It has been 50 years since the ‘Queen of Speed’ Michele Mouton debuted as a driver in the 1974 World Rally Championship.
Before driving the iconic Audi Quattro, Mouton began her rally career in the Alpine A110 as a co-driver.
From law student to motorsport icon, Mouton first jumped in a rally car to help her friend Jean Taibi practice the Tour de Corse route in 1972.
Mouton made her official debut in the opening event of the World Rally Championship in 1973 at the inaugural Monte Carlo Rally, co-driving the Peugeot 304S for Jean Taibi.
After showing her prowess as a racer, Mouton’s father pushed her towards the driver’s seat and offered to provide her with a rally car so that she could prove her talents in France.
Mouton entered the 1973 Saint-Raphaël Féminin Rallye Paris, an all-female car rally, before competing in the Tour de France Automobile the same year which she would one day win in 1978.
Developing her experience as a driver before turning her head to the big stage, Mouton proved her speed and power across a number of rally events.
In 1974, the Frenchwoman made her official debut as a driver in the WRC.
Finishing 12th on her debut in the Tour de Corse driving an Alpine A110, many drivers accused Mouton of having an illegal engine.
Cleared of any wrongdoings, she dominated the French and European ladies’ categories throughout the season to be crowned champion in both categories.
The following year Mouton re-entered the Tour de Corse as the defending champion, finishing in seventh place and retaining her title as the French and European ladies’ champion.
That same year, the rally icon made an unexpected appearance in Le Mans with female teammates Christine Dacremont and Marianne Hoepfner.
Securing her first endurance race win, Mouton won the two-litre prototype category of the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 1977 Mouton partnered with French rally driver Jean-Claude Andruet for Fiat France, competing in the bulky Fiat 131 Abarth.
Putting the Abarth in fifth place at the Tour de Corse for three years in a row from 1978 to 1980, Mouton clocked consistent results in the WRC.
She progressed quickly through rally in 1977, securing podium finishes driving the Porsche Carrera RS in the RACE Rallye de España and Tour de France Automobile.
Winning the Tour de France Automobile in 1978 with the 131 Abarth and finishing second in the 1979 French Rally Championship, the Frenchwoman was ready for the next big step.
Signed to the new Audi factory team, Mouton was set to make her debut with Audi Sport in 1981 to drive the Audi Quattro.
The Audi Quattro. One of the most iconic race cars of all time, the Quattro was the first four-wheel-drive machine to boast over 300 bhp in the WRC.
Without homologation from the FIA, the Quattro was only entered into events as zero cars, losing them both stage and event wins.
At the 1981 Rally de Portugal, the Frenchwoman took seven stage wins to secure a fourth-placed position despite electrical issues plaguing her race.
Silencing all criticism thrown towards Audi for signing a female driver, Mouton was setting the fastest times across different stages at the 1981 Acropolis Rally before the FIA excluded the Quattros due to homologation procedures.
History was made at the Rallye Sanremo in northwestern Italy when Mouton became the first female driver to win a WRC event in only her sixth start in the Quattro.
Beating out champions Henri Toivonen, Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen, Mouton and co-driver Fabrizia Pons paved the way for women in motorsport.
Earlier that weekend, the eventual champion Vatanen famously said: “The day I will be beaten by a woman, I will stop racing.”
Mouton went on to become the most successful female driver in the history of motorsport, coming devastatingly close to winning the 1982 WRC season.
Winning outright in Portugal, Greece and Brazil despite ongoing mechanical issues, the Frenchwoman entered the penultimate rally at the Côte d’Ivoire with the championship in sight.
Fighting against the championship leader and Rothmans Opel driver Walter Röhrl, she was told the heartbreaking news that her father had passed away from cancer the morning of the rally.
Speaking to Hagerty, Mouton shared: “My father died at 7 am and the race started at 8:30 am, I wanted to go home but my mother said to drive.
“I was 1 hour 20 minutes up on Röhrl, then lost 1 hour 15 minutes on a gearbox change, then had more problems. I lost the world championship, but I missed my father more.”
Securing herself second place in the championship, while gifting Audi the manufacturer’s title, Mouton was just inches away from the title.
The rally icon found success outside of the WRC, beating out American drivers to win the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1985 with over 30 seconds to spare.
Mouton set a record time of 11:25.39, despite receiving a time penalty for driving ‘too fast’’, Mouton smashed American racing legend Bobby Unser’s record by 13 seconds.
In 1989, Mouton retired from rallying after picking up 162 stage wins, 9 podiums and 4 rally wins.
Helping to found the Race of Champions in 1988 to honour the death of Henri Toivonen, she stayed in the realm of motorsport for decades.
The Frenchwoman was appointed president of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission in 2010, serving until her retirement in 2022.
One of the most iconic figures in rallying, Mouton made history and set various records in motorsport, cementing herself as one of the greatest drivers of all time.
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