Eco motorsport gets a Legge up

I am very pleased today about two things. The first that a friend from school has secured a drive to enhance her racing career, the second is that she will be driving in Formula E – an eco version of Formula One – about time too that these two boxes have been ticked – a woman at the top of motorsport and environmentally friendly racing.

Also any thing that makes the likes of Jeremy Clarkson squirm and grumble is a good thing. Not that I dont like the guy, i think he is quite entertaining, but he does come out with complete crap sometimes – a bit like Boris Johnson (just less frequent).

So well done to fellow school-mate Katherine Legge for continuing to push for a career in an industry that is more male dominated than a working men’s club and well done to her sponsors Amlin Aguri, for backing her.

And as for Formula E – what it lacks in sound and fumes it will more than make up for in edge-of-your-seat racing. Watch this space…..

This blog is for Unicef. Thanks for reading.

Desperately seeking bikers (with boobs)

My husband has got a new helmet and pair of bike trousers. He didn’t have to change the size of his trousers, but his helmet did need to go up a size. I didn’t know that your head continues to expand into your thirties, but clearly this is the case  with my husband.

As part of his order, he was given car window stickers that read ‘Born to ride, forced to drive’. I first rode a motorbike when i was 14 and took to it like a duck to water, i wonder what could have happened if i had got into biking earlier. It certainly would have saved me a lot in fuel costs on the daily commute. I would have built up so much experience that would have helped me to ride the bigger bikes, i find them now rather intimidating because i worry if they get dropped thats it, im stuck.

Months have passed and i am stuck driving my estate, commuting on a bike now is impossible with the tiddlywinks in tow. I could go out for a ‘ride’ at the weekend but it feels wrong to be on my own when i could be with the family. Although i would enjoy it i would also feel a bit lonely riding out on my own.

I would love to have a girl friend who also rode a bike but it seems most of the female riders are lesbians, so have absolutely nothing in common with me.

Is there a biking Mum out there who is also in the same quandary. Female petrolheads keep their passion secret, particularly amongst other women. I used to stay up the small hours to watch an F1 GP live and last night was up past my bedtime watching highlights from the Isle of Man TT.

So it would be great to hear from any female bikers out there to exchange experiences and enjoy pep talks.

I am blogging every day for Unicef.

Thanks for reading.

 

Racing out of the doghouse

After waiting patiently for hubby to get home like a devoted dog (my ears pricked up when I heard his engine). I raced out of the door, hollered something along the lines of ‘kids are in bed and pie is on top of the oven’ (hopefully in that order) and left in a cloud of tire smoke. I was already 15 minutes late for the film I was due to see with my best friend for her birthday and it was going to take 15 minutes to get there. So I put pedal to the metal and aimed to get there in 10.

We weren’t up for a chick flick, instead the film called ‘1’ about the drivers, legends and story of Formula One. Since kids we have followed the sport with avid devotion. As young adults we both went our separate ways, she pursued a career in motorsport and struck up a relationship with a race driving instructor. While I got a degree and landed my dream job in a formula one team only to realise very quickly that dreams are a million miles away from reality. By the time our paths crossed again in our late 20s we were both disenchanted with our girlhood dreams but nothing could destroy our shared passion for speed and our mutual appreciation for drivers such as Michael Schumacher.

So for us this was the perfect film, add in some chocolate and we were a very happy pair of ladies.

To see women achieve the same in the sport as the legends of the past featured in the film would give my friend very mixed feelings. As a schoolgirl she dreamed of being the first competitive female driver in Formula One, she tried and tried but couldn’t get the sponsorship deal she needed. As we watched the film, she mused at how easy it was back in the 60s and 70s to become an F1 driver compared to now. But I pointed out that it would have been nearly impossible in those decades to get a drive as a female – they were too busy in the pits with a stopwatch timing their husband’s and boyfriend’s laps – known affectionately as members of ‘the doghouse club’.

Imagine what would have happened if one of those women had suggested that they do a swap and that she had a go on the cockpit? When you raced back then you were cheating death, some argue that women don’t have that ‘killer instinct’. I am looking forward to the day when a brave lass proves them all wrong. She would be brave not just because of her talent to race on the limit, but mainly because she had the strength of character to resist reinforcing the stereotypes of appearance and style as a public icon and focus on her abilities behind the wheel.

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Thanks for reading.