Kay Petre

Kathleen Coad Petre ( Defries; 10 May 1903 – 10 August 1994), known as Kay Petre, was an early motor racing star. She was born in York, Ontario, now part of Toronto. Family Kathleen Coad Defries was the daughter of Robert Leo Defries KC (died 1957) and his wife, Annie Gray. Her father was a barrister in Toronto. She spent her later schooldays in England, but returned to Canada in her twenties. After a period studying art in Paris, she returned to Canada to marry Langlois D. Lefroy, the son of A.H.Frazer Lefroy and Dora Strathy, in 1924. She was widowed two months later. In 1929, she married, secondly, to the Englishman Henry Aloysius Petre (1884–1962), who forsook a law career to pursue an interest in aviation. They had no children. Racing career Petre was a star at the English Brooklands track, and the exploits of this 4' 10" lady caused a media sensation at the time. The abiding image of Petre is a tiny woman seated in a huge 10.5 litre V12 Delage. This was the car in which she battled for the Women's Outer Circuit Record at Brooklands with Gwenda Stewart. Petre gained the upper hand on 26 October 1934 with a 129.58 mph lap, but in August 1935 Stewart fought back with a faster lap. A determined Petre took her record back the same day with a 134.75 mph pass but Stewart, driving the Derby-Miller, had the last laugh three days later at 135.95 mph.