Car driver, Simone Louise des Forest (1910 – 2004) was one of the first women to obtain her driving license in France. Participating in races and rallies, she is at the origin of the expression “In car Simone! »
Bit on the steering wheel
Daughter of Marie Suzanne Elisabeth Langevin and Edmond Pinet de Borde de Forest, cavalry captain, Simone Louise Pinet de Borde des Forest was born on March 7, 1910 in Royan, on the west coast of France. Coming from a wealthy family, she spent her early years at the Château de Fontorte, in the Allier in central France.
The automobile is then still a recent invention and is experiencing rapid development. In 1886, Carl Benz developed and introduced the Benz 1 tricycle, a three-wheeled vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine often considered the world's first car. In 1888, his wife Bertha Benz set off at the wheel of a Benz 3 tricycle, for a 106 km journey in Germany from Mannheim to Pforzheim, despite the absence of automobile roads:a journey which made her the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance, outside of tests and circuits. The first races took place at the end of the 19th century. Although reserved for the wealthiest people, the automobile spread rapidly:in 1905, France had 21,523 cars.
The young Simone is also interested in this new invention. She was only twelve years old when she drove for the first time, behind the wheel of her uncle's car. Immediately taken by a passion for driving, the young girl passed her driving license at the age of 19, in 1929; she is one of the first French women to obtain it, following in the footsteps of pioneers such as the Duchess of Uzès or Camille du Gast.
3,772 kilometers
The following year, Simone Louise des Forest, passionate about speed and adrenaline, embarked on motor racing in which women were very rare. Women drive little in general, and their participation in competitions is all the more rare as it is often reproached by good society; Simone is lucky to have, for her passion, the support of her family and in particular her mother, who will go so far as to sometimes serve as her co-pilot.
The young driver began competition with the hill climb at La Baraque, near Clermont-Ferrand, then with the Paris-Vichy car rally in 1931, with her mother by her side. She then became a professional driver, chaining events on circuits and rallies until 1957, without any accident in nearly thirty years of career. However, Simone did not play the safety card:in 1934, with her friend Fernande Hustinx, she competed in the Monte-Carlo Automobile Rally by covering 3,772 km at the wheel of a Peugeot 301, from Bucharest in Romania. From this winter adventure through difficult and snowy roads, where it is sometimes necessary to hitch horses to the car to pull it out of snowdrifts, she draws the story "3772 kilometers by two Young Girls “. 17 e in the general classification, they won the Ladies' Cup.
The following year, Simone teamed up with Odette Siko and the two drivers finished 36 th in the general classification, 3 th of the Ladies' Cup, behind crews driving much more powerful cars. In 1937, she teamed up again with Odette Siko, but also with Claire Descollas and the pilot Hellé Nice with whom she did not get along, to carry out speed tests on the Montlhéry autodrome. Between them, the pilots broke 25 world records.
In the car Simone!
In 1940 and during the Second World War, Simone Louise des Forest worked as a truck driver for the Red Cross. After the war, she resumed motorsport. She took part in the French drivers' championship, in the Mille Miglia in Italy with Annie Bousquet, in the 24h of Spa, in the 1000km of the Nurburgring and again in the Monte-Carlo rally. She thus pursued an impressive career until 1957, when she completed a career free from any accident – and which earned her the admiration of the greatest pilots of her time – at the age of 47.
After retiring from sport, Simone devoted herself to the driving school which she was one of the first women to found in 1950; she taught there for 25 years. Still as much a fan of speed, mobility and machines, she is also passionate about aviation and obtains her pilot's license. In 1973, Simone married Ernest Bernard at the age of 63. She died in November 2004, at the age of 94.
Simone Louise des Forest is at the origin of the popular expression “In the car Simone! » , or longer:"In the car Simone, you're the one driving, I'm the one honking!" » The expression is popularized by the presenter Guy Lux in the program Intervilles, when he launches “In car Simone! to host Simone Garnier.