A lashing of new-found speed helped Emma Gilmour sharpen her race craft and dice with the front-runners at an event in New York at the weekend.
Gilmour was competing at the fourth round of the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship in New York.
A confidence boost associated with a better setup in her Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster Turbo rallycross car meant the Dunedin driver only just missed out on a spot in the final behind her team owner.
''I had an awesome LCQ [last-chance qualifier], dicing with Rhys all race before he pipped me for fourth and the final spot in the final. What a buzz,'' Gilmour said.
In the final, Tanner Foust (Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross) snapped a 12-race winless streak in the GRC, beating SH Racing Rallycross driver Nelson Piquet jun and Hoonigan Racing Division's Ken Block in a mad dash to the finish.
Gilmour qualified 10th and enjoyed some elbows-out racing in her two heats and LCQ.
Coming from a rally background, where protecting the car is a priority, she has been changing her mindset over the past three rounds to accommodate the GRC's ''rubbing is racing'' mentality.
''I got to really mix it up with the other drivers and all the guys I was dicing with [Patrik Sandell, the previous round winner, and X Games medallist Bucky Lasek] have been on the podium in the previous three rounds.
''I'm starting to come to grips with it all, since I've got better speed.
"I'm just a bit green at this sort of racing but at least I feel like I am learning the more aggressive race craft now.''
Gilmour was also feeling much more at home in the 441kW Veloster after the Volkswagen Rallycross NY, the series' inaugural event in New York, at the Nassau Coliseum Memorial.
''Everything gelled a bit more. I had more time with the engineer and mechanic last week before the race, which meant I had the car set up more how I like it.''
She prefers a car to be ''quite soft, predictable and forgiving'', and felt like she had been fighting the Veloster to get it to perform in the first three GRC rounds.
After a few mechanical issues in practice, it was not 100% in the heats, due to changes made to correct it.
However, in the first heat race, Gilmour got an impressive start and went around three cars on the outside of the first corner to get into third.
''Then I made a few mistakes with when to take the shorter joker lap and not being pushy enough, so slipped back to sixth, but stayed with the group.''
Heat two was another good learning experience and Gilmour again nudged door panels with the ultra-competitive field, which is often only separated by 0.7sec a lap.
Staying on in the United States for next weekend's fifth round in Charlotte, North Carolina, Gilmour is looking forward to keeping the momentum up and fighting hard for her first spot in the final.
