Michele Abbate, ably co-driven by Michelle Miller, aced her first rally at the Tour de Forest
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
Pulling up to the stop line, Michele Abbate loosened her belts and relaxed. She’d done it. She’d written her story: from road racer to rally driver.
The DirtFish Women in Motorsport Driver had been clear from the start: her priority was the finish. Saturday’s Tour de Forest was her first ever rally and it was mission accomplished. After accepting the congratulations of the whole DirtFish team, Michele couldn’t help herself – the competitive element which has carried her to so much success on track was burning bright between the trees.
“It’s great to get to the finish,” she said. “I’ve learned so much and I feel great… but I really want to see the times in the last stage. It felt pretty good in there.”
Leading up to her competitive debut, Michele has spent time in-car at DirtFish Rally School, being taught stage craft. She’s a quick learner. Guiding the Element Rally Sport-run Subaru BRZ to second fastest L2WD time on the final stage was the perfect way to end the day in the Washington state woods.
“The day was great,” she said. “I feel like I progressed throughout it, got more comfortable. I was kind of surprised at the limited grip we had out there. Being a novice, I didn’t know how much grip to expect and maybe that’s normal. But there were a couple of places where I was thinking the car was going to stick and it’s still sliding, sliding, sliding – and it’s like: ‘Oooh.’
Abbate used her training at DirtFish Rally School well to quickly find comfort in the rally
“Obviously on the gravel, it’s a lot different, but I kind of know what not to do when things are going wrong and what to do to save things. Weight transfer is huge, the car balance and the whole pitching the car in before the corner thing.
“I was quite nervous before the first stage. You tell yourself not to be, but it’s natural. It’s like this for me in road racing, it’s qualifying, then the race and you just go do it and the butterflies go away. After that first one, the nerves all went away.
“The third stage was cancelled, which was a shame – I was looking forward to having a go in there. But the last stage really felt pretty good.”
Michele also progressed quickly with her co-driver, DirtFish senior instructor Michelle Miller.
“I was depending on them [the pacenotes] more and more,” said Abbate. “It was definitely coming more naturally to me. The timing was really good with Michelle, I think I’m ready to add more detail into my notes. There was only one section where I was a little confused, but Michelle really helped and we picked it up quickly. I had an absolute blast. This was a great learning experience for someone going into their first rally.
“I’ve only been to one rally school and it’s DirtFish. I’ve been a few times and every single time I go I learn something new. DirtFish has really helped me develop a love of rally and it has made me feel welcome in the sport which is huge because, unfortunately, in road racing, I don’t always feel welcome – but I’ve earned a spot in road racing, so I’m OK with that at the same time.
What a team! Michele and Michelle
“But, DirtFish? I love the place. I love the staff, I love being there, and I can’t wait to go back. The support’s been amazing here today. And I can’t wait to get back out rallying again – I have a message for other women who want to come and get involved: don’t make excuses, just come out and play!”
A brake issue on the second stage cost Michele time on her debut, but didn’t detract from a stellar result. From the co-driver’s seat, Miller was impressed with what she saw.
“It’s been so awesome to get her first event done,” she said. “It’s really cool to see her progression through school and into this first rally. You get to see this moment when you’re into the stages and every mile it’s getting better and better and better – and when you’re done, it’s like: ‘I just did that!’ It was so cool and amazing to be part of it.
“We got to the finish line of the last stage and she’s already talking about her next event!”
There was plenty of support on the roads around Shelton, not least from Michele’s fellow DirtFish Women in Motorsport Driver Aoife Raftery. Fresh from her own amazing third overall on the Overmountain Rally – last month’s penultimate round of the ARA National Championship – the Irishwoman was between the trees cheering on her team-mate.
Hanging it out sideways impressed plenty - including fellow DirtFish WiM Driver Aoife Raftery
“It’s been fantastic to see Michele out there competing,” said Aoife. “It was quite special to be able to support her. She’s had really good pace and built the confidence all day. Michele has so much experience of circuit racing, it’s tough to come to something completely new like this – but she’s done really good work at DirtFish and it’s great to see her bringing all of that stuff she’s learned to a rally. She’s been amazing.”
DirtFish Women in Motorsport coordinator Josie Rimmer couldn’t have been prouder of Michele and Michelle. Aoife’s podium in Tennessee last month allied to Saturday’s result is demonstrating the strength of the program.
Josie said: “The goal with Michele, with Aoife, and with the DirtFish Women in Motorsport initiative as a whole is to take it to the very top. What’s really cool for me to see is, of course we’ve got Aoife who has plenty of history with rally cars and competing in international rallies… and today we saw Michele Abbate at the other end of her journey in rallying – competing on her very, very first gravel rally.
“I love seeing the two different paths, the two different trajectories coming from two different backgrounds. I think it’s hugely impactful, not only on those two as Women in Motorsport athletes, but as the younger generation looking up to them. They get to see that no matter what your past is, no matter where you may end up, there’s a spot for you here, there’s a seat for you, and you can hit those roads and take them just as fast as anybody else.”
The Tour de Forest being a local event to DirtFish, Michele and Michelle weren’t the only ones flying the flag, with Michael Honn taking a sensational sixth overall in his Subaru. Jack Harrison and Eric Schofhauser placed their Impreza inside the top 20 after a long lay-off from the stages.
Steven Redd took victory aboard his Ford Fiesta R5, with Josh Gierman 30 seconds behind him in a three-liter Subaru. Nick Wood was an impressive third overall and O2WD class winner in his 1971 Datsun.
Words:David Evans
Tags: ARA, ARA 2025, DirtFish Women in Motorsport, Michele Abbate, Tour de Forest Rally, Tour de Forest Rally 2025, Women in motorsport
Publish Date October 5, 2025 DirtFish
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