Racing Carrer

Born Kathleen Coad Defries in Toronto, Canada, she came to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in her twenties, where she married aviator Henry A Petre in 1929. Kay Petre was a star at the legendary Brooklands track, and the exploits of this 4' 10" lady caused a media sensation at the time. The abiding image of Kay is a tiny woman seated in a huge 10.5 litre V12 Delage

Delage

Delage was a French luxury automobile and racecar company founded in 1905 by Louis Delage in Levallois-Perret near Paris; it was acquired by Delahaye in 1935 and ceased operation in 1953.-History:...

. This was the car in which she battled for the Women's Outer Circuit Record at Brooklands

Brooklands

Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...

 with Gwenda Stewart. Kay gained the upper hand on 26 October 1934 with a 129.58 mph lap, but in August 1935 Gwenda fought back with a faster lap. A determined Kay took her record back the same day with a 134.75 mph pass but Gwenda, driving the Derby-Miller, had the last laugh three days later at 135.95 mph.

At Brooklands: "Kay Petre got three lap records, her first two in 1934, first in a Bugatti at 124 mph then in a Delage at 129.58 mph. In 1935 she used the Delage to achieve 134.75."

Although she is always associated with the Delage, Kay started racing in a Wolseley Hornet Special bought for her by her husband. She also raced an Invicta

Invicta (car)

Invicta is a British automobile manufacturer. The brand has been available intermittently through successive decades. Initially, the manufacturer was based in Cobham, Surrey, England from 1925 to 1933, then in Chelsea, London, England from 1933 to 1938 and finally in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

 and a Bugatti

Bugatti

Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....

 in which she won a handicap race in 1935. However, she was most successful in a series of Rileys. She was ninth in the Mountain Grand Prix at Brooklands in a Riley

Riley (automobile)

Riley was a British motorcar and bicycle manufacturer from 1890. The company became part of the Nuffield Organisation in 1938 and was later merged into British Leyland: late in 1969 British Leyland announced their discontinuance of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK...

 1.5 in 1934, against tough opposition. Her first visit to Le Mans

Le Mans

Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...

 was also that year. She and Dorothy Champney finished thirteenth, driving a Riley Ulster Imp. The Riley connection continued next year but Kay and Elsie "Bill" Wisdom failed to finish with a blown engine.

Between 1934 and 1936, Kay was a regular at all the big British races like the Brooklands 500 Miles and Double Twelve Hours, plus sports car

Sports car

A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....

 races at Donington Park

Donington Park

Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...

 and Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...

. She partnered some big names, such as Dudley Benjafield

Dudley Benjafield

Joseph Dudley Benjafield, MD was born on 6 August 1887, in Edmonton, London, UK. He attended the University of London and received his MD from University College Hospital in 1912...

 and Prince Bira

Prince Bira

12th, 1956 Melbourne, Star 19th, 1960 Rome, Star 22nd, 1964 Tokio, Dragon 21st, 1972 Munich, TempestPrince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh better known as Prince Bira of Siam , or by his nom de course B...

 of Siam

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. She also drove in rallies and was an accomplished hillclimb

Hillclimbing

Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....

 driver, claiming the Ladies' Record at Shelsley Walsh

Shelsley Walsh

Shelsley Walsh is a small village in Worcestershire, England at the top of a the western valley side of the River Teme.Its population at the time of the 2001 Census was just 31, but the village's name is widely known among motorsport enthusiasts because of its association with the Shelsley Walsh...

 twice.

In 1937 Petre travelled to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 for the Grand Prix motor racing

Grand Prix motor racing

Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...

 season with her Riley. Here she befriended the legendary Bernd Rosemeyer

Bernd Rosemeyer

Bernd Rosemeyer was a German racing driver.- Career :...

, who was racing for Auto Union. Competing against him and other top drivers of the day, she drove in three Grands Prix, scoring a sixth place in the Grosvenor GP at Cape Town, but failing to finish the others. In September 1937, she went to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 to race a "Grasshopper" Austin

Austin Motor Company

The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...

 in the Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 to Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 rally.

She was driving for the works Austin

Austin Motor Company

The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...

 team at Brooklands in September 1937 when her career was ended by a terrible accident. During practice for the 500 Mile race, Reg Parnell

Reg Parnell

Reginald Harold Haslam Parnell was a racing driver and team manager from England. He participated in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of 9 championship points.-Driving career:Before World War II Parnell was a very successful racing...

 misjudged an overtaking move, lost speed, slid down the banking and hit her Austin Seven from behind. She crashed badly and was seriously injured. She never raced competitively again.

Much later, she designed fabric patterns for the interior of the Mini

Mini

The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...

 and was a motoring journalist. She died in 1994, at the age of ninety-one.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Result	Team	Car	Class
1934 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 12th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 16 and 17 1934.-Official results:-Did Not Finish:-Statistics:* Fastest Lap – #9 Luigi Chinetti / Philippe Étancelin – 5:41* Distance – 2886.938 km...	13	Miss Dorothy Champney	Riley Nine Ulster Imp	1.1
1935 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 13th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 1935.-Official results:-Did not finish:-Statistics:* Fastest Lap – #10 Earl Howe – 5:47.9* Distance – 3006.797 km...	DNF	Riley Motor Company	Riley Nine MPH Six Racing	1.5
1937 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 14th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 19 and 20 June 1937.This race saw the death of two drivers in a single accident...	DNF	R. Marsh	Austin 7 Austin 7 The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...	750