Molly Taylor hurtling towards history at Australian rally championship
IT’S hot, sweaty, uncomfortable, downright dirty and the worst possible job for the faint-hearted. But Sydney-bred rally driver Molly Taylor wouldn’t swap it for the world.
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IT’S hot, sweaty, dusty, uncomfortable, downright dirty and the worst possible job for the faint-hearted or those prone to motion sickness.
Sydney-bred rally driver Molly Taylor wouldn’t swap it for the world.
The first woman to win a heat of Australian rally championship last year has now taken it up a gear by claiming a history-making series win at Coffs Harbour on the weekend.
Taylor, a fulltime factory driver for Subaru, and veteran navigator Bill Hayes made history by clinching the Australian Rally Championship title in dramatic circumstances at the Kennards Hire Rally Australia finale.
The win saw Taylor become the first female to achieve the feat since the national rallying series began in 1968.
The 28-year-old, whose mother Coral was a four-time Australian rally champion co-driver and father Mark a former state and national competitor, says she loves the sport she has claimed history in.
“It’s not a glamorous sport. It’s rough, hot, dusty and muddy. It’s a sport where you have to get your hands dirty. But I love it.
“To have rally car driver as a job title is pretty cool.’’
Seemingly born to drive as the daughter of two rally stars, Taylor admits she was actually a late starter due to a childhood love of horse riding.
“It was only when I got my licence at 17 and dad made me go to rally school he was running that I fell in love with it,’’ said Taylor, who in 2013 was officially recognised as the fastest female rally driver in the world while racing overseas.
“I sold the horse to buy a rally car.’’
The rest is now, quite literally, history.
Originally published as Molly Taylor hurtling towards history at Australian rally championship