MOTORSPORT: Mum's the word on Molly

Australia’s woman rally driving star Molly Taylor is to contest the Junior World Rally Championship – with her more famous mum Coral as her co-driver.

The 25-year-old Taylor (that’s Molly!) is already the world’s highest-ranked female rally driver after winning last year’s European Rally Championship Ladies Trophy.

The Sydneysider has competed overseas since 2009 but has split, amicably, with her regular British co-driver Sebastien Marshall to enter the JWRC with her mother, who partnered Neal Bates to four Australian titles in Toyotas.

The Taylors will be in a Citroen DS3 R3T – the same model the younger one drove in last year’s ERC – prepared by Italian team D-Max Racing.

The six-round JWRC begins at the fourth round of the WRC in Portugal in early April with 12 entries confirmed. There is no JWRC round at Rally Australia at Coffs Harbour in September. The other five rounds are in Poland, Finland, Germany, France and Britain.

The younger Taylor said she was “excited to share this next stage of my professional development with my mother”.

“She is arguably the best co-driver in Australia, plus she has had WRC experience – and no one knows me better,” she said.

Taylor thanked the legendary French rally driver turned motorsport administrator Michele Mouton and fellow FIA Women in Motorsport Commission member Fabrizia Pons for helping make the JWRC arrangement happen.

The senior Taylor said she and her daughter had had “the occasional opportunity to compete together in the past”.

“I have admired all the hard work Molly has put into her rally career,” she said.

“I know what she is capable of.”

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