Rosemary Smith RIP
Discussion
Sad to see that Rosemary Smith died the other day. She was one of the first real woman rally drivers back in the 60's
She won the Tulip Rally outright in a Hillman Imp and drove for Rootes, Ford and BMC in all the big international rallies such as Money Carlos, Safari, Liege Sofia Liege as well as the London Sydney Marathon and the World cup Rally to Mexico. She was a brisk circuit racer as well.
Glamorous, outspoken and quick...good combination. Her autobiography is a good read.
Great girl!
She won the Tulip Rally outright in a Hillman Imp and drove for Rootes, Ford and BMC in all the big international rallies such as Money Carlos, Safari, Liege Sofia Liege as well as the London Sydney Marathon and the World cup Rally to Mexico. She was a brisk circuit racer as well.
Glamorous, outspoken and quick...good combination. Her autobiography is a good read.
Great girl!
I saw her in various machinery in the 70s , notably a Renault Alpine and I recall she was also invited to drive the Renault turbo F1 car as well as a PR exercise . It is a shame , but understandable , that her death will largely go unremarked on PH , where the typical poster is in their 30s or 40s. It explains why , when a giant of motor sport like Dan Gurney dies, only a few bother to remember him but if a guy who drove cars in films like Paul Walker checks out there is an orgy of commemoration and ' thoughts and prayers' .
coppice said:
I saw her in various machinery in the 70s , notably a Renault Alpine and I recall she was also invited to drive the Renault turbo F1 car as well as a PR exercise . It is a shame , but understandable , that her death will largely go unremarked on PH , where the typical poster is in their 30s or 40s. It explains why , when a giant of motor sport like Dan Gurney dies, only a few bother to remember him but if a guy who drove cars in films like Paul Walker checks out there is an orgy of commemoration and ' thoughts and prayers' .
Indeed it's a shame in my opinion - Rosemary was prolific in her time and more than the equal of her peers, great driver.RIP Rosemary, hopefully she's up there hanging the arse out on a Hillman Imp on some slippery rally stage somewhere!
As a lifelong Imp enthusiast, Rosemary's exploits are well known.
I learnt to drive in an Imp in the 60s, my first car owned was an Imp, featured in UK monthly car mag and praised by told the high miles suggested it needed a 'de-coke', so put it in for a engine overhaul with 'expert' mechanic. First ever engine stripped down was an Imp (after the 'expert'' mechanic f
ked it up), never looked back. First gearbox (transaxle) stripped down and rebuilt was Imp, my second car was an Imp, my third, my fourth, went on honeymoon in one, bought and flogged them at profit and owned several Imp powered Ginetta G15s etc.
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That's enough from me, a mere mortal. I see coppice mentions Rosemary's drive in the F1 car...
Here you go, what a woman!
[url]
I learnt to drive in an Imp in the 60s, my first car owned was an Imp, featured in UK monthly car mag and praised by told the high miles suggested it needed a 'de-coke', so put it in for a engine overhaul with 'expert' mechanic. First ever engine stripped down was an Imp (after the 'expert'' mechanic f
ked it up), never looked back. First gearbox (transaxle) stripped down and rebuilt was Imp, my second car was an Imp, my third, my fourth, went on honeymoon in one, bought and flogged them at profit and owned several Imp powered Ginetta G15s etc.|That's enough from me, a mere mortal. I see coppice mentions Rosemary's drive in the F1 car...
Here you go, what a woman!
[url]
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