I just think that when these youngsters get older, that’s where the problems arise. However since the formation of the D2BD community, I’ve realised just how many young girls there are out there, trying to get involved in many forms of motorracing and engineering. The prevailing preconception was, and still is, that motorsport is something for boys. I think it’s primarily a cultural barrier. Kathryn, why are we seeing so few women in racing? What’s the barrier? Kathryn Richards, who’s a senior wind tunnel technician at the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, as well as ambassador for Dare To Be Different, which is a non-profit organisation, spearheaded by Susie Wolff, to help to inspire, connect, showcase and develop women who either currently work in, or want to work in motorsports. Yet why are there still effectively no women competing in simracing? Simracing has extremely low entry costs, and literally anyone can enter the competition from anywhere of the world.

While men have dominated road racing since its inception, we think that simracing could and should be the big equaliser.

At Virtual Racing School, we’re convinced that anyone who has the determination and access to training tools can be a successful racer, whether that’s on the track or in the simulator, whether they’re male or female.

Big rigs over the road racing patch