Ana Paterson

Ana Paterson’s rise through the drag racing ranks started in a more predictable way than that of a few other racers, and that was behind the wheel of a junior dragster. However, with Ana being what some may call ‘hypercompetitive’, that was never going to be the end of her racing career. While she did step aside from the sport after outgrowing the junior, she moved into kick-boxing, becoming the New Zealand champ for semi-contact in 2010. Ana’s also just as fierce on the golf course, and, in more recently times, has taken to Muay Thai fighting, winning her first full contact fight in 2015. That same determination has seen her complete a Bachelor of Business Analysis, majoring in accounting and specializing in agribusiness, which she does as a day job. When Ana’s younger brother Cameron stepped up from his four-cylinder-powered front-engine dragster in 2016, his car became available, and it wasn’t long before Ana was in the hot seat, sharing driving duties with sister-in-law Monique. These days, it’s just Ana on driving duties, and she’s proved to be no slouch, racking up a PB to date of 9.53s at 137mph — impressive stuff for a 166ci naturally aspirated engine combo. With limited seat time compared with that of many other drivers out there, her best racing achievement so far has been coming third in Super Comp at the recent Comp Meeting 4 at Meremere Dragway. While fear isn’t really a word in Ana’s vocabulary, a wild ride through the finish line that saw her heading straight for the track crew did get the heart racing somewhat. For now, Ana’s goal is not only to improve that third place result to an event win but also to try to eclipse Cameron’s time of 9.41s in the car. From there, she’d ideally like to get behind the wheel of his supercharged small block–powered car [below left], a vehicle that’s run into the 7.5s. While we think Ana’s probably going to have trouble prying Cameron out of the seat, we’ve also seen how determined she is to achieve her goals, so we have no doubt it’ll happen! SPONSORS: Carters Tyre Service, Wires Works, Lichfield Poultry Farm

A WILD RIDE THROUGH THE FINISH LINE THAT SAW HER HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THE TRACK CREW DID GET THE HEART RACING SOMEWHAT