Life in the fast lane is par for the course

Motorsport is a family affair for Deirdre McKinley and her husband Simon, they are hoping that baby Rory will follow their in tyre tracks.

DEIRDRE McKINLEY isn’t one to let the grass grow under her feet. A passionate motor racing driver, she returned to training two weeks after having her first child and was competing back in the top 10 of her sport a few months later. The 34-year-old, originally from Limerick but now settled in Naul, Co Dublin, has just returned from Luxembourg where she and husband Simon were part of the four-member Irish team competing against 17 other countries in the Inaugural FIA International Hillclimb Masters Event. They were the only husband-and-wife team in the competition and Deirdre was the only woman representing her country.

Rory, now four months old, went along as the team ‘mascot’, donning a set of ear protectors designed especially for babies and with family and friends on hand to mind him as his parents competed.