Dunedin's Emma Gilmour has come a long way since the first rally stage she watched on a dark Otago night.
Recently voted the world's highest ranking female rally driver by the International Rally Drivers Association, she was back then a spectating child, standing in the pitch black hearing the popping and banging of Joe McAndrew's Subaru Legacy getting gradually louder.
"Until finally the road lit up in front of us and Joe whizzed past in a flurry of flying gravel. It was so cool," she said.
Tomorrow night it will be Gilmour (30) blazing by with four xenon headlights mounted on the bonnet illuminating her path on three special stages around her home town.
Although the international ranking was nice, being able to prove it in a practical sense would be more satisfying, she said.
"I wish there was a female world rally championship I could go out and win," she joked.
Instead, she must measure herself against the country's fast men, running her Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Gilmour is aiming to beat her second place at Otago last year with outright victory in the three-day event and is keen to begin her five-rally national championship season strongly.
Having finished third in the 2009 national series and the 2010 runner-up, she has her sights set on the highest podium step.
"We have lifted our game in each of the past two years, and its time to do so again."
After starting 2010 with a new car, she is sticking with proven machinery this year, including her Vantage Subaru Rally Team members and co-driver, fiance Glenn Macneall.
The difference is Gilmour did not have to travel south this season to compete in the Otago Rally. After successfully establishing her rally team while based in Hamilton, an opening for her and Macneall to launch Gilmour Suzuki on a Princes St site in Dunedin became available and they made the move in October.
"It was an opportunity to come home. I definitely love Dunedin."
Over the past months Gilmour has had her team busy tweaking the Subaru's suspension and engine to find the edge needed to contest the country's ultra-competitive rally series.
"Last year we were quick throughout the season, but having started with a new car, we had to spend a lot of time developing it along the way.
"We have carried out some further development work over the summer, and after testing last month, now have the car going better than ever before, and handling very much the way I like it."
Gilmour is seeded third for the Otago event, behind 2010 Otago winner and defending national champion Dean Sumner (Mitsubishi) and former double champion and current Production World Rally Championship driver Hayden Paddon (Subaru).
Previous national champions and Otago winners Chris West (Mitsubishi) and Richard Mason (Subaru) complete the top five.
Otago, which is internationally known for the incredible variety of its rallying roads, is one of Gilmour's favourites despite competing throughout the Asia Pacific region and in Europe.
"All of the New Zealand rallies are great but what makes Otago special is the organisers do a good job of promoting the event and getting the spectators out on the stages."
She enjoys Otago's challenging mix of rally roads, some of which are fast, flowing and full of crests, others that are more traditional forestry stages, and others which are tight and twisty.
"Whatever direction we go, every year the roads are just fantastic."
