Girls in BTCC...

It’s one of the biggest debates of all time – which sex are better behind the wheel - the girls or the boys?

    If you look at some of the top motor racing championships in the world, the majority of the competitors are male, but that hasn't stopped certain “girl racers” from showing the boys how it’s done, whether it be in the top championships, or the supporting races.
     In this feature article, I'm going to be looking at female competitors in the British Touring Car Championship. I’ll be looking into what they achieved, how they have inspired others, and asking the question of why there are no female drivers in the BTCC today.

Digging back into the BTCC history book, it looks to be that the first female competitors in the championship raced in the 1989 Esso RAC sponsored championship.
     Louise Aitken-Walker competed in 1989 with Vauxhall Motorsport in a Vauxhall Astra GTE 16, alongside fellow team mates John Cleland and Jeremy Rossiter. In previous years, there would be four separate classes formatting the championship, and although 1989 was no different, it would be the last season that would see four separate classes. Aitken-Walker and company were racing in the Class C category for 1601-2000cc spec machines. Having been the Class C winner at Thruxton, and then again at Silverstone, Aitken-Walker racked up the points to finish fourth overall in the championship standings with a total of 72 points, with team mate Cleland winning the title.
     1989 also saw Swedish racer Nettan Lindgren-Jansson join the championship. For her first season in the championship, she raced a BMW M3 in the Class B category (for 2001-3000cc spec vehicles) on her own in her own team. Lindgren-Jansson only raced at seven out of the thirteen rounds, and achieved her best finish of the year at the Brands Hatch GP meeting, where she finished thirteenth overall. The end of the season saw her finish sixth in the Championship standings in Class B with twelve points.
     Nettan raced again in the Essa RAC 1990 BTCC season, this time with BMW Team Sweden, but still in an M3. 1990 saw the introduction of two classes as opposed to the four class categories seen in previous years. Class A (over 3000cc) cars would go against two-litre touring cars in the Class B category.
     She achieved her best finish at Thruxton, winning her class in fifth position overall, and went on to finish fifth in the Class B championship standings come the end of the season, having raced at ten out of the thirteen races that year.
     Lindgren-Jansson’s third and final appearance in the BTCC, was the 1991 Esso RAC season, racing again with BMW Team Sweden in a BMW M3, alongside fellow Swedish racer Peggen Andersson as her team mate.
     Racing in seven out of the thirteen races that season again, her best result came at Donington Park, where she finished tenth. 1991 saw the start of the new “Super-Touring” era of the sport, of which some people, including today’s drivers, hail as one of the best eras of all time. Will Hoy became the season champion, with Nettan finishing in a lowly twenty-fourth with only one point.
     Her best known moment whilst racing in the championship came in 1991, when on-board footage caught her giving Jonathan Palmer a stern ticking off after taking her and her BMW out during the race at Snetterton - something that can be seen in the video below. Skip to 4:30 to see the incident build up...

After a seven year gap, the next female racer to join the grid was Paula Cook in 1998 for rounds twelve and thirteen of the championship – held at Oulton Park and Silverstone. Cook arrived on the scene in the Cook family run team DC Cook Motorsport, who ran a Honda Accord for the two meetings. Cook’s best finish in the two rounds she competed in was at Silverstone, where she brought the Accord home in twelfth.

     The DC Cook Motorsport outlet returned again in 1999, with Paula running the Honda Accord in eight of that year’s thirteen rounds. One of these rounds was a night race – something that was making its first appearance in the championship. 1999 was a special year for the championship, with TOCA putting up a prize of £250,000 for the first Independent driver to win a race in the modern era of the BTCC. That driver was Matt Neal, who shocked and surprised fans by claiming the victory in his family run Nissan Primera.
      Paula achieved her best finish of ninth in the Silverstone feature race, in which she was the Independent winner. Cook finished the season, and her BTCC career fifth overall in the Michelin Cup for Independents, having racked up 91 points over the season.

   Two years down the line – a new millennium – and another female driver to add to the touring car mix. Joanna Clark entered the season for one year in 2001 with Team B&Q and TalkSport Radio, running a Honda Integra Type-R for three rounds. Clark made her debut at Knockhill where she finished sixteenth and fourteenth respectively. Unfortunately, Clark’s fourteenth place was to be her best finish in the BTCC, with her next two rounds at Snetterton and Croft resulting in an eighteenth, two retirements and non-start.

2001 saw the end of the super-touring era of the BTCC, and also saw the debut of another girl racer to the paddock. Annie Templeton teamed up with Paul O’Neill in the Tech-Speed Motorsport Peugeot 306 GTI for all rounds of the 2001 season. Her best race finish was at Donington Park, where she brought the Peugeot home in eleventh place overall during the second race. Come the end of 2001, Templeton finished nineteenth overall in the Production Class with a total of twenty one points.

Returning again in 2002, Annie competed with Tech-Speed Motorsport in the Peugeot 306 GTI – however this year with Lotus Elise champion Mark Fullalove replacing O’Neill as her team mate. Improving on her debut season results, Templeton’s best finish in the 2002 season was thirteenth in the first race at Brands Hatch and ended the year  thirteenth overall in the Production Class with a total of twenty six points.

The final and possibly most recognised female driver that has driven in the British Touring Car Championship to date is Fiona Leggate. Fiona entered the championship in 2005 – starting her racing career only two years prior to her tin top debut.

Leggate signing autographs in 2006.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller 

Fiona made her debut halfway through the 2005 season, starting at Croft in the team Tech-Speed Motorsport run Vauxhall Astra Coupe – converted to run on bioethanol fuel. Her first half season saw her achieve her best ever BTCC result of fifth at Silverstone and score twelve points in total come the finale.

Fiona returned again in 2006 with the same team and the same car, bringing along anew sponsor in Vauxhall dealer Thurlby Motors. The Tech-Speed outlet continued to be supported by EEMS (Energy Efficient Motorsport Scheme) in the quest to show that bioethanol fuel could be used in competitive motorsport situations. 2006 saw Leggate have a trio of tenth place finishes; the first coming from the third race at Brands Hatch and two from the first and third races at Thruxton. Fiona had to unfortunately withdraw from the sixth round of the championship at Donington Park, where the Astra suffered from a cracked engine cylinder. She did return for round seven at Snetterton, where she finished twelfth and thirteenth in the respective first two races and then disappointingly retired from the final race of the day. This retirement saw Fiona decide to pull out of the remainder of the season having missed the following meeting at Knockhill and was replaced by Paul O’Neill for the two remaining rounds of the 2006 season.

Fiona Leggate in the Thurlby Motors and
Tech-Speed Vauxhall Astra in 2006.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

Fiona made her final BTCC appearance in 2007, where she teamed up with Jason Hughes in the Kartworld Racing team MG Z5 – again fuelled with bioethanol fuel. Competing in all ten rounds of the championship, her best finish was in race two at the final race meeting of the year at Thruxton.

     So that’s six female drivers that have raced in the British Touring Car Championship – so the question now is; why have there not been more. There are many factors that can halt any driver - whether they are male or female – in their quest for a drive in the series. One of the biggest issues that many drivers face, especially in today’s current climate, is budget – and getting together a string of sponsors that are willing to help push a driver in the right direction.

     There are many examples of females that have made it in the world of motorsport. Possibly one of the most successful drivers in 2012 is Alice Powell, currently racing in the GP3 series all over the world. Starting her car racing career in the Ginetta Junior Championship that runs alongside the BTCC, Powell soon stepped up to the Formula Renault BARC championship in 2010, where she not only became the first female to win a race in the series, but the first female to win the championship.

Charlotte Eyre, currently a kart racer from Stafford, aims to one day be involved and race within the BTCC.

     “The fact that the BTCC is fair racing and always offers close racing makes me want to race in the series. The first race that I watched was Silverstone in 2009, and since then I’ve fallen in love with all the close racing!

     “Alice Powell and my mum have inspired me to want to compete in motor racing. My mum was a rally driver when she was my age, but also did karting, so knows how to help me when I’m sat in the kart about to go out on track. Alice Powell has shown me that nothing will stop her from racing despite people saying that female drivers are not as good as male drivers. We’re all there to prove them wrong!”

     Determined to get onto the saloon car racing ladder, Charlotte has been offered a drive for 2013 in a Ford Escort XR3i, but may however have to put this offer aside for a year as she is struggling to raise the funds to compete in the series.

     To keep up to date with Charlotte and her 2013 racing plans, you can follower her on Twitter @CharlotteEyre18 – where you’ll be kept updated with all the latest news.