‘I was completely blown away when I saw it up close’

Molly Taylor dipped her toe into the rallycross waters last season, ten years on from her first tentative contact with the dual-surface discipline. And now the Australian has ‘about a book of learnings’ to take with her into 2024...

Already a champion on the domestic rallying scene and in the inaugural campaign of Extreme E – alongside multiple FIA World Rallycross Champion, Johan Kristofferson – Taylor made her rallycross debut with Hansen Motorsport junior outfit #YellowSquad in the FIA RX2e Championship at Mettet last summer.

“I’ve always followed rallycross, but since being involved with Extreme E I’ve been able to get to know the legends of the sport, and through Veloce and the Hansens I was given the opportunity to have a go myself,” she reflected. “I remember spectating at Höljes in about 2013 and I was completely blown away when I saw it up close. It only took ten years from that point to finally get behind the wheel!”

Despite being on a steep learning curve – in a field including World RX heavy-hitters Kristoffersson, Ole Christian Veiby and the Hansen brothers – Taylor knuckled down to the task in front of her and demonstrated encouraging progress in Belgium, holding her nerve at the start of heat four to exploit a strong start and sweep around the outside of three of her rivals into the lead.

The 35-year-old Sydney native returned a fortnight later for the season finale at Germany’s Estering, where she maintained that upward momentum, keeping pace with RX2e regular Pablo Suárez in the pair’s opening two heat races. But the biggest result of all was the experience she gained along the way, which she is confident will boost her bid should she return to the all-electric, single-spec World RX support series in 2024

“It was a real baptism of fire,” Taylor acknowledged of her RX2e adventure. “I feel like I learned and improved so much, but only really got a small taste of what is possible. Taking the lead off the start in the wet at Mettet was cool, but I think driving the Estering track was probably the biggest buzz.

“It was a huge asset to be part of a crew with so much experience and success at #YellowSquad. Especially when you are so new to the discipline, you are just a sponge trying to soak up everything you can. The experience, and also the attitude and positivity of the team, was not only valuable from a performance perspective but also just great to be around. I think we sometimes underestimate how important that is.

“The amount I learned from just two events was next-level, predominantly on the racecraft side of things and experiencing more side-by-side racing. There’s about a book of learnings I will take into 2024!”