Molly Taylor has kept her goal of winning the 2015 ECB Australian Rally Championship alive with a podium finish in the fourth round of the series, run in conjunction with the FIA World Rally Championship on the Coffs Coast last weekend.
Molly Taylor finished on the podium at Coates Hire Rally Australia. (Photo: Peter Whitten)Taylor and co-driver Bill Hayes brought their Renault Clio R3 home in third place for the Australian round at Coates Hire Rally Australia. They also competed under WRC rules and finished 16th outright and second two-wheel-drive.
The pair will go into the final round of the ECB ARC in second place in the title chase, 31 points behind Eli Evans and Glen Weston (Citroën DS3 R3), with 120 points on offer at Scouts Rally SA, plus 33 bonus points.
“The championship is still within our reach and that’s what we are shooting for,” Taylor says.
“We’re certainly in a better position than we expected on Day One of Rally Australia, when we were coming down a hill in sixth gear with no brakes. We thought our rally would be a very short one!”
On the second stage, Taylor and Hayes discovered one of the caliper bolts had come loose, allowing the car to dump all its brake fluid. They managed to jerry-rig a repair and add some more brake fluid to continue.
Once a more solid repair was done in service, the pair pumped out some very quick times – including winning a stage – but never really clawed back enough time to challenge Evans and Weston for the lead.
“We’ve made things a little more difficult for ourselves going to South Australia after coming into Rally Australia just eight points shy of Eli, but it is what it is. We drove the best rally we could and it was good enough for third, and we’ll be going into the last round with all guns blazing.”
Between now and the South Australian round (October 23-25), Taylor is heading for Corsica to do some gravel notes for Hyundai. She’ll also be preparing for a unique cross-country rally training and assessment programme.
Taylor was notified this week that she is part of a short list of 18 female drivers and co-drivers who will be part of the programme in Qatar from November 2-7. One driver and one co-driver from the 18 will ultimately be chosen to team up and participate in the 2016 Sealine Cross Country Rally.
“It’s completely different to the type of rally I usually compete in, so it’s going to be like starting from scratch again. I don’t underestimate how difficult it will be but it is an awesome opportunity and I am thrilled to have made the short list. I’m really looking forward to it and grateful to the FIA Women in Motorsport, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) and Women of Australian Motorsport (WAMS) for giving me this chance.”
The joint FIA Women in Motorsport and QMMF cross country rally project received 85 applications from 39 countries before the selection committee chose its final 18.
The list of nine drivers includes entries from across Europe, the UK and Egypt, as well as Taylor’s Kiwi counterpart, Emma Gilmour. Co-drivers also come from across Europe as well as one from Jordan, and two from the African continent. Australia’s Rhianon Gelsomino, who now lives in the US, is also on the short list.
The training camp will be led by Jutta Kleinschmidt, the first and only woman to win the legendary Dakar Rally, and multiple rally and cross-country winning co-driver, Fabrizia Pons.
“The desert training will be tough, but it has to be because this is the nature of the sport,” added Kleinschmidt.
“For a lot of the time during an event the crew is on its own, and they need to be resourceful, determined and focused, often in extreme conditions and temperatures. We need to see these attributes, and more, because cross-country rallying is so much more than just driving.
“Naturally I really hope we can find a driver and co-driver with the potential, longer term, to really challenge the leading crews in the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.”
Just before Coates Hire Rally Australia, Taylor announced support from three new sponsors for the rest of the year. They are Brian Hilton Sydney City Renault, caravan and camper trailer specialists, Jayco, and SunX Window Tinting. She debuted a new livery at the event to reflect the new assistance.
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