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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Lucy Harvey & Charlotte Cox

Meet Manchester's answer to Penelope Pitstop - the designer turned dragracer with a need for speed

Jayne Kaye is a designer with a difference.

During the week, she works her regular day job but at the weekends she can be found at the track, going head-to-head in the world's fastest motorsport.

The sport consists of two racers going head-to-head over the quarter mile drag strip, and first to finish over the line wins.

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And Jayne's penchant for pink vehicles has naturally led to comparisons with Wacky Races' Penelope Pitstop.

Jayne, 27, from North Manchester, said: "It made me laugh the first time I saw it. I’m not offended, Penelope Pitstop is a great character.

(Calli Faraway / CATERS NEWS)


"The vehicles I drive are almost always pink. It became my identity, so I’m sticking with it!

"There’s loads of great women in motor racing as well as men, whether it’s behind the wheel or working on the mechanical side."

Growing up in Manchester, Jayne was first introduced to the track in her early years.

Jayne added: "I got into drag racing through my dad, he’s always had cool custom cars and bikes and even raced himself in the late 90s.

"He built me a junior dragster when I was only eight years old and we bought a Methanol Funny Car from Denmark when I was 16, making me the youngest Funny Car driver in the world at the time.

"I have raced in a nitro funny car, which was one of the highlights of my career so far, as you can experience 5Gs of force off the line, which is almost twice as much as an astronaut experience on a launch.

"I have also raced in a top fuel funny car which reached 100mph in 0.8 seconds and could reach over 300mph over the quarter mile.

"I currently compete in the bike classes running a 1500cc Suzuki GSX, and there’s no better feeling than speeding down the track, pushing the bike to its limit, I love the buzz of going fast!"

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