23-year-old Australian Molly Taylor, currently competing in the WRC Academy rounds, will be attending the WRC in Coffs Harbour (round 10 of 2011 WRC Calendar on 8-11 September) to support her fellow Aussie team mates.

As one of the youngest drivers in the sport, Molly is competing in six rounds of the elite series as part of the FIA WRC Academy Cup, a specially created development category for young drivers. She was recently invited to the Goodwood Festival of Speed for a demo run at the Forest stage in her Ford Fiesta rally car, where she was awarded with a Driver of the Day award.

What we have here is Danica Patrick of the rally world!

More about Rally Australia 2011:

LEAVING Sweden’s snow and Jordan’s desert dust behind, the world’s fastest rally drivers hit the New South Wales Coffs Coast on 8-11 September for Rally Australia, round 10 of the epic FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

Piloting million-dollar machines, drivers from many countries will clash over three days and nights on the Coffs Coast’s most testing terrain.

After surviving snow, desert, high altitude and rock-strewn tracks on three continents, who will come unstuck on the Australian gravel and tarmac? Who will get the better of the gruelling stages through forests and farmland and alongside city beaches?  Will Australian stars like Chris Atkinson and Coffs Harbour’s Nathan Quinn show the international visitors the way on home turf?

Among those battling for one of motorsport’s most prestigious prizes will be seven-time World Champion Sebastien Loeb and Citroen teammate Sebastien Ogier from France, Ford aces Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala from Finland, Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, Norway’s Petter Solberg and American Ken Block.

The WRC’s swing Down Under also will showcase top Aussie driving talents, keen to test themselves against the world’s best. In a field of up to 100 cars, Australians will compete in WRC classes or in two companion events, the Coffs Coast Forest Rally, a round of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship, and the Coffs Coast Classic Rally, a nostalgia feast for lovers of Seventies-era models such as the Ford Escort, Datsun 1600 and Mazda RX-7.

Michael Masi, General Manager of Rally Australia, says rally driving at the elite WRC level is “adrenalin-charged to the max and thrilling for spectators to see.

“They’re the gravel masters, riding their turbocharged machines from rest to 100 kmh in three seconds, racing through the forests at more than 160 kmh, jumping and sliding at impossible speeds. Spectators won‘t have seen anything like it – it’s a stunning, unforgettable experience.”

The nightly Superspecial Stage on closed bitumen streets in Coffs Harbour’s Jetty precinct will be a spectator highlight. Drivers will compete under lights over a 3.77 km course that runs right beside the harbour, with thousands of spectators on boats and in every available on-land vantage point creating an electric atmosphere.

pic: mollytaylor.com.au