Patsy Burt
Encyclopedia
Patricia Mary "Patsy" Burt (10 July 1928, Chelsea, London
– 4 October 2001) was a British
motor racing driver.
During a long and varied career, Patsy Burt won many British national-level competitions, and was the first female driver ever to win both the Brighton Speed Trials
and the RAC
National Sprint Championship. Her run at Brighton in 1968 set a new outright course record, which went unbeaten until 1975. She was also, in 1961, the first British driver of either sex to participate in a full season of the European Mountain Championship
. For nearly three decades, Patsy Burt's powder-blue racing cars were a familiar sight, usually placed well up the leader board, at most British hillclimb
and sprint races.
Her 42 outright victories and nearly 100 national, international, and ladies' records make Patsy Burt one of the most successful British female racing drivers of all time. Her achievements earned her membership of the British Racing Drivers' Club
, an institution few women are ever invited to join.
circuit to watch her father and others competing on the high speed Surrey banking, following World War II
she trained as a riding instructor. However, she remained in contact with motor racing through her father's involvement with the Junior Car Club, and occasionally spectated at the Goodwood Circuit
, one of Britain's few post-war motor racing venues. Eventually she was tempted into taking part herself, and began her driving career at the wheel of a Jowett Javelin
in 1953.
Initially her driving was restricted to rallying and driving tests, through which she eventually earned works drives for a number of manufacturers including BMC
, Triumph
and Ford
. However, it was not long before she also began to take part in circuit races, and she worked her way up from her Javelin firstly to a Jaguar XK120
, and then an Aston Martin DB2/4
. It was while driving the Aston at Goodwood in 1955 that she overheard a male spectator's comment that she would later cite as a major motivating factor in her future career: "Look, a woman driving. Oh, what a waste of a beautiful motor car".
The next season Patsy Burt exchanged her road cars for some proper competition machinery. She competed in a few hillclimb and circuit events in an Aston Martin DB3S
, and the following year bought a Cooper T39 "Bobtail" sport racer. It was with Coopers that Patsy Burt's name would become most associated over the subsequent decade.
, and bought a Cooper T43
. Although she continued to compete in circuit races, Burt won her first events in hillclimb competitions, including taking first place in the Stapleford National Hillclimb. From 1959 she decided to concentrate solely on the sprint and hillclimb events. Her smooth, precise driving style was ideally suited to these single-run events where a mistake, unlike in a multiple-lap circuit race, could not be cancelled out by better driving later in the event. In addition to the little Cooper — painted in her own shade of dark powder-blue, which came to be known by others as Burt blue, with white trim — Patsy Burt also raced a 1500 cc Porsche RS
in 1961, becoming the first British competitor ever to complete a full season in the European Mountain Championship
.
As well as being a successful racer herself, Patsy Burt and her manager Ron Smith also ran a well-regarded race preparation garage. Their operation, PMB Garages Ltd. (named for Burt's initials), of Great Bookham
, Surrey, prepared Arthur Owen
's winning Cooper T53 car for the 1962 British Hill Climb Championship
, and repeated their triumph eight years later with Sir Nick Williamson's F5000
specification McLaren M10A. PMB were, naturally, also responsible for Patsy Burt's own cars during the rest of her career. The car with which Burt became synonymous, her modified Cooper T59
, was built up at PMB Garages in the winter of 1962-63. Chassis number C/PMB/1/63, originally supplied as a 1 litre Formula Junior
car, was adapted to accept a 2 litre Coventry Climax FPF engine by moving the driving position forward. Burt's short stature allowed the larger engine, with its concomitantly larger fuel and oil tanks, to be mounted in the usual position without having to lengthen the car's wheelbase.
Burt continued to participate, with great success, in British events throughout the early 1960s, but by 1965 both she and Smith realised that, if her success was to continue, she needed a more potent mount. Being acquainted with McLaren founder Bruce McLaren
, Burt and Smith approached him with an idea for creating a single-seater from the McLaren M1A
CanAm
sports car's chassis. McLaren liked the idea and the resultant McLaren M3A was nicknamed the whoosh-bonk, as when the idea was first pitched to him his response was that it wouldn't be a problem and that it would be a quick process: "whoosh, bonk, and we've got a single-seater!" The M3A appeared in 1966 and was a brutally effective sprint machine, boasting a 4.4 litres (268 cu in) Oldsmobile
V8 engine
, modified by Traco to produce 360 bhp, comparable with the best contemporary Formula One
machines. For certain sprint events PMB Garages modified the McLaren with a pointed nose and extended windscreen, designed to reduce aerodynamic drag.
The M3A was not the only technological contribution that Burt and Smith made to the hillclimbing world. In 1967 Burt's M3A was the first car to employ a vertical metal plate mounted edge-on to the direction of travel, intended to provide a reliable surface with which to break the timing beam at the start and finish of sprint and hillclimb courses. This plate eventually became compulsory in international competition and is now known as a Burt strut
, making Patsy Burt one of the few racers to have a component named after them.
Behind the wheel of her M3A Patsy Burt set eight international and 21 British national records for various events and distances, from both a standing and flying start. The M3A's first major win was in 1967 at the Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
, Britain's oldest hillclimb event, where she set a ladies' course record time. In 1968 she won the Brighton Speed Trials
sprint event on Brighton's historic Madeira Drive. In so doing she set a 1 km course record which stood for seven years. The high point of her career came in 1970 when she won the RAC
National Sprint Championship, the first time that a woman had ever won a British national title. Keen to end her career on top of her profession, Patsy Burt retired from driving at the end of the 1970 season.
for many years, before being recently restored and returned to the race track. Her McLaren M3A, the first of its kind and last known survivor of the three eventually built, found its way to the Donington Grand Prix Collection
. Patsy Burt died on 4 October 2001; her death notice in The Daily Telegraph read "on her 73rd lap retired due to a mechanical problem..."
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
– 4 October 2001) was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
motor racing driver.
During a long and varied career, Patsy Burt won many British national-level competitions, and was the first female driver ever to win both the Brighton Speed Trials
Brighton Speed Trials
The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held July 19–22, 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace...
and the RAC
Royal Automobile Club
The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
National Sprint Championship. Her run at Brighton in 1968 set a new outright course record, which went unbeaten until 1975. She was also, in 1961, the first British driver of either sex to participate in a full season of the European Mountain Championship
European Hill Climb Championship
The European Hill Climb Championship is an FIA-run motorsport competition held across Europe on mountain roads.Unlike circuit racing, each driver competes alone, starting from a point at the base of a mountain and reaching a finish point near the summit...
. For nearly three decades, Patsy Burt's powder-blue racing cars were a familiar sight, usually placed well up the leader board, at most British hillclimb
Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....
and sprint races.
Her 42 outright victories and nearly 100 national, international, and ladies' records make Patsy Burt one of the most successful British female racing drivers of all time. Her achievements earned her membership of the British Racing Drivers' Club
British Racing Drivers' Club
The British Racing Drivers' Club is a membership body which represents the interests of professional racing drivers from the United Kingdom.-Early days:...
, an institution few women are ever invited to join.
Early career
Patsy Burt's introduction to motor sport was through her father, Eric Burt, who was himself an accomplished racing driver. After initially disliking visits to the BrooklandsBrooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
circuit to watch her father and others competing on the high speed Surrey banking, following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she trained as a riding instructor. However, she remained in contact with motor racing through her father's involvement with the Junior Car Club, and occasionally spectated at the Goodwood Circuit
Goodwood Circuit
Goodwood Circuit is an historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The 2.4 mile circuit is situated near Chichester, West Sussex, close to the south coast of England, on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely encircles Chichester/Goodwood Airport...
, one of Britain's few post-war motor racing venues. Eventually she was tempted into taking part herself, and began her driving career at the wheel of a Jowett Javelin
Jowett Javelin
The Jowett Javelin is an award-winning British car that was produced from 1947 to 1953 by Jowett Cars Ltd of Idle, near Bradford. The model went through five variants labelled PA to PE, each having a standard and "de luxe" option. The car was designed by Gerald Palmer during World War II and was...
in 1953.
Initially her driving was restricted to rallying and driving tests, through which she eventually earned works drives for a number of manufacturers including BMC
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
, Triumph
Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
and Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
. However, it was not long before she also began to take part in circuit races, and she worked her way up from her Javelin firstly to a Jaguar XK120
Jaguar XK120
The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car which was manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since the SS 100, which ceased production in 1940.-History:...
, and then an Aston Martin DB2/4
Aston Martin DB2/4
The DB2/4 is a grand tourer sold by Aston Martin from 1953 through 1957. It was based on the DB2 it replaced, available as a Drophead coupe and 2+2 hatchback well ahead of the times. Other changes included a wraparound windscreen, larger bumpers, and repositioned headlights...
. It was while driving the Aston at Goodwood in 1955 that she overheard a male spectator's comment that she would later cite as a major motivating factor in her future career: "Look, a woman driving. Oh, what a waste of a beautiful motor car".
The next season Patsy Burt exchanged her road cars for some proper competition machinery. She competed in a few hillclimb and circuit events in an Aston Martin DB3S
Aston Martin DB3S
The Aston Martin DB3S was a sports racing car built by Aston Martin as a replacement for the heavy and uncompetitive Aston Martin DB3. In total 31 cars were made, with 11 works cars and 20 cars being sold for customer use. The DB3S was introduced in 1953 and it proved somewhat more successful than...
, and the following year bought a Cooper T39 "Bobtail" sport racer. It was with Coopers that Patsy Burt's name would become most associated over the subsequent decade.
Single-seat racing career
In 1958 Patsy Burt made the step up to single-seat Formula racingFormula racing
Formula racing is a term that refers to various forms of open wheeled single seater motorsport. Its origin lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulæ are Formula One, Formula Two, and...
, and bought a Cooper T43
Cooper T43
The Cooper T43 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1957 Formula One season, first appearing at the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix in a factory entered car for Jack Brabham...
. Although she continued to compete in circuit races, Burt won her first events in hillclimb competitions, including taking first place in the Stapleford National Hillclimb. From 1959 she decided to concentrate solely on the sprint and hillclimb events. Her smooth, precise driving style was ideally suited to these single-run events where a mistake, unlike in a multiple-lap circuit race, could not be cancelled out by better driving later in the event. In addition to the little Cooper — painted in her own shade of dark powder-blue, which came to be known by others as Burt blue, with white trim — Patsy Burt also raced a 1500 cc Porsche RS
Porsche 550
The Porsche 550 was a sports car produced by Porsche from 1953-1956.Inspired by the Porsche 356 which was created by Ferry Porsche, and some spyder prototypes built and raced by Walter Glöckler starting in 1951, the factory decided to build a car designed for use in auto racing. The model Porsche...
in 1961, becoming the first British competitor ever to complete a full season in the European Mountain Championship
European Hill Climb Championship
The European Hill Climb Championship is an FIA-run motorsport competition held across Europe on mountain roads.Unlike circuit racing, each driver competes alone, starting from a point at the base of a mountain and reaching a finish point near the summit...
.
Great Bookham
-Today:The village has a high street, located in Great Bookham, which is, as its name suggests, the larger of the two villages. It has two butchers, a family run fishmongers and two traditional greengrocers...
, Surrey, prepared Arthur Owen
Arthur Owen
Arthur Owen was a British racing driver from England. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, the 1960 Italian Grand Prix, driving a privately-entered 2.2 litre Cooper. He crashed on the first lap of the race at the South Corner, due to brake failure...
's winning Cooper T53 car for the 1962 British Hill Climb Championship
British Hill Climb Championship
The British Hill Climb Championship is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history and this event has been held every year since 1947.All British Champions have been British...
, and repeated their triumph eight years later with Sir Nick Williamson's F5000
Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
specification McLaren M10A. PMB were, naturally, also responsible for Patsy Burt's own cars during the rest of her career. The car with which Burt became synonymous, her modified Cooper T59
Cooper T59
The Cooper T59 was the third series Formula Junior racing car produced by the Cooper Car Company, designed for the 1962 season. Similar in layout to the T56, the T59 was five inches narrower and one and half inches lower than its predecessor. A semi-reclining seat position was adopted for the...
, was built up at PMB Garages in the winter of 1962-63. Chassis number C/PMB/1/63, originally supplied as a 1 litre Formula Junior
Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI . The class was intended to provide an entry level class where you could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles...
car, was adapted to accept a 2 litre Coventry Climax FPF engine by moving the driving position forward. Burt's short stature allowed the larger engine, with its concomitantly larger fuel and oil tanks, to be mounted in the usual position without having to lengthen the car's wheelbase.
Burt continued to participate, with great success, in British events throughout the early 1960s, but by 1965 both she and Smith realised that, if her success was to continue, she needed a more potent mount. Being acquainted with McLaren founder Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
, Burt and Smith approached him with an idea for creating a single-seater from the McLaren M1A
CanAm
CanAm
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or Can-Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1986.-History:Can-Am started out as a race series for Group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada and four races in the United States of America . The series was initially sponsored by Johnson...
sports car's chassis. McLaren liked the idea and the resultant McLaren M3A was nicknamed the whoosh-bonk, as when the idea was first pitched to him his response was that it wouldn't be a problem and that it would be a quick process: "whoosh, bonk, and we've got a single-seater!" The M3A appeared in 1966 and was a brutally effective sprint machine, boasting a 4.4 litres (268 cu in) Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, modified by Traco to produce 360 bhp, comparable with the best contemporary Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
machines. For certain sprint events PMB Garages modified the McLaren with a pointed nose and extended windscreen, designed to reduce aerodynamic drag.
The M3A was not the only technological contribution that Burt and Smith made to the hillclimbing world. In 1967 Burt's M3A was the first car to employ a vertical metal plate mounted edge-on to the direction of travel, intended to provide a reliable surface with which to break the timing beam at the start and finish of sprint and hillclimb courses. This plate eventually became compulsory in international competition and is now known as a Burt strut
Burt strut
A Burt strut or timing strut is a black, rectangular plate attached to the front of a competition vehicle, usually a racing car, to provide a standardised, repeatable method by which to break a timing light beam at the start and finish of events timed to high-degrees of accuracy...
, making Patsy Burt one of the few racers to have a component named after them.
Behind the wheel of her M3A Patsy Burt set eight international and 21 British national records for various events and distances, from both a standing and flying start. The M3A's first major win was in 1967 at the Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club . It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is in fact the oldest to have been staged continuously on its original course, first having been run in 1905...
, Britain's oldest hillclimb event, where she set a ladies' course record time. In 1968 she won the Brighton Speed Trials
Brighton Speed Trials
The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held July 19–22, 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace...
sprint event on Brighton's historic Madeira Drive. In so doing she set a 1 km course record which stood for seven years. The high point of her career came in 1970 when she won the RAC
Royal Automobile Club
The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
National Sprint Championship, the first time that a woman had ever won a British national title. Keen to end her career on top of her profession, Patsy Burt retired from driving at the end of the 1970 season.
Life after driving
After her retirement from active competition Patsy Burt and Ron Smith continued to run PMB Garages. In 1972 they were again involved in preparing the British Hill Climb Champion's car: Nick Williamson's March 712. Following this final triumph the pair retired from active competition, to throw themselves into organisational and consulting roles. After having been partners for many years, Patsy Burt and Ron Smith married in 1983. Patsy Burt's Cooper T59 was on display in the National Motor MuseumNational Motor Museum
The National Motor Museum is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire.- History :...
for many years, before being recently restored and returned to the race track. Her McLaren M3A, the first of its kind and last known survivor of the three eventually built, found its way to the Donington Grand Prix Collection
Donington Grand Prix Collection
The Donington Grand Prix Exhibition, formerly known as the Donington Grand Prix Collection, is a museum of motor racing cars, based at the Donington Park motor racing circuit in Leicestershire, England.- Overview :...
. Patsy Burt died on 4 October 2001; her death notice in The Daily Telegraph read "on her 73rd lap retired due to a mechanical problem..."
External links
- BRDC member's profile including photo links. www.BRDC.co.uk