Sport

Rosemary Smith, motorsport pioneer, dies aged 86

At age of 79 the queen of Irish motorsport became oldest person to drive a Formula One car

Rosemary Smith, a rally driver who has completed the rallies of Monte Carlo, the Circuit of Ireland, the Safari, London-Mexico, and the epic 17,000km London-Sydney. She is the only woman ever to win the Dutch ‘Tulip’ Rally (in 1965). Detail from photograph by Beta Bajgart for her exhibition A Woman’s Work
Rosemary Smith, a rally driver who has completed the rallies of Monte Carlo, the Circuit of Ireland, the Safari, London-Mexico, and the epic 17,000km London-Sydney. She is the only woman ever to win the Dutch ‘Tulip’ Rally (in 1965). Detail from photograph by Beta Bajgart for her exhibition A Woman’s Work
Tue Dec 05 2023 - 16:54

The death has been announced of Irish motorsport pioneer Rosemary Smith, aged 86.

Smith had an incredible career in motorsport in the 1950s and 1960s initially, with a crowning triumph being her outright victory in the Dutch Tulip Rally of 1965, the equivalent of a World Rally Championship round today. She competed in eight Monte Carlo rallies and finished some of the most arduous long-distance events – the London to Sydney rally (1968) and the 1970 London to Mexico rally.

Willing and capable of competing successfully in all manner of motorsport events, from the 12 Hours of Sebring to Goodwood Revival, Smith topped out her career behind the wheel in 2017 when at 79 she became the oldest person to drive a current specification Formula One car, as she successfully tested the Renault Sport F1 car at Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France.

Speaking to John O’Sullivan of The Irish Times about testing the car at 79, she said, “It was the most exhilarating, terrifying, fantastic [time] and I would love to do it all over again. I had never driven a Formula car except Formula Atlantic many years ago. It was unbelievable.”

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“People asked me were you afraid you would crash? It didn’t enter my head. I resolved that if it was the only thing I achieve, I am not going to stall this Formula One car. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. Now I am sure that my times were pathetically slow but that is neither here nor there. The focus wasn’t on whether I might hurt myself.”

In 2022 she was inducted into FIVA (Federation International des Vehicules Anciens) Hall of Fame. She also won an Irish Times Sportswoman Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

President Michael D Higgins said: “Rosemary Smith should be remembered as one of the most fearless and remarkable Irish sportspeople to have graced the international stage.

Dismissed as a “dolly bird” when she first started rallying, Dubliner Rosemary Smith went on to become a racing legend in the male-dominated world of motorsport and the oldest-ever person to drive a Formula 1 car at the age of 79.

“In an extraordinary motorsport career, she defied all expectations of her time in becoming a renowned force in a sport then, as now, so heavily dominated by men. Her remarkable career, including her 1965 victory in the Tulip Rally, where Rosemary remains the only woman ever to win the race, and so many more victories and achievements besides, stands as a shining example of the great impact which women can have in every area of sport.

“Rosemary Smith’s induction into the FIVA Heritage Hall of Fame in 2022, the first Irish person to be honoured in this way, was a fitting recognition of a truly distinguished contribution to Irish and global sporting life.

“I was pleased, as President of Ireland, to write to her upon that occasion and to pay tribute to the invaluable and generous contribution which Rosemary made to the life and reputation of Irish motorsport.”