Yvette Fontaine
Belgian Racing Driver, Touring Car Champion & Le Mans Class Winner
Yvette Fontaine grew up with motorsport in her blood. Her parents' house stood right next to the Circuit de Zolder, allowing her to experience racing at close quarters from an early age. She also pursued her passion during family holidays at the Belgian coast, where she often spent time around the Mille Miglia racing team. During one of these encounters, a team secretary reportedly told her: "When you turn eighteen, you can drive."
That moment finally arrived in 1964. In November, Fontaine made her competitive debut as a rally driver in an Austin Seven Cooper in the Tour de Belgique (DNF) and in the 12 heures d’ Ixelles where she missed a time-control.
Early Rally Career
In 1965, she replaced the Austin with a Saab Sport and immediately began to achieve impressive results. She won three Ladies' Trophies that season, in the Circuit des Ardennes, the 12 Heures d'Ostende, and the 12 Heures d'Ixelles. She was also runner-up in her class in the Rallye de Picardie in France.
Her regular co-driver was "Puce", although in the Rally Catalunya she partnered Anita Elford, a Belgian by birth who was married to Porsche driver Vic Elford.
Breakthrough Year: 1966
The 1966 season marked a major step forward in Fontaine's career. Driving an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super 1600, she expanded her activities beyond rallying and entered circuit racing.
In March, she competed in the Grote Nationale van België at Zolder, finishing seventh in class. Further respectable performances followed, including eighth in her race during the Bekers van België and seventh in class at the Coupes de Spa.
In July, supported by Alfa Romeo Benelux, she entered the Spa 24 Hours in an Alfa Romeo TI 1300 alongside Nicole Sol. The ladies 19th overall, 2nd in class.
The following month, Fontaine contested the Marathon de la Route at the Nürburgring together with Hannelore Werner. Their race ended prematurely after four hours when a starter motor failure put their Alfa out of contention.
Her rally season was more mixed. Retirements and penalties interrupted several events. She crashed out of the Tulip Rally and lost a strong result in the Circuit des Ardennes after missing a time control. Nevertheless, she recorded her first top-ten finishes with ninth place on the Routes du Nord and tenth on the Rallye des Nivelles. Her co-drivers during the season included Gaby Poison and Puce, while Anita Elford returned for the Tour des Deux Luxembourg and the 12 Heures d'Ixelles.
Another important development in 1966 was her move into hillclimbing. Driving the factory-supported Alfa Romeo 1600, she entered a number of Belgian and French events and achieved four Group 1 victories.
Some data:
- Fléron: 3rd in class
- La Roche: 4th in class
- Herbeumont: 3rd in class, 1st Group
- Houyet: 2nd in class (GTA)
- Namur: 2nd in class (GTA)
At the end of the season, Fontaine was crowned Belgian Female Driver of the Year.
Alfa Romeo Success: 1967
Fontaine remained with Alfa Romeo in 1967, competing in rallies, circuit races, and hillclimbs with the Alfa Romeo GTV 1600. Her rally campaign remained inconsistent, with several events affected by route errors and missed time controls. The best result was: 12 Heures du Hainaut, P12 overall, 2nd in class
On the circuits, however, she made significant progress. In the Grote Nationale van België at Zolder, she finished eighth in Group 2 despite suffering a broken rear axle. She followed this with fifth overall in the Bekers van België and fourth place in the Coupes de Spa, finishing just ahead of Lucien Bianchi.
At the Chimay 500 km, also known as the Grand Prix des Frontières, she partnered Nicole Sol in a car entered by Lucien Bianchi's team and finished second overall. More strong performances followed, including third place in the GP Limburg and another third in class at the Bekers van de Toekomst. These results secured second place in the Belgian Touring Car Championship.
Internationally, Fontaine joined an Alfa Romeo team for the 84-hour Marathon de la Route at the Nürburgring, sharing a GTA 1600 with Jean-Marie Jacquemin and J.M. Heilman. Their race ended in retirement following an accident.
She also returned to the Spa 24 Hours, driving an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint for Lucien Bianchi's team with Jean-Marie Lagae. Once again, the race ended in retirement.
Hillclimbing remained an important part of her programme. Driving primarily an Alfa Romeo GTA, she finished second at the Côte du Maquisard and third at the Côte d'Houyet. These results were enough to secure third place in the Belgian Hillclimb Championship.
During the same year, she also participated in a series of speed-record attempts over one kilometre, winner in the GTA and with the 1600 GTV.
Joining Ford: 1968
Recognising her versatility and speed, Ford Belgium signed Fontaine for the 1968 season.
She began strongly by finishing second in the Group 2 over-1300 cc race at Zolder's Belgian Cup meeting, driving a Ford Escort GT 1300 prepared by the British Broadspeed team. Yvette also did the fastest lap of the race (1:44.0).
The new Twin Cam Escort was still undergoing development, however, and reliability problems led to several retirements. Despite this, Fontaine achieved third place in the Noordzee Trophy and also competed in the European Touring Car Championship.
Her ETCC campaign included the Nürburgring 6 Hours, where she shared a Broadspeed Ford Anglia 105E with Brian Robinson. Unfortunately, the race ended in retirement.
Ford also entered her in races abroad. She finished seventh at Jyllandsringen in Denmark, sixth at Mallory Park in Britain, and eighth in the Coupe du Salon at Montlhéry.
Hillclimbing remained a successful discipline for Fontaine. Driving a Twin Cam Escort, as well as a Lotus Cortina and a Ford Mustang during the season, she claimed her first hillclimb victory at La Roche.
The year concluded with a strong fifth-place finish in the Rallye Andernach-Nürburgring alongside Etienne Stalpaert in a Ford Lotus Cortina.
Belgian Champion: 1969
Ford retained Fontaine for 1969 and encouraged her to focus primarily on touring car racing. Rallying was largely limited to a single outing on the Routes du Nord with Gilbert Stapelaere.
Her European Touring Car Championship campaign began badly with retirements at Monza and Aspern. Later in the season, however, she recovered to finish sixth in the Brands Hatch Six Hours with Freddy Semoulin.
One of the highlights of the year came at the Spa 24 Hours, where she partnered John Fitzpatrick in a Ford Escort Twin Cam. They finished eleventh overall and won their class.
In August, Fontaine won her division in the ETCC Zandvoort Trophy.
The Belgian Touring Car Championship season started slowly, particularly when she was moved from her regular car into a Welcker Cortina during the Bekers van België to make way for Jacky Ickx. Nevertheless, she recovered strongly, Yvette Fontaine won the race at the Grote Prijs van Zolder in a Ford Escort Twin Cam winning the 1300 cc class. Further podium finishes came at Spa and Chimay. (photo below) Additional success at Zandvoort and Zolder brought enough points to secure the Belgian Saloon Car Championship.
She became the first woman to win the title.
Defending the Crown: 1970
Fontaine remained with Ford in 1970 and began the season with two victories at Zolder. Mechanical problems interrupted her campaign, including a broken accelerator linkage at Spa, but she continued to score valuable points throughout the year and successfully retained her class championship, again the Belgian title.
Her ETCC programme was more difficult. Despite sponsorship from Chevron, Ford Belgium lacked the resources to field a full European campaign. Fontaine retired at Monza in a Ford Germany Capri 2300 GT and contested only selected rounds at Silverstone and Zandvoort in an Escort Twin Cam. She was unable to compete in the Spa 24 Hours.
Final Ford Years: 1971-1973
In 1971, Fontaine raced a Ford Escort RS1600 BDA Group 2. Her domestic campaign included victory in the Noordzee Trophy and second place in the Grote Prijs Zolder. Although she scored several podium finishes during the season, she narrowly missed out on another championship title.
Supported by Ford Germany in the ETCC, she partnered Gerry Birrell to finish fourth in the Nürburgring Six Hours. However, retirements at Spa and Paul Ricard prevented stronger championship results.
A memorable achievement came later in the year when Fontaine participated in a Ford speed-record programme on a Belgian motorway. Working alongside drivers including Jackie Stewart, she helped establish new kilometre records in several vehicles, most notably a Ford Transit fitted with a Formula One engine.
1971 Coupes de Spa.
Her 1972 season concentrated largely on the Belgian championship. Beginning the year in a 3-litre Ford Capri RS and later switching to a Ford Escort RS2000 Group 2, she collected a series of strong finishes, culminating in victory at the Bekers van de Toekomst. She ended the season fourth in the championship standings.
Coupes de Spa 1972
The Spa 24 Hours proved disappointing once more. Sharing an Escort RS1600 with Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, Fontaine retired with head-gasket failure.
- photo below
Her only other notable appearance came in Britain, where she finished fifth in the Fast Girl Consul Challenge at Brands Hatch.
Coupes Benelux
Without factory support in 1973, Fontaine campaigned a private Ford Escort in selected Belgian events. She finished fifth in the EEG Trophy at Zolder and third during the Nivelles 24 Hours meeting. Another Spa 24 Hours attempt ended prematurely after engine failure just seven hours into the race.
EEG Trophy Spa 24h
Le Mans Success: 1974-1975
Fontaine continued racing a 1300 cc Escort during the first half of 1974 and recorded a podium finish at Zolder.
A major opportunity arrived when Team Seiko invited her to join Christine Beckers and Marie Laurent in a Chevron B23 for the Spa 1000 km and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At Le Mans, the all-female team achieved an excellent result, finishing fourteenth overall and winning their class.
Her season also included the Spa 24 Hours alongside Claude Bourgognie in a Ford Capri, although that race ended in retirement.
The fuel crisis made sponsorship difficult to obtain for 1975 despite her recent success. Nevertheless, her Le Mans performance earned her a place in Anny-Charlotte Verney's Porsche 911 Carrera RS team. Fontaine helped the team finish eleventh overall and second in class at Le Mans.
Later that year, she joined Atlas Racing for the Spa 24 Hours, sharing a BMW 3.0 CSi with Noël "Pedro" Van Assche. The pair finished second overall. She also recorded eleventh place in the EEG Trophy.
Final Competitive Seasons
In 1976, Fontaine accepted a small number of drives in Chevrolet Camaro in the European Touring Car Championship.
At the Spa 24 Hours, she shared a Camaro (#7) with Reine Wisell and Stuart Graham, but the team retired with oil pressure problems.- photos below-
She later competed in the Tourist Trophy at Silverstone with Team Zip-Up, sharing another Camaro with Rune Tobiasson and Rudy Host. They finished twentieth but were not classified.
These would be the final major races of her professional career.
Legacy
Although Yvette Fontaine retired from top-level competition after 1976, she never lost her enthusiasm for motorsport. She remained a familiar figure at regularity rallies, hillclimbs, historic events, and classic car gatherings.
A pioneering Belgian racing driver, Fontaine excelled across multiple disciplines, including rallying, touring cars, endurance racing, hillclimbing, and international competition. Her Belgian Saloon Car Championship title in 1969 and her class victories at Le Mans ensured her place among the most accomplished female racing drivers of her generation.
This biography was compiled using research from Yvette Fontaine's official website, her autobiography My Passion / Ma Passion / Mijn Passie, contemporary race records, Racing Sports Cars archives, and the work of Rachel Harris-Gardiner published by Speedqueens.
