Girls gear up for Rally South Australia

The only all-female crew competing in the 2009 Sprint Auto Parts Rally SA (July 31 – August 2) will not just be looking for a strong result during the three-day event, the finale’ of the 2009 Australian Rally Championship.

At the same time as mixing it with the likes of Neal Bates, Simon Evans and Glen Raymond, driver Becky Southam and navigator Courtney Strawbridge will use the event to support and raise funds for the National Breast Cancer foundation by selling merchandise and sporting the organisations logos on their Volkswagen Golf GTI. 

The duo hope that the large crowds that flock to the Angaston Super special stages on Friday and Saturday nights, and also to the Mount Pleasant service park across the weekend, will chip in to support the cause that aims to raise funds to assist in research towards Breast cancer prevention and – ultimately – a cure.

In between servicing the car, the teams’ service crew will look after a merchandise stall selling to the anticipated strong crowd at both the Super Specials and at the service park.

“Having the stand at the Angaston oval should create a lot of attention and make a lot of people aware of what we are doing,” Becky Southam, 23, said.

“Rally fans, fellow competitors and crew members will be able to purchase a cap, t-shirt or other products with all of the funds going towards the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which is a wonderful cause.”

Southam said that Breast Cancer awareness was a close one after several occurrences of it amongst her family.

“My Nana recently had breast cancer and a friend of my mum had it three times and survived so it’s a cause that is close to my heart,” she said.

“It’s going to be great to support the foundation and the cause during the rally. We had planned to do it during last year’s event but this year we got it organised early and we’re really looking forward to supporting it.

“It will be great to have people coming out to the rally to really get behind the cause be made aware of what the National Breast Cancer foundation are doing.”

Rebecca said she looked forward to competing with the best of the best rally stars from both the local and national rally championships.

“This year I’m entering the SARC section of Rally SA, after competing in the clubman section last year,” she said. 

“I’m going to go out against the best of the best from South Australia and give it a shot against the big guns!

“It (Sprint Auto Parts Rally SA) is an amazing event,” Southam added.

“I love the roads; they are the best in South Australia and really fast and flowing. They are fantastic to drive on. The atmosphere is fantastic – especially at Angaston (Super Specials) – it’s amazing to have that crowd support.

“It’s almost a bit daunting to have nearly 5,000 people all cheering for you!”

The Sprint Auto Parts Rally SA kicks off on Friday, July 31 with the inaugural Pedders No Bull shootout to be held in the Mount Crawford Forrest that morning.

Crews will then tackle the first of two Angaston Oval Super-Special stages on the Friday night, an event that last year drew nearly 7500 people over two days to witness the superb rallying action.

Tickets can be pre-purchased online for the Angaston Super Special stages, costing $10 per night or $15 for a two-day pass for Adults. Family passes – for two adults and two children – are available for $20 / night or $30 for both nights.

The two heats of the Sprint Auto Parts Rally SA will then be contested on Saturday and Sunday on the high-speed and challenging roads around the Barossa and Eden Valleys and other regions north of the city.

Action can be followed live on www.sarally.com.au with live vision of the super-special stages and in-car camera vision being updated during the weekend.

For more information about the event head to www.rallysa.com.au

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