Professional drifting has gone from a niche event to a mainstream motorsport in just a handful of years, with many different drifting teams and organizations cropping up. While Formula Drift is the premier league in terms of top-level drifting, there are many other organizations and drivers for up-and-coming stars.

The Xtreme Drift Challenge is one such league where a surprising number of female participants can be found competing for the gold. Among them is Sarah Burgess, who recently made the switch from a Mazda RX-8 to a 2013 Ford Mustang for the 2012 season. Alas, Sarah’s most recent race ended with a nasty crash that took her out of competition, albeit only briefly.

During qualifying at XDC’s competition in Orlando Florida, Burgess hit the wall hard in her new Mustang. The damage was enough to end her weekend, though on her Facebook webpage Burgess was impressively upbeat about the whole thing. Her Ingite Racing Fuels Mustang is a big switch from the turbocharged Mazda RX-8 she drove last year, and it will take time to adapt to all that American muscle.  Burgess has pulled in some big sponsors though, including SPEC Clutches.

While the damage looks severe, it was just a few parts that were damaged (including Burgess’s ego). The radiator and outer tube had to be replaced, as well as body cladding, but other than that the Mustang and Burgess will be ready to go in the next round of the XDC. Here’s to hoping the next round goes better for our blonde drifter.