Jean Denton

Jean Denton with her MGB

Jean Denton was an international rally driver between 1969 and 1972, after some years as a circuit racer.

She did particularly well in long-distance events, such as the 1968 London-Sydney rally, in which she won the sportscar class in her MGB. Her co-driver was Tom Boyce, a Canadian who had been a friend of Jean and her husband Tony at the London School of Economics, where they all studied. They were 42^nd overall, out of 56 finishers and 100 starters. Jean was just pipped to the Coupe des Dames by the Volvo crew led by Elsie Gadd, who were 41^st. The MGB was sponsored by Nova, an influential fashion magazine of the time. Jean was a marketing consultant for IPC Magazines, who knew how to use her contacts well.

In the 1970 World Cup event, which ended in Mexico, she, Pat Wright and Liz Crellin were eighteenth in a Morris 1800. Again, they did not manage to get the Ladies’ award, which went to tenth-place finisher, Rosemary Smith, in an Austin Maxi. Jean, however, did manage to secure another good sponsorship package. The car was nicknamed “The Beauty Box”, and was sponsored by Woman magazine.

Jean usually drove BMC/Leyland cars, including an Austin–Healey Sprite in the 1970 RAC Rally. It is not clear whether or not she and co-driver Sandy Lawson finished.

Despite her usual loyalty to British power, she drove a Fiat 128 on the RAC Rally in 1972. Her co-driver was the experienced Elma Lewsey, and they were 80^th.

Rallying was not her first love, but her motorsport career had a far from orthodox trajectory. Her background was academic, and not particularly sporty. She did not even learn to drive until 1961, when she was 26. Just four years later, she was competing in a Cooper single-seater that had previously belonged to Jackie Stewart. In this car, she was ninth in the 1965 Leinster Trophy, in Ireland.

In between, she drove a Mini in British club races, although she sometimes found it lacking in power. The Mini was her first racing car, and she began driving it shortly after passing her driving test.

After a while, the expense of maintaining the Cooper to a competitive standard became too much, and Jean took a sideways step into sportscar racing. Her first experiences in a sports racer were in a Morgan Plus 4, much earlier, in 1964. In this car, she won a Ladies’ Handicap at Brands Hatch, organised by the London Motor Club.

In 1966, she started racing a heavily tuned MGB on the British circuits. Her first major race in this car seems to have been that year’s Brands Hatch 500 Miles. Driving with her husband, Tony, Jean was twelfth overall.

Another year of racing the MGB in the UK followed, although details are a little sketchy. One of the races she entered was a Ladies’ Handicap, part of the Oulton Park Spring Cup. This event was associated with the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club, of which Jean was a long-standing member. She was fifth overall.

In 1968, her career went pan-European, with appearances in races at Vila Real, Montes Claros and Mugello. Sadly, the results seem to have been lost. She entered the Nürburgring 1000km with fellow BWRDC member, Natalie Goodwin, but they did not finish. This was a big race, a round of the World Championship for Makes, and won by Jo Siffert and Vic Elford, in a Porsche 908.

This year, she won the second of her British Women’s Racing championships, awarded by the BWRDC.

A second attempt at the Nürburgring 1000km in 1969 led to a finish, in 36^th place. Jean was driving an MGB for her own team, and assisted by Mike Garton. The pair raced together in Europe at least twice more that year, at Mugello and Barcelona, but did not make the finish either time.

Jean only became a rally driver through a coincidence. She was apparently at the dentist’s, and found out that the dentist rallied himself. She thought it sounded like a good idea, and got in touch with Tom Boyce again, who, she knew, owned a rally-prepared MG. Her husband, Tony, was unsuitable as a co-driver, as he often suffered motion sickness when a passenger in fast cars. Thus began the professional part of her motorsport career, in 1968, from very unlikely origins.

After 1972, she retired from active competition, and returned to the world of business. Bringing her race and rally experience with her, she worked in corporate communications in the motor industry, up to and including being the head of that department in the MG Rover Group, previously her staunchly-supported British Leyland. She was the most senior woman in the British motor industry.

Later, she became a Conservative politician and a Cabinet member, at first in the Trade and Industry Office, and then in 1994, the Northern Ireland Office, until the Conservatives were deposed in 1997. She was made Baroness Denton of Wakefield in recognition of her achievements.

 She died in 2001, of cancer. Before her death, she used her influence and organisational skills to set up a support group called “Women On The Move Against Cancer.”

She is fondly remembered in motorsport circles as being down-to-earth and funny, as well as being a good driver and a highly organised team co-ordinator.

(Image copyright Alamy)

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)

Claudine Trautmann (also Vanson-Bouchet; born Claudine Bouchet)

Claudine was a multiple French champion, active from the 1950s to the 1970s. She won the French national title nine times, between 1960 and 1968, with the Citroen and Lancia teams. During this time, her participation in non-French events was mostly as co-driver to her second husband, René Trautmann.

She was not from a motorsport background, but a generally sporting one. Skiing was her sport of choice before taking up rallying. She was working in her father’s clock business when she entered her first rally, driving her own Simca Aronde. This was at the suggestion of a friend, who worked as a Simca dealer, who had noticed Claudine’s flair for driving. She was a surprising fourth overall, and first in the Touring class. This was no local club rally either, but the Mont Blanc International Rally. In order to even enter, she had had to engage the services of Lise Renaud, an experienced navigator with the correct license. An entry in the Rally of Beaujolais followed, which led to a drive in the Tour de Corse, encouraged by René Cotton. Sadly, the Aronde lost a wheel early on.

Still in the Simca, she continued to enter French rallies in 1958, winning Coupes des Dames in the Mont Blanc. Limousin and Lavande rallies. During her travels, she met Patrick Vanson, another French driver, and the pair married. This cut short Claudine’s driving opportunities somewhat, but she returned to the stages in 1959, her marriage in no way curtailing her ambition. This year, she entered her first Monte Carlo Rally, although she did not finish. After Coupes des Dames in the Mont Blanc, Limousin and Printemps rallies, she was second in the French ladies’ championship, after Annie Soisbault.

1960 saw her take another step on the road to international rally glory. Another meeting with René Cotton led to a seat with the Île de France Citroen team, after coming third in class in the Austrian Alpine Rally. Coupes des Dames followed in the Mont Blanc, Cévennes and Armagnac rallies, but her best result was probably an eighth place overall in the Liège-Rome-Liège marathon rally, driving a Citroen ID19 with Renée Wagner. Earlier in the year, still in the Simca, she had finished her first Monte Carlo Rally, in 38th place. At the end of the year, she was French ladies’ champion for the first time.

The association with Citroen continued for another three years. In 1961, she drove alongside Ginette Derolland, and came to the end of the Monte once more. Her second outing in the other major French rally, the Tour de Corse, gave her a Coupe des Dames this time, and she added more ladies’ trophies for French rallies to her collection. Her best result was a fourth overall in the Rallye Neige et Glace. Away from the stages, she competed in the last running of the Mille Miglia, and won the Coupe des Dames, in an ID19 with Renée Wagner. With Mlle Kissel, she won the Coupe des Dames in the Touring class of the Tour de France, finishing sixth overall in class.

Claudine carried on driving the Citroen ID19 in 1962, gaining more and more experience. The Liège-Sofia-Liège rally gave her another Coupe des Dames, but no top ten. A string of fastest lady awards in French rallies ensured that she kept her Ladies’ title. 1963 was a more exciting year, with two top-ten finishes in major international rallies: sixth in Corsica and third in Catalunya. She also won the Coupe des Dames in the Spa-Sofia-Liège and several big French rallies, including a seventh Mont Blanc ladies’ award.

Away from the stages, she was also very busy. She had befriended Marie-Claude Beaumont, who would become her regular navigator for a while, then go on to much bigger things, on the circuits as well as the stages. She had also become close to her fellow Citroen driver, René Trautmann, and practically ended her marriage to Patrick Vanson, although the couple would not divorce until later.

It was all-change in mid-1964. Claudine and René both moved to the Lancia works team. Initially, they were both taken on as drivers. After another finish on the Monte in a Citroen DS19, Claudine set about defending her French title, and increasing her international tally. This year, she debuted at San Remo, in a Lancia Flavia. She also finished strongly in French rallies, with a class second on the Alpine Rally and a class third on the Neige et Glace event, one of her favourites. This year saw her first win: the Paris-St. Raphaël ladies’ rally.  

The following year, the pace of Claudine’s career changed. Although she was still a fixture on the French rally scene, her involvement in international events decreased, as a driver at least. She began navigating for René on a regular basis, still with Lancia. They scored their first win that year, on the Alpine Rally.

This arrangement continued until 1969. During this time, Claudine still performed well in French rallies, winning four more Paris-St. Raphaël events and repeating her débutante finish in the Mont Blanc Rally in 1968 with a fourth place. She was also third in the Forez Rally that year, and had been fifth in the Rallye Pétrole the year before. However, for major events, she travelled with René and acted as his navigator. In 1967, they got married. By 1969, she was in semi-retirement, and did very little driving, apart from a few road races. This was the first year for nine years that she did not win the French Ladies’ title.

Her international career began again with a drive for Citroen, in the World Cup Rally. She managed to get a good deal of the way from London to Mexico City, and although her car broke down in Colombia, 1000 kilometres from the finish, she was classified 24th.

At about the same time, a new enterprise in French rallying brought her back into the fold. Robert Neyret was putting together his Team Aseptogyl, an all-female rally-driving force in pink, toothpaste-sponsored Alpine-Renaults, and persuaded Claudine to take part. Eventually, she would manage the day-to-day running of the team, alongside René in a business capacity. However, to begin with, she was one of the drivers, and even joined in with the promotional activities, matching colourful outfits and all. “Les girls” of Team Aseptogyl competed around France from 1971 onwards. Claudine drove in that year’s Tour de France, with Marie-Odile Desvignes. Her best result was a fifth place, in Bayonne. She also navigated occasionally for Neyret himself.

Claudine and Marie-Odile Desvignes, Morocco, 1972

She only really excelled again in international events after 1971, when she was third in the Bandama Rally in a Renault 16. Desert events seemed to be her favourite, despite her background on the Tarmac of the French stages. She was sixth in the 1972 Moroccan Rally in a Renault 16 TS, after failing to get to the end of the Monte in an Alpine-Renault A110. The following year, she was eighth in the Bandama and tenth in that year’s Moroccan event, driving a Peugeot 504 run by Team Aseptogyl. Her co-driver that season was Marie-Pierre Palayer.

One of her last major events was the 1974 World Cup Rally, which ran from London to Munich via the Sahara desert, in which she was fourth, driving a Peugeot 504. It was another Aseptogyl entry, and her navigator was Marie-Odile Desvignes. Back at one of her more fruitful stamping grounds, she was eighth in Morocco in 1975, the year she retired into team management. She was 44.

(Images from forum-auto.com)

Patricia (Tish) Ozanne

Tish (right) with Bronwyn Burrell and Katrina Kerridge, and the Austin Maxi

Patricia was born in the Channel Islands in 1923. She began her rallying career quite late, in her twenties, after settling in Suffolk with her retired father. Prior to this, she had undertaken a lengthy world tour, with some time spent on a sheep station in Australia. Here, she is alleged to have narrowly avoided taking part in an armed duel with another woman, over a man.

Her earliest rallying exploits were strictly at club level: treasure hunts, navigational tests and road rallies. She began her stage rally career in 1953. Initially, her entries in major events were as a co-driver. Among others, she sat beside Annie Soisbault, with whom she shared a Triumph TR3 in 1958. Their partnership was tempestuous, with Annie apparently pushing Tish out of the car for making a navigational error, during the Monte Carlo Rally.

She made her first major appearances as a driver in 1959, as part of the works BMC team, driving one of the first wave of rally Minis. They entered her into the German and RAC Rallies. The German result is not forthcoming, and she retired from the RAC Rally. Away from BMC, Tish used her own Riley 1.5 on the Tulip Rally, and was second in the Ladies’ standings. She was also part of an all-female Rootes squad for the Rallye des Routes Pavées in Belgium, driving a Hillman Minx.

In 1960, she continued as a BMC works driver, with an increased schedule. This included the Monte Carlo, Geneva, Tulip, and Acropolis rallies. Her best result was in Geneva, where she was second in class, third lady and 27th overall. Retirements in the Monte Carlo and RAC Rallies brought disappointment.

For the 1961 season, she bought her works Mini from 1960 and continued as a privateer. With Pat Allison on the maps, she entered the RAC Rally, but was unplaced. They won the Ladies’ award on the London Rally.

In 1962, she entered the Monte once more, with Mary Handley-Page. They were again unplaced, after starting at Warsaw. After a nasty accident involving a lorry on the following year’s event, the Mini was retired.

It was replaced with a Ford Cortina in 1964. This year, Patricia’s best result seems to have been a “second lady” award on the Tulip Rally.

After that, she drove only sporadically for a while, and not in the major rallies. Her next big event seems to have been Monte Carlo in 1970, back at the wheel of a Mini with Pat Wright. Unfortunately, they went over the time limit whilst helping an injured crew on the road behind them. Later in the year, they drove in the Sherry Rally in Spain, using the unlikely choice of an Austin Maxi. Tish used the same car in that year’s World Cup Rally, and she drove it with Bronwyn Burrell and Katrina Kerridge. They did not finish, after coming to grief in some very thick mud in Argentina, and going over the time limit.

Her last event was the Circuit of Donegal in 1973. She was reunited with both the Mini, and Pat Wright. According to Pat, the Circuit of Donegal was one of Tish's favourite rallies, as it consisted of her favoured tarmac roads.

After that, Patricia went back to one of her first loves: music. She continued playing her guitar as a session musician, and also involved herself in other creative pursuits. Her flower paintings had a small following, as did her designs for soft furnishings. Later, she redesigned several houses and gardens in her own style. She ran a guesthouse until she was well into her eighties, and only retired a year before her death in 2009, at the age of 85.

(Image from http://www.carwriteups.co.uk/)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: UK & Ireland, Part I

Lola Grounds (right) and Mary Handley-Page (left)

Because of the large number of post-war female rally drivers from the British Isles, I have had to split this post into two halves. As ever, drivers are arranged alphabetically. Louise Cook now has her own post, as do Frankie Bogg, Jane Gunningham, Jean Denton, Chrissie Ashford, Lorna Snow, Janie Eaton, Sheleagh Aldersmith and Eleanor Allard.

Nikki Addison - driver and co-driver who rallies a Peugeot 106 in Scotland. She has used the same car since 2017 and normally works with the same co-driver, Rachel Matheson. Her best result so far has been a 21st place in the 2022 Kinloss Stages Rally. A year earlier, she was 23rd in the Annabelle Tennant Milltown Stages. The 106 was replaced by a Honda Civic part-way through 2023, which she rallied throughout 2024. As a co-driver, she has been active since 2015, sitting alongside a number of drivers including Bill Hamilton and James Munro.

Linda Allen - Scottish driver from Oban. She first competed in the Scottish Championship in a Vauxhall Astra, and campaigned one of these cars in the 2004 and 2005 Scottish championship. She moved on to a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4 in 2006, winning the Ladies’ award on the Snowman Rally and finishing 21st overall.

Jo Ashfield - one of the Rootes team's female driving squad in the 1950s. She was both navigator and driver, and sat alongside Mary Handley-Page, among others. In 1956, she was one of a team of lady Standard drivers, and drove a Vanguard in the Monte Carlo Rally. Her co-driver was Francoise Clark. The two had previously driven a Ford Zephyr in Monte Carlo in 1955. Jo appears to have been active since at least 1950.

Holly Bailey - British rally driver who competed in the BRC Stars of the Future junior rally series for two seasons, in 2005 and 2006. The sponsor for her Renault Clio and MG ZR was tights manufacturer Pretty Polly. As well as rally driving, she has co-driven in club rallies, and participated in many sprints and autotest events. Early in her career, she used her own road-going Nova. More recently, she has been involved in promotional road rallies for electric cars, alongside various celebrities. She has also done some navigating. After a long break, she returned to the stages in 2013, for a charity rally for Help For Heroes, but did not finish. Her car was her old ZR. She co-drove for John Taylor in 2014, and Ian Rix in 2015.

Kim Baker - rallied in the UK in the 2000s and 2010s, using cars including a MkII Escort. Her best season in the Escort was 2018, when she was 17th in the Greystoke Stages and then 18th in the Trackrod Historic Cup, winning her class. This was one of four class wins that year. A part-season in the 2014 British championship included a tenth place in the Pirelli Rally. Earlier in her career, she usually drove a Peugeot 205. Her debut was in 2013 at the wheel of a SEAT Ibiza, co-driven by Paul Heath.

Glenda Boyle - winner of the 2005 "Women in the Hotseat" Rally Challenge. She rallied a Peugeot 106 around the UK and Ireland in 2006 as her prize-drive . Part of her competition programme was the “Stars of the Future” class of the British Championship. She did some Irish rallies in 2007 with the Peugeot. In 2008, she drove a Honda Civic and appears to have entered more Irish events, including International rallies. She made a stronger return to Irish rallying in 2009 and 2010, driving the Civic with Kylie Boyle. In 2011, they were 30th in the Circuit of Ireland. She entered the Irish Tarmac Championship in 2012, and was 24th in the Donegal International Rally. She did at least some Irish rallies in 2013, including the Donegal Rally, in the Civic. She entered the Donegal Rally again in 2017, in the Civic, but did not finish.

Nicola Brown - beginner rally driver in the MG Scholarship series in 2004. She entered several BRC and National-level rallies, usually managing to finish. She did not compete again for many years, but made a small comeback in 2017. She drove a Peugeot 205 on the Somerset Stages, and was 55th overall. In 2018 and 2019, she rallied a BMW E36 Compact in the Plains Rally.

Faye Campey - drove a Peugeot 106 in the 2002 World Cup Rally. Since then, she has driven and navigated in endurance rallies in the UK, such as the Lombard Rally. Usually, she acts as a navigator, rather than driving herself.

Caroline Carslaw - Scottish driver who has been competing since 2012. Her first car was a Ford Fiesta, which she continues to rally, and she drove in two tarmac events in Scotland during her first season. In 2013, she competed in the full Scottish championship, with a best finish of  40th in the GWF Energy Merrick Stages. Her main highlights were class wins in the Border Counties and Speyside Rallies, which led to her championship title in Class 7. She was also Scottish Ladies’ Champion. In 2014, she drove in the British and Scottish championships. Her best finish was fifth in the British Rally Challenge section of the Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally. In 2015, she mainly competed in Scotland, although she did come down to Cumbria for the Malcolm Wilson Rally, and Wales, for Rally GB. She managed a class win in the Speyside Stages, and was 43rd overall. In 2016, she mostly rallied the Fiesta in Scotland, although she did try out a Subaru Impreza for the Kingdom Stages. She won the Class 7 Scottish title. She rallied in the Impreza in 2017. Her best result was a 36th place in the Riponian Stages. Her car for 2018 was a Ford Fiesta R2 and she mostly competed in Scotland. The same was true in 2019 but her calendar was longer and her results better. Her best finish was 20th overall in the Grizedale Stages. 

Laura Christmas - rallies an original Mini Cooper in the UK, usually in single-venue events. She began in 2020 and she was 46th in her first rally, the Rex Pet Hotel Flying Fortress Stages. Her best result in an extensive 2021 season was a 35th place in the Harold Palin Memorial Stages. She did some rounds of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship, including the Dukeries, Cadwell and Snetterton rallies. In 2022, she did three more tarmac rallies, finishing two. Her only result in 2023 was a 34th place in the Rixy Stages. She did two more rallies in the Mini in 2024Her career began in the co-driver’s seat in 2019, sitting alongside Mark Peterson.

Miranda Clegg - drove a Ford Ka in a couple of British Championship rallies in 2002. She drove in the Pirelli Rally with Julie Cole, coming 19th in the one-make section.

Rose-Anne Clinton - rallied in the UK in the 1970s. Details of her career are sketchy, but she entered the 1976 RAC Rally in an Opel Ascona with Sven Kolkin. They do not appear to have finished. Later, she was a competitor in the Faberge Fiesta Challenge for women drivers, navigated by Maggie Greenland. She was not among the event winners. She has now died.

Sarah Cohen - rallied in the UK in the late 1970s. She was part of the Faberge Fiesta Ladies’ Challenge in 1979 and performed relatively strongly in the rally rounds, as well as being quite a decent circuit racer in her yellow Fiesta. Her co-driver in the Fiesta was Dorothy Selby-Bothroyd. At the same time as she was active in the Faberge challenge, she was rallying a Ford Escort in BTRDA events with John Harmer. Her best result in this car seems to have been a 60th place in the Plains Rally. She later married Harmer.

June Conway - rallied a number of smaller cars in the north of England in the 2000s. She used two different Peugeot 106s between 2002 and 2006 and a Suzuki Swift in 2008. The best of her published results was a 37th place in the 2003 Cadwell Park Stages. Her co-driver was always Vivien Young. Their cars were not always the most reliable; the Swift’s suspension gave up during its first outing on the 2008 Armstrong Massey Rally.

Sally Cooper - rallied in Europe in the early 1960s. She drove a Sunbeam in the 1961 RAC Rally, with a “Miss P Block”, and does not appear to have finished. In 1962, she entered the Monte Carlo Rally with Rosemary Smith, who was appearing in her first international event. Her car was a Sunbeam again. She may well have competed in other rallies, and possibly did some navigation as well.

Amanda Cornforth (Smith) - British driver who began her rally career in 2006, usually in a Ford Ka. Along with Jayne Auden and Shelly Taunt, she was part of the “Babes in the Wood” rally team. She finished the season 56th in the MSA English Rally Championship. For 2007, the team went their separate ways, although Amanda co-drove for Jayne Auden on a couple of rallies. She was very competitive in the BTRDA 1400cc championship and was often in the top three. In 2008 she tackled the British Rally Championship and continued to develop her career as a motorsport PR and sports writer. In 2009 and 2010, she entered some club rallies with her father, Derek, driving the Ka. In 2012, she returned to the stages for some BTRDA rallies, including the Trackrod clubmans' event. In 2013, she drove in three BTRDA events, finishing two of them (the Trackrod Rally and Dukeries Rally) in 51st place. She drove the Ka in a series of British rallies in 2014, usually on forest stages. Her best result was a 34th place, on the Malton Forest Rally. She was second in class. In 2015, she rallied the trusty Ka again in events in northern England and Scotland, including the Jim Clark Reivers Rally. Her best finish was 23rd, in the Riponian Stages. Mid-season, she teamed up with Jayne Auden again, as her navigator, for the Phoenix Stages. She stuck to selected northern events again 2016, in the Ka, with her father as co-driver once more. Her best finish was 51st, in the Trackrod Rally. She did one rally in 2017: the Riponian Stages, and returned to the event in the Ka in 2019. 

Amy Cox - competes in Northern Ireland and Eire. Her most recent car is a Skoda Fabia S2000, in which she has scored three top-ten finishes since 2017. The best of them were two sevenths in the 2018 Turkey Run Stages and Tour of the Sperrins. She previously rallied Ford Escorts and earned her first top-ten in the 2011 Ulster National Rally, finishing sixth. Her favoured surface is asphalt.

Liz Crellin - perhaps best-known as a navigator, who sat beside Pat Moss-Carlsson in her later career. Earlier, Liz was a driver in her own right, and won the BTRDA Silver Star driver's championship in 1968 and 1969. Driving a Mini Cooper S, she won the Ladies' Cup on the 1970 RAC Rally. Again, with Pat Wright, in a Mini, she took part in the 1971 RAC Rally, but did not fare as well. After that, she returned to the co-driver's seat in international events, sitting alongside Eeva Heinonen, among others.

Jean Crossley - rallied in Europe in the mid to late 1960s. In 1965, she entered an MG 1100 in the Tulip and Monte Carlo rallies. She did not finish either of them, and went over the time limit in the Tulip event. She followed the same schedule in 1966, with the same car. This time, she managed to finish the RAC Rally, in 63rd place. Her co-driver was Henry Dodd. She does not appear to have finished the Tulip Rally. Margaret Lowrey-Mackenzie was on the maps this time. In 1967, she made another attempt on both rallies, and seems to have finished both. She was 61st in the Tulip Rally, and 119th in the RAC Rally. This looks to have been her last season of international rallying.

Jenny Davies - competed in the UK in the late 1990s. She was a works Proton driver in the British Championship in 1998 and 1999. In 1996, she drove a Class A Peugeot 306 in the Mintex National Championship, scoring one third place in class. She was less active the following year, entering the Peugeot for a few Mintex rounds. Her first season in the British championship with Proton resulted in one third place in class. Her 1999 results have proved difficult to find.

Lyn Dimelow - 1995 ANWCC Rally champion. She drove a Peugeot 205 in the 1996 Mintex National Rally Championship, winning Class B11 and finishing eighth in Class B and 45th overall.

Aisling Dooris - Irish driver competed in the Irish and British championships between 2000 and 2004. Between 2000 and 2002, she usually drove a Suzuki Swift. She won several Coupes des Dames in both the UK and Ireland, as well as awards for Class A5, and was fairly competitive in the Irish Tarmac Championship. More recently, she has been involved in the administration side of rallying.

Melanie Fitzgerald-Smith - Irish driver who sometimes drove an ex-works Hillman Imp. She used this car on the 1969 Scottish Rally. Later, in 1971, she entered the RAC Rally, again, driving a Hillman Imp. It is likely that she competed in Ireland more extensively, and she is recorded as entering a rally in Galway in 1975, driving a Hillman Avenger.

Tonya Fortune – Irish driver competing in the Irish National championship. She began her career in 2013, in junior rallying. Her first car was a Vauxhall Corsa, and her best result was a fourteenth place in the Junior section of the Raven’s Rock Rally. After one senior rally in the Corsa, in 2014, it was changed in for a Honda Civic, which she continued to rally in 2015. Although her overall finishes were modest, Tonya managed a class win on the Tipperary Stonethrowers Stages Rally, and was 66^th overall. She was 31^st in the championship, after taking some gambles with rallies held the other side of Ireland to her home. In 2015, she contested the Irish National championship again, in the Civic, and scored three class seconds. Her best overall result was a 63rd place in the Skibbereen Rally, which was one of her runner-up spots. As well as rallies, she has also competed in hillclimbs in Ireland, in her rally car. In 2016, she rallied the Civic in Ireland again. Her best finish was a class win in the Volkswagen Wexford Stages. She was 50th overall. She did some more Irish rallies in 2017, and managed a 27th place in the Carlow Stages. 

Daphne Freeman - driver and co-driver, mostly in the 1960s. One of her earliest outings was the 1959 Monte Carlo Rally, navigating for Mary Handley-Page in a Sunbeam Rapier. Later that year, she co-drove Pauline Mayman’s Morgan on the RAC Rally. In 1961, she navigated for Mary Handley-Page and Pauline Mayman again on the Monte, in another Sunbeam Rapier. The following year, she drove an Austin in the RAC Rally, with Elizabeth Jones on the maps. In 1963, she was back navigating, for Valerie Pirie this time, in a Ford Cortina, on the RAC. She also did some circuit racing and partnered Jean Aley in a Mini in the 1962 Nürburgring 500km. They did not finish.

Debbie Garlick - campaigned a Vauxhall Astra and a Peugeot 205/106 in British rallies, in 1995 and 1996 respectively. In 1996, she contested the Mintex National series for the Shropshire Rally School team, scoring points in class N1, the Coupe des Dames and the Junior driver category. She was killed in the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Debbie Gilliver - rallied a Peugeot 205 and a Vauxhall Nova in British rallies in the late 1990s. She entered the 1997 Rally GB in the Nova, but retired on Stage 23. The same car was used in some BTRDA championship rounds in 1998. Debbie’s navigator was usually Linda Craske.

Pam Haggie - competed in the UK from 1959. For her first season, she used an Austin A40, and drove in club rallies in Cheshire. In 1960, she exchanged this for a Ford Anglia 105e. She was rewarded with tenth in the White Horse Rally and a career-best third in the Mini Miglia Rally, navigated and coached by Don Barrow. Later, still in the Anglia, she entered the RAC Rally with Sheila Taylor. They retired after a collision with a team-mate’s car. After that, her name seems to disappear from the entry lists. She was a hairdresser by trade.

Gilly Handley - rallied in Britain in the 1990s, usually in a Vauxhall Corsa. She was National Ladies' Rally Champion in 1997 and 1998 and took part in one WRC round, the 1999 Rally GB, coming 52nd. Her career began in 1993, first in historic rallying with her father, then in a modern Metro. She mainly drove in BTRDA rallies, but also took part in some British Championship events from 1995 onwards.

Anne Hay - rallied in the UK in the early 1980s. She was part of the same group of drivers who had come through the Faberge Fiesta Challenge, although she did not compete in it herself. Most of her rallying was in Scotland, including a run in the 1986 Scottish Rally. For this event, she drove an MG Metro and unfortunately retired with an oil pressure problem. Among her other cars was a Talbot Sunbeam, which she drove in the 1981 Granite City Rally, finishing 51st and fourth in class.

Sue Hedley - competed in National level rallies in the UK, as well as finishing the RAC Rally in 1998. She was national Ladies’ champion in 2001 and 2002, driving a Vauxhall Nova. This was modified to run on LPG for the 2002 season. She was set to be the first person to rally an LPG-powered car in the British Rally Championship, but the deal fell through. She later drove a Vauxhall Astra in British events.

Melissa Heijink - rallied a Skoda Felicia in the UK in 1997. She finished the RAC Rally once, the same year, in 88th place. She and Anna Tait got their chance in Group N Felicias as the winners of Silverstone Rally School’s LadyQuest. Both cars were supported by the Skoda works team. Melissa entered at least two other British rallies in the Mintex championship, including the Panaround Rally. She does not appear to have competed since.

Linzi Henderson - Scottish driver who began in junior rallying in 2012, in a 1000cc Peugeot 107. She was 16, but this was not her first rally experience - she co-drove for her father, Walter Henderson, in at least one event, in 2011. She moved up to senior competition in 2013, at 17, and continued to use the Peugeot. It finished one of the three rallies she drove it in, the Stobart Rail Pendragon Stages. She was 51st. Her best result of 2013 was a seventh place in the Albar Kames Trophy Rally, a single-stage asphalt event. She was driving her father’s Subaru Impreza. For 2014, she acquired an MG ZR, and drove in the Scottish championship, on both tarmac and gravel. Her finishing record was much improved, and she was often the fastest female driver. Her best overall result was 38th, in the GWF Energy Merrick Stages, and she was third in class. She was quite active in the Impreza in 2016, mostly in Scotland. Her best finish was 29th, in the Grampian Stages. In 2019, she rallied a Ford Fiesta and had a best finish of 15th in the Galloway Hills Rally, winning her class. At the start of the season, she took a Rover 220 on the Knockhill Stages with Jane Nicol. Her only event in 2020 was the Snowman Rally, although she crashed the Fiesta. She drove an Escort RS2000 in the 2021 Argyll Rally, but did not finish. Another Fiesta was her chosen car in 2022 and 2023, although she did try out a MkII Escort in the 2023 Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally. 

Octavia Hopwood - rallied a Volkswagen Golf around the UK in 2016, normally competing on tarmac. 2016 seems to have been her first season. Her best outright finish was a 34th place in the SMC Stages, in April. She was ninth in her class. In 2023, she came back in a BMW E30, finishing 66th in the Mike Sones Memorial AGBO Stages. Away from the stages, Octavia works as a wildlife TV presenter, and has been a stunt performer and competitive climber.

Lynda Hughes (Morgan) - UK driver who competed in two Safari Rallies, in 1989 and 1991. She was twelfth on both occasions and she won class A6 in 1989. Her cars were a Nissan March and Daihatsu Charade respectively.

Linda Jackson - competed in UK rallies, mostly in the 1970s. She drove in the RAC Rally in 1973 and 1975, finishing 69th in 1975. Her car was a Ford Escort both times and her navigator in 1975 was the Swedish actress Leena Skoog. In between, she drove the Escort in the 1974 Tour of Britain. Linda began rallying in 1967, according to a 1974 newspaper article, although she only started “getting results” in 1971.

Joan Johns - drove in European rallies in the late 1950s, as main driver and co-driver. She was sixth on the 1956 RAC Rally in an Austin A90 Westminster, and finished the Monte Carlo Rally in the same car, co-driven by Pat Moss. In 1957 and 1958 she co-drove a series of MGs with Nancy Mitchell. They won the Coupe des Dames on the 1957 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally and finished the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally.

Toni Kelly – Irish driver who has finished the Rally of Ireland twice. The first time was in 2007, when she was 66^th, with a win in class A7, driving a Honda Civic Type-R with the experienced Gemma Price. The second time was in 2009. She won class A7 again, but was a respectable 21^st overall. In between, she rallied the Civic in Northern Ireland, in 2008, with a best finish of eleventh in the Circuit of Ireland International Rally. She crashed out of the Rally of Ireland, and had to take six months out of competition to recover. Her last competitive outing seems to have been in 2011, when she was 69^th in the Donegal International Rally, in the Civic, with a class win. After ten years out, she returned to the stages in 2023, driving a BMW 318 in a single-stage event in Barbados. Since 2012, Toni has been running her own driving school, and has worked as a TV presenter on Ireland’s RPM motorsport show. 

Becky Kirvan - winner of Silverstone Rally School's LadyQuest in 2006. Her prize drive was a series of supported entries in British rallies in an MG ZR, in 2006 and 2007. After a break from competition, which she spent building a car and rental business, she returned in 2010, driving a Nissan Micra. She contested the BTRDA Rally First championship. She won the BTRDA Ladies' Championship, despite destroying her car on her penultimate event. In 2011, she moved up to the BRC Challenge, driving a Ford Fiesta ST, and won its Ladies' award. She also entered, and finished, her first Wales Rally GB, in 39th place. She sat out the 2012 season to look after her new baby. In 2017, she made a small return, finishing 55th in the Trackrod Forest Stages. Her car was a Fiesta.

(Image copyright Robert Grounds)

Sophie Robinson

Sophie in 2003, with the Polo

"Petite, blonde interior design journalist" is not the standard description of a rally driver. Many Speedqueens have come from unlikely backgrounds, but few have played up to their girlie image as much as Sophie Robinson. However, behind the pastel-coloured car and the pink race suit, there was some talent.

Although Sophie's background is quite unusual, her introduction to rallying was fairly standard. She was encouraged by her father, Adrian, and started competing in navigational road rallies at twenty-one. To begin with, she used her mother's Toyota Corolla. Partnered by Adrian, she then moved on to classic navigational events, but after a while they didn't quite satisfy her need for speed.

Sticking to classic events, she began her stage rallying career in 2000. Her car was a 1965 Mini, and her co-driver was first Adrian, then the more experienced Iain Freestone. They contested the British Historic Championship. Although Sophie enjoyed driving the Mini, and appreciated it with her design eye, it was not reliable and the pair recorded few finishes. They were named as entrants in the 2000 RAC Rally, driving a Nissan Micra, but as a reserve entry, they did not get to compete.

Seeking more speed and reliability, she signed up to drive in the Volkswagen Polo Challenge the following year. It was a learning season, but she was rewarded with a third place in class, the first for a woman in the Polo series, on the Scottish Rally.

Having gained some sponsorship from Listers, she returned to the championship in 2002, and quickly established herself as a front-runner. Her consistently high finishes meant that she was top of the leaderboard for most of the season. A couple of retirements towards the end, plus her lack of a class win, dropped her to a still-respectable third. This was enough to qualify her and co-driver Claire Mole for the Gran Canaria Rally, against other Polo competitors from across Europe. A mystery engine failure put the team out, but Sophie appreciated the challenge and the change of scenery while it lasted.

For an even bigger change of scenery, she drove in the World Cup Rally, which went from Oxford to Athens via Albania and Bosnia, rally trails that hadn't been used for years. She was selected as a works driver for Daihatsu, which ruffled a few feathers. The manufacturer wanted to run an all-girl team for the event and many established drivers showed an interest. When it was announced that Sophie had secured the drive on the basis of her "presentation skills", some of the other women were put out, perhaps understandably. However, Sophie and her navigator Catriona Rings acquitted themselves well. They won the one-litre class in their Cuore, and came eleventh overall. It would have been a top-ten finish but for an off in Greece, and the pair won the first two stages outright.

In 2003 it was back to Britain and the Polo championship. Her new co-driver was Joyce Champion, the mother of her boyfriend, Ryan Champion. She was third again and broke her class-win duck on the last round of the series, the Tempest Rally. Never afraid to attempt new things, she also tried her hand at Endurance Rallying in Wales. Endurance Rallying combines elements of stage and road rallies and is open to production cars only. It relies more on driver skill, endurance and navigation than horsepower or straight speed. Unfortunately, as with any motorsport, luck is also useful and Sophie was out of that, retiring early with gearbox trouble.

The World Cup Rally, which is similar in format, brought a happier result. Paired with veteran co-driver Paul White, she drove her Polo to a magnificent third overall. The rally was based in Tunisia, and contained terrain more familiar to Dakar buggies than pink-decorated group N Volkswagens, but Sophie was unfazed by it all and held a good position throughout.

Since 2003, Sophie has concentrated on Endurance rallying and has little involvement with stage rallying, although she did try circuit racing in another Polo in 2004. She was 16th at Cadwell Park in the last race of the Volkswagen Racing Cup.

She has competed in Endurance events around the country including the Revival Rally, which follows the route of the old RAC Rally. Her car is usually her Polo. It was in this car that she contested the 2005 Lombard Rally and the 2007 Revival Rally.

(Image from http://www.crash.net/)

Rosemary Smith

Rally winners, Rosemary Smith and Val Domleo

Growing up in Ireland, Rosemary Smith had little interest in cars. Her great ambition was to be a fashion designer, and after leaving school she studied hard to achieve her dream. While working as a junior dress designer, her classic good looks did not go un-noticed, and she was soon modelling the creations as well as designing them. It was only by chance that she fell into motorsport.

Delphine Bigger was a friend of Rosemary's in the business, who was a keen amateur rally driver. Left without a navigator one weekend in 1959, she roped in Rosemary to fill in, and inadvertently started a new career for her. It did not start well though, as she proved pretty incompetent at map-reading and soon got the pair lost. Delphine hurriedly switched seats with Rosemary and took over the maps herself before they were completely lost, after it was found that she had been holding the map upside down. Once the roles were reversed, Rosemary really got into the driving and was scoring respectable times. The arrangement with Delphine continued for a couple of events, with Rosemary going over the start line in the passenger seat and then switching when the duo were out of sight. However, she soon wanted to enter rallies as a driver in her own right, after realising that she enjoyed driving and wanted to do more. The two swapped places and continued to compete together for a while, until Delphine was injured in a serious crash, and Rosemary had to go it alone.

Between then and 1962, Rosemary accepted drives in various rallies, sitting alongside drivers including Sally Cooper in Monte Carlo, and a fully-recovered Delphine in the RAC in 1961, driving a Morris. Eventually, she was offered a works contract with Rootes, after a strong performance in a private Sunbeam Rapier on the 1962 Monte Carlo Rally. She and Rosemary Seers, an experienced navigator, competed together in a Sunbeam on that year’s RAC Rally.

The two Rosemarys’ first Monte together in the works Rapier was an ordeal. They crashed out and had to be rushed to hospital. Thankfully, no long-term harm was done. In a similar car, Rosemary tackled the Tulip and Alpine rallies. Elma Lewsey was her navigator for the Alpine event and Margaret Mackenzie was on the maps for the RAC Rally. Although Rosemary gained experience this year, good results were not yet coming her way. An exception was that year’s Tour de France, in which she was third in the 2000cc GT class, tenth overall. Margaret Mackenzie was co-driving once more, and the car had been upgraded to an Alpine.

In 1964, Rootes had developed a rally homologation of the tiny Hillman Imp, inspired by the Mini, and Rosemary found her true metier driving this car. She began the year with a drive in a Rapier, in the Tulip Rally, but sampled the Imp in the RAC Rally. After a lacklustre initial performance, she switched to a Sunbeam Tiger for the Geneva Rally, and was 15th.

By the time 1965 came round, she had learned the car more fully and was able to drive it to its true capacity. In the inaugural event of the season, the Monte, she and Margaret were fourth in class, after a battle against terrible weather which accounted for 205 of the 227 starters. Assisted by Sheila O’Clery, she took the Imp to her home rally, the Circuit of Ireland, in which she was the top lady on many occasions.

Driving with Sheila Taylor, she won the GT class in the Alpine Rally and was a fine fifth overall in the Scottish Rally. The RAC was never her best event, and Rosemary could only manage 25th. In Canada she was up against more snow for the Canadian KLG Rally, and was eighth overall, first in class. Atrocious weather also helped her to her greatest triumph during this season. Assisted by Valerie Domleo, she drove through snow and storms on the Tulip Rally and took advantage of the prevailing handicap system, to power the tiny Imp to an outright win.

She did not repeat her achievement with the Imp in 1966, but it was an impressive year nevertheless. It started poorly, when she was disqualified from the Monte for a technical infringement, but soon picked up. In contract to last year's snowy escapade, she was first lady on the Acropolis Rally and third in that summer's Scottish event. She and Valerie Domleo also won their class. Another class win was in order in the Gulf Rally, and she and Val were second in the 1300cc class in the Circuit of Ireland. With Margaret Lowrey, she could only come 14th on the RAC; it was never her favourite event. The Alpine was another disappointment, as the Imp’s sump sprung a leak. Rosemary and local girl Anne Coombe fared much better in Rosemary's second visit to Canada. She entered the Shell 4000 marathon across the country and as part of the rules the pair had to do all servicing themselves. They handled the task admirably, coming eighth overall, and first in the 1150cc and under class.

For 1967 Rosemary had a new co-driver, in the shape of Susan Seigle-Morris. In her last year as a Rootes works driver, her best results were fourth overall on the Scottish Rally, and seventh overall on the Circuit of Ireland, with a class win both times. Back with Ann Coombe, she was thirteenth in the Shell 4000 event, driving a Rapier. A reunion with Margaret Lowrey gave her tenth on the Alpine, in the Imp. True to form, she and Val Domleo did not excel in the RAC Rally, finishing 58th.

1968 began with another run in the Monte Carlo Rally in the Imp, but not long after, Rosemary transferred to Porsche, to drive the powerful but unpredictable 911. Her time there was not as fruitful as her Rootes days and she jumped ship to Ford before the end of the season. This led to her being entered in the famous London-Sydney World Cup Rally in a Lotus Cortina. She was paired with the Frenchwoman Lucette Pointet and made it to the finish after a number of scrapes. A misfiring cylinder sapping the power meant that she could only summon enough revs to get up the Khyber Pass in reverse, and angry locals made off with the oil supplies when they found out that neither Rosemary nor Lucette was carrying any jewellery. They were the first female finishers.

By 1969 Rosemary was winding down her career. She had got married and her husband did not approve of her "ego trips", as he called her rallying activities. She went out with a bang by winning the Cork 20 International Rally, back in a Hillman Imp. Another highlight was her sixth place in the Scottish Rally, driving a Ford Escort. Her apparent swansong was the 1970 World Cup Rally, in which she drove an Austin Maxi to tenth overall, with a class win. She and Alice Watson also entered the Scottish Rally in the Maxi.

However, we had not seen the last of Rosemary Smith. Her desire to drive really fast lasted longer than her marriage, and she was back on the scene only a year later, in 1971, driving a Lancia Fulvia to 18th on the Monte, with Alice Watson. In 1972, she accepted a Ford Escort drive on the RAC Rally, navigated by Pauline Gullick. She remained a fixture on the international circuit for a few more years and then became a part-time driver, accepting drives in both races and rallies.

She still races to this day, usually on the track in a Hillman Imp or Sunbeam Tiger. She is a regular visitor to the Goodwood Revival and also crosses the Atlantic to revisit Sebring on occasion. As well as their rally cars, Rosemary also drove sportscars in the big American races at Sebring and Daytona, although she preferred the variety in rallying. She was entered for Le Mans once in a Sunbeam, but was not allowed to drive as the French authorities would not permit women to take part. This was ostensibly due to Annie Bousquet's fatal accident at Rheims in 1956.

Her first big circuit race was the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours, where she shared a Sunbeam Rapier with Smokey Drolet. They were 30th overall. Later, in 1969, Rosemary and Smokey raced together again, in the Sebring 12 Hours. They were 26th overall in a BMW 2002. By far the most notable of Rosemary's circuit excursions were those she made as part of the Ring Free Oil Motor Maids team, beginning in 1970. That year, she was partnered with Janet Guthrie and Judy Kondratieff for the Sebring 12 Hours, in an Austin-Healey Sprite which was little more than a showroom model. The all-female team got the car to the finish, and were 19th overall. The following year, at Sebring, Rosemary drove a better-prepared Chevron B19 for the team, with Janet Guthrie, but did not finish. It was during one of these races that she caused some consternation in the team pits, as the mechanics were noticing coloured scrapings that they thought were coming from bodywork rubbing somewhere. The real cause was a bored Rosemary, picking off her nail polish as she raced.

As well as her racing activities, Rosemary ran an organisation promoting road safety and good driving practice to Irish teenagers. In 2017, she was invited by Renault to drive a recent Formula One car as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations. She "jumped at the chance" to compare notes with Jolyon Palmer.

Her autobiography was published in 2018. She died in December 2023 after a short illness, aged 86.

(Image from a Rootes promotional shoot)

Christine Dacremont

Christine Dacremont was a French rally driver and sportscar racer of the 1970s. She competed between 1970 and 1979. She began her career in hillclimbing in 1970, and her first competition car was a Triumph Spitfire. She used the same car in her first rally, the Rallye Fleurs et Parfums at Grasse, also in 1970.

The Triumph was replaced with an Alpine-Renault A110 for 1971, which Christine used in French rallies. Her early results were solid, but unspectacular, the highlights being class seconds in the Rallye D'Ouest and the Paris-St.Raphaël women's rally.

In 1972, she joined Team Aseptogyl as one of its all-female driving squad. This was strangely appropriate. The team was sponsored by a brand of toothpaste and run by Bob Neyret, an ex-dentist, and Christine worked as a dental assistant when not rallying. Her first year with the team was spent in the French championship. She carried on all year, despite being on crutches for part of it, due to a motorcycle accident. Away from the team, she entered her own A110 in the Tour de France, but did not finish.

She continued with the team for the 1973 season. One of her more major outings was the Paris-St.Raphaël, in which she was fourth, in a Fiat 124 Spider. Her biggest rally of the season was her first World Championship event, the Monte Carlo Rally. Co-driven by Marie-Odile Desvignes, she retired before the finish, after the engine of her A110 developed problems. For the rest of the season, she continued to gain experience at home with the Aseptogyl set-up.

The following season, Christine gained her first experience of long-distance events. Driving a Peugeot 504, she took part in a rally raid across the Sahara, followed by the Bandama Rally on the Ivory Coast. She was not among the winners, but the experience stood her in good stead for the World Cup Rally later in the year. The route ran across the Sahara and through Europe to Munich. Christine was second in her Peugeot.

1975 heralded her return to the World Championship stages in Morocco. Unfortunately, she and Marie-Pierre Palayer crashed their Peugeot 504 and had to retire. Luckily, despite the proximity of dates, this did not interfere with Christine's first attempt at Le Mans. She was part of the Moynet-Simca team that won the 2000cc class. Her team-mates were Michele Mouton and Marianne Hoepfner. They were 21st overall.

In 1976, she won two French rallies, in Ardennes and Chataigne, at the wheel of an Alpine A310. On the world stage, she was eighth in the Rallye du Maroc and fourth in in the gruelling Bandama Rally, in a Peugeot 504. During her career, Christine proved that she was much more comfortable in endurance events, and on rough terrain. This year, her co-driver was Yveline Vannoni, who was previously the navigator for Marianne Hoepfner. Later in the year, Christine tried out a Lancia Stratos rally car, having sampled Stratos power in her second Le Mans. She partnered Lella Lombardi, and was 22nd, second in class.

The following year, she was sixth in Monte Carlo, driving the Stratos with Colette Galli. This remains one of the highest female finishes to date. The Stratos brought less joy at Le Mans: Christine and Marianne Hoepfner retired after only five hours with engine trouble. More trouble struck on the World Cup Rally, which was the most ambitious yet, running from London to Sydney. Team Aseptogyl entered two diesel-powered Fiat 131s, one for Christine and Yveline and one for Marianne Hoepfner and Bob Neyret. Christine was involved in a serious accident near Darwin and spent three months in hospital recovering, wiping out the rest of her season. Thankfully, she made a full recovery.

She returned to the stages once more in January 1978, for the Monte Carlo Rally. Her car, still run by Team Aspetogyl, was a diesel Citroen 2500 CX. She was off the pace in 69th, but not far behind the first diesel finisher, Claude Laurent in a Volkswagen. She also entered the Tour de Corse in a smaller, more proven Fiat 127, but did not finish after an oil line broke.

1978 also saw her last Le Mans appearance. She and Marianne Hoepfner drove a Peugeot WMP P76 prototype run by Aspetogyl. They lasted until the 19th hour, before a head gasket blew. Throughout the latter part of their careers, Christine and Marianne often drove together, sometimes navigating for one another in French rallies. Christine read the maps for other Aseptogyl drivers on occasion, including Corinne Koppenhague.

1979 was her last year of competition. Her main event was the Paris-Dakar Rally. She drove a Lada and does not appear to have finished. Team Aseptogyl did not last much longer, disappearing at the end of the season, although Bob Neyret returned in 1983 with an all-female driving squad for the Monte. Christine was no longer a part, nor were any of the previous major Aseptogyl drivers.

(Image copyright Libol)

Barbara Armstrong

Barbara with the SEAT

Barbara, an English-based Scot, learnt to drive at a young age. Her parents ran a large farm, so there were tractors for her to practise with, and open spaces so that she did not have to go out on to the road. She took up rallying in 1984, at 18. Her first car was a Talbot Sunbeam and she used it for club events. The farm background must have been a good training ground for rally driving as Barbara's brother, Jock, also took part in the sport.

She continued to compete at this level for several years, until she was awarded a place at a Norwegian rally school on merit in 1990. Soon after this, she got herself a drive in the Peugeot Challenge and was the best female in the series. She was also runner-up in the 309 class. Not content with the Ladies' Trophy or the second place, Barbara pushed harder and won the 309 class outright in 1991, as well as another ladies' award.

After a couple of years spent working mostly as a race and rally driving instructor, Barbara's career took a leap forward in 1996, when she was picked to be a member of the new SEAT rally team, driving the Formula Two-spec Ibiza. With Roisin Boyd as her co-driver, she utilised all of her skills to help develop the car, which made its appearance on the UK rally scene towards the end of the year. Its first appearance was at the Lurgan Park Rally in Ireland. The Trackrod Rally, a Mintex National Championship counter, was an early triumph: the pair scooped a class win and 25th overall. It was time to take on the RAC Rally for the first time, and Barbara did not disgrace herself with 47th overall, thirteenth in class, out of a large start list.

With development out of the way, SEAT entered the British Rally Championship in 1997. Barbara gained a new co-driver in Lisa Addy, and the two women made a reasonable start to their season at the Welsh Rally, coming 24th. They were a disappointing 45th in the Pirelli Rally and failed to finish the RSAC Scottish or Ulster Rallies, but they ended the year on a high note with a pleasing twelfth in the Manx Rally. They were better placed in some non-championship events: second in the Galloway Hills Rally in Ireland, and fifth in the Jersey Rally.

They continued in the same vein the following season, with a battling tenth overall in the Welsh forests. The Pirelli Rally was kinder to Barbara this time and she was 16th, and although she could only manage 51st in the Scottish event, it meant that she had a 100% finishing record that year. Despite the disturbance of a change of navigator, she finished the season strongly, coming 19th in the Ulster and a career-best seventh on the Manx event. Barbara won the first of her British Ladies' Rally Champion titles this year. Outside the BRC, she also claimed one of the results she is most proud of: a fourth overall in the Silverstone Rallysprint.

Having formed a strong partnership with her new co-driver John Richardson, Barbara, now based in the Midlands, returned for another crack at the BRC. Her team-mate was the Welsh star Gwyndaf Evans, as it was in 1998. The Ibiza was 24th in Wales, but failed to finish the Pirelli. A pair of fourteenth places in the Scottish and Jim Clark Memorial Rallies followed, which must have been pleasing as Barbara was on home turf. She was 20th in Ulster but fared much better on the Isle of Man: sixth overall. She defended her Ladies' crown but did not score as well in the championship as previously.

The SEAT contract came to an end in 2000, and Barbara did not compete much that year. She concentrated on other things in her life, such as garden and interior design, and did some instructing and after-dinner speaking. It was time for a change of direction, which came in the form of circuit racing with the elite Parr Motorsport team. Parr were putting together a line-up for the Porsche Cup and Barbara, despite her lack of competitive track experience, fit the bill. She proved a natural in the Porsche 911 and was soon taking on much more experienced sportscar racers like Mark Sumpter and Peter Chambers. Her best finishes were eight third places, and she was eighth in the championship after showing some real aggression and determination on the track.

Barbara in the Porsche Cup

Her Porsche successes brought Barbara back into the spotlight towards the end of the season. Rallying had been hit badly by that year's foot and mouth disease outbreak, but some events were still taking place. Formula Rally, a series for Super 1600-spec cars, had taken the place of the cancelled BRC, and she was drafted in by Peugeot at the end of the season to give the new S1600 206 its first outing. She and new co-driver Ieuan Thomas were eighth on the Banbury Rally, bringing the car home safely.

More work for Peugeot followed in the form of the World Cup Rally, a long-distance event for S1600 and smaller cars, which followed a route across Europe and North Africa more familiar to Paris-Dakar competitors. Barbara teamed up with experienced navigator Alyson Marlow in a works-provided 206 and the pair were one of the favourites to win. In the early European stages, they led the rally, and continued to put in good stage times despite flash floods in Morocco and very difficult terrain. After almost a fortnight of gruelling competition, one of the con-rods in the Peugeot's engine went. This left Barbara with only three cylinders coming back across France. She nursed the car to the end, but the win was handed to Donie Keating in a VW Polo, who was ahead by three minutes by the time the crews reached Brooklands.

After an exciting end to 2001, 2002 was very quiet on the competition front. Barbara renewed her links with SEAT and did some racing instruction for the marque, as well as driving the safety car for the international Porsche Cup round at Spa. She also attended the Wild West Rally in the USA, with the view to putting together a programme for 2003 in the SCCA Pro Rally Championship. Several British drivers, including David Higgins and the late Mark Lovell, had achieved considerable success over there. She intended to use a Subaru Impreza after sampling some Japanese power at a rallysprint event at Silverstone in 2001.

The American deal did not come off, and some testing she did for the ASCAR stock car series did not lead to a full-time drive, either. Much later, in 2004, she worked as a team manager and spotter to Kelly-Jayne Wells at Rockingham.

Later in the season, she accepted a guest drive in the Binbrook Stages Rally, and renewed her acquaintance with the Peugeot 205 after a gap of more than ten years. Barbara made a storming start to the rally, and proved she still had the touch by posting the first female fastest time in a rally since Louise Aitken-Walker in 1981. However, the engine in the 205 gave up on the next stage, which was unfortunate.

Barbara's active career comes to an end here. Since 2004, she has been involved in motorsport as an administrator, as the championship co-ordinator for first, the SEAT Cupra Cup racing series, then the UK Formula Ford Championship, an acknowledged breeding ground for stars of the future. In 2005, she was set the arduous task of revitalising the Formula Ford series, which had fallen behind other one-make series of late. She also works as a driver coach, and a rally organiser.

In addition to this, Barbara has never formally announced her retirement, so we may not have seen the last of her behind the wheel. However, her personal website has not been updated since 2010.

(Image from www.barbaraarmstrong.com)