Profile
Rosemary Smith
A life in the fast lane
In an inspiring new interview with Gary Cooke rally driver, Rosemary Smith, speaks about her life, career and her ongoing passion for life. Smith, such a glamour figure of the 1960s, remains an indomitable spirit, continuing to race in rally events and recently becoming the oldest person to drive a Formula One car – performing notably better than one Jeremy Clarkson. So how are you dealing with the current situation? I have the newspapers, I have television, I can go for walks, I can have a little glass of wine now and again and you know you've got to think positively and just think and like most other people we're now in spring. My little snowdrops and daffodils are popping their heads up. I think I hope this year is going to be better but it's going to take a long , long time but you just gotta put up with it or you just go, I can’t take this and lie down and get totally depressed and do nothing. I can't do that and I was never like that anyway but you know it's just one of these awful things that happened to so many people unfortunately so many of them have passed away but you know at the moment but really I feel I have too much living to do so I am totally optimistic. I'm very lucky because I don't mind being on my own I mean some people just can't bear it they literally they go off their rocker but I don't mind.
My dad was exactly the same - he could sit and read a book or something by himself, he never needed people around him and I think I'm exactly the same because even when we we're rallying all the time there's only you ,the car and your co driver - you don't talk to your co driver, she will say you know left, right, straight or whatever but there's no sort of chit chat.
Monte Carlo or bust! Rosemary Smith poses on her celebrated Hillman Imp having made it to the Principality Rosemary Smith with the iconic Hillman Imp with which enjoyed so much rally success, and in action in an Imp in the 1967 Circuit of Ireland Rally
the Circuit of Ireland, you won in Scotland, the RAC Rally, the Alpine Rally, you weren’t just a woman driver in a man’s world you were a champion woman’s driver? So where did this interest and talent come from? Not in just competing in rallies but also winning them – you won
My interest in racing and cars came from my dad who had a small garage in Rathmines and he used to take me up to a field we had in Oldbawn to teach me to drive from the age of Senior Times l May - June 2021 l www.seniortimes.ie 5
