Is for real . Her father Ian Splatt made still very sort after magnesium alloy wheels for cars in the 70s,80s and 90s here in Victoria. ('Dragways' brand) Rachelle was for sometime the worlds fastest woman top fuel drag racer.
Australia’s fastest mum, Rachelle Splatt is making a comeback to racing.
Dubbed the “Queen of Speed”, Splatt will make her return in a state-of-the-art Top Fuel dragster at the Snap-On Tools Nitro Championships event being held at the Western Sydney International Dragway on 13-15 May.
Splatt set the drag racing world alight in the early 1990s, winning the Australian Nationals on debut, setting both national and international records, along with also becoming the first female driver in the world to break the 300mph (480km/h) barrier.
She retired from racing in early 2000 to concentrate on her family and now she and husband Wayne Lusk are the proud parents of three children – daughter Kayla (6) and sons, Jayden (4) and Dylan (1).
“Racing has always been a part of my life, but Wayne and I needed some time to concentrate on our family. Everything at home is now the way it should be, our family is complete, so the time is right to return to racing,” Splatt said.
In addition to motherhood, Splatt also has a career as general manager of Dragway Performance Engineering, a business established by her father, champion drag racing veteran Ian Splatt in the late 1960s.
“Juggling work and family can be difficult, but it is made easier by being organised, having systems in place and having great support from our family and staff members,” Splatt said.
“Now that I’m racing again there’s something else to juggle, but any mother will tell you if you can handle three kids then anything else is a breeze, especially a 300mph race car!”
Splatt first rose to prominence in late 1992 when, despite calls of protest from her male peers, she bypassed drag racing’s lower, ‘learning’ categories and jumped straight into the seat of a Top Fuel dragster to earn her racing licence.
Just a few months later in March 1993, Splatt set the drag racing world on its ear when she not only redefined the performance standards for the sport in this country with a quickest ever pass of 5.20 seconds for the standing quarter-mile at a national record-setting speed of 273 miles per hour, but for also winning the prestigious Australian National Championships on debut.
Splatt’s stunning performance earned worldwide praise and caught the attention of a major professional team in the U.S., earning her a full-time and fully sponsored drive in the Luxor Casino dragster on the lucrative NHRA drag racing tour for the 1994 season.
While there, Splatt became the first woman to crack the 300mph barrier (480km/h) with a ‘spot on’ terminal speed of 300.00mph while racing in Houston, Texas; the achievement earning her membership in the elite Slick 50 300mph Club.
“To have my name listed with some of the greats of the sport in the U.S. remains the highlight of my career; there were only 16 spots available in the club and I am the only Australian and only female member – it was something I’d never dreamed possible,” Splatt said.
Splatt says that her acceptance by her male counterparts back home changed following her historic performance.
“From the beginning I was accepted I suppose, but I was still always ‘the girl’. When I broke the 300mph barrier it all changed for the better after that.”
In 1995, Splatt returned home to set up her own team and contest the Australian Top Fuel Championship Series. She continued racing until 2000 before retiring.
In a brief, one-off appearance at the Quit Motorplex near Perth in 2003, she recorded the track’s first ever four-second pass, setting the track record to 4.96 seconds.
Splatt’s comeback will be made at the wheel of a state-of-the-art Top Fuel dragster which recently landed in Australia. The car produces approximately 7,000 horsepower and has recorded a best time of 4.57 seconds for the standing quarter-mile with a best terminal speed of 325 miles per hour (523km/h).
While a major sponsor is yet to be signed, associate sponsorship will come from Dragway Performance Engineering, Bob Jane T-Marts, Smart Aluminium, Dickies and The Creative Ones.
