Obituary: Ewy Rosqvist, Trailblazer in Motor Sport

In the early 1960s, Swedish actors and singers like Anita Ekberg, Mai Zetterling, and Monica Zetterlund were making international headlines. Around the same time, Ewy Rosqvist added a touch of blond glamour to the world of motor sport. Rosqvist, who has passed away at the age of 94, won the European women’s rally championship three times in a row from 1959 to 1961.

In 1962, Rosqvist and her co-driver Ursula Wirth surprised many skeptics when they clinched first place out of 257 contestants in the Gran Premio Argentina for touring cars. This grueling six-day event saw them cover 2,891 miles of rough, unprotected roads in their Mercedes saloon at an average speed just under 80mph. Remarkably, they finished three hours faster than their nearest competitor.

Only 43 drivers completed the race, leaving the spectators in Argentina stunned that women could triumph in what was predominantly a male-dominated sport. Among the non-finishers were the three other Mercedes cars driven by men, including Hermann Kühne, who tragically died when he veered off the road to avoid a herd of animals.

Rosqvist credited her win to the advice of Juan Manuel Fangio, a five-time Formula One world champion and a Mercedes ambassador. He had advised her not to take evasive action if faced with a herd of animals.

Both Rosqvist and Wirth had practical driving experience from their time working as veterinary assistants. This job required them to drive substantial distances between farms, often carrying time-sensitive bull semen. Their adaptability and proficiency behind the wheel made them ideal candidates for the high-stakes world of international rallying. Interestingly, they were also unafraid to pose for press photos, knowing the publicity would boost their profiles.

Born Ewy Jönsson, Rosqvist was the only girl among five children in a farming family near Ystad in southern Sweden. She attended agricultural school and studied veterinary medicine. Her driving skills were honed on the farm, and her father bought her a Mercedes 170 when she became a vet’s assistant. She meticulously documented her travel times between farms, proud to outpace her colleagues.

Her marriage in 1954 to Yngve Rosqvist, an amateur rally driver, introduced her to the world of motor sports. The couple participated in events together, and Ewy entered her first solo race in the Midnight Sun Rally in 1956. She rapidly gained recognition, securing the European women’s title for the first time in 1959. She subsequently defended her title in 1960 and 1961 as part of the Volvo team, leaving veterinary work behind.

Rosqvist’s main rival in women’s rallying was Pat Moss, who claimed the women’s title multiple times and was the younger sister of Stirling Moss, a British grand prix racing legend. It was through Rosqvist’s friend that Pat Moss met her future husband, Erik Carlsson, the Swedish world rally champion.

In 1962, Mercedes-Benz bought Rosqvist out of her Volvo contract and also signed Wirth as her co-driver. That year, they won the women’s cup in both the Rally of the Midnight Sun and the Rally of 1,000 Lakes in Finland. They then triumphed in Argentina, where Rosqvist posted the fastest time for every stage. The following year, they placed third in the Gran Premio and won the Coupe des Dames in the Monte Carlo Rally.

In 1964, Rosqvist and her new co-driver, Eva-Maria Falk, secured notable finishes in several rallies, including a fifth-place overall in the Monte Carlo Rally and the Acropolis Rally, and a third-place finish in the Spa-Sofia-Liège race. By the end of her competitive career, she had only one significant accident, which she and Wirth luckily escaped unscathed.

After divorcing Yngve, Rosqvist married Baron Alexander von Korff, Mercedes’s motor sport director, in 1964. He passed away in 1977 after a prolonged illness. Rosqvist later moved back to Stockholm with her new partner, Karl-Gustav Svedberg, until his death in 2009.

Rosqvist maintained strong ties with Mercedes for the rest of her life. She often conducted tours of their museum in Stuttgart, proudly showcasing the 220SE saloon she and Wirth used to achieve their historic victory in Argentina, alongside other legendary vehicles.

Reflecting on her 1962 win and the doubts cast on her ability to finish, she said, “They said I could never finish. So I finished first.”

Source: The Guardian