Kay Petre
Kathleen Coad " Kay " Petre ( born May 10, 1903 in Toronto, † August 10 1994 in Camden ) was a Canadian auto racing driver and journalist.
Origin and family
Kay Petre was born as Kathleen Coad Defries in Toronto and was very athletic as a child. They sought a career as a figure skater and came in the 1920s to Great Britain, where the sport at that time had a high priority. There she met the aviator Henry Petre, whom she married in 1929. The marriage remained childless. Henry Petre died in 1962.
She herself died in 1994 at the age of 91 years in the London Borough of Camden.
Motorsport
Kay Petre came in the early 1930 years indirectly through your husband motorsport. Henry Petre was stationed as a professional aviator for a postal service at the airport in close proximity to the Brooklands circuit. There his wife came up with the record rides on this race track in contact and decided to do to be a racing driver. Their first race car she got from her husband as a birthday present; a red Wolseley Hornet Daytona Special. With this she went with some club races at the start and swapped the car in 1934 to a 2-liter Bugatti.
Record attempts at Brooklands
Within a short time the Canadian in the UK was known. This was mainly due to their record driving on the Brooklands circuit, where she met her Bugatti aufstellte some new class records beginning 1934. For the media were particularly interesting duels with Gwenda Stewart, who also conducted high -speed runs at Brooklands. The most famous photograph from this time shows the attractive and petite Kay Petre at the wheel of a 10.5 - liter V12 Grand Prix Delage from the year 1924. In a time when women at the wheel of vehicles were still a rarity, was a record driver a real sensation. On 26 October 1934, it set a new world record for a flying lap with an average speed of 129.580 mph. This record was only marginally improved in 1935 by Stewart before Petre with 134.750 mph broke the 130 -mile barrier. She was the first woman in the world, achieved by a flying lap with an average speed over 130 miles. So she could reach the pedals, had wooden blocks are screwed on this.
The record was improved by Stewart little later on a derby with Miller engine and increased eventually by John R. Cobb at 143 mph.
Sports car racing
In 1934, she was the 24- hour race at Le Mans and has shared the wheel of a Riley Nine Ulster Imp with Dorothy Champney, who had also reported the car. The Damenduo finished the race in the 13th position in the overall standings. In 1935 she went with Dudley Benjafield the 500-mile race at Brooklands, but fell with a cylinder Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 damage on from. At Le Mans they counted on this year's works team of Riley. Again, her team mate was a woman. She denied the race with Elsie Wisdom, wife of Tommy Wisdom. The gig ended prematurely after an engine failure.
In 1936, she was reported for the RAC Tourist Trophy as a partner of Prince Bira, but did not get to drive, because the Thais did not appear at the appointed pit stop.
In 1937 she took part in the first Grand Prix race. She traveled to South Africa and went with a 1.5 -liter Riley at the Grand Prix of South Africa and at the edge of the Grand Prix at the start; both races they could not finish. In South Africa, she learned Bernd Rosemeyer know and thereby came to a test drive with a Auto Union Type C. rumors of an affair between her and Bernd Rosemeyer were vehemently denied even years later by Elly Beinhorn.
At Le Mans they drove a factory Austin 7 and ended the 12 - hour race at Donington as 16th overall.
Serious accident at Donington
The racing career of Kay Petre ended during practice for the 500-mile race at Brooklands 1937. During training Petre collided in the steep turn with the MG K3 Magnets by Reginald Parnell. Here, the Austin 7 was pushed down into a barrier, overturned and buried the Canadians among themselves. With severe head injuries, she was rescued, was in a coma for several days, but could recover. In 1938 she took with some acclaimed parade laps at Brooklands officially say goodbye to the racing. But they earned as a passenger by Anne -Cecile Rose- Itier some rally events, including the Monte Carlo Rally.
After the Second World War she worked until retirement as a journalist and as a designer for the interior at Austin.