WiM Motorsport CVs
Tracey Louise Muir
Tarmac Rally Driver
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
For me, getting started in
motorsport was as easy as turning up at my local race circuit track day with a helmet,
road legal car, some spare fuel and the entry fee. From there my passion was
ignited. It's fair to say that in the early days I did have to “share”
the use of the car with my hubby, however my “half” of the track time
always managed to be more than his....funny that, in'it!
From there it was full steam ahead.
I insisted on going along to our local stock car meeting, and armed with a race
suit, helmet and a fair amount of trepidation I was determined to show them how
it was done in the road going class. It's fair to say that at that my talent
(or lack of it) didn't match my enthusiasm for oval racing, but the adrenaline
rush of sitting on the start line with my clutch leg trembling, wide eyed,
anticipating the flag going down is hard to beat. It didn't take me long
(probably about two laps) to realise it would probably be safer with a roll
cage around me, and so with some degree of badgering, hubby built an XR2 hot
saloon. Unfortunately the trade off was still that I had to “share” it,
and this I am not good at, so for the following season hubby built me my own
one. Peace and harmony in the marital home at last!
Next in the Muir household came
hills and sprints. Using a 106 Xsi we acquired by default we both successfully
competed in local events. The road legal classes are a fantastic way to get
started in MSA competition if you are on a limited budget. Unfortunately as we
were in the same class together (another down side of sharing) my poor hubby
had to suffer the humiliation of being beaten by his other half, but he took it
well, bless him!
After a brief foray into
non-competitive karting (one each, it goes without saying) “we” took the
decision (the correct one in my opinion) that we should go rallying. It made
sense. We could both compete in the same event, and hubby wouldn't need to get
beaten by his wife! The rest as they say is history, and we have never looked
back. True to say that I do compete in the smallest engined category of tarmac
rallying, but that is by choice. It can be as expensive as you make it. Garry
and I decided to focus on specific rounds of the Scottish Tarmack Rally
Championship, and in my first full season we won our class, and in the second
year we won the overall championship in a Citroen AX. It doesn't get much
better than that.
We have since gone on to compete in
the MSA National Asphalt Championship, taking us to events in England, Ireland,
Scotland and Wales still in the under 1400cc category. In addition to driving I
also support hubby by navigating for him now he has his rally licence, after
all it's only fair. In order to get our “fix” Garry and I compete in between
tarmac rallies at locally organised motor club events such as autotests,
autocross and navigational road rallies. All of these disciplines provide
competitive motorsport, without breaking the bank.
I do try to put something back into
motorsport, rather than always expecting others to give up their time, so where
possible I marshal at events. It is a great way to see motorsport up close, and
your contribution is always very welcome, and recognised as such by
competitors. Without marshals there would be no motorsport. I would encourage
anyone wanting to get into motorsport, whether it be as a competitor, navigator,
marshal, official or organiser, to contact their local car club (a list is
available on the MSA website) and get involved.
As one of my rallying heros Colin
McRae once said “We're here for a good time, not a long time” so I still have
motorsport ambitions to fulfill. Now, I can’t imagine a life without
motorsport, it's infectious.