Wendy Markey (Amey)

Wendy with the Mazda RX-3

Wendy was a British woman who raced in national saloon championships in the 1970s. She took part in some international touring car races too, and drove in works teams for Mazda and Lada.

Her background was completely unrelated to motorsport; she trained as a dancer, and performed in musical theatre and comedy, appearing on The Benny Hill Show, among other things. It was only after her marriage, to racing driver and BMW team manager, John Markey, that she became acquainted with the world of motorsport.

Her first race came in 1972, and was apparently the result of a bet. Whether she won the bet, is unclear. Using a borrowed Honda N600, she drove in the Production Saloon championship at Oulton Park.

The following year, she attacked the Production Saloon (Group 1) championship again, in a BMW 2002 Ti this time, supported by the UK BMW works team. As well as circuit racing, the team ran her in the Avon Tour of Britain, partnered by Jenny Dell. She was 19^th overall and beat Rosemary Smith to the Ladies’ award, as well as finishing above Graham Hill in his Datsun Bluebird.

A change to the rules brought Wendy into the British Touring Car Championship, then known as the British Saloon Car Championship, in 1974. The BSCC was now running to Group 1 specification. Wendy had secured another factory-supported drive, this time for Mazda. Her car was a Savanna RX3. She completed most of the season, which included too many non-finishes for her to make an impression on the final leaderboard. Her best finish was seventh, at Mallory Park. Female drivers were less unusual then in the BSCC than they are now, but Wendy attracted a lot of attention due to her team’s main sponsor: Penthouse magazine.

As well as the BSCC, she competed internationally, in some rounds of the European Touring Car Championship. She shared the RX-3 with Australian Brian Muir for the Silverstone TT race, but they did not finish, due to an oil leak in the gearbox. She also made one appearance in a Ladies’ Shellsport Escort race, driving a Ford Escort Mexico. She was seventh.

She drove a Mazda RX-3 for both 1975 British Group 1 Championships, sponsored by Britax and Radio One. She performed well in both, and was third in her class in the Britax series, and fourth in class in the Radio One series. Classes for Group 1 racing were based on the retail price of the car.

There was more women-only action in 1975, too. Wendy took part in the Shellsport Escort Series, now a four-round championship run in association with the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club. She won the last round, at Mallory Park, and was third overall. This was not her only womens’ event; she was invited to drive in the Ladies’ Race supporting the Monaco Grand Prix, but crashed out.

She stayed with Group 1 in 1976, although she changed her car from a Mazda to a Lada 1200, supported by the Lada factory. Her programme included a second Tour of Britain, in which she won another Ladies’ award. As well as the Lada, she was scheduled to race a Mazda in the Silverstone 6 Hours, with Georgie Shaw, but this did not happen.

Her third season in the Shellsport Escort series gave her a best finish of third, at Snetterton, and she was enough for sixth in the championship.

In 1977, it was back to Mazda power, still in the RX-3. One of her team-mates was her husband, John, who drove a sister car, an RX-5. Sponsored by Smith Kendon Travel Sweets, a slightly less controversial company, she competed in several rounds of the European Touring Car Championship, with Tom Hunt as her co-driver. They were disqualified from their first race, at Salzburg, for receiving a push start, but got to the finish of the Brno round in 19^th place. They were 35^th, from 38 finishers, at the Nürburgring, but did not finish at Silverstone. A planned entry into the Brands Hatch 6 Hours did not transpire.

Wendy’s chosen car for 1978 was a Mini 1275 GT. Sharing it with John Markey and Alan Shaw, she managed to finish the Diner’s Club Trophy at Silverstone. For most of the season, she raced in the Special Saloon championship in the UK, with her husband and second team-mate. Unfortunately, she had quite a bad accident at Mallory Park, on a wet track, and broke an ankle. The Mini was a write-off, and this was the end of her motorsport activities for some time. Divorce also intervened some time afterwards.

In 1988, now Wendy Amey, she returned to the circuits in a Chevron B8, usually racing in the HSCC2-Litre Championship, and Super Sports. This lasted for two seasons, before she hung up her helmet for good to concentrate on family and business concerns.

More recently, Wendy was involved in the classic motorcycling scene, as the business and life partner of former world champion, Phil Read.

She died in February 2021, aged 70.

(Image from http://www.markeymotorsport.co.uk/)

Female Drivers in Touring Cars: the United Kingdom

Anita Taylor in the Broadspeed Anglia

This is another post mostly made up of previous content, created in order to make the blog easier to get around. There are a couple of new names, and more will appear in future. Jem Hepworth, Elizabeth Jones, Barbara Cowell, Jacquie Bond-Smith, Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, Michaelle Burns-Greig, Geunda Eadie, Micki Vandervell, Jean Aley and Joanna Clarke now have their own posts.

Anna Barden - winner of the 2018 CTRC Classic Touring Car pre-2005 championship, driving a Renault Clio. She has been racing since 2016 and sometimes competes against her husband, Steve Barden, in the Classic Touring Car series. Further details of her career are proving hard to find as she previously competed under another name.

Joey Cook (Beale) - sister of Jacquie Bond-Smith. Like her sister, her early motorsport experiences were in her father’s “Wavendon Wombat” special, and they sometimes competed as a pairing. The sisters raced together in the FLIRT team in the 1960s, in a Mini Marcos. As a team, they entered the Nürburgring 1000km, Gran Premio del Mugello and Nürburgring 500 KM in 1967. Joey’s best result was 37th, in the Mugello race. She and Jacquie raced in separate FLIRT Marcoses for the Nürburgring 500km. She is still involved in motorsport through historic racing; she and her husband Stephen own and drive a 1962 Lotus Elite, and are members of the HSCC.

Ilsa Cox - winner of multiple British club championships in saloon car racing. She began in 1987. In 1997, she was the Castle Combe Saloon Car champion, driving a Peugeot 205 GTi. Even in her first year in that championship, 1995, she won eight times, and was narrowly beaten to the trophy. In 2008, she won Class A of the 750MC Hot Hatch Championship. More recently, she has been racing a SEAT Cupra in the Eurosaloons championship, and won a race outright at Oulton Park, in 2009. She was second in the “B” class of the series, with three wins. She has 26 career wins. She continued to race the SEAT in the CNC Heads Saloon/Sports championship in 2014. She won one race, and was second in Class D. As well as racing in the CNC Heads series in 2015, she took part in the Classic Thunder Touring Car Championship, still in the SEAT. She was fifth and seventh in these championships, respectively. She raced the SEAT again in 2016, in the CNC Heads series, but only did some of the rounds, and was 26th overall. In 2017, she did some races in the SEAT, but did not do enough of the championship to mount at serious challenge. She was back to winning ways again in 2018, picking up another Castle Combe GT crown in the Cupra and winning nine races outright. She competed in the CTCC Classic Thunder series in 2019, winning at least one race at Silverstone. As well as this, she works as a performance driving instructor, and promotes women’s track days.

Mary Grinham - races a spaceframe Maguire Mini in club events in the UK. Most recently, she has been part of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Classic Thunder series. She has been racing the car since the 1980s, when she took part in Special Saloons, securing class wins. This followed ten years as a motorcycle sidecar racer, and some time spent in Minicross. She first raced a sidecar outfit in 1972.

Joanne Kraemer - began her career in 2002 in UK Clio Cup. She did not compete for a full season due to injuries sustained in a crash, but managed to return. After a break, she drove in Britcar with her father, Rick Kraemer, in 2004. Their car was a Ford Focus. They managed some top-ten finishes, including one at Brands Hatch.

Clare Newbold - raced in the mid-1960s, always in Ford cars. In 1965, she raced a Ford Anglia in the 1000cc class, in British events. These were mostly at club level, so the results have proved hard to find. In 1966, she raced a “Fraud” Cortina, a heavily-modified Ford Special Saloon belonging to her future husband, “Doc” Merfield. They competed together at least once, in a handicap race at Brands Hatch. In 1965, Clare drove this car in the Brighton Speed Trials, and seems to have won something - a video of the time describes her as the winner, but the official records do not support this. She was an early member of the BWRDC and also raced at Goodwood. After her marriage, she seems to have retired.

Nerys Pearce - raced in the 2020 Britcar Trophy for Team BRIT, driving a BMW 1-Series. She joined the team for the Silverstone races and partnered Abbie Eaton, then drove with Aaron Morgan at Snetterton. As a guest driver, she was ineligible to score points. She is paralysed from the chest down and is hoping to be part of a Le Mans team consisting only of disabled drivers. Previously, she served as an Army medic and competed in para-athletics, powerlifting and rowing, as well as open-water swimming. She has represented Wales at the Invictus and Commonwealth Games. In 2021 she raced for Team BRIT in Britcar again.

Rona Pearson (Galliford) - raced in the UK between 1962 and 1964. She began her career in club events, using a Mini. Later in he first year, she entered her first international race, the Nürburgring 500km. She and Phil Cadman did not finish after their Mini suffered a gearbox problem. The following month, Rona had more luck in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours, finishing 19th in a BMW 700 with Marie-Rose Tibesar. She later married Peter Galliford and went back to club racing in the UK, before retiring in 1964 to have children.

Jacqui Smith – member of the FLIRT (First Ladies’ International Racing Team) team in the 1960s, with sisters Jacquie Bond-Smith and Joey Cook.  They campaigned two Mini Marcoses together in the 1960s, and raced at the 1967 Nürburgring 500km. Jacqui Smith does not seem to have finished. Earlier in the season, she had been included in the official Marcos team for the Nürburgring 1000km, but did not get to drive on the day. The year before, she was second in the BWRDC’s women’s racing championship, behind Jean Denton. She spent that season racing a Hillman Imp, competing in British club events and winning a Ladies’ race at Brands Hatch. She had been racing since at least 1964.

Mary Taylor - mostly raced saloons in the mid-1960s, and is most associated with Minis. She was racing a Mini by 1963, at least. In 1964, she took part in the Britax Saloon championship, and the following year, she won one of the BWRDC’s Embassy Trophies for the highest placed member at an eligible meeting. Frustratingly, it is not clear what cars she used for the 1964 season, although the award win was for a second place in a Mini. In At some point, she raced an MGB, and is named as an entrant for a Ladies’ race at Oulton Park. She also raced a Frazer Imp and a Lotus Elite. Her career was ended by a serious accident at Silverstone in 1966, where she suffered head injuries, although she later recovered. She was married to fellow racer, Sid Taylor, and was a hairdresser by trade.

Issabelle Woolley - races a Suzuki Swift in the 750MC Swift Sport Challenge. Her first season was 2025, the inaugural one, and she was only 16. In 2026, she continued to race in the Challenge, competing against her father Jonathan. She had a dramatic crash in the first round at Donington and wrote her car off, but she and Jonathan built a whole new one in time for the Silverstone meeting. 

(Image from Autosport)