19 year-old Gabrielle McDonald makes her first Top Fuel Drag Licencing runs

Santa Pod Raceway has seen some of the fastest men in Motorsport power up its quarter mile over the last few decades, but Europe’s leading drag-racing venue is increasingly seeing ladies notching up impressive times as well, as many graduate to the sport’s highest tier; Top Fuel. The latest racer to join the ‘big league’ is 19 year old Gabrielle McDonald, who put in an impressive set of licensing runs at The Pod recently.

Having run in the Junior Dragster class previously – and showing real promise, Gabrielle was keen to get behind the wheel of a Top Fuel car and try to qualify for her licence. Although clearly a talent behind the wheel, 19 years old is considered extremely young to be taking this step up to the Top Fuel class, where the front running cars pack more than 8,000 horsepower. The RF Motorsport car that she used for her run is no slouch either, making this an epic step up from the much lower power outputs McDonald was used to in the Junior classes.

Gabrielle completed four runs in all, with the third run really showing her talent and composure ‘under fire’ as, after a solid burnout, the tyres broke traction on the launch, causing a massive sideways drift from the line. Nothing that McDonald couldn’t handle though, as she amazed onlookers with a masterful display of car control, neatly gathering it all up without incident, before moving on to another superb 330 foot ‘partial’ run, complete with a healthy set of header flames to prove her commitment and bravery behind the wheel.

‘Well it's just been amazing, really,’ said an elated Gabrielle. ‘I was really nervous because coming from Junior Dragster and going straight to Top Fuel is a major jump, but I loved every minute of it! I certainly got the highs and lows of racing Top Fuel in 4 runs. Now I've had a taster of top fuel, it's all I want to do! Europe first and then America - that’s the long term plan!’

‘It’s great to see so many women competing in Drag Racing at such a high level,’ commented Santa Pod’s commercial manager, Caroline Day. ‘I can’t think of any other FIA discipline where female drivers are having such success. We have our own Shelley Pearson, Finland’s Anita Mäkelä and now Gabrielle to add to the ranks, proving that drag racing has to be the most diverse of all motorsports.’

For more details on the 2013 Santa Pod Calendar, visit santapod.com.