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2006 Silverstone Rally School Lady Quest winner Becky Kirvan will make her delayed stage rally driving debut on the Robin Hood Forest Stages on Sunday 11 March.
Essex-based Kirvan was due to make her first stage rally appearance behind the wheel last month on the Wyedean Forest Rally but it was postponed after team principal David Taunt adjudged the snowy and icy stage conditions unsuitable for her first ever forest event and felt that it was a sensible decision to withdraw the entry.
The 26-year-old, who completed the four-day gruelling endurance Lombard Rally in October, is now facing a steep learning curve in the Silverstone Rally School 1400cc MG ZR on the 42-mile Robin Hood gravel event and will be co-driven by former World Rally Championship (WRC) contender Gemma Price.
Kirvan said: “I’m really looking forward to the Robin Hood Forest Stages, I was so disappointed to miss out on the Wyedean - having got so close to competing in my first stage rally and then having to pull out was a real blow.
“My main aim for the rally is to get to the finish and to learn to work together with my co-driver. This rally will be my first with pacenotes and it is going to be quite difficult for me to start with to process all the information. I'm going to take it steady to give me the chance to get back into it all and to ensure I get to the finish and get to grips with the notes. I'm hoping to have some fun along the way too.”
The Robin Hood Forest Stages is based in Worksop and takes place in Sherwood Forest. Following on from the event Kirvan, who beat-off competition from 10 other female hopefuls in the grand final to win the coveted Lady Quest rally scholarship in September, will go on to compete in a further four rallies this season under the scheme and upgrade her MSA (Motor Sports Association) competition licence from a National B to a National A standard.
Lady Quest, an initiative to promote women drivers into the male dominated sport of rallying, is in its 14th year in 2007 and Silverstone Rally School only have a limited number of spaces now available on assessment days this year, with demand for places high.
The scheme is open to all females who are aspiring rally drivers, all that is required is that they have no previous motorsport experience and a full driving licence. There is no selection process to get onto an assessment day and registrations are taken on a first come first served basis, so potential applicants are advised to contact the school as soon as possible for information. The Lady Quest scholarship consists of a fully sponsored season of rallying with a rally car, team of mechanics and all expenses paid.
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