Building Cars and Dodging Kangaroos – In Conversation with Kelly Thomas

Guest blog by Thiemo Albers-Daly

Kelly Thomas is an up and coming Australian Rally Driver and Tarmac and Off-Road Navigator. Growing up around motorsport thanks to her parents competing, she was always involved in the racing world in some way. But it wasn’t until Kelly was 14 that she actually got into the car properly with the intention of going racing herself. From there, the KAT Racing Rally Team formed, car building projects with her Dad have taken off, there’ve been close calls with Kangaroos during races and much more! Kelly and I chatted about all of this recently which you can read in full below.

I hope you enjoy our conversation.

What first got you interested in Motorsport?

I grew up around Motorsport. Dad and Mum used to compete in rallying before they had me. So I was naturally involved in racing. We also competed in Moto-Trials up until I was about 13. Motorsport has always been a part of my life, it’s the way I was brought up really. We started competing in Khanacrosses when I was 14 which I took to very quickly and it evolved from there. Khanacross to sprints to navigating for Dad in the WA State championships, to building a car, to me driving and Dad navigating, to Dad building another car so we could both drive, to now competing with Steph in the WA State Championships and the Australian rally championships.

Tell me about the Kat Racing Rally Team.

KAT Racing initially started as a little facebook page I created at the start of 2018 for me to share my racing results. It stands for my initials (Kelly Anne Thomas Racing). Dad and I would both compete so I included his results too. We then helped our mate Shane build his car so I would also then include his results. We then helped and gained Neil, Frank, and Declan so now we all race under KAT Racing. We’re currently the largest rally team in WA with 6 cars with another two new builds underway. KAT Racing not only covers gravel rallying, but I also compete in the WA Off road championships navigating in a Canam buggy. I also navigate the Tarmac west events on the bitumen.  

Where and when was your first race?

My first race was a Rally Action Driver Training Khanacross in 2017. These events were held about 3 hours inland of Perth on farmland with sandy tracks. My first State round co-driving for Dad in the Escort was October 2017. My first state round driving in the WRX was in April 2019.  

How did you decide on which car to go racing in and what about it do you love so much?

When I first started competing in khanacross I drove a FWD Ford Laser. Dad bought this car from a damaged car auction. We put a new radiator in, front bumper, took a heap of weight out, put a race seat and harness in and she was ready to race. This car was competitive as we used to race against WRX’s in it and beat them. I won the 2018 Rally action Rally sprint series in this FWD laser against many 4WD wrx’s. When we decided to build a rally car we found Subaru WRX gc8s were the most common, easily available and competitive cars around. We picked one up for $1500 and started from there. I love this car as it’s a long term project Dad and I got to build and race together still to this day. The progress me and this car have made together is amazing.  

Do you have any racing ambitions for the future?

I would love to be able to commit to the Australian Rally Championships and do all of the rounds. Unfortunately funds play a major factor. I’m based in Perth WA and all but 1 of the ARC rounds are on the other side of the country.  

I’d love to race in the WRC one day. Even have a go at Rally cross. I’d also love to compete in Dakar one day, have a factory drive and I’d love to build/buy and race a world rally car.

What’s been the most challenging part of your career so far and how did you overcome it?

The most challenging part of my career so far would be costs. Racing is very expensive and being able to race at so many events is not cheap! I’m very lucky to have some legendary sponsors who make it all possible. Able Finance, Elite Maintenance solutions, Paramount cabinets and shopfitters, DCL Contracting, MOTUL, Racetorque Engineering, Drew civil engineering, Better performance products, HEC Hamersley Electrical Contracting, Rustic Metal Works, Tunetech, Killarney Autos, Tokyo Motorsports, Strength and motion academy, Einsigns designs, and I Do Alterations. It’s all possible because of these companies. However if anyone else wanted to get on board and support us it would be hugely appreciated. We haven’t “overcome” this challenge, I think it will always play a major factor in my career in motorsport. But I hope one day I’ll be able to help those who have supported me and make them proud.

Another slight challenge we faced was the fact Dad and I both wanted to drive, therefore we had to build a second car and both find navigators!

Describe what it’s like when you get in the car for the first time on a race weekend and get out there.

The first liaison to our first stage we are feeling a little nervous. The anticipation to get going. Knowing the whole day is ahead of us, anything can happen. Especially the ARC rounds with how much it takes to get to each event. The first drive is a reality check “we’re actually doing this.” “were here” “let’s do it.” The fist stage is usually a steady one to get back into the groove, feel confident again and get a good feel of the new surfaces. There’s the whole “don’t crash on the first corner” mantra so once we are past that we can go for it! Rest of the day is finding a good happy medium of pushing/trying and being steady to get to the end.  

Is there a fun racing related story that you can share?

A racing related story that every one of our rally friends refers to would be this one time, Stage 1, 2nd corner, 2 kangaroos jumped out in front of us and I go “Kangarooooo?!” Steph goes “already?!” and I go “Get off the way!” (a mix of get off the road and get out of the way) and we continue the stage like normal! It wasn’t until after the event we went back and watched our go -pro footage and realised how typical of “Kelly and Steph” this was and how funny everyone found it. The antics of Kelly and Steph are always a classic!

If you could snap your fingers and make one thing appear at will, what would you choose and why?

It would have to be an R5 car with an unlimited budget. To have the best equipment and not have to worry about costs would take my racing abilities to the max.  

Would you rather always get on the podium but never win a race or win one championship and then never get on the podium again?

I would rather always get on the podium but never win a race. For a sponsor’s eye, the podium every event would mean more exposure, more recognition, and my name would constantly be up there. They’d never know I’d never be the winner, but to be on the podium at every event and have fun would be good enough for me. But then again being a one hit wonder would have its benefits also.  

Thank You again to Kelly for taking the time to chat and best of luck for the rest of 2023 and beyond.