Irish driver Aoife Raftery has talked of her excitement at returning to this year’s ARA National Rally Championship as part of the DirtFish Women in Motorsport program.
The 25-year-old will drive a Standard Motorsports-run Ford Fiesta Rally3 at this week’s Rally of the 100 Acre Wood, as she looks to emulate the sensational third overall podium result she achieved on her last Stateside outing, last year’s Overmountain Rally.
Raftery said: “I’m super-excited to be back with the DirtFish Women in Motorsport program. I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of women competitors that are competing at a high level here – and getting five women on the podium in Tennessee [on the Overmountain Rally] was really special.
“Again this year, we have the same ideas, [we will] keep pushing for stronger representation and then just show the young girls that are around here that they can do it as well.”
Raftery is ready for her first ARA rally of the season
Looking towards the rally, Raftery said commitment will be the key to a result on the super-quick Missouri roads.
“The stages look unreal,” she said. “And it’s great to see the crowd out there. We had a fantastic debut season in ARA last year and it’s amazing to be back.
“The stages are incredibly fast. Tennessee was more technical and quite slow – but this is going to be flat out.
“I think carrying the momentum and carrying the speed is going to be crucial, especially in the Rally3. It’s a great car, but against the more powerful cars, we have to be able to bring the speed to the corners, we don’t want to lose anything on the straight.
“It’s going to be a big challenge ahead, keeping the commitment and committing to the notes so we’re not scrubbing speed is the thing. Some of the stages have some uphill sections, so I might lose out a little on that – but if you can [take] the corners that are noted flat, hopefully we won’t be too far away.”
Raftery is co-driven by Ditte Kammersgaard. The Dane made her debut alongside Aoife at last month’s Samsonas Rally Fivemiletown, where they finished fifth overall and won their class in a Fiesta Rally3.
DirtFish Women in Motorsport co-ordinator Josie Rimmer added: “It’s amazing to see the amount of excitement here. We’re really excited to have DirtFish Women in Motorsport represented here at 100 Acre Wood.
“And the really exciting part about this event specifically is that we not only have DirtFish Women in Motorsport represented on Aoife Raftery’s car but also Lia Block’s car – and we also have multiple DirtFish Women in Motorsport friends here competing with Michelle Miller, Kristas Skucas – all over the service park we see DirtFish Women in Motorsport represented.”
