Profile
So, who is Janice Moore? Find out more in this exclusive interview. Q. How did you start out? I have always been into cars since I can remember and I loved watching the rallying on TV. In 2003 I attended a motivational conference and I was lucky enough to see Penny Mallory talk about rallying & I always thought that being a woman I would have no hope but she gave me the confidence to have a go at it. At roughly the same time my boyfriend bought me a 'Forest Experience' day, I drove a rally car for a day sitting next to a top rally driver called David Higgins. I loved every minute, one of the best moments of the day was swapping seats and he drove the stage. I remember thinking 'oh my god, this is fantastic'! I then posted on the British Rally forum asking for people to help me get started. It was suggested I marshaled an event and joined a Motorclub. About a month later, I found myself marshaling at a Dukeries Motorclub event. I took the opportunity to ask lots of questions. I must have asked the right ones, as I had a phone call from Paul Rees a Nova rally driver who's co-driver had let him down. Days later I was rushing my licence through to compete on an event that weekend!! I managed to borrow helmet/racesuit etc from club members! We won 1st in class and I remember loving every moment. Without Paul, the organisers of the event and other friendly co-drivers, I wouldn't be here now. Q. Don't you ever get scared? At first yes, but once you learn to trust your driver and understand that rally cars are built differently to road cars and that they can withstand so many bumps, its ok. I have had a seat especially made for me at Motordrive for the Darrian T90 and that feels fantastic, very safe and secure. The seat belts in the Darrian are excellent too. I believe you can't do your job properly unless you are comfortable in your seat and you feel safe. Its always my first priority, just ask anyone I have sat with! Q. What was your scariest moment? Vicki Price and I were testing on an airfield and I got in the car just after her father and coach had sat with her. I said "lets show them and scare me!" We managed to hit the only building for miles, we rolled the car and unfortunately Vicki flew, yes flew out of the drivers' side window. I didn't realize until the car had stopped rolling and I looked her way to see if she was ok. Vicki had managed to land on her bottom, we were both taken to hospital to be checked over.  Q. What has been your favourite rallying location and why? My favourite rally location has to be the Manx. The whole island loves motorsport and the stages are absolutely fantastic. Q. What have you achieved in your rally career? In my first year of rallying I won the Ladies Heart of England Championship, came 1st in class on my first-ever event and I won numerous awards for top female and Spirit of the Rally. In 2005 I sat in a Peugeot 205 1.9 Scholarship car and achieved 1st overall 205 on the Malcolm Wilson Rally, 3rd overall 205 and 4th in Class on the Panaround Rally. We rolled the car on the Pirelli Rally but still managed to finish the event which maintained our championship lead! I also contested the MSA National Tarmac Championship with Ashley Field in his Darrian T90. We won best novice at the North West Stages, 1st in Class on the Roush Manx National rally, setting two top 6 fastest stage times and one top 10. I have competed in rally cars varying from a Peugeot 205 GTi to a Mitsubishi Evo. Adapting to each individual driver and car is an achievement in itself! Q. Where do you hope to be with your rallying career in 5 years time? I would love to co-drive as a full time job eventually, so I plan on building experience, advice, knowledge and confidence in the next few years. Overall I will always enjoy what I do and I hope that the next 5 years will be a steep a learning curve as the last 2! Q. What are your interests outside of rallying? I love keeping fit and other sports. Anything that gets the adrenalin pumping is always worth a go. I also work in the food industry and I love my food. My palate has been trained for Sensory analysis (analysing food tastes), part of my job is creating the latest products that you will find on the supermarket shelves. I love eating at restaurants that take pride in their food (you will be surprised at the restaurants who have no joy for food and you can tell too!) I am very close to my family, so if I am not rallying, keeping fit or filling my face full of food... I will be seeing my family and friends. I am really lucky to have a family who support me in my sport as much as they do. They are amazing. Q. What advice would you give someone thinking of starting codriving? Enjoy every moment! Join a car club, they will involve you in all of the navigational basics. Purchase an Ordanance Survey Map for your local area and as someone is driving down the road, try to read the map and describe the road to the driver. It will get you used to reading maps in detail. Read as many books, watch co-driving videos, watch incar footage and marshal as much as you can. Sit with as many different types of drivers as you can to understand how different people work. Try lots of different events which use different navigational methods. Listening to how other co-drivers do their job, it is always interesting. When you feel comfortable with all of that, find a driver with the same asprirations as yourself and commit to a season together. You will find that you are constantly learning!! |
