Danielle Murphy is the first ever Queen of Europe Drift Champion. She is also Irish and eager to retain her title (an aim that will be helped with her first win yesterday in Budapest).
We caught up with her recently to find out how exactly she got involved in motor sport and what she has planned for the future.
Here’s what she had to say about…
Getting involved in drifting
At the moment drifting is the fastest-growing form of any sport in the world. I could never really afford to go rallying so when drifting started in Ireland I used to go to shows and demonstrations. When a championship actually started, I just thought that’s something I can do because there’s not many women involved in the sport anyway. I just always wanted to do something different.
Being a woman within the sport
When I started winning, I had friends, all male, within the car industry so they respected me already for being involved in cars and having a knowledge of that. When I started drifting, they were helpful and I was always just one of the lads really. I never wanted to be treated differently. I just wanted to earn their respect from driving, not by playing the woman card. I wanted to earn my achievement. Looking back on it, I’m happy it went that way.
Beating the bullies
That kind of stuff doesn’t come overnight, I’ve gone through years of bullying and it comes again when you’re successful. It was just jealousy and you know, I’ve gone through a tough time of it. I just did my best to put all that negativity and focus on positives. I always try to do well for myself, not for anybody else. Some people know I haven’t had it easy with people trying to do everything they can to push me out of the sport. It’s just sheer jealousy but I’d like to be an inspiration to others. If I can do it, so can others. It’s just about training your brain to focus on something else.
Being Queen of Europe Drift Champion 2013
I have to see it as fun because the day I take things seriously and start thinking I have to win and put myself under pressure is the day I’ll walk away from it. I have to love what I do and I have to enjoy it. How it came about with the Queen of Europe, there is a big series which is the King of Europe the Pro Series and it’s the elite of the European drift drivers which is all men so I approached the organisers about competing in it because it’s invitation only and they told me they were starting a female equivalent. As time went on, the more I thought that it was something I needed to do and then I did it.
Her favourite thing about drifting
There’s a lot of preparation behind the scenes. I mean I worked for three and a half weeks solid before I went to Europe and I completely rebuilt the car (‘The Green Monster’) myself so that side of stuff, people don’t really see. But the best part is actually getting out in the car and enjoying it. It’s all about having the car and doing what you’ve got to do.
The biggest challenge
The finance. I do all the grafting myself because I can’t afford to pay anyone else to do it. In saying that, I prefer to do it myself because then I understand my car and I know what’s working and what’s not but it’s definitely the financial strain. Financial sponsorship is also something that I really need to defend my title in Europe. It’s blood, sweat and tears along with begging and borrowing!
Gaining recognition
I think anyone woman in motor sport struggles for recognition regardless of how successful she is. I’ve been told that by some people in the Irish media but I see stuff like that as a challenge. I want to prove them wrong. It makes me want to change that and prove that women do have a voice and we are able to be competitive against the boys. In the future I want to keep pushing and pushing, moving that level up for women especially in the sport of drifting. It’s a male-dominated sport but it’s still under the radar as a whole.
The future
I’ve opened my eyes to the possibilities that are there for me and that are open to me after getting the title of Queen of Europe. I’m hoping to retain my title and to go up to the next level and break into America. There is no money at the moment so it’s my love for the sport that keeps me going but in America, there are more opportunities to make money for what I do.
To find out more about Danielle, please check out her website and Facebook page.
