Extraordinary Lives
LORRAINE would never have considered her life extraordinary. She was a successful racing driver — a sport she loved — and although she had her share of sadness and disappointment, she never let them define her.
She was born and brought up in North London, married young, at 19, and had a son, but the marriage didn’t last.
Then at the age of 31, in 1995, she started racing, and I met her two years later when we both raced in different championships at the Pembrey Circuit in South Wales. She joined the British Women
Racing Drivers Club in 2001 and was elected its secretary, with me sitting beside her at committee meetings, helping her identify the members. That year Lorraine won the MG Owners Club Championship and the BWRDC Embassy Trophy. She went on to be the club’s press officer, then its vice-chair in 2010 and chair in 2017.
I worked with her closely, both on the BWRDC committee as her vicechair and, when she took part in a rally, as one of her pit crew. I took over as chair last February.
She met her second husband, David Gathercole, when he built the car with which she won the MG championship in 2001, and they married three years later.
As well as being an accomplished racer himself, David had his own
business in Peterborough, building racing car engines and remaking engines for classic cars.
He and Lorraine made a brilliant team. She went on to compete in a variety of classic cars, from a Formula Ford 1600cc to a 26R Lotus Elan.
Her career highlights included her Classic Le Mans win in 2012 and the prize for fastest lap by a woman driver at the Goodwood Revival in a Lotus 18 Formula Junior. In 2014 and 2017 she organised ladies-only races at Silverstone, achieving a British record for the most females racing at once. Following Lorraine’s diagnosis of cancer in December 2020 her health began to deteriorate but she remained cheerful, enthusiastic and full of optimism despite the circumstances. Even from her hospital bed she sent messages of encouragement to our members (and reminders to me of tasks to be done!). Throughout her 25-year racing career she championed women in all forms of motorsport. She used her leadership position in the BWRDC to raise its profile both on and off the track, and that will be her lasting legacy. Lorraine and David also enjoyed cycling and went on marathon cycle rides to raise money for charity, including Sue Ryder Hospice Care and the Royal British Legion. She was a much-loved friend and is greatly missed. I will always remember her infectious laugh, generous spirit and fortitude in the face of adversity.
LORRAINE GATHERCOLE, born October 6, 1964; died September 25, 2022, aged 57.