Suzie Brailsford

 

Suzie Brailsford competed in rallycross in the UK in the early 1990s.

Her career began in the summer of 1989, driving a Mini in the Minicross class. She was in her mid-20s and working as cabin crew for British Airways, which she used as a promotional talking point.

She raced a Vauxhall Nova in a one-make championship class of the British championship in 1990 and 1991. The 1990 edition was the first one-make series in British rallycross, apart from Minicross. 

The Nova and Suzie proved capable of good laps. At Lydden in July, she won a heat and was the fourth fastest in the championship, but she could not keep up the momentum through the other heats, with rain not helping matters. Among her rivals was boxer Barry McGuigan. By December, she had improved and was into the second day of heats at Brands Hatch, despite some rain, but contact with another driver put her out of the final. In between, she finished fifth at Cadwell.

In 1991, she won a race at Lydden Hill, but was later disqualified. She was announced as a driver for the 1992 series and did at least some of the races, including one at Lydden in April.

From the beginning, she was sponsored by Texaco. In 1992, she was part of a public competition organised by the company. The winner, Joyce Robertson, won herself a Renault Clio by guessing how far Suzi could drive the car on 7.5l of Texaco fuel.

She also raced a Nissan Sunny at some point, possibly a little later. In 1998, she made a comeback and competed in autocross in Suffolk, driving a Mini which she shared with Tim Compson, another former minicross competitor. 

(Image copyright Farnborough News)