It’s been eight years since Fiona Kindness got her first taste of competitive racing. But her journey has not been without its ups and downs.
For four years Fiona competed in Time Attack – a national racing event where the fastest lap of the track wins – and won the club championship in 2010. Due to work commitments she decided to take a different route in 2012 and tried out different events, mainly at Knockhill, when she had time.
In 2013 disaster struck when she rolled her 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GTR and she decided to take the rest of the season off to find a new car. That new car ended up being a Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type R.
“The car was really a project build – I bought a rolling shell and took it from there,” the 32-year-old said.
“After rolling my last track car in 2013 (a Nissan Skyline R32 GTR) I decided to take the rest of that year off and focus on building something new.”
The new car proved to be a lucky charm for Fiona who competed her first season with it last year in both SMRC Sports and Saloons and SuperLap Scotland. She said the start of the year proved a bit testing, especially her first outing in the first round of the SMRC in April.
She said: “I had planned a few test days in advance, but there were delays in finishing the car and when I did manage to eventually get it to Knockhill, the trackday was called off due to fog. We took the car for a drive around the paddock to make sure all was ok and next thing I know there’s a fire in the engine bay! Disaster! Luckily it was very minor and was dealt with quickly and with little damage.
“So the first race weekend arrived and my newly built car hadn’t touched a track. Disaster struck again – another fire. I was better equipped this time (I’m not one for taking chances) and the fire was dealt with quickly again with the additional fire extinguisher that had been fitted to the car, just in case, and the source of the issue was discovered. As was to be expected, there were a few niggles with the car on its first outing, but I managed to finish both races of the day which is what I was aiming for.”
She said the rest of the season progressed better as she got to grips with the car and she even managed to achieve seven podium finishes throughout the year. She was delighted to end the year first in class and third overall in the SMRC Championship, despite a couple of missed rounds and hiccups along the way.
“Being awarded the Edinburgh Students Charities Quaich for the top female driver in Scottish Championship Motor Racing was just the icing on the cake,” she added.
Fiona said the car will be back this year with the plan being to complete the full season of the SMRC and SuperLap Scotland Championships again and, if time and funds allows, a round or two of Time Attack down in England.
The car has undergone some upgrades over the winter and after a year of pestering, as Fiona described it, she has persuaded Nitron Racing to build a suspension kit for her Impreza.
“I am going to be their test bunny for the year,” she added.
“Their current suspension kits come very highly recommended so I’m very excited to be working with them this year. The engine has also been out for a check over and freshen up and luckily nothing serious has been discovered, so hopefully it will be an easy start to the racing season.
“I’m currently in Dubai with work and flying home the week before the first race of the year, so it would be nice for it to be problem free.
“It’s shaping up to be a great year, although I’m still on the lookout for new sponsors to help build on the success of 2014. So if anyone is interested in getting involved and getting their logo on the car of the fastest female racer in Scotland, give me a shout.”