Hollywood is set to make a major film about a female racing legend after her biographer sold the film rights.

Last year Miranda Seymour released her acclaimed biography of Helle Nice, a female driver who spent a lot of time on the Brooklands circuit in the 1920s. The writer has recently sold the film rights of The Bugatti Queen to a Hollywood film company.

The deal was signed two months ago and, although it has not yet been announced, the film will retain the title of the biography.

The Bugatti Queen tells Helle's story as a great pioneer of motor racing but who faced major obstacles in the paternal world of British motor racing of the 1920s. She is described in the book as "one of the most colourful, yet least known, of the Brooklands era" and worked as a stripper and dancer before her career in racing.

Ms Seymour said she had spent a lot of time in Brooklands researching the book.

She said: "I remember crawling round the circuit and through the stadium at night, trying to get a sense of what it must have been like for her as a young woman. Brooklands in that time was fascinating.

"However, I am frustrated by the lack of respect directed towards talented and courageous women drivers such as Helle and Eileen Derbyshire."

Ms Sawyer said she was looking forward to working on the film but it was still at the very early stages.

benl@london.newsquest.co.uk