Molly Taylor stars in Drive Like a Girl documentary

This inspirational story of an Australian racing champion is one of triumph over adversity.

Much like the rally cars she has mastered, Molly Taylor’s career has been anything but a smooth ride.

Australia’s top female racing driver has experienced the soaring highs of championship titles – both at home and abroad – and the crashing lows of losses, both on and off the track.

The world-class athlete invited a camera crew to follow in her wheel tracks for Drive Like a Girl, a documentary set to air on Channel 7 in the lead-up to this Sunday’s Bathurst 1000.

“We wanted to show the reality of motorsport as a full-time job and the highs and lows that are part of the territory,” Taylor said.

“It’s tough for everyone regardless of gender. Crossing the finish line first is always the goal but when you’re a woman competing for the top step of the podium, it isn’t always the biggest challenge.”

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Motorsport Champion Molly Taylor. Photo: Supplied.

Extreme E: Rosberg X Racing founder Nico Rosberg with Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson. Picture: Supplied

“Sometimes, just being fast isn’t enough.”

The film’s Director, Sean Lander said “as a fan and friend of Molly for a long time, to have the opportunity to share her story and the struggles of someone at the very top of their game was a no-brainer.”

“We set out to document a privateer attempting to compete on a national level but what we filmed was a global story of success, failure, redemption and people that changed my perspective on motorsport and hopefully, yours will too,” he said.

The film invites viewers behind the scenes of a remarkable career that includes a breakthrough victory as the first female driver to secure the Australian Rally Championship title.

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Australian rally driver Molly Taylor at the Race of Champions. Picture: Supplied

Molly Taylor won the 2016 Australian Rally Championship.

There are moments on the global stage, at high-profile events such as the Dakar Rally and Race of Champions, and periods of quiet reflection with her partner, motoring journalist Daniel Gardner.

The pair wrestle with when – and how – to start a family while juggling a career that can twist and turn with phone call or text.

Sometimes Taylor’s phone presents an opportunity to race in exotic locations.

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Sometimes it brings disappointment.

“I’m scared that if I sat out for a year I would never be able to come back,” she said.

“Every motorsport documentary that I see, there’s always the guy who’s away racing, and the wife who’s at home with the kids and that’s great.

“But what if the child bearer wants to race?”

Gardner concedes that, for female drivers with an active racing career, it “isn’t ever the right time” to start a family.

In the same way that Molly’s own mother, Coral Taylor, inspired people by securing six co-driver titles in the Australian Rally Championship, Molly’s success has undoubtedly nurtured the aspiration of competitors in Australia and beyond.

Coral Taylor and Molly Taylor represent an Australian motorsport dynasty. Picture: Adam Yip

Taylor has retained close ties to Subaru and its WRX. Picture: Richard Dobson

Rather than being looked on as an inspiration or trailblazer, TV commentator Greg Rust says Molly “wants to be seen as a competitor, first and foremost”.

“She’s a leading light for women in motoring and motorsport, no doubt about that,” he said.

“But she wants to be there on merit.”