Friday, August 27, 2010

“If you race fast cars, one of the risks you take is that one day you might cop it.”


If any of us digs deeply enough into our family histories we will probably find someone who was fairly amazing in one way or another. I have recently learned about such a person in my family, one Kathleen “Kay” Petre (born Kathleen Coad Defries in 1903), my great great Aunt. Mom used to tell me that “Aunty Kay” was one of the first female racecar drivers, but I wrote this off as just a piece a family mythology, an interest piquing tidbit created by a little liberal interpretation. But it turns out that it’s true. I hadn’t known her last name until my Grandma Kyra (born Kyra Defries) pointed her out to me in a book on racing history. After learning her last name it was easy to find more information about her.

Kay Petre is often associated with the 10.5 litre Delage DH V12 that she sometimes drove (pictured above). This is not surprising since that car itself held the land speed record for one week in 1924. She didn’t set the land speed record, but she did distinguish herself in that Delage by being the first woman ever to top 130 mph at the historic Brooklands racetrack in England. It wasn't only time trials where she excelled, though. She won a handicap race in 1935 in a Bugatti, placed ninth in open competition at the Mountain Grand Prix in 1935 (Driving a Riley 1.5), twice set the female record for hill-climbs at Shelsley Walsh and even drove in the Le Mans multiple times, finishing thirteenth in 1934 on her first try (in a Riley Ulster Imp). And she did all of this with wooden blocks attached to the pedals because she was only 4' 10''.

It’s true that racecars today are faster, but Nascar and Formula 1 have spent tens of millions of dollars on state-of-the-art safety features for their cars. Aunty Kay had a leather helmet and swimming goggles. No Lexan windshields, no five-point harnesses, no crumple zones, not even a steel roll-cage; just 3300lbs of steel and rubber flying around the track as fast as possible. Sadly, the dangerousness of her sport eventually caught up to her:

In 1937 Kay’s circuit racing career came to a dramatic end. During practice for the Brooklands 500 Miles, she was involved in a horrible accident which she was lucky to survive. Reg Parnell stalled above her on the banking, slid down and hit her Austin Seven, rolling it down the banking and crushing Kay underneath it. She suffered severe head injuries and was lucky to survive. After being in a coma for a few days and undergoing surgery to her head and face, she eventually made a good recovery, the only permanent damage being some paralysis of one side of her face.
After her recovery, Kay made one final appearance at Brooklands in 1938, driving the White Riley. Whether it was an actual race, public practice or merely some parade laps is unclear. She was cheered enthusiastically by the crowds but had lost her nerve and did not race there again. At this time, she was campaigning for Reg Parnell to have his racing licence returned. The authorities blamed him for the accident and revoked it, although Kay herself never held him responsible and eventually he was allowed back behind the wheel. her views were “If you race fast cars, one of the risks you take is that one day you might cop it!” (sportscars.tv)

I think the fact that she campaigned for Reg Parnell's reinstatement is as telling about her character as any of the adventurous things she accomplished while racing. From it we can infer that she was not simply a daredevil or adrenaline junkie; she was someone who understood the risks and took personal responsibility for them. When things did go wrong, she didn't passively accept their detriment to other people involved; she did what she could to correct them. It's a pity that I never met her. After all, she lived until 1994, albeit mostly in England. She was Canadian, though, born in Toronto. This is why she's in the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame, and from what I can tell, she's the only woman in it to boot.

sportscars.tv

wikipedia

girlracer.co.uk


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