Edith Weiss already on rough route before start of Dubai International Rally

Edith Weiss, a 50-year-old German and the only female driver in Friday’s Dubai International Rally understands the demands of the sport but, was having trouble achieving the standards required.

Edith Weiss had trouble before the event even started as she had her car in the wrong workshop. Courtesy Dubai International Rally/Middle East Rally Championship
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Rallying is a dangerous sport that demands harmony between driver, co-driver and machine across varying surfaces, such as on sand, dirt or gravel, at top speeds, jumping over mounds and dodging trees.

There is no room for error.

Cars take a battering and the rate of retirements in every rally is high, so it is imperative the vehicle is in top shape.

Edith Weiss, a 50-year-old German and the only female driver in Friday’s Dubai International Rally understands the demands of the sport but she was having trouble achieving the standards required.

The Qatar-based driver, who will be in a Mitsubishi EVO IX alongside Vicky Psaraki, is third on the Middle East Rally Championship points table for Group N drivers.

As the final leg of the championship begins she is nine points behind second placed Khalifa Al Attiya of Qatar. Kuwait’s Meshari Al Thefiri leads the table with 89 points.

Weiss is just three points ahead of Qatar’s Nada Zaidan, but she will not be racing in Dubai, so Weiss is well placed to finish at least third in the overall Group N championship. Her expectations for a high result in the racing this weekend, though, are not high.

“The preparation, unfortunately, has not been so good because when my car came here last week, I put it in the wrong workshop and they did not do anything,” Weiss said.

“Now I have got some mechanics to take care of it, but the time is too short. It would be fantastic to be in the first three [this weekend], but it is not possible. I will just be happy to finish. I will do my best and I hope my car also.”

The lead up to this weekend’s racing may have brought disappointment and frustration but it would never dampen her enthusiasm for the sport.

Weiss grew up in Bavaria idolising Austrian Formula One legend Niki Lauda and German rally great Walter Rohrl.

As far back as she can remember, she always wanted to be in motorsport.

“Since I was a small child, this was my dream,” she said. “I love this sport. It’s amazing.”

Weiss started her career as a co-driver in 1985 before moving on to circuit and hill races and then Formula Ford.

However, rallying remained her first love, and when Toyota came looking for someone to drive their car at a rally in Qatar in 1992, she jumped at the opportunity.

“I said, ‘Ahhh, I want to go’. Since that time, I have been a regular here in the Middle East. Now I am a resident in Qatar, living there with my family.”

Some of her best moments as a driver have also come in Qatar, and she is particularly proud of finishing 11th overall in the Qatari leg of the World Cup for Cross Country Rallies last year.

“I was so happy to see the finish after five days,” Weiss said. “It was so many kilometres, and then to see the finish, it was ­fantastic.”

Reaching the finish line tends to mean more for Weiss than other drivers because she has to do everything on her own – “find service, mechanics, transportation, whatever. The whole organisation is on me”.

To be the organiser and the driver, as well as being a woman in a male-dominated sport, is a formula for a tough assignment.

“Motorsport is motorsport, and it does not matter whether you a male or a female,” she said.“It is tough for everyone, but I love it. I love the challenge, and the fact that I am living my dream.”

arizvi@thenational.ae

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