MOTORSPORT UK’s Head of Club and Community Developments, Claire Kirkpatrick, talks to Gemma Cockrell about their exciting new programme

Following research that revealed that many children from racially diverse backgrounds are inspired by the success of Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton but almost all of them have little or no understanding of how to enter the sport in the first instance, Motorsport UK – the governing body for four-wheeled motorsport within the United Kingdom – are striving for change.

They have introduced Race for Diversity, a new scheme which follows on from the success of their Girls on Trackprogramme.

So far, it has been piloted in both Manchester and London, where secondary school students from Year 7 and Year 9 took part in five different activities related to motorsport and engineering across four days in total.

“We took over Girls on Track in 2020 but it started back in 2016, and it’s only now that it’s really getting traction and we’re getting success stories of young women working in the sport.

“We know it takes a long time, but we know it works, so this is why we’re doing it for diversity, too,” says Kirkpatrick.

“It’s about opening their eyes to motorsport and making them aware of the different roles and careers that are available. It’s all about trying to encourage more people to try to see that motorsport is a career for them,” she adds.

There are different barriers for different people, but it’s about breaking down those preconceived ideas

Motorsport UK’s Head of Club and Community Developments, Claire Kirkpatrick

They partnered with both the Association For Black Engineers (AFBE) and Wavey Dynamics, a specialist engineering and design consultant, to run activities at the pilot events.

The Mercedes Formula 1 High Performance Powertrain (HPP) department were also present as visible role models, something that Motorsport UK realise the importance of.

“We worked closely with our Racial Diversity Expert Committee to identify role models within the sport who could come along to the events,” Kirkpatrick adds.

“Once the students see someone they relate to, they believe they can do it, too. I think seeing it to believe you can do it is so important, and it’s something we really strive to do at these events.”

Motorsport UK want to subvert the stereotypes surrounding STEM subjects and careers, and they believe that highlighting the creative elements that are woven into engineering roles within motorsport would encourage more young people to persevere with these subjects at the school level.

Recently, some engineers have even begun to add an ‘A’ into the acronym, referring to the sector as ‘STEAM’ rather than STEM to acknowledge the arts element of their roles that is often overlooked or forgotten.

“You can’t be an engineer without being creative,” Kirkpatrick says. “You need to be able to think outside the box and problem solve.”

Another myth that Motorsport UK are trying to debunk is that working in motorsport is an unattainable career path for young people, particularly those from racially diverse backgrounds, by highlighting routes into the industry that people may be unaware of.

“We have so much grassroots motorsport across the UK. I think people fixate on Formula 1, but actually, there’s so much out there. It’s not as hard as people might think it is.

“There are different barriers for different people, but it’s about breaking down those preconceived ideas.

“This is a pilot, so it’s just the beginning,” she adds, and while there are no dates in the diary for future events just yet, she confirms that Motorsport UK are busy putting plans into place to build on the success of their pilot events, which will be revealed soon.