Women Drivers in the 12 Hours of Reims

Isabelle Haskell and Annie Bousquet with their Porsche in 1956

The 12 Hours of Reims was a major sportscar race that ran, on and off, between 1953 and 1967. It was held at the Reims-Gueux circuit in France, and was a round of the World Sportscar Championship (or the World Championship for Makes) between 1953 and 1965.

It is significant for the 1956 edition, during which Annie Bousquet was killed in a crash early on. This accident, and the negative publicity that stemmed from it, was the cause of women drivers being banned from major circuit races in France until the early 1970s, although the ban at Reims itself was lifted much earlier.

1953

Yvonne Simon/Jean Hémard (Panhard Monopole) – 14^th

1954

Gilberte Thirion/Olivier Gendebien (Gordini T15S) – 14^th

1955

Race cancelled

1956

Gilberte Thirion/Roger Loyer (Gordini T15S) – DNF

1500cc:

Gilberte Thirion/Roger Loyer (Gordini T15S) – DNF

Annie Bousquet/Isabelle Haskell (Porsche 550) – DNF

1957

No female entries

1958

No female entries

1959-1963

No race held

1964

Annie Soisbault/Claude Dubois (Porsche 904) – 13^th

1965

Annie Soisbault/Gérard Langlois van Ophem (Ferrari 250 LM) – DNF

1966

No race held

1967

No female entries

(Image from http://type550.com/)