Bucking the trend

The daughter of 1964 Formula 1 world champion John Surtees, Leonora, says normalising women working in motor sport is the way toward boosting female participation.

Several projects exist that primarily  aim to support and increase the number of women working in motor sport, but Leonora, who is the managing director of Buckmore Park, says an overbearing approach is not the answer.

“I think it’s more about normalising women in the industry and getting rid of those barriers that are maybe in the heads of those girls who might not be considering it for a career,” she explained.

“It’s about the industry allowing girls to see that they have the opportunity to be whatever they want in motor sport, but equally not forcing it down their throats.

“There’s work to do in the industry. They’re only going to burst through those barriers by saying ‘why can’t I?’.”

Buckmore Park is preparing for its 2020 karting season and aims to offer a number of routes into motor racing at the grass roots level.

A headline 24-hour race will again return to the calendar after a successful test event last year. It achieved half-a-million views online and will once again be live-streamed. The once-around-the-clock enduro has already sold out, well ahead of its April date.