This grand mother prefers to live her life in the fast lane
As published in the Express and Echo
MANY grandmothers prefer to take part in more relaxing hobbies in their later years, such as swimming, yoga or gardening. But Janette Curtis, 56, from Upottery, near Honiton, chooses to live life in the fast lane by taking part in international endurance kit-car rallying. Janette took up the sport when her husband of 39 years, Andrew, 58, retired from farming.
Janette, who has two grown-up children, Robert, 38, and Rosanne, 35, and five grandchildren, said: "Andrew had always had an interest in rally driving, and I wanted to get involved. So in 2004 we bought our first Marlin kit car. "The car we bought was second hand and had been put together by a helicopter engineer, so at least I trust the capability of the previous owner."
Each car has a team of two people, a driver and a navigator. The sport involves covering an on-road course in a certain amount of time, while abiding by the local speed limit. There are certain check points the participants must stop off at within two-minute time slots. Janette's only condition about competing in the rallies was that she would be the designated driver. She said: "I was adamant with Andrew that I would be the one who drove.
"Driving is something I enjoy doing and I wanted to be in control of the car. "So Andrew is always the navigator, and I am happy with this arrangement."
Janette thinks that her years of working on the farm have helped with the hobby. She said: "In the past I have driven lots of heavy vehicles, such as lorries and tractors. And I have experienced driving in all different weather conditions, from rain and snow to thick mud. Therefore I am pretty confident behind the wheel.
"There is no power steering in rally cars so you need to have strong steady arms to keep a firm grip on the wheel. "I am often aching for a few days afterwards." The international rallies usually last around five days and take place in some of Europe's most scenic areas. Janette said: "So far rallying has taken Andrew and I to Monte Carlo, Sardinia, Scotland and the Champagne country in France.
"On average we cover 250 miles in the morning, stop at an appointed restaurant for lunch and then do another 200 miles in the afternoon. "You really have to keep up the pace if you want to go the distance." Rallying is quite a sociable sport with all the competitors meeting to eat together at meal times.
Janette said: "We have made some good friends who we see every year on the rallies, and it is great swapping stories about the day's driving. "The other rally car drivers tend to be all-male teams, with just a handful of women, and even most of them are navigators. "We always see Jeremy Clarkson's wife Frances, who is one of the only other female drivers."
Because of the fast nature of the sport Janette has found herself in some sticky situations. She said: "I remember once I was in France and got a real ticking off by a police officer. He basically told me that if I didn't slow down I could end up in a cell. "There was also a time when I was approaching an extremely narrow bend at high speed, and I realised I wasn't going to make it. Luckily, there was a grassy verge so I made a snap to decision to plough into that the soften the impact.
"When something goes wrong in a rally there is no time to panic, you just have to keep a cool head and remain calm, but think very, very quickly." Janette plans to continue taking part in rallying in the future. She said: "We would like to do more rallying over the next few years. If anything, we are becoming a more efficient team with age and experience."
Janette thinks that rally car driving has strengthened her relationship with her husband. She said: "On the whole, Andrew and I get on very well as a team, we work on each other's strengths. "Before rally car driving we had never really shared a hobby together, so it has been a really nice experience."
On-road rally car driving is a high-risk sport, with an element of danger involved, yet Janette is undeterred. She said: "You can't fail to notice the hazardous element of the sport when you're zipping along meandering roads, close to sheer drops on mountain ledges.
"But ultimately I don't worry about it — all sports have a certain risk factor." Janette has not yet managed to convince her friends to join in the sport. She said: "People think we are mad, to them a driving holiday would be their worst nightmare. But Andrew and I can't imagine anything different. We wouldn't dream of going on a beach holiday, it would be far too boring."
Janette's family has always been supportive. She said: "My grandchildren think its a hoot that their grandmother is a rally car driver."