The Castle Combe Circuit is supporting International Women's Day on 8 March by drawing attention to the many female competitors and organisers already involved in motor sport in a bid to attract new female members.

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.

"There's no doubt people presume it is a sport for men," says Nicki Fawdington, the Chief Marshal of the Castle Combe Racing Club. "But the truth is both among competitors and organisers there is far more female representation than you would imagine. We have 56 female members, which is above the national average at around 13% of the total and they play a vital role in the club. But it would be nice to improve the representation."

The circuit has a disproportionately significant female presence on track, with Hove's Ilsa Cox probably the best known after winning the circuit's Saloon Car championship outright in 1997. She still competes at selected events at the circuit in her powerful SEAT Cupra. Regularly competing in the Saloon Car championship are Chippenham's Geraldine Duff in her Rover 25 and Anne King from Manningford Bruce near Pewsey in her MG ZR. Brinkworth's Kelly Williams competes in the 3 litre class in her Fiesta ST.

A rare female participant in the circuit's Formula Ford 1600 championship will be Dr Denise White from Chepstow. She will debut a Van Diemen in the Pre 1990 section this season.

Driving a car in the circuit's Sports and GT championship which many men would be incapable of handling is Bath's Nadine Geary in her mighty 8.3 litre Dodge Viper GTS-R. She has also embarked on an ambitious project to race the Honda Earth Dream Formula 1 car formerly driven by Rubens Barichello in the circuit's new MonoLibre series for 'anything goes'single seaters. The car is being fitted with a similar Dodge Viper engine to that in her regular racer and is more likely to be ready for the 2012 season.

"I think International Women's Day is a great initiative," says Nadine."We need to show everyone this is a sport for girls as much as for boys.The more people see girls racing and getting involved in motor sport, the more will be attracted to it."

International Women's Day aims to draw attention to the exploits of women around the world. The Motor Sports Association's Women in Motorsport group aims to capitalise on this initiative and demonstrate the world of motor sport is a welcoming place for women.

For more information about getting involved with the Castle Combe Racing Club, contact Nicki Fawdington by email at afawdington@hotmail.com.