Louise was introduce to rallying by Tony Jardine when she was working for him at Jardine PR. Tony was a long-time competitor on the rally scene but his regular co-driver was unavailable for the next event. After a few quick lessons on navigation, Louise and Tony set off for Wales to take pat in the Wydean Stages event.
Eight years passed before the pair teamed up again, this time for the 1997 Winter Rally in Bournemouth. An invitation to take part in the inaugural Rally Sprint event at Silverstone followed, but this time Louise would be behind the wheel.
She obviously showed potential because that maiden outing was followed by an offer later in the year to contest the Jersey Rally in a Ford Rally Ka.
Buoyed by her success – she finished a credible 31st overall and 4th in class – Ford Motor Sport invited Louise to take part in the 1998 Ford Ka Rally Championship.
She contested the series for the next two years, as and when work commitments permitted, and by the end of 1999 had gained enough experience to step up onto the international stage. Together with motor sport journalist Maurice Hamilton, Formula 1 correspondent for The Observer, Louise entered the Network Q Rally of Great Britain. The pair finished a creditable 3rd in class and 82nd overall on Britain’s most punishing motor sport event.
Louise has not completed as regularly as she would have liked for the last few years, but she has contested a few national rallies and rally sprints. Her campaigns have been backed by Britannia Rescue, for whom she also acts as a spokesperson and she has been coached throughout by the Bill Gwynne Rally School. She has also tried her hand at circuit racing with guest appearances in the Ford Fiesta Championship, Proton Super Cup and Ginetta Cup.
