Gabrielle Renault

A Renault R8 Gordini from 1966, similar to those rallied by Gabrielle

Gabrielle Renault, often known as Gaby, competed in European rallies in the 1960s. She was the winner of the Paris-St. Raphael women’s rally in 1961. 

She competed on at least two Monte Carlo Rallies, winning the European Championship Coupe des Dames in 1961. She recorded another finish in 1966, starting from Lisbon with Colette Gassier who was her regular navigator that season. The team was captured on a Pathe newsreel film that focused on the British entrants. They tackled the Rally dei Fiori in the Gordini later in the year and finished 14th. 

The Paris-St. Raphael appears to have been one of her favourite events. Following her 1961 victory, she was second in the 1962 running, driving a Dauphine. She was third in the same car in 1963.

She usually drove Renault cars, normally a Gordini-engined Dauphine or R8 for rallies, but she also competed in hillclimbs in other cars. In 1964 she raced an Alpine A108 in the Mont Ventoux hillclimb, finishing 16th. The A108 was based on the Dauphine, but with a sporty fibreglass body. The following year, she drove a Ford Lotus Cortina at the Mont Ventoux climb and was twelfth. 

Among the other cars she sampled are an Alpine-Renault A110 at the 1969 Ronde Cevenole and a rotary-engined NSU Ro80 in the 1970 Tour de France. This proved less successful; she and Francoise Brun were disqualified for being too slow. 

Her career continued until at least 1972, when she entered the Mont Ventoux hillclimb again in an Alpine A110, finishing 37th.

Gabrielle always appeared on entry lists as “Madame Renault”. Her own family name is unclear and it is equally vague as to whether she was married to a member of the Renault motoring family. 

(Image copyright Hagerty Insurance)