International Womens Day 2026 and Car Maintenance.

I love helping people overcome their fears of driving & to see a client’s relief after they drive the iDriveSim Training simulators. At a recent event I had to hold back on my own enthusiastic feelings. I wanted to push my Subaru Forester harder but it isn’t built for running continuous hot laps at Qld Raceways. I am glad I have learnt lessons about car performance & capability from grassroots racing.

My goal for this special day was to support IWD & BCNA, to relive my memories of racing this track, to feel the car & to practice sighting markers. I felt so happy to do what I have loved for all of my life as well as meeting & learning from the participants & presenters.

I was aware of looking after the car temperature & I found myself looking for the old-fashioned temperature gauge like I had in my track car. It turns out there isn’t a traditional analog needle temperature gauge. Instead, it uses a blue, red and blinking red coolant temperature light to indicate engine status, with NO light indicating normal operating temperatures. This is visible in the Subaru centre top display (or OBDII scanners). Stay with the tech peeps :)

I loved the feel of tyre grip, I was conscious of brake pad wear, the road/rubber debris on track, the corner angles & surface. I was cautious of the throttle & brake application in light wet conditions, the rippled kerbs, using the whole track width for minimal steering angle. To manage the car I would alternate a slow lap to practice lines & focus then I would do a moderate/fast lap.

It sure was nice to feel the forces of motion, work the angles & put simulator practice back into the real world. No wonder the professionals do it! The transition felt so smooth & easy.

I’ve been asked before, why do I love racing? Isn’t it scary? 

Answer - I’d much rather be on a race track than on todays highways but the racing skills I’ve learnt (& will continue to update) keep me sharp, safe & confident. 

I can’t believe the risks unaware people take & raising this awareness with clients is my mission.

A few tips I had to remember from my previous auto club days. Don’t apply the handbrake after running hot laps. The car components get extremely hot so be careful & be on the look out for fluid leaks. 

After the IWD event I booked my car in for a check up of the tyres, brake pads, rotors & engine bay. I’m in my car everyday & I’m always looking & listening for symptoms. Regular checks & maintenance helps keep a car reliable. Its as easy as P.O.W.E.R - Petrol, Oil, Water, Electrics & Rubber. (See the iDST shop for the Safe Drive Training eCourse, its all in there!)

Post note - my oil light came on while travelling the highway a few weeks after the event then went out a couple of minutes later. No leaks were found so back to the car manual. Turns out I have two oil warning lights & multiple causes were listed. I sort professional advice & at this stage it seems I may have burnt off some oil as it was low. I topped up the required amount of fresh oil & was reminded of the great location for an oil filter in this car! I would love to get my hands dirty but with all the technology I leave that to the experts these days.

I will continue my regular P.O.W.E.R. checks every 2 weeks to ensure everything is stable. It was also good to re-read the manual to refresh my memory about dash symbols. How many do you know that are specific for your vehicle especially with so much technology these days. Keep cruising!