91 replies to this topic

[LotusElise]

I've been reading this forum for a while now and a glamorous female driver from 1977 known as "Valli" seems to be mentioned very now and then.
Other than here, I have found no reference to her!
Who was she and does anyone know what happened to her? I hear she only raced for the one season.

[RTH]

She was one of Chris Meek's (who still owns Mallory Park ) girlfriends and a part time model remembered for that photograph of her topless sitting by the Mallory lake, raced an MG Midget and I think one of Meek's Europas. At the time Chris used to leave circuits in a gold drophead Rolls Royce Corniche registered CM1 with Valli Stack (or others ) in the passenger seat. Alan Cox posted his photos of Valli in the long running "Women Drivers " thread extact below :-

[/B][/QUOTE]

[ghinzani]

Originally posted by RTH
and a part time model remembered for that photograph of her topless sitting by the Mallory lake,

I'm still trying to get that picture in my head of a topless woman surrounded by all the coarse fishermen (you should hear their language) with their extended poles and those little orange flag waving gnomes...

[Alan Cox]

To reprise some that have gone AWOL

[RTH]

I guess those photographs would have been about 30 years ago.......do you have a date on the pictures Alan ? So I suppose she would now be in her mid fifties ?
She carried sponsor identification from Biba the iconic fashion store opened by Barbara Hulanicki in 1964 in London, Kensington Church Street then moved in to the former premises of Derry & Toms , the once hugely popular business closed in the mid 70s but is still regarded as highly influential at the time had a cosmetic spin off.
Far as I know she was not heard of again in motor racing circles.

[ghinzani]

We still have'nt answered pictorially the question is Valli Stacked?

[RTH]

Originally posted by ghinzani
We still have'nt answered pictorially the question is Valli Stacked?

The photograph in question was printed in either 'Autosport' or Motoring News ' at the time I cannot remember which, only a small B&W photo but certainly something of a surprise at the time and unprecedented. Don't forget she was a small and very slight lady , so compared to what you might see in a daily newspaper today hardly sensational.......but real.

[ghinzani]

Well if its Autospurt then I have all of 77 I think so will have a look, thanks. They certainly did'nt stand out last time I looked!

[lustigson]

Valli looks (looked?) very pretty.

[Alan Cox]

To exhaust my Valli archive, all taken 1975......

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by ghinzani
We still have'nt answered pictorially the question is Valli Stacked?

Yep ....

/ducks to avoid invective from bira, condor, maxpapis, Lagonda ..... ( ladies ;) )

[RTH]

Would be interesting to know what happened to her, unlike some of the glamourous women who got parachuted on to motor racing over the years from time to time for purely PR reasons.
At the time she did appear to take it all seriously and given the lack of experience, not at all a bad effort, perhaps if she could have kept going for 5 years ..............?

Staggering to think this was all 31 years ago !!!

Little quiz : What was the road car she was sitting in front of ?..those stripes were not standard !..........not that anyone will have noticed it !!

[ian senior]

Originally posted by RTH
Little quiz : What was the road car she was sitting in front of ?..those stripes were not standard !..........not that anyone will have noticed it !!

Lotus Europa?

And where is she now? Was she ever a member of the BWRDC? Perhaps someone has contacts in that organisation that could help.

[Rob29]

Interesting; I think the season she raced was 1976,to save ghinzani searching his 77 Autosports.Lap records I have in are in 77 yearbook published early that year.

[ghinzani]

Originally posted by RTH
Would be interesting to know what happened to her, unlike some of the glamourous women who got parachuted on to motor racing over the years from time to time for purely PR reasons.
At the time she did appear to take it all seriously and given the lack of experience, not at all a bad effort, perhaps if she could have kept going for 5 years ..............?

Staggering to think this was all 31 years ago !!!

Little quiz : What was the road car she was sitting in front of ?..those stripes were not standard !..........not that anyone will have noticed it !!

Jensen Interceptor? or were Austin Princesses around then?

Thanks for the 76 tip Rob

[Allen Brown]

The picture was definitely in Autosport but I'm pretty sure it was 1975, not 1976. Definitely not 1977.

Allen

[RTH]

Spot on Ian. A Europa Special that would have been in Biba livery

I do not believe she was a member of the BWRDC.

[Rob29]

Originally posted by RTH


I do not believe she was a member of the BWRDC.

Would seem to be the case. Not listed in index to 'Women in Motorsport' volume.But did get a newcomers Award in 1976..Further investigation deepens the mystery of dissapearing 'Valli' She also won BWRDC award for the most successful driver of 76.Also rules for the Newcomers Award require the recepient to be in her first year of membership.But these are the only mentions of her name in either of the 2 books published by the club.Did they fall out with her forsome reason?

[RTH]

Happened upon this extract from the Yorkshire Post !

King of the road with 40th Ferrari
Owners of classic 'prancing pony' sports cars worth £2m turn heads at Leeds restaurant
Andrew Robinson
SCHOOLBOYS stopped and stared and grown men sighed.
There were plenty of admiring glances as a dozen of the finest Ferrari sports cars lined up outside a Leeds restaurant yesterday.
Passersby stopped to take pictures on their camera phones, a young boy could barely control his glee and owners of more modest motors could only look on in awe... and not a little jealousy.
But for Leeds businessman Chris Meek yesterday was just another day in his love affair with the Italian sports car maker.
Mr Meek yesterday took delivery of his 40th Ferrari, the new and much anticipated £130,000 F430 – the first to arrive in Leeds.
The former racing driver bought his first Ferrari in 1971 and has owned dozens of different models in the last 35 years, including an Enzo which has a top speed of 217mph.
However, he is not a collector of Ferraris and usually only ever has one or two models in his garage. His other car is a Golf GTI and his wife, Svetlana, drives a Maserati.
Specialist car dealer JCT600 Brooklands yesterday hosted a gathering of Ferrari owners to say thank you for their custom. The assembled motors would set you back close to £2m – if you could persuade the owners to sell, which is unlikely.
Mr Meek and Jimmy Savile were among those who attended the event at the Flying Pizza restaurant in Roundhay, Leeds.
The Leeds-based industrialist said his love centred on their "performance, sophistication" and acceleration.
"It's the sheer joy of the handling, the acceleration. It's the feeling of safety. When you turn into a corner, even at a very fast speed, you are relaxed and don't have to fight the car. A lot of other sports cars look great but you don't have the same confidence as you do in a Ferrari. And I have driven virtually all modern and old sports cars. I would have a Ferrari for the sheer exhilaration," he said.
Asked if there was a downside to owning a Ferrari, he said that petrol consumption could be a bit high.
"The jealously (that used to exist) has gone. Young guys shout 'I love your car' and ask how I afford it. I just tell them 'work hard and you can have one'. I have never had someone scratch my car. We have become more like America."
Mr Meek said the fastest he had driven in a Ferrari was 217mph – which happens to be the top speed of the Enzo model.
He declined to say where and when, but he does currently have a clean driving licence.
"At 217mph, if the car feels safe and you are comfortable you feel great. I have driven motorbikes at more than 185mph and that feels more like 300mph.
"A Ferrari feels absolutely safe at speed – road holding is the best. The first thing I do when I get in a Ferrari is turn off the electronics (such as traction control), so then I am in control."
andrew.robinson@ypn.co.uk
26 May 2005

[LotusElise]

She never married Chris Meek then...

Other than what the good people here have told me, I have managed to find out nothing about Ms Stack during my research, as a racing driver or as a model, even.
Does anyone have any of her race results?

[RTH]

Originally posted by LotusElise


Other than what the good people here have told me, I have managed to find out nothing about Ms Stack during my research, as a racing driver or as a model, even.
Does anyone have any of her race results?

Yes isn't that strange.Biba were publicity mad in 1975 putting the brand on all types of products, lavishly decorating the new store, clearly spending vast sums, which led to the firms demise at the end of that year despite a loyal and large following. Valli's cars carried the distinctive logo as did the support people, yet you are right in all the websites devoted to Biba and to fashion there appears to be not a trace of her or their only venture in to motor sport. Yet at the time for obvious reasons it was all well known. The cosmetics arm was taken over by Dorothy Perkins.

[Rob29]

Originally posted by LotusElise
She never married Chris Meek then...

Other than what the good people here have told me, I have managed to find out nothing about Ms Stack during my research, as a racing driver or as a model, even.
Does anyone have any of her race results?

Not results,but I posted the lap records she held at the end of 1976 from the Autosport Year Book,in the 'Women Drivers' thread.

[RTH]

This is Robs post from the Women Drivers thread.

Yes,from my dusty archive,the 1977 Autosport Year Book.;She held class lap records for 'up tp £2,000 Production Sports cars' at;
Aintree 1-20.0 25.9.76
Brands Club 63.0 12.9.76
Castle Combe 1-27.6 10.7.76
Ingliston 65.2 22.8.76
Rufforth 1-37.4 5.9.76
Seems she only did the one season-anyone know what she has done since?

I wonder if this takes us any further ?



Re- reading the thread MCS said the topless photo by the Mallory lake was actually in "Cars and Car Conversions " magazine in 75/76, now that makes more sense they would think nothing of printing it, AS and MN might have thought twice. and also accounts why no one has found it.

This is another one of Alan Cox pictures posted in the WD thread.

Probably a bit earlier Valli's Midget was white the Griffin helmet was black with the BIBA signing



We do know Alan took his pictures in 1975 and Rob's lap results came from the 76 season, Biba had closed by then but the cosmetics division might have still been going under the new owners.

So she did at least 2 seasons

This was Chris Meek's prodsports Europa at the time

http://www.racing70s.../europameek.jpg

despite all the showmanship and the conspicuous display of wealth, he was a very fine driver of everything he turned his hand to and won a great many races in all manner of catagories over at least a 30 year period. I think he won the prodsports championship at least twice in one of these cars...........And he did buy Mallory kept it away from the big groups , despite fears at the time (as a long established property developer ) it was not built over and remains unspoilt to this day something he is to be thanked for.

I seem to remember Valli had a second Europa in Black& Gold later as part of the team.

[RTH]

The plot thickens.

Report in 'Autosport' 26 May 1977

In the Skipton Finance prodsports round at Croft Valli had her first outing in a Triumph TR7 built by Andy Dawson led overall for the first lap then was passed by Chris Meek's Lotus Europa Special. she held on to finish 2nd overall by the flag. Her 'old 'Midget now driven by Malcolm Wayne also won its class.

So she did at least 3 seasons. What is slightly strange is that when she stopped suddenly, she was never heard of again in any context.

[ian senior]

I liked the Yorkshire Post article - thanks, Richard. I used to go to the Flying Pizza and unfortunately never saw Chris Meek there, nor (thankfully) Jimmy Savile. But I have to agree that Chris was a very good driver - he could turn his hand to lots of different cars, and be equally competitive in whatever he was driving. He may have looked like the epitome of flash but in fact he was a really friendly guy and always approachable.

Interesting to see Valli's lap record at Rufforth in September 1976. I saw here there earlier in the year and she didn't look too good on the track, spinning several times. She obviously improved during the year.

[ian senior]

Originally posted by LotusElise
She never married Chris Meek then...

Other than what the good people here have told me, I have managed to find out nothing about Ms Stack during my research, as a racing driver or as a model, even.
Does anyone have any of her race results?

There's an actress called Valerie Stack Dodge - presumably no relation (or even the same person with a "Dodge" suffix) or am I wrong?

[RTH]

I have a feeling Andrew Kitson knows Chris Meek.........Andrew can you throw any light on this ?

Chris Meek came from , and still is I believe based in Leeds they both did a lot of racing at Croft. A reasonable assumption Valli came from that same neck of the woods ?
What is the Mallory perspective Dan ?

[Alan Cox]

I would agre with Ian, Valli did learn quite quickly and was certainly competitive in her class fairly early in the series.

Judging from the interest shown here, I think we all miss her!

[Sharman]

At 69 this month I can't remember whether I miss her or not!!

[Mallory Dan]

Originally posted by RTH
I have a feeling Andrew Kitson knows Chris Meek.........Andrew can you throw any light on this ?

Chris Meek came from , and still is I believe based in Leeds they both did a lot of racing at Croft. A reasonable assumption Valli came from that same neck of the woods ?
What is the Mallory perspective Dan ?

I presume Richard you mean what was Meek's Mallory connection, sorry no idea !!

However, purely as a guess wasn't he a Property Developer. Mallory has always stood in a good location for building houses on I'd have thought, being close to an existing small rural village, with reasonable transport links/services. Its close to local towns/industries, eg Hinckley/Leicester and not too far from Nuneaton/Coventry/Birmingham. Being cynical, perhaps he had his eye on buying the land cheaply, getting Planning permission, and selling on at a large profit...OTOH, perhaps he felt by buying it, he would enable racing to continue there, a

As a driver I held him in high regard. One of the first meetings I attended there in 1973 he ran away with the Spec Saloons race in his pristine white Escort mk1, backed by Princess Ita - whatever was that. As he hailed from Gods Own City, he became an early hero of mine !

[RTH]

I must say Dan, when I first heard he had bought it all those years ago I thought it was odds on it would soon be a housing estate , thankfully that has not happened , we really cannot afford to lose any more circuits now with the overcrowding in the country and the anti-everything brigade so dominant.

I agree saloon car racing in the 70's was just a joy , vastly better fun than today.

[philippe7]

Originally posted by Mallory Dan
As a driver I held him in high regard. One of the first meetings I attended there in 1973 he ran away with the Spec Saloons race in his pristine white Escort mk1, backed by Princess Ita - whatever was that.

Absolument....



I had posted this sometimes back in the Llandow thread....

Chris also had that other beauty that day, for the "Prodsports" race....




PS : Am I getting things totally mixed up , or didn't Chris Meek help Tom Pryce at an earlystage in his career ? Formula Atlantic or something....if I'm right, that is something he should also be honoured for.

[ian senior]

Originally posted by philippe7





PS : Am I getting things totally mixed up , or didn't Chris Meek help Tom Pryce at an earlystage in his career ? Formula Atlantic or something....if I'm right, that is something he should also be honoured for.

I think that's right, Chris's business, Titan Properties, had logos on at least one of Tom's cars. Was it even on the Token?

[Allen Brown]

I think this is Meek's current business:

Postcastle Properties
Titan House P O Box Hh22
Leeds West Yorkshire LS8 2UY
Tel: (0113 249 0444)

Owners of Mallory Park?

Allen

[Andrew Kitson]

Yes, that is the Titan Group HQ.

Chris never ever looked at Mallory for housing development. He loves motor racing and Mallory was acquired at an affordable price. A great place for him to entertain and be entertained. If he had not come along in '82, perhaps it would be a housing estate by now?

[Andrew Kitson]

Originally posted by ian senior


I think that's right, Chris's business, Titan Properties, had logos on at least one of Tom's cars. Was it even on the Token?

Yes. Funnily enough a photo of it appeared in the quiz in the free newspaper at Silverstone last weekend, which is impressively printed on site at each Grand Prix by Red Bull 'The Red Bulletin'. Photo by Rainer Schlegelmilch. Belgium 1974.

[Allen Brown]

Originally posted by RTH
She was one of Chris Meek's (who still owns Mallory Park ) girlfriends and a part time model remembered for that photograph of her topless sitting by the Mallory lake ...

Originally posted by Allen Brown
The picture was definitely in Autosport but I'm pretty sure it was 1975, not 1976. Definitely not 1977.

Allen

14 August 1975 p52, to be precise. And no, I'm not posting a scan. Alan's pictures of her are much better.

[RTH]

Apparently at the preview launch of Donington GP live last Tuesday there were a number of similar photo opportunities with a number of representatives of the Premiere models agency mixing with the cars and drivers during the promotion

http://www.crash.net...rch_string~.htm

[Allen Brown]

So good to see how the motor racing industry has matured and moved forward over the last 30 years.

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Allen Brown
So good to see how the motor racing industry has matured and moved forward over the last 30 years.

Well, Sir Stirling did always have an eye for a pretty girl ....

I think that in the interests of research you really ought to post that pic Allen ;)

[fines]

Seconded!

[RTH]

Wonder what she is doing now ?

[ghinzani]

Originally posted by RTH
Wonder what she is doing now ?

Collecting pension?

[RTH]

Oh I think she would still be a few years short of that !

[paulsenna1]

Googling "Valli Stack" only gives three results... Here, a mention on the speed queens site and on ebay! It looks like she was in a half page b/w spread in Hola magazine.

http://cgi.ebay.es/w...em=330180479255

[RTH]

I see that magazine issue was 1976.

[Sherbet]

Hiya

 

Just wondered if you are still interested in info & pics of Valli Stack?

 

I have plenty of info & stuff that I could post 

 

Sherbet

[D-Type]

Yes

[LotusElise]

Yes please, Sherbet!

 

She is still rather an enigma after all these years.

[Sherbet]

Hi again
So sorry I didn't follow up b4...
Still interested in Valli Stack?