Dorothy Levitt Edwardian speed queen
The usual quiet and calm of Brighton’s seafront was shattered on a July day in 1905 as racing cars thundered down a newly laid stretch of tarmac, later named Madeira Drive, to the cheers of the long lines of spectators. One of the races in the inaugural outing of the south coast town’s Speed Trials was in its final stages, contested by Algernon Lee Guinness, driving a 100-horsepower Darracq, and a 23-year-old woman called Dorothy Levitt, piloting a green 80-horsepower Napier.
Guinness may have hailed from the famous brewing family, but behind the wheel he was no match for Levitt. Reaching 79.75 miles per hour, she set a women’s land speed record on her way to winning her class, as well as the sweepstakes and a trophy. Levitt’s victory made her one of the first women to triumph at a motor race ahead of the male competitors; a “great many professional
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