Dare to be Different, an initiative set up by Susie Wolff to help more girls get into motorsport, headed to the famous Buckmore Park karting circuit last month to help 100 school girls learn more about careers in motorsport.
Founded in January 2016 together with the Motor Sports Association, Dare to be Different hosts events up and down the country, and counts Wolff, Williams F1 Team‘s Claire Williams and Sauber test driver Tatiana Calderon amongst its ambassadors. Now in its third year, the organisation has introduced nearly 2,000 primary-age school girls to motorsport.
The Buckmore Park event, held in April, saw girls between eight and eleven years old discover more about careers the world of motorsport holds for them, with talks and insight from Wolff. Whilst at the event the girls were introduced to karting, the Pirelli Pit-Stop Challenge, interview tutorials with BBC Radio 5 Live F1 broadcaster Jennie Gow, and a tour of a Williams F1 car.
Other activities included building a hovercraft with STEMnet, testing reaction times with the Pirelli Barak Board, a health and safety demonstration with Doctor Clare Morton. F1 in Schools capped off the day with learning resources.
Commenting on the day, Wolff – herself a former Formula 1 development driver – said it was great to return to a track from her childhood, and to try and help more girls into motorsport.
“It’s been great to bring Dare To Be Different here to Buckmore Park – we’ve had an absolutely brilliant day. It’s a venue close to my heart as I used to race here when I was in junior karting.
“Part of the appeal of this initiative is that we get to take it to so many venues both here and overseas, to therefore introduce as many girls as possible to the opportunities that exist within motorsport. I’m delighted by the positive impact that Dare To Be Different has already had – and there is much more still to come.”
More about Dare to be Different can be found here: https://www.daretobedifferent.org/
