WOMAN MAY WELL WIN THE "E & S" RALLY
"Express and Star" motoring correspondant
THE 1961 "Express and Star" national rally, which starts from Wolverhampton and four other towns this evening, may well be won for the first time by a woman driver or by an all-women crew.
This possibility arises from the appearance among the 171 competitors of both Pat Moss and Mrs. Anne Hall, past and present holders of the European women's rally championship title.
Pat Moss (A40 or Saab) will have as her navigator Stuart Turner, acknowledged as one of the best men in the navigating business, who was with the Swede, Eric Carlsson when he won the 1960 R.A.C. British international rally.
Mrs. Hall (Ford) will be navigated by Valerie Domleo, the best woman navigator in the business, who together won the Coupe des Dames on the recent Monte Carlo rally. Miss Domleo lives at Sutton Coldfield and works at the T.I. research centre, Walsall.
THE MEN STARS
Against these formidable women stars it is more difficult to pick a possible male winner, but the most likely contenders for the outright winner's title can with any luck be drawn from a small circle of five.
Three of the five are past winners, Tom Gold (Austin Healey Sprite), A.E. Bengry (Volkswagen) and A.T. Fisher (Austin Seven) and the other two are John Sprinzel (Mini Minor) and Brian Harper (Morgan).
Bill Bengry, from Hereford, is the current bolder of the R.A.C. rally championship title and Brian Harper, from Heath Hayes, is the current holder of tile British Trials and RaIly Drivers Association rally star.
The Express and Star rally is one of the qualifying events in both those titles for 1961. The rally starts from Wolverhampton, Hereford, Oxford, Nottingham and Liverpool.
78 LEAVE WOLVERHAMPTON
Seventy-eight competitors will be leaving the Wolverhampton start, the premises of Staffordshire Motor Tyre Co. Ltd., Chapel Ash at one I minute intervals from 6.30 tonight and ail competitors named so far I have chosen to start at Wolverhampton.
Twenty-four are starting from Liverpool, 45 from Oxford, 10 from Nottingham and 13 from Hereford.
From those start points all competitors cover an equal main road mileage to the mysterious control "X'".
At that point they rest, eat and refuel their cars before being restarted. Not until the moment they restart will they be handed documents which will tell them where the remainder of the 33 time controls are situated.
From then on they must not be more than 59 seconds late at any of the time controls which a spread over a course of nearly 200 miles.
For lateness at controls competitors will be penalised at the rate of ten marks per- minute.
ROAD COURSE TO DECIDE
Harry Morgan, of Hatheton, Cannock. the man who plotted the the course for the organisers, Wolverhampton and South Staffs. Car Club, is satisfied that once again this year the rally will be decided on the road course.
"I have no doubt about it," he told me, "and it will not be long after the beginning of the navigation section that they will start to lose time."
Weather forecast for the night is: Occasional rain, temperatures a little higher than average and the possibility of some hill fog.
'This year's "Express and Star" rally is notable for the large number of entries in the small car class. One hundred and thirty out of the 171 starters are driving cars, either open or closed, of under 1,300 c.c.
Included in the rally for the first time are a number of Swedish made Saab saloons in the hands of British private owners, reflecting, perhaps, the success that this make has achieved in international events.
WINNERS PRIZE
The outright winner receives the silver rose bowl which is the Express and Star trophy, together with £25.
Navigator of the winnning car gets £15.
The driver of the second placed car gets £15 and his navigator £10, while third placed car wins £10 for its driver and £5 for its navigator.
In addition, there are a number of class awards, team awards and prizes for the best and second best all-women crews.
The prize list also includes seven cups or the best performance by individual makes of car given by: B. Billingham Ltd. (Ford); Wolverhampton Motor Services Ltd. (Rootes); West Central Garage (Standard-Triumph); Charles Attwood and Son. Ltd. (Jaguar); Bradburn and Wedge (Nuffield group); Charles Clark and Son Ltd. (Austin); and Nash Motors (Wolverhampton) Ltd. (best continental car).