Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 28

Let ’ s start at the beginning , shall we ? Tell us what it was like to grow up in a rally-mad family ?
For me , it was all I knew , so it seemed kind of normal ! Mum would be away on events for almost half the year , so we were used to her going away regularly for two weeks at a time . Dad moved a lot of his work to be based at home when we were younger . He was in charge of the school lunches and drop-offs . There were often cool cars coming and going from our place and I loved experiencing the buzz of rallying . I think I was lucky to be in an environment where my role models were pursuing their passion — it was inspiring .
With both parents as rally competitors , was your joining the sport a family dream come true for them ? Or were there doubts or hesitations on their part ?
There was never any pressure or expectations . When I was younger , I liked watching the rallies . However , I was obsessed with horses and wanted to be an Olympic rider . It wasn ’ t until I was around 16 that I tried rallying and fell in love with it . [ My parents ] were always big on supporting what I was passionate about , I think they actually preferred it when I was passionate about something else ! Rallying is a tough and all-consuming sport — they know [ this ] firsthand . They didn ’ t want me to go down that road just because they did , I had to find the passion for it myself .
What surprises have come with your celebrity status ?
Ha-ha , I don ’ t see myself as having celebrity status so much ! But there certainly has been a huge increase in the exposure we ’ ve been receiving , which has been an eye-opening experience . For rallying and Subaru , it ’ s been exciting to share our sport with more people , and to see more people join our “ blue army .” I guess the biggest thing I wasn ’ t expecting was how many young girls I now see attending rallies and connecting with me on social media . Up until then , I hadn ’ t really thought much about the effect we had on these girls . It ’ s incredibly humbling and inspiring to see them come to events so motivated to get involved and to feel confident in pursuing something they might not have otherwise seen as an option for them .
In 2016 , you became the first female Australian Rally Champion , an amazing claim to fame . Tell us about last season and the rally that sealed the deal for you .
Last year was a big year for me . It was my first year as an official factory driver with Subaru , so a completely different environment and type of pressure than what I had ever experienced before . There were a lot of expectations , but I didn ’ t really know what to expect out of our first season . I came into the year with the aim of finishing in the top-5 , so to win in our first year was beyond our wildest dreams ! The whole year , I really tried to focus on all the small details and take each stage and rally at a time . The fact that , as a team , we did our best at every little step was ultimately what put us in the position to win . All those little moments add up in the big picture .
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