Dorothy Conyers Nelson Champney became Dorothy Riley (7 March 1909 – 22 July 1968) was a British rally driver who drove the fastest car by a woman in the 1934 Le Mans 24 hour race partnered by

Kay Petre Kathleen Coad Petre (' Defries; 10 May 1903 – 10 August 1994), known as Kay Petre, was an early motor racing star. She was born in York, Toronto, York, Ontario, now part of Toronto. Family Kathleen Coad Defries was the daughter of Robert Leo ...

Life

Champney was born in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

in 1909. Her parents were Gerthrude (born Wilcox) and Colonel Frederick D'Arcy Champney who was of "independent means". 1933 was a good year, she and Miss L. Hobbs took the ladies award in the ladies' prize international Alpine cup. She was also the first woman in her Riley Kestrel in that years Scottish Rally. There were nearly sixty class one drivers that year and a third of them were women. Champney beat Jackie Astbury in a Singer and Marjorie Smith in a Alvis. In 1934 she who drove the fastest car by a woman in the 1934 Le Mans 24 hour race. She was partnered by

in a Riley Ulster Imp. She married Victor Riley who led the Riley car company in 1934. The Riley car business got into debt and in 1938 it was sold and eventually absorbed into the Morris Car company. Victor was a director on that company from 1939 to 1948. They had two children and she continued her interest in racing and cars. Champney died in

Moreton-in-Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England. Its flat and low-lying site is surrounded by the Cotswold Hills. The River Evenlode r ...

in 1968 having outlived her husband by just over ten years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champney, Dorothy 1909 births 1968 deaths Sportspeople from Scarborough, North Yorkshire 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers English rally drivers English racing drivers English female racing drivers Racing drivers from Yorkshire 20th-century English sportswomen