As you get older you become more intelligent and less brave!
On August 13th, Divina Galica was thirty and half-way through only her second motor-racing season.
Until 1974 she had never driven competitively, yet this year in the ShellSPORT5OOO series she has proved to be more than competent with a Formula 1 Surtees. Her results, though, have all too often been obscured by less relevant publicity about her being a woman.
To find out exactly why Divina started in the sport and how she views her career, ShellSPORT visited her Wiltshire home.
ShellSPORT: Why motor racing?
DIVINA: To be honest it all cyme about by accident I was invited to take part in a charily race in early *74and finished second – surprising myself as much as anyone else. It snowballed from there.
I suppose, though, you could call me a speed-freak.
I don’t think everyone realizes quite how fast we go in down-hill skiing on those two bits of wood. I regularly descended at speeds approaching 70inph and loved every minute of it
Motor racing gives me the same kind of pleasure.
ShellSPORT: What do you put your present success down to?
DIVINA: Basically, I got the breaks. But I think I’ve proved worthy of them. Also, even when skiing. I´ve always believed in a ‘professional’ approach – total dedication and the fullest preparation. I even run around Brands to keep fit.
ShellSPORT: At thirty aren’t you a little old to hope for great achievements?
DIVINA: Let’s hope not. I take great heart from the fact that Mary Peters won her Pentathlon Cold Medal in her early thirties. And that’s a tough event.
What does worry me is that I won’t stay as brave as I am. You get more intelligent as you grow older!
ShellSPORT: You’ve come on in the sport so quickly; haven’t you ever been scared?
DIVINA: Only once very early on. I was trying to drive a Renault 5 the proper way around Paddock -without braking. There seemed to be so much movement.
ShellSPORT: Why didn’t you qualify for the British Grand Prix this year?
DIVINA: The short answer is that I wasn’t fast enough because we had a few problems with the car. I am very glad I didn’t start as a reserve after the accident The crowds came to see Hunt not me.
ShellSPORT: What difference has been a woman made to your career?
DIVINA: It’s been a bit of a double-edged sword. I probably only got those first drives because I was a woman.
It does, though, seem to have upset a few men. The sort who doesn’t like to think a bird can do anything better than them. They think that it’s the thin end of the wedge and they’ll end up having to wash their own socks!
ShellSPORT: The standard last question is about ambitions. What are yours?
DIVINA: Next yean I’d like to win a few races in the ShellSPORT European 5000 series, if not the whole competition. And the year after; I’ll be looking very hard at the F1 scene.
Source via the scan Moto Sport 1976
