Surrey, England (November 17, 2008) — The inaugural Racy Ladies track day held in conjunction with H&H Sales Ltd on Sunday November 9th 2008 proved a great success. Two-thirds of the women who attended the Rockingham event were novices. A scenario which not only validated the concept behind Racy Ladies – that of encouraging women to participate in motorsport be it historic or modern but also contributed to a very relaxed and informal atmosphere. With the only men allowed behind the wheel being qualified instructors or honoured guests (the latter giving passenger rides), the number of incidents was notably low too. […]
Surrey, England (November 17, 2008) — The inaugural Racy Ladies track day held in conjunction with H&H Sales Ltd on Sunday November 9th 2008 proved a great success. Two-thirds of the women who attended the Rockingham event were novices. A scenario which not only validated the concept behind Racy Ladies – that of encouraging women to participate in motorsport be it historic or modern but also contributed to a very relaxed and informal atmosphere.
With the only men allowed behind the wheel being qualified instructors or honoured guests (the latter giving passenger rides), the number of incidents was notably low too. While, the morning was split into experience-streamed (twenty-minute) sessions, the afternoon was run as an open pit lane thanks to the level of circuit etiquette and ability exhibited by attendees.
In addition to the professional instructors there were also a good number of volunteers on hand to offer further advice or just moral support. Open to anything and everything so long as it was either road legal or would satisfy a MSA scrutineer, the event attracted a varied array of machinery from an AC Unicorn Special to a Jaguar C-type via a VW Golf and Aston Martin DB2/4 MKIII. Though, mention should also be made of the Citroen 2CV which gamely ensured that everyone got the hang of overtaking!
By choosing to run on the National Circuit at Rockingham with its short straights, challenging corners and varied topography, the organizers ensured that there was plenty to talk about over lunch. Sufficiently technical to please the more experienced drivers who were mainly there to blow the cobwebs away (or rebuild confidence) the course was also slow enough to be enjoyed aboard a road car.
To commemorate a thoroughly rewarding day participants received a certificate and mug each, while Linzi Smart took some fantastic photographs. Another Racy Ladies track day has been planned for Spring 2009 and details will be appearing shortly on the website, www.racyladies.co.uk Many of the volunteers who helped out at Rockingham have already pledged their support for the next event.
Typical of the growing support that Racy Ladies is attracting are the offers by www.pistonheads.com and RoadMap to act as a media partner and branded clothing supplier respectively. Racy Ladies would like to thank its sponsors H&H Sales Ltd, The John Clark Motor Group, Demon Tweeks Direct, Fiskens, Black & White Garage and Gilbart-Smith Associates.
For more information and images with regard to this and future Racy Ladies events please visit www.racyladies.co.uk
