Other Sport / motorsport
The Bristol girl challenging gender stereotypes in motorsport
If you were to ask anyone, including many avid motorsport fans for that matter, to name a famous female racing driver, you would more often than not be met with a look of bewilderment.
A study carried out last year discovered that female participation in motorsport stands at approximately 10 per cent, with a lack of role models, an inability to raise funds due to prejudice and inadequate levels of female-specific training preventing women from breaking into the sport.
This gender imbalance is certainly something Luke Cooper, a Formula Ford Driver who helps coach young racers at Castle Combe Kart Track in Chippenham, has witnessed in his 20 years of karting.
is needed now More than ever
The karting world “has been significantly dominated by men, with female participants being a rare sight,” said Cooper. “It was uncommon to see more than a couple of girls in any race series.”
However, Cooper believes that a shift is gradually starting to occur in the sport: “More girls are becoming interested in trying karting and, naturally, this results in more girls wishing to pursue racing further and try out championship racing as they look to pursue a career within the sport.”
The Castle Combe Karting Championships are the Premier Rental Karting Championships in the South West – photo: JMP
This shift is already in full flow at Castle Combe, with ten girls currently racing in their Junior Championship and another five in their racing school looking to join the championship races soon. Before last year, no more than five girls had raced in the Championship each season.
At the forefront of what Cooper calls an “incredibly heartening” increase in female representation at Castle Combe is 15-year-old Bristolian Lauren Dunleavy.
Starting by learning the basics at an indoor track at TeamSport Go Karting in Avonmouth, it didn’t take long for Lauren to find her feet in the racing world as she quickly moved on to test her speed on an outdoor track when she entered the 2022 Castle Combe Junior Championships.
This first year of competitive action couldn’t have gone much better for Lauren as she picked up the Rookie Championship. However, rather than simply basking in her success, she set her sights on competing for the overall championship in 2023.
Despite being intimidated by the male-dominated environment, Lauren fought her way to multiple podiums – photo: Ingrid Bates
Despite still being relatively inexperienced compared to her fellow racers, Lauren claimed one victory and four podiums on her way to finishing fifth out of 86 drivers. In doing so, she became the first-ever female to win a round in the 30-year history of the Championship.
Reflecting on this historic achievement, Lauren said: “It was really amazing to be the first girl to win a round, and I’m incredibly proud of that, but at the same time, it’s a bit sad that it has taken this long.
“I know that in the next five years or so, there will be a lot more girls on the podium.”
Entering a male-dominated environment was something Lauren initially found a real challenge: “At first, it was intimidating because people might view you differently and with the boys being really loud and having a lot of banter with each other, it made me feel slightly on edge.
“When I won last year, some of the boys were saying that I had been given a faster kart, which shows you the gender divide in the sport, but hopefully that will change in the future.”
Lauren hopes that she can “prove all of these doubters wrong” by going on to achieve big things in the sport.
Having worked closely with Lauren during her short motorsport career, Luke Cooper is certain she will do just that: “Given Lauren’s demonstrated talent, work ethic, and achievements so far, she has the potential to go very far in motorsport.”
So, what’s next for Lauren? Well, after recently acquiring her Motorsport UK licence, she now plans to spend her summer racing Rotax karts at national level down in Dorchester at Clay Pigeon Raceway.
Gaining her Motorsport UK licence is a big step in the right direction for Lauren – photo: Ingrid Bates
This format of karting, according to Lauren, helps drivers “develop much faster” as they will often join a team and receive coaching that allows them to “understand exactly where they need to improve”.
Looking even further into the future, Lauren hopes to eventually move away from karting with her sights firmly set on racing single-seater cars as part of the “long-term goal of one day reaching Formula One”.
However, possessing skill and talent isn’t always enough to succeed in motorsport, as the astronomical costs involved with transitioning from karts to cars mean it’s essential to secure funding to guarantee regular opportunities to practice and race at higher levels.
While Bristol businesses Humble Bee Films, Wessex Garages and Eatchu have all committed to supporting Lauren’s budding racing career, if she is to make the leap to racing cars, she will need more businesses to get on board and be part of her journey.
Lauren is also hoping to land a place on one of several initiatives aimed at promoting female participation in motorsport.
These initiatives, namely ‘More Than Equal’, founded by ex-Formula One driver David Coulthard, Motorsport UK Academy, and F1 Academy, are immensely competitive but offer Lauren the greatest opportunity to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
“I listened to a podcast recently which said that within the next ten years, there should be at least one female in F1”, said Lauren. The way things are going, there’s no reason why she can’t go on to be that female.
To stay up to date with Lauren’s journey, follow her Instagram @l.dunleavy35
Main Photo: Ingrid Bates
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