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Classic Ford - Graham Robson: Female Fiesta Rally Drivers
"Lady Killers"
March 2002
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Graham Robson: Female Fiesta Rally Drivers




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Lady Killers - Ford's search for a new female rally driver in the late 70s uncovered women who surpassed their fields and beat the boys at their own game.

Words and photos Graham Robson

It all started as a bit of banter really. Fielding questions at his annual Motorsport Press Conference in January 1978, Stuart Turner was asked by a journalist: "What are you doing to find a new lady driver, a new Pat Moss?"

Turner, flippant as ever, responded: "Nothing at the moment, but if any of your lady readers out there are interested, tell them to write in." The reaction was immediate.

"I expected 20 or 30 letters," says Stuart in his autobiography, "but the post office nearly had to put on extra deliveries because hundreds replied. Some even sent very revealing photographs of themselves, as if that could ever influence a team manager."

As a result. Ford, with generous sponsorship from Faberge's newly-launched Kiku perfume brand, set out to find a new lady driver. In 1979 Ford asked John Taylor and myself to run a 12-event Championship of six races and six rallies. It specified near-standard Fiesta 1300S cars with 15 women, each taken on by a local RS dealership. It proved to be a triumph.

Although the Championship went to Geunda Eadie, who was already the most experienced club racer of them all, the discovery of the series was 19-year-old Louise Aitken. Louise would become a Ford works driver in 1983, won the World Ladies' Rally Championship and in cars as various as the RS1600i and the Sierra Cosworth 4x4 was as competitive as any man.

Her co-driver in the Faberge series was Anne Kidd. still at school when the 1978 eliminating rounds.....

Captions -

Middle - "Some of the drivers are still unknown, but Louise went on to prove her promise"
Middle-Left - Felicity Kerr drove this Norwich dealer's car throughout the season. She later married Historic Escort rally driver Charles Golding.