Like "being shot out of a cannon" is the closest comparison that driver Susanne Callin can come up with for the extreme motorsport she competes in.
asserted
she → shoot → motorsport
She is a two-time European champion in Top Fuel drag racing - often described as the fastest sport on the planet.
asserted
She → describe → planet
Races begin with a bone-shaking roar, as the world's fastest-accelerating cars leave the starting line, flames bursting out of their exhaust pipes.
asserted
flames → begin → pipes
The cars surge to more than 300mph (483km/h) in races that last just four seconds, with drivers experiencing more g-force than an astronaut launching into space.
asserted
drivers → surge → space
It is the only elite class of motorsport where women frequently beat men to major titles.
asserted
women → beat → titles
Women have won seven out of the past nine European Championships, while, until recently, female US driver Brittany Force held the world speed record in the sport.
asserted
Force → win → sport
In comparison, it is 50 years since a woman even competed in a Formula 1 Grand Prix race.
asserted
woman → compete → race
Women account for about 10% of participants across motorsport, and just 4% of elite drivers, according to campaign group More Than Equal.
uncertain
Women → account → Equal
However, they made up 20% of the drivers competing in this year's US and European Top Fuel seasons.
asserted
they → make → seasons
So why is this high-velocity motorsport bucking the trend?
asserted
motorsport → buck → trend
More Than Equal has described drag racing as "the most gender-equal motorsport in the world".
asserted
More → describe → world
Top Fuel is its most extreme form, named in reference to the powerful nitromethane fuel the cars run on.
asserted
cars → name → fuel
Races take place on a straight track, just 1,000 feet (305 metres) long.
asserted
Races → take → track
Usually, two cars race each other.
asserted
cars → race → other
The intense g-force hits in the first second of the race, as the cars go from stationary to 100mph, with a second gut punch following as the clutch fully engages about half-way through.
asserted
clutch → hit → mph
It can look terrifying.
asserted
It → look → ?
The adrenalin rush is "extremely addictive", Swedish driver Callin, aged 43, tells BBC Global Women.
asserted
Callin → tell → Women
Concern over the risks "is always there" she says, but "the safety really does work".
asserted
safety → say → risks
Drivers are highly protected and safety precautions have been boosted further after fatal crashes in nitromethane-fuelled cars in 2004 and 2008, with races reduced in length.
asserted
races → protect → length
Even just watching from the stands is a visceral experience, with vibrations shaking your body and the ground.
asserted
vibrations → watch → body
Spectators are advised to wear ear defenders - the noise is comparable in decibels to standing next to a fighter jet taking off.
asserted
noise → advise → jet
The highest official speed ever reached in a Top Fuel drag race is over 346mph, compared to 231mph in a Formula 1 Grand Prix.
asserted
speed → reach → Prix
Brakes alone cannot slow the cars fast enough, so parachutes are deployed from the car's rear at the finish.
asserted
parachutes → slow → finish
The abrupt halt is "like someone kicking you in the chest", says Callin.
asserted
Callin → kick → chest
"You lose your breath."
asserted
You → lose → breath
Top Fuel drivers need lightning-fast reactions and the physical endurance to withstand the intense forces.
asserted
drivers → need → forces
Precision driving skills are crucial as constant tiny adjustments are needed to keep the car on track.
asserted
adjustments → need → track
"It has to be instant reactions with everything," says Callin.
asserted
Callin → have → everything
"By the time you've thought about it, it's too late…
asserted
it → think → it
You really have to be one with the car."
asserted
You → have → car
And drivers need sheer guts.
asserted
drivers → need → guts
As Callin's rival and friend, 32-year-old Swiss driver Jndia Erbacher, jokingly tells the BBC - it takes "balls".
asserted
it → tell → balls
Callin clinched her second successive European Top Fuel title in September at the Santa Pod drag strip near Northampton.
asserted
Callin → clinch → Northampton
It is the fourth year in a row that a female driver has won the title.
asserted
driver → win → title
Meanwhile in the US, the record-setting Brittany Force won the US championship - run by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) - in both 2017 and 2022.
asserted
Force → set → 2017
Drag racing is "highly unusual" among motorsports, says Fran Longstaff, chief innovation officer at More Than Equal, which supports and campaigns for women in motorsports.
asserted
which → say → motorsports
Seeing women competing and winning in the sport has become "normalised rather than treated as exceptional", she says, including with "sustained success" in Top Fuel.
asserted
she → see → Fuel
Research she co-led into why drag racing leads the way for equality in motorsport did not identify physical or biological factors, she says.
asserted
she → co → factors
Instead, she points to a "continuous stream of visible female role models", as well as the sport's "accessible grassroots structure, junior programmes, open pits and family-oriented, collaborative culture".
asserted
she → point → models
In drag racing, points out Callin, women started winning major races "decades and decades ago".
asserted
women → point → races
…and 47 more, not listed.
The Aporia
