Women in the Dubai 24 Hours

The Reiter Engineering team in 2017

The Dubai 24 Hours is an endurance race for sports, GT and touring cars, promoted by the Dutch Creventic organisation and run at the Dubai Autodrome. It is a mass-start event with multiple classes and a large field of both professional and “gentleman” drivers. It is now part of a worldwide endurance series run by Creventic.

Women drivers have been involved in every edition of the race, since its inaugural event in 2006. In 2011, Claudia Hürtgen, driving a BMW Z4 for the Schubert squad, was part of the winning team. She has scored several podium finishes in BMWs. In recent years, Swiss Chantal Kroll of the Hofor team has been the leading female driver, with four class wins and a championship class win in 2016. Flick Haigh, from the UK, has also challenged for overall honours, along with her team-mates.

For the 2006-2009 races, the data below may not be complete, as entry lists with full team listings are hard to find. Team names have been included, for those who wish to refer to the earlier results lists.

2006

Schubert Motors 3 Claudia Hürtgen/Pierre von Mentlen/Johannes Stuck/Bernhard Laber/Thomas Jager (BMW 120d) - 9th (class win)

First Motorsport Belgium Kelly Jamers/Kevin Leest/Pascal Nelissen Grade/Dirk van Rompuy (Porsche 997 Supercup) - 20th

Orbit Autosport 1 Sheila Verschuur/Mike Verschuur/Tim Buijs (SEAT Ibiza) - 25th

Realizer Team Kati Droste/Stephanie Halm/Nicole Lüttecke/Catharina Felser (Mazda RX8) - DNF

2007

Pro Speed Competition 1 Alexandra van de Velde/Rudi Penders/Franz Lamot/Stephan Schrauwen (Porsche GT3 RS) - 3rd

Team Rhinos Stefanie Manns/Marcel Leipert/Joe Schmidtler/Igor Skuz/Vitaliy Bilotserkivskyy (Ford Fiesta) - 41st

Seyffarth Motorsport Gina Maria Adenauer/Jan Seyffarth/Hannes Plesse/Christian Hohenadel/Philipp Wlazik (Porsche GT3) - DNF

2008

Schubert Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Stian Sorlie/Heinz Schmersal/Jörg Viebahn (BMW 120d) - 15th (class win)

G Force Racing Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Philippe Greish/Christian Kelders (Porsche 997) - 18th

Achterberg Motorsport Renate Sanders/Frank Wilschut/Pim van Riet (BMW 120d) - 25th

Equipe Verschuur Sheila Verschuur/Harrie Kolem/Mickey Bertram (Renault Clio) - 26th

2009

Al Faisal Racing Claudia Hürtgen/Stian Sorlie/Paul Spooner/Abdulaziz al Faisal (BMW Z4 Coupe) - 2nd (class win)

TeamA Sweden Sandra Oscarsson/Per Oscarsson/Anders Frid/Jimmy Johansson (Volkswagen Golf) - 51st

2010

Al Faisal Racing Claudia Hürtgen/Abdulaziz al Faisal/Marko Hartung/Khaled al Faisal 9BMW Z4) - 3rd

Nicholas Mee Racing 2 Corentine Quiniou/Jalal Mahmoud/Tarek Mahmoud/Greg Audi (Aston Martin V8 Vantage) - 49th

RED Motorsport Karolina Lampel-Czapka/Marco Deutsch/Martin Roos/Gunther Deutsch (Lotus Exige) - 62nd

First Motorsport 1 Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Philippe Greish/Christian Kelders (Ferrari F430 GT3) - DNF

2011

Need for Speed Schubert 1 Claudia Hürtgen/Tommy Milner/Edward Sandström (BMW Z4 GT3) - 1st

Auto Sport GT 2 Caroline Grifnée/Thierry Mulot/Fabien Vericel (Renault Clio) - 29th (class win)

Besaplast Racing Team 2 Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Rainald Mattes/Christian Leutheuser (Mini Cooper) - 30th

K&K Racing Valek Motorsport Karolina Lampel-Czapka/Michaela Peskova/Marcel Kusin/Petr Vallek (BMW 130i) - 40th

Nooren Autosport 2 Liesette Braams/Maurice Bol/Rich Pham/Sunny Wong BMW 123d) - 67th

Springbox Cyndie Allemann/Jade Handi/Amandine Foulard/Corentine Quiniou (Renault Clio) - 70th

2012

Saudi Falcons by Schubert Claudia Hürtgen/Edward Sandström/Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Faisal bin Laden/Jörg Müller (BMW Z4 GT3) - 4th

Fach 1 Auto Tech Andrina Gugger/Marco Zolin/Daniel Allemann/Martin Rogginger/Swen Dolenc (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 13th

Exagon Engineering Catherine Desbruères/Daniel Desbruères/Christian Kelders/Maurice Gouteyron (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 21st

Besaplast Racing Team 2 Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Fredrik Lestrup/Reinhard Nehls (Mini Cooper) - 25th (class win)

Besaplast Racing Team 1 Stephanie Halm/Franjo Kovac/Martin Tschornia/Roland Asch/Sebastian Asch (Porsche 997 GT3 R) - 28th

Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Raffi Bader/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 36th

Racingdivas Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Sheila Verschuur/Gaby Uljee (Renault Clio) - 39th

Gulf Team First Keiko Ihara/Yusuf Bassil/Martin Baerschmidt/John Iossifidis (Aston Martin Vantage) - 50th

2013

B2F Competition Laetitia Tortelier/Pascal Colon/Benoit Fretin/Bruno Fretin (Porsche 997) - 23rd

Racing Divas Team Schubert Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Sheila Verschuur/Gaby Uljee (BMW 320D) - 26th (class win)

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Lee Mowle/Joe Osborne/Ryan Ratcliffe (Ginetta G50) - 27th

Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 35th (class win)

Saudi Falcons Team Schubert 2 Claudia Hürtgen/Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Faisal bin Laden/Jörg Müller/Dirk Müller (BMW Z4 GT3) - 38th

GT Academy Team RJN2 Sabine Schmitz/Peter Pyzera/Alex Buncombe/Steve Doherty/Mark Schulzhitskiy (Nissan 370Z) - 43rd

2014

Walkenhorst Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Daniela Schmid/Henry Walkenhorst/Jens Richter/Ralf Oeverhaus (BMW Z4 GT3) - 6th

SX Team Schubert Claudia Hürtgen/Dirk Werner/Paul Dalla Lana/Bill Auberlen/Dane Cameron (BMW Z4 GT3) - 10th

Racing Divas Team Schubert Sandra van der Sloot/Paulien Zwart/Gaby Uljee/Shirley van der Lof/Natasja Smit Sø (BMW 320D) - 31st (class win)

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Jörg Hatscher/Michael Bonk/Max Partl/Ralf Oeverhaus (BMW M3 GT4) - 40th

Hofor-Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Michael Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 54th

2015

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Sandra van der Sloot/Gaby Uljee/Max Partl (BMW M235i) - 23rd (class win)

Speedworks Motorsport 2 Flick Haigh/John Gilbert/Paul O’Neill/Devon Modell (Aston Martin Vantage) - 29th

Hofor-Kuepperracing Chantal Kroll/Sarah Toniutti/Martin Kroll/Hal Prewitt/Bernd Küpper (BMW E46 Coupe) - 34th (class win)

KPM Racing 2 Gosia Rdest/Javier Morcillo/Tom Wilson/Lucas Orrock (Volkswagen Golf) - 51st

Frensch Power Motorsport Lisa Christin Brunner/Martin Heidrich/Reinhard Nehls/Friedhelm Erlebach (Peugeot 207) - 65th

Car Point S Racing Schmieglitz Cyndie Allemann/Daniel Schmieglitz/Axel Wiegner/Heine Bo Frederiksen/Heinz Jürgen Kroner (SEAT Leon Supercopa) - 79th

2016

Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3) - 4th (class win)

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Ryan Ratcliffe/Joe Osborne/Frank Stippler (Audi R8 LMS) - 5th

Artthea Sport Nanna Gøtsche/Martin Gøtsche/Klaus Werner/Jens Feucht (Porsche 991) - 22nd

Century Motorsport Anna Walewska/Nathan Freke/Tom Oliphant/Aleksander Schjerpen (Ginetta G55 GT4) - 24th (class win)

Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Michael Bonk/Axel Burkhardt/Volker Piepmeyer/Phillip Bethke (BMW M235i) - 49th

Team Altran Peugeot Sarah Bovy/Thierry Boyer/Jérôme Ogay/Michael Carlsen/Mathias Schläppi (Peugeot 208 GTI) - DNF

Sorg Rennsport Rebecca Jackson/Ricardo Flores/George Richardson/Chris James/Ahmed al Melaihi (BMW M235i) - DNF

Car Collection Motorsport Claudia Hürtgen/Markus Winkelhock/Heinz Schmersal/Pierre Ehret/Peter Schmidt (Audi R8 LMS) - DNF

2017

Optimum Motorsport Flick Haigh/Ryan Ratcliffe/Joe Osborne/Christopher Haase (Audi R8 LMS) - 4th

Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3) - 7th (class win)

Zest Racecar Engineering Gosia Rdest/John Allen/JT Coupal/Philippe Ulivieri/John Weisberg (SEAT Leon TCR) - 52nd

Reiter Engineering Naomi Schiff/Anna Rathe/Marylin Niederhauser/Caitlin Wood (KTM X-Bow) - 72nd

2018
Phoenix Racing Gosia Rdest/Joonas Lappalainen/Philip Ellis/John-Louis Jasper (Audi R8 LMS) - 26th
Besagroup Racing Cora Schumacher/Franjo Kovacs/Roland Asch/Sebastian Asch/Fidel Lieb (Mercedes AMG GTR) - 33rd
Hofor Racing Chantal Kroll/Martin Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF

2019
MRS GT-Racing Gosia Rdest/Helmut Rodig/Wolfgang Triller/Yutaka Matsushima/Christopher Zochling (Porsche 991) - 18th
Hofor Racing Chantal Prinz (Kroll)/Alexander Prinz/Michael Kroll/Kenneth Heyer/Christiaan Frankenhout (Mercedes AMG GT3) - DNF
Hofor Racing/Bonk Motorsport Liesette Braams/Martin Kroll/Michael Fischer/Gustav Engljaehringer/Michael Schrey (BMW M4 GT4) - DNF
ERC Sport Katarina Kyvalova/Ryan Ratcliffe/Jon Minshaw/Gabriele Piana (Mercedes AMG GT4) - DNF

2020 (race stopped at 7h due to track flooding)
MRS GT-Racing Gosia Rdest/John Hartshorne/Ollie Hancock/Jukka Honkavuori (Porsche 991) - 18th
Cicely Motorsport Katarina Kyvalova/Adam Morgan/Jon Minshaw/Adam Butel/Jake Giddings (Mercedes AMG GT4) - 37th
ST Racing Samantha Tan/John Boyd/Nicklas Wittmer/Jon Miller (BMW M4 GT4) - 38th
Heide Motorsport Rahel Frey/Heinz Schmersal/Alex Welch/Mike Beckhusen (Audi R8 LMS GT4) - 41st
3Y Technology Beitske Visser/Gilles Vannelet/Nidal Baumgartner/Petr Lisa (BMW M4 GT4) - 57th

2021

ST Racing Samantha Tan/Jon Miller/Chandler Hull/Nick Wittmer (BMW M4 GT4) - 15th (class win)

Vortex V8 Karen Gaillard/Lionel Amrouche/Philippe Bonnel/Alban Varutti (Vortex V8) - 35th

2022

SPS Automotive Performance Reema Juffali/Valentin Pierburg/George Kurtz/John Loggie (Mercedes-AMG GT3) - 9th

Leipert Motorsport Betty Chen/Jean-Francois Brunot/Kerong Li/Joel Eriksson/Brendon Leitch (Lamborghini Huracan) - 16th

ST Racing Samantha Tan/Bryson Morris/Harry Gottsacker/Tyler Maxson/Anthony Lazzaro (BMW M4 GT3) - 25th

Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing Jasmin Preisig/Fabian Danz/Constantin Kletzer/Paul Sieljes (VW Golf) - 47th

2023

S'Aalocin by Kox Racing Stephane Kox/Peter Kox/Nico Pronk/Tom Boonen/Dennis Retera (Porsche 911 GT3 R) - 21st

Wolf-Power Racing Jasmin Preisig/Ivars Vallers/Kalle Bergman/Andreas Hofler (Audi RS3 LMS TCR) - 37th

Dragon Racing Rhea Loucas/Leonidas Loucas/Bradley Ellis/Charles Hollings (Mercedes AMG GT4) - DNF

(Image copyright Naomi Schiff)

Ksenya Niks

Ksenya Niks is a Ukrainian driver who has raced in the European Touring Car Championship.

She is very unusual for a professional driver, in that she did not start racing until she was over 40, and had had children.

2012 was her debut year, and she raced in the Ukrainian Touring Car Cup. Her car was a Super 1600-spec Ford Fiesta, and she was sixth in the Touring Light class. Her best overall finishes were four fourth places, all achieved at the Chajka circuit in Ukraine, where the championship is based. She also travelled to Georgia in November, for the Rustavi International Challenge. Driving the Fiesta, she was second in two GT Unlimited races, earning a fastest lap in the second.

In only her second season of racing, she moved ip to the European Touring Car Championship.

Her car was a Ford Fiesta run by M-Sport, and she ran in the Super 1600 class.  Although she completed the whole season, she was not among the front-runners, and had to settle for ninth in her class, third in the women’s standings. Her best result was sixth, at Brno.

As well as her European commitments, Ksenya remained active in the Ukrainian series, in the Fiesta. She competed in the Touring Light and GT Open classes, and did well in the GT Open series, with six second places. Her best finish in the Touring class was fourth. She was second in the GT Open championship, and seventh in Touring Light.

Keeping with the international nature of her 2013 season, she raced some more in Georgia, sampling Legends, and the Georgian GT Unlimited championship. She was fifth in the two-litre Touring class in the Fiesta, with one overall sixth place.

She returned to the ETCC in 2014, and the Super 1600 Fiesta. Her track record improved, and she managed two third places, at Spa and Salzburg. She was fifth in Super 1600, and second in the Ladies' Trophy, behind her team-mate, Ulrike Krafft. The only real low point of her season was a DNF at the Slovakiaring, which meant she could not start the second race.

In the Ukrainian Touring Light series, she enjoyed a highly successful year, with two outright wins, three seconds and two third places. Had she done the whole championship, she could have won.

For a change, she raced Legends at Rustavi in Georgia in the spring. She was twelfth in the championship, with one fifth place in a heat as her best result.

Stepping back from ETCC competition, she came back to the Ukrainian GT Open Cup in 2015, for a part-season in the Fiesta. She had a best finish of second, achieved in two races at Chajka. Unfortunately, her two other races ended in non-finishes.

She travelled to Georgia once more, and raced in more Legends events there. Her best finish was fifth again, at Rustavi.

In 2016, she was back in the ETCC, driving a Ford Fiesta for Gena Autosport. She was fifth in the Super 1600 class, with a best finish of fifth, achieved three times at Magny-Cours and Vila Real. This time, she finished ahead of Ulrike Krafft, now driving for a different team. Her focus was solely on European competition this year.

Away from the circuits, Ksenya works as a lawyer. Her plans for 2017 are unclear.

(Image from http://sport.dozor.com.ua)

Laure Jaussaud

Laure in Monte Carlo

Laure Jaussaud is a French Tarmac specialist who has rallied in France since 2002, usually in a Renault Clio. She won the French ladies’ rally championship in 2007.

Her usual co-driver is her sister, Carine, and they are from a rallying family. For the first couple of years of her career, Laure had other female navigators sit beside her, but Carine started co-driving for her regularly in 2005. Previously, since 2000, she had co-driven for their father, Bernard. Laure has also sat beside her father on occasion.

Laure’s earliest rally outings were in a Renault Megane in 2002, when she entered the Vaison-la-Romaine Rally. By 2004, she had settled on a Renault Clio, a car she would use for the next eleven seasons.

For the first few years of her career, Laure stuck to local rallies, in or around her home département of Hautes-Alpes. In 2006, she scored her first top twenty finishes, two sixteenth places in the Venasque and Neige Hautes Alpes National rallies. The Hautes Alpes event also gave her her first class win, in N3.

In 2007, the sisters won the French ladies’ rally title, their first championship. They employed an all-female crew for at least some of the events. Laure’s best rally was probably the Mont Blanc-Morzine. She was 71st overall, and sixth in the F2 class.

Between 2008 and 2013, she went back to rallying locally, with varying degrees of success. Despite being a short competition season, 2013 was a good year for Laure, who was 20th in the Rallye National Hivernal des Hautes Alpes and 22nd in the Venasque National Rally.

The sisters broke the habit of a lifetime in 2014, abandoning the Clio for a Renault Twingo. One of their first events in the car, the Rallye National des Hautes Alpes, gave them a 20th place, second in class. This was a familiar rally for them, but a good result nevertheless, with 49 finishers, some in more powerful S2000 and N4 cars. The first rally Laure did in the Twingo was the Monte Carlo Rally, which she also finished. She was 33rd overall, against the WRC elite. She was also 32nd in the Rallye d’Antibes, with a second in the Coupe des Dames rankings and a class seventh. This was another competitive event, won by Brian Bouffier for the Hyundai works team.

2015 brought more WRC action in the Twingo. Laure was 60th on the Monte, out of 78 finishers. Later in the season, she did her first Tour de Corse, and was 75th, from 96 finishers. She missed out on the Coupe des Dames to Sophie Laurent, who was competing in another class. In between, she did the Rallye National du Laragnais, co-driven by Thomas Escartefigue. She was 23rd, and third in class.

Despite showing that she could hold her own in a World Championship rally, 2015 seems to have been Laure’s last year of competition. At the end of 2015, she was said to have been deciding whether to enter the Monte again, but she did not appear on the list.

She finally returned to the Monte in 2018, at the wheel of a Renault Twingo, with Carine on the maps. She finished 32nd overall and eleventh in class.

In 2019, she drove the Twingo on the Monte again, finishing in 52nd place and making the cut for the final day. She was navigated by Julie Trinquier-Escartefigue. Two other rallies in the Twingo followed, the Laragnais National Rally and the Cote d'Azur Rallycircuit.

Laure's only major outing in 2020 was the Monte. She drove a Peugeot 208 with Julie and they were 44th overall. She entered a single rally again in 2022, finishing 37th in the Rallye National du Laragnais in a Twingo.

(Image copyright Dailymotion)

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)

Juliette Slaughter

Juliette with the Kelly Girl Lola

Juliette Slaughter (née Scott-Gunn; also Brindley) was most famous for her Le Mans entry in 1978.

Her racing career began in 1970, as Juliette Scott-Gunn, after she inherited some money. There was some history of motorsport in her family; her father had the distinction of being a racing vicar at Brooklands. In 1971, she won the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club’s Helen Spence Trophy, for the best newcomer. She competed in Class C of the Castrol Production Saloon Championship in 1972, in a Ford Escort, scoring one class win at Brands Hatch. In August, she raced in the BWRDC’s “Fast Girls Ford Consul Challenge” at Brands, and was twelfth, out of seventeen drivers, after a spin. The winner of this event, Gillian Fortescue Thomas, was presented with a fur coat by Graham Hill.

She met her first husband, Andy Slaughter, on-track, when he drove into her car! They were both racing in Production Saloons at the time. Between 1972 and 1974, she concentrated on her career in personnel. At one point, she was part of Mark Thatcher’s management team.

When she returned in 1975 as Juliette Slaughter, she was involved in the sport both on and off the track. Her day job was in the press office at Brands Hatch, under the management of John and Angela Webb. The Webbs were skilled promoters, and Juliette gained a reputation is a marketing expert.

One of John Webb’s favourite marketing ploys was using female drivers to create media interest. He had trained up a “stable” of women racers, some from the world of celebrity, or other sports, who raced under his Shellsport banner. They became known as “the Charm School”, and were not always taken seriously. Although John Webb always had one eye on the promotional value of his drivers, he also believed in them as racers, and helped to launch the careers of Divina Galica and Desiré Wilson.

Shellsport acted as the sponsor for the BWRDC’s invitation Ford Escort one-make challenge. It began in 1974, and Juliette took part in two of the three races, with a best finish of second. This was achieved at her home track, Brands Hatch. The series ran as a championship proper in 1975, and she entered three of the four rounds. She was sixth twice, this time at Mallory Park and Snetterton. She managed another two second places at Brands in 1976, behind Divina Galica, but had the consolation of a joint fastest lap and class record in the second race. She set another lap record at Snetterton in 1977, in the same car, and was second in the race itself.

She was an enthusiastic member of the BWRDC. Their 40th anniversary book, Mary’s Girls, tells of her participation in a women’s Demolition Derby in 1975, and a humorous imaginary film called “The Bird Life of a Northamptonshire Village”, in which she was going to discuss “fashion on the grid”.

In 1977, Juliette mainly raced a Shellsport Renault 5 in the Production Saloon championship. She scored at least one fourth place, at a Christmas meeting, and won her class at Thruxton, leading to another BWRDC accolade, the Embassy Club Championship. That year, she was also announced as the second driver in Divina Galica’s Sports 2000 Lola T290. Reports suggest that she took part in at least one event in the car, which was sponsored by the Kelly Girl employment agency. This may have been down to Juliette’s own negotiation, as she had previous experience in the field, and was now a marketing manager at Brands Hatch.

The Lola was one of several cars she raced in 1978. The Renault was kept on for use in Production Saloons, and she also had the use of a Triumph TR7 for production sportscars.

Her biggest race of 1978 was undoubtedly Le Mans. She was driving a Kelly Girl-sponsored Lola T294S, with Ian Harrower and Brian Joscelyne. They suffered engine trouble and did not finish, only managing 61 laps. That said, all drivers had put in some respectable times, particularly considering the age of their car, and their lack of big-race experience.

The following year, Juliette drove a Porsche 924 in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours with Win Percy, and they won their class, finishing 22nd overall. Again, this was a strong performance in an underpowered car, which had proved hard to qualify.

At the same event in 1980, she was ninth with John Sheldon and John Brindley, in a Lola T492. They won the Sports 2000 class.

Away from the major races, and after her Le Mans outing, she accepted a drive from Gerry Marshall Racing in Production Saloons, driving a Triumph Dolomite, in 1979. Unfortunately, no results are forthcoming for this car/driver combination.

Later, she drove a VW Scirocco in the same championship. She finished on the Production Saloon podium six times during 1980, with a best finish of second. This included a drive in the Willhire 24 Hours, as part of a team that included Stirling Moss and Desiré Wilson, and was sponsored by the “mens’ magazine”, Mayfair. She continued with the Scirocco in 1981, when she teamed up with Tony Lanfranchi.

She retired in 1982 to pursue her business career, and other interests. For many years, she put her promotional and organising expertise to good use on the committees for various horse trials, having taken up riding.

Sadly, she died in 2012, at the age of 67, after an eleven-year battle with cancer.

(Image copyright Getty Images)