Winter Olympian’s best trick: driving a manual, one-legged

Winter Olympian Danielle Scott, a car-lover from childhood, recalls the day she drove a manual — with one leg out of action and virtually without a lesson

As a winter Olympian and the daughter of a former racing driver, you’d expect Danielle Scott to fancy a racy set of wheels. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Aerial skier Danielle Scott in her VW Passat Alltrack.

The aerial skier, who looms as one of our big medal chances at the coming Winter Games in Pyeongchang, has always opted for practicality over sportiness.

Despite a childhood spent in the back of a 1969 Mini Cooper S, her first car was a $1000 Daihatsu Charade.

“The Cooper S was similar to the Minis Dad used to race in New Zealand. As kids we loved asking him to do the ‘racing gear change’ around the corners when he’d pick us up from school,” she says.

Dad’s race car back in New Zealand: 1969 Morris Mini Cooper S.

But the Daihatsu, which she named George, was the right fit for a struggling athlete trying to forge a career as a skier after excelling at gymnastics as a junior.
There was just one problem.

“I learnt on an automatic but this was a manual,” she says. “At the time I had just had surgery on my left knee so I had to have my Dad test drive it and wait until my knee was better before I could drive it.

“Dad took me around the block a couple of times to teach me and before he knew it, I was taking myself off to physio bunny-hopping down the road.”

First car: Danielle named her Daihatsu Charade hatch “George”.

George eventually went to a couple who were travelling and needed some cheap, easy wheels while in Australia. It was replaced by a 2003 Suzuki Carry Van.

“It was such a novelty of a car. I decked it out as a mini camper van and ventured off on some pretty fun road trips,” she says.

She’s a Sydneysider but Melbourne’s Great Ocean Road gets the nod as her favourite journey.

“Such amazing, winding roads through rainforests and along coastal cliffs,” she says.

At the other end of the spectrum is the trip to Sydney Olympic Park during peak hour, although she refuses to let the commute get under her skin. “I enjoy driving and road rage is overrated,” she says.

Car of her dreams: Land Rover Defender.

The Carry Van was eventually replaced by an all-wheel drive Volkswagen Passat Alltrack, which is a better fit for carrying gear on trips to the snow — and Sydney traffic, where the park-assist comes in handy.

“Parking in Sydney is like Tetris nowadays and it means I can fit into spaces I would never have attempted before,” she says.

She buys cars for practical reasons but she still gets attached to them. “It is definitely an emotional purchase for me,” she says.

The emotional connection is partly to do with her dad’s love of cars. “He enjoys working on cars and we used to love checking out the vintage car auctions together. I definitely appreciate the character in vintage cars but also get excited by the features of modern cars.”