Description
By: Joy Rainey .
Here is the inspirational life story of a woman who has proved that size doesn't matter in the world of motorsport. Joy Rainey, a person of restricted growth, was weaned on the smell of Castrol R. played as a child in her father's racing cars and, from the age of 16, clocked up her own victories in karts, circuit racing, hill climbs and long-distance driving.
Joy always craved speed. The daughter of Murray Rainey, three-times Australian Formula 3 Champion, she grew up in Geelong. Australia, and was a tomboy, ignoring dolls in favour of the bike', a robust three-wheeler on which she rocketed round town. The bike was important, giving precious mobility throughout girlhood when she had to wear irons to straighten her legs.
Joy loved to watch her father race and to sit behind the wheel of his Wylie dirt track single-seater and the F3 Coopers Mk 4 and 9 he later campaigned. When, in 1959, Murray spent a season racing in Europe, Joy went with him. At the French Grand Prix, Jean Behra, enchanted no doubt by this petite blonde, let her sit in his Ferrari. Other drivers
they met included Stirling Moss and - at the
Cooper factory - Bruce McLaren. trying out a kart. Joy was immediately fascinated, realising that a kart would be ideal for a person of her small stature. Back in Geelong, Joy joined the new kart club - and won her first race. Thrilled at the thought of having a trophy to place next to her father's silverware, she was disgusted to be awarded a pair of embroidered sheets. In macho 1960s Australia it was thought that a lady racer would prefer 'something useful'.
Murray, a gifted engineer, was soon building and selling Rainey Karts - Joy had the prototype. When she was old enough to have a road car, Dad bought her a 1953 Morris Minor and made extensions so that she could reach the pedals. The Minor, previously owned by an elderly gent, entered a phase of extreme speed - until she cooked the engine racing a friend along the Great Ocean Road.
Joy stopped competing when she married a fellow karter. However, despite her gallant efforts at homemaking. the marriage failed. Joy decided to visit her parents in England and, needing a runabout, became the proud owner of a 1963 Jaguar E-type - it was love at first sight. On another trip she purchased a Triumph Spitfire and drove this, alone, to Perugia University, where she studied Italian.
Returning to Britain after a heady Latin experience, Joy became immersed in motorsport. competing in her father's 1933 Morgan-JAP three-wheeler. then her own E-type. She ran a Murrain (built by her father), vintage Alfa Romeos and a Pilbeam single- seater, achieving numerous hill climb records, including the Ladies' record at Shelsley Walsh. She also attended events run by the Vintage Sports-Car Club and was an active member of the Brooklands Society - as well as studying for an Open University degree and holding down a demanding job as the principal of a language school.
In 1992 financial disaster struck. That was the end of motor racing as she began working seven days a week to overcome her difficulties. Eight years later, when she was able to compete again. Joy found the magic had faded. But not her love of cars - that's why she jumped at the chance to take part in the 2004 London to Sydney Marathon. The rally was something of a homecoming, both in terms of her vehicle, a 1970 Morris Minor, and the destination. Joy. who has lived in Britain for over half her life, and her co-driver Trevor Hulks, a classic car restorer, spent a year preparing the Minor for their adventure.
In her moving and action-packed autobiography, Joy describes the 10,000- mile, seven-country marathon in vivid detail. It was just the latest adventure in the extraordinary life of one fast little lady.
