Not so long ago, having a female driver on a grid was considered something of a novelty. Now, with increasing numbers of women taking up the sport, it’s becoming a little more commonplace. Whether as the result of all-female categories like W Series or F1 Academy, or a variety of grassroots initiatives, the idea of attracting more women into motorsport is in the spotlight now more than ever. And governing body Motorsport UK is determined to play a leading role in this.
Its CEO Hugh Chambers says the organisation has progressed a long way in the past five or six years since efforts to increase female participation began in earnest. “We’re now into a far more exciting period, which is a maturing of those programmes,” he explains. “What I mean by that is they no longer sit adjacent to the rest of the sport, they’re in the sport. So, every discipline, every activity with marshals, getting more females involved in the sport is an integral part of everything that we do.”
One example is the Girls on Track scheme, launched a decade ago by Susie Wolff as Dare to be Different. In its current guise, it’s formed of two strands. First up is the education programme where events are held in schools to promote careers in STEM subjects (the areas of science, technology, engineering and maths that are so vital for many motorsport roles) to girls. Last year alone, nearly a thousand girls took part in such events, and they are supported by a range of high-profile partners, including Alpine, McLaren, Williams and Microsoft. The other key element of Girls on Track is the community of over 8000 members that can share experiences.
“We can support people to find their way to their next step, whether that's finding friends – other women or other girls that are interested in motorsport and want to talk about it – but it's also around networking events,” says Jess Runicles, Motorsport UK’s head of sustainability, who also oversees diversity and inclusion. “Jenny [Fletcher, who runs Girls on Track UK] always talks about inspiring, showcasing and connecting.”
While Girls on Track revolves around getting more women involved in the motorsport industry in general, another scheme that Motorsport UK launched last year – in conjunction with F1 Academy – is more focused on the driving side. Discover Your Drive enables 8-12-year-old girls to experience motorsport in the form of indoor karting events held during school holidays – for example, 137 took part in such a gathering in February half-term. And indoor karting is a deliberate choice for this starting point as the barriers to entry are far less significant. “You don’t have to have any of that knowledge or equipment to get started,” says Runicles. “From those DYD days, the instructors and coaches at Team Sport identify those that show promise and they’re invited into what we call Race Academies – they’ll have five sessions in female-only environments where they learn things like racing lines and overtaking, and then they’ll be integrated back with the boys to race alongside them in further Race Academies. And then the aim is to diversify the applicants of the British Indoor Karting Championship. Last year, we managed to get one DYD girl into the final and we have a bigger ambition this year.”
Source: Autosport