In 1903 the Harmsworth Trophy was awarded in the first international water speed record contest. The driver of the winning boat was also a land speed record holder, pilot, and accomplished author. Add to that list being the instructor who taught Queen Alexander and the Royal Princesses Louise, Victoria, and Maud to drive.
Not impressive enough? How about a class win in the Southport speed trials, the ?rst race she ever entered? Yes, she, Dorothy Levitt, the ?rst female British racing driver. At a time when Victorian values prevailed, and women were expected to stay at home looking after their husband’s needs, it was unimaginable for a woman to even operate a vehicle much less enter in racing competition. Owning a car was generally the privilege of the aristocracy and drivers needed to be well quali?ed in mechanical skills due to the unreliability of their machines. Dorothy excelled in this area as well. The press nicknamed her “the fastest girl on earth” and she was never one to shy away from such publicity. In her book The Woman and the Car, Dorothy detailed some of the ?ner points for prospective female motorists. These included carrying a hand mirror to hold aloft to see what was behind you and having a handgun if traveling alone. Dorothy competed aggressively in an all-male world challenging convention at every opportunity, even in her appearance. Driver’s clothing of the day was stodgy and utilitarian, so Dorothy made sure she raced in ?attering feminine out?ts.
Her escapades earned her a reputation as a “scorcher”, a term used to describe someone who delighted in exceeding the speed limit. Once she was stopped in Hyde Park for driving at what the police report described as “a terri?c pace”. She especially excelled in long distance events, this at a time without road signs, road maps, or petrol stations, as none had been invented yet. But even though Dorothy was ready to take on the world it appears that the world was not ready for her.
When the Brookland’s race circuit opened in 1907 it would not accept the entry of a female driver. She simply set her sights on Europe and went on to achieve great success in France and Germany. Although Dorothy’s amazing accomplishments and meteoric rise to fame are the stuff of legend, the remainder of her story is a bit of a mystery. The fastest girl in the world who reveled in all the publicity virtually disappeared from the public in 1911 and little is known about the rest of her life. On May 17th of 1922, at the age of 40, Dorothy Levitt was found dead.