Galway rally driver, Aoife Raftery, won the inaugural Rosemary Smith Award at the Motorsport Ireland Awards last week.
The award is named in honour of Ireland's most successful female driver, Rosemary Smith. Smith passed away on December 5 of last year.
Raftery was presented with the award by Rosemary Walsh, chair of the Motorsport Ireland women’s commission, at the annual awards ceremony in Dublin. It was awarded to Raftery "for her exceptional contributions to motorsport and for embodying Smith’s passion and spirit".
The award caps off an impressive year for Raftery. Last month, she was awarded Galway Motor Club’s champion driver for her performances in Europe, Ireland, and Britain this season. Raftery is the first female driver to be selected for the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.
Other season highlights include an impressive victory in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship-counting Ulster Rally and a third-place finish in the Cambrian Rally – the final round of the Junior British Rally Championship.
Raftery said that she was "delighted" to win the Rosemary Smith Award.
“It is an honour to be the first person to get my name on the trophy and it means a lot. Rosemary inspired many with her achievements and she was someone who I looked up to,” she said.
