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Back to July 2011 Motorsports News Archive
| 08-07-2011 at 09:00: Molly Taylor on Track for Next WRC Round | |
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Molly was nominated by the International Rally Drivers’ Club to be a demonstration driver on the 2.7km forest rally stage designed by 1983 world rally champion, Hannu Mikkola. Mikkola was one of several former champions doing demonstration laps on the woodland track, along with Jimmy McRae and Rauno Aaltonen. Current stars Dani Sordo, Guy Wilks and Kris Meeke were also involved. Because there is no official timing on the stage, marshals and officials judge a ‘Driver of the Day’ for each of the three days of the event with each winner being presented with a commemorative medal and a bottle of vintage champagne. It’s judged on entertainment and sportsmanship and on Day Two, the honour belonged to Molly. “I did some demonstration runs and also took some of the corporate clients, sponsors and official guests for rides. It was all about putting on a good show for them and for the spectators and I really enjoyed it. “I said no. I shut him up by buying him a £3 bottle of red on special instead, and I’ve packed the champagne away for when I have my first major win!” While Molly enjoyed her experience of the Festival – limited because of her own commitments – she didn’t have much time to savour it. As soon as her work was done, she had a seven-hour drive home followed by a frantic day of preparation. The rally car used at Goodwood (the Ford Fiesta R2 she uses in the British Rally Championship) along with the recce car, the service van and the trailer all had to be organised for transport on a freight ferry to Helsinki, ready for a rally in Estonia (July 16-17). “That meant packing the service van, prepping the rally car, loading it all up and driving it down to the ferry terminal at Hull, about three-and-a-half hours away, then driving home again. “Luckily I had dad and a friend here to help. We were all running around like headless chooks and didn’t get home till midnight. Dad reckons he needs to go home for a holiday! And it was bloody hard for me going to work at M-Sport the next morning!” Molly and new co-driver Seb Marshall head to Helsinki on Monday (July 11) to collect the vehicles before boarding another ferry to Estonia. They will compete in the Auto 24 Estonia Rally (one of several events Molly is contesting to maintain race fitness, in addition to her regular WRC and BRC commitments) and then begin preparations for the next round of the WRC Academy Cup, which is Rally Finland from July 28-31. Taylor is one of 20 young drivers contesting the WRC Academy, and one of six awarded a fully funded scholarship for the year. The Academy is a sub-series of the WRC, replacing the previous Junior WRC category and designed to give young drivers a solid preparation for competing at the top level. Academy competitors all drive identical Ford Fiesta R2s prepared by M-Sport, with a Pirelli control tyre.
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Australian rally driver Molly Taylor heads into the next stage of her World Rally Championship campaign with renewed confidence after receiving a special award at the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed.^ Back to top ^
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