| Christine Beckers | |
|---|---|
 Beckers in 1978 | |
| Born | (1943-12-04) 4 December 1943 (age 81) Uccle, Belgium |
| Years active | 1966–1979 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1974 | Belgian Women's Drivers' Champion |
Christine Beckers (known professionally by the mononym Christine; born 4 December 1943 in Uccle) is a Belgian former racing driver who had success in multiple disciplines: circuit (in touring cars and prototypes), rallying, rally raid, hillclimbing, autoslalom, and NASCAR.
Career
She made her debut in 1966 in rallying at the wheel of an NSU and drove for the German brand for two years. In 1967 she participated in 29 events including the 24 Hours of Spa with Marie-Claude Beaumont, and won her first title as Belgian Drivers' Champion.
In 1968, after several successes in an NSU Prinz and a few races in single-seater Formula Vee, she was contracted by Alfa Romeo Benelux as a works driver. In 37 events, both on circuits and rallying, she regularly won her class in an Alfa Romeo GTV. The highlight of her season was winning the overall ranking at the Houyet hillclimb race driving the Alfa Romeo GTA SA of Team Lucien Bianchi.
She competed in the 24 Hours of Spa eleven times, contesting her last official race on a circuit in July 1980. She also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times between 1973 and 1977, and particularly distinguished herself in 1974, supported by the French Marie Laurent and Belgian Yvette Fontaine, winning the 2-liter class in a Chevron. In 1976, she joined the prestigious Inaltéra team, with Henri Pescarolo and Jean-Pierre Beltoise, in a team with Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Jean Rondeau. In the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans, together with Lella Lombardi (the only woman to have scored a point in the Formula One World Championship), she obtained the best female ranking in the competition to date (11th overall), despite a series of spins following an electrical failure at more than 320 kilometres per hour (200 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight. In the middle of the night, she repaired the Inaltéra alone, costing her more than two hours of downtime, both on the track and in the pits.
In addition, she participated in three editions of the Paris–Dakar Rally, in 1979, 1980 and 1982, and was the first woman to do so.
In 1977 Beckers and Lombardi were invited by NASCAR to drive in the Firecracker 400 at the Daytona International Speedway. She also took part in two editions of the 24 Hours of Daytona at the same circuit, driving an Inaltera and a BMW M3.
In 2024 the 80-year-old Beckers is planning to set a Guinness World Record by becoming the oldest person to drive a Formula One car. On 21 July, she intends to drive a 1980s-era Arrows A8 around Belgium's Circuit Zolder.
Personal life
She was engaged to French driver Roger Dubos, but he died during the 1973 edition of the 24 Hours of Spa in a crash with the German Hans-Peter Joisten.
Trained as a journalist, she returned to this profession after her retirement from competition, notably in automobile magazines. She also rides motorcycles, flies, paraglides, and drives ATVs. She made several desert crossings with her second husband, Louis Schmitz. Together, they sponsored Thierry Boutsen in Formula 1, before adopting, with the help of Boutsen and Ayrton Senna, two children from Brazil.
In 2014 Beckers published an autobiography, La course ou la vie: Itinéraire d'une femme rapide (Race or Life: Itinerary of a Fast Woman).
Record
Titles
- Five times Belgian Women's Drivers' Champion, in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1974;
Notable victories and rankings
- Winner of the 1974 Rallye Paris – Saint-Raphaël Féminin, in a Lancia Stratos HF (last edition of the race, counting towards the European Rally Championship);
- Winner of the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans 2-litre class, in a Chevron B23 with Yvette Fontaine (17th overall for the Seiko Scato team);
- Winner of the 1979 Paris–Dakar Rally Ladies' Cup in a Toyota Land Cruiser with Dominique Fougerouse (41st overall);
- Winner of the 1980 Paris–Dakar Rally Ladies' Cup in a Range Rover Bastos with Thierry Gérin and Marc Stinghlamber (7th overall);
- 2nd in the 1974 Giro d'Italia automobilistico, in a Fiat Abarth 030 with Giorgio Pianta;
- 2nd in the 1970 AGACI 300 of Montlhéry, in an Alfa Romeo T33/2, behind Bob Wollek
- 3rd in the 1970 6 Hours of Nürburgring, in an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm;
- 4th in the 1969 12 Hours of Huy, in an Alfa Romeo Spider;
- 7th in the 1973 24 Hours of Spa, in an Opel Commodore with Patrick Nève and Huub Vermeulen;
- 7th in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, in a Chevron B21 with Roger Dubos;
- 7th in the 1969 3 Hours of Cape Town, in an Alfa Romeo GTV with Basil van Rooyen;
- 8th in the 1971 Tour de France Automobile, in a Porsche 911 S with Ennio Bonomelli;
- 8th in the 1968 12 Hours of Ypres, in an Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Veloce with Étienne Stapaert;
- 9th in the 1970 European Touring Car Championship in an Alfa Romeo GTV and GTAm 2 litres for Alfa Romeo Benelux and Autodelta (4th in the 4 Hours of Monza, 5th in Salzburg, 5th in the GP of Budapest, 4th in the GP of Brno, 3rd at the Nürburgring and 4th in the 4 Hours of Jarama);
- 9th in the 1973 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps, in a Chevron B21 with Roger Dubos;
- 10th in the 1970 Tulip Rally, in an Alfa Romeo 1750 SV with Gaby Arend;
- 11th in the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans, in an Inaltera LM77 (Gr. 6) with Lella Lombardi.
References
- Berg, Nik (8 March 2024). "Meet the Alfa Women Who Stormed the International Endurance Stage in the '70s". Hagerty UK. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- "The top 10 female racers of all time". Motorsport.com. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- "Women Shining Bright in Sporting Events Once Primarily Male-Dominated". Go Fast Girls. 26 January 2021.
- Blackstock, Elizabeth (6 July 2024). "Lella Lombardi: The incredible and drama-filled story behind her NASCAR debut". PlanetF1.
- Elizabeth, Blackstock (4 July 2022). "When NASCAR Attempted to Showcase Women Drivers at the 1977 Firecracker 400". Jalopnik. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- "À 80 ans, cette pilote belge se lance le défi de rouler en Formule 1!". Red Racing Green (in French). 10 May 2024.
- de Wilde, Olivier (4 May 2024). "L'ex-pilote du Mans Christine Beckers va piloter une F1 à 80 ans le jour de la fête nationale !". DHnet (in French). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- Bombaerts, Jean-Paul (11 August 2014). "Christine Beckers "Le risque était partout, mais on s'en fichait"". L'Echo (in French).
- "1980 Miscellaneous Rallies". speedfreaks.org.
- Harris-Gardiner, Rachel (28 February 2010). "Speedqueens: Christine Beckers". Speedqueens. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- de Jong, Frank. "1970 European Touring Car Championship". Touring Car Racing 1952 – 1993.
External links
- Christine Beckers driver statistics at Racing-Reference