Rallye Paris – Saint-Raphaël Féminin

The Rallye Paris – Saint-Raphaël Féminin was a car rally in France exclusively for female participants. It was held over a 45-year period beginning in 1929 with a hiatus during World War II. The race was typically scheduled for the end of February to the beginning of March (later June) for 4 or 5 days, with the drivers covering a total distance of between 1,100 and 2,500 km (684 and 1,553 mi), depending on the year.

Poster for the 1932 Rallye Paris – Saint-Raphaël Féminin.

History

In 1929, Count Edmé de Rohan-Chabot (28 December 1904 – 5 October 1972, chevalier of the Legion of Honor) created this race. Racers at its first running included the Countess de Lesguern and the Baroness d'Elern.

While there had been other such races, including the Rallye Paris–La Baule pour dames and the Championnat féminin de l’Auto sponsored by the Automobile Club Féminin de France established by the Duchesse d'Uzès in 1927, these eventually ended, leaving the Rallye Paris – Saint-Raphaël the world's only major automobile race reserved for women during the middle part of the 20th century.

The rally consisted of special performance tests, pure navigation sections, and driving tests, with end-points in the cities of Paris and Saint-Raphaël.

The inaugural rally, held 20–24 February 1929, followed a route that went Paris–Vichy–Lyon–Avignon–Miramas–La Ciotat–Hyères–St-Raphaël, covering a distance of 1,087 km (675.4 mi). The race was won by Madame Liétard in a Salmson AL7 GS.

The second rally of 19 February 1930 went Paris–Vichy–Hyères–St-Raphaël, and covered 1,130 km (702.1 mi). By this time the race had already acquired a certain fame. Maurice Philippe became director of the event during the 1930s.[1]

In 1932, Frenchwoman Renée Friderich, daughter of driver Ernest Friderich, died in an accident with her Delage D8. The only other deaths during the event's history were Cathy Pitt, who was killed in 1969 in a head-on collision on a road section, and Marguerite Accarie who died during the 1970 event during the final special stage.[2]

Englishwoman Betty Haig, grand-niece of Marshal Douglas Haig, won the race in 1938. Two years earlier, as the only female competitor, she won the 1936 Olympic Rally in a Singer Le Mans 1500 in the only road-going motorized Olympic demonstration event (powerboating appearing in 1908) never accepted by the IOC. In 1946 she also won the first Coupe des Dames awarded in the post-war period at the revived Coupe des Alpes rally.

In 1972 Count de Rohan-Chabot died, marking the beginning of the decline of the race. Points earned in the 1973 season, still exclusively for female drivers, were counted towards the European Rally Championship (ERC).[3] In 1974 Belgian Christine Beckers won the last Paris – Saint-Raphaël of its 45-year history at the wheel of a Lancia Stratos. This final event was also recognized by the ERC.[4] It also marked the first appearance of Michèle Mouton in a national competition as a driver.

A spiritual successor to the Rallye Paris – Saint-Raphaël Féminin appeared 26 years later with the first running of the Rallye des Princesses in the year 2000.

Winners

List of Rally winners
Year Driver Car
1929Madame LiétardSalmson AL7 GS
1930Madame LiétardSalmson S4
1931Renée Friderich[5]
or Lucienne Radisse
Bugatti Type 43 Grand Sport
or Renault
1932Hellé NiceBugatti Type 35B (supercharged)
1933Marcelle Leblanc[6]Peugeot 301
1934Madame Nenot1Delahaye 138
1935Olga ThibaultPeugeot 201 1084
1936Germaine RouaultDelahaye Sport 3227
1937Germaine RouaultDelahaye Sport 3227[7]
1938Betty HaigMG PB
1939Yvonne SimonHotchkiss Grand Sport
19512Lucienne Alziary de RoquefortPanhard Dyna X
1952Yvonne SimonRenault 4CV 1063
1953Yvonne SimonRenault 4CV 1063
1954Yvonne SimonPanhard Monopole 750
1955Marie-Antoinette ChauvinRenault 4CV 1063
1959Annie SoisbaultTriumph TR3
1961Gabrielle "Gabi" RenaultRenault Dauphine Gordini
1963Lucette PointetCitroën DS 19
1964Claudine Vanson[8]Lancia Flavia Coupé
1966Claudine TrautmannLancia Flavia Zagato
1967Claudine TrautmannLancia Fulvia Coupé Rallye HF
1968Claudine TrautmannLancia Fulvia Coupé Rallye HF
1969Claudine Trautmann (co-driver Marianne Hoepfner)Lancia Fulvia Coupé Rallye HF
1970Marie-Pierre PalayerPorsche 911
1972Marianne HoepfnerAlpine-Renault A110 1600S
1973Marianne HoepfnerAlpine-Renault A110 1600S
1974Christine BeckersLancia Stratos HF
Note:
1Winner of the highest class; Madame Dubuc-Taine won the performance test, all classes combined in a Hotchkiss.
2During the 1950s the difference between a "Professional" and "Amateur" was in dispute.

References

  1. De Nordeck, G. (8 March 1936). "Le VIIIe Paris - Saint-Raphaël Féminin" [The Eighth Paris - Saint-Raphaël Féminin]. Automobile et Tourisme sur la Côte d'azur (in French). Des automobiles-clubs de la Côte d'Azur. p. 9.
  2. H-G, Rachel (16 January 2011). "The Paris—St. Raphaël Rally". speedqueens.blogspot.com.
  3. "1973 European Rally Championship". dlg.speedfreaks.org.
  4. "1974 European Rally Championship". dlg.speedfreaks.org.
  5. "Renée Friderich – con armiño" [Renée Friderich - with armor]. PilotosMuertos.com (in Spanish). 24 February 2007.
  6. "Le championnat féminin de l'automobile" [The women's automobile championship]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). 3 June 1929.
  7. "Le Xme Paris - Saint-Raphaël Féminin" ["The Tenth Paris - Saint-Raphaël Féminin]. Automobile et Tourisme sur la Côte d'azur (in French). Des automobiles-clubs de la Côte d'Azur. December 1937. p. 29.
  8. Claudine Bouchet married two rally racing drivers first Patrick Vanson, and second René Trautmann. She used their surnames on marriage.
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