DirtFish Women in Motorsport Driver Aoife Raftery delivered a stunning debut podium drive at last weekend’s Olympus Rally presented by DirtFish.
The Irishwoman landed into Washington directly off the back of finishing the first round of the Junior European Rally Championship in Spain. Ignoring the jetlag, she stepped aboard a DirtFish WRX STI and began testing for her Stateside debut, first competitive outing in an all-wheel drive car and her first time working with top American co-driver Krista Skucas.
With the support of her fellow DirtFish Women in Motorsport Driver Michele Abbate and DirtFish WiM coordinator Josie Rimmer, Aoife was soon up to speed with the Subaru and even more quickly onto the podium.
Josie talked of her pride at seeing the latest chapter of a story she started writing in 2022.
“When we started the Women in Motorsport program four years ago, we did it with this exact type of goal in mind,” said Josie. “We started with all-women programs at DirtFish Rally School and then, obviously, the Women in Motorsport Summit. Since then we’ve trained over 150 women who otherwise would not have signed up to try to drive a rally car and we’ve brought thousands of people into DirtFish for the Summit.
Raftery drove superbly to deliver her first podium on her first start in a four-wheel-drive car
“But this… this has made me a little emotional. Seeing Aoife, with Krista co-driving, finish on the podium means the world to me. I’m so proud of what they’ve done, this is an incredible, incredible start to the DirtFish Women in Motorsport Driver program.
“What’s made it even more special has been having Michele [Abbate] here with us. To see how Michele and Aoife have come together and worked together, despite coming from different motorsport backgrounds, has been amazing.
“Aoife showed me a message she’d received from one young girl who said she not only wanted to be a rally driver, she wanted to change her name to Aoife! It’s amazing. The support we’ve received from across the rally and motorsport community to do this has been fantastic.”
Aoife added: “It was a really special moment for me to be the first DirtFish Women in Motorsport Driver and to have this opportunity to come over, join the team, work with Krista and rally for the first time in the US.
“The whole team did a great job and I’m really pleased with what we’ve done getting into a four-wheel drive car for the first time. Competing over here in the US is great, I’m definitely looking forward to more of it.
Aoife received so many welcoming messages over the weekend - further underlining the importance of the WiM Driver Program
“But maybe even more important than that is the thinking and the drive behind the DirtFish Women in Motorsport program. This weekend we’ve proved that there’s no difference and to show the next generation the possibilities are endless. We got so many welcoming messages from so many young women, the support has been incredible – and it shows just how important it is to have women represented in every aspect of motorsport. We will just keep on pushing to make sure we afford the next generation of young drivers every possible opportunity to compete and work in this sport.
“I have to say how grateful I am to Josie for the work she’s done to get us here and to have us competing. She’s amazing and so is the whole DirtFish team – including my fellow Women in Motorsport Driver Michele. Having Michele’s support has been fantastic. We’re breaking barriers together – you’ll be seeing a lot more of both of us, especially at the Women in Motorsport Summit in Tacoma (Saturday May 24).”
While Michele has yet to make her competitive debut as a DirtFish WiM Driver, she echoed her team-mate’s sentiments, saying: “This was the first rally I’ve officially attended and it’s been super-amazing, such a new experience for a circuit racer like me. There have been so many fans here from the young children to some who have been in the sport forever and the enthusiasm for the program is so cool.
“I can’t wait to make my rally debut. I’ve taken on so much information here and had such a blast working with Josie and Aoife. It was my first time meeting Aoife and, number one: what a lovely human being. Number two, what a badass on stage! She’s amazing, a fully talented woman.
“I’m so excited and grateful to be part of this thing and to be part of the whole DirtFish family – and I know I wouldn’t be here without Josie. She’s an amazing part of this program, she makes it all possible and I can’t thank her and the whole team enough for what they do for Women in Motorsport.”
While all eyes are focused on the DirtFish Women in Motorsport Summit at LeMay – America’s Car Museum on Saturday May 24, the team will be busy at Oregon Trail Rally (May 16/17), where Aoife will be back aboard the DirtFish WRX STI the week before the Summit.
