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

Alexandra Hammersley

 

Peugeot 203 in rally trim

Alexandra Hammersley was a French driver who entered both races and rallies. Her British name came from her husband, who was also a rally driver.

She was a regular in rallies in France and Europe in the 1950s, often with her daughter, Genevieve, as her navigator. 

In 1950, she co-drove for her husband in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally. She entered the event for the first time in 1951, sharing a Peugeot with Ginette Francois-Sigrande.

Genevieve first joins her mother later that year. In 1951, they were 40th in the Tour de France, driving a Peugeot 203. In the 1952 Tour, they were 50th. 

They entered the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally together, but retired shortly after the start when Genevieve Hammersley was hit by a bicycle. They had arrived on time from their start point at Lisbon but the accident happened at Cannes, not far away. Genevieve was taken to hospital.

The same year, they were 19th overall in the ADAC-Rallye Travemunde and second in the Paris-St. Raphaël, driving a Lancia Aurelia. This was her second go at the women-only rally, having finished sixth in the Peugeot in 1951. 

An outing in the Aurelia for the Alpine Rally ended in retirement. Driving the Peugeot 203, the mother-daughter team finished 72nd in the Tulip Rally, starting from Paris.

In 1951, Alexandra was also sixth in the Bol d’Or endurance race in Paris, driving a Peugeot 1.5. She only raced occasionally on circuits.

She disappears from the entry lists after 1953. Other than the accident to Genevieve, Alexandra’s career went largely unremarked-upon in the French press. Her origins and later life are a mystery and no photos of her have come to light.

Isabella Bignardi

 

Isabella Bignardi is a driver and co-driver from Italy who has competed since 1978. She was Italian ladies’ rally champion in 1980 and 1981.

Born in Piacenza but growing up in Turin, Isabella’s family were motorsport fans and she grew up around rallies and the drivers who were among her family friends.

During the early part of her career she was an on-off member of the all-female Team Aseptogyl. Her first major outing as a driver was the 1979 Rally della Lana, as part of a three-car Fiat 127 team with Maurizia Baresi and Betty Tognana. She finished 62nd, the first Aseptogyl car home. Earlier that year, she had joined the team as navigator to Maurizia. 

1980 was devoted to driving rather than co-driving. Isabella’s father had helped her to buy an Opel Kadett, which was run by the Astigiana Corse team. It was in this car that she scored her first top-ten, finishing seventh in the Valli Piacentine Rally on her way to her first national womens’ title.

The Kadett was exchanged for a powerful Lancia Stratos in 1981. Her best result in this car was a fifth place in the Rally di Alba e delle Langhi. The car was run by Brunik Squadra, which was enjoying some success in Italy at the time. Isabella’s second Italian ladies’ championship was a welcome addition. 

The same car tackled the Italian championship again in 1982, with the same crew of Isabella and Luisa Zumelli, although it was now being run by Tre Gazzelle. The Stratos was generally a somewhat fragile car and Isabella’s showed little reliability throughout the year, only finishing four rallies. The only notable result was a 19th place in the Rally 4 Regioni. 

Unsurprisingly, the Stratos was changed for an Alfa Romeo Alfasud in 1983. The year started with the last gasp of Team Aseptogyl, which entered Isabella into the Monte Carlo Rally with a large group of other female crews representing several European countries. She was one of the few to qualify for the rally proper and the third to finish, in 60th place. The rest of the year was spent in the Italian championship, with a best finish of fourteenth with a class win in the Rally Valli Vesimesi.

After 1983, Isabella competed less, only taking part in a few rallies per year. First she used an Opel Manta, scoring a sixth place in the 1984 Citta di Sassari event, then she moved on to a Renault 5 which she drove between 1985 and 1989. This car gave her another top ten finish: fifth in the 4 Regioni Rally. 

Aside from a single 1993 outing in a Lancia Delta Integrale and a co-driving slot the following year, she did not appear on the stages again until 2011. That year, she resurfaced in historic competition, driving first an Opel Kadett and then a Porsche 911 for Biella Corse. Her second rally back, the Rally Lana Historico, led to a seventh in the Kadett. It took slightly longer for her to get results from the Porsche, but in 2012 she was third in the Targa Florio Historic.

After a full season of historic competition she settled into occasional outings again. She remained competitive, as shown by results such as her sixth place in the Historic Rally 4 Stagioni in 2016, driving the Porsche. She was nint in the same event in 2017, driving the Porsche this time. 

2018 featured a move back to contemporary rallying, using the unlikely choice of a BMW 318. As of 2020, she is still rallying this car in Italy. 

Away from rallying, she studied veterinary medicine. 

(Image from ilquotidianodaybyday.eu)

Pascale Neyret

Pascale Neyret rallied in France in the 1980s, having got into professional competition through the 1984 Citroen Total Trophy.

She had grown up around rallying as the daughter of Bob Neyret, creator of the all-female Team Aseptogyl. Born in 1962, she was a teenager when the early Aseptogyl rally teams were assembled and when Aseptogyl squads featured at Le Mans. The experience seems to have had an impression on her. She was always sporty but had no grand ideas of becoming a professional sportswoman. Instead, she studied and trained to become a journalist, writing for the likes of Paris Match. 

She was 23 when she entered the Citroen Total Trophy, an all-female championship, driving Citroen’s new Visa Mille Pistes in six rallies across France. At the time, she was working in the Citroen press office.

She was not one of the front-runners, although she did manage a 24th place on the Tour de France, second of the Total Trophy drivers behind Andree Andrina.

Although she was not one of the winners of the Citroen prize drive, she returned to the stages in 1985, having decided to give up her job at Citroen and become a professional driver. She had picked up some sponsors and was ready to attack the French championship. This time, her car was a Renault 5 Turbo. She entered her first World Championship rally, the Tour de Corse, and was 26th overall, second in class. Her best finish was a 16th place in the Rally of Aquitaine, one of two top-twenty finishes that year, the other being a 20th spot in the Rallye d’Antibes, a European Championship round.

Her career took both a step forward and a step back in 1986. Forward, as in her results improved, but backwards in that she went back to the Citroen Visa. She was French Ladies’ rally champion at the end of the year.

Her best overall result was a fifteenth place in the Tour de France, which also counted for the European championship. She performed strongly on both asphalt and gravel, with a 16th place in the Mille Pistes Rally and 17th in the Rallye d’Antibes. For her first overseas rally, she chose the Acropolis in June. As it often is, the Greek gravel classic was a real car-breaker. Pascale was one of the 30% of drivers who got to the end. She was 22nd, second in class.

This was her last season in a Citroen. In 1987, she had her first drive in a Lancia Delta HF, a marque she would use for the next four seasons. Her programme was based around the WRC, albeit only a limited one. Her first event in the Lancia was the 1987 Acropolis, which she could not finish. Her next attempt at the Acropolis also ended in retirement, but she did finish a pleasing 19th in the 1988 Monte Carlo Rally, earning a Coupe des Dames. 

She also tried circuit racing in 1987, in the form of the Renault 5 Turbo Cup. She was 21st in the championship. 

Her first attempt at the Sanremo Rally in October 1988 yielded a finish, in 33rd place. This was another rally with more retirees than finishers. Her car this time was a Lancia Delta Integrale, although still in Group N trim.

She entered two more Monte Carlo rallies in the Delta and finished both, although she did not top her 1988 top-twenty. In 1989. She drove on the RAC Rally for the first time and was 39th out of 84 finishers. Her second attempt at the Sanremo Rally in 1990 ended in a 22nd place. 

The main part of her career finishes here, having lost her main sponsor Danone. At around this time, she reprised her studies and qualified as a lawyer.

She did make a couple of appearances in a Suzuki Swift a few years later. She competed in the 1993 Cyprus Rally and the 1994 Rally of Lebanon but did not finish either. Her long-term navigator Carole Cerboneschi accompanied her on these two outings; the pair worked together almost exclusively from 1986. 

She is now the director of a legal firm in France and still competes occasionally in historic rallies.

Luisa Rezzonico

Luisa Rezzonico was a Swiss-Italian driver who died following a crash whilst competing in the 1954 Autogiro d’Italia, driving a Lancia Aurelia. 

She started racing at the age of nineteen, in 1951. After only a couple of years of major competition, she won the 1953 Perla di Sanremo women’s rally, and the Como-Lieto Colle hillclimb, another ladies’ event, both in the Aurelia. She won the Como-Lieto Colle event three times; it ran as an “International Coupe des Dames” and sometimes had a short circuit race attached to it. Research into this event and which editions Luisa participated in is made more difficult by the fact that the Como-Lieto Colle hillclimb course was also used for mixed events from 1948.

The same year, 1953, and in a similar car, she was fifth overall in the Circuito Ospedaletti road race, and second in the 2000cc GT class. Her other outings included the Venice Lido Rally and the Cesana-Sestriere hillclimb. During one of her early races, she reportedly had a lucky escape when her car crashed and caught fire, although it is not entirely clear on which event this happened.

Prior to the Giro, Luisa had entered the 1954 Paris-St. Raphael Rally, another high-profile women-only event. She was driving a factory-supported Aurelia and was tipped by some as a potential winner, but picking up car both car damage and penalties early on dropped her out of the running. 

Luisa was driving in the Giro with her co-driver Franco Simontacchi, using a newer Aurelia B20 with which she was not overly familiar, run by the Sant Ambroeus team. She had originally planned on driving a Zagato-bodied Fiat 1100. The third stage of the event ran between Napoli and Bari and Luisa’s accident happened at or near the end. Some Italian newspapers describe her as having overshot the end of the stage.

She and Simontacchi were killed instantly when the Aurelia crashed into the wall of a church at Castellana. They had been running second overall at the time.

The Como-Lieto Colle Coppa Dames was named the “Luisa Rezzonico Trophy” in her honour in 1955.

(Image copyright formulapassion.it)

Antonella Mandelli

Antonella Mandelli was the 1981 European Ladies’ Champion. She was part of the Aseptogyl team early in her career, although she was more associated with the Jolly Club squad.

Antonella was born in the affluent Como region of Italy.

Her earliest major rally seems to have been Sanremo in 1977, when she was 23. She drove an Opel Kadett, but did not finish. The same car was used for the Rally Sangiacomo, also in Italy, but the results are not forthcoming. Her co-driver was Iva Boggio.

This drive got her noticed, and she was picked up by Fiat. Jolly Club were running their rally operation. In October 1978, Antonella tried Sanremo again in a Fiat 131. The car broke a driveshaft and she retired. Shortly afterwards, she became part of a six-car Team Aseptogyl, driving a smaller Fiat 127. Antonella was one of three Italian drivers, with Maurizia Baresi and Anna Cambiaghi. The other three were the experienced Frenchwomen, Christine Dacremont and Marianne Hoepfner, and Joëlle Chardin. They got an entry for the Tour de Corse, but Antonella had to drop out with an oil leak. None of the Aseptogyl cars finished.

She spent the next season in the 131, which was becoming one of the most competitive cars of its time, in the hands of Walter Röhrl and Markku Alen. It was an unforgiving car; Michele Mouton also drove one, and never liked it, despite winning two events in it. Antonella’s best result that year was an eighteenth place in the Targa Florio Rally.

The 131 finally came good for her in 1980, when she scored her first podium finish. She was third in the Rally delle Valli Piacentine.

In 1981, she travelled to the Iberian territories with Jolly Club and the 131. She was rewarded with second place in the Madeira Rally. This was a really tough event, with only 17 finishers from 69 starters. Antonella was ahead of her Jolly Club team-mate, Adartico Vudafieri, who won five rallies that year.

A one-off drive in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta in Spain was not as successful; she crashed out of the Rally Costa Brava. She did use this car in Italian rallies, but this was her only international outing in it.  

She ended the season as European Ladies’ Champion, ahead of Michela “Micky” Martinelli of Switzerland. Her other results do not seem to be widely available. Micky could not catch her in the Italian championship, either.

The 131 remained her car of choice for international rallies in 1982. She entered six ERC events, and finished in the top ten in five of them. The best of these was a seventh place in the Costa Brava Rally, which made up for her disappointment in 1981. The Madeira Rally continued to be one of her strongest events, and she was eighth this year. Her other top-tens were eighth places in the RACE Rally and Rally della Lana, and a tenth spot in the Rally 4 Regioni.

In the Italian championship, she was already trying out the newer Lancia 037 Rallye, also run by Jolly Club. She was Italian ladies’ champion at the end of the year.

She drove a Lancia 037 Rallye for Jolly Club in the 1983 European Championship. Again, Madeira was her lucky rally, and she was third. She was 18th in the Ieper 24 Hours, supporting team leader Miki Biasion, and was becoming very familiar with the powerful, Group B 037 when she had a big accident in Spain. It was during the Sol RACE Rally and she and her co-driver Tiziana Borghi were unharmed, although the car was written off. This followed an exclusion from the Costa Brava Rally due to problems at the finish.

1984 was another good season for her. Driving the 037, she repeated her third place in the Madeira Rally. Later in the season, she followed it up with a fifth in Catalunya.

This was her last season in rallying. Apparently, she married an heir to the Jack Daniels whiskey fortune and moved to the USA. She had earlier stated that she wanted to race at Le Mans and to enter the Dakar Rally, but this never came to fruition.

Antonella was clearly a very talented driver who had connections in the right places. If she had continued her career a little longer and competed more in northern Europe, she could have made a real impression on the World Rally Championship.

(Image from http://autologia.net)

The Coupe des Dames in the Monte Carlo Rally: Part III

Michèle Mouton and Françoise Conconi with the Lancia Stratos, 1978

After the inception of the World Rally Championship in 1973, the Coupe des Dames continued to be awarded. There was a lull in female entries in the mid-1970s, but by 1976, women drivers were once more a feature of the top ten. An official Ladies’ Prize continued to be given until 2000. By then, rallying had become almost completely professionalised and the number of female drivers entering each year was very small. Part 1 Part 2

1973

Sylvia Osterberg/Inga-Lill Edenring (Opel Ascona) – 28^th

1974

Rally cancelled due to fuel crisis

1975

No female finishers recorded (2 started)

1976

Michèle Mouton/Françoise Conconi (Alpine-Renault A110) – 11^th

1977

Christine Dacremont/Colette Galli (Lancia Stratos HF) – 6^th

1978

Michèle Mouton/Françoise Conconi (Lancia Stratos HF) – 7^th

1979

Michèle Mouton/Françoise Conconi (Fiat 131 Abarth) – 7^th

1980

Michèle Mouton/Annie Arrii (Fiat 131 Abarth) – 7^th

Elisabeth de Fresquet/A Godefroy (Autobianchi A112 Abarth) – 121^st (Promotion class)

1981

Gisela Blume/Petra Schuster (Peugeot 104 ZS) – 56^th

1982

Elisabeth de Fresquet/Marie Christine Valette (Volkswagen Golf GTi) – 71^st

1983

Louise Aitken/Ellen Morgan (Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti) – 48^th

Elisabeth de Fresquet/Perrine Morel (Volkswagen Golf GTi) – 60^th (Promotion class)

1984

Minna Sillankorva/Johanna Nieminen (Mazda 323 Turbo) – 22^nd

Elisabeth de Fresquet/Perrine Morel (Talbot Samba Rallye) – 42^nd (Promotion class)

1985

Elisabeth de Fresquet/Marie Christine Valette (Autobianchi A112 Abarth) – 60^th

1986

Elisabeth de Fresquet/Catherine Pernot (Opel Corsa) – 69^th

1987

Carole Vergnaud/Marie Claude Jouan (Citroen Visa Mille Pistes) – unclassified due to Group B ban, although finished 14th.

1988

Pascale Neyret/Carole Cerboneschi (Lancia Delta HF) – 19^th

1989

Paola de Martini/Umberta Gibellini (Audi 90 Quattro) – 9^th

Pascale Neyret/Carole Cerboneschi (Lancia Delta Integrale) – 22^nd (Promotion class)

1990

Louise Aitken-Walker/Tina Thörner (Vauxhall Astra GTE) – 11^th

Pascale Neyret/Carole Cerboneschi (Lancia Delta Integrale) – 38th (Promotion class)

1991

Minna Sillankorva/Michela Marangoni (Mazda 323) – 18^th

Isolde Holderied and Cathy François in 1999

1992

Isolde Holderied/Dagmar Lohmann (Mitsubishi Galant VR4) – 19^th

1993

Isolde Holderied/Tina Thörner (Mitsubishi Galant VR4) – 12^th

Christine Driano/Marie-Christine Lallement (Citroen AX GTi) – 13^th (Promotion class)

1994

Isolde Holderied/ Tina Thörner (Mitsubishi Lancer RS) – 15^th

1995

Isolde Holderied/ Tina Thörner (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo II) – 10^th

Priscille de Belloy/Sophie Fabrello (Fiat Cinquecento Sporting) – 56^th (Promotion class)

1996

Ana Arche/Arielle Tramont (Fiat Cinquecento Sporting) – 61^st

1997

Isolde Holderied/Cathy François (Toyota Celica GT-4) – 8^th

Maria Paola Fracassi/Rebecca Lumachi (Fiat Cinquecento) – 54^th (Challenge Prince Albert class)

1998

Roberta Rossi/Laura Bionda (Fiat Cinquecento Sporting) – 40^th

1999

Isolde Holderied/Cathy François (Toyota Corolla WRC) – 13^th

2000

Marta Candian/Mara Biotti (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V) – 46^th

(Images from http://forums.vwvortex.com/ and copyright McKlein)

The Coupe des Dames in the Monte Carlo Rally: Part II

Ann Wisdom and Pat Moss with their Austin A40, 1959

During the 1950s and ‘60s, the Coupe des Dames was considered important enough for manufacturer teams, such as Rootes and BMC, to field ladies’ crews on the Monte, in the hope of winning. As rallying progressed towards being more of a speed-based than navigational discipline in the 1960s, the prize still kept its cachet. During this time, Pat Moss was the driver to beat, often challenging for outright wins as well as ladies’ prizes. Part 1 Part 3

1950

Germaine Rouault/Regine Gordine (Simca Eight) – 16^th

1951

Fernande de Cortanze/Ginette François Sigrand  (Peugeot 203) – 61st

1952

Greta Molander/Helga Lundberg (Saab 92) – 91st

1953

Madeleine Pochon/Iréne Terray (Renault 4CV) – 49th

1954

Madeleine Pochon/Lise Renaud (Renault) – 7^th

1955

Sheila van Damm/Francoise Clark/Anne Hall (Sunbeam Talbot) – 11th

Madeleine Blanchoud and Lucienne Alziary de Roquefort with their Porsche, 1956

1956

Madeleine Blanchoud/Lucienne Alziary de Roquefort (Porsche 356) – 29th

1957

No rally held

1958

Madeleine Blanchoud/Renée Wagner (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint) – 26th

1959

Pat Moss/Ann Wisdom (Austin A40) – 10^th

1960

Pat Moss/Ann Wisdom (Austin A40) – 17^th

1961

Anne Hall/Valerie Domleo (Ford Anglia) – 44th

1962

Pat Moss/Ann Wisdom (Morris Cooper) – 26th

1963

Ewy Rosqvist/Ursula Wirth (Mercedes 220SE) – 16^th

1964

Pat Moss-Carlsson/Ursula Wirth (Saab 96) – 5th

1965

Pat Moss-Carlsson/Liz Nystrom (Saab 96) – 3rd

1966

Lucette Pointet/Françoise Houillon (Citroen DS21) – 46th

1967

Sylvia Osterberg/Inga-Lill Edenring (Renault Gordini R8) – 25^th

1968

Pat Moss-Carlsson/Liz Nystrom (Lancia Fulvia HF) – 14th

1969

Pat Moss-Carlsson/Liz Nystrom (Lancia Fulvia HF) – 6th

1970

Marie-Claude Beaumont/Martine de la Grandrive (Opel Commodore GS/E) – 22nd

1971

Hannelore Werner/Oda Dencker-Andersen (BMW 2002 Ti) – 17th

1972

Pat Moss-Carlsson/Liz Crellin (Alpine-Renault A110) – 10^th

(Images from http://www.johnrossmotorracingarchive.co.uk/ and http://mk1-forum.net/)

Rosadele Facetti

Rosadele Facetti in 1969

Rosadele Facetti was an Italian driver who raced in Formula 3 in the late 1960s.

Rosadele had the advantage of being born into a motor-racing family. Her father, Piero, had worked as a racing mechanic in the early days of Formula One, for the likes of Alberto Ascari and Piero Taruffi. Her two brothers, Giuliano and Carlo, also raced. (Carlo went on to be very successful.) Rosadele and Carlo sometimes raced together, and against each other.

References are made to her having begun her career in 1962, in touring cars. The Facetti family was often associated with Lancia cars, so her first car may well have been one of them. However, her age seems to suggest that she was not active until somewhat later, as she is described as being only twenty years old in 1966, in other sources. The results of any touring car championship held in the early 1960s in Italy are not forthcoming. In 1965, her name starts to appear in the entry lists for hillclimbs. In 1965, she was ninth overall in the Malegno-Borno climb, driving a Lancia Fulvia, just two-and-a-half seconds below her brother, Giuliano, in an Alfa Romeo. She won the class for 1150cc touring cars. The same year, she is also pictured taking part in the Sarezzo-Lumezzane hillclimb. She won the first of two consecutive Italian women’s championships that year.

The family received delivery of a Lancia Fulvia 2C in 1966, which was raced that year by Rosadele. She was active once more in hillclimbs, and is recorded as having finished fourth in class in the Coppa Teodori.

In 1967, she made her first major international appearance, and her first races in a formula car. Her brother, Carlo, had become involved with Tecno single-seaters the previous season, and in 1967, they both drove Tecno TF/66s for Scuderia Madunina. Their racing schedule included the Argentine Formula 3 championship. Rosadele was 20^th in her first race at Mar del Plata, but during the second, was involved in a serious accident in which spectators were killed. She was not badly injured herself, but played no further role in the championship.

The accident at Mar del Plata must have been quite traumatic for her, but she did not give up, and rarely, if ever, spoke about it to the press. In 1968, she went back to driving Lancia GT cars, and entered the Targa Florio. She and Pat Moss were sharing a Lancia Fulvia HF. The two women, both from motoring families and with famous racing brothers, got on very well. Rosadele later spoke about her esteem for Pat, who shared some of her driving tips and tricks. They were 19^th overall and ninth in class.

Rosadele was less visible in 1969, although she carried on competing in a Fulvia, often in hillclimbs. This continued into 1970, when she won her class in the La Castellana-Orvieto climb and the Coppa Teodori.

In 1971, she entered the Italian Group 4 championship, driving a 1300cc Fulvia. She was eleventh in the Trieste-Opicina hillclimb and 21^st in the Trento-Bondone climb. She entered the Cesana-Sestriere event, but did not finish. In a rare circuit outing, she was third in the Lombardi AC Trophy 1300 race, at Monza, at the end of the season.   

The following year, she had a second run in the Targa Florio. Moving out of her comfort zone once more, she shared an Opel Commodore with Marie-Claude Beaumont. They did not finish, due to an engine problem during their second lap, whilst Rosadele was driving.

The rest of her sporting year was quite similar to 1971. She drove a Fulvia in some of the hillclimb rounds of the Italian championship, and was eleventh in Group 4 in the Trieste-Opicina event. This was the best of her three finishes that year, driving for the Jolly Club team. She did enter the Rieti-Terminillo hillclimb in an Opel GT for the Conrero team, with whom she raced in the Targa Florio. For reasons unknown, she did not make the start.

1973 saw the Italian touring car championship becoming a circuit-based series, and Rosadele did not enter that year. She was only really happy when driving uphill on twisty mountain roads; it is unusual that she did not take to rallying. She remained active in hillclimbing, and was second in the Group 4 class of the Malegno-Borno climb, in her usual Fulvia. She was one place below Erasmo Bologna, who would become her husband.  

After this, she fades from the scene, although she is mentioned as being involved in supporting her brothers in their racing endeavours.

During her career, Rosadele sometimes used the nom de course of “Faros”.

(Image copyright Actualfoto)

Paola della Chiesa

Marisa Zambrini and Paola della Chiesa, (first and second left), pose for photos with their team-mates in 1954

Paola della Chiesa mostly drove in rallies in Italy in the 1950s. She was associated most with the Lancia Aurelia, and was very successful in the women-only events of the time.

This Italian noblewoman, from Turin, competed both before and after World War II, often alongside her husband, Luigi. She began racing after her marriage, having been introduced to motorsport by her husband. Prior to this, she had not had much interest in cars.

They entered the 1938 Mille Miglia together, driving a Fiat 1100 Sport, but did not finish. Paola was acting as a navigator, with Luigi driving. Not long after this, motorsport in Europe ceased for World War II.

Once peace returned to Italy, it took a while for races and rallies to get going again. It was not long before Paola and Luigi were active once more. “Shortly after the War”, Luigi pushed Paola to enter a Concours d’Elegance. In 1949, the two entered the Coppa della Toscana, known as the “Little Mille Miglia”, together, and were thirteenth overall. The make of their car is not recorded, but it may have been a Cisitalia 202, which Paola is known to have driven. She and Maria Teresa de Filippis both entered this race, and earned much press attention, not all of it related to their driving. Some media sources have them as team-mates.

By 1951, she was driving solo. She entered the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti, driving an Ermini Fiat 1100, but did not finish.

In 1952, she began racing a Lancia Aurelia, which would become a favoured car for her for the next few years. In May, she won the first edition of the Rallye Femminile Perla di Sanremo, a women-only event. Her car was a 2500cc Aurelia B20. It was not just all-female rallies she entered this year; she also drove in the Alpine Rally, in the Aurelia, but had to retire with brake failure, a rare disappointing experience with the car. Luigi was her navigator that year, and was apparently so shaken by his experiences that he did not volunteer again.

1953’s motorsport season began with another win, in the Paris-St. Raphaël women’s rally. This was the first win for an Italian driver in the event’s history. Once more, she was driving the Lancia Aurelia, which proved more reliable this time. That year, she registered for a second attempt at the Mille Miglia, sharing a Fiat 1100 with Yvonne Simon, but they did not make the start, for undisclosed reasons.

Later, in 1954, she drove a Lancia Aurelia again, in Italy. That year, she was second in class in the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo hillclimb. Paola claimed that hillclimbs were her best events. In the same car, she won the Santa Margherita-San Lorenzo climb, a women-only event. This made up for the slight disappointment of second places in both the Paris-St. Raphaël and Perla di Sanremo rallies. For the Sanremo rally, she was driving an Alfa Romeo 1900, for a change. Her navigator this year was Marisa Zambrini.

In the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo hillclimb in 1955, she was fifth in the over 2500cc class, in the Aurelia. She was also second in the Alghero-Scala Piccada women’s hillclimb, behind Gilberte Thirion in a Mercedes. In a 1991 interview, she rated Gilberte as one of her most accomplished rivals. Her last big event seems to have been the Perla di Sanremo rally, which she won for a third time, driving her faithful Aurelia.

After that, Paola stopped driving competitively, although she still retained her interest in motorsport. Luigi died in the mid-1950s, and it must have been hard for her to carry on without him, and his support. She also said that she did not particularly like the increasing professionalism of European motorsport; she had thoroughly enjoyed the vibrant social scene that surrounded the rallies of the time. Unlike some female drivers, she liked the special attention that winners of Coupes des Dames received. In 1992, she claimed to have won over a hundred of these trophies, and the assorted prizes of jewellery and other items that went with them.

(This post draws on a 1991 interview with Paola, conducted by Donatella Biffignandi of the National Motor Museum in Turin. The original Italian text can be found here.)

(Image from http://lanciamarino.it)

The Rallye Femminile Perla di Sanremo

Three-time winner, Paola della Chiesa

The Perla di Sanremo Rallye ran between 1952 and 1956. Recently, it was recognised as part of the history of the Rallye Sanremo, and its five editions were included in the yearly event numbering.

The Rallye was one of a number of events for female drivers that existed in Italy in the 1950s. Women-only hillclimbs and circuit races were a feature of Italian motorsport of the time, and attracted some talented drivers in genuine racing cars.

The first Rallye, in 1952, was around 500km long, and consisted of regularity trials, and two speed tests, held at the Ospedaletti circuit and the Poggio dei Fiori. Starting points included Milan, Padua, Monte Carlo, Turin and Lyon. The 1953 Rallye is described by some sources as being a reliability trial only, but this was an exception. Later events had high-speed tests at Monza, and the Colle-San Bartolomeo hillclimb. The distances covered gradually increased over the years, up to 1000km by the end, run over three days, rather than two.

Numbers of crews varied, but 22 was the largest entry.

The Rallye was cancelled after the closure of the Ospedaletti track, and a change in the rules about motorsport on public roads.

Contessa Paola della Chiesa was the star of the Perla di Sanremo, winning three times. She was also successful in other women’s events, and took part in mixed competition too. The young Luisa Rezzonico managed one win. Ada Pace was another well-known driver who took part at least once, in an Alfa Romeo.

Like all rallies of the time, the Perla di Sanremo had its share of tragedy; Giuliana Pini and her navigator, Margherita Pantaguzzi, were killed in an accident during a road section of the 1954 Rallye.

Winners

1952 Paola della Chiesa (Lancia Aurelia GT)

1953 Luisa Rezzonico (Lancia Aurelia)

1954 Paola della Chiesa (Alfa Romeo 1900)

1955 Paola della Chiesa (Lancia Aurelia B2)

1956 Goffreda Cambieri (Isetta)

(Image from http://www.motorismostorico.it/)