Nancy Mitchell

Nancy Mitchell was a British rally driver active mainly during the 1950s and early 1960s, regarded as one of the prominent female figures in European motorsport of her era. She came to competition relatively late, around 1947, when her husband gave her a HRG sports car with which she began taking part in rallies and hillclimbs in the United Kingdom and on the continent. During the early 1950s she competed in various vehicles — among them HRG, Sunbeam-Talbot and Ford Zephyr — taking part in international events such as the Rally de Monte-Carlo, the Alpine Rally and the RAC Rally. Her sporting progress led her to join official BMC team structures, with which she drove MG and Austin-Healey models in major European rallies. Her greatest successes came in the mid-1950s: Mitchell won the European Ladies' Rally Championship in 1956 and 1957, as well as claiming several victories in the ladies' category in gruelling endurance events such as the Liège-Rome-Liège, one of the most demanding rallies of the era. She also competed in circuit racing, hillclimbs and endurance events such as the Mille Miglia, demonstrating remarkable versatility as a driver.