W Series announces its collaboration with Motorsport UK and Silverstone to recognise and showcase the success of women in all areas of motorsport as part of Women in Motorsport Day on Friday 1 July.
On the track, W Series’ 18 drivers will take centre stage at Silverstone where they will contest the fourth race of the 2022 season in support of the Formula 1® Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022. Off the track, the weekend will see women dedicating their time as valued marshals and volunteers, and delivering crucial performance in engineering, mechanical and strategic roles.
Ahead of the weekend, W Series has been profiling and celebrating its women employees in various roles behind the scenes. Today, on Women in Motorsport Day itself, W Series HQ at Silverstone Circuit will host Motorsport UK’s event to celebrate women who are working as marshals and stewards over the race weekend. The celebration on the evening of Friday 1 July will include an interview session with W Series’ CEO Catherine Bond Muir, and Motorsport UK Board member Helen Bashford-Malkie.
Women in Motorsport Day will give W Series, Motorsport UK, and Silverstone Circuit – a central hub of ‘Motorsport Valley’ – the opportunity to highlight how more women can get involved in motorsport through a wide range of career paths and volunteering. W Series, Motorsport UK, and Silverstone will utilise their social media channels throughout the day to profile women within the motorsport community.
The community is encouraged to use #WomenInMotorsport across social media to share their journeys, roles, and experiences in the sport to encourage and inspire more women to get involved by showing that motorsport is a place for women to succeed and enjoy.
Women in Motorsport Day is part of Motorsport UK’s wider inclusion strategy which targets a 25 per cent increase in women’s participation across the sport by 2025.
British fans can watch the fourth race of the 2022 W Series season live from Silverstone on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports F1, Sky Showcase, and Channel 4 from 13.10 BST on Saturday 2 July, with qualifying live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase at 18.10 BST on Friday 1 July. W Series’ practice session will be streamed live globally across our YouTube channel from 08:40 BST on Friday 1 July.
The action can also be seen across W Series’ digital and social channels, as well as being broadcast in more than 175 territories. For the full list of where to watch in your location visit our broadcast page here.
Catherine Bond Muir (Chief Executive Officer, W Series, non-executive director, Motorsport UK, and Chair of Motorsport UK’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee) said:
“Almost 90 per cent of the people who work in W Series’ London office are women and any business is only as good as its team, so it’s women who are driving our success and making W Series a global women’s movement.
“At motorsport events, the focus tends to be on the winning drivers, but the people who make the events happen are the marshals and stewards. These people give up huge amounts of their time to help British motorsport. We’re really proud that there are so many women in those roles at Silverstone this weekend, and we look forward to giving them the recognition they deserve during our celebration evening at WHQ.
“There’s space for everyone in motorsport, so I’d tell any young girl who has a dream of getting involved in the sport to continue doing what they’re really good at and enjoy it because motorsport covers so many areas and there is certainly a path open to you here. Our belief at W Series is ‘if you can see it, you can be it’, and we’re delighted to be celebrating these incredible women who will act as role models for future generations of women in motorsport.”
Helen Bashford-Malkie (Motorsport UK Board member and Chair of Motorsport UK’s Women in Motorsport Sub-committee) said:
“Motorsport UK has a crucial part to play in celebrating and encouraging women to participate in our sport including competitors, volunteers, team professionals, engineers, racemakers, officials and fans.
“Everyone is important in motorsport but being able to open our arms wide and say ‘Welcome to our family’, at the British Grand Prix is an inspiring opportunity. We hope to showcase the routes women can take in our sport in our bid to increase participation at all levels.”
