to celebrate International Women’s Day

Television presenter Louise Goodman joined some of the leading names in women’s motor sport and their cars at Silverstone on Monday to celebrate their participation in motor sport for International Women’s Day.Motor sport is one of the few sporting activities in which men and women compete alongside each other on an equal footing, yet as they make up only 8% of registered licence holders, women are hugely under-represented among motor sport drivers.There are, nonetheless, an estimated 50,000 women actively involved in British motor sport, organising events, running clubs and associations, timekeeping, marshalling and fulfilling a host of other support roles without which the sport itself could not continue.To celebrate their importance to motor sport, more than 50 female competitors, marshals, officials and volunteers gathered at Silverstone, home of British motor sport and the 2010 Santander Formula 1 British Grand Prix, to support the Motor Sports Association’s Women in Motorsport Group.Among the attendees was Go Motorsport ambassador and ITV’s British Touring Car Championship presenter Louise Goodman. Also present was reigning Ginetta Junior Champion and 2009 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year nominee Sarah Moore, the first female driver ever to win a major British motor racing championship.Goodman said: “It was a fabulous experience to come together with all these other women involved in the sport to show that motor sport is not just for the men. I really hope that this inspires more girls to consider the sport; one of them might just turn out to be the new Jenson Button!”Sue Sanders, Chairman of the MSA Women in Motorsport Group, said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the diverse range of roles that women undertake within the sport at all levels. We believe that motor sport is truly fair and equal but there is plenty of room for more women. We hope that this gathering will celebrate those already involved and stimulate others that may be interested in getting started.”MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton said: “Motor sport still tends to be seen as a male-dominated activity, so we need to create female role models to inspire the next generation. We are seeing a substantial increase in female participation among the junior ranks, especially with the Let’s Go Karting initiative that gives young people a first experience of karting for just £5. Similarly, the Go Motorsport message that we are taking to schools across the county is aimed equally at girls and boys.”