By Lawrence Machado
Drive Like a Girl, featuring Australia’s top racing driver, Molly Taylor, has been nominated for the Best Documentary Feature at the 2026 International Motor Film Awards in Los Angeles.
The slick documentary follows the pioneering Arcadia driver’s incredible rise to become the World Rally Champion and lift the World Extreme E Championship.
Welcome First Child
It’s been a momentous year for Taylor and her partner Daniel Gardner, who welcomed their first child, Georgia, in August. She said she will take a short break before returning to racing, hopefully later this year.
Drive Like a Girl was screened on Australian free-to-air and pay TV, already winning an award from Motorsport Australia. The awards ceremony will be held on November 14.
“It’s something we’ve been working on for about two years, so for it to see the light of day is a special thing,” Taylor told Motorsport Australia. “We wanted to show not only our season last year in rally and Extreme E, but also a behind-the-scenes that goes into making motorsport happen, all the highs and the lows, the nights in the workshop, the teamwork and all of the people who volunteer their time to make it happen.
Fly On The Wall
“Just trying to be a fly on the wall and offer a unique perspective, one that covers our experience in motorsport.”
The first Australian woman to compete and finish in the fearsome Paris-Dakar Rally, Taylor won many titles, including the E All-Electric Championship, the Australian Rally Championship – being the youngest and first woman – and the European Ladies Championship.
In 2015, Taylor was awarded the prestigious Peter Brock Medal, named after the legendary motor racer. Incidentally, her mother, Coral Taylor – a six-time Australian rally champion – also won the same medal 10 years later.
The film is directed and produced by award-winning Sean Lander, alongside Gardner and Taylor. It has been produced by Lander’s Unleaded Films, in collaboration with Gardner and Taylor’s The MaD Garage.
“The International Motor Film Awards is the place of legends,” said Lander. “For our low-budget documentary to be nominated alongside some of the titans of the film industry is an honour and a privilege. Molly’s Story Resonates
“I think it goes to show that Molly’s story resonates across industries, and that seeing someone give their all to reach the top of their chosen vocation is compelling, no matter the track surface.”
Drive Like A Girl is in one of the most competitive categories at the leading automotive film and television awards event.
The film exposes the reality of what it takes to succeed in an unforgiving sport. “Everyone’s experience will be different,” said Taylor, who starred in Seven’s SAS Australia. “But I think hopefully it sheds light on conversations and perspectives that haven’t really been spoken about because there just haven’t been as many women in motorsport and we’re getting more and more, which is fantastic,” Taylor added.
Lot Of Work to Do
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do, so hopefully we can be a big part of that change and make a space where more women can have more fulfilling and longer careers in motorsport.”
The film is available to watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/U6CnsWlVAkc
