Aoife Raftery is on the verge of a golden opportunity to take the lead in the Limited 4WD class of the American Rally Association this weekend. The DirtFish Women in Motorsport-supported driver sits just two points behind Subaru Motorsports USA star Travis Pastrana heading into the Ojibwe Forests Rally on August 28-29.
Raftery's confidence is at an all-time high after winning the Southern Ohio Forest Rally in June, her first attempt at an ARA event. Despite never having competed at Ojibwe before, the Irish driver has proven she can be competitive even with limited experience in the series, alongside co-driver Hannah McKillop.
Campaigning her Ford Fiesta Rally3 run by Element Rally Sport, Raftery knows exactly how crucial this fifth round could be for her championship hopes. What's more, her main rival Pastrana has withdrawn his entry due to a motocross-related injury.
"I'm looking forward to it, another new event for us," Raftery told DirtFish. "The stages and roads look quite fast and over crests so I think that will suit us. If we can get a clean result, we have a good chance of jumping into the lead of the Limited 4WD class so hopefully we can make that happen. We should be able to climb some places in the overall championship as well, which would be a really good weekend."
Raftery spent last weekend at the fifth annual DirtFish Women in Motorsport Summit, where she taught aspiring women the art of rally driving and co-driving alongside McKillop, fellow ARA driver Lia Block, and DirtFish instructor Michelle Miller. Interestingly, Miller will also compete at Ojibwe this weekend alongside Richo Healey.
"Off the back of the DirtFish Women in Motorsport Summit, which was another amazing event and incredible weekend, we arrive in such a positive frame of mind," Raftery added. "Thanks to Josie [Rimmer] and the whole DirtFish team for putting on such an inspiring event, and for their support in this program. We're ready to push even more and show what we can do."
Meanwhile, championship leader Lia Block is the favorite at Ojibwe, topping the entry list in her Hyundai i20 N Rally2. Two-time recent winner Seth Quintero and Javier Olivares are also expected to be close challengers for Raftery, along with Block.
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