by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Dominic Valois

Age: 34

Occupation: Race car driver

Bio: This dynamic Nuns’ Island babe has been racing the BMW circuit since 1999, coming in first both times she’s raced up at Tremblant and consistently kicking ass on tracks around the continent. Initially inspired to compete after picking up a 1988 BMW Z3 Roadster for a mere $15,000, Dominic says she has always been passionate about cars, her first sporty vehicle being a first-generation Mazda RX7 that she used to cruise around in as a teenager.

What she currently races: A souped-up 1995 BMW M3 CSL Lightweight with a 3.2 litre engine under the hood.

The fastest she’s gotten her Beamer to go: 145 miles an hour.

Does she ever practice her racing skills on area highways? Yes, sometimes. “Mostly on the 13 [highway] up to Laval when there is no traffic.”

How many speeding tickets she’s gotten: Only one. “Going 120-something in a 70 kilometres an hour zone along the Bonaventure.”

How many times she’s seriously wiped out during competition: Twice, the first time destroying her vehicle.

In the immediate aftermath of the accident, was she more concerned about her health or the health of her Beamer? “My health, even though I only emerged with a concussion. I ended up selling the car for parts.”

Did wiping out dampen her enthusiasm for racing, perhaps inspiring her to pursue a more ladylike activity, like crochet? “Not at all.”

Do her male competitors often treat her with condescension? “No. But when I first started racing I really felt like I had to prove myself.”

Does she work on her own cars? Yes, but not exclusively.

Do friends and neighbours continually come around asking her to listen for strange noises coming from their differential, or to get down on her knees and work her magic on their Johnson rods? “Not really. I don’t have the facilities to work on cars where I live anyway.”

Do drivers sometimes suffer from road rage during competitions? “Yes, but in racing it’s called Red Mist. It’s when all reasoning and logic go out the window and you start driving like a maniac, usually resulting with you being up on a guard rail.”

Something that might happen for her in the next few months: A sponsorship deal that will allow her to race more frequently and send a bit of money her way.

Approximately what it costs to go pro and race full time: About $800,000 (U.S.) per season.

Something else she does: Work out five or six times a week. “It’s important to be in shape when you compete. You’re more alert, resistant to fatigue, and better able to cope in the heat.”

Where you might find her boozin’: Hurley’s.

Favourite local restaurant: Mediterraneo.

Childhood ambition: To become a veterinarian.

Last book read: Madonna: An Intimate Biography, by Randy Taraborrelli.

A recent film she dug: Catch Me If You Can.

Television preferences: Speed Vision, A&E, “the news.”

Words of wisdom: “Live everyday as though it were your last.” :

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca