Tag Archives: rosemary smith

As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations for Renault’s Formula One activity, they invited Irish rally legend, Rosemary Smith to Paul Ricard to become, at 79, the oldest person to drive a modern F1 car. Rosemary initially trained as a seamstress and opened her own dress shop, which unexpectedly became her route into the world of motorsport when one of her clients invited her to navigate in a rally. Rosemary has competed in some of the most iconic rallies around the world, taking home many trophies. A particularly poignant victory was the famous Tulip Rally, which she won in 1965, an achievement which made not only the motorsport world take notice but also Hollywood, with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton sending her a huge bouquet and congratulatory letter. Despite these achievements, Rosemary never got the chance to partake in arguably the greatest motorsport experience – driving a Formula One car – until now. With encouragement from long-term friend and navigator, …

The Ford Mondeo has been voted Continental Irish Car of the Year 2016 by the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association. The announcement of the 39th Irish Car of the Year Award was made at an awards ceremony in Dublin today. The winning car was revealed by Rosemary Smith, to mark the 50th anniversary of her victory in the Tulip Rally in April 1965. She is the only woman to have won the rally. The overall results, with weighted scores, were as follows: 1. Ford Mondeo 148 points 2. Volvo XC90 147 points 3. Mercedes Benz GLE 144 points 4. Kia Sorento 144 points 5. Skoda Superb 140 points The Irish Motoring Writers’ Association judges awarded points on the basis of criteria ranging from design, comfort, safety, economy, handling and performance as well as driver satisfaction, value for money and technical innovation, with a maximum of 20 points under each heading. John Galvin, Chairman of the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association, commented: “The …