RHIANNON Allison has a thing for fast cars.
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The Secret Harbour resident was recently named a pilot for one of the jet dragsters coming to Perth Motorplex this season.
In doing so she became one of the youngest pilots to tame these 10,000 horsepower beasts.
She is also one of the only female drivers ever to race in one of these and the first to drive in the jet dragsters series.
Allison said she was "pretty stoked" to be the only female to drive these cars in the country at the moment.
“To be the only girl racer in Australia, I feel like that is pretty good – it's quite exciting actually,” she said.
“I’m the only girl to line up against the boys, but they treat [me] really well.”
Allison, who got into racing through her family's love of motor sports, said girls could do anything, but sometimes people didn't expect her to be such an expert on cars.
She started racing in the Supercharged Outlaws at Perth Motorplex and has been a crewman on her father’s car.
The 19-year-old even works in the car industry at Covs Parts.
Last year she was named the Western Australian Rookie Driver of the Year.
But despite being the new kid on the block, Allison has no plans of losing when she steps into the car this month.
With 10 times more power than a Formula 1 car, the vehicle she drives can reach speeds of almost 600 kilometres per hour and can do the quarter mile race in about six seconds.
Allison described herself as a 'rev head' and said it was not uncommon to spend late nights in the workshops working on the drag cars.
She said she hoped to one day race in the United States where the sport is much bigger.
Allison said her idol was 2012 National Hot Rod Association rookie of the year and driver Courtney Force.
She said because she gets the thrills and spills on the track, she doesn’t need to drive a sportscar every day.
“I drive a Jeep Wrangler on the road every day because I like going out and racing dirt bikes,” she said.
She said she had never been scared to race, but admitted she was sometimes nervous.
Allison will be racing at the Jet Car Max on December 28 at the Perth Motorplex in Kwinana.
