I wasn’t sure how I felt about being one of the first cars to set off from Place Vendôme. There is comfort in being in the middle of the pack or bringing up the rear, but here we were, my friend Gina and I, pilot and co-pilot, at the front of the queue of the Rallye des Princesses Richard Mille with only a “Road Book” full of pictograms, distances, times, and average speeds as our guide out of the city. With the choke out and the engine of our Austin Mini sounding decidedly unhappy about being woken up so early on a Sunday morning, we were off.
The Rallye des Princesses Richard Mille is a classic car rally reserved uniquely for women. Now in its 23rd edition, it always starts from the French capital and takes a different route across France each year. For this 2024 edition, the adventure passed by Tours, Saint-Martin-de-Ré, Beynac-et-Cazénac, and Carcassonne before finishing in the Principality of Andorra. Staged on the open roads, competitors cover between 300-350km per day in classic cars dating from 1946 to 1990.
The sight of cars from a bygone era, such as Porsche 356s and 911s, Alfa Romeo Spiders, MGBs, Triumph TR models, Ferrari 328 GTSs and even our Austin Mini draw waving and photograph-snapping spectators to the routes, making us all feel like real-life princesses.
The rally isn’t about speed; the objective is to go from start to finish in a set time, with four separate time trials each day, clocking set distances in an exact time, based on the average speed set for your vehicle. If you are slower than the required time, you get penalty points, and if you go faster, you get even more. At first, this didn’t sound too complicated, and yet doing this while trying to follow directions involved some serious mathematical gymnastics as I informed Gina to go left, slow down, speed up, take the third exit on the roundabout, pass that tree in exactly 21 seconds!
For the drivers, there is the added difficulty of keeping the car at a steady speed, which is not so easy without cruise control, assisted steering and ABS. But the fun is in giving it your best shot as you take in some of France’s most stunning scenery.
“What I love about this rally is that you really get the chance to be with someone eight hours a day, there is no time for phone calls or emails, it takes you back to a time when you took time for yourself,” shares Amanda Mille, Brand & Partnership Director of Richard Mille, the title sponsor.
As the guest of Richard Mille, Gina and I get the added advantage of being able to try out an RM 037 in gold and Carbon TPT® and an RM 037 in white ceramic, making us feel even more “princesses like” as we race down French country lanes. In fact, the only time we disagreed is not when we missed a turn, or hit a checkpoint too fast, but about who got to wear each watch first!
Richard Mille has always put women forward, without it ever being a conscious thing. It is something that comes naturally to the brand. “We don’t support women because it is the right thing to do, we do it because we love doing it,” notes Amanda Mille, who has participated in the rally at least 6 times.
She isn’t alone, many of the competitors come back year after year, addicted to the thrills of being a racing princess for a week, and I totally get it. So, if anyone is looking for a co-pilot for May 2025, I’m free!
