130 GIRLS GET ON TRACK WITH MSA & D2BD AT SILVERSTONE
 The
MSA and Dare to be Different (D2BD) got 130 girls behind the wheel at
Silverstone yesterday (28 October) as part of the FIA’s Girls on
Track, an international initiative aiming to promote and develop young
women in motorsport.
The girls, aged 13 to 18, had registered
online for the free opportunity, with all available places filling up
in just three days after a surge of interest.
Once at
Silverstone the girls set timed laps around a kart track, and the top
ten from each session were interviewed for the chance to take part in
the European final at Le Mans next spring. Three girls were selected to
go through and will be announced on the MSA’s social media
channels at 16.00 on Wednesday (31 October).
Not only were the
girls able to hit the track, but they also gained an insight into
various aspects of motorsport through a series of challenges. They
included STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activities,
while the Renault Sport Formula One Team challenged the girls to change
the wheel of an F1® car in the same garages used by teams at the
British Grand Prix.
Tobii Pro ran a road safety-based
activity, using eye-tracking glasses to highlight the negative impact
of everyday distractions on awareness and attention to surroundings.
The data collected from the event will be used to aid future research
projects.
Meanwhile PerkinElmer showcased the science behind the
sport, challenging the girls to analyse three fuel samples and identify
the problematic one. The F1 in Schools programme was also on hand to
test reactions with a practice race start activity and a BATAK machine.
 Dare
to be Different ambassadors Jamie Chadwick, Louise Goodman, Nathalie
McGloin, Cristiana Pace, Natalie Pinkham, Alice Powell and Kathryn
Richards joined the girls for the day, offering advice from their own
motorsport careers and experiences. There were show cars, too,
including a Nio Formula E car and a Mini WRC machine, which were used
to inspire the girls and highlight the fact that a motorsport or
engineering career is both achievable and desirable.
Jamie
Chadwick, the British F3 race winner and D2BD Ambassador, said:
“The Girls on Track event was a great opportunity for lots of
young girls to get involved and enjoy their first taste of motorsport.
It was brilliant to see so many girls enjoying the karting and all the
other activities on offer – it’s an opportunity I wish
I’d had when I was starting out!”
Among the girls
taking part was 13-year-old Fern Mangeveld, who said: “My
favourite part was the karting; it’s not something you get to do
very often, so it was really fun to get the opportunity. My dad
competes in motorsport as a hobby and I’d love to continue in the
sport and follow in his footsteps.”
Suze Endean, MSA
Development Manager, added: “The event at Silverstone really
opened the girls’ eyes to everything that motorsport has to
offer, not only as an accessible and fun sporting activity but also as
a potential career choice. It was really rewarding to be able to
introduce so many young women to new ideas and possibilities, and to
see so many smiling faces at the end of the day.”
|
Home
| About | Events
| News | For Sale | Links 
