Most people, when they think of rallying, think of young blokes thrashing about in a busted up old clanger that Dad had in the shed. These young fellas get into the sport ‘cause dad took ‘em with him when they were kids and the son got started in the sport navigating for dad at few events.
Well the Stanfords sort of fit that stereotype, except it’s the daughter driving and dad is the navigator (or the co-driver to be precise now-days).
Dad is Peter Stanford who did get his start in the sport with his Dad and does compete as a driver but now, more often, co-drives for some top line drivers.
Peter had two daughters, Lauren and Cassie. At the age of 15 Lauren, and aged 12 for Cassie, got involved in motorsport driving a Toyota Celica firstly in Motorkhana’s to gain basic skills, then Khanacross’s leading into rallying. “A huge positive is that both girls passed their driving tests first time when allowed to drive on the road and to this day are safe drivers. Also they know how to maintain a car and if they have a flat tyre or breakdown they know what to do,” say proud dad Peter.
They also enjoy spending time as a family group, cheering when all goes well, laughing when we may have an ‘off’, and maybe even swearing a little when they could have done better; but always having a good time.
Cassie became involved in Event Management. Starting off by volunteering to help at a rally led her to involvement with Australian Rally Championship events and then to the World Rally Championship. Cass has travelled the world working at WRC events and has many friends through-out Europe and Scandinavia. Cassie has returned home and is now settled with her partner – a leading driver in ARC – and is still involved in Event Management.
Lauren, with her ’need for speed’, has progressed to competing in the Queensland Rally Championship with Dad Peter as her co-driver. This is her second year rally driving in competition and she is gaining experience all the time. Currently Lauren is leading her class in QRC. Lauren uses motorsport both for fun but also as a stress outlet. By day she is a Chartered Accountant for a major Australian company, responsible for the financials of its overseas operations. This is very intense.
Lauren’s focus is not to spend huge dollars but to take an approach where motorsport is fun and do it as a family. Very few people can make a living out of rally driving so her focus is on enjoyment. Lauren’s husband, Stephen is the service crew, with her mother, Lisa being the chief catering officer.
Keep an eye out for Lauren and dad Pete. They will be starting near the rear of the field in one of the more unusual vehicles in the event, a Lada Samara works rally car. We’ll let you find her. Give them a wave and cheers as they pass.
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