Valentine’s Day a speed date for Queensland couple
Chelsea Leahy and her boyfriend Rob Harrington will trade flowers for power on Valentine’s Day, with the couple heading to Willowbank Raceway this weekend for the Queensland Drag Racing Championships.
The 19-year-old, who is making her competitive debut in the senior ranks this weekend, is fully supported by Harrington – who is not only her boyfriend of 18 months, but also the reigning QDRC Champion.
“I can’t think of any other way that I would prefer to spend Valentine’s Day than at the drag strip with my boyfriend,” said Leahy, who will compete in the Knijff Earthmoving Modified category.
“We met through racing and when I am not on the track, I am there supporting his racing, and now this year he has taken some time off to work towards other racing projects and to help as crew for me in my first season.
“It is a really nice thing of him to do for me, he is helping a lot with me and my crew, and as the reigning champion for the bracket in which I am racing I feel very lucky to have his guidance and experience on my side.”
For Harrington, having a girlfriend that loves his sport as much as he does is a dream come true.
“I am really proud of Chelsea and all the strides she is making as she prepares to make her debut in the QDRC this weekend,” Harrington said.
“It has certainly been a learning curve for her, but she is working hard at it and I can’t wait to see how she goes this weekend – and I can’t think of a better way to spend Valentine’s Day!”
Leahy, who is returning from a three-year hiatus after making her debut in the Junior Dragster bracket at age 15, is looking forward to her return.
“I have always wanted to race in the senior ranks since I finished racing in Junior Dragster,” Leahy said.
“I asked dad (drag racing identity and Willowbank Raceway board member Greg Leahy) if I could get a car and he said I had to provide one for myself, so I saved as much as I could for three years and last year was able to buy my own dragster – I am pretty proud of that as I don’t think there are many 19 year olds around who own their own race car.
“The preparation since buying the car certainly hasn’t been easy for me, it has been a steep learning curve to get used to the car and how it runs and all that goes into successfully racing and running a car ourselves – but we are making steps in the right direction and I can’t wait to get on track this weekend.
“I am definitely excited, it has been a while since I was able to race so I am really keen to get back into it and get back behind the wheel again.
“It will be a learning process and I will be going up against people who are a lot more experienced than me, but I will be doing everything I can to be out there.”
It will be action aplenty at Willowbank Raceway on Valentine's Day, including categories QDRC SuperComp, QDRC Comp Bike, Donnelly Blasting Services QDRC Outlaws, Knijff Earthmoving Modified, Powercruise Super Sedan, Prime Signs/Speed Elec Super Street, Modified Bike, Junior Dragster and Super Gas.
Gates will open at 7.00am, with qualifying from 1.00pm and racing from 5.00pm.
For more information including a full event calendar, please visit:
www.willowbankraceway.com.au
Image supplied © dragphotos.com.au
