Ines Keil-Folville

Hello everybody,

I am new in this forum and was very happy to find out about it. Well, the reason I'm here is that I am searching for information about a female race driver.

Mrs Ines Keil-Folville is my great-grandmother, born 15th August 1885 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In the 19-twenties she was one of the very famous race drivers. She drove together with Rosenauer, Stuck or Caracciola, to mention only a few of her colleagues. She was member of the ADAC and AvD, I know. She drove for the teams Bugatti and Horch. She also took part at 24 hour races for example in Baden-Baden.

She was first married to an ingenieur and racer Maurice Folville, and later to another racer Mr. Keil, starting for Horch.

I have quite a few old newspaperarticles and fotographs, but still my mother and I are looking for more information about her. We are also missing an old oil painting of her in a racing car, which was sold 1980 in Franfurt and we love to get it back. I have tried to include it in this message, but I'm not sure if it works ;-)



So if anyone of you has some information, pictures or even film material or knowledge, where the painting is right now, I would appreciate it very much, if you can get in touch with me.

acmprivat@web.de

Thank you very much for your help,
best reagrds
Annette, Berlin

Dear Annette,

a few years ago a book was published on Karl Kappler, a German racing driver of the twenties. It is an interesting book, but reading it you get the impression that Karl Kappler had been the Michael Schumacher of the period between the two world wars, when in reality he was more like, say, the Otto Rensing of the twenties. Ever heard of Otto? If not, you get the picture.

Why am I telling you this? Because the author of that book (who shall remain nameless) obviously relied entirely on regional newspapers when researching his subject, and in those days without internet or even television those were prone to hype and hoax, and not only in Germany!

In short: I seriously doubt that Ines Keil-Folville "was one of the very famous race drivers" as I am sure that otherwise the name would certainly "ring a bell". I have seen the name of Maurice Folville come up as a driver of a Bignan (a popular French sportscar of the time), but he was even more of an unknown than Karl Kappler - a Peter Wisskirchen of the twenties???

Also, I have never heard of a 24 hour race in Baden-Baden - there was a "Baden-Badener Automobilturnier" in the twenties, a mix of a short sprints, hill climbs and gymkhanas, but nothing that could lay claim to being of any significance in autoracing terms.

If you "have quite a few old newspaper articles and photographs", it is quite likely that you have much more on her racing career than any of us here. Why don't you post some of your info here, and let us know when and where she raced, so that perhaps some of us may be able to add a bit of trivia and/or knowledge? But don't hold your breath, as the lady in question is quite likely a rather obscure subject of racing history...

Hello Michael,

Thank you for your answer. I would be happy to post some of her pictures or newspaper articles here. But I don't know how to do it ???

If you can let me know, I would be happy.

Bye, Annette

At least she had been a quite regular participant at the Wiesbaden Automobil Turnier throughout the twenties.

Also she won the ladies´ cup there on two occasions in 1926 (hillclimb) and 1928 ("Geschwindigkeitsprüfung" in German), both on Amilcar, and in 1932 she was member of the successful Horch team at the "Deutsche Länderfahrt".

Hello Anette, you mentioned Horch, therefore I will check my sources. Baden-Baden reminds me more like a competion for the beautiest car (if Horch parcitipate there). Cause that is, what Horch was famous for in the 20ies.

I think Baden-Baden was a "Turnier" week like Wiesbaden with different events each day. A typical week consisted of a "Sternfahrt" (rallye), a concours d´elegance, a hillclimb, a speed trial and usually also a "balloon chasing" (where a lady in a balloon had to drop a piece of cloth some time after take off and the car driver who was able to collect it up became the winner). I think Baden-baden was much the same.

Also as I wrote Mrs Keil-Folville was in the Horch team in 1932 for the "Deutsche Länderfahrt".

Originally posted by Acmprivat
Hello Michael,

Thank you for your answer. I would be happy to post some of her pictures or newspaper articles here. But I don't know how to do it ???

If you can let me know, I would be happy.

Bye, Annette

Why so shy, Annette?

There's more to this board than just this thread, try and explore it! And all along, at the top of the very first page you'll find this thread ATTENTION EVERYONE: how to post your images that will teach you how to do it in detail!

Hi everybody,

Thanks for you reponses. I can give you some more infos:

I have checked some old newspaper articles. My great-grandmother was racing together with Karl Kappler. They both took part on 12th July 1924 in Baden-Baden in a skillfullness or ability car race, I don't know the exact English translation. It is also written there that she took part in 4 european twenty four hour races (France, Netherland, Belgium and Germany) and won them! Another competitor of her Hans Stuck is mentioned.

In German newspapers she was mentioned as "the mother of German female car racing", her first race was at 1910.

Races with Ines Keil-Folville


Year Place Car

1921 Homburg, mountain race

Wiesbaden

12. July 1924 Baden-Baden Car tournament Lancia

1924 mountain race Baden-Baden ? Batchariprice

? Bad Homburg Horch

1924 24 hour race, Taunus Horch

1926 race around Neroberg Horch

1928 24 hour race, Roermond, Netherland Horch

Sorry, I still did not have the time to learn how to insert a picture :-(
During the next two weeks I won't have time for that, but after that I will try to show you some pictures. I'd love to find out something about the missed painting of her.

So bye for now, best
Annette

She "won" the 24-Hours at Taunus, on June 20 and 21 1925.

Well, in fact, it was a regularity event and she finished without penalisation, so She received a Gold Medal. Driving a Horch 10/50 PS, she competed in Class D for 2 to 3 litres cars.