The driving star of Racing Pride – the sport’s LGBTQ+ charity – competes with her partner Jessica and her favorite James Bond car.
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what was your first car
A Renault Clio. And you know what? I was really reasonable. I think I always saved the acceleration for the track.
what are you driving now
I am fortunate to have a partnership with a BMW dealership in Colchester. I currently drive an X3 M Competition and it is a pocket rocket. It’s a 503 hp SUV, but you don’t feel its size.
Your partner, Jessica Hawkins, drives alongside you in the W Series. Did you meet there?
I met Jess before the W series. Motorsport is a small world, especially for the female drivers. I remember meeting her at Goodwood and seeing what she was up to, but when I came to W Series we got to know each other a little bit better, became friends and now we’ve been together for almost two and a half years.
How competitive are you two?
We’re always competitive – otherwise we’d be shitty racers. But when one of us is having a difficult time or our confidence is being tested, we are always there to support each other. After all, we both want the other to be okay. The dream is to be at the top together.
Who is the best at Powerslides?
We argue about that! But I’m telling Jess just so I have a lucky girlfriend.
Jess is an Aston Martin Racing Ambassador and was a stunt driver in the last Bond film. What’s your favorite 007 car?
I really liked the Land Rover Defenders in No Time To Die. They pulled off some pretty big stunts.
Last October you broke your back at the W-Series race in Austin, Texas, but this season you’re back. As?
It was the most painful thing I’ve ever gone through. It was a crazy accident. I’m still not at 100 percent, but I’m a lot further than I was nine months ago. Racers are very impatient, but you can’t be impatient with a spinal injury.
Was it difficult to get out?
I was always outside. I never hid who I am. I realized I was gay when I was about 17. I have never been ashamed of being gay and have always been outspoken in public. It’s important to me to be part of Racing Pride [motorsport’s LGBTQ+ charity], and with the platform, I need to show that you can be a successful woman in a male-dominated industry. When my journey inspires other people, that’s really positive.
There is a big push in motorsport at the moment in terms of inclusion and diversity, much more so than when I started racing, but we need to keep pushing. It has to be the core of the sport.
What’s the best electric vehicle you’ve ever driven?
I’m biased because I’m a test driver for the electric vehicle company Fisker. But I’m definitely on board with the electric world. It’s a tough transition and I’ll miss the sound and smell of internal combustion engines, but EVs produce instant torque, smoothness and silence.
Watch round four of the 2022 W Series season live from Silverstone on Sky Sports and Channel 4 on Saturday from 13:10
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Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of pride
This year we are celebrating 50 years of Pride so it only seems fitting that Metro.co.uk goes above and beyond in our ongoing LGBTQ+ support with a wealth of content that not only celebrates all things Pride, but also sharing stories, taking time to reflect and raising awareness for the community this Pride month.
And we also have some big names on board to help us. From a list of famous guest editors taking over the site for a week, including Rob Rinder, Nicholas Adams, Peter Tatchel, Kimberly Hart Simpson, John White, Anna Richardson and Dr Ranjas well as the like Sir Ian McKellen and drag race stars the vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi offer their insights.
During Pride Month, which runs from June 1st to June 30th, Metro.co.uk will also support Kyiv Pride, a Ukrainian charity forced to work harder than ever to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in times of conflict, and the youth homeless charity AKT. To learn more about their work and what you can do to support them, click here.
To the Metro.co.uk‘s latest Pride coverage, click here.