High profile young Dunedin driver Emma Gilmour, fresh from the New Zealand Rally Championship, makes her debut at the Silverstone Race to the Sky at Easter.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s always an event I’ve wanted to enter but it’s become possible this year with Dad (Alistair) building a car suitable to compete in.”

Under his direction a lightweight Mitsubishi Evo, geared for the Snow Farm hill, has been purpose built for Emma.

“Having a vehicle that I’m going to be able to do it in is the key thing. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much in my Group N car (Mitsubishi Evo 6) because it would have struggled for power running a 32mm restrictor. I want to go up there and do a decent time and be competitive.”

Emma will be competing in the Open 4WD section, and while she hopes to put in a strong performance, she says experience counts for a lot and this year will be more of a learning curve.

“Because it’s a new car we don’t know what it’s capable of doing. Basically we’ll be very happy if we get four good runs and learn from the event. I’ll be happy if I’ve driven to my potential and driven as fast as I can up the hill on the day.”

Emma hopes to test the car on the hill in early March in the lead up to the Easter race.

She has recently competed with good success in the 2004 Dunlop Targa Rally finishing as the highest placed small engine car in the 200 strong field.

She first began rally driving in 2002 in the Targa Bambina Rally with her father as co-driver, and has since competed in such events as the Asia Pacific Rally of Rotorua and the Alpine Rally of Japan.

In 2004 she was second overall in the Mainland (South Island) Rally Championship and became the first woman to win a Mainland Rally outright.

The only other woman competitor entered to date, Shirlene Turner of Pukekohe, will take on the challenging quad bike race.

“I’ve watched the race for the last three years and now I’m ready to do it.”

She will ride a Suzuki LTZ 400 quad machine which has been highly competitive at a number of events last year. She won the South Island Women’s Motocross Championship as well as titles at the Auckland All Terrain Vehicles Clubs competition.

“I’m looking forward to competing at the Race to the Sky. It will be great to give it a go and say I’ve done it.”

Entries in the 2005 Silverstone Race to the Sky close on February 18.