EMMA GILMOUR - AN UNSTOPPABLE WOMAN IN A MALE DOMINATED SPORT
Emma Gilmour is known in New Zealand for her vast experience in rallying, rallycross, cross-country rallying. Aggressive, smooth and safe, Emma moved to the driver’s seat after three years as a co-driver. That was two decades ago, and since then she’s really made her mark. Three times runner-up in the New Zealand Rally Championship, she became first – and so far only – female to date to win a New Zealand Rally Championship event in 2016. She was also nominated as one of twenty unstoppable women in the world of action sports and with Castrol EDGE 10W-60 under the hood, this is sure to continue.
Emma’s reputation extends beyond her home country. Since making her international debut in 2006, Emma has received recognition for her results in rally, rally cross and cross country events. In 2015, Emma won the FIA Women in Motorsport and Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) cross country rally selection, scoring a fully-funded drive in the 2016 Sealine Cross Country.
Emma says that she loves making the car dance from corner to corner on slippery surfaces, adding that it’s a feeling that’s kept her hooked for over two decades. Often seen as a pioneer in a sport that’s traditionally male-dominated, Emma is gratified to see the large number of females competing in rallying, as drivers, co-drivers and in the technical side of the sport. She’s equally thankful for her long-term partnership with Castrol who have been with her since she started.
Now Emma is starting a new chapter in her motor sport career. During COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, hosted by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, McLaren Racing announced Emma Gilmour would be joining the McLaren Extreme E team in 2022. Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. She will be the team’s first-ever female driver and joins an organisation founded by arguably New Zealand’s greatest ever racing driver, the late Bruce McLaren.
