The Cobden Tech student is making the most of a strong start to life in motorsport, travelling across the Bass Strait to take on a talent-loaded field at the Australian Wingless Sprints Championship.

Walsh loaded her V4 racer aboard the Spirit of Tasmania on Tuesday and will line-up for racing on Friday evening at the Carrick Speedway, 20 kilometres from Launceston in the state’s north.

The 17-year-old said she was beginning to get used to the fast-paced lifestyle of school, work and racing and was keenly anticipating the national championship series.

“I started wingless sprints last year and I’ve had my first full season of it under my belt this year,” she told The Standard.

“I only did a couple of shows last year and we’ve headed interstate to Sydney and Mount Gambier once or twice as well this year.”

Despite her young sprints career, Walsh said she would vie to be competitive at the national event.

“With the Tassie experience, I really want to just get through it all without crashing, first and foremost,” she said.

“We’ve had had about six meeting this year. Last year, I had three wins. One was in an all-girls races and the other two were open.

“This season, I’ve tried to set myself a top-10 goal in each of the series rounds and I’ve done that three out of about four times.”

Walsh followed a pathway carved by many other aspiring motorsport drivers, graduating from racing junior sedans to wingless sprints.

“With junior sedans … it was a good transition to the wingless sprints,” she said.

“You’ve got a lot more horsepower and you’re racing against different people. In junior sedans you’re in your age groups but in wingless sprints it’s against everybody.

“You’re coming up against adults and not so much kids.”

Fellow south-west hopefuls Luke Weel and Mathew Balcombe will also make the trip down to Tasmania to contest the Australian championship.

Weel, who flew to Launceston after loading his car to the Spirit of Tasmania on Tuesday, was excited to race for the first time on Tasmanian soil.

“We’re feeling comfortable with the car and we’re hoping for a good, clean run through the heats and hopefully into the feature,” he said.

“I’ve never been down to Tassie at all. It’ll be a bit of an eye-opener.

“Obviously the goal is to make the feature on the final night but for right now my focus is on getting through the heats unscathed.”