Women in motorsport? Speak to anyone in drag racing and it’s not even a topic for discussion.
That’s because the straight-ahead discipline left behind gender preconceptions and prejudice years ago. Female racers thrive on an equal footing in this arena, as a statistic from a recent round of the Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Championship at Santa Pod Raceway proves: one in seven of the entries were driven by women, and indeed it was a standout young woman who stamped her mark on the meeting in historic fashion.
At just 22, Annie Wallace made her Pro Modified class debut at the Pod in a Ford Mustang-based 3000bhp naturally aspirated 14-litre V8 monster boosted with injections of nitrous oxide.
Her performance was notable on a couple of counts. First, even though female participation is common, she was only the second British woman to join the ranks of the fastest ‘door-slammer’ class in drag racing. Second, she won – in her first race in anything for three years.
Look, no parachute
Drag racing tends to be a family affair, which explains why it’s such a friendly and tight-knit community, and Wallace is no exception. She and her sister Bonnie raced junior dragsters as children, before Annie graduated to her brother Bobby’s Sportsman Ford Pop as a teenager. She stepped back from driving to help crew Bobby in Pro Mods, testing occasionally in the family’s second Mustang-bodied beast – but returned to racing in July with style.
Did Wallace play herself in? Not quite. Her first job was to complete a mandatory observed run to earn her Pro Mod race licence, making a quarter-mile pass in 6.95sec at 200mph – before her car’s parachutes failed to deploy. A dusty excursion into the field beyond the track’s half-mile shutdown stretch thankfully left no damage to either her or the Mustang. A tad disconcerting? You might think so, but drag racers are a tough breed.
Waiting for no-one
Parachute snafu dismissed, Wallace finished her licence test and then got on with the competition, made up of six consecutive runs. Each time she headed out, she logged another personal best – which itself is unprecedented – qualifying third behind season front-runners Kevin Slyfield and Nick Davies.
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I'm fortunate enough to work with, and know, Jasmine Cordelle, who races in the 8.5 drag bike class.
She's not some big, butch "manly" type woman - She's a pretty, petite young girl, who to look out, you wouldn't think: "She races drag bikes".
But she does, and just as well, if not better, than the boys in her class.
It's fascinating chatting with her about her drag racing, and how it all goes (there's much more to it than just going straight, as fast as you can!).
The fact that she's a girl makes no difference to her male competitors - She's treated as just another rival, who stands every chance of beating them.
When it comes to drag racing, the girls who race are highly respected - And rightly so too!
Amazing debut from Annie..... as you say unprecedented.
Drag racing is scary stuff and therefore brilliant to watch ..... video can never convey the rush, you have to feel and breath it!
This girl has guts to strap herself into a 'Door Slammer' and fire herself up the strip.