Silverstone British GT Dare to be Different Community Connect

Dare to be Different Community Connect (Photo by Marc Waller)

Dare to be Different Community Connect (Photo by Marc Waller)Not only do I have a strong passion for Motorsport and being a racing driver, I also love to see other female talent flourish within such a male dominated sport.

Nothing (apart from racing itself) gives me more of a thrill than seeing someone that I have helped, be successfull in what they do. It’s just in my nature. With all of this in mind, I joined the Dare to be Different organisation which was pioneered and launched by Formula 1’s Susie Wolff at the Autosport Show in January 2016. On that very same weekend, my sponsors TBR and Race Engineered launched our fiesta only a few stands away from Susie and the Dare to be Different team. This then really inspired me to attend their first community connect event.

The first event took place in the Brooklands Suite at Silverstone which was on the weekend of the GT. Susie had invited special guests such as ITV presenter Louise Goodman and Kathryn Richards who is Mercedes F1 wind tunnel test technician. Hearing their stories and discovering how these inspirational ladies made their dreams turn into reality proved to me that you can do anything you put your mind to.

Throughout the day, I connected with some really inspiring ladies and girls, which was such an eye opener. Whether their passion was media related, engineering or driving itself, I was stunned to see how many ladies attended the event and loved hearing every single individual story.

On May 5th this year, I took a trip to iZone Driver Performance which really gave me the skill and confidence I needed to achieve a Lap Record in an A Class Hot Hatch Fiesta on the Silverstone National circuit. As the team at iZone helped me, I wanted to give something back, so I invited a close friend and fellow racing driver, Katie Milner (www.KatieMilner.com) to come and experience the iZone for herself. After only an hour session, Katie went into round 9 & 10 of the Junior Saloon Car Championship and achieved pole position, fastest lap and took the championship lead.

Motorsport is perceived to be a male dominated sport from the outside, however if you’re involved within motorsport, you’ll soon see there is more and more female talent expanding and blooming year upon year. With my goal set firmly on competing in the British Touring Car Championships, my gender will definitely not prevent me from reaching my dreams. By Alice Hughes

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