Brooklands Belles: The Women Racers Who Took on the Men

The remarkable story of a group of women who fearlessly challenged the rules of a fledgling male-dominated sport to compete at Brooklands motor racing circuit in the 1920s and 1930s

Opened in 1907, in Weybridge, Surrey, Brooklands was the world’s first purpose-built motor-racing circuit. It was famous for its high speeds and the credo, ‘The right crowd and no crowding.’ But it was open only to men. After being permitted to compete in just two races, women were banned from all competitive participation by the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club. It was not until the 1930s that they were once again allowed to race on equal terms.

The decade before the Second World War was the heyday for the remarkable women drivers who became known as the Brooklands Belles. A group of talented and determined women, who refused to stay in the passenger seat in the male-dominated world of early motorsport, fearlessly challenged the authorities and what was expected of women at the time.

The Brooklands Belles tore up the rule book. They lit up the Brooklands social scene and took the increasingly dangerous track by storm. Their exploits captured the public’s imagination as they brought an intoxicating mixture of glamour, thrilling entertainment and often death-defying skill to the famous banked track, breaking both records and accepted social conventions of the time.