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Michèle Mouton

January 27, 2023

Michèle Mouton (born 23 June 1951) is a French former rally driver. Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runner-up in the drivers' world championship in 1982.

Michèle Mouton
Mouton at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011
Personal information
Born (1951-06-23) 23 June 1951 (age 71)
Grasse, France
World Rally Championship record
Active years1974–1986
Co-driver Fabrizia Pons
Arne Hertz
Terry Harryman
TeamsFiat, Audi, Peugeot
Rallies50
Championships0
Rally wins4
Podiums9
Stage wins162
Total points229
First rally1974 Tour de Corse
First win1981 Rallye Sanremo
Last win1982 Rally Brazil
Last rally1986 Tour de Corse

Mouton debuted in rallying as a co-driver but quickly moved to the driver's seat, steering an Alpine-Renault A110 in national rallies. In 1975, she competed in circuit racing and won the two-litre prototype class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After being signed by Fiat France for 1977, Mouton finished runner-up to Bernard Darniche in the European Rally Championship. She went on to win the 1978 Tour de France Automobile and record consistent results in her home events in the WRC; the Tour de Corse and the Monte Carlo Rally. For 1981, Audi Sport signed Mouton to partner Hannu Mikkola. In her first year with the Audi Quattro, she took a surprise victory at the Rallye Sanremo.

In the 1982 World Rally season, Mouton finished a close second overall to Walter Röhrl, after wins in Portugal, Brazil and Greece, and helped Audi to its first manufacturers' title. Her campaign the following year resulted in fifth place. With the team having four top drivers for 1984, Mouton's participation on world championship level became part-time. In 1985, she won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States, setting a record time in the process. In 1986, she moved to Peugeot and won the German Rally Championship as the first female driver to win a major championship in rallying. Soon after securing the title, Mouton retired from rallying due to the ban of Group B supercars. In 1988, she co-founded the international motorsport event Race of Champions in memory of her former rival Henri Toivonen. Mouton became the first president of the FIA's Women & Motor Sport Commission in 2010 and the FIA's manager in the World Rally Championship in 2011.

Career

Early life and career

 
Mouton's 1975 Le Mans class-winning Moynet LM 75

Michèle Mouton was born 23 June 1951 in Grasse,[1] a town on the French Riviera, close to the mountain stages famously featured in French rallies.[2] Her parents grew roses and jasmine on their large property.[3] After graduating from high school, Mouton began law studies,[4] but would soon drop out and concentrate on a career in rallying.[5] Although Mouton began driving her father's Citroën 2CV when she was 14 years old,[6] she did not turn her interest to rallying until 1972, when her friend Jean Taibi asked her to practise the Tour de Corse with him.[3][6] Mouton later co-drove for him in the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, the first-ever World Rally Championship (WRC) event. After a few more rallies, Mouton's father suggested a switch to driving if she wanted to continue in rallying, and promised to buy her a car and give her one-year to prove herself.[3] Driving an Alpine-Renault A110, she debuted at the Rallye Paris - Saint-Raphaël Féminin and then tackled the Tour de France Automobile.[6] In the Île de Beauté, a complementary event to the Tour de Corse at the end of 1973, Mouton finished eighth overall.[6]

In the World Rally Championship, Mouton made her driver debut in 1974, finishing 12th in the Tour de Corse in an Alpine A110.[7] It was rumoured her good performances were the result of a special engine, however her car passed inspection by WRC scrutineers.[3] At the end of the year, Mouton was crowned both French and European ladies' champion.[8] Re-entering the Tour de Corse the following season, she took seventh place.[7] Mouton successfully defended her ladies' titles,[8] and also competed in circuit racing: In an all-female team with Christine Dacremont and Marianne Hoepfner, she won the two-litre prototype category of the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans.[9] Recalling the race in 2008, Mouton said: "It started to rain I remember, and I started to pass everybody. I was running on slicks. In the pits they were saying 'Michele you must stop', but I did not want to because I was passing everyone."[10] Her results attracted a major sponsor in the form of the French oil company Elf.[3][6] In 1976, Mouton drove the A110 to 11th place in Monte Carlo and retired at the Rallye Sanremo.[7] At the Tour de Corse, her debut in the newer A310 also ended in retirement.[7]

Fiat

For the 1977 season, Fiat France signed Mouton to partner Jean-Claude Andruet. She was not impressed by the handling of the Fiat 131 Abarth, stating it was "like a big truck, not a car" and "terrible to drive".[3] However, the car would prove successful and Mouton put in very consistent results, finishing eighth in the Tour de Corse in 1977 and fifth three years in a row from 1978 to 1980.[7] In 1980, she had been running as high as second before her engine died for a time.[11] In Monte Carlo, she drove the car to seventh place in 1979 and 1980, equalling the result she had achieved in the event in a Lancia Stratos HF in 1978.[7]

Outside the World Rally Championship, Mouton drove a Porsche Carrera RS to victory in the 1977 RACE Rallye de España and to second place in the 1977 Tour de France Automobile.[12] She also finished runner-up to Bernard Darniche in the overall European Rally Championship (ERC).[13] Mouton went on to win the Tour de France with the 131 Abarth the following year.[14] At the Rallye d'Antibes, she finished third behind the Stratos drivers Darniche and Attilio Bettega.[15] She placed fifth in the ERC standings and fourth in the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Cup for Drivers,[12] the predecessor to the drivers' world championship. In 1979, Mouton finished second in the French Rally Championship, behind Porsche 911 SC driver Bernard Béguin.[16]

Audi

1980

In 1980, Audi Sport, Audi's new factory team, called Mouton and signed her for a World Rally Championship programme for the 1981 season. Mouton described Audi's call as "a complete shock".[3] Audi's decision to nominate her instead of established male rivals attracted a great deal of publicity.[17] As the Audi Quattro, the first rally car to have over 300 bhp and both a turbocharger and four-wheel-drive,[18] had not yet gained FIA homologation, Audi could only enter rallies as zero cars and not as competitive entries.[19] Hannu Mikkola debuted the car in the Algarve Rally in October, and would have won by about thirty minutes had his times been officially registered.[19] Mouton joined Freddy Kottulinsky for the final round of the Finnish Rally Championship, the Northern Lights, and also showed encouraging pace on the slippery surfaces.[20] Mouton initially found the car understeering, but became more comfortable after switching to left-foot braking, as advised by Mikkola who was in charge of developing the car.[3] Audi announced their participation in eight events in 1981, although Mouton would not be entered in the Swedish Rally due to her lack of experience on driving on ice and snow.[20]

1981

 
Mouton and Pons celebrate their first WRC victory in Sanremo.

Mouton's first competitive run in the Quattro in Monte Carlo ended before it had even begun. She withdrew from the event before the start due to apparent engine problems.[21] The team later discovered that dirt had got into the fuel system.[22] At the Rally Portugal, she started her long partnership with the Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons.[23] Mouton won seven stages and took a career-best fourth place, despite suffering from electronic problems.[22] This ended criticism of Audi for signing a female driver.[24] After a retirement due to a broken camshaft in the Tour de Corse,[22] Mouton set several fastest times at the Acropolis Rally in Greece.[25] While Mikkola was leading and Mouton fifth, the stewards excluded the Quattros citing homologation infractions.[26] Although Audi protested, the stewards upheld the decision.[26] In her debut in the high-speed 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, Mouton found it hard to get used to the rhythm changes.[27] She recorded a few top-ten stage times and finished 13th.[27] She was satisfied with her performance, and the local newspaper Keskisuomalainen described her debut as successful.[27] At the Rallye Sanremo in Italy, a mixed surface event with tarmac and gravel, Mouton took the lead when the local star Michele Cinotto crashed and held off Henri Toivonen and Ari Vatanen to take the victory.[28][29][30] This marked the first time a female driver had won a world championship event in rallying.[31] Mouton's male rivals were left speechless.[31] Earlier during the weekend, Vatanen had been confident: "Never can nor will I lose to a woman."[32] Mouton recalled her debut win in a 2008 interview for RallySport Magazine:

I remember not just because it was a win, but also because it was a big fight right into the last night. Fabrizia reminded me the other night that we had a problem with the brake pads, so we lost a lot of time. We finished three days rallying (with one day to go), night and day, 32 seconds in front of Ari Vatanen. We drove the last special stage for the night, came back to the hotel and I could not sleep at all, four hours in front of me and no sleep. Then I arrive at the special stage, it's about 42 km long, and I look at Fabrizia and I said "OK, we forget everything, and we are at the first stage of the rally again, because one of us will crash." And so Ari hit a rock, and we won the rally.[30]

In the season-ending RAC Rally in Great Britain, Mouton continued her good performances by running third at half distance,[33] despite having been uncomfortable about competing in a rally where pacenotes and practice are not allowed.[34] However, her Quattro later incurred gearbox problems and she retired from fifth place after sliding off the road into a snow-filled ditch.[35] Mouton would later state: "For me, rallying is England. No pacenotes – just you in the car having to do the fastest time. This, to me, is rallying. OK, it was not easy for me because I did not have experience there of the British championship, but it is really rallying. I like it very much."[30] Mouton finished the season in eighth place in the drivers' championship,[36] while Audi was fifth in the manufacturers' standings.[37]

1982

 
Mouton's Quattro in Monte Carlo, between two Porsche 911 SCs

Mouton's 1982 season started with a big accident at the Monte Carlo Rally. On stage twelve in the small town Briançonnet in Provence, she hit a patch of ice and slid off the road, crashing into the stone wall of a large house at 110 km/h (70 mph).[38][39] Mouton injured her knee while Pons suffered a concussion.[38] She had been in third place, and had set the fastest time for the difficult Col de Turini mountain pass.[38] The pair's injuries were not serious and Mouton went on to make her debut in the Swedish Rally.[40] She was running third when she slid into a snow bank, and crashed into the Quattro of teammate Hannu Mikkola who had gone off at the same place.[39][41] She eventually finished fifth.[41] In Portugal, Mouton recorded 18 stage wins on her way to a clear victory ahead of Toyota's Per Eklund.[39][42][43] She once admitted that to be competitive in the rally, she tried to think of the large crowds right by the side of the route as trees.[44] At the Tour de Corse, she could not match the pace of the leaders and finished seventh.[39] At the Acropolis Rally, Mouton won ahead of the Opel duo Walter Röhrl and Henri Toivonen, and closed to within 20 points of the championship leader Röhrl.[45] The event was overshadowed by two serious accidents, one of which killed a spectator.[46] Mouton had commented: "I'm afraid that something might break in my car and I can no longer avoid hitting a spectator."[46]

In New Zealand, Mouton continued her good performances and traded the lead with Mikkola, Röhrl and Björn Waldegård. Soon after regaining the lead on stage twelve,[47] she retired with a broken oil pump.[48] After seven rounds, Mouton was second in the championship, 32 points behind Röhrl and 12 ahead of Eklund.[49] The Rally of Brazil was marred by the fatal accident of Brazilian driver Thomas Fuchs,[50] and featured chaotic conditions as parts of the course were not successfully closed for competition.[51] Although only five teams made it to the finish, Mouton improved her title hopes by winning her duel with Röhrl after the German lost a wheel on the last day.[51] At the 1000 Lakes, she clocked in the eighth fastest time for the famous Ouninpohja stage and placed seventh after the first day.[52] On the following leg, Mouton drove too fast into a jump and damaged her Quattro while landing.[53] After the next jump, her front wheels locked up and she rolled the car.[53] Mouton was next locked in a tight battle for the win in Sanremo. Although she recorded nine stage wins and Audi took a one-two, she had to settle for fourth behind Röhrl.[54][55]

Audi had not originally planned to participate in the African marathon events, but now found it necessary to enter the penultimate round, the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire, due to their title battles with Opel.[54] Just before the start of the event, Mouton received news that her father had succumbed to cancer in his house in Nice.[56] His last wish was that Mouton start the rally.[56] After a first day of over 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) of racing in temperatures over 30 °C (86 °F), she was eight minutes clear of Mikkola and nearly half an hour ahead of title rival Röhrl.[57] Mikkola said that he had never been in such a hot car, and Röhrl estimated that the temperature inside his car reached an "almost unbearable" 70 °C (158 °F).[57] With just over half of the 5,000 km (3,100 mi) behind, Mouton led from Röhrl by over an hour despite losing 25 minutes due to transmission problems.[58] On the third day, both Mouton and Röhrl struggled with several reliability issues and her lead over Röhrl shrank to 18 minutes.[59] The Toyota Celica GT2000s of Eklund and Waldegård were still over two hours behind.[59] Should Mouton go on to hold off Röhrl, she would reduce Röhrl's lead in the championship to just two points.[58] As a driver's seven best results counted towards the championship at the time, Mouton would only need a third place in the RAC Rally to take the title even if Röhrl would win.[58] On the final day, she continued to suffer from mechanical problems and had the complete fuel injection system changed.[56] For the next time control, Röhrl and Mouton arrived almost simultaneously.[56] With only 600 km to go, Mouton went off the road and rolled her car.[56][60] She drove the severely damaged Quattro for five more kilometres before giving up.[56]

Röhrl inherited the win and became the first two-time world champion in rallying. Having lost her father, Mouton did not dwell on losing the title.[30] Röhrl had earlier conceded that he "would have accepted second place in the championship to Mikkola", but not to Mouton: "This is not because I doubt her capabilities as a driver, but because she is a woman."[61] He believed that defeat would have devalued his performances.[61] At the RAC, Mouton edged out Toivonen to take second place behind Mikkola.[62][63] This result made Audi the first German marque to win the manufacturers' world title.[64] At the inaugural Autosport Awards gala, Mouton won the International Rally Driver of the Year award.[65]

1983

 
An ex-Mouton Quattro A2 at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The 1983 season started the Group B era of the WRC and Mouton was now at the wheel of the Audi Quattro A1. She also had a new teammate; Audi had signed Stig Blomqvist as their third regular driver. For the third year in a row, Mouton had a bad start to her season in Monte Carlo. She went off the road on a stage not far from her home town,[66] and again hit a stone wall at over 100 km/h (60 mph).[67] The car was destroyed, but Mouton and Pons were unharmed.[67] Mouton explained to her team boss Roland Gumpert, later of Gumpert supercar fame, that she had had to dodge a photographer.[67] Mouton went on to record successive points finishes. She finished fourth in Sweden in a quadruple win for Audi,[68] after an early driving error that had sent her Quattro into a snow bank.[69] In Portugal, Mouton finished second to Mikkola, ahead of Lancia's Röhrl and Markku Alén.[70] After the first section of the Safari Rally, totaling over 1,600 km (1,000 mi), Mouton arrived to the finish on three wheels and said she was "totally exhausted" from the effort.[71][72] She eventually placed third behind Opel's Ari Vatanen and her teammate Mikkola.[73] After four events, Mikkola and Mouton were first and second in the drivers' championship.[74]

At the Tour de Corse, Audi debuted the Quattro A2, which was 70 kg (155 lb) lighter and had an engine producing 30 more horsepower.[75] Mouton's rally ended when her engine caught on fire.[76] On the first stage in Greece, she rolled her car on a hairpin turn 18 km (11 mi) from the start.[77][78] Rally New Zealand was for Mouton a repetition of the previous year; she took the lead on the seventh stage and held on to it until her A2's engine failed,[76] with only six of the 33 stages to go.[79] The three retirements in a row dropped Mouton to fifth place in the championship.[80] She then finished third behind Mikkola and Blomqvist at the Rally Argentina,[81] but this would remain her last podium finish of the season.[7] At the 1000 Lakes in Finland, Mouton finished the first day in seventh place after setting two top-five stage times.[82] Her car later caught on fire,[83] but she was able to continue in the event by following Mikkola's advice and driving into a lake.[84] With a string of top-ten times, she eventually finished 16th.[85] In the Rallye Sanremo, the tarmac stages were dominated by the Lancia 037 and Mouton finished seventh after suffering from fuel injection problems.[83][86] In the season-ending RAC Rally, she started well and held second place after the first twelve stages.[87] An Audi mechanic later accidentally refilled Mouton's fuel tank with pure water which resulted in time-consuming repairs.[88] She eventually retired after crashing out,[88] and placed fifth overall in the drivers' championship.[89] Although Mikkola beat Lancia's Röhrl and Alén to the drivers' title,[89] Audi had lost the manufacturers' title to Lancia after the latter's triple win in Sanremo.[83]

1984

 
Mouton with a Sport Quattro at the RAC

For the 1984 season, Audi added two-time world champion Walter Röhrl to their star line-up and Mouton now had a part-time role,[90] competing in five WRC events. For the first time in nine years, she did not enter the Monte Carlo Rally.[91] However, Mouton signed up to commentate the event for Radio Monte Carlo.[92] She started her year well by finishing second at the Swedish Rally behind teammate and home favourite Blomqvist.[93] Mouton later stated that "finishing second was fantastic. When you are out rallying on ice or snow in country like that it is like dancing. From one side to the other side. My dancing background helped my rallying. As soon as I started on gravel I liked it because of that. It was so nice to feel and move the car like that. Sweden, in ice and snow, like ballet!"[30] This would remain her last podium position in the World Rally Championship.[7]

In the Safari Rally, a rotor arm in Mouton's Quattro failed and caused the turbo to break down as well.[94] She retired after falling victim to the team's ranking order; as the repairs were expected to take too long, Gumpert ordered championship leader Blomqvist's Quattro to be fixed by using Mouton's sister car as spares.[95] Her debut in the new Sport Quattro at the Acropolis Rally ended with engine overheating problems.[94] In the 1000 Lakes, Mouton placed ninth after the short first day.[96] She later crashed and continued without a windscreen, but the damage to her Quattro could not be repaired in service.[97] Mouton retired and left Finland pointless for the fourth year in a row.[7] In late October, she signed a contract extension with Audi.[98] At the RAC Rally, a slight mistake led to a puncture and Mouton dropped from third to fifth.[99] She went on to narrowly lose the final podium spot to Toyota's Per Eklund.[100] Mouton's results placed her 12th in the drivers' world championship, a point behind Röhrl.[101] Outside the WRC, Mouton debuted in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States, driving an Audi Sport Quattro together with her usual co-driver Fabrizia Pons.[102] After her main opponent Martin Schanche got hampered by a flat right front tyre she won the open rally category (now known as unlimited) in a record time and placed second overall, leaving behind several specialised V8 single-seaters that had normally dominated the race.[103][104][105]

1985

 
Mouton with a Quattro S1 in 2007

Audi's WRC programme was limited for the 1985 season due to the recent defeats to Peugeot Talbot Sport, Peugeot's factory team headed by Jean Todt.[106] Mouton and Mikkola were assigned to testing and development duties.[106] She drove both the Sport Quattro and its follower, the Quattro S1 (Sport E2). Mouton considered the S1 the most difficult rally car she had driven: "For rallying on asphalt, I agree the limit had gone too far. We did not have the reflexes to control it properly. It was tough to drive the car, but not the short Quattro before."[10]

 
Mouton in an A2 at the Welsh Rally

Although Mouton competed in only one world championship event during the season, she contested a full six-round British Rally Championship. Her campaign was plagued by reliability problems and she recorded only one finish. In the National Breakdown Rally, Mouton stopped after damaging her Quattro in a jump.[107] After technical problems led to an early retirement at the Circuit of Ireland,[108] she finished second at the Welsh Rally behind Malcolm Wilson in another Quattro.[109] At the Scottish Rally, Mouton had been closing in on the leading Wilson until a transmission problem forced her to retire.[110] At the Ulster Rally, she set the fastest time for the first stage but then dropped out with a mechanical failure.[111] In the season-ending Manx International Rally, Mouton struggled to start her Quattro and then crashed out five stages later.[112]

Mouton's only WRC event of the year was the long-distance Rallye Côte d'Ivoire. She was co-driven by Arne Hertz as Pons was ill at the time of the start.[113] Mouton started well and tied the lead with Toyota's Juha Kankkunen after the first day.[114] Her Quattro incurred severe engine problems on the next day, but was seemingly repaired by Audi mechanics off the route in the jungle.[115] At the same time, the Sport Quattro "chase car", a high-speed service car, retired and Audi faced accusations of swapping the cars.[115] The team withdrew Mouton just before the finish and the controversy remains unresolved; the stewards did not find proof but the media published evidence afterwards.[113][115] Although her rallying year was a disappointment, Mouton made a successful return to the Pikes Peak, winning the event overall in her Sport Quattro.[116] Despite slippery conditions caused by a hailstorm, she broke Al Unser Jr.'s 1982 record by about thirteen seconds.[117] The Frenchwoman's win irritated some of her male rivals.[118] Bobby Unser was reputedly quite vocal about his loss, to which Mouton is said to have replied: "If you have the balls you can try to race me back down as well."[104]

Peugeot

 
Mouton's teammate Timo Salonen's 205 T16 E2 in Monte Carlo

Mouton broke off her contract with Audi in late 1985 to join Peugeot for the coming season.[119] She contested the German Rally Championship and two WRC events in a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, with which the marque had captured the previous year's world titles. To replace the newly-wed Pons, Mouton recruited Terry Harryman who had been left jobless after Ari Vatanen's accident.[10] Mouton, nicknamed "der schwarze Vulkan" (The Black Volcano) due to her temperament and long black hair,[5][120] won six of the eight events in the German championship,[121] including the Rallye Deutschland.[122] Although the Hessen Rallye was stopped after the severe accident of Formula One driver Marc Surer, which claimed the life of his co-driver Michel Wyder, Mouton was declared the winner.[123][124] She secured the German national title on the seventh and penultimate round, the Sachs Baltic, after taking her fifth win of the season.[125] She became the first female driver to win a major championship in rallying.[125]

Mouton's WRC outings were her home events: Monte Carlo Rally and Tour de Corse. In Monte Carlo, she was running in eighth place after eleven stages,[126] but soon retired with oil pump problems.[127] For the Tour de Corse in May, Mouton was given the second evolution of the car.[128] She quickly showed good pace and held third place behind Lancia's Henri Toivonen and teammate Bruno Saby.[128] However, she ran into gearbox trouble on the tenth stage and was forced to retire.[128] During the next day, Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto crashed out from the lead and died in their seats. Mouton was still in Corsica and remarked to her boyfriend that "if they stop the Group B now, it will be the end for me."[10] Within days, FISA announced new regulations and banned the Group B supercars for the following year.[129]

In October, two weeks after securing the German Rally Championship title, Mouton announced her retirement from rallying.[130] She cited the end of the Group B era as the reason behind the decision, and stated that it was "a good time to stop".[10] Later in the same month, Mouton crowned her career by winning the last event of the German championship, the Drei-Städte-Rallye (Three Cities Rally), ahead of Armin Schwarz's MG Metro 6R4.[121][131]

Later career

 
Mouton driving a Quattro S1 during the 2009 edition of the Race of Champions

In 1988, Mouton co-founded the international motorsport event Race of Champions with Fredrik Johnsson, in memory of Toivonen and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the world championship for rally drivers.[132] The event originally included the world's top rally drivers, but now features stars also from other disciplines, such as Formula One, NASCAR, Le Mans and MotoGP, competing against each other in identical cars.[132]

In 1988 and 1989, Mouton participated in rally raids as part of Peugeot's service team for Ari Vatanen and Jacky Ickx.[133] At the 1988 Rally of Tunisia, Mouton drove a 205 T16 Grand Raid chase car and transported spare parts for Vatanen and Henri Pescarolo, but also classified sixth overall.[134] She later took part in the Dakar Rally as a press driver in 2004 and 2009.[133] In 2000, Mouton finished second in the London–Sydney Marathon driving a Porsche 911, behind former teammate Stig Blomqvist.[135] After 22 years, Mouton and Fabrizia Pons reunited to compete in the 2008 Otago Classic Rally in New Zealand.[136] In 2010, Mouton competed with a 911 in the Rallye du Maroc and finished second to Grégoire De Mévius.[137]

In 2010, Mouton became the first president of the FIA's Women & Motor Sport Commission.[138] She stated that "for many years people have asked me why there have been no women following in my footsteps. I really hope the Commission can help answer that question and that we can attract and support women in all areas of our sport."[138] Having already headed a working group on the future of rallying, Mouton was appointed FIA's manager in the World Rally Championship in 2011.[139] Mouton also serves in the nomination committee of the Rally Hall of Fame.[140] In March 2012, she recused herself after becoming a candidate for nomination. Mouton was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with two-time world champion Carlos Sainz.[141]

Personal life and legacy

 
Mouton interviewed in 1985

While announcing her retirement from rallying, Mouton stated her intention to start a family with Corsican sports journalist Claude Guarnieri.[130] She had her daughter Jessie (Jessica) in 1987.[1][10][142] Mouton credited her father Pierre's support as the secret for her success: "He loved driving. He loved fast cars. And I think he would have loved to do what I did. He was a prisoner of war for five years and when he came back he never had the opportunity to compete. But he came to all the rallies I did. And my mother came, too."[1][71]

Mouton states that in her mind she did not try to beat her male rivals, but to be at their level.[3] She noted that in rallying the quickest elapsed time is the most important thing.[71] David Evans of Autosport described her as "motorsport's most successful ever female driver".[139] Rally journalist and historian Graham Robson credits Mouton, along with Pat Moss, as "the driver by whom all other females measure their skills and achievements".[143] Mouton and Moss were of different eras and did not compete directly against each other, although they both appeared at the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally where Mouton co-drove.[144] In 1985, they swapped cars in a private test session with Moss driving the Quattro and Mouton an Austin-Healey 3000.[144] Stirling Moss regarded Mouton as "one of the best",[145] and Niki Lauda described her as a "superwoman".[146]

In 2011, Mouton was made knight of the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.[147]

At the 50th International Emmy Awards in 2022, the documentary Queen of Speed about Mouton's rise to the top of rallying in the 1980s was awarded an Emmy for the Best Sports Documentary.[148][149]

WRC victories

Complete WRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points
1974 Michèle Mouton Alpine-Renault A110 1800 MON
C 		SWE
C 		POR KEN GRE
C 		FIN ITA CAN USA GBR FRA
12 		N/A
[A]		 N/A
1975 Michèle Mouton Alpine-Renault A110 1800 MON SWE KEN GRC MAR POR FIN ITA FRA
7 		GBR N/A
[A]		 N/A
1976 Michèle Mouton Alpine-Renault A110 1800 MON
11 		SWE POR KEN GRC MAR FIN ITA
Ret 		N/A
[A]		 N/A
Alpine-Renault A310 V6 FRA
Ret 		GBR
1977 Michèle Mouton Autobianchi A112 Abarth MON
24 		SWE POR KEN NZL GRC FIN CAN ITA N/A
[B]		 N/A
Fiat 131 Abarth FRA
8 		GBR
1978 Michèle Mouton Lancia Stratos HF MON
7 		SWE KEN POR GRC FIN CAN ITA CIV N/A
[B]		 N/A
Fiat 131 Abarth FRA
5 		GBR
1979 Fiat France Fiat 131 Abarth MON
7 		SWE POR KEN GRC NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA
5 		GBR CIV 21st 12
1980 Fiat France Fiat 131 Abarth MON
7 		SWE POR KEN GRC ARG FIN NZL ITA FRA
5 		GBR CIV 23rd 12
1981 Audi Sport Audi Quattro MON
Ret 		SWE POR
4 		KEN FRA
Ret 		GRC
Ret 		ARG BRA FIN
13 		ITA
1 		CIV GBR
Ret 		8th 30
1982 Audi Sport Audi Quattro MON
Ret 		SWE
5 		POR
1 		KEN FRA
7 		GRC
1 		NZL
Ret 		BRA
1 		FIN
Ret 		ITA
4 		CIV
Ret 		GBR
2 		2nd 97
1983 Audi Sport Audi Quattro A1 MON
Ret 		SWE
4 		POR
2 		KEN
3 		5th 53
Audi Quattro A2 FRA
Ret 		GRC
Ret 		NZL
Ret 		ARG
3 		FIN
16 		ITA
7 		CIV GBR
Ret
1984 Audi Sport Audi Quattro A2 MON SWE
2 		POR KEN
Ret 		FRA 12th 25
Audi Sport Quattro GRC
Ret 		NZL ARG FIN
Ret 		ITA CIV GBR
4
1985 Audi Sport Audi Sport Quattro MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV
Ret 		GBR NC 0
1986 Peugeot Talbot Deutschland Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 MON
Ret 		SWE POR KEN NC 0
Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 FRA
Ret 		GRC NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA GBR USA
Source:[150]

Notes

A From the World Rally Championship's conception in 1973 until 1976, there was no championship for drivers. Only a manufacturers' championship was awarded.
B For the 1977 and 1978 seasons, the FIA Cup for Drivers was awarded. This took into account all of the WRC events, and ten events that were not part of the WRC.

See also

References

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Sources

  • Collins, Peter (2008). Lancia 037: The Development & Rally History of a World Champion. Veloce Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781845840761.
  • Davenport, John; Hope-Frost, Henry (2004). The Complete Book of the World Rally Championship. Motorbooks International. ISBN 9780760319543.
  • Robson, Graham (2008). Audi Quattro. Veloce Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781845841416.

Further reading

  • Guarnieri, Claude (1982). Michèle Mouton: du hasard au défi. Solar. ISBN 9782263005947.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michèle Mouton.

January 27, 2023
michèle, mouton, born, june, 1951, french, former, rally, driver, competing, world, rally, championship, audi, factory, team, took, four, victories, finished, runner, drivers, world, championship, 1982, mouton, geneva, motor, show, 2011personal, informationbor. Michele Mouton born 23 June 1951 is a French former rally driver Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team she took four victories and finished runner up in the drivers world championship in 1982 Michele MoutonMouton at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011Personal informationBorn 1951 06 23 23 June 1951 age 71 Grasse FranceWorld Rally Championship recordActive years1974 1986Co driverFabrizia Pons Arne Hertz Terry HarrymanTeamsFiat Audi PeugeotRallies50Championships0Rally wins4Podiums9Stage wins162Total points229First rally1974 Tour de CorseFirst win1981 Rallye SanremoLast win1982 Rally BrazilLast rally1986 Tour de CorseMouton debuted in rallying as a co driver but quickly moved to the driver s seat steering an Alpine Renault A110 in national rallies In 1975 she competed in circuit racing and won the two litre prototype class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans After being signed by Fiat France for 1977 Mouton finished runner up to Bernard Darniche in the European Rally Championship She went on to win the 1978 Tour de France Automobile and record consistent results in her home events in the WRC the Tour de Corse and the Monte Carlo Rally For 1981 Audi Sport signed Mouton to partner Hannu Mikkola In her first year with the Audi Quattro she took a surprise victory at the Rallye Sanremo In the 1982 World Rally season Mouton finished a close second overall to Walter Rohrl after wins in Portugal Brazil and Greece and helped Audi to its first manufacturers title Her campaign the following year resulted in fifth place With the team having four top drivers for 1984 Mouton s participation on world championship level became part time In 1985 she won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States setting a record time in the process In 1986 she moved to Peugeot and won the German Rally Championship as the first female driver to win a major championship in rallying Soon after securing the title Mouton retired from rallying due to the ban of Group B supercars In 1988 she co founded the international motorsport event Race of Champions in memory of her former rival Henri Toivonen Mouton became the first president of the FIA s Women amp Motor Sport Commission in 2010 and the FIA s manager in the World Rally Championship in 2011 Contents 1 Career 1 1 Early life and career 1 2 Fiat 1 3 Audi 1 3 1 1980 1 3 2 1981 1 3 3 1982 1 3 4 1983 1 3 5 1984 1 3 6 1985 1 4 Peugeot 1 5 Later career 2 Personal life and legacy 3 WRC victories 4 Complete WRC results 4 1 Notes 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 8 Further reading 9 External linksCareer EditEarly life and career Edit Mouton s 1975 Le Mans class winning Moynet LM 75 Michele Mouton was born 23 June 1951 in Grasse 1 a town on the French Riviera close to the mountain stages famously featured in French rallies 2 Her parents grew roses and jasmine on their large property 3 After graduating from high school Mouton began law studies 4 but would soon drop out and concentrate on a career in rallying 5 Although Mouton began driving her father s Citroen 2CV when she was 14 years old 6 she did not turn her interest to rallying until 1972 when her friend Jean Taibi asked her to practise the Tour de Corse with him 3 6 Mouton later co drove for him in the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally the first ever World Rally Championship WRC event After a few more rallies Mouton s father suggested a switch to driving if she wanted to continue in rallying and promised to buy her a car and give her one year to prove herself 3 Driving an Alpine Renault A110 she debuted at the Rallye Paris Saint Raphael Feminin and then tackled the Tour de France Automobile 6 In the Ile de Beaute a complementary event to the Tour de Corse at the end of 1973 Mouton finished eighth overall 6 In the World Rally Championship Mouton made her driver debut in 1974 finishing 12th in the Tour de Corse in an Alpine A110 7 It was rumoured her good performances were the result of a special engine however her car passed inspection by WRC scrutineers 3 At the end of the year Mouton was crowned both French and European ladies champion 8 Re entering the Tour de Corse the following season she took seventh place 7 Mouton successfully defended her ladies titles 8 and also competed in circuit racing In an all female team with Christine Dacremont and Marianne Hoepfner she won the two litre prototype category of the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans 9 Recalling the race in 2008 Mouton said It started to rain I remember and I started to pass everybody I was running on slicks In the pits they were saying Michele you must stop but I did not want to because I was passing everyone 10 Her results attracted a major sponsor in the form of the French oil company Elf 3 6 In 1976 Mouton drove the A110 to 11th place in Monte Carlo and retired at the Rallye Sanremo 7 At the Tour de Corse her debut in the newer A310 also ended in retirement 7 Fiat Edit For the 1977 season Fiat France signed Mouton to partner Jean Claude Andruet She was not impressed by the handling of the Fiat 131 Abarth stating it was like a big truck not a car and terrible to drive 3 However the car would prove successful and Mouton put in very consistent results finishing eighth in the Tour de Corse in 1977 and fifth three years in a row from 1978 to 1980 7 In 1980 she had been running as high as second before her engine died for a time 11 In Monte Carlo she drove the car to seventh place in 1979 and 1980 equalling the result she had achieved in the event in a Lancia Stratos HF in 1978 7 Outside the World Rally Championship Mouton drove a Porsche Carrera RS to victory in the 1977 RACE Rallye de Espana and to second place in the 1977 Tour de France Automobile 12 She also finished runner up to Bernard Darniche in the overall European Rally Championship ERC 13 Mouton went on to win the Tour de France with the 131 Abarth the following year 14 At the Rallye d Antibes she finished third behind the Stratos drivers Darniche and Attilio Bettega 15 She placed fifth in the ERC standings and fourth in the Federation Internationale de l Automobile FIA Cup for Drivers 12 the predecessor to the drivers world championship In 1979 Mouton finished second in the French Rally Championship behind Porsche 911 SC driver Bernard Beguin 16 Audi Edit 1980 Edit In 1980 Audi Sport Audi s new factory team called Mouton and signed her for a World Rally Championship programme for the 1981 season Mouton described Audi s call as a complete shock 3 Audi s decision to nominate her instead of established male rivals attracted a great deal of publicity 17 As the Audi Quattro the first rally car to have over 300 bhp and both a turbocharger and four wheel drive 18 had not yet gained FIA homologation Audi could only enter rallies as zero cars and not as competitive entries 19 Hannu Mikkola debuted the car in the Algarve Rally in October and would have won by about thirty minutes had his times been officially registered 19 Mouton joined Freddy Kottulinsky for the final round of the Finnish Rally Championship the Northern Lights and also showed encouraging pace on the slippery surfaces 20 Mouton initially found the car understeering but became more comfortable after switching to left foot braking as advised by Mikkola who was in charge of developing the car 3 Audi announced their participation in eight events in 1981 although Mouton would not be entered in the Swedish Rally due to her lack of experience on driving on ice and snow 20 1981 Edit Mouton and Pons celebrate their first WRC victory in Sanremo Mouton s first competitive run in the Quattro in Monte Carlo ended before it had even begun She withdrew from the event before the start due to apparent engine problems 21 The team later discovered that dirt had got into the fuel system 22 At the Rally Portugal she started her long partnership with the Italian co driver Fabrizia Pons 23 Mouton won seven stages and took a career best fourth place despite suffering from electronic problems 22 This ended criticism of Audi for signing a female driver 24 After a retirement due to a broken camshaft in the Tour de Corse 22 Mouton set several fastest times at the Acropolis Rally in Greece 25 While Mikkola was leading and Mouton fifth the stewards excluded the Quattros citing homologation infractions 26 Although Audi protested the stewards upheld the decision 26 In her debut in the high speed 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland Mouton found it hard to get used to the rhythm changes 27 She recorded a few top ten stage times and finished 13th 27 She was satisfied with her performance and the local newspaper Keskisuomalainen described her debut as successful 27 At the Rallye Sanremo in Italy a mixed surface event with tarmac and gravel Mouton took the lead when the local star Michele Cinotto crashed and held off Henri Toivonen and Ari Vatanen to take the victory 28 29 30 This marked the first time a female driver had won a world championship event in rallying 31 Mouton s male rivals were left speechless 31 Earlier during the weekend Vatanen had been confident Never can nor will I lose to a woman 32 Mouton recalled her debut win in a 2008 interview for RallySport Magazine I remember not just because it was a win but also because it was a big fight right into the last night Fabrizia reminded me the other night that we had a problem with the brake pads so we lost a lot of time We finished three days rallying with one day to go night and day 32 seconds in front of Ari Vatanen We drove the last special stage for the night came back to the hotel and I could not sleep at all four hours in front of me and no sleep Then I arrive at the special stage it s about 42 km long and I look at Fabrizia and I said OK we forget everything and we are at the first stage of the rally again because one of us will crash And so Ari hit a rock and we won the rally 30 In the season ending RAC Rally in Great Britain Mouton continued her good performances by running third at half distance 33 despite having been uncomfortable about competing in a rally where pacenotes and practice are not allowed 34 However her Quattro later incurred gearbox problems and she retired from fifth place after sliding off the road into a snow filled ditch 35 Mouton would later state For me rallying is England No pacenotes just you in the car having to do the fastest time This to me is rallying OK it was not easy for me because I did not have experience there of the British championship but it is really rallying I like it very much 30 Mouton finished the season in eighth place in the drivers championship 36 while Audi was fifth in the manufacturers standings 37 1982 Edit Mouton s Quattro in Monte Carlo between two Porsche 911 SCs Mouton s 1982 season started with a big accident at the Monte Carlo Rally On stage twelve in the small town Brianconnet in Provence she hit a patch of ice and slid off the road crashing into the stone wall of a large house at 110 km h 70 mph 38 39 Mouton injured her knee while Pons suffered a concussion 38 She had been in third place and had set the fastest time for the difficult Col de Turini mountain pass 38 The pair s injuries were not serious and Mouton went on to make her debut in the Swedish Rally 40 She was running third when she slid into a snow bank and crashed into the Quattro of teammate Hannu Mikkola who had gone off at the same place 39 41 She eventually finished fifth 41 In Portugal Mouton recorded 18 stage wins on her way to a clear victory ahead of Toyota s Per Eklund 39 42 43 She once admitted that to be competitive in the rally she tried to think of the large crowds right by the side of the route as trees 44 At the Tour de Corse she could not match the pace of the leaders and finished seventh 39 At the Acropolis Rally Mouton won ahead of the Opel duo Walter Rohrl and Henri Toivonen and closed to within 20 points of the championship leader Rohrl 45 The event was overshadowed by two serious accidents one of which killed a spectator 46 Mouton had commented I m afraid that something might break in my car and I can no longer avoid hitting a spectator 46 In New Zealand Mouton continued her good performances and traded the lead with Mikkola Rohrl and Bjorn Waldegard Soon after regaining the lead on stage twelve 47 she retired with a broken oil pump 48 After seven rounds Mouton was second in the championship 32 points behind Rohrl and 12 ahead of Eklund 49 The Rally of Brazil was marred by the fatal accident of Brazilian driver Thomas Fuchs 50 and featured chaotic conditions as parts of the course were not successfully closed for competition 51 Although only five teams made it to the finish Mouton improved her title hopes by winning her duel with Rohrl after the German lost a wheel on the last day 51 At the 1000 Lakes she clocked in the eighth fastest time for the famous Ouninpohja stage and placed seventh after the first day 52 On the following leg Mouton drove too fast into a jump and damaged her Quattro while landing 53 After the next jump her front wheels locked up and she rolled the car 53 Mouton was next locked in a tight battle for the win in Sanremo Although she recorded nine stage wins and Audi took a one two she had to settle for fourth behind Rohrl 54 55 Audi had not originally planned to participate in the African marathon events but now found it necessary to enter the penultimate round the Rallye Cote d Ivoire due to their title battles with Opel 54 Just before the start of the event Mouton received news that her father had succumbed to cancer in his house in Nice 56 His last wish was that Mouton start the rally 56 After a first day of over 1 200 kilometres 750 miles of racing in temperatures over 30 C 86 F she was eight minutes clear of Mikkola and nearly half an hour ahead of title rival Rohrl 57 Mikkola said that he had never been in such a hot car and Rohrl estimated that the temperature inside his car reached an almost unbearable 70 C 158 F 57 With just over half of the 5 000 km 3 100 mi behind Mouton led from Rohrl by over an hour despite losing 25 minutes due to transmission problems 58 On the third day both Mouton and Rohrl struggled with several reliability issues and her lead over Rohrl shrank to 18 minutes 59 The Toyota Celica GT2000s of Eklund and Waldegard were still over two hours behind 59 Should Mouton go on to hold off Rohrl she would reduce Rohrl s lead in the championship to just two points 58 As a driver s seven best results counted towards the championship at the time Mouton would only need a third place in the RAC Rally to take the title even if Rohrl would win 58 On the final day she continued to suffer from mechanical problems and had the complete fuel injection system changed 56 For the next time control Rohrl and Mouton arrived almost simultaneously 56 With only 600 km to go Mouton went off the road and rolled her car 56 60 She drove the severely damaged Quattro for five more kilometres before giving up 56 Rohrl inherited the win and became the first two time world champion in rallying Having lost her father Mouton did not dwell on losing the title 30 Rohrl had earlier conceded that he would have accepted second place in the championship to Mikkola but not to Mouton This is not because I doubt her capabilities as a driver but because she is a woman 61 He believed that defeat would have devalued his performances 61 At the RAC Mouton edged out Toivonen to take second place behind Mikkola 62 63 This result made Audi the first German marque to win the manufacturers world title 64 At the inaugural Autosport Awards gala Mouton won the International Rally Driver of the Year award 65 1983 Edit An ex Mouton Quattro A2 at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed The 1983 season started the Group B era of the WRC and Mouton was now at the wheel of the Audi Quattro A1 She also had a new teammate Audi had signed Stig Blomqvist as their third regular driver For the third year in a row Mouton had a bad start to her season in Monte Carlo She went off the road on a stage not far from her home town 66 and again hit a stone wall at over 100 km h 60 mph 67 The car was destroyed but Mouton and Pons were unharmed 67 Mouton explained to her team boss Roland Gumpert later of Gumpert supercar fame that she had had to dodge a photographer 67 Mouton went on to record successive points finishes She finished fourth in Sweden in a quadruple win for Audi 68 after an early driving error that had sent her Quattro into a snow bank 69 In Portugal Mouton finished second to Mikkola ahead of Lancia s Rohrl and Markku Alen 70 After the first section of the Safari Rally totaling over 1 600 km 1 000 mi Mouton arrived to the finish on three wheels and said she was totally exhausted from the effort 71 72 She eventually placed third behind Opel s Ari Vatanen and her teammate Mikkola 73 After four events Mikkola and Mouton were first and second in the drivers championship 74 At the Tour de Corse Audi debuted the Quattro A2 which was 70 kg 155 lb lighter and had an engine producing 30 more horsepower 75 Mouton s rally ended when her engine caught on fire 76 On the first stage in Greece she rolled her car on a hairpin turn 18 km 11 mi from the start 77 78 Rally New Zealand was for Mouton a repetition of the previous year she took the lead on the seventh stage and held on to it until her A2 s engine failed 76 with only six of the 33 stages to go 79 The three retirements in a row dropped Mouton to fifth place in the championship 80 She then finished third behind Mikkola and Blomqvist at the Rally Argentina 81 but this would remain her last podium finish of the season 7 At the 1000 Lakes in Finland Mouton finished the first day in seventh place after setting two top five stage times 82 Her car later caught on fire 83 but she was able to continue in the event by following Mikkola s advice and driving into a lake 84 With a string of top ten times she eventually finished 16th 85 In the Rallye Sanremo the tarmac stages were dominated by the Lancia 037 and Mouton finished seventh after suffering from fuel injection problems 83 86 In the season ending RAC Rally she started well and held second place after the first twelve stages 87 An Audi mechanic later accidentally refilled Mouton s fuel tank with pure water which resulted in time consuming repairs 88 She eventually retired after crashing out 88 and placed fifth overall in the drivers championship 89 Although Mikkola beat Lancia s Rohrl and Alen to the drivers title 89 Audi had lost the manufacturers title to Lancia after the latter s triple win in Sanremo 83 1984 Edit Mouton with a Sport Quattro at the RAC For the 1984 season Audi added two time world champion Walter Rohrl to their star line up and Mouton now had a part time role 90 competing in five WRC events For the first time in nine years she did not enter the Monte Carlo Rally 91 However Mouton signed up to commentate the event for Radio Monte Carlo 92 She started her year well by finishing second at the Swedish Rally behind teammate and home favourite Blomqvist 93 Mouton later stated that finishing second was fantastic When you are out rallying on ice or snow in country like that it is like dancing From one side to the other side My dancing background helped my rallying As soon as I started on gravel I liked it because of that It was so nice to feel and move the car like that Sweden in ice and snow like ballet 30 This would remain her last podium position in the World Rally Championship 7 In the Safari Rally a rotor arm in Mouton s Quattro failed and caused the turbo to break down as well 94 She retired after falling victim to the team s ranking order as the repairs were expected to take too long Gumpert ordered championship leader Blomqvist s Quattro to be fixed by using Mouton s sister car as spares 95 Her debut in the new Sport Quattro at the Acropolis Rally ended with engine overheating problems 94 In the 1000 Lakes Mouton placed ninth after the short first day 96 She later crashed and continued without a windscreen but the damage to her Quattro could not be repaired in service 97 Mouton retired and left Finland pointless for the fourth year in a row 7 In late October she signed a contract extension with Audi 98 At the RAC Rally a slight mistake led to a puncture and Mouton dropped from third to fifth 99 She went on to narrowly lose the final podium spot to Toyota s Per Eklund 100 Mouton s results placed her 12th in the drivers world championship a point behind Rohrl 101 Outside the WRC Mouton debuted in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States driving an Audi Sport Quattro together with her usual co driver Fabrizia Pons 102 After her main opponent Martin Schanche got hampered by a flat right front tyre she won the open rally category now known as unlimited in a record time and placed second overall leaving behind several specialised V8 single seaters that had normally dominated the race 103 104 105 1985 Edit Mouton with a Quattro S1 in 2007 Audi s WRC programme was limited for the 1985 season due to the recent defeats to Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot s factory team headed by Jean Todt 106 Mouton and Mikkola were assigned to testing and development duties 106 She drove both the Sport Quattro and its follower the Quattro S1 Sport E2 Mouton considered the S1 the most difficult rally car she had driven For rallying on asphalt I agree the limit had gone too far We did not have the reflexes to control it properly It was tough to drive the car but not the short Quattro before 10 Mouton in an A2 at the Welsh Rally Although Mouton competed in only one world championship event during the season she contested a full six round British Rally Championship Her campaign was plagued by reliability problems and she recorded only one finish In the National Breakdown Rally Mouton stopped after damaging her Quattro in a jump 107 After technical problems led to an early retirement at the Circuit of Ireland 108 she finished second at the Welsh Rally behind Malcolm Wilson in another Quattro 109 At the Scottish Rally Mouton had been closing in on the leading Wilson until a transmission problem forced her to retire 110 At the Ulster Rally she set the fastest time for the first stage but then dropped out with a mechanical failure 111 In the season ending Manx International Rally Mouton struggled to start her Quattro and then crashed out five stages later 112 Mouton s only WRC event of the year was the long distance Rallye Cote d Ivoire She was co driven by Arne Hertz as Pons was ill at the time of the start 113 Mouton started well and tied the lead with Toyota s Juha Kankkunen after the first day 114 Her Quattro incurred severe engine problems on the next day but was seemingly repaired by Audi mechanics off the route in the jungle 115 At the same time the Sport Quattro chase car a high speed service car retired and Audi faced accusations of swapping the cars 115 The team withdrew Mouton just before the finish and the controversy remains unresolved the stewards did not find proof but the media published evidence afterwards 113 115 Although her rallying year was a disappointment Mouton made a successful return to the Pikes Peak winning the event overall in her Sport Quattro 116 Despite slippery conditions caused by a hailstorm she broke Al Unser Jr s 1982 record by about thirteen seconds 117 The Frenchwoman s win irritated some of her male rivals 118 Bobby Unser was reputedly quite vocal about his loss to which Mouton is said to have replied If you have the balls you can try to race me back down as well 104 Peugeot Edit Mouton s teammate Timo Salonen s 205 T16 E2 in Monte Carlo Mouton broke off her contract with Audi in late 1985 to join Peugeot for the coming season 119 She contested the German Rally Championship and two WRC events in a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 with which the marque had captured the previous year s world titles To replace the newly wed Pons Mouton recruited Terry Harryman who had been left jobless after Ari Vatanen s accident 10 Mouton nicknamed der schwarze Vulkan The Black Volcano due to her temperament and long black hair 5 120 won six of the eight events in the German championship 121 including the Rallye Deutschland 122 Although the Hessen Rallye was stopped after the severe accident of Formula One driver Marc Surer which claimed the life of his co driver Michel Wyder Mouton was declared the winner 123 124 She secured the German national title on the seventh and penultimate round the Sachs Baltic after taking her fifth win of the season 125 She became the first female driver to win a major championship in rallying 125 Mouton s WRC outings were her home events Monte Carlo Rally and Tour de Corse In Monte Carlo she was running in eighth place after eleven stages 126 but soon retired with oil pump problems 127 For the Tour de Corse in May Mouton was given the second evolution of the car 128 She quickly showed good pace and held third place behind Lancia s Henri Toivonen and teammate Bruno Saby 128 However she ran into gearbox trouble on the tenth stage and was forced to retire 128 During the next day Toivonen and his co driver Sergio Cresto crashed out from the lead and died in their seats Mouton was still in Corsica and remarked to her boyfriend that if they stop the Group B now it will be the end for me 10 Within days FISA announced new regulations and banned the Group B supercars for the following year 129 In October two weeks after securing the German Rally Championship title Mouton announced her retirement from rallying 130 She cited the end of the Group B era as the reason behind the decision and stated that it was a good time to stop 10 Later in the same month Mouton crowned her career by winning the last event of the German championship the Drei Stadte Rallye Three Cities Rally ahead of Armin Schwarz s MG Metro 6R4 121 131 Later career Edit Mouton driving a Quattro S1 during the 2009 edition of the Race of Champions In 1988 Mouton co founded the international motorsport event Race of Champions with Fredrik Johnsson in memory of Toivonen and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the world championship for rally drivers 132 The event originally included the world s top rally drivers but now features stars also from other disciplines such as Formula One NASCAR Le Mans and MotoGP competing against each other in identical cars 132 In 1988 and 1989 Mouton participated in rally raids as part of Peugeot s service team for Ari Vatanen and Jacky Ickx 133 At the 1988 Rally of Tunisia Mouton drove a 205 T16 Grand Raid chase car and transported spare parts for Vatanen and Henri Pescarolo but also classified sixth overall 134 She later took part in the Dakar Rally as a press driver in 2004 and 2009 133 In 2000 Mouton finished second in the London Sydney Marathon driving a Porsche 911 behind former teammate Stig Blomqvist 135 After 22 years Mouton and Fabrizia Pons reunited to compete in the 2008 Otago Classic Rally in New Zealand 136 In 2010 Mouton competed with a 911 in the Rallye du Maroc and finished second to Gregoire De Mevius 137 In 2010 Mouton became the first president of the FIA s Women amp Motor Sport Commission 138 She stated that for many years people have asked me why there have been no women following in my footsteps I really hope the Commission can help answer that question and that we can attract and support women in all areas of our sport 138 Having already headed a working group on the future of rallying Mouton was appointed FIA s manager in the World Rally Championship in 2011 139 Mouton also serves in the nomination committee of the Rally Hall of Fame 140 In March 2012 she recused herself after becoming a candidate for nomination Mouton was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with two time world champion Carlos Sainz 141 Personal life and legacy Edit Mouton interviewed in 1985 While announcing her retirement from rallying Mouton stated her intention to start a family with Corsican sports journalist Claude Guarnieri 130 She had her daughter Jessie Jessica in 1987 1 10 142 Mouton credited her father Pierre s support as the secret for her success He loved driving He loved fast cars And I think he would have loved to do what I did He was a prisoner of war for five years and when he came back he never had the opportunity to compete But he came to all the rallies I did And my mother came too 1 71 Mouton states that in her mind she did not try to beat her male rivals but to be at their level 3 She noted that in rallying the quickest elapsed time is the most important thing 71 David Evans of Autosport described her as motorsport s most successful ever female driver 139 Rally journalist and historian Graham Robson credits Mouton along with Pat Moss as the driver by whom all other females measure their skills and achievements 143 Mouton and Moss were of different eras and did not compete directly against each other although they both appeared at the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally where Mouton co drove 144 In 1985 they swapped cars in a private test session with Moss driving the Quattro and Mouton an Austin Healey 3000 144 Stirling Moss regarded Mouton as one of the best 145 and Niki Lauda described her as a superwoman 146 In 2011 Mouton was made knight of the Legion of Honour Legion d honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy 147 At the 50th International Emmy Awards in 2022 the documentary Queen of Speed about Mouton s rise to the top of rallying in the 1980s was awarded an Emmy for the Best Sports Documentary 148 149 WRC victories EditNº Year Rally Co driver Car1 1981 Rallye Sanremo Fabrizia Pons Audi Quattro2 1982 Rally de Portugal Fabrizia Pons Audi Quattro3 Acropolis Rally Fabrizia Pons Audi Quattro4 Rally of Brazil Fabrizia Pons Audi QuattroSource 150 Complete WRC results EditYear Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points1974 Michele Mouton Alpine Renault A110 1800 MONC SWEC POR KEN GREC FIN ITA CAN USA GBR FRA12 N A A N A1975 Michele Mouton Alpine Renault A110 1800 MON SWE KEN GRC MAR POR FIN ITA FRA7 GBR N A A N A1976 Michele Mouton Alpine Renault A110 1800 MON11 SWE POR KEN GRC MAR FIN ITARet N A A N AAlpine Renault A310 V6 FRARet GBR1977 Michele Mouton Autobianchi A112 Abarth MON24 SWE POR KEN NZL GRC FIN CAN ITA N A B N AFiat 131 Abarth FRA8 GBR1978 Michele Mouton Lancia Stratos HF MON7 SWE KEN POR GRC FIN CAN ITA CIV N A B N AFiat 131 Abarth FRA5 GBR1979 Fiat France Fiat 131 Abarth MON7 SWE POR KEN GRC NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA5 GBR CIV 21st 121980 Fiat France Fiat 131 Abarth MON7 SWE POR KEN GRC ARG FIN NZL ITA FRA5 GBR CIV 23rd 121981 Audi Sport Audi Quattro MONRet SWE POR4 KEN FRARet GRCRet ARG BRA FIN13 ITA1 CIV GBRRet 8th 301982 Audi Sport Audi Quattro MONRet SWE5 POR1 KEN FRA7 GRC1 NZLRet BRA1 FINRet ITA4 CIVRet GBR2 2nd 971983 Audi Sport Audi Quattro A1 MONRet SWE4 POR2 KEN3 5th 53Audi Quattro A2 FRARet GRCRet NZLRet ARG3 FIN16 ITA7 CIV GBRRet1984 Audi Sport Audi Quattro A2 MON SWE2 POR KENRet FRA 12th 25Audi Sport Quattro GRCRet NZL ARG FINRet ITA CIV GBR41985 Audi Sport Audi Sport Quattro MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN ITA CIVRet GBR NC 01986 Peugeot Talbot Deutschland Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 MONRet SWE POR KEN NC 0Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 FRARet GRC NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA GBR USASource 150 Notes Edit A From the World Rally Championship s conception in 1973 until 1976 there was no championship for drivers Only a manufacturers championship was awarded B For the 1977 and 1978 seasons the FIA Cup for Drivers was awarded This took into account all of the WRC events and ten events that were not part of the WRC See also EditList of female World Rally Championship driversReferences Edit a b c Kuhn Reiner 23 June 2011 Michele Mouton Auch mit 60 der ewige Vulkan Motorsport Aktuell in German Archived from the original on 29 March 2012 Retrieved 7 September 2011 Robson 2008 p 49 a b c d e f g h i Whitten Peter 3 June 2008 Interview Michele Mouton Part 1 RallySport Magazine Retrieved 17 August 2011 Niemals vielleicht Der Spiegel in German 3 May 1982 Retrieved 29 August 2011 a b Der schwarze Vulkan startet zur Winterrallye in Wolfsburg Hamburger Abendblatt in German 27 February 1986 p 26 Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 Retrieved 20 August 2011 a b c d e Davenport amp Hope Frost 2004 p 135 a b c d e f g h i Davenport amp Hope Frost 2004 p 136 a b Bouzanquet Jean Francois 2009 Fast Ladies Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970 Veloce Publishing Ltd p 158 Smith Roy 2010 Alpine amp Renault The Sports Prototypes 1973 to 1978 Volume 2 Veloce Publishing Ltd p 96 a b c d e f Whitten Peter 20 June 2008 Interview Michele Mouton Part 3 RallySport Magazine Retrieved 17 August 2011 Robson Graham 2008 Fiat 131 Abarth Veloce Publishing Ltd p 112 a b Michele Mouton RallyBase Archived from the original on 3 March 2009 Retrieved 20 August 2011 1977 European Rally Championship for Drivers Final classification RallyBase Archived from the original on 5 June 2012 Retrieved 27 August 2011 Robson Graham 2008 Fiat 131 Abarth Veloce Publishing Ltd p 90 Watch for Michelle The Sydney Morning Herald 30 July 1978 p 37 Retrieved 29 August 2011 Gentile Francois 1980 La victoire d un independant Auto moto in French Societe d Information et de Publication p 60 Henry Alan 1984 Audi Quattro Arco Publishing p 20 ISBN 9780668061445 Robson 2008 p 129 a b Robson 2008 pp 54 55 a b Robson 2008 p 56 Monte Carlo Rally takes toll St Petersburg Times 26 January 1981 p 3C Retrieved 20 August 2011 a b c Robson 2008 p 58 Fabrizia Pons RallyBase Archived from the original on 17 August 2009 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Robson 2008 p 57 Robson 2008 p 59 a b Robson 2008 p 61 a b c 12 ehti Michelen edelle PDF Keskisuomalainen in Finnish 31 August 1981 p 11 Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 2 October 2011 Robson 2008 p 62 23º Rallye Sanremo RallyBase Archived from the original on 7 June 2012 Retrieved 27 August 2011 a b c d e Whitten Peter 11 June 2008 Interview Michele Mouton Part 2 RallySport Magazine Retrieved 17 August 2011 a b Die Manner waren fassungslos Hamburger Abendblatt in German 12 October 1981 p 16 Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Von der Rally Siegerin zur Funktionarin Neue Zurcher Zeitung in German 30 May 2010 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Niemals kann und werde ich gegen eine Frau verlieren Robson 2008 p 64 Robson 2008 p 63 Hunston Hugh 26 November 1981 Easy victory that may alter face of rallying The Herald p 17 Retrieved 11 September 2011 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers Final classification RallyBase Archived from the original on 5 May 2009 Retrieved 27 August 2011 1981 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers Final classification RallyBase Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 Retrieved 27 August 2011 a b c Rallye Monte Carlo wird zu einem Rundstreckenrennen Hamburger Abendblatt in German 20 January 1982 p 12 Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 Retrieved 14 September 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Abendblatt in German 2 April 1983 p 9 Archived from the original on 14 July 2012 Retrieved 14 September 2011 Es war entsetzlich Ich bin total ubermudet von dieser Anstrengung Finn s rally The Age 5 April 1983 p 28 Retrieved 29 August 2011 Abschied mit Safari Sieg Hamburger Abendblatt in German 5 April 1983 p 16 Archived from the original on 22 July 2012 Retrieved 13 September 2011 Kupplung per Knopfdruck Hamburger Abendblatt in German 3 May 1983 p 11 Archived from the original on 18 July 2012 Retrieved 14 September 2011 a b Robson 2008 p 78 Collins 2008 p 118 Michele verungluckt Hamburger Abendblatt in German 31 May 1983 p 9 Archived from the original on 22 July 2012 Retrieved 14 September 2011 Alle Audi ausgeschieden Hamburger Abendblatt in German 28 June 1983 p 13 Archived from the original on 14 July 2012 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Panetta Vicente L 2 August 1983 Francesa Mouton y Mikkola favoritos hoy en Argentina La Opinion in Spanish p 6 Retrieved 29 August 2011 Bei Rallye verungluckt Hamburger Abendblatt in German 8 August 1983 p 14 Archived from the original on 16 July 2012 Retrieved 15 September 2011 Hannu nyt takaa ajaja PDF Keskisuomalainen in Finnish 27 August 1983 p 16 Archived from the original PDF on 17 December 2013 Retrieved 2 October 2011 a b c Robson 2008 p 81 Thomson David 12 May 2008 Mouton a woman with plenty of drive Drivesouth Archived from the original on 12 June 2018 Retrieved 17 August 2011 Loppujen lopuksi PDF Keskisuomalainen in Finnish 29 August 1983 p 16 Archived from the original PDF on 17 December 2013 Retrieved 2 October 2011 Collins 2008 p 132 Hunston Hugh 21 November 1983 Blomqvist takes 3 minute lead The Herald p 16 Retrieved 11 September 2011 a b Robson 2008 p 83 a b 1983 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers Final classification RallyBase Archived from the original on 3 January 2007 Retrieved 29 August 2011 Thiel Christian A 17 January 1984 Millionen fur den Audi Sieg Hamburger Abendblatt in German p 7 Archived from the original on 20 July 2012 Retrieved 15 September 2011 Ohne Michele Hamburger Abendblatt in German 13 December 1983 p 11 Archived from the original on 15 July 2012 Retrieved 14 September 2011 Verzicht auf Michele Mouton Hamburger Abendblatt in German 20 December 1983 p 10 Archived from the original on 30 July 2012 Retrieved 13 September 2011 Robson 2008 p 86 a b Robson 2008 p 87 Michelle Mouton draussen Hamburger Abendblatt in German 21 April 1984 p 8 Archived from the original on 20 July 2012 Retrieved 13 September 2011 Alen avasi akaisesti PDF Keskisuomalainen in Finnish 25 August 1984 p 18 Archived from the original PDF on 28 October 2011 Retrieved 2 October 2011 Arilla onkin sorakirppu PDF Keskisuomalainen in Finnish 26 August 1984 p 22 Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 2 October 2011 Mouton bleibt bei Audi Hamburger Abendblatt in German 31 October 1984 p 21 Archived from the original on 17 July 2012 Retrieved 13 September 2011 Hunston Hugh 29 November 1984 End of road for McRae s rally dream The Herald p 23 Retrieved 13 September 2011 33rd Lombard RAC Rally RallyBase Archived from the original on 16 October 2011 Retrieved 18 August 2011 1984 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers Final classification RallyBase Archived from the original on 2 May 2007 Retrieved 29 August 2011 Whitten Peter 10 August 2010 Review Audi Quattro The Rally History RallySport Magazine Retrieved 31 December 2011 1984 Apropos Pikes Peak ERC24 22 June 2013 Retrieved 30 August 2015 a b Meet Michele Mouton Race Retro Archived from the original on 31 March 2012 Retrieved 18 August 2011 Mouton mit Rekord Hamburger Abendblatt in German 10 July 1984 p 13 Archived from the original on 14 July 2012 Retrieved 13 September 2011 a b Abschied von Michele Mouton Hamburger Abendblatt in German 28 February 1985 p 22 Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 Retrieved 20 August 2011 First UK International win for Wilson on Breakdown Autocar Iliffe Sons amp Sturmey Ltd 163 13 1985 Hunston Hugh 10 April 1985 McRae win gains vital title points The Herald p 27 Retrieved 29 August 2011 Wilson Colin 1985 Win for Wilson The Motor Temple Press Ltd 168 7 Mouton s Audi burns out The Herald 11 June 1985 p 30 Retrieved 25 August 2011 Wilson leads as Mouton drops out The Herald 27 July 1985 p 19 Retrieved 29 August 2011 Hunston Hugh 14 September 1985 Prost fastest in chase for title The Herald p 19 Retrieved 29 August 2011 a b Harding Anthony 1987 The Guinness Book of the Car Guinness Superlatives p 148 Michele Mouton vorn Hamburger Abendblatt in German 31 October 1985 p 22 Archived from the original on 20 July 2012 Retrieved 18 September 2011 a b c Robson 2008 pp 103 105 Audi s autonomous TT rally car Autocar 11 November 2009 Archived from the original on 18 November 2009 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Pikes Peak records shattered The Post and Courier 14 July 1985 p 3 C Archived from the original on 17 July 2012 Retrieved 25 August 2011 Sloane Alastair 10 May 2008 The good oil Sheilas turn it on The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 29 August 2011 Michele Mouton zu Peugeot Hamburger Abendblatt in German 4 December 1985 p 11 Archived from the original on 16 July 2012 Retrieved 11 September 2011 Knappek Charles 17 June 2011 Michele Mouton la reine du rallye francais Le Monde in French Retrieved 25 August 2011 a b Abschied mit einem Sieg Hamburger Abendblatt in German 27 October 1986 p 18 Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Mouton siegt wieder Hamburger Abendblatt in German 11 August 1986 p 14 Archived from the original on 17 July 2012 Retrieved 14 September 2011 Driver Killed During Rally Sarasota Herald Tribune 1 June 1986 p 9D Retrieved 25 August 2011 Grand Prix Racer Still Listed in Serious Condition The News and Courier 3 June 1986 p 8D Archived from the original on 24 January 2013 Retrieved 25 March 2017 a b Michele Mouton die Meisterin Hamburger Abendblatt in German 6 October 1986 p 18 Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Die vielen Gesichter einer Frau Hamburger Abendblatt in German 21 January 1986 p 12 Archived from the original on 18 July 2012 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Rohrl fiel weit zuruck Hamburger Abendblatt in German 22 January 1986 p 16 Archived from the original on 18 July 2012 Retrieved 14 September 2011 a b c Autocar Iliffe Sons amp Sturmey Ltd 168 21 1986 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Missing or empty title help Hunston Hugh 7 May 1986 New curbs on power and speed The Herald p 21 Retrieved 29 August 2011 a b Michele Mouton macht Schluss Hamburger Abendblatt in German 17 October 1986 p 17 Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Davenport amp Hope Frost 2004 p 161 a b ROC History Race of Champions Retrieved 18 August 2011 a b Portrait of a Lady day seven Motorsport com 9 January 2009 Retrieved 18 August 2011 Michele Mouton Der Spiegel in German 9 May 1988 Retrieved 27 October 2011 Jennings Bob 5 July 2000 Blomqvist wins as the fat lady sings The Age Archived from the original on 23 March 2012 Retrieved 18 August 2011 Mouton and Pons together again WRC com 21 December 2007 Retrieved 20 August 2011 de Mevius wins Rallye du Maroc Mouton second RallySport Magazine 17 October 2010 Retrieved 17 August 2011 a b FIA establishes Women amp Motor Sport Commission Formula 1 28 April 2010 Archived from the original on 29 April 2010 Retrieved 29 August 2011 a b Evans David 3 February 2011 Mouton appointed WRC manager Autosport Retrieved 17 August 2011 New Inductees to Rally Hall of Fame Neste Oil Rally Finland 9 February 2011 Archived from the original on 3 September 2012 Retrieved 17 August 2011 Sainz and Mouton nominated to Rally Hall of Fame Neste Oil Rally Finland 12 March 2012 Archived from the original on 10 September 2012 Retrieved 20 March 2012 Geneve Audi RS3 och Audi A3 Concept Auto Motor amp Sport in Swedish Egmont 1 March 2011 Retrieved 12 December 2011 Robson 2008 p 50 a b Turner Stuart 2011 Harnessing Horsepower The Pat Moss Carlsson Story Veloce Publishing Ltd pp 145 146 Taylor Sam 28 March 1999 Real people That Penelope Pitstop feeling The Independent Archived from the original on 14 May 2022 Retrieved 4 September 2011 Kleiner Wuchs sensibler Hintern Der Spiegel in German 16 August 1982 Retrieved 4 September 2011 WRC manager Mouton honoured Crash net 30 December 2011 Retrieved 20 March 2012 WRC Legend Mouton Honoured At Emmy Awards wrc com 22 November 2022 Queen of Speed IMDb Retrieved 24 November 2022 a b Michele Mouton eWRC Results com Retrieved 30 January 2022 Sources EditCollins Peter 2008 Lancia 037 The Development amp Rally History of a World Champion Veloce Publishing Ltd ISBN 9781845840761 Davenport John Hope Frost Henry 2004 The Complete Book of the World Rally Championship Motorbooks International ISBN 9780760319543 Robson Graham 2008 Audi Quattro Veloce Publishing Ltd ISBN 9781845841416 Further reading EditGuarnieri Claude 1982 Michele Mouton du hasard au defi Solar ISBN 9782263005947 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michele Mouton Michele Mouton at FIA com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michele Mouton amp oldid 1125851834, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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