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Snapshot, 1976: Meet the speed queens of Le Mans

It’s 12 June 1976, and prior to the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours, the all-female Aseptogyl outfit makes final preparations ahead of the start, much to the astonishment of the largely male racegoers…

A racing outfit that only hires female racing drivers, Team Aseptogyl was established in 1971 by French dentist Bob Neyret and has enjoyed various successes in European rallying ever since. This year, the team has fielded a specially prepared Lancia Stratos at Le Mans for Lella Lombardi and Christine Dacremont. And of course, the presence of an all-female team in the heavily male-dominated sports car racing paddock is causing quite the commotion at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The naysayers will be silenced at 4:00pm tomorrow, however, when the Aseptogyl Stratos finishes the race in 20th overall and 2nd in class.

Photo: GP Library via Getty Images