Patricia Ann Moss-Carlsson (''née'' Moss; 27 December 1934 – 14 October 2008) was one of the most successful female
auto rally drivers of all time, achieving three outright wins and seven podium finishes in international rallies. She was crowned European Ladies' Rally Champion five times (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964–65). Her older brother
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
was a
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
star during the 1950s. From 1963 until her death in 2008, Swedish rally driver
Erik Carlsson
Erik Hilding Carlsson (5 March 1929 – 27 May 2015) was a Swedish rally driver for Saab. He was nicknamed "''Carlsson på taket''" ("Carlsson on the roof" in reference to Astrid Lindgren's children's book character) as well as ''Mr. Saab'' ...
was both her driving-partner and her husband.
She is the author of a memoir ''The Story So Far'' (1967) and, with her husband, co-author of ''The Art and Technique of Driving'' (1965).
Biography
Pat Moss was born in
Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred south-west of Charing Cross in central London. Thame ...
, Surrey, England, to British
race car driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including n ...
Alfred Moss
Alfred Ethelbert Moss (30 May 1896 – 23 April 1972) was a British dentist and racing driver. He was the father of British racing driver Stirling Moss.
Biography
Born in Stratford, at the time part of the county of Essex, Moss was the son ...
and Aileen (née Craufurd). She grew up in
Bray, Berkshire
Bray, occasionally Bray on Thames, is a suburban village and civil parish in the Windsor and Maidenhead district, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire. It sits on the banks of the River Thames, to the southeast of Maidenhead with which it is ...
and was taught to drive at the age of 11 by her brother, Stirling. But she started her sporting career on horseback, becoming well known as a successful
show-jumper and member of the
British showjumping team. In 1953, aged 18, she started driving in club rallies after being introduced to the sport by boyfriend Ken Gregory, Stirling's manager. In 1954, Moss bought a
Triumph TR2
The Triumph TR2 is a sports car produced by the Standard Motor Company in the United Kingdom from 1953 to 1955. It was most commonly available in open two-seater form.
History
Standard's Triumph Roadster was out-dated and under-powered on ar ...
and started rallying more seriously. She asked
Standard-Triumph
The Standard Motor Company Limited was a motor vehicle manufacturer, founded in Coventry, England, in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay. For many years, it manufactured Ferguson TE20 tractors powered by its Vanguard engine. All Standard's tracto ...
to cover her expenses to drive her TR2 on the 1955
RAC Rally
Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) cal ...
, but they declined.
A more astute
MG Cars
MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer existing between 1930 and 1972 that made the marque well known. Since 2007 the marque has been contro ...
offered Moss expenses and a works
MG TF 1500. Thus began a relationship lasting seven years, netting three championships and benefiting the
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a United Kingdom, UK-based vehicle manufacturer formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris Motors, Morris and Austin Motor Company, Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merge ...
with valuable publicity. As a BMC works team driver, Moss had her breakthrough in 1958, when she drove her
Morris Minor
The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 ...
to 4th place on the RAC Rally. She achieved another 4th place at Belgium's
Liège–Rome–Liège
The Marathon de la Route was a series of Rallying#Road rallies, road rallies held in Europe between 1931 and 1971, including Liège–Rome–Liège and Liège–Sofia–Liège rallies held on public roads and closed-circuit races held at the Nürb ...
Rally in an
Austin-Healey 100/6 and won the first of her five European Ladies' Rally Championships.
In 1960, Moss took over-all victory at the
Liège–Rome–Liège
The Marathon de la Route was a series of Rallying#Road rallies, road rallies held in Europe between 1931 and 1971, including Liège–Rome–Liège and Liège–Sofia–Liège rallies held on public roads and closed-circuit races held at the Nürb ...
in an
Austin-Healey 3000
The Austin-Healey 3000 is a British sports car built from 1959 until 1967. It is the best known of the "big Healey" models. The car's bodywork was made by Jensen Motors and the vehicles were assembled at BMC's MG Works in Abingdon, alongsid ...
and went on to finish 2nd at the ''
Coupe des Alpes
The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an interna ...
''. In 1961, she finished 2nd at the RAC Rally. In 1962, she was 3rd at the
East African Safari Rally
The Safari Rally is an automobile rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is h ...
in a
Saab 96
The Saab 96 is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Swedish automaker Saab from 1960 to January 1980, replacing the Saab 93. The 96 featured aerodynamic two-door bodywork, four-passenger seating and at first a two-stroke, three-cylinder e ...
and, at the RAC, with the Austin-Healey. Her biggest achievement, however, was winning the Netherlands'
Tulip Rally
The Tulip Rally (Dutch: ''Tulpenrallye''), first held in 1949, is the oldest Dutch rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or para ...
in a
Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to:
*Performance Cars of the original Mini series with uprated drive train and brakes, called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and also the successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000
*Cars of the Mini (mar ...
, which Moss considered "twitchy, and pretty unruly on the limit".
In 1963, Moss joined
Ford of Britain
Ford Motor Company Limited,The Ford 'companies' or corporate entities referred to in this article are:
* Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, incorporated 16 June 1903
* Ford Motor Company Limited, incorporated 7 December 1928. Current ...
and managed a 6th place at the
Acropolis Rally
The Acropolis Rally of Greece () is a Rallying, rally competition that is part of the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship (WRC). The rally is held on very dusty, rough, rocky and fast mountain roads in mainland Greece, usually dur ...
in her
Lotus
Lotus or LOTUS may refer to:
Plants
* List of plants known as lotus, a list of various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly:
**''Nelumbonaceae'', a single-genus family of aquatic flowering plants, consisting of just two species; ...
-tuned
Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car manufactured in various body styles from 1962 to 1982. It was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through to Mark V, although of ...
. On 9 July 1963 she married fellow rally driver
Erik Carlsson
Erik Hilding Carlsson (5 March 1929 – 27 May 2015) was a Swedish rally driver for Saab. He was nicknamed "''Carlsson på taket''" ("Carlsson on the roof" in reference to Astrid Lindgren's children's book character) as well as ''Mr. Saab'' ...
. Ford tried to sign Erik; instead, in 1964, Moss switched to
Saab
Saab or SAAB may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft, aerospace and defence company, still known as SAAB, and together with subsidiaries as Saab Group
** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab ...
works team to partner her husband. Together, they competed in 11 international rallies. Her most notable results were 3rd at the Acropolis Rally and 4th at the
Liège–Sofia–Liège
The Marathon de la Route was a series of road rallies held in Europe between 1931 and 1971, including Liège–Rome–Liège and Liège–Sofia–Liège rallies held on public roads and closed-circuit races held at the Nürburgring from 1965 unti ...
and the RAC Rally. At the
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
, she came in 5th in 1964 and 3rd in 1965.
In 1968, Moss joined
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...
to drive the new
Fulvia
Fulvia (; d. 40 BC) was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the late Roman Republic. Fulvia's birth into an important political dynasty facilitated her relationships and, later on, marriages to Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribo ...
. She did not like the car's strong
understeer
Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of the vehicle to changes in steering angle associated with changes in lateral acceleration. This sensitivity is defined for a level road for a given steady state ...
, but drove it to 14th place at the
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
and 2nd place at the
Rallye Sanremo
Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from 1973 to the 2003. It was a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and is current ...
, losing to
Pauli Toivonen
Pauli Toivonen (22 August 1929 in Jyväskylä, Finland – 14 February 2005) was a Finnish rally car driver. He drove for Citroën, Lancia and Porsche and had many successes to his credit. Toivonen had two sons, Harri and Henri, both also ral ...
in a
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in ) is a family of German two-door, high performance Rear-engine design, rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche, Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Now in it ...
. Her other notable results of the season included winning the
Sestriere
Sestriere (, , , ) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the France, French border. Its name derives from Latin language, Latin: ''ad petram sistrariam ...
Rally and finishing 8th at the
Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...
and 7th at the ''
Tour de Corse
The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, and ...
''. At the 1969
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
, Moss drove her Fulvia to 6th place.
In December 1969,
Moss and Carlsson had a daughter, Susan. By that time, Moss was becoming less active in rallying; she joined
Renault Alpine
Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine (, ), is a French manufacturer of sports cars and racing cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954.
Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originall ...
and drove her
Alpine A110
The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1963 to 1977. The car was styled as a " berlinette", which in the post-WWII era refers to a small enclosed two-door berline, better-known as a coupé. The A ...
to 10th place at the 1972
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
before finally retiring in 1974.
On 14 October 2008, Moss-Carlsson died of cancer, aged 73, at home in
Eaton Bray
Eaton Bray is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is situated about three miles south-west of the town of Dunstable and is part of a semi-rural area which extends into the parish of Edlesborough. In the 2021 United Kingdom ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
.
She was survived by her husband Erik and daughter Susan.
See also
*
List of female World Rally Championship drivers
This is a list of women that have entered at least one World Rally Championship event.
This list does not include co-drivers.
All female WRC drivers
See also
* List of World Rally Championship drivers
References
{{Reflist
*World Rally Cham ...
References
External links
ObituaryArchived at ''
Times Online
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
''
Obituaryat ''
Autosport
''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London, England. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship.
Autosport began life as a we ...
''
ObituaryArchived at ''
Octane
Octane is a hydrocarbon and also an alkane with the chemical formula C8H18, and the condensed structural formula CH3(CH2)6CH3. Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Pat
1934 births
2008 deaths
Deaths from cancer in England
English rally drivers
Female rally drivers
People from Thames Ditton
World Rally Championship drivers
English female racing drivers
20th-century English sportswomen