France has been the home of many talented female drivers over the years. For more, please go to the Team Aseptogyl post. Due to the number of drivers, those active in the 2000s and 2010s have been given their own post. "Charlotte" now has her own post. Sylvie Seignobeaux can now be found here, Madeleine Pochon here, Elisabeth de Fresquet here, Pascale Neyret here, Michele Vallet here and Lucette Pointet, here.
Lucienne
Alziary de Roquefort
– winner of the 1951 Paris-St Raphaël rally, driving a Panhard Dyna. In the
same car, she was runner-up in the 1952 and 1954 event. When driving herself,
she almost always used the Panhard, in which she first seems to have competed
in 1950. She was second in class in that year’s Evian-Mont Blanc Rally, and won
the Coupe des Dames the following year. Lucienne also acted as a navigator to
several other drivers, both male and female, during the 1950s, including Gilberte
Stempert, another Panhard driver, Mado Blanchoud and Paulo Guiraud. As well as
rallying, she sometimes participated in circuit races, such as the 12 Hours of
Hyères, in which she was part of a Panhard team in 1951.
Liliane Aumas - French competitor of the late 1950s who drove Alfa Romeos. She was fifteenth on the 1958 Tour de Corse, driving a Giulietta Ti. In 1959, using the same car, she was fourth in the Touring class of the Tour de France, winning her category’s Coupe des Dames. Her co-driver on both occasions was Renée Wagner.
Jane Bagarry – rallied a Renault 1063 in the
mid-1950s. She was second 1955 Paris-St. Raphaël Rally. She was also third in
the same event in 1953. Using the same car, she entered the Monte Carlo Rally
in 1956, as well as navigating for Panuel Bagarry in the Tour de Corse. In
1955, she also rallied a Peugeot, and entered the Monte. It is unclear whether
or not she finished. She normally appears on entry lists as “Madame Bagarry”.
Barbara Baumel - rallied small cars in France between 1997 and 2004, mainly Citroens. She was probably most successful in a Saxo, earning her best overall finish of 27th in the 2002 La Rochelle Autumn Rally. She was fourth in class. 2002 was probably her busiest year for rallying, with five finishes from five events. After a long lay-off, during which she developed a career as a fashion stylist, she returned to the stages in 2016, driving a PGO Hemera in the GT10 class. She entered the Cote d’Azur Rallysprint, but did not finish.
Marie-France Bizzari - driver and co-driver active between 1970 and 1993. She was based on Corsica and as a driver, she entered the Tour de Corse five times between 1979 and 1987. Sadly, she did not finish any of them. Her best result seems to be a 24th place in the 1985 Ajaccio Rally, driving a Ford Escort. Earlier in her career, she often drove an Audi 80. She first entered a rally as a navigator in 1970, driving an Austin-Healey with Dolly Descoust. In 1987, she co-drove for her son Marc-Michel on the Ronde de la Cinarca Rally.
Mado (Madeleine ?) Blanchoud - took part in major rallies, with some success, in Europe, during the 1950s. She seems to have begun her career as a navigator to her husband on the 1953 Tour de France. She returned to the Tour in 1956, 1957 and 1958, finishing thirteenth in 1956 in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. She drove Alfa Romeos and a Porsche on the Monte Carlo Rally, probably the Tour De France 356 from 1957. Her best result was 4th on the 1958 Tulip Rally, in an Auto Union.
Aurélia
Chevalier –
driver and co-driver, active in French rallies since 1998. Her two rally
careers developed in tandem. She was a successful co-driver, who had sat beside
several winning drivers. Until 2015, she mainly concentrated on navigation for
several different drivers, making only a few driving outings a year. Her cars
were a Peugeot 106 and a Renault Clio. In 2015, she rallied a Peugeot 106
and 208, and was competitive in both, scoring top-twenty finishes. She was
fifteenth in the Rallye Régional du Clain in the 106, and 20th in
the Rallye National de Saintonge, in the 208. In addition to this, she has won
her class in the Rallye National du Foie Gras et de la Truffe, finishing 25th
out of 47. Her 2016 schedule was much shorter, and she drove the 106 and a Peugeot 206. She is a tarmac specialist.
Mireille Chianéa – rallied a Peugeot 205 and Citroen
AX in France, in the 1980s. She used the Peugeot during the 1987 season, in
events including the Rallye du Var and the Behra Alpine Rally. In 1989, she
drove the Citroen, and had a best overall finish of 44th, in the
Tour Auto. She also acted as a co-driver to different drivers, between 1983 and
1991 at least. Two male drivers of the time, sharing her surname, may well have
been related to her.
Martine Cordesse – rallied in the 1970s and early
1980s, both as a driver and a co-driver. She was part of a multi-car Aspeptogyl
team for the 1974 Paris-St. Raphaël Rally, and was sixth. She drove an
Alpine-Renault A110 for another couple of seasons, with some decent finishes in
big rallies. The best of these was a tenth place in the 1977 Criterium Alpin.
Later, between 1978 and 1981, she drove an Opel Kadett in French rallies. After
another year as a co-driver, she faded from the scene. She sometimes competed
alongside her brother, Bernard, as a navigator or a team-mate.
Paulette Delcros - driver and co-driver in the 1960s and 1970s who often drove an Alpine-Renault A110. She was fifth in the 1969 Paris-St. Raphael Rally in this car, co-driven by Francoise Prud’hommes. Later, she competed with it in hillclimbs, winning her class in the 1968 Mont Ventoux climb and finishing fifth in the 1971 Vallespir event. Earlier, in 1966, she rallied a Lancia Fulvia and was fourth in the Roussillon Rally. She appears to have begun her career navigating for Francois Delcros in a Renault, in 1964.
Deborah Devaud - took part in the Fiat Cinquecento Trophy in Europe in 1996 and 1997. She only entered the French rounds of the Europe-wide championship, including one WRC rally, the 1996 Tour de Corse, which she did not finish. Her best finish was a twelfth place in the Rallye de Rouergue in 1997. The following year, she did some co-driving in French rallies for Anthony Soyer.
Muriel Gervais (given name also spelt Murielle) - graduate of the Citroen Total Trophy in 1984. She was the Ile-de-France local winner. After her season in a Visa Mille Pistes in 1984, she acquired a Renault 5 Turbo for the 1985 season. Her best finish was 15th, in the Rally du Touquet. Prior to 1984, she competed in hillclimbs and local rallies, and is described as having won the Rally Côte d’Opal on scratch. After a long lay-off, she returned to the French gravel stages in 1995 and 1996, driving a Renault Clio Williams. She was very competitive, and managed three top-ten finishes in 1995: seventh in the Narbonne and Picardie rallies, and sixth in the Charente event. Her best finish in 1996 was eleventh, in the Auxerrois Rally.
Denise Jacques - Frenchwoman who was active on the international scene in the late 1980s. She entered five WRC rounds in 1988, finishing four of them. Her car was a Citroen AX Sport, supported by the works team. Her best finish was 27th, which she achieved on the Portugal and San Remo rallies. She competed in France from much earlier than 1988, and is listed as a starter in the 1979 Lorraine Rally.
Thérèse Mahieuw - drove in the Tour de France, rallies and road races in the 1960s. She entered the Tour de France at three times between 1962 and 1964. In 1962 she drove a BMW 700, and in 1963 and 1964, an Alfa Romeo Giulia. In 1963, she and Daniele Martino used the BMW in the Rallye Routes du Nord and the Coupe des Alpes. In 1964, she entered the Criterium des Fleurs et des Parfums in the Alfa. Her co-driver for later events was usually Ginette Derolland.
“Natacha” – well-travelled French driver
who was active in the 1970s and at the start of the 1980s. Her given name is
never mentioned. She drove in three Acropolis Rallies between 1978 and 1980, in
a Volkswagen Golf each time. Her navigator used the nom de course of “Berthe”. She does not appear to have finished any
of these rallies. Earlier, in 1975, she drove a Fiat 124 Spider in the Rally of
Morocco, but again, did not finish. Earlier still, she drove an Alpine 1300S in
the Paris-St Raphaël Rally, finishing fifteenth in the National class.
Natacha Millon - rather mysterious driver who seems to have competed in Portugal. She entered the Rally of Portugal four times between 1979 and 1982. Her car was always a Volkswagen Golf, and her navigator for all four rallies was Berthe Lubert, another Frenchwoman. Natacha only finished the rally once, in 1979. She was 16th, and fourth in class. She and "Natacha" above were almost certainly the same person.
Marie-Cecile Oudry - rallied in the 1990s, from at least 1991 onwards, although she seems to have done some speed eventing in the years prior to this. In 1991, she drove a Citroen AX in French events. The following year, she was third in the AX GTI Championship. By 1994, she had moved up to a ZX, but did not finish as well in the one-make standings. Later, in 1995, she switched to a Renault Clio Williams, which she used on her only WRC rally, the 1995 Tour de Corse. Sadly, she did not finish, but returned to take 20th place, first in class, in 2006. At least one year, she was the French female champion. She died of cancer in 2005.
Anne-Chantal Pauwels - best known as a co-driver in WRC rallies, most famously for Francois Delecour whom she partnered between 1981 and 1991. She has made some occasional outings as a driver in French rallies, including one run in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1990. She drove a Peugeot 309 but had to retire with radiator trouble. She has also rallied a Ford Sierra Cosworth and a Fiat Cinquecento, which she used in the Cinquecento one-make series in 1997, finishing 15th in the Mont Blanc Rally.
Nicole Pizot – French driver from a rallying family,
active mostly in the 1960s. Her father was Paul Pizot, another rally driver. Driving
a DB Panhard, she was second in the 1959 Paris-St. Raphaël Rally, with Lucette
Pointet on the maps. Nicole probably started competing in 1958. She and
Lucette entered the 1960 Monte Carlo Rally together, but it is unclear whether
or not they finished. Driving solo, Nicole entered that year’s Mont Ventoux
hillclimb, in the DB, and was tenth in class. Between 1958 and 1960, she drove
in many French rallies, including the Beaujolais Rally (her first event in
1958) and the Lyon-Charbonnières. Her competition career seems to have been
very short.
Françoise Prod’homme – rallied small cars in the
1980s, mostly in France. In 1983, she took part in the revived Paris-St. Raphaël
Rally, in a Renault 5, and was fifth overall. In 1985, she was still driving
the Renault, and entered the Rallye du Var. By 1988, she had updated the
Renault to a Citroen AX, which she used in another edition of the Rallye du
Var.
Marguerite Rioult - rallied a series of General Motors cars in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She first came to prominence in the 1969 Cotes d’Armor National Rally, driving an Opel Kadett. This was a favoured event for her and she entered in three more times between then and 1972, with her best finish coming from her first attempt. The Kadett was her usual car, but she occasionally drove an Opel Commodore, finishing 34th in the 1970 Jeanne d’Arc Rally in this car.
Claudine du Suau de la Croix - competed on and off at national level in France between 1983 and 2011. Her first car was a Talbot Samba, but this was quickly upgraded to the first of a series of VW Golfs. This led to her first top-ten finish, a tenth place in the 1984 Beffroi Rally. Driving the same car, she was also eleventh in the 1986 Cotentin Regional Rally. After a long break, she returned to competition in 2008, although she was not quite as competitive as she had been. She used the Golf until 2009, then replaced it with a Renault Clio and a Citroen Saxo.
Yvonne Terray - French driver of the 1950s. She drove a Peugeot 203 in the 1954 Alpine Rally and another Peugeot in the 1956 event. In 1954, she may also have finished the Geneva Rally. She also entered the Monte Carlo Rally on at least one occasion.
Ghislaine Viano – rallied a Renault 5 Turbo in
France, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1989, she was 34th in
the Tour Auto. Later, she seems to have
been a regular in the Criterium Jean Behra, held in Nice. Her best finish was
27th, in 1992, driving with Laetitia Ruggeri. In 1993, she drove in
the Rally d’Antibes, with Mireille Chianéa. She may be related to current
French driver, Allison Viano.
Annie Wambergue – French ladies’ rally champion in
1965, driving an NSU Prinz. This was only her second year of rallying, and she
won the NSU Trophy as well. Her first car had been a Citroen 2CV. For the rest
of her career, which lasted until 1970, she remained loyal to NSU. In 1969, she
was one of NSU’s works drivers, although this was not a good year for her, with
lots of car trouble. Her best overall result was probably her third place in
the 1966 Flanders-Hainault Rally. Her last rally was Portugal in 1970, in which
she drove a Simca 1100 with Claude Delcourt.
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