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I never met Kay Petre, but spoke briefly on the 'phone. She was most graceful and helpful. Rarely if ever recorded - when I asked her about the record speed at Brooklands she held for awhile (not in a Seven!), she said she had driven an even faster car. It was in South Africa, where one of the Auto Union drivers, who took a shine to her, offered her a few laps in his racer. She emphasised it was really fast - and hinted the driver was too! Cheers, Bill in Oz
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Location: South East Surrey
He certainly was - it was Bernd Rosemeyer. Some knowledgeable people say he was the fastest pre-war driver.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 43 Threads: 6
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Hello Bill
Good to see you back on Friends. Trust you are well.
You are right about Rosemeyer being married, he and his wife Elly Beinhorn Rosemeyer flew out to South Africa in her Messerschmitt Taifun. They both liked Kay Petre and Rosemeyer's teammate von Delius is said to have fallen madly in love with her in spite of her husband back in England. See "Rosemeyer" by Elly Beinhorn Rosemeyer and Chris Nixon.
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Correction department - where I said above that Kay Petre was graceful, it should have read gracious. Anyone who has seen photos of her would know just how graceful she was! Secondly, when Julian suggested the German driver in East Africa was Rosemeyer, I agreed, because my correspondence is all done at the local Library, where I don't have access to my notes. With the passage of time, what goes hand in hand is the fading of the memory in my case. I've just checked at home and the driver concerned was definitely von Delius, as I hadn't heard heard of him until then and Mrs. Petre spelt his name out for me. And it wasn't "just a few laps" as she said, it was in a Handicap race. Some may not know that she was later employed as a Colour Consultant with the Austin Company (due to her public criticism of the dull colours on their cars), but it didn't take long that - like most people - she clashed with the despotic Mr. Lord, so she left. How right she was about the colours. Cheers, Bill in Oz
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Thanks for that correction Bill. Good to get it right.
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Thanks Nick for the brilliant photos. A few added comments if I may - Kay Petre was most upset that everyone perpetuated the myth that she was 4'10" and insisted she was 5'1". Other photos taken beside several different women showed her to be not all that short. The shot with the plaster on her head was taken after her horrific accident at Brooklands in the Side Valve single seater (caused by someone else). When she came out of hospital after many weeks, she went To Brooklands with her head swathed in bandages and lapped around at speed to ensure she hadn't lost her nerve. That was when she had the famous White Riley (which she'd had repainted in her favourite blue). Also, her co-driver in several events and various makes of cars (Joan Richmond, an Aussie, shown in several of your photos) was not short (well not when she came back to Melbourne). Another women racing at Brooklands but not shown, was George Duller's wife who featured in her Gordon England Brooklands in 1925. All photos worth retaining, Thank you. Cheers, Bill in Oz.
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The pictures are great but the second one is incorrectly captioned. It doesn't look like Kay to me and certainly isn't the V12 Delage.
