A
USTRALIA’S quickest female? Try Australia’s
quickest, full stop. Kelly Bettes is just three
competitive meetings into her Top Fuel career
behind the wheel of the Lamattina Racing
dragster, and she’s already peeled off the
quickest 1000-foot pass this country has ever
seen. At Sydney Dragway in January, she laid down
a blistering 3.83@308mph to beat Damien Harris of
Rapisarda Autosport in the final and claim her first
Top Fuel event win.
Not too shabby for a rookie, but Kelly’s rapid ascent
in the Top Fuel ranks comes as little surprise to those
that have followed her progress.
The Victorian-born, Queensland-based dyed-in-the-
wool racer started out in Junior Dragsters when she
was 10, and has had success in almost everything
she’s pedalled. In 2010, she became the first female
to win the ANDRA Modified title, and since 2013 has
shown equally sharp reaction times and car control in
Jett Racing’s wild six-second Datsun ute.
Her chance to drive Top Fuel came last year,
when Lamattina Racing came calling. The family-
based team had been without a regular driver since
boss Phil Lamattina decided to step away from
the cockpit after surviving a terrifying wreck at the
2015 Winternationals, with both crew chief Aaron
Hambridge and US-based Aussie Richie Crampton
filling in temporarily. No doubt the Lamattinas are
now feeling vindicated by their decision, with Kelly
quickly settled into the seat and looming as a genuine
title threat.
SM spoke with the 33-year-old about her roots in
the sport, her first big win, and what it feels like to go
over 300mph.