Frankie Bogg (Francine Duncan)

Francine Bogg, known as Frankie, was one of the youngest-ever participants (at the time) in the RAC Rally. She first entered aged 19, in 1991. 

Her final position was 68th, from 82 finishers. This was her only World Championship rally, but she enjoyed quite a long career in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The RAC Rally drive came about after she won the Radio Times “Rally Quest” competition, held in conjunction with Top Gear. There were 36,000 competitors for the £80,000 prize drive in a works-supported Vauxhall Nova, which included the RAC entry and a programme of British rallies beforehand as training. The latter part of the competition was televised and Frankie became popular with Top Gear viewers.

Although Frankie had already done a couple of rallies before Rally Quest, she had thought her career was over as the car she bought herself suffered a blown engine. She found herself in a similar situation at the end of 1991, when the prize drive concluded.

The RAC Rally was one of six events she did in 1991, including the Audi Sport Rally, which was a round of the British championship. She was 34th, sixth in class. In real terms, the RAC Rally was her best event, followed by the Dukeries Rally, where she was 99th out of 116 drivers.

She did manage to drive her Vauxhall Nova in the second round of the British Championship in 1992. Unfortunately, she only got to the third stage of the Pirelli Rally before retiring with steering problems. Her only other outing that year was the Rally Cars Forest Stages in September. She was 57th overall. Despite sponsorship drives in local newspapers and something of a media profile, Frankie then disappeared from the stages for five years.

In 1997, she reappeared as Francine Duncan, now married and running a skid training facility with her husband, Ecosse Skid Control. She had picked up some sponsorship and a new SEAT Ibiza, which she took to the Scottish islands for the Tour of Mull, finishing 82nd. 

The following year, she competed more extensively in the Ibiza, concentrating on asphalt events. Her seasons started badly with a fire on the Apex Cheviot Rally in February, then another retirement from the Tour of Epynt. However, three class wins followed in the Tour of Cornwall, Mewla National and Wexford rallies. The Wexford event, her first rally in Ireland, was her best: she was 42nd from 72 finishers. At the end of the year, she was awarded the Motorsport UK Asphalt championship’s junior award.

1999 began with another class win in the Cheviot Rally, again running on asphalt. Frankie was 29th overall. She also finished the Tour of Epynt this year, finishing 28th from 71 cars still running at the end. The Jim Clark Rally gave her another 28th place to finish her season. 

After this, her career goes into hibernation again. Apart from one rally in 2004, the RalliTrak Premier Rally, she did not compete again.

As well as rallying, Frankie competed in mountain biking. She is from Hull.

(Image copyright Hull Daily Mail)

Taylor Hagler

 

Taylor Hagler is an American driver who has been most successful in TCR-spec cars, winning the TCR class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge outright twice.

Her four-wheeled career began in 2018 after ten years of equestrian competition. Her sister had received a gift voucher for the Skip Barber race school which she didn’t want, so Taylor used it instead. She was hooked straight away.

She raced a Mazda Miata in 2018 and won NASA races in her home state of Texas. She also won at least one SCCA race in the Miata at Road Atlanta in early 2019. 

She moved into TC America in 2019, driving a Honda Civic in the TCA class. She was fifth in her class and the second of the four X-Factor Racing entries, behind fourth-placed Chris Haldeman, the team’s owner. Her best finishes were three class thirds at Circuit of the Americas, Watkins Glen and Road America. Road America was her best circuit and she was tenth overall. 

She also did her first major endurance race, the COTA 24H event. Her car was another Civic, shared with three other drivers, but they did not finish.

In 2020, she continued in TC America for two races, finishing fourth twice at COTA, which was becoming her favoured track. She spent most of the year in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving a Civic with Ryan Eversley for LA Honda World Racing. Her best finish was a second place at Mid-Ohio and her championship position would have been higher than ninth without some DNFs. 

She won the TCR class of the 2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge, with one outright win at Lime Rock and five additional podium finishes. Her car was a Hyundai Veloster run by Bryan Herta's works-supported team and she shared it with Michael Lewis. As well as this, she was a multiple winner in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am Cup, driving an Acura NSX for the Racers Edge team. She was second in the Pro-Am championship with three class wins, in what was only her first season in GT3 cars. 

In 2022, she successfully defended her TCR trophy, driving a Hyundai Elantra and winning once at Virginia. She and Michael Lewis were also second four times and third twice. She then raced the Acura at Indianapolis in the GT World Challenge, finishing seventh in Pro-Am and 19th overall. 

She took her first steps into an international career at the beginning of 2023 when she was announced as part of Hyundai USA’s team for the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Her usual team-mate Michael Lewis joined her, with Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi. They were 29th overall and second in class, behind the European Hyundai works car.

The Nurburgring appearance made an impression in Europe and Taylor was invited to take part in the GT4 European Series later in the season, deputising for W&S Motorsport’s Charles Lawson who was injured in the first round. Alongside Swiss driver Gustavo Xavier, she joined the championship at Paul Ricard. They were 18th in the Pro-Am championship, their best finish has been a 25th place overall at Misano, driving a Porsche 718 Cayman. They were fifth in the Pro-Am class

The US had not been forgotten either. Sharing the Bryan Herta Elantra with Michael Lewis again, she set about adding another IMSA Michelin Pilot TCR title to her collection. The season did not begin as well as previous ones, with the pair earning an eighth place at Daytona. They were seventh in the TCR class, not managing to reach the podium this year.

Her future plans include more racing in Europe.

(Image copyright Taylor Hagler Motorsport)

Claire Descollas

 

Claire Descollas was a French rally driver who enjoyed a long career in the 1930s and 40s. 

Born in 1905 as Claire Mancis, she began competing very young, and was driving an Amilcar in French hillclimbs from at least 1923, when she was seventeen. She normally raced in the Marseilles area where her family lived and her father worked in the motor trade. Earlier, he had been an agent for Le Gui and Zebre cars in modern Vietnam, where Claire was probably born.

Claire continued to race after her marriage to Gaston Descollas, the brother of a childhood friend. Her car at the time was an Amilcar, described as white with a 5hp engine. her first major result as Madame Descollas was a sixth place in the 1932 Paris-St.Raphael Rally. Claire was second in her class and the first Amilcar finisher. That year, she ran in her first major open rally, the first running of the Rallye des Alpes Francaises. She did not finish and also did not finish in 1934, when Gaston Descollas won.

With Gaston, she won several class awards and rallies, often in a distinctive and quite famous Bugatti Type 57 Atalante with aerodynamic bodywork. She entered the 1935 Paris-St. Raphael in this car, but retired with mechanical problems. In 1936, she used it again for the Alpes Francaises event, and in 1937, for another Paris-St. Raphael, but she could not get it to the finish. As a consolation, she did win the Mont Ventoux hillclimb section in the Alpine rally and was third in her class.

The Amilcar was still very much in evidence. She won her class in the 1936 Chamonix Rally and was ninth overall in the Rallye de Lyon.

In the later part of her career, particularly after World War II, she favoured Lancia cars. She won her class award and finished without penalties in the 1939 Rally des Alpes Francaises, driving an Aprilia. She was 17th in the same event in 1947. One of her best Paris-St.Raphael showings was in this car in 1938; she was third and won the 1500cc class.

She does not appear to have driven in any more rallies after 1947, although she co-drove for Gaston in an Aprilia in 1948. The couple divorced in 1953.

As well as rallying, Claire was part of the Yacco speed trial team in 1937, although she withdrew after the first runs. Her team-mates for the Montlhery record attempt were Helle Nice, Simone des Forest and Odette Siko. Claire may have clashed with Helle Nice. Despite her departure, the Matford car itself was named Claire, possibly after her.

Claire died in 1985, aged 80.

For more information, see this Zebre site.

Image from Wikimedia Commons