Ellexandra Best

 

Ellexandra Best is most known for racing in the Australian Production Car Championship, where she is an outright race winner. 

She shot to prominence in 2016, she drove a Toyota Echo in Class E of the APC and was second in the class standings. Her best overall finish was twelfth, at Sydney. She was the youngest driver ever to compete in the series, at seventeen. 

Previously, she raced a Hyundai Excel, first in the 2015 NSW Excel Racing Series, and then in the 2016 Victorian Excel Championship. 

Back in the APC in 2017, she raced a Toyota Corolla and had a best finish of seventh overall, at Winton. She was 24th in the championship as she only did three quarters of the rounds. This was her second year with Lauren Gray Motorsport, founded by racer Lauren Gray. Her team-mate was Michael Gray. 

In 2018, she split her time between the APC and the Toyota 86 Racing Series. Her car for the APC was a Kia Pro Ceed run by Conroy Motorsport. It was not the most successful year; she was unable to start the first two rounds and only managed a thirteenth place at Winton as the best of her three finishes. Her two Toyota 86 races were part of an Aussie Driver Search programme and she was competing against her brother Zak.

She also returned to Lauren Gray's team for the Bathurst 6 Hours, finishing third in the Production class. She and her two team-mates used a Toyota Corolla. 

Her first race win was in 2019. She had missed the first few rounds of the APC but her debut in a Mitsubishi Lancer gave her a win at Phillip Island. She returned for the races at The Bend later in the season but the best result from her four races was a fourteenth place. She was 15th overall. This time, she and Zak were team-mates.

After a break, she entered the 2021 V8 SuperUte Series for four rounds at Sydney Motorsports Park, finishing in the top ten each time. She was twelfth in the championship. She returned to Ute racing for 2022, having acquired and tested a Mitsubishi Triton pickup. She was twelfth in her first race at Symmons Plain on her first visit to the circuit. The top tens began at the next round at Barbagallo, where she was ninth and eighth. These were the first of nine top tens, leading to championship ninth.

She was 13th in SuperUtes in 2023, not having had as good a season as the year before. She was thirteenth in the championship, with two twelfth places at Barbagallo and Mount Panorama as her best finishes. Cars had also not been forgotten: she was part of a three-woman team in a BMW E82 for the Bathurst 6 Hours, with Courtney Prince and Karlie Buccini. They were third in their class and 21st overall.

Another season in SuperUtes beckoned in 2024, this time driving a Mazda pickup. She was 16th in the championship, with a best finish of eleventh  at Mount Panorama.

The same Ute, driver and team combination tackled the 2025 SuperUtes series, and the championship result was also the same: 16th. Her best individual result this time was a fourteenth place at Sandown.

(Image copyright Ellexandra Best)

Female Drivers at the Bathurst 12 Hours: the results

Rahel Frey in the Audi pits in 2014

Despite its relatively short history, the Bathurst 12 Hours is one of Australia’s biggest motorsport events. It began in 1991 as an endurance race for touring cars, in the spirit of the original Bathurst 1000 races, which had, by then, become far more specialised. The race has had several incarnations, with different rules and classes. One year, 1995, it moved to Eastern Creek Raceway. In 2002, it was relaunched, after a hiatus, as a 24-hour race, but this proved unpopular, and it returned in its original format in 2007. Since then, it has incorporated classes for production saloons, touring cars and GT and sportscars.

Female drivers have been involved in the race almost from the start, and have scored several top-ten finishes. Some of Australia’s most accomplished women drivers have done well. In recent years, female participation has declined, but this may reverse in due course.

Here are the results of all female drivers in the Bathurst 12 Hours. As ever, in the case of a mixed team, the woman’s name comes first, for clarity. For profiles of some of the drivers involved, please click here.

1992

Melinda Price/Tracey Taylor/Michelle Callaghan (Nissan Pulsar SSS) – 17^th

Jane Taylor/Alf Grant/Peter Brierley (Holden VN Commodore S) – DNF

1993

Jane Taylor/Chris Wiles/Chris Clearihan (Citroen BX16) – DNF

1994

Michelle Callaghan/Brian Callaghan/Chris Symmonds (Toyota Corolla GTi) – 23^rd

Heather Baillie/Gwenda Searle (Toyota Celica ZR) – DNF

1995 (Eastern Creek 12 Hour)

Liz Hurst/Greg Hurst/Andrew Leithead (Subaru Impreza WRX) – 6^th

2002 (Bathurst 24 Hours)

Melinda Price/Herman Tilke/Peter Hansen (Honda S2000) – 14^th

Debbie Chapman/Dennis Chapman/Scott O’Donnell/Lindsay O’Donnell (BMW 318i) – DNF

2003 (Bathurst 24 Hours)

Heather Spurle/Martin Short/Patrick Pearce/Charles Lamb (Mosler MT900R) – 5^th

Liz Halliday/Andrew Donaldson/Ian Donaldson/Peter Floyd (Porsche 996 GT3-RS) – 7th

Melinda Price/Hermann Tilke/Tim Harvey/Jonathon Rowland (Porsche 996 GT3-RS) – DNF

2007

Amber Anderson/Danielle Argiro/Helen Stig (Toyota Celica SX) – 21^st

Leanne Tander/Lauren Gray/Christina Orr/Samantha Reid (Holden Astra CDTi Turbo) – DNF

2009

Leanne Tander/Lee Burges/Terry Conroy (Honda Integra Type S) – 13^th

Lauren Gray/Rob Thomson/John de Veth (BMW 130i) – 26^th

Christina Orr/Heather Spurle/Molly Taylor (Subaru Impreza) – 27^th

2010

Leanne Tander/Terry Conroy/Gerry Burgess (Honda Integra Type S) – 13^th

Lauren Gray/Michael Gray/Tony Head (Toyota Corolla Sportivo) – 19^th

2012

Sarah Harley/Robert Thomson/Christian Klien (Lotus Exige) – 9^th

2014

Rahel Frey/René Rast/Laurens Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS Ultra) – 5^th

2017
Leanne Tander/Nick Rowe/Gerard McLeod/Tim Leahey (MARC Mazda 3) - 30th

2018
Caitlin Wood/Justin McMillan/David Crampton/Tim Macrow (KTM X-Bow) - DNF

2019
Christina Nielsen/Yelmer Buurman/Mark Griffith (Mercedes-AMG GT3) - 13th
Caitlin Wood/Tim Macrow/Trent Harrison/David Crampton (KTM X-Bow GT4) - DNF

(Image from http://www.iolandeskinner.com/at-work/)

Lauren Gray

Lauren came to prominence as a frontrunner in the Australian Formula Three Trophy in 2006. In 2010, she made headlines, as part of the first father-daughter team to finish the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Her first major racing car was not a single-seater, but a Toyota Corolla, which she used in Improved Production races at State and National level, in 2003. That year, she made her first appearance in the Australian Production Car Championship, taking a guest spot in a smaller Proton Satria.

In 2004, she raced in the APCC, in the Satria again, finishing fourth in Class D after twelve races. This was in addition to some more club racing in the Corolla.

The following season, she took her first steps into single-seater racing. Bravely, she bypassed Formula Ford and Formula Vee, and jumped straight into the B class of the Australian Formula 3 championship. Despite her lack of open-wheel experience, she was fifth in the class, driving for the dominant Scud Racing team.

As well as a ten-race F3 schedule, Lauren was very busy in 2005, with a full programme of Production Car racing in a Toyota Echo Sportivo. She was third in Class C, and tenth overall.

2006 was another very full season. Lauren moved into the Trophy class of Australian F3, still with Scud Racing. She was one of the leading drivers, with two wins, nine additional podiums and an overall runner-up spot. Her F3 programme also took in the two Australian Grand Prix support races.

Touring cars had certainly not been forgotten. She returned to Class C of the APCC, and the Toyota Echo, and was third in class, fifteenth overall. This year, the Toyota was running under the “Lauren Gray Motorsport” banner. The team ran two cars, one for Lauren and one for Amber Anderson. As well as the APCC, Lauren Gray Motorsport made appearances in other production saloon racing series, and picked up points everywhere.  

She moved up to the National class of Australian F3 in 2007, and was second, driving a 2001-spec car. Another season in the APCC gave her a fifth in Class C, although the Echo was not really powerful enough to compete in the overall standings. She was 24^th in the championship.

In January, Lauren had been part of an all-female team for the Bathurst 12 Hours, with Leanne Tander, Samantha Reid and Christina Orr. They drove a Holden Astra, but did not finish.

Despite her obvious skill in a single-seater, she returned to saloon competition full-time for 2008, in the Australian Manufacturers' Championship. Her car was still the Toyota Echo and she won her class overall. During the season, she scored many class wins and even a few top ten overall finishes, despite having one of the smallest and least powerful cars in the field.

In 2009, she drove again at Bathurst for 12 Hour race, and recorded her first finish. Driving a BMW 130i with John deVeth and Rob Thomson, she was second in class and 19th overall. Unfortunately, this was her only big race of the season, although she did make some appearances in the Victorian State Improved Production Car series, driving a Toyota Corolla.

She contested the 2010 Australian Production Car Championship in a Toyota Corolla Sportivo, driving for her own team, and was tenth overall, although she only contested six rounds. At Phillip Island, her sister Maddison drove with her. Her father, Michael, was another team-mate to her, and the family theme continued at the Bathurst 12 Hours. The Lauren Gray Motorsport Corolla was fourth in class D. This was the first time that a father-daughter team had started the race, after Tania Gulson failed to qualify with her own family team. Tony Head was the Grays’ third driver. They were 19^th overall.

As well as the APRC, she did a few races in V8 Utes, driving a Holden Commodore pickup.

2011 was somewhat of a disjointed season, with some Production races in the Corolla, but not really enough to make a dent in the standings. She was sixth in Class D. The rest of the season was spent in a Holden Torana, in Sports Sedan races, at State and National level.

In 2012, she was set to contest the Aussie Racing Cars series, in a Holden Commodore, with the LaFemme Racing Academy team. This did not happen, and she spent the season hopping between Aussie Racing Cars and the Australian Production Championship, in a Commodore and a Toyota Echo respectively. She was driving for her own team, alongside her sister Maddison and Samantha Bennett. Lauren was third in Class E, just above Maddison. She did less well in Aussie Racing Cars, finishing 33^rd overall after a part-season.

2013 was spent mostly on “maternity leave”, but she returned to the circuits in 2014, again hopping between championships. Jumping back into a single-seater, she scored a few points in the Victorian State Formula Vee Championship, and did a part-season in the Manufacturers' Championship. Her car was a Ford Falcon, and her best result was an eleventh place in class, at Phillip Island. She was running in Class B, for Production cars. A part-season in the APCC, running the same car in Class C, gave her a fifteenth place overall. She was driving for the Australian Auto Wreckers team.

2015 was a quiet one for Lauren, on the competition front anyway. She has been following the US Rally Championship in America, with the FY Racing team. It seems that her future plans may lie in this direction.

In 2016, she did not race competitively, but Lauren Gray Motorsport ran cars for Ellexandra Best and Liam Thompson in the APC. She continued to run cars for Ellexandra and Michael Gray in 2017. She continued as a team owner and manager in 2018 and 2019.

(Image from http://www.amchamp.com.au/)