page_title: Michèle Mouton
section_title: Personal life and legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Michèle Mouton / Personal life and legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Michèle Mouton is interviewed at JB Volkswagen in Cardiff on the eve of the 1985 Welsh International Rally.
context_page_description: Michèle Mouton is a French former rally driver. Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runner-up in the drivers' world championship in 1982. She is still the last woman to compete in top-level rallying.
  Mouton debuted in rallying as a co-driver but quickly moved to the driver's seat, steering an Alpine-Renault A110 in national rallies. In 1975, she competed in circuit racing and won the two-litre prototype class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After being signed by Fiat France for 1977, Mouton finished runner-up to Bernard Darniche in the European Rally Championship. She went on to win the 1978 Tour de France Automobile and record consistent results in her home events in the WRC; the Tour de Corse and the Monte Carlo Rally. For 1981, Audi Sport signed Mouton to partner Hannu Mikkola. In her first year with the Audi Quattro, she took a surprise victory at the Rallye Sanremo.
  In the 1982 World Rally season, Mouton finished a close second overall to Walter Röhrl, after wins in Portugal, Brazil and Greece, and helped Audi to its first manufacturers' title. Her campaign the following year resulted in fifth place.
context_section_description: While announcing her retirement from rallying, Mouton stated her intention to start a family with Corsican sports journalist Claude Guarnieri. She had her daughter Jessie (Jessica) in 1987. Mouton credited her father Pierre's support as the secret for her success: "He loved driving. He loved fast cars. And I think he would have loved to do what I did. He was a prisoner of war for five years and when he came back he never had the opportunity to compete. But he came to all the rallies I did. And my mother came, too."
  Mouton states that in her mind she did not try to beat her male rivals, but to be at their level. She noted that in rallying the quickest elapsed time is the most important thing. David Evans of Autosport described her as "motorsport's most successful ever female driver". Rally journalist and historian Graham Robson credits Mouton, along with Pat Moss, as "the driver by whom all other females measure their skills and achievements". Mouton and Moss were of different eras and did not compete directly against each other, although they both appeared at the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally where Mouton co-drove. In 1985, they swapped cars in a private test session with Moss driving the Quattro and Mouton an Austin-Healey 3000. Stirling Moss regarded Mouton as "one of the best", and Niki Lauda described her as a "superwoman".
  In 2011, Mouton was made knight of the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
caption: Mouton interviewed in 1985
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