Part 3 - Racing Cars Driven by Female Champions

The history of rallying has changed considerably over the years: today's world has forced organisers to adjust their approach to races that no longer have the adventurous dimension they once had. From long-distance races such as Liège-Rome-Liège or Monte Carlo itself, with its stage starts in cities that were far from the Principality such as Rome, Athens, or Prague, all winding their way to Monaco for the final battles on the French Alps and the famous Col de Turini, we have moved on to races where short and difficult special stages determine the ranking.

Pat Moss, over 100 international rallies contested, with his famous brother Stirling. Same last name, both champions

There are three women who played a significant role in the adventures of a time when both members of the crew were called to drive with commitment and speed. There could have been a fourth if we added Marie Claude Beaumont, who later passed to racing circuits and whom we met in the second chapter of this female pride and courage series, but for now, we’ll focus on Pat Moss, Claudine Bouchet and Michèle Mouton with her partner Fabrizia Pons.

Pat Moss with her Austin Healey 3000 won the 1960 Liège-Rome-Liège

Pat, the younger sister of the great Stirling Moss, achieved a great number of successes behind the wheel of an impressive range of very different cars. She competed in no less than 118 rallies, including the East African Safari and Liège-Rome-Liège, which she won driving an Austin Healey 3000 that is still perfectly preserved and sporting the original period race number. Her ability to quickly adapt to different cars, something she shared with the other famous member of the Moss family, among many other qualities, allowed her to excel with the Saab 96 and Mini Cooper, with the Ford Cortina GT and Fulvia HF, as well as with more sporty models such as the Alpine Renault A110 and the aforementioned Austin Healey.

Claudine Bouchet talks to her racing partner René Trautmann before a special stage

During the same period, between 1960 and 1970, the name of Claudine Bouchet, a Frenchwoman, entered the legend of rallying. Her romantic story involved divorcing her husband to join her racing partner René Trautmann, and their sporting life would always see them united. They achieved many international successes, mainly with the Citroën DS and the Lancia Flavia coupé, Zagato, and Fulvia HF.

The Lancia Flavia Zagato with which Claudine Bouchet was the protagonist in the European Rally Championship

The undisputed Queen of Rally, however, is Michèle Mouton, who missed out on the 1982 World title for a circumstance as sad as it was unfortunate. With her faithful race partner Fabrizia Pons, when she was largely in the lead in the final race of the season on the Ivory Coast, driving the official works Audi Quattro, she went off the road and rolled her car. Mouton had just received news that her father, the man who had helped her in her brilliant career and to whom she was very close, had succumbed to cancer. She did not comment but, it’s commonly agreed that a momentary of lack of concentration due to her loss denied her the most beautiful title she could have aspired to. It was Walter Röhrl, running in second place, who inherited the win and took the title.

Michèle Mouton, a great protagonist of rallies in the early 1980s with Audi together with her faithful navigator Fabrizia Pons

Mouton's strength is evident as she remains the only woman to have achieved outright victories in World Championship races, such as San Remo, Acropolis, Portugal, and Brazil, all with the official Audi Quattro. But she had put herself in the spotlight already at her debut with the Fiat 131 Abarth, so much so that Audi's new factory team called her unexpectedly and signed her on the spot, an incredible achievement.

Last race and last victory for Michèle Mouton: record and only woman to have conquered the famous American Pikes Peak hillclimb