Female Drivers in the "Marathon Rallies" of the 1960s and 1970s

Bronwyn Burrell, Katrina Kerridge and Tish Ozanne in 1970

The late 1960s saw the first of a series of cross-continental marathon rallies taking place. The first of these was organised by the Daily Express newspaper in 1968, to show off British engineering and bring some excitement to a rather unsettled Britain. Women drivers took part in all of them.

The Daily Express London-Sydney Marathon Rally, 1968

It was 10,000 miles long, and ran from London to France and Italy, then the former Yugoslavia and further south, before passing through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The cars were then transported by boat to Australia, for the final leg.

The entry list was limited to 100 cars. Four of these were driven by women, and two further crews had female co-drivers. As with the rest of the entry, the female contingent was a mix of seasoned professionals and enthusiastic adventuresses. Rosemary Smith had been tipped to win the Ladies’ award, but ran into trouble up the Khyber Pass and lost time, as well as losing a cylinder in her Lotus Cortina. The winner of the Coupe des Dames was a four-woman, Anglo-Australian crew in the unlikely choice of a Volvo estate. Elsie Gadd, an Australian property surveyor, assembled the team, drafting in British racers, Jenny Tudor-Owen and Sheila Kemp, and Anthea Castell, an Australian ranch-hand with experience of driving in adverse conditions.

In common with many other entries, some of the female teams were sponsored by other media outlets, including Nova fashion magazine (Jean Denton). The Morris 1100 of Eileen Westley was sponsored by the Sydney Telegraph, for which all three drivers worked. It was named “The Galloping Tortoise” in the Australian press, and was prepared by BMC.

The rally was won by Andrew Cowan in a Hillman Hunter. Fifty-six cars finished. Below is a list of all the female finishers.

Elsie Gadd/Anthea Castell/Sheila Kemp/Jenny Tudor-Owen (Volvo 145S Estate) – 41^st

Jean Denton/Tom Boyce (MG B) – 42^nd

Rosemary Smith/Lucette Pointet (Ford Lotus Cortina) – 48^th

Eileen Westley/Minny Macdonald/Jenny Gates (Morris 1100) – 50^th

Sylvia Kay (co-driver to John Cotton in a Peugeot 504) – 21^st

Jenny Brittan (co-driver to Nick Brittan in a Ford Lotus Cortina) – DNF

L-R: Pat Wright, Liz Crellin, Jean Denton

The Daily Mirror London-Mexico World Cup Rally, 1970

The next big marathon rally was themed around that year’s World Cup, which was held in Mexico. It was even longer than its predecessor, at 16,000 miles, and ran through Europe to Spain and Portugal, before transferring to Brazil, and then across South and Central America to Mexico.

Again, the field was a mix of professionals, such as eventual winner, Hannu Mikkola, in a works Ford Escort, and amateurs, including some celebrities, such as footballer Jimmy Greaves. Five female drivers entered, and Rosemary Smith was the best of them. Her car was an Austin Maxi, continuing the trend for unlikely rally cars winning the Coupe des Dames.

Below are the results for the female crews.

Rosemary Smith/Alice Watson/Ginette Derolland (Austin Maxi) – 10^th

Jean Denton/Pat Wright/Liz Crellin (Morris 1800) – 18^th

Claudine Trautmann/Colette Perrier (Citroen DS 21) – 24th

Patricia Ozanne/Katrina Kerridge/Bronwyn Burrell (Austin Maxi) - DNF

Lavinia Roberts/David Jones/Arthur Hazelrigg (Ford Mustang) – DNF

London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, 1974

The second World Cup Rally contained quite a lot of improvisation. The route between London and Munich was not long or dramatic enough, so the organisers added in a huge loop through Spain, North Africa, and as far south as Nigeria, before travelled back up through Turkey, the Balkans and Italy, to Germany. This caused untold problems, as the route itself was not well-plotted, and a large number of competitors got lost in the desert. Out of seventy starters, nineteen finished. Only five cars completed the full route; among them were the Team Aseptogyl Peugeots of Christine Dacremont and Claudine Trautmann. The rally was not as well-supported this year, due to the 1973 oil crisis and financial pressures on the works teams. It was not revived in 1978.

Christine Dacremont/Yveline Vannoni (Peugeot 504) – 2^nd

Claudine Trautmann/Marie-Odile Desvignes (Peugeot 504) – 4^th

Anne O’Connell (co-driver to Mike O’Connell in a Ford Escort Mexico) – DNF

Singapore Airlines London-Sydney Marathon Rally, 1977

A final big marathon rally was held in 1977, a new edition of the original London-Sydney event. Some of the manufacturers came back on board, including Mercedes, who dominated the rally, and Leyland. Very few women took part, apart from those in Team Aseptogyl diesel Fiats.

Christine Dacremont/Yveline Vannoni (Fiat 131 Diesel) – DNF

Marianne Hoepfner (co-driver to Bob Neyret in a Fiat 131 Diesel) – 15^th

Further revivals of the Marathon took place from 1993 onwards, but these were classic events.

(Morris 1800 image copyright Woman Magazine)

Marianne Hoepfner

Marianne had her first taste of motorsport in 1964, at the age of 20. She had been a regular spectator before and was encouraged by her boyfriend to enter some local rallies in her own car. Shortly afterwards, the pair married, Marianne Trintignant became Marianne Hoepfner and a 20-year career had begun.

For several seasons, she stuck with local events, taking part in hillclimbs as well as rallies. Her first big result was her win in the 1969 Paris-St. Raphaël event, driving an Alpine A110. She was in the navigator’s seat this time, at the side of Claudine Trautmann.

After her Paris-St. Raphaël triumph, Marianne returned to the French scene, taking in hillclimbs in an Alpine, as well as rallies. During 1972, she became one of the second group of female Team Aseptogyl drivers, and was supported by the team in most of her motorsport activities. Quickly, she became one of the leading drivers in the team. She remained part of the Aseptogyl set-up until 1979.

Her next big entry was the Tour de Corse in 1972. She and her regular navigator Yveline Vanoni did not finish in their Aseptogyl 1600cc A110. They had better luck in Spain, picking up their first international top ten in the RACE Rally. They were seventh overall and won Group Four. The same pairing in the same car were 31st in the 1972 Tour de France, and they also entered the Rally of Portugal and the Alpine Rally.

In 1973, Marianne’s rally career really began to take off. Still in the Alpine A110, she was 34th in the Monte Carlo Rally, third in class. Later in the year, she travelled to Morocco for the first time, using an 1800cc Alpine. She did not finish, after a driveshaft broke. In May, she won the Paris St. Raphaël event, driving for herself this time. She won the first of her four French ladies’ championships this year.

In 1974, she entered the Press-On-Regardless Rally, in Michigan. It was here that she scored her second international top ten finish: a ninth place, in the A110. At home, her performances were strong enough to retain her Coupe des Dames crown.

The following season, it was time for a change. Marianne left behind the ageing A110 and replaced it with a Peugeot 504. She also gained a new navigator in Christine Fourton. One of the highlights of her rallying year was a seventh place in the Rallye du Maroc. At home, she continued to compete, sometimes using a Peugeot 304 or 309 as well as a 504. By this time, she was an established member of Team Aseptogyl, an all-female motorsport stable run by Bob Neyret and sponsored by a brand of toothpaste. Her best French result was an eighth place in the Rallye Bayonne Cote Basque, where she won her class in a 304. Probably her biggest drive of the year was her second place on the London-Sydney World Cup Rally, driving a Peugeot 504 with Yveline Vanoni.

As well as rallying, Marianne tried some more circuit racing. She was 24th in the Spa 24 Hours, driving a Triumph Dolomite with Jenny Birrell and Christine Beckers. Even more impressively, she won the 2000cc class at Le Mans, driving a Simca-powered Moynet JRD LM75. Her co-drivers were her fellow rallyists, Michele Mouton and Christine Dacremont. They were 21st overall.

In 1976, she repeated her Moroccan result, driving the 504 with “Biche” (Michele Petit) this time. She did not return to Le Mans and seems to have had a quieter year. As ever, she continued to rally primarily in France, and won the last of her Coupe des Dames this year.

She was much more active in 1977, driving a series of different cars. For that year’s Monte, she used a Lancia Stratos HF, but retired on the second stage with suspension problems. Later in the season, she returned to Corsica in a Toyota Celica, but went out early again. She had better luck driving a Team Aseptogyl diesel Fiat 131 on the London-Sydney World Cup Rally. Her final position was thirteenth.

1978 played out in a similar fashion. In the World Rally Championship, Marianne entered the Monte, the Acropolis Rally and the Tour de Corse, driving a Toyota Celica and a Fiat 127 respectively. She did not finish either later event, as the Celica’s suspension went again and all the Aseptogyl-run Fiats retired with various mechanical problems that year. She did get to the end of the Monte in a Citroen, but was in 76th position. Problems also put her out of Le Mans in the 19th hour. She was sharing a WMP P76 Peugeot prototype with Christine Dacremont and the head gasket failed.

As well as rallying, at home and abroad, Marianne returned to Le Mans. She drove an Aseptogyl-sponsored Lancia Stratos with Christine Dacremont, but their engine failed in the fifth hour.

On the WRC front, things improved slightly in 1979, if only that Marianne made it to the finish without her car self-destructing. She was 43rd in Monte Carlo, driving a Citroen CX 2400 with Marie-Madeleine Fouquet. This was her only international action of the year, although she continued to compete in the French championship.

Marianne only made one international race appearance in 1980, at Le Mans. She drove a Porsche 934 with the Almeras brothers, Jacques and Jean-Marie, but the team went out late on after damaging their car in a crash. This was her last attempt at the classic French enduro.

On the rallying side, she teamed up with Oda Dencker-Andersen in a Toyota for a couple of events. She was second in the Himalayan Rally in India, driving a Celica. Rough-terrain expert Shekhar Mehta won.

1981 marked her last WRC event, the Rallye Cote d’Ivoire. That year’s rally only had nine finishers and Marianne and her co-driver Biche were not among them. The distributor on their Porsche 924 failed on stage six. Circuit racing proved more fruitful: she was seventh overall in the Spa 24 Hours, assisted by Jean-Louis Trintignant, Derek Bell and Alain Cudini. The car was a BMW 530i run by the WM team.

In 1982 she did some more circuit racing. She drove an Opel and a BMW in touring car races at Mugello and Spa, but the results have not been forthcoming.

After that, Marianne began winding down her career and made fewer big appearances, although she continued to compete in France. Her last international event was the RAC Rally in 1984, driving a works Mazda RX-7 with Biche. Sadly, she was only a reserve driver and did not get to start.

(Image from http://www.echappementclassic.fr/)

Christine Dacremont

Christine Dacremont was a French rally driver and sportscar racer of the 1970s. She competed between 1970 and 1979. She began her career in hillclimbing in 1970, and her first competition car was a Triumph Spitfire. She used the same car in her first rally, the Rallye Fleurs et Parfums at Grasse, also in 1970.

The Triumph was replaced with an Alpine-Renault A110 for 1971, which Christine used in French rallies. Her early results were solid, but unspectacular, the highlights being class seconds in the Rallye D'Ouest and the Paris-St.Raphaël women's rally.

In 1972, she joined Team Aseptogyl as one of its all-female driving squad. This was strangely appropriate. The team was sponsored by a brand of toothpaste and run by Bob Neyret, an ex-dentist, and Christine worked as a dental assistant when not rallying. Her first year with the team was spent in the French championship. She carried on all year, despite being on crutches for part of it, due to a motorcycle accident. Away from the team, she entered her own A110 in the Tour de France, but did not finish.

She continued with the team for the 1973 season. One of her more major outings was the Paris-St.Raphaël, in which she was fourth, in a Fiat 124 Spider. Her biggest rally of the season was her first World Championship event, the Monte Carlo Rally. Co-driven by Marie-Odile Desvignes, she retired before the finish, after the engine of her A110 developed problems. For the rest of the season, she continued to gain experience at home with the Aseptogyl set-up.

The following season, Christine gained her first experience of long-distance events. Driving a Peugeot 504, she took part in a rally raid across the Sahara, followed by the Bandama Rally on the Ivory Coast. She was not among the winners, but the experience stood her in good stead for the World Cup Rally later in the year. The route ran across the Sahara and through Europe to Munich. Christine was second in her Peugeot.

1975 heralded her return to the World Championship stages in Morocco. Unfortunately, she and Marie-Pierre Palayer crashed their Peugeot 504 and had to retire. Luckily, despite the proximity of dates, this did not interfere with Christine's first attempt at Le Mans. She was part of the Moynet-Simca team that won the 2000cc class. Her team-mates were Michele Mouton and Marianne Hoepfner. They were 21st overall.

In 1976, she won two French rallies, in Ardennes and Chataigne, at the wheel of an Alpine A310. On the world stage, she was eighth in the Rallye du Maroc and fourth in in the gruelling Bandama Rally, in a Peugeot 504. During her career, Christine proved that she was much more comfortable in endurance events, and on rough terrain. This year, her co-driver was Yveline Vannoni, who was previously the navigator for Marianne Hoepfner. Later in the year, Christine tried out a Lancia Stratos rally car, having sampled Stratos power in her second Le Mans. She partnered Lella Lombardi, and was 22nd, second in class.

The following year, she was sixth in Monte Carlo, driving the Stratos with Colette Galli. This remains one of the highest female finishes to date. The Stratos brought less joy at Le Mans: Christine and Marianne Hoepfner retired after only five hours with engine trouble. More trouble struck on the World Cup Rally, which was the most ambitious yet, running from London to Sydney. Team Aseptogyl entered two diesel-powered Fiat 131s, one for Christine and Yveline and one for Marianne Hoepfner and Bob Neyret. Christine was involved in a serious accident near Darwin and spent three months in hospital recovering, wiping out the rest of her season. Thankfully, she made a full recovery.

She returned to the stages once more in January 1978, for the Monte Carlo Rally. Her car, still run by Team Aspetogyl, was a diesel Citroen 2500 CX. She was off the pace in 69th, but not far behind the first diesel finisher, Claude Laurent in a Volkswagen. She also entered the Tour de Corse in a smaller, more proven Fiat 127, but did not finish after an oil line broke.

1978 also saw her last Le Mans appearance. She and Marianne Hoepfner drove a Peugeot WMP P76 prototype run by Aspetogyl. They lasted until the 19th hour, before a head gasket blew. Throughout the latter part of their careers, Christine and Marianne often drove together, sometimes navigating for one another in French rallies. Christine read the maps for other Aseptogyl drivers on occasion, including Corinne Koppenhague.

1979 was her last year of competition. Her main event was the Paris-Dakar Rally. She drove a Lada and does not appear to have finished. Team Aseptogyl did not last much longer, disappearing at the end of the season, although Bob Neyret returned in 1983 with an all-female driving squad for the Monte. Christine was no longer a part, nor were any of the previous major Aseptogyl drivers.

(Image copyright Libol)