The confidence that has been steadily growing since she first got behind the wheel a little over 12 months ago has zoomed ahead for Isobelle Jennar-Urquhart after picking up her first first place trophy.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Tamworth teenager won the new stars division (10-14 years) at the Grafton meet on the weekend.
Having been waiting for the chance to race since she was seven or eight, the 13-year old said to pick up that first win was "really really special".
READ ALSO:
She is hoping it will be a catalyst for more podiums, taking a lot of confidence from the result for the season ahead, which will start to rev up over the next few weeks with racing at Tamworth on January 23, Gilgandra on January 30 and Gunnedah on February 6.
"I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be pretty hectic but I love the nerves," Jennar-Urquhart said.
Further on the horizon is the NSW RSA junior sedan titles, which will be held around Easter and see Jennar-Urquhart and her step-father Keith Urquhart both racing for a title on the same night (he will be in the fender benders).
"It's going to be pretty wild; I'm looking forward to it," she said.
"Now with my confidence boost, and hopefully getting a new faster car I should be right to up there amongst it."
In what was a good result from a Tamworth perspective at Grafton, Benji Gordon took out third place behind Jennar-Urquhart. His older brother Jackson also competed but had to sit out the feature (final) after the two were involved in a crash in the third and final heat.
Both were able to finish the race, but with only a couple of minutes between the heat and the final there wasn't enough time to repair the damage to the front of Jackson's car. They later discovered a chunk of Benji's right wheel embedded in Jackson's.
For Jennar-Urquhart finishing ahead of them was an added bonus to the win; making for a pleasant turnaround.
"It's the first time I've overtaken both of them," she said.
"Normally I get overtaken by them but I was very proud I got around them."
It was for her and Benji their first time racing at the Grafton track.
The conditions were challenging with rain delaying the start for around three hours and causing a few complications. In the first heat both Benji and Jackson's helmets completely fogged up.
"The rain made it a bit tough but we pushed through and the track smoothed out throughout the night," Jennar-Urquhart said.
She was pretty consistent over the night finishing sixth overall (the junior divisions raced together) in the first heat, seventh in the second and ninth in the third before coming in seventh in the feature.
Benji's third was his first podium finish.
The 11-year old, who is in his second season of racing, said it felt good to get that first trophy, especially with Jackson having won a couple.
A year older than Benji, he (Jackson) followed his dad Andrew and older brother Luke (dec) into the sport and like Jennar-Urquhart had been counting down until he was able to race.
