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Gilmour claims best ever
NZRC finish
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| www.emmagilmour.com
Profile
Family - Dad Alistair, Mum Carola, Sister
Monica
Relationship - Partner Glenn
Hometown - Dunedin, New Zealand
Education - St Hilda's Collegiate, BA Otago
University
Hobbies - Fitness, Trailbike riding,shopping,
reading
First Rally - Targa, Mar 02 (Tarmac), Rally
Rotorua, Jun 02 (Gravel)
First Rally Car - Mitsubishi Evo 3
Movie - Blades of Glory
Book - The Time Traveller's Wife, Audrey
Niffenegger
Actor - Johnny Depp
Food - Grandma's Baking
Weekend Pastime - Other than rallying?! Riding my
Yamaha WRF250
Rally Driver - Marcus Gronholm
Rally Stage - Waipu Caves (NZ), Ouninpohja
(International)
Rally (NZ) - All of them! Otago, Catlins, Targa,
RTTS.....
Rally (International) - Finland - to watch and
compete in.
Quote -"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if
you'll die today." J. Dean
News
Dancing With Cars
Put ace rally car driver Emma Gilmour in the
co-driver's seat, and she'll have to take
car-sickness tablets. Place her in front of one of
those simulated Playstation rally games and her
stomach will revolt. But let her get her hands on
the steering wheel and she's a different woman
altogether: "I'm a shocking passenger, but I'm fine
when I'm driving." This adrenalin-hungry
twenty-six-year-old is happiest when hurtling along
a gravel road in her rally car, trying to nudge
ahead of her competitors: "It's just this amazing
feeling", says Gilmour. "You feel at one with the
car, like it's an extension of yourself. When
everything's working perfectly and you're getting
from apex to apex it's a huge rush. It's like
making the car dance."
She hasn't always been a petrol head. From the
age of eight until she was in her early twenties
horses were Gilmour's thing. She was hell-bent on
equestrian life and dreamt of representing New
Zealand at the Olympics in the three-day event. She
thinks there's more bravery involved in sitting
atop a fast-moving maned creature than there is in
sitting behind the wheel at a rally: "I think horse
riding is one of the most fearless sports around,
especially the cross-country riding. I mean you've
got half a ton of animal that might fall on you -
it's a really gutsy sport."
But she lost her horse-riding nerve after an
encounter with a cantankerous young horse: "He was
rearing up so I got off because I was really
scared, and you know from pony club that you've got
to get back on them and show them who's boss. And I
thought no, I don't want to get back on you. I
bawled my eyes out all the way home. And that was
it: I gave it up - cold turkey. I also had a couple
of friends who'd had bad accidents - one had her
hip replaced and another had a head injury. I
suppose you don't mind injuring yourself if you're
doing something you really love but I just wasn't
getting enough of a kick out of it anymore."
With horses off the menu, she tried her hand at
downhill mountain-bike riding, trail bikes, and
rowing. She was also completing a Design Studies
degree at the University of Otago during this time
(with side helpings of History, Philosophy and
Management). Design Studies tickled her creativity
but it did nothing to close the yawning adrenalin
gap in her life.
And so it was that she climbed into the rally
car driver's seat in 2002 (with a few years of
co-driving under her belt) and stunned fellow
racers and onlookers at her first tarmac event -
the Targa Bambina Rally. Her father, an A-grade
mechanic, offered to sit with her in the
co-driver's seat to make sure she was OK. She was
more than OK: she came 1st in the 4WD class and 6th
overall from 98 entries. Says Gilmour, "Dad was
just totally blown away by how quickly I picked it
up. I was just instantly fast."
Thus emboldened, she asked Australian World
Rally Championship co-driver Glenn Macneall if he'd
team up with her for her first gravel race. Much to
her surprise he said yes, popped across the Tasman
for the event, and pronounced her "seriously
talented" (and, as it happens, also found her
seriously fanciable: romance bloomed soon
thereafter). Macneall's thumbs-up convinced her to
pursue this penny-sucking sport as more than just a
hobby, and since then it's been onwards and
upwards. Gilmour has consistently managed
competitive times at both local and international
rallies and was dubbed "the next big thing" by
Sunday magazine in 2005.
She knows that the reason she was such an
immediate media and sponsorship magnet was due in
part to the simple fact of her sex. "There are very
very few girls that are fast. There've been a lot
of girls in motorsport who've come in and marketed
the whole girl-in-a-male-sport thing and it works
for a short time but if you're not getting results
it doesn't last."
Female drivers have long been ill-served by that
weary old stereotype: one that has them riding the
clutch, slowing the traffic, and being far more
interested in the colour of the car than its engine
specifications. When asked if this old chestnut has
dogged her progress through the ranks Gilmour says,
"No. But then I suppose I'm not someone who gets
really het up about feminist issues. If I was
someone who bit at every comment I heard they'd
probably wind me up more, but because I just sort
of roll with it, they take me seriously. I'm not
there to push the whole women's issue. I don't want
to be the first woman home - I'd rather be the
first competitor home. And the boys are really good
- if I make a real effort to try and learn
something about a car they make a real effort to
teach me about it. And I think that would be the
same with any woman and a car - if women show an
interest in it, generally a guy will be happy to
teach them about it."
In between racing events she works on keeping
herself in good physical nick because rally car
driving, while largely conducted from one's butt,
is actually a lot more physically demanding than
you'd expect. Gilmour and other drivers once did a
test where they wore heart-rate monitors for the
length of an event and were amazed to see that
their heart rates nudged the 180-190 beats per
minute mark. "You wouldn't think it", she says,
"because it's not anaerobic, but it's pretty taxing
on the body so you need to be fit. And you get
quite hot because you've got your full overalls and
balaclava and helmet on."
Along with physical stamina and natural speed, a
top rally car driver needs to be blessed with a
good dose of fearlessness. While motor-love runs in
the Gilmour blood (her grandfather was also a
mechanic) she also seems to have native unshakeable
pluck: "I suppose I'd say that I'm pretty gutsy.
When I'm driving fast in a car I don't feel in
danger and that's probably due to being brought up
around speed. You need to be strong mentally - I'm
pretty unflappable. My confidence is probably my
weakest link in that I don't rate myself enough."
But doesn't fearlessness go hand in hand with
confidence? "Yeah I suppose. But every male
naturally rates himself as a driver - and I'm not
just talking racing car drivers. Whereas a lot of
girls I know are really good drivers but they don't
rate themselves."
But all the fearlessness in the world doesn't
squash those pre-race nerves. Says Gilmour, "Before
I start an event I have to get into an aggressive
mode because it's easy to become passive in the
car. Quite often I'll listen to music, visualise
how I want to drive and get myself into the
mindset." When pressed to reveal what sort of music
revs her up (one assumes that Schubert or a
Gregorian chant would not do the trick) she
hesitates. "Oh, it'd be embarrassing to say!
Probably some Guns & Roses or ACDC. Definitely
heavier music - it just changes your mood so
much".
And the moral of this tale? Enrol in Design
Studies and you'll develop a hankering for burning
rubber and Guns & Roses?
Snippets
Results
2010
2nd Overall NZRC Round 1, Rally Otago
4th Overall NZRC Round 2, Rally New Zealand
2nd PWRC WRC Round Rally New Zealand
2nd Overall APRC Round 2, Rally Whangarei
2nd Overall NZRC Round 3, Rally Whangarei
3rd Overall NZRC Round 4, Rally Nelson
3rd Overall NZRC Round 5, Rally Wairarapa
2nd NZ Rally Championship
Ranked Worlds No 1 Female Rally Driver
2009
3rd Overall NZRC Round 1, Hawkes Bay
3rd Overall APRC Round 1, Rally Queensland
3rd Overall NZRC Round 2, Rally Otago
2nd Overall NZRC Round 3, Rally Whangarei
3rd Overall APRC Round2, Rally Whangarei
2nd Overall NZRC Round 4, Rally Wairarapa
5th Overall NZRC Round 5, Rally Nelson
4th Overall APRC Round 3, Rally Japan
2nd Overall APRC Round 4, Rally Malaysia
3rd Overall APRC Round 5, Rally Indonesia
2nd Overall APRC Round 6, Rally China
3rd NZ Rally Championship
2nd FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship
2008
16th Overall WRC Rally NZ
3rd Overall Rally Nelson
3rd (4th) Overall) Targa Rally
2007
2nd Overall Otago Rally, Round 1 NZ Rally
Championship
Stage wins at NZ round of Asia Pacific Rally
Championship in Whangarei before having major
accident on Waipu Caves stage. Unfortunately the
car was written off, but Emma did receive excellent
media coverage through the accident and featured on
Murray Deaker's TV Sport Show.
Winner of Rally NZ Scholarship for entry into PWRC
at NZ Round of WRC.
Invited by Subaru Rally Team Japan to contest the
Japanese Round of the WRC.
Set top 3 PWRC Stage times at Rally Japan.
2006
Winner of the Rally Founders Trophy 2006
The Rally Founders Trophy is awarded annually to
the rally driver who not only performs with
distinction, but who also demonstrates a
sportsmanlike attitude and is a worthy ambassador
for the sport.
4th Overall Otago Rally, Round 1 NZ Rally
Championship, 3rd equal on points
Race to the Sky International Hillclimb. Time: 8:48
6th overall, 2nd in class.
Awarded International Scholarship to compete in
Fiesta in Rally Germany and Rally Finland.
Class stage wins in Rally Finland.
4th NZ Rally Championship
3rd Overall Targa Rally in Subaru Australia and
Vantage supported Subaru. Emma lead the event for
the first day of the 5 day rally.
Top 3 PWRC Stage times Rally NZ
Winner of Wild Card entry to International Fiesta
Shoot Out. This prestigious shoot out is held at
the M-Sport headquarters in Cumbria.
Invited to compete in Bettega Memorial Trophy in
Bologna Italy. Emma's first drive in a World Rally
Car and the first woman to compete at Bettega in
the event's history.
2005
John Haugland Rally School, Norway
Race to the Sky International Hillclimb
Mitsubishi Lancer - Hybrid Special
1st Open 4WD Class, 9th overall, first woman to set
a sub 9 minute time. Due to major mechanical
problems, this result was achieved during Emma's
first ever attempt at the hill.
Rally of New Zealand WRC, NZRC
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6, Group N
2nd New Zealander and 2nd NZ Championship
Rally of Otago - 3rd overall
Wairarapa - 3rd heat 1, 6th overall
Dunlop Targa New Zealand - 5th overall (with a 3
minute penalty taken for 2 extra tyres)
Other notable highlights:
March 2002 Targa Bambina - Tarmac Rally
Emma's first every rally! 1st in 4WD class, 6th
overall from 98 entries.
June 2002 Rally of Rotorua - NZ, APRC
Emma's first rally on gravel! Seeded 44th, finished
22nd after the day one baptism of fire with the
legendary Motu stage first up. On a wet and
slippery day two, Emma was setting times just
outside the top ten in what was an international
field and finished 16th overall for the event.
October 2002 Alpine Rally - Japan (Tarmac) Evo 5
group N
After coming to terms with mechanical difficulties
in an unfamiliar car, Emma set top 10 stage times
amongst an international field. On one stage Emma
was within one second of her hero Possum Bourne's
time, who went on to finish second in the
event.
October 2004 Targa New Zealand (Tarmac)
Suzuki Ignis Sport - Manufacturer backed entry
30th Overall (200 entries), highest placed small
engine car
Several competitors actually asked if the car
really had a standard 1500cc engine because Emma
beat so many bigger engine cars during the event.
On the last day, in the wet, she set the 12th
fastest stage time.
Gilmour claims best ever
NZRC finish
Emma Gilmour has claimed her best ever result in
the Vantage New Zealand Rally championship,
securing runner-up honours after a strong drive to
third place in the final round of the series in the
Wairarapa.
Gilmour powered her Subaru Impreza STI to third
in the Production Class on Saturday's opening leg
of the Masterton-based event and a fine second on
today's final leg to claim third-place overall.
That result, combined with the two second placings
and one fourth placing from the four other rounds
of the championship saw her bag 291 championship
points for the season.
That total was 31 points fewer than newly
crowned champion Dean Sumner, but 65 more than
former champion Richard Mason, who took third in
the series after winning this weekend's Wairarapa
event.
"I started this weekend knowing that Dean would
have to strike trouble for us to have a chance of
catching him in the championship," said Gilmour.
"Unfortunately for us, he drove another good event
and finished strongly."
"Dean and I are the only two of the top drivers
to have finished every championship round, and
there's usually been just a place between us at the
end of each event, so we have had some great
battles over the course of the year. I'd like to
congratulate him on winning the national
championship title for the first time."
"For me it has been a case of going one-better
than in 2009, when we finished third in the series.
My sights are now set on going one-better again in
2011 and taking the title win."
Gilmour had hoped to challenge for victory on
the Wairarapa event but, like Sumner, suffered
early on from being one of the first cars through
the thickly-gravelled stages.
"He started first on the road and I was next on
the Saturday, so both of us lost time ploughing
through the gravel and clearing it off to the
sides. Then, just when I felt I was getting on top
of the conditions, a small mechanical problem
slowed me up."
Benefiting from a better start position on the
Sunday, Gilmour enjoyed a far stronger run, over
which she finished second to Mason by just 11.5
seconds. The combined times for the two days saw
her placed third for the event behind Mason and
Sumner.
Source: www.emmagilmour.com/a_standard.asp?cid=66772578&aid=-885150669
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