Emma Gilmour enjoys GRC debut
Lining up against some of the biggest names in the business at the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship’s (GRC) first
round in Barbados, Emma Gilmour did herself and New Zealand proud.
She was not only the first woman to ever race in this testosterone-fuelled series, she hit jumps, battled for corners
with the Ken Block, Tanner Foust and charmed the 40,000 spectators at the Top Gear Festival, which hosted the GRC
opener.
Her reaction after her first heat race sums up Emma’s experience.
“Wow! It was so cool! Finally racing with other cars was really enjoyable. I did the jump pretty big and the crowd
thinks its awesome having a lady amongst the boys.”
Emma’s Rhys Millen Racing (RMR) Hyundai Veloster Turbo rallycross car had a few niggles over the practise, qualifying
and heats, which her RMR team did a great job of rectifying to give her a chance to stay out on the circuit.
“Although we had small mechanical issues all weekend I still got the opportunity to keep improving my driving in the
super fast, competitive GRC format.”
Emma qualified 12th but continually improved her times and given it was her debut in the championship and first time
driving the recently-built Veloster, she will return to New Zealand this week determined to make it through to the final
in the GRC’s next round.
“I learned heaps and kept improving throughout the practise, qualifying and heats. Despite the racing being a big
learning curve, I really enjoyed it. I can’t wait for the next round at the X Games in Austin Texas on June 7.”
Dunedin-based Emma is now looking forward to getting back into her Vantage-sponsored Suzuki Swift Maxi for the next
round of the Brian Green Property New Zealand Rally Championship, driven by VINZ event at the Canterbury Rally June 1
and 2.
ends