Tribute to Pat Moss (1934 – 2008)
October 23, 2008 by Anthony Crawford
Call it ignorance or just being too young to know that the former Formula One legend Stirling Moss, had a younger sister, who could drive the pants off quite a few blokes in her day.
She was also great with horses and had a passion for show jumping, before being bitten by the race bug at just seventeen years old, when she was invited to join Stirling’s manager on a rally.
Pat Moss aka. Pat Moss-Carlsson married Swedish Rally ace Erik Carlsson in London in 1963 whom she had raced against on several occasions prior.
She may well be remembered as the worlds best female rally driver of that era (she would probably hate that description as she relished beating the men) given she placed extremely well in some of the toughest rallys of the day.
Special mention would be winning the Dutch Tulip Rally in a Mini Cooper in 1962. She then drove with Ford and placed sixth at the Acropolis Rally in a Ford Lotus Cortina, before getting married.
Pat would then switch to the Saab factory team and partnered Carlsson and went on to record a third at Acropolis, and a fifth at the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally.
In 1968, Moss drove for the Lancia factory team in a Fulvia, which she didn’t like but still went on to place second at the Rallye Sanremo losing only to Pauli Toivonen in a Porsche 911.
Her daughter Suzy Carlsson was born in 1969 which meant less time behind the wheel of a rally car, but she did manage to a tenth place at the 1972 Monte Carlo Rally in a Renault Alpine A110, before retiring from the sport in 1974.
Sadly, Pat Moss passed away on October 14 after a long battle with Leukemia and is survived by her husband Erik, daughter Suzy and brother, Sir Stirling Moss.
Print it: 
I’m not sure Erik Carlsson would appreciate the description that his wife could “drive the pants off quite a few blokes in her day.”
:-)
I never met Pat, but I met Erik Carlsson last year and he was the nicest bloke you could meet. Very advanced in years now, but still bobs up to work for Saab at public events when asked. I’ve heard that both he and his wife were true people’s people and having met one of them, I’d believe it.
Tributes for a life wonderfully lived.
May she rest in peace.
Being a WRC follower with its roots tenuously associated with the 50s & 60s rallying scene I am saddened by her passing. A true pioneer of women’s motorsport.
and fittingly the anti spam wpord is saab