Proving that it was not all about racing, here Kay enjoys a picnic with her husband Henry and two friends at Brooklands.
Getting ready to head out in the 10.5-litre Delage that belonged to Oliver Bertram. Kay went on to become the fastest lady at Brooklands in this former Land Speed Record car.
became apparent that it was not fast enough for her competitive spirit. Henry bought her a second-hand Grand Prix Bugatti Type 35C for just £150 which, although temperamental, proved invaluable training for the higher speeds she would accomplish later.
Kay was taking motor racing more seriously by this time and had the Bugatti resprayed in her favourite shade of pale blue to match her racing overalls. While not being afraid to get her hands dirty and muck in with the mechanics, she was always immaculately turned out for racing and the make-up she kept in the cockpit of the car enabled her to touch up her appearance at the end of a race, prior to coming into
the Paddock. Inevitably, there was always a phalanx of photographers waiting to take her picture. Although lady racers were no strangers to Brooklands, they were the exception rather than the rule and most gained some notoriety during this inter-war period. Kay was at the forefront of those pioneer lady drivers and was quickly dubbed the ‘Darling of Brooklands’ and there are no end of photographs and newsreels featuring her at the track.
Growing reputation From 1932 until 1937 she appeared at virtually every Brooklands race meet, sometimes with her own car and often driving other people’s. The publicity they
and the works teams she drove for (Singer, Riley and Austin) gained as a result of her driving was immeasurable. She was not just a pin-up though, for Kay had a steely determination to get past the winning post ahead of the field. There were many notable races during that five-year period and Kay forged good friendships with most of the drivers frequenting Brooklands. Notably, her first ladies handicap race in 1933 where she was the favourite to win ahead of Rita Don, who was driving her brother Freddie Dixon’s Riley 9. The race featured some erratic driving from Rita, who had her brother as a riding mechanic, which was later revealed to be the result of her being surreptitiously prodded with a hat pin when she showed signs of slowing down for corners. A bit of string on the accelerator helped as well as Freddie was determined not to lose a bet he had made that Rita would win. Strangely, all signs of pin and string had disappeared by the time the car returned to the Paddock with Rita having beaten Kay by 5.2 seconds.
Even so, Kay was a calm but fearless
Kay drove for Riley on several occasions, including at Le Mans in 1934 where she was part of a six-car team that went on to win the Rudge-Whitworth Cup.
and extremely rapid driver. Her ability and personal charm led her to being lent some very powerful cars to drive at Brooklands. She took Dick Shuttleworth’s 2.5-litre Bugatti around the Outer Circuit at 117.74mph, even with the car’s spark plugs playing up. Perhaps the zenith of these borrowed cars was Oliver Bertram’s massive 10.5-litre Delage. This car was a true legend in itself, having first been built as an aluminium sprint car. The Delage first appeared driven by René Thomas at the 1923 Gaillon Hill Climb, recording fastest time of the day on its debut. Later that year it took the Land Speed Record at Arpajon, reaching 143.24mph. By 1929, the car was owned by Ken Thomson and driven by John Cobb at Brooklands. It taught John Cobb all he needed to know about very high-
MAY - JUNE 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN 33
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