My Story...
The Beginning.
" Good things come to those who believe, better things come to those who are patient, and the best things come to those who don't give up!"
Born and bred in a small town called Toowoomba (Will Power Country)I didn’t start karting until the age of 16, quite late compared to most, but it didn’t take long for me to realise it was something I really enjoyed and was also good at. Over the next five years with the help of my Dad who engineered my kart, I achieved numerous race wins and championship places including winning the Australian Ladies National’s Title 7 times.
Whilst I learned a lot during this time, I started to feel like my career was stalling. We were travelling all over Australia to compete in as many events as we could afford, but could not see how or where we were going to be able to fund that next step by ourselves. (How was a girl from Toowoomba going to race V8 supercars?!) We really struggled to find sponsorship at that level and I had almost given up hope… What was I going to do!
I had stopped racing and started my own business spray painting and restoration work, where racing kept close to my heart as I painted helmets monthly. My dad and I had heard about a ladies only test day at Queensland raceway. We ummed and arred and after weeks of being unsure I said to Dad. “If we miss out on an opportunity because we didn’t go I will be very disappointed”. It was one of those ‘I had nothing to lose’ moments, so took the day off work and registered for the event. We hired a race prepared MX5 for the day and gave it our best shot.
At the Ladies day we were all assigned mentors. Mine was Heather Spurle and through Heather was where my next door would creep open, Heather gave me her card and we kept in contact. She continued to help me as we tried to crack into the Suzuki swift series but once again sponsorship funds let us down, but not from lack of trying!
It was about 12 months later that Heather rang and asked if I wanted to go racing in New Zealand. She had been offered a drive in a brand-new class of racing over there, but had broken her wrist and was unable to drive. There were plenty of hurdles to jump over the next month as I didn’t even has a passport let alone a racing licence!
One month later I was in New Zealand at the Ricoh Motorsport Park in Taupo sitting in a race seat getting my seat belts setup, thinking to myself wow this is actually happening! Heather flew over with dad and I, which was fantastic. It was reassuring to have my Dad and a mentor there that backed me 100%
SsangYong Racing Series
I met the SsangYong New Zealand distributors, Rick and Deon Cooper, who, with the help of Series Race Director, Mark Petch, created the SsangYong Racing Series and built the 30 identical race prepared utes. They had discussed my involvement with Heather and had agreed to give me a start at the first round of the season to see how I went.
The transition from kart to ute was huge, but each time I drove my Waikato SsangYong sponsored Actyon ute I learned more. After a tough first race meeting I finished in a disappointing 23rd position overall. As I had such high expectations I was disappointed by my results and wanted to impress the SsangYong team so I could have a shot at coming back to compete at the next round. I thought I had blown my chances.
However, my efforts were noticed as Deon Cooper asked me if I would like to do the rest of series with his support. I couldn’t thank him, Mark Petch and Heather enough for the opportunity they were giving me and promised I would grab it with both hands and give it 100%. I flew over for the next round at Hampton Downs and raced cleanly to finish in 18th, still not fantastic by my standards but still an improvement.
Following that round I had to think hard about my future and my commitment to the opportunity I had just been given. If I was going to do well I had to consider the thought of staying in New Zealand to do the rest of the series. It would be a life changing choice but one that I needed to make… I decided that after the next round at Pukekohe I would stay in New Zealand rather than travel back and forth meaning I could save money by working on the Waikato SsangYong ute myself and also take advantage of scheduled test days
At the very next round I qualified second, only half a tenth of pole which I was ecstatic with! I won the first race by 3 seconds and was so happy that all the hard work and effort was starting to pay off. I finished 6th overall for the weekend which was a great result. Placing 6th outright in the championship I could not wait to come back and tackle it again.
Ford GT40
Deon also invited me to co-drive with him in his beautiful Ford GT sports car in a 1-hour endurance race. He had jokingly offered during the SsangYong Racing Series that if I could finish on the podium in my first year, he would offer a co-drive in the Ford GT as reward – little did he know that I would!… It was another huge learning curve, stepping up from a 150hp SsangYong ute to a 860hp rear engine monster. I loved every minute though and settled in well. We qualified and raced our way to 3rd place outright. This is where the ambers in my belly for endurance racing grew into flames.
SsangYong Season 2
With the help and support of so many on both sides of the Tasman, I managed to secure continued sponsorship support from Ssangyong New Zealand, Waikato Ssangyong, Hard as Rocks and ‘I sign it’ signwriting to be able to confirm my entry into next seasons Ssangyong Racing Series. I had a tough season with highs and lows as the competition now had more experience and the winter to test. I battled all season, had car failures, won races and secured podiums and again finished 6th position overall in the championship series.
WAMS Scholarship Winner 2015
In 2015 l was both pleased and humbled to have been awarded the WAMS academy (Women in Motor Sport) Junior Development Scholarship. I attended a driver development camp in Melbourne and received training in many different areas other than the driving such as nutrition, sports psychology, mentoring, networking and personal tutoring in media. This was a great accolade and an important step and learning curve in my career. To be recognised and chosen to learn from those who have already been there is invaluable and provided me with opportunities that have continued to help me advance my career.
New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy Graduate 2016
From over fifty applicants and only eight selected; I was the only female and first Australian born ever to be successfully chosen. To attend the grueling academy held in Dunedin. The Academy is world leading in the development of racing drivers focusing on fields of fitness, nutrition, sponsorship and marketing, mental training and media. It is an honour that I was able to spend the week with not only young upcoming drivers, but elite athletes, professional trainers and mentors. I learnt a lot over the week including different aspects of Motorsport which is not often thought about. These aspects of being a professional athlete were put to use instantly and gives me the edge over other drivers
SsangYong Round 3
My rollercoaster season. This season had so many ups and downs, from winning once race to breakdowns the next, on the podium again then crashing out by someone else. I just couldn’t catch a break, even though we had great pace, it was a really though season and proved the importance of qualifying well and staying out of trouble. I finished the season 10th. I was disappointed that I had gone backwards, but I never stop learning and this was a great testament to my character and the tough times makes the highs even sweeter.
SsangYong Super Ute
I have been fortunate enough to work closely with Deon, CEO of Ssangyong New Zealand and his family. Deon asked me to co-drive with him in his 600+HP Super ute, which is a SsangYong Chassis and body, with some carbon panels and Super Tourer running gear. (The fastest double-cab in the world!) We experienced some teething problems in the first few races, but we were soon turning heads racing side by side with Porches. We had some great races and picked up wins and podiums along the way, to this day I continue to co-drive with Deon in endurance races.
V8 Ute 2017/2018
It all began from a phone call from fellow SsangYong Racing driver Kirk Stoneman, who had offered me an opportunity to test a V8 Ute. After hard work, hustle and proposal after proposal, with only 2 weeks out from the first meeting in Taupo I scrapped enough money to do one round and then eventually finish the season. It was the biggest field in 5 years and I had made history by being the first female NZV8 ute driver ever! I wrapped up with Rookie of the year and 5th overall!
V8 Ute 2018/2019
With some experience under my belt and a new team, I headed into the next season with high expectations. We started with a bang being the first female ins NZ and Aus V8 history to win a race! All the season the Boys were tough and racing was tight, We scored a few podiums along the way and finished the season in 6th place.
w series
I was fortunate enough to be selected to try out for the Inaugural Women’s only series called W series. I am extremely grateful to the W Series and their staff for giving me a chance and an opportunity of a lifetime. Traveling to Europe and seeing falling snow for the first time was unbelievable! And on top of that I met some incredible drivers and mentors and drove some amazing vehicles including my first ever open wheel car. I made it to the final qualification round, but unfortunately didn’t make it through as a series driver. I learnt so much over this short time as a driver, athlete and a person and have been working hard on myself through all these aspects to one day give it another crack!
TCR
The deal came together within a week of actually going race, We had a lot to prepare and have ready. Everyone did a fantastic job to pull together and make it happen. We came away with a top 10 finish, a straight car, huge improvements and smiles on our faces. I continued to complete the season with the help of ARG, TCR Australia and Melbourne Performance Centre.
NZV8
Within weeks to go of the first round of the NZ BNT V8 Touring car Championship in 2019 it all somehow fell into place. With the help and hard work of Richards Team Motorsport, who took me under their wing and showed me the ropes to the TLX Toyota Camry. It was a baptism of fire going head first into the race meeting without even turning a wheel, but I learnt quickly, adapted fast and proved our pace early by bringing home a podium in my very first race and second overall for the weekend.
The Toyota Camry TLX, which is powered by a 5L Lexus V8 engine with 560HP!
I knew the weekend would be challenging, as I had just finished a season in front wheel drive and now had to re-adapt and change driving styles to suit rear wheel drive. I continued to race this car for 2 years.
I am
Alexandra Whitley
A Few Shots!
Some Pictures of different racing cars over my career.