Young rally stars on the rise

Molly Taylor, 22, of Armidale in NSW, and Brendan Reeves, 22, of Wedderburn in Victoria, have won two of six coveted spots to race a Ford Fiesta R2 in six World Rally Championship events next year. They won their places in the WRC Rally Academy with impressive performances in a 16-team Pirelli Star Driver Shootout in Spain at the weekend.

"I am overwhelmed and incredibly excited," says Taylor who drives with her mother, Coral, reading the pace notes. "It's not every day an opportunity like this comes along! I don't think it has fully sunk in yet. My focus has always been working towards the WRC, so to be sitting here today knowing that this is actually a reality is surreal. This is just the beginning and the hard work starts now, I'm buzzing."

Taylor began rallying in 2005 and has won two state titles, two Australian Rally F16 Championships and is the 2009 British Ladies Rally Champion. Reeves also started rallying in 2005 after karting and has won several rallies, scored a class second in Targa Tasmania last year and has been racing this year in the Australia Pacific Rally Championship with navigator Rhianon Smyth, 29. He was the first selected to join the inaugural WRC Rally Academy, a new series replacing the Junior World Rally Championship.

"This is a dream come true for me," he says. "I'm still pinching myself but I realise that the hard work hasn't even started yet."

The global Pirelli Star Driver Shootout involved three days of lectures, driving tests on gravel and tarmac, and media presentations.