Gemma Scott at MotorSportUK
The Checkered Flag caught up with television presenter Gemma Scott at the National Motorsport Show in Coventry to get her views on the show and also to find out about her own racing exploits.
The National Motorsport Show was created as an affordable, relevant show for people with a passion for national British motorsport, covering all national racing disciplines, with trackday and race series organisers, suppliers, race shops and car clubs represented. Scott, who has previously presented coverage of the Mini Challenge and Lotus Cup, believes the show is vital for national motorsport in the UK.
Scott was at the show to host Motors TV coverage of it alongside former WRC host Neil Cole, while also conducting interviews with the stars of national motorsport on the live stage. As well as this, she used the show as an opportunity to catch up with old friends and find out the latest news.
Scott commented: “I think for club racing, this show is crucial. It gives people who are new to racing the chance to figure out where to begin, what championships are on offer and what support there is available. It's nice to be able to get round and see people that you don't always see during the year, you get everybody under one roof in one place, catch up with people and find out what's new in the different race programmes.”
After years of presenting Motorsport coverage throughout the UK and the world, Scott has decided to go racing herself and used the show as a chance to see what racing opportunities are available in the UK. Scott hopes to race as much as possible alongside her work commitments, with her currently presenting the powerboat coverage on Sky Sports and the World Series by Renault on ESPN.
Scott said: “At the moment I'm in a Mazda MX5 with Mark Hayles who's been instructing me. We're out at MIRA next week, getting some tuition in different conditions. I'd love to race a Lotus Elise, I worked with Lotus for some years and I'd really love to have a go in one of those championships. Obviously my work commitments mean that my weekends are hugely in demand, with the powerboats and the World Series by Renault, but the weekends I have free I'm going to get out there on track.”
Scott has been within Motorsport her whole life, growing up with it in her family. This made her decide to move into the industry when working, with her enjoying a successful career in front of the camera, presenting motorsport coverage for the likes of Channel Five, Eurosport, ESPN, Renault, Lotus, Motors TV and Sky Sports. She has now made the decision to move into racing herself and hopes to get out on track in 2012.
Scott concluded: “I've grown up in Motorsport, my Dad was a race director and my brother started karting when he was 14. I remember when I was 10, we came home from Silverstone one weekend and told my Dad I wanted to race bikes, at which point he brought me another pair of ballet shoes and told me to get over it.
“I then went on to race boats, sailing boats, and absolutely loved it, but couldn't get away from the motor racing. Once I graduated from university, I decided that was my career path and I've worked in it ever since.
“Now I've reached the age I have, I realised I don't have to wait for my Dad to say I can or can't do something, so I've decided I'm going to go racing. I love the adrenalin, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I'm happy to jump out of an aeroplane, ski down a mountain or be towed behind a boat, so why not go round in a racing car.”
