WELLINGTON DRIVER FLIES WOMEN’S FLAG AT SILVERSTONE RACE TO THE SKY
Wellington rally driver Deborah Kibble is still the only woman competitor in the driver’s seat at Silverstone Race to the Sky, in spite of trying to encourage others to take on the challenge of the Snow Farm Road.
“There are several women on the national rally circuit driving their own cars this year for the first time, but none of them unfortunately, are coming to Race to the Sky.”
Deborah is driving the Mitsubishi Evo 6 she competed in last year and her principal sponsor this year is Mitsubishi Motors NZ. The vehicle is carrying the Mitsubishi colours and has been painted and decaled based on the 2004 Mitsubishi WRC Evo 8.5.
She is entered this year in the Rallycourse Competition/ Clubman section after racing last year in the Open 4WD category, a class she finished fifth overall in.
Deborah is back on the circuit this year entering the national rally championship series, after a year off last year.
“Thanks to the support from Mitsubishi Motors I am able to compete in the series again. It’s a great relationship and I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.”
The Race to the Sky kicks off this year’s competition for her. “We love doing it and it’s such a wonderful place to compete. The event is effectively our shakedown before the Otago Rally which is the first round of the championship.”
Her co-driver is spray painter/panel beater Aaron Duncan and there have been few changes to the car since last year.
“It’s pretty much the same car that we’ve always run. We’re just trying to maintain its reliability. There’s not a lot you can do with them in the class that we’re in.”
Deborah clocked a 9m 28sec run in qualifying last year but was slower in the Race to the Sky event after almost running into a fence.
“But I’m getting faster every year which is great. The more you get to know the road the better. Mind you this year I am carrying a passenger!”
The rallycourse class is expected to be highly competitive.
“It’s a huge class and extremely competitive. I’m going to have to go hard to be up there in the placings. It’s going to be very difficult but I’m hoping that because I know the road I might have a bit of an edge. But I’ll be happy, at the very least, to try and take a few seconds off my overall time.”
While Deborah may be the only woman driver entered she will not be entirely alone in the pits. Three women are in the event as co-drivers, including Natasha Thomas who has for several years been on Deborah’s service crew. She is competing with her partner Mark Kibble, Deborah’s brother-in-law.
Charmaine Helm is co-driver for Jason West and Kirsty Russell is in the navigator’s seat for Chris Woudenberg.
Kirsty, who has been Chris’s co-driver for the past 11 years, says their Toyota Corolla will be competitive and if all goes well could finish in the top three.
Also entered as a first time Race to the Sky competitor this year is Deborah’s husband Jamie Kibble. He and his brother Mark have always been strong supporters of Deborah’s at the event and decided it was their time to compete this year.
“We could have actually had six Kibble cars in this year,” says Deborah. “That’s the aim for next time!”
