Women in Motorsport: In Focus

Following Susie Wolff’s Friday practice outings for Williams this summer at the British and German Grand Prix, the spotlight has once again been cast on the prospects of females in motorsport, one of few competitive sporting disciplines in which men and women compete on an equal footing. With many questioning whether Wolff’s role as team development driver is merited based on her past results, even going as far as branding Wolff merely a marketing ploy, it is clear that there is still some way to go for women to reach full acceptance, despite having consistently proven capable of matching – and beating – their male counterparts on track. 

Indeed, during the Group B era of rallying, France’s Michele Mouton was one of the stars of the show in the fearsome Audi Quattro and won three times, including on the Acropolis Rally, en-route to second in the 1982 World Championship behind team-mate Walter Röhrl, while Danica Patrick made headlines around the world when she won an IndyCar race at Motegi in 2008. No signs of any lack of aptitude there.

Although much work is still to be done, Susie Wolff's appearances in free practice
for Williams have been an inspiration to many. (Credit: Christopher Lee/ Getty Images)

The inescapable fact remains that motor racing is a very difficult sport to break into and even harder to make a career from, irrespective of gender. But momentum is certainly growing and Wolff’s competent testing performances are a timely reminder that women can cut it at the top level, even if the likelihood of Wolff starting a race would appear some way off.

For 18 year-old Emelie Liljeström, one of four females racing on the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship support bill in the Clio Cup, Wolff’s achievements are a significant encouragement and can only be a positive step forwards.

“It’s cool, so cool!” she says. “A lot of the other drivers in formula cars are only there because they have money, but I think she deserves it. It’s really inspiring and I hope it can be an encouragement to all other girls who are involved in motorsport that if she can get up there, then we can as well.”

The lack of female role models in motorsport is an enduring and well-recognised problem.  As good a job as Audi Sport’s Le Mans-winning engineer Leena Gade and Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn are doing behind the scenes, the sport craves a female driver for young girls to cheer and emulate; otherwise, the talent pool will remain small and very few will make it to the top in a self-perpetuating cycle. A large percentage of those girls that start in motorsport are only introduced through family connections, without which they would never have found their way through the door.

Liljeström (centre), pictured with Johanna Jovér, Emelie Moe, Kimilainen and Linda Johansson
 form a strong female contingent on the Swedish domestic scene. (Credit: Joakim Tärnström)

“I haven’t had any role models at all, I’ve always told myself that maybe I can one day be a role-model to someone else,” says STCC racer Emma Kimilainen. “If as many girls started racing as guys then there would be just as many talented girls as guys, but for now it’s hard to find a good talent because there aren’t so many starting – it’s not so easy!”

Kimilainen's sentiments are echoed by Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, who harbours ambitions of becoming the first woman to win the DTM and took a popular maiden victory at the Norisring earlier this season in the Scirocco R-Cup support class.

“You are absolutely right there, I would never have started out in motorsports without my family,” she says. “I was way more into girly stuff when I was little, such as ballet and gymnastics. Motorsport is still seen as a male sport, and therefore not many girls even think it's possible for them to drive a race car. The more talented girls we get, the more media we get, the more we show other girls that it is possible, and then hopefully we'll get more girls into motorsport.”

So just what does it take for a woman to succeed in motorsport? Beyond the obvious – natural talent is undeniably important, but can only go so far without a work ethic to match – it requires real determination and mental strength. Rightly or wrongly, it takes more for a woman to earn respect.

Åhlin-Kottulinsky celebrates victory in the DTM-supporting VW
Scirocco-R Cup at the Norisring. (Credit: VW Motorsport)

“To be a girl in racing you’ve got to be build out of certain materials, you’re got to have thick skin,” says Danish rising star Christina Nielsen. “Since I moved up in the classes and started racing against people who are a bit older, most of them are becoming more respecting and okay with the fact that I’m a girl, but it definitely takes a bit more to earn respect and it was a bit more difficult when I was younger. None of them like being beaten by a girl, that’s just the way it is.

“There’s going to be times when you’re beaten up mentally and sometimes physically on the track as well, so no matter what the culture you’ve got to have the willpower. You have to really want it because in racing there are probably more tough moments than good moments, but the good moments are that good that they make it all worth it. As much as they hate being beaten by a girl, I love beating them too!”

But for all the bravado, once the helmets are on and the lights turn green, any preconceptions about gender become inconsequential. Whether the opposition are male or female, every driver wants to win, not to prove a point, but simply because they love to race. Kimilainen is living proof of this; even after a four-year hiatus in which she earned a degree and started a family, the Finn couldn’t rid herself of the racing bug and while she admits that the realities of motherhood have changed her priorities, they certainly have not quenched her desire.

Christina Nielsen made her debut in the European Le Mans Series at the Red Bull Ring, 
having impressed in the Porsche GT3 Cup USA. (Credit: Imsa Performance Matmut)

“I was pretty lost in the four years I didn’t race,” she says. “I’m a really ambitious person and I wanted to improve myself, so I did a degree in one and a half years where it takes three and a half years usually. I thought I would be the best and the fastest! At the same time I got married, built a house, and then got a daughter, but even then I felt it was not enough, I needed to find something more to do, find something that I can apply myself fully. 

"Now that I’ve got the racing back it means everything to me, I’m so happy. For sure it’s tough to be a professional athlete and also take care of family life and so on, but there are people who have succeeded in it before so I can do it as well, of course with the help of my husband and extended family.”

With such a fervent passion for the sport driving her on, it should come as no surprise to see Kimilainen and others like her earning the plaudits in coming seasons and whether consciously or not, inspiring the younger generations to follow in their wheel-tracks. And with media attention at an all-time high amid Wolff’s F1 testing exploits, the signs are encouraging for a bright future. For anyone considering having a go themselves, “you’ve just got to jump in and try!”