Iron Maidens: Female Summernats burnout champs

FROM quite early in the piece, there have been women who have taken on the challenge of the Street Machine Summernats burnout competition and kicked butt. The numbers of female burnout competitors have remained relatively small over the 30 years of the event and we’d love to see more! Let’s check out just some of the heritage:

The first event to offer a dedicated trophy for female burnouts was Summernats 4 in 1991. Debbie McNabb was the victor in a HQ Statesman.

Linda Aunela was next in 1992 in a ’60 Chev Belair, while a certain Debbie Gray took out the Go-to-Whoa in a Celica in the same year.

Linda did it again in 1993, in a 1935 Chev coupe. Gai Hills took it out in 1994 in a HQ and Linda Aunela did it yet again in 1995, this time back in the Belair.

1996 saw a winner in a Ford, namely Kylie George in the ICE351 XD Falcon. Natalie Willmington continued the trend, taking out the women’s trophy in 1997 in an XF. We’re not 100 per cent sure if there was a female skid trophy awarded in 1998, but Kylie Moore kept the Blue Oval fans happy again in 1999, winning in her Cortina.

Debbie Gray really kicked it out of the park in 2001, winning the overall Burnout Championship. Debbie also took out the women’s trophy in 2003 and 2005.

Other female winners include Rosemarie Dall’Acqua (2002), Nat Taverna (2007) and Dana Gough in her XD in both 2010 and 2011. We’ve no doubt missed some, please let us know and if you have images, we’d love to add them to this story.