Kirsty Last

Resides: Sydney/Wollongong, NSW, AUSTRALIA
Races: Formula Vee in NSW State championship
Site: www.downshift.to/lasts

For as long as she can remember, Kirsty has always had a "thing" for cars and racing. So mesmerized that when at events with her father as a baby, Kirsty would wander out in front of cars to get a "better look..."Kirsty did have the right upbringing though. Father, Danny is a motor mechanic by trade and when some children went to daycare, Kirsty's closest thing was on the workshop floor, helping Daddy fix things.

Her father, a great mini enthusiast, owned quite a few in Kirsty's early days and when the time came to sell the prized possessions, Kirsty cried and cried until the man buying the mini guaranteed that it would be going to a good home. From then on Kirsty's father knew that this girl needed to get a car of her own... But, she was only 4... It would have to wait a little while...

After 12 years of waiting and many more tantrums over cars and associated things, Kirsty finally received her Learner's permit and started showing the first fruits, on the road, of what years of sitting in stands and watching hour of racing on TV had taught her. This none the less scared Mum, Margaret Last, a little... Again fuelling the fire for the family to get this girl into a REAL racecar and get her on the track!!!

After attending a race meeting for Australia's premier motorsport category, V8 Supercars, Kirsty decided that it was this circus that she wanted to be a part of. Being the stubborn thing she is, if Dad wasn't going to let her get there by dropping out of High School to become a mechanic for one of them, she was going to go all the way to the top and become a driver and head race engineer for one instead.

In 2002 Kirsty completed her High School Certificate and applied for Mechanical Engineering Degrees at Universities all over the state. All bar one really wanted her, but that was quiet fine with her... At this point in time they were the Australasian champions for Formula SAE, a student run racing formula for universities of Engineering. What a great place to start! Wollongong University.

So, Kirsty joined the team, moved out of home, bought her first race car and began preparing to climb the stairway to her dream. Things were FINALLY starting to fall into place and more and more things were getting crossed off her "To-Do" list.

Kirsty is now in her first season of motorsport and is in the NSW State Championship of Formula Vee in car number 17.

She currently has no sponsors, but is at the moment hoping the dream she is living will fuel her racecar for another few races at least...

Her greatest influences, she says, are her Parents, Racerchicks like Leanne Ferrier, Melinda Price, Sue Ransom, Ashley Taws and Nika, off the racerchicks website!