It was a challenge Sevenoaks Chronicle reporter Louise Powell couldn’t turn down – the chance to take a Formula One driver’s view of the world from a racing car cockpit at Brand’s Hatch.

Here the girl racer tells her story…

Page 1 of 2

The last time I got my kicks was on route 66 – driving a Chevvy across the USA was one driving ambition I have actually fulfilled.

So I jumped at the chance when I got the opportunity to join the macho world of petrolheads burning rubber on a race track.

And not any old race track, only one of the world’s finest, Brands Hatch.

Former F1 and 30 times Grand Prix winner, Nigel Mansell opened his own racing school six years ago to give amateurs like me a chance to try race driving, and what an experience it turned out to be.

There were only three girls in my group. For some reason men think of racing as a men-only sport. The day before I went to Brands Hatch I came in for the usual sexist comments of “women drivers” and “good job you won’t be parking”.

At this point I should like to put the record straight. Brands Hatch is the only circuit where women have been victorious.

Twenty years ago Desiree Wilson won an F1 race and last Sunday 18-year-old Danika Patrick from Illinois, USA, came second in the Formula Ford festival.

It was the best-ever performance by a female at that level and the only time a woman has stood on the podium.

The first session of the day required driving a BMW 318i. A regular road car but with stiffer suspension and a seatbelt more like a harness.

The instructor who accompanied me assessed my driving, taking into account how to approach and take corners and drive the circuit.

Next page…

Do you have a story for us?
Ring the HoldTheFrontPage newsdesk on
01332 291111 x6022, or to e-mail us now – click here