finisher in 1988, the podium places were locked out by fellow Audi driver Armin Schwarz and Ronald Holzer’s Lancia Delta Integrale. She was fifth again, with another fifth place at Baden-Wurttemberg as her best rally finish. 

After this, she appears much more infrequently on the entry lists. She married Jerry Ahlin and the pair teamed up as “Team Ahlinsky” for a few rallies in Sweden and Germany between 1990 and 1991, using an Audi. Susanne earned a sixth place in the 1991 Berglagsrallyt in Sweden.

After a long lay-off, she proved that she still had it in 2002. She was eighth in the ADAC 3-Städte Rally, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer, despite not having driven in a major rally since 1995. Since then, she has occasionally come out of retirement for German rally show events, driving the Audi.

Her daughter is touring car racer, Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky. Mikaela is the third generation of Kottulinskys in motorsport, alongside her brother Fredrik Ahlin who competes in rallying. Susanne’s father was Freddy Kottulinsky, who mostly rallied in Sweden, and even her mother Barbel had a go at navigating.

(Image copyright Audi/VAG Sweden/rallymemory.blogspot.com)

Eeva Heinonen

Eeva Heinonen was the Finnish Ladies’ Champion four times, between 1971 and 1974.

Born in 1946, she had quite an early start to her rally career, taking on her first major rallies as a driver in Finland in 1969. She had been navigating for longer, however, from at least 1965. In 1968, she sat beside Kirsti Airikkala in an Isuzu Sport.

She drove an Opel RK on the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1969, but did not finish.

The RK was a car she used for most of the early part of her career. She scored her first 1000 Lakes finish in it in 1970, when she was 25th.

At this stage of her career, she was still only competing within Finland. Her first Finnish ladies’ title was in 1971. With it came her first top-twenty finish, a 17th place in the Salpausselkä Rally.

Her first overseas event was the 1972 RAC Rally. She drove a Volvo 142 for the works team and had a British co-driver, Liz Crellin. She was 29th and beaten to the Ladies’ award by Marie-Claude Beaumont by less that two minutes. Opel driver Marie-Claude was Eeva’s regular rival for Coupes des Dames.

Marie-Claude never went near the 1000 Lakes, which was at that time dominated by local drivers, so Eeva faced less of a challenge for the Ladies’ Prize there. She was 20th overall, and this counted towards her second Finnish Ladies’ Trophy. That year, she also had her first top ten finish, coming tenth in the Arctic Tunturi Rally.

Her best international result was 18th, on the 1973 1000 Lakes Rally. She was driving a Volvo, as she usually did during the second half of her career.

She picked up another works drive for Volvo at the 1973 RAC Rally and went one-up on her French rival, Marie-Claude Beaumont. Although Eeva was only 32nd on the stages, Marie-Claude had to retire in her Opel Commodore. This international Coupe des Dames was in addition to a third Finnish ladies’ title that year.

Her 1974 season may have been curtailed by pregnancy; Ford’s Tony Mason offered her a Ford drive at the RAC Rally, which she was unable to take up. This could have been for 1974 or 1975. Tony Mason’s own writings suggest it was 1974, but it could have been either.

She was able to compete in the Arctic Rally at the end of January 1974, finishing 24th, but this was followed by a break until June. Her shortened season proved enough to retain her Ladies’ crown in Finland, but she did not get to square up to Marie-Claude Beaumont again. Domestically, her best results were two 18th places in the Kalakukko and Länsirannikon rallies, both of which had in the region of 50 finishers.

Eeva’s last season of rallying was 1975, and she finally got herself a Ford drive. She drove an Escort RS in three Finnish rallies. Her best finish was 15th in the Arctic Rally. Her season ended in March, so a pregnancy is a possible reason.

She later married Saab driver Pertti Lehtonen. In recent years she has appeared at classic motor shows in Finland. Like her countryman Ari Vatanen, she had a sojourn in politics, running for local office in the mid-1980s.

(Image from http://suomenmuseotonline.fi)

Mette Kruuse

Mette Kruuse was a Danish driver, active in the 1960s and 1970s. She is most associated with the MkI Ford Escort.

Her career began when she attended a racing drivers’ school, some time in the late 1960s. She first appears in major competition in a Volvo P544, in 1968. That year, she competed in most of the Danish Touring Car Championship, the Roskilde rounds mainly. Using either the PV544, or a 122, she managed a couple of good places in the over-1300cc class. The best of these was a fifth, in the Roskilde Castrol Cup. As well as her home series, she also raced in Sweden, and was ninth in the Anderstorp Mixed-Race, in the P544, which was run by the Ellemann-Jakobsen team.  

In 1969, she carried on racing a Volvo, and had much the same schedule as her debut DTCC year. Her first appearance was in the fifth round at Jyllandsring, and she was driving a PV544. The next race, the Ceat Cup, also at Jyllandsring, gave her a further fifth place.

Again, she raced in Sweden as well as Denmark. She was ninth in the “PR for Men” race held at Anderstorp in June. Her car was a PV544 run by the Aarhus car club.

In 1970, she also made sporadic appearances in the DTCC, driving a Simca 1000 at Djursland, and the Volvo at the second Djursland meeting, later in the season. She was sixth in both races. The DTCC rules changed that year from Group 5 to Group 2 regulations, and the series was less popular. Once more, she represented the Aarhus club in Sweden, finishing seventh in the non-championship race at Anderstorp, in the PV544. She may also have been part of an Anderstorp round of the Swedish Touring Car Championship, in the same car, but she may not have started.

In 1971, she had her first outing in a 1600cc Escort, as part of the Castrol-funded works team with Aage Buch-Larsen. The Escort had proved to be one of the most competitive of cars, under the new rules. She held her own in the <1000cc 2="" and="" at="" class.="" class="" djursland.="" end="" fourth="" group="" had="" in="" of="" one="" place="" second="" she="" span="" the="" was="" year="">

At the beginning of the season, she also made a guest appearance in the British Saloon championship at Brands Hatch, driving a British Vita-run Escort. It was the one of the support events for the Race of Champions. Mette was sixteenth overall on aggregate, having finished twelfth and twentieth in her two races.

In a 1971 interview, Mette stated that she wanted to move into single-seater racing next. She seems to have tried this in 1972. She is listed as an entry in that year’s Danish Grand Prix, a Formula 3 race, driving a Brabham BT28, but she did not start. Driving for the Ellemann-Jakobsen team who had supported her in the Volvo, she was eighteenth in the first round of the Swedish F3 championship, driving a Brabham BT21. Further details of her single-seater activities are not forthcoming.

For 1973, details are also vague, although she was part of a Swedish-run Ford team, sponsored by STP. She is listed as a non-starter for two Grand Prix support races in Sweden, but does not appear on the entry lists for any other races, in Sweden or Denmark. STP certainly sponsored several other drivers in touring cars in Sweden that year, but the deal with Mette must have broken down. Her career seems to end here.

Despite the somewhat sketchy details of her actual racing career, there are quite a lot of pictures of Mette available; she was quite photogenic, and seems to be remembered fondly. After her retirement, she may have been involved with breeding pedigree dogs.

(Image from http://nostalgimacken.blogspot.co.uk/2010_09_01_archive.html)

Female Drivers in the "Marathon Rallies" of the 1960s and 1970s

Bronwyn Burrell, Katrina Kerridge and Tish Ozanne in 1970

The late 1960s saw the first of a series of cross-continental marathon rallies taking place. The first of these was organised by the Daily Express newspaper in 1968, to show off British engineering and bring some excitement to a rather unsettled Britain. Women drivers took part in all of them.

The Daily Express London-Sydney Marathon Rally, 1968

It was 10,000 miles long, and ran from London to France and Italy, then the former Yugoslavia and further south, before passing through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The cars were then transported by boat to Australia, for the final leg.

The entry list was limited to 100 cars. Four of these were driven by women, and two further crews had female co-drivers. As with the rest of the entry, the female contingent was a mix of seasoned professionals and enthusiastic adventuresses. Rosemary Smith had been tipped to win the Ladies’ award, but ran into trouble up the Khyber Pass and lost time, as well as losing a cylinder in her Lotus Cortina. The winner of the Coupe des Dames was a four-woman, Anglo-Australian crew in the unlikely choice of a Volvo estate. Elsie Gadd, an Australian property surveyor, assembled the team, drafting in British racers, Jenny Tudor-Owen and Sheila Kemp, and Anthea Castell, an Australian ranch-hand with experience of driving in adverse conditions.

In common with many other entries, some of the female teams were sponsored by other media outlets, including Nova fashion magazine (Jean Denton). The Morris 1100 of Eileen Westley was sponsored by the Sydney Telegraph, for which all three drivers worked. It was named “The Galloping Tortoise” in the Australian press, and was prepared by BMC.

The rally was won by Andrew Cowan in a Hillman Hunter. Fifty-six cars finished. Below is a list of all the female finishers.

Elsie Gadd/Anthea Castell/Sheila Kemp/Jenny Tudor-Owen (Volvo 145S Estate) – 41^st

Jean Denton/Tom Boyce (MG B) – 42^nd

Rosemary Smith/Lucette Pointet (Ford Lotus Cortina) – 48^th

Eileen Westley/Minny Macdonald/Jenny Gates (Morris 1100) – 50^th

Sylvia Kay (co-driver to John Cotton in a Peugeot 504) – 21^st

Jenny Brittan (co-driver to Nick Brittan in a Ford Lotus Cortina) – DNF

L-R: Pat Wright, Liz Crellin, Jean Denton

The Daily Mirror London-Mexico World Cup Rally, 1970

The next big marathon rally was themed around that year’s World Cup, which was held in Mexico. It was even longer than its predecessor, at 16,000 miles, and ran through Europe to Spain and Portugal, before transferring to Brazil, and then across South and Central America to Mexico.

Again, the field was a mix of professionals, such as eventual winner, Hannu Mikkola, in a works Ford Escort, and amateurs, including some celebrities, such as footballer Jimmy Greaves. Five female drivers entered, and Rosemary Smith was the best of them. Her car was an Austin Maxi, continuing the trend for unlikely rally cars winning the Coupe des Dames.

Below are the results for the female crews.

Rosemary Smith/Alice Watson/Ginette Derolland (Austin Maxi) – 10^th

Jean Denton/Pat Wright/Liz Crellin (Morris 1800) – 18^th

Claudine Trautmann/Colette Perrier (Citroen DS 21) – 24th

Patricia Ozanne/Katrina Kerridge/Bronwyn Burrell (Austin Maxi) - DNF

Lavinia Roberts/David Jones/Arthur Hazelrigg (Ford Mustang) – DNF

London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, 1974

The second World Cup Rally contained quite a lot of improvisation. The route between London and Munich was not long or dramatic enough, so the organisers added in a huge loop through Spain, North Africa, and as far south as Nigeria, before travelled back up through Turkey, the Balkans and Italy, to Germany. This caused untold problems, as the route itself was not well-plotted, and a large number of competitors got lost in the desert. Out of seventy starters, nineteen finished. Only five cars completed the full route; among them were the Team Aseptogyl Peugeots of Christine Dacremont and Claudine Trautmann. The rally was not as well-supported this year, due to the 1973 oil crisis and financial pressures on the works teams. It was not revived in 1978.

Christine Dacremont/Yveline Vannoni (Peugeot 504) – 2^nd

Claudine Trautmann/Marie-Odile Desvignes (Peugeot 504) – 4^th

Anne O’Connell (co-driver to Mike O’Connell in a Ford Escort Mexico) – DNF

Singapore Airlines London-Sydney Marathon Rally, 1977

A final big marathon rally was held in 1977, a new edition of the original London-Sydney event. Some of the manufacturers came back on board, including Mercedes, who dominated the rally, and Leyland. Very few women took part, apart from those in Team Aseptogyl diesel Fiats.

Christine Dacremont/Yveline Vannoni (Fiat 131 Diesel) – DNF

Marianne Hoepfner (co-driver to Bob Neyret in a Fiat 131 Diesel) – 15^th

Further revivals of the Marathon took place from 1993 onwards, but these were classic events.

(Morris 1800 image copyright Woman Magazine)

Sylvia Österberg

Sylvia Österberg was Swedish driver active in the 1960s and 1970s, winner of the European Ladies’ Rally Championship in 1963.

Her earliest motorsport experiences were in rallycross, at club level. She only took up rallying after some strong encouragement from her husband, Ingemar. After seeing her drive in treasure hunt-type road rallies, he signed her up for the Swedish ladies’ championship in 1960, and the two competed together during that season. Their first stage rally together, an event for novices, led to a fifth place, with a class win.

Her performances in the Swedish championship caught the eye of the Volvo team management, and she was offered a contract as a works driver for 1962. Her car was to be a 122. Her first major rally in it was the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland. With Inga-Lill Edenring as co-driver, she did not disgrace herself with a 21^st place, narrowly missing out on the Coupe des Dames to her Swedish rival, Ewy Rosqvist. Later in the year, she was tenth in the RAC Rally, driving the same car. This was her first international top-ten finish, and she did particularly well on the forest stages, tying with Paddy Hopkirk for third on the Wark Forest stage.

Her performances in 1962 were enough to convince the Volvo team to keep her on in 1963, with an expanded programme of rallies across Europe. Once again, she teamed up with Inga-Lill Edenring, who would be her regular co-driver for much of her career. She started with a 20^th place in the Monte Carlo Rally, losing the Coupe des Dames to Ewy Rosqvist, in a Mercedes. After the Tulip Rally, in which she was thirteenth, she drove in the Acropolis Rally for the first time, and scored another tenth place, ahead of Ewy Rosqvist this time. Her second top-ten of the season came in the Deutschland Rally, along with a Coupe des Dames. The best was still yet to come, however; she then broke into the top five in the Polish Rally, in fourth place. Before the end of the season, she had secured another fourth place, in the Geneva Rally. This was enough to secure her the European Ladies’ Championship.

For most of 1963, she drove the 122 again, although she did have at least one outing in the PV 544, the Midnight Sun Rally, which she does not seem to have finished.

1964 started with another run in the Monte in the 122, in which she was 33^rd, a somewhat disappointing result, but not a bad performance in the ageing 122, and ahead of her rival, Ewy Rosqvist. The rest of the season was spent in a PV 544, which was faster, but not quite as sturdy as its predecessor. Sylvia could not finish her first Safari Rally, a brute of an event which almost three-quarters of the field failed to complete. She does not appear to have finished the Acropolis Rally, another car-breaker, or the Midnight Sun Rally, which, despite being her home event, was never her favourite. Later in the season, she was fifteenth in the 1000 Lakes Rally, and back in the top ten for the RAC Rally, in tenth. Her navigator this year was Siv Sabel, as Inga-Lill Edenring was taking some time out from rallying.

After 1964’s ups and downs, Sylvia went back to the 122 for 1965, trading some power for reliability. In February, she was rewarded with a sixth place in the Rallye dei Fiori, among Lancias and Renaults in the top ten. The KAK Rally in Sweden followed, and then the Tulip, which she finished over the time limit. She was in good company, and her Volvo team-mate, Tom Trana, also in a 122, was another on the OTL list. The Acropolis was another non-finish, and she followed it up with a 24^th place in the 1000 Lakes, with a Coupe des Dames as a consolation prize. She ended the year with the RAC Rally, but does not seem to have been classified.

She and Siv Sabel stuck with the Volvo for one more rally in 1966, the Rallye dei Fiori, which had been a good event for them last year. They did not finish, and the 122 was promptly replaced with a Renault 8 Gordini, supported by the Swedish arm of Renault. Sylvia picked up another Coupe des Dames in the 1000 Lakes, and was 23^rd overall, but did not finish the Alpine Rally. Reunited with Inga-Lill Edenring, she was tenth in the season-ending RAC Rally. On the first special stage, Bramshill, she was second, behind Roger Clark.

Her second season in the Gordini was shorter, but more fruitful. In January, she finally managed to pick up a Monte Carlo Coupe des Dames, finishing 25^th overall, just behind her countryman and fellow Gordini driver, Harry Källstrom. A non-finish in the Swedish rally followed. She was then nineteenth in the 1000 Lakes Rally, before enjoying a good run in the French tarmac rallies. The Alpine Rally, usually a good event for her, led to a tenth place, and she was sixth in the Tour de Corse. Both times, she was the fastest lady. Her season was to have ended with the RAC Rally, but it was cancelled, due to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

After 1967, Sylvia’s career wound down somewhat. She began driving Opel cars, beginning with a Kadett in 1968. She and Ingemar teamed up once more and tackled the Swedish championship. They were thirteenth in class at the end of the year, with a best finish of tenth, in the Jämt Rally.

A couple more seasons in the Kadett followed, although it seems that Sylvia and Ingemar were part-time competitors at this point, rallying within Sweden and not regularly in major events. Another attempt at the Swedish Rally in 1971 led to another non-finish.

Despite her profile being lower than previously, the Opel works team took an interest in Sylvia. In mid-1972, she was part of a six-driver team that attempted a series of speed records in a diesel-powered Opel GT prototype. The tests took place at Dudenhofen in Germany. The other drivers were Marie-Claude Beaumont, Giorgio Pianta, Paul Frère, Henri Greder and Joachim Springer. As a team, they set a whole series of class records for speed, endurance and economy.

1972 saw a revival of Sylvia’s rally career, too. She was once again reunited with Inga-Lill Edenring, her most successful co-driver, and they drove a works Opel Ascona in Europe. The faster Ascona seemed to suit Sylvia’s driving style; after a slightly tentative 26^th place on snow in the Swedish Rally, she was seventh in the Olympia Rally in Germany. Sadly, the RAC Rally, one of her favoured events, led to a retirement.

Sylvia’s last major international rally looks to have been the Monte in 1973. She drove an Ascona to 28^th place. She carried on competing occasionally until 1975, then retired as a driver. This retirement was meant to be final, but she reappeared about ten years later, as a navigator in historic rallies. She assisted Tom Trana, her old Volvo team-mate, to two historic championships, and carried on in this role until the mid-1990s.

She died in 2012, at the age of 78.

Having been most active in an era where there were some extremely competitive female drivers – first Ewy Rosqvist, then rally winner, Pat Moss – Sylvia’s achievements are overshadowed somewhat. She was a very capable driver, particularly on forest stages and on asphalt, and perhaps would have scored an outright win, had she had a few more opportunities in big rallies and powerful cars.

(Image from http://rallyklassikerna.se/)

Ewy Rosqvist

(Image from www.classicmotor.se)

Ewy was a Swedish driver of the 1950s and 1960s. She was the only woman to drive for the Mercedes rally team, and is most famous for her win in the “Argentine Grand Prix” Rally in 1962.

Ewy was born in 1929, and grew up in a comfortably-off Swedish farming family. Her first love was animals. She attended agricultural college and after finishing her course, worked for a local veterinary surgeon. Supported by him, she undertook some veterinary training in Stockholm. It was while she was there that she learned to drive. After gaining the necessary certificates, she worked alongside the vet, as an assistant. This necessitated her first car, a Mercedes-Benz 170 S, as she had to drive miles between farms, to assist the vet with livestock care. She became adept at driving long distances on challenging terrain, often at speed, and also learned how to handle and maintain her car in these conditions. This was a good foundation for her future rally career.

Her first taste of rallying came in 1954, when she was a passenger in a three-man team on the Midnight Sun Rally. The two drivers were her husband, Yngve, and her father-in-law, although she did drive a little on some of the road sections. After this, she was determined to enter a rally herself.

It was not until 1956 that she took to the stages herself, although she and Yngve did do various motor club navigational challenges together. She entered the Midnight Sun Rally, with Majbritt Clausson on the maps. They did not finish. The make of their car is not recorded, but it is likely to be a Saab. This was Ewy’s biggest event of the year, but she was active in smaller rallies, whenever finances and work schedules allowed it.

In 1957, she spent a year rallying a Saab 93, which was one of the cars to have in Sweden at the time. Her usual co-driver was her sister-in-law, Anita Rosqvist. As well as driving her own car, she did some navigation, including one rally with her husband. They were 25^th in the 1000 Lakes Rally.

Her Saab only lasted a year, and she chose a car from its Swedish rival, Volvo, for 1958. During her first year, she mainly competed in Scandinavia, in various rallies, but in 1959, she became more ambitious, and started looking towards an international career. After a first win in the Ladies’ class of the Midnight Sun Rally, Ewy and Anita weighed up their chances of a win in the European Ladies’ Championship, against the formidable Pat Moss, who was capable of outright wins. They racked up Coupes des Dames in the Viking Rally and the 1000 Lakes, in their Volvo 1600, plus a strong finish in Poland. Ewy was third in Germany, but Pat won the ladies’ prize, putting her almost level.

The Ladies’ championship points were not calculated solely on points scored within rallies. Drivers had to enter a certain number of rallies to be considered, and they received some points for each start. Pat Moss had skipped some events, allowing Ewy to get the lead in the rankings. The championship would be decided at the RAC Rally, which both drivers had elected to contest. Disaster struck for Ewy; shortly after her arrival in England, she became very ill, and ended up in hospital. She thought that this was the end of her Ladies’ title hopes, but as it happened, Pat Moss also withdrew from the rally, handing Ewy her first of three Ladies’ Cups.

1960 was something of a turning point in Ewy’s rally career. She began the year with her first run in the Monte Carlo Rally, still driving her own Volvo 1600. She was fifth in the Ladies’ class, a long way behind Pat Moss. However, by May, she had the bonus of works support from the Volvo team, and a new PV544. Ewy and Anita won the Ladies’ Cup in the Acropolis Rally, and were 15^th overall.  In August, they followed this up with another Coupe des Dames in the 1000 Lakes Rally, and were 29^th. Ewy retained her Viking Rally ladies’ title, and also travelled to Poland for the first time, for the Rajd Polski, which she did not finish. The battle with Pat Moss was on again, but it came down to technical arbitration, rather than results on the road. Pat’s car was judged to have been placed in the wrong class, and she was no longer eligible. Ewy could have benefitted, but the FIA decided not to award the European Ladies’ Cup this year.

Her new professional status would have been very welcome to Ewy; after combining rallying and veterinary work since 1956, she finally parted company with her surgery, due to being unable to commit her time to her old job.

There was more change in 1961. Anita was pregnant, and sat out most of the season. Ewy teamed up with Monika Wallraf, a German who also raced on the circuits. Their first event together was the Monte Carlo Rally, in a Volvo 122. They got to the finish in 56^th place, ahead of Ewy’s arch-rival, Pat Moss, but behind Anne Hall, who won the Coupe des Dames. They ran well in the Alpine Rally, close to the leading drivers, and won another Ladies’ Prize. In August, Ewy won another one in Poland, partnered by Eugenia Wolko this time. Back with Monika, she was the fastest lady in the 1000 Lakes Rally, in a 544, and was 19^th overall. She also participated in the RAC Rally, with another new navigator, Ursula Wirth, but her best result had come in May. She was seventh in the Acropolis Rally, in the 544, her first international top ten. A total of nine ladies’ awards, in different rallies, gave her another European Ladies’ Cup. Pat Moss was now concentrating on outright wins, and there were new female rivals to overcome.

She started the year with the Monte Carlo Rally in a Volvo in 1962, but shortly afterward, she was approached by Mercedes, who offered her a professional driver’s contract, after months of rumours. Her first major rally as a Mercedes works driver was the Tulip Rally, in a 220 SE. It was a tough start for her and Ursula, and they were 48^th overall. Her erstwhile rival, Pat Moss, was the winner. In the summer, she was 20^th in the 1000 Lakes Rally, and a pleasing sixth on a car-breaking Polish Rally. However, her greatest achievement, and probably the greatest of her entire career, came in the autumn.  She won the Gran Premio Internacional Standard Supermovil YPF (Touring Car Grand Prix) outright in Argentina. This was not a race, but a long-distance rally, held over ten days in the rugged Argentine plains.  Ewy not only won the rally, but won every single stage along the way, avoided mechanical disasters, and even weathered the death of her team-mate, Hermann Kühne. Her experience as a roving veterinary assistant in rural Sweden had found an unlikely use.

Ewy and Ursula in Argentina (Image from www.spoca.se)

The experience, although it must have been thrilling, was also a wearying one, and made her consider seriously whether she wanted to continue with rallying afterwards. By this time, her marriage to Yngve was over, and she was exhausted. She sat out the season-ending RAC Rally.

Over the winter break, she decided to continue. The Monte was never her best event, but she won the Ladies’ Cup in 1963, in the Mercedes 220 SE, with Ursula Wirth on the maps. She was 16^th overall. Between then and the Acropolis Rally in May, she and Ursula parted company temporarily. Ewy’s co-driver in Greece was Heikke Krause, a German. They were twelfth. An electrical fault put her out of the Alpine Rally in June, then a rare accident dropped her from the Polish Rally standings. Later in the year, she and Ursula teamed up again, to defend their Argentine title. Despite a strong performance, they were third overall.

In between, she had her first taste of international touring car racing, driving a Mercedes 220 SE, with Ursula and Eberhard Mahle, in the Nürburgring 6 Hours. They were fifth overall, and won their class.

1964 began in a similar way. The 220 SE was still competitive, although newer Mercedes models were being used by other members of the team, and the BMC Minis were starting to come into their own. Ewy, assisted by her new regular co-driver, Eva Maria Falk, was a disappointing 38^th in Monte Carlo, just behind Sylvia Osterberg. Snow was never her best surface, despite being from a Nordic country. In a warmer location, Portugal, she was fifteenth in the ACP International Rally. Then it was time for the Acropolis, a rough rally which suited Ewy’s measured, but quick, driving style. She was fifth. Later, she was sixth in the Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally, another tough marathon event. Her last rally of the year was another trip to Argentina, where she was third again.

Shortly afterward, she announced her retirement, at the age of 35. She joked with the Argentine media about becoming a housewife and learning to cook, but as she was preparing to marry Baron Alexander von Korff, head of the Mercedes competition department and hereditary peer, this was probably unnecessary.

Although Ewy never competed seriously again, she remained involved with the motoring scene, was a test driver, and for decades, acted as a brand ambassador for Mercedes. When not involved with Mercedes, she worked as a multilingual tour guide in a museum in Stuttgart.

She was immensely popular in both Sweden and Argentina, and was the subject of many newspaper articles and TV sections. She was Swedish Sportswoman of the Year in 1961. Both Ewy and Ursula, despite their love for the toughest of terrain, were always well-dressed and ready for a photo opportunity, long before this was standard practice for international motorsport stars.

In later life Ewy, a widow, lived in Stockholm, after some time spent in Germany. She died aged 94 in July 2024.

(This piece owes a lot to www.ewyrosqvist.com, a fan page created with Ewy’s co-operation.)

Women Drivers in One-Make Series: Sweden

Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky

Female drivers have competed in many of Sweden's one-make series, both past and present. In the 1980s, the Lady Racing Club's women-only events provided several "graduates" to one-make championships.

Eva Bornebusch - mostly raced in one-make series in Sweden and Finland, in the 1980s and 1990s. She began in the Lancia Lady Cup in 1986, where she was eighth. In 1988, she raced a Rover Vitesse, including a run in the Kemora 500km endurance race in Finland. She was seventh, with Janina Österholm and Catta Lindgren. With Karlson and Bokaj, she also made a rare visit to France, for the Nogaro ETCC race, but did not finish. In 1990, she was fourth in the Kemora 500, with her father, Kaj Bornebusch, driving a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. Both the Rover and the Sierra had originally belonged to him, and Eva apparently raced both of them around Sweden during this time. In 1992, she took part in the Renault Clio Cup of Scandianvia, and was eighth. She returned to the series in 1993, but was fifteenth this time.

Lottie Halvards-Mattsson - one of the early members of Sweden’s Lady Racing Club. She took part in the Mini Lady Cup in at least 1980 and 1981, and possibly before. She was sixth in 1980 and second in 1981. Later, she did some races in the Lancia Lady Cup. In between, she raced in mixed competition in the SSK Trophy and the Vredestein Cup, in an Opel Kadett. She was sixth in the Vredestein Cup in 1982. Lottie was involved with the Magnum Racing team, like the Lindgren sisters, throughout the early 1980s.

Siri Hokfelt - Swedish driver who races a Mini in the all-electric NXT Gen Cup. Her best result of the year was an eighth place at Falkenberg and she is the quickest of the four female drivers in the championship. She was ninth in the 2024 championship, with a best finish of seventh at the Sachsenring. In 2023, Despite only being 16 years old when she made her NXT Gen debut, she has been racing since 2020. In 2020 and 2021, she took part in the Swedish Renault Junior Cup, finishing sixth and fourteenth respectively in her Clio. She also tried out an Aquila Formula 1000 single-seater in 2021.

Eva Kjellkvist-Pulls - long-term member of the Swedish Lady Racing Club, who participated in all of the editions of the Lancia Lady Cup, and some of its Mini-based predecessors, in 1979 and 1980.  Her best overall finish was second in the Lancia version, in 1984. After the end of the Lancia Lady Cup, she carried on racing in the Camaro Cup in Sweden, using a Chevrolet Camaro left over from a British racing series. In 1989, her first season, she was thirteenth. Her best finish was eighth, in 1996, which seems to have been her last season.

Helena Larsson - competed in one-make series in both touring and sports cars. After some years in karting, she started her career in 1999, in the Volvo S40 Junior Touring Car Cup. She was thirteenth in her first year. By 2001, she was seventh, having achieved three podiums. In 2002, she bought a Volvo S60 for the STCC-supporting Volvo S60 Challenge. In this series, she was 16th in 2002 and 20th in 2003, running as the only female driver. After that, she made some appearances in the Swedish Radical Championship in 2005 and 2006, before disappearing from the scene. She was in a relationship with fellow driver, Fredrik Hager, whom she beat in the 1999 Junior Touring Cup. 

Louise Larsson - raced in the electric NXT Gen Cup in northern Europe in 2023. She was 17th in the championship, with a best finish of tenth at Falkenberg, early in the season. The Mini-based NXT Gen Cup took over as Sweden’s junior championship in 2023 and Louise did three seasons in its predecessor, the Renault Junior Cup. 2021 was her best year and she was sixth overall, although she did manage a podium finish in 2022, finishing third at Karlskoga. In 2023, she also tried out single-seaters, entering a round of the Swedish Aquila Formula 1000 series. She switched to Aquila Formula 1000 in 2024, finishing tenth in the Swedish championship, and also raced a Volvo in the Volvo Original one-make series.

Catta Lindgren - winner of the Lady Opel Cup in Sweden in 1990. Previously, in 1986, she raced in the Lancia Lady Cup, and was sixth overall, with one podium finish. In the 1988 Lady Cup, she was third. In between, she seems to have done some mixed-gender racing, too, including the 1988 Kemora 500 Midnight Sun race in Finland, in which she was seventh, as part of an all-female team with Eva Bornebusch and Janina Österholm, in a Rover Vitesse. She may also have raced in Sweden, in other series of the time. Catta is the sister of Nettan Lindgren.

Emelie Moe – races a Renault Clio in her native Sweden. She started in 2012, in the Junior Clio Cup championship (JTCC). This followed some years as a junior karter, from the age of fourteen to twenty. Her first races ended in two twelfth places, at Östersund, her home track. In 2013, she was fifteenth in the JTCC, with a best finish of sixth, at Östersund. In 2014, she graduated to the senior Clio Cup, and was eleventh, sixth as her best finish again, this time at Göteborg. The following year, she was also eleventh in the championship, but she achieved her first podium, at Skövde, a second place. She continued to race in the Clio Cup in 2016, and was eleventh again. She was a consistent top-ten finisher, but did not repeat her podium finishes of 2015, with a sixth place at Knutstorp her best finish. 

Laila Riis-Pedersen - a regular in the Camaro Cup in Sweden for many years. She entered at least eight times, between 1992 and 2002. Her best season was 2001, when she was fifth overall. She was also sixth in 1996, and in the top ten three more times. As well as the main Camaro Cup, she also raced her Chevy in other, one-off events, and was sixth in the Solvalla 500 endurance race in 1996.

Sophie West - one-make specialist from Sweden. She began in the Scandinavian Porsche Carrera Cup in 2008, which she described as “too fast”, and then spent two years in the JTCC saloon series, which she described as “too slow”. Her car was a Toyota Auris, and her best finish was sixth, in the first round of the 2010 championship. She was 18th in 2009 and 16th in 2010, after a few top tens and in 2010, several missed rounds and DNFs. In 2011, she began racing in the Scandinavian Trofeo Abarth 500, where she found more form. After her first season, she was eleventh, with a best finish of seventh at Anderstorp, and six further top ten places. In 2012, she only contested five rounds of the Swedish series, with a best finish of fifth at Karlskoga, but was ninth overall. She also entered some European Trofeo Abarth rounds, but information about these is not forthcoming. 

(Image from www.redakt.se)

Women Drivers in Touring Cars: Sweden

Sandra Oscarsson

Jessica Bäckman now has her own post.

Caroline Bender - former karter who graduated to cars quite early, at the age of 17. She competed for two seasons in the Junior Touring Car Championship in 2007 and 2008, driving a Citroen C2 both times. In 2007, she was unplaced in the championship. In 2008, she was also unplaced, after a part-season with rather a lot of non-finishes. Her best finish was 21st, at Knutstorp. She does not appear to have raced since then. She was racing alongside her brother, Alexander Bender.

Nina Dahlin - raced in Sweden between 2005 and 2008. She began in the Renault Junior Cup, aged just fifteen, driving a Renault 5. She finished third in her second season in 2006, winning twice. The following year, she switched to a Clio, entering some rounds of the Junior Cup, and the Swedish Fyndbörsen Cup, where she managed another win. In 2008, she drove in the JTCC in a Peugeot 206, but only did some of the rounds, with no podium finishes. She does not appear to have raced since then, and her blog is no longer being updated. 

Angelica (Minna) Haraldsson - raced in Sweden between 2005 and 2008. She began racing a week after receiving her driving license, although she was unable to reach the pedals and struggled to drive her racing car. She raced again in 2006, although only in a few races. In 2007, she put together a deal to race in the JTCC with the GAPS team, in a Ford Fiesta. She was still very inexperienced, and although her lap times improved dramatically, she did not score points. Half way through 2008, the team folded, leaving Angelica without support or sponsorship. She sold her car in 2009. Since then, she has remained involved in motorsport through marshalling, driving course cars, and competition management.

Caroline Jansson - first raced in 2002, driving a Volvo. By 2003, she was scoring top ten finishes, and in 2004, she did the whole Volvo S60 Challenge, finishing thirteenth. After that, she appears to have returned to international watersports competition for Sweden, apart from two guest spots in the 2009 Ginetta G20 Cup. She is the daughter of Nettan Lindgren, who is her manager.

Barbro Lundberger - raced in the Swedish Touring Car Championship in the 1960s. She drove a Mini in 1965, finishing 19th at Karlskoga. In 1966, she had a more powerful Mini and moved up a class, finishing eighth in a standalone race at Skarpnack. Away from BMC machinery, she got a lot of column inches in 1965 when she and Patrick Vanson drove a Citroen DS21 from Kiruna in northern Sweden to Naples in Italy. The journey took two days. Barbro is sometimes described as being a model.

Elisabeth Nilsson - did two seasons of the Swedish touring car championship under Super Touring rules, driving a Ford Mondeo. During her first season, she was on the pace, with a best finish of second, at Karlskoga, and another fourth place at Knutstorp. Her finishing record, however, let her down, as she recorded four DNFs out of nine races. This dropped her down to eighth overall. In 1997, she came back in the same car, but with a different team. Reliability really affected her season, and she only started six of the ten races, finishing three. Her best result was fourth, at Mantorp Park, and she was twelfth overall. Previously, she won the Opel Lady Cup in 1994, and seems to have started her career through the Swedish women racing drivers’ club.

Sandra Oscarsson - raced in Sweden and Germany in the 2000s, before retiring from motorsport very young. Her first full season was in 2008, when she raced a SEAT Leon in the JTCC touring car championship in Sweden, aged 17. She did not score any points. The following year, she went to Germany to race in the DTM-supporting Castrol ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup, after being chosen by her team. She was 22nd overall. The same year as her JTCC run, she took part in endurance racing in Sweden in the SLC championship, winning one race at Knutstorp in a diesel SEAT Ibiza. She did another big endurance race in 2009, the Dubai 24 Hours, driving a Volkswagen Golf with Per Oscarsson. In 2013, she seems to have come out of retirement briefly for the SLC, with Per and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, but it is not clear whether she got to start a race. Despite not actively racing, she still remains involved in motor racing, as a journalist and as a karting instructor. In 2014, she made some guest appearances in the Swedish Thunder Cars championship.

Therese (Tezz) Svensson - raced in Sweden and Denmark in the 2000s. She began in the JTCC in Sweden in 2005, driving a Ford Fiesta for her family’s TS Motorsport team. She carried on in the same car and the same championship in 2006, and was thirteenth overall this time. In 2008, she joined the Techprint AB team, and improved her finishing position to twelfth, still in the Fiesta. The same year, she made two guest appearances in the Danish Clio Cup, scoring a couple of points. Therese had aimed for the Swedish Touring Car Championship, but seems not to have competed since 2008.  

(Image from http://www.teknikensvarld.se/2008/11/28/6006/fler-svenskar-till-tysk-racing/)

Maren Engseth

Hoping to follow in the tyre-tracks of her countryman Petter Solberg, Norway's Maren Engseth was a promising rally talent. She started rallying in the early 2000s in a Volvo, like many other Scandinavian drivers. After some good finishes in class in club events, she moved up a gear for 2003 and contested the highly competitive Peugeot 206 Cup in Norway. She had raced a 206 on circuits a few times so knew a little of the car. In her debut season in a fully rally-tuned vehicle she carried off the Junior championship, for drivers under twenty-five, following some strong finishes in class on high-standard national rallies. She was fifth overall in the Peugeot standings. The 206 Cup was manufacturer-supported and Peugeot was always on the lookout for future stars, so Maren's career was already off to a good start. Her first outing on the Rally Finnskog in Norway yielded a 30th place, third in class A6.

In 2004 she drove in her second European championship event in her Peugeot 206 XS. She and Hanna Oksett were 20th in the Rally Finnskog and class runners-up. Their first rallying expedition outside Norway was to the Vierhouten Pallets Nederland Rally in Holland. They finished 40th overall out of 70, with a class position of fifth.

Maren remained with the 206 XS for the 2005 season. Her focus this year was domestic rallies in the 206 Super Cup, a rally series for ambitious young drivers. She scored a couple of good finishes and was in the top ten drivers that year. However, she suffered multiple broken bones in her foot in a crash that season, and had to sit a lot of it out. Her car was also badly damaged.

Maren did not compete for a long time after her accident. She certainly did not reappear for her planned 2006 rally season. It was only in 2020 that she was seen back on the stages, driving a Volvo 240 on the Romjulsrally. She retired with mechanical problems on the second stage, although she was allowed back for Stage 5, in which she set a fastest time in class. Sadly, she was not classified and did not do more stages.

After another season in the Volvo, she acquired a Ford Fiesta R2 for 2022 and tackled a mix of Norwegian championship events and rallysprints. Her best finish was a 13th place in the Tron Rally. She used it again in 2023 and 2024, and was 21st in the 2023 Rally Hedemarken.

She is the daughter of Per Engseth, a multiple Norwegian and European rallycross champion and occasional stage rally driver.

(Image from http://www.ostlendingen.no/)