Elsie ‘Bill’ Wisdom, Gwenda Hawkes and Jill Scott were just three of the women who spent their days motor racing at the world’s first purpose built track – Brooklands in Surrey. In the 1920’s and 30’s it attracted leading drivers of the day – many of them women. Even the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland was a fan – she spent much of her time at Brooklands, fighting the cause of women who wanted to race there. As the Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton lines up on the grid this weekend in Hungary, there won’t be a single woman alongside him, but back in the 1930’s women raced in male teams and regularly beat their male competitors. Nicola Swords visited Brooklands and discovered that one of the greatest drivers of her day was Kay Petre.
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