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Susie Wolff

You are here: Home / Archives for Susie Wolff

Daring to be Different with Porsche

November 7, 2019 //  by Horsepower & Heels

An exciting day was had at the Porsche Cars Great Britain headquarters for 100 girls who took part in a special event partnering with the global initiative Dare To Be Different (D2BD) program. 

The girls, aged between 11 and 14 years old, were invited from local secondary schools in the area to take part in a host of fun STEM skill building activities. The mission: for each to experience what a future career in automotive and motorsports could look like.

Hands-on for Motorsports

Students participate in a ‘Pirelli Pit-Stop’ challenge at the Porsche sponsored Dare to be Different program.

The students took on the ‘Pirelli Pit-Stop’ challenge, where they worked in teams as a pit crew would to change a wheel against the clock. Life saving techniques taught by Dare To Be Different Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Clare Morden, helped them understand resuscitation. Students learned about important emergency aid measures, including how to use a defibrillator.  

An exciting meet and greet session was arranged with leading female W Series racing driver Esmee Hawkey. This allowed the girls the opportunity to ask the Carrera Cup driver questions, get autographs and take all-important selfies with her Carrera Cup race car. 

W Series and Carerra Cup driver, Esmee Hawkey, shares insight into a career as a race car driver with young students at the Porsche Dare to be Different session. – November 6, 2019 UK

Future Inspiration for Automotive Careers

The girls then enjoyed an in-depth tour of the Porsche Cars facility workshops and were given insight into Porsche’s electrification program and the future of mobility. 

Two of Porsche’s female personnel, Technician Charlotte Hargreaves and After Sales Manager, Louise Jenkins-Smith – spoke to the group of young ladies. Each offered valuable career advice and sharing their personal experiences as women in the field with the enthusiastic young audience.

We were delighted to host Dare To Be Different at Porsche Headquarters and our Centre in Reading yesterday. The girls were highly engaged in all of the activities and it was great to observe a real sense of excitement as well as a growth in confidence in all of them throughout the day.  Events like this are an absolute necessity if we are to encourage more females into automotive and I really hope that we have inspired and maybe even helped shape the future for one, two (or even more!) of the girls that were here.”

Alasdair Jakes, Porsche Retail Group

Dare to be Different

The Dare to Be Different organization was co-founded by retired veteran racer Susie Wolff and The Motor Sports Association, the governing body of motorsports in the UK. Upon retirement, Susie wanted a way to help drive female talent in the sport, which despite being performance based and not driven by gender, still sees few females with long term careers in the industry.

“First of all a huge thanks to Porsche for hosting our event at their superb HQ. It was wonderful for the girls to be able to get up close and personal with the road and race cars and have insight into the day-to-day workings of a manufacturer like Porsche. 

Susie Wolff, Dare To Be Different founder

The international initiative’s mission is to inspire, connect, showcase and develop women who either currently work in, or want to work in the motor sport arena. They work by organizing events and programs that foster STEM-based skill sets, and help introduce exciting career opportunities to interested girls.

We are working hard to improve the numbers but there is still a considerable shortage of women across many disciplines in automotive and motorsports. It’s up to us to show them at a young age what potential career opportunities exist, especially when they are making important life choices. My hope is that one day one of these girls will say, “I remember that day – it’s what made me want to be a mechanic/ designer/ sales manager or whatever it is she chooses for her future.”

Susie Wolff, Dare To Be Different founder

Category: Conferences/Events, FeaturedTag: Dare to be Different, Esmee Hawkey, Susie Wolff, W Series, Women in Motorsports

Open Wheel Driver Feature: Susie Wolff

May 24, 2016 //  by David Moss

The Life And Career of Susie Wolff

Susie WolffSusie Wolff is a true motor sports pioneer. A female British racing driver who had an incredible career as a F1 racing driver and continues to work toward gender equality to this day in the world of racing. In 2014, she was the first woman to participate in a Formula One race weekend in 22 years. She’s a woman who has proven that horsepower and heels go together like nothing else. Although there were quite a few obstacles in her quest to compete in this male dominated sport, she took it on without excuses. This article will cover her brilliant life and career, all the way from birth to her retirement in 2015 and her post retirement activism.

Her Early Years

Born on December 6, 1982 in a little resort town in Scotland called Oban, Susie was born to John and Sally Soddart. It would be them who would instill her interest in the sport of racing. Both of her parents owned a motorcycle dealership—in which she would eventually work—and her father raced competitively. Her parents would later stoke her love of the sport by buying her a go-kart when she was 8 years old. It was then that she knew she wanted to become a racecar driver. When asked about how her upbringing influenced her career, she simply said, “I was brought up by brilliant parents who never once made me think motor-sport was rather for boys; that I was choosing a path unusual for a girl. They instilled in me the belief that I could achieve anything if I was determined and worked hard enough.”

While it’s true that there weren’t many girls competing in go kart racing, that didn’t matter to Sally Soddart. All she knew was that she wanted to be on that track competing, a determination that she would carry throughout the course of her life. 

Her Career

6 years after she had taken up go-kart racing, at the age of 14, Susie would go on to win the 1996 British Woman Kart Racing Driver Award. The following year she competed in numerous go-kart racing competitions and did quite well in all of them. By the time she was 16, she had placed 10th in the Go-Kart British Junior Intercontinental “A” Championship. Each year, she continued to be named British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year, an accomplishment she’s proud of to this day. 

By 1999, at the age of 17, she had won numerous go-kart racing categories. She ranked 13th in the British Formula A Championship and 34th in the Formula A World Championships. For a third straight year, she won British Woman Driver of the Year Award. By the time she was 18, she had finished 10th in the British Formula A Championship and was named the World’s Top Female Go-Kart Driver.

As good as she was at go-kart racing however, what she really wanted to do was to become a Formula One race driver. And in 2001, she came closer to that goal by moving from racing go-karts to single seat racers. She made her racing debut for the Motaworld Racing Team at the Formula Renault Winter Series. By 2002, she had competed in both Formula Renault UK Championship for DFR Racing, and competed a second time in the Motaworld in the Formula Renault Winter Series. She then placed 9th in the Formula Renault UK Championship in 2003 and finished 5th in the 2004 Formula Renault UK Championship. In 2004, she was nominated twice for the BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award and was selected to win the BRSC Rising Star Of The Year Award. She is the first female to ever receive this award. 

She finally made the leap to the British Formula 3 Championship in 2005. She was supposed to compete in the Championship Class for the Alan Docking Racing team, but that didn’t materialize because of an injury she sustained. She twisted her ankle during the winter and couldn’t finish the competition.

In 2006, she set her sights on the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters—otherwise known as the DTM—and achieved a best finish of 9th place. During this competition she competed for the Mücke Motorsport team and drove a 2004-spec Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe. 

She would continue her success in 2007 when she finished 10th in Mugello, Italy while she was driving a 2005-spec Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe. In 2008, she placed 10th in the Norisring Street Circuit in Nuremberg, Germany. However, in 2009, she faced a setback during the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg Circuit and had to stop racing after 24 laps due to damage sustained by her vehicle during a first round collision.

In Susie’s fifth season, in 2010, she would drive her AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 2008 racing car to seventh place—both at Lausitzring and at Hockenheim—becoming the first woman in 20 years to ever make points at the DRM. She finished that season ahead of her colleagues—Ralf Schmacher and David Coulthard. Once again proving to herself, and to the world, that women can compete in the high paced world of racing. A year later, she would go on to marry Toto Wolff, who was a shareholder of the Williams Formula One Team at the time and would go on to become Executive Director of the Williams F1 Team. She then changed her name from Susie Stoddart to Susie Wolff.

In April of 2012, Susie Wolff would come one step closer to her dream when she was named as a development driver for the Williams Formula One Team. Many critics at that time accused her of being hired because her husband was part owner of the team; allegations that her husband and her strongly disputed. Two years later, during the British Grand Prix, Susie Wolff became the first woman to participate in a Formula One racing weekend since the early 1990s. Unfortunately, her session was cut short due to engine problems she experienced. This problem she incurred again during the German Gran Prix in July of that same year. However, during her race at the German Gran Prix, she managed to address her car problems and ended up finishing in 15th place. She entered the 2015 season as a test driver and eventually had a number of 2 runs and 2 practices. During preseason test runs, she placed 14th during the Spanish Gran Prix and 13th place during the British Gran Prix.

Susie’s Retirement

Susie WolffOn November 4, 2015, Susie Wolff made the announcement on the BBC that she was going to retire from Formula One Racing. During her announcement, she stated that she always said she would retire from racing when she felt she could advance no further. She also stated that she felt that she had gone as far as she could go in the sport. There was one positive of that announcement, however. She also stated that she would go ahead and race during the 2015 Race of Champions. This race would be her last one. 

Post-Retirement

In 2016, she partnered with the Motor Sports Associated and launched an initiative named “Dare To Be Different.” The purpose of this initiative is to inspire female participation in the traditional male dominated world of motor sports. Susie Wolff has expressed the hopeful sentiment that she has “paved the way for women to follow in her footsteps.” She also said the following: “We have two issues, not enough young girls starting in karting at a young age and no clear role model. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it.”

The Future Of Women In Motor Sports

Thanks to Susie Wolff, the path has been laid for future generations of women in motor sports. She has been a champion for gender equality in the world of racing and has repeatedly stated that she wants to help the next generation of women racers achieve their dreams. In fact, she stated as much in a recent article in Autosport Magazine. She said, “If I can’t be the woman to break through the glass ceiling, then I want to be involved in making it happen for the person who does”. 

While the male dominated sport of racing hasn’t made it easy on any woman entering the sport, Susie Wolff was able to overcome adversity and make a stand for what she believed in. She always knew that women had a place alongside men in racing and her career has proven that fact. 

Susie Wolff sincerely hopes and believes that she has paved the way for women in racing—and she is right. More and more young women are entering the sport through the junior programs. What lies ahead for women in the sport of racing? While no one can accurately ascertain the future, one thing is for certain: thanks to this female racing pioneer, the future of women in racing looks very bright indeed. And as anyone who knows Susie Wolff can tell you, if anyone can make it happen then she’s the one who will.

Category: Driver FeaturesTag: Formula 1, Open Wheel, Susie Wolff, Women Racing

F1 Test Driver Susie Wolff Retires

November 4, 2015 //  by Horsepower & Heels

Susie Wolff retiring from driving at the end of 2015Williams F1 test driver and lone female to compete in a F1 Grand Prix event in 20 years, Susie Wolff, announced her retirement from driving at the end of the 2015 season.

Since being appointed as Development Driver for the Williams F1 team in April 2012, Susie has worked hard over the years, moving up the ranks and ultimately leading to her promotion to Official Test Driver in 2015. Her duties as Official Test Driver has played an instrumental role in the development of the FW35, FW36 and FW37.  Susie worked through extensive simulator sessions for the team, getting behind the wheel for straight line aerodynamic tests and during numerous on-track test sessions.

This culminated in her driving the FW36 during FP1 at the 2014 British and German Grands Prix, becoming the first female driver to drive in a Grand Prix weekend for two decades.

“I’d like to thank Williams for the opportunity they have given me over the last few years which has allowed me to achieve my dream of driving a Formula 1 car,” Susie said. “It has been great to work with everyone at the team, both at Grove and trackside, and I’d like to thank everyone who has been part of my journey at Williams. I am now closing this chapter but looking forward to new challenges in the future.”

The upcoming Race of Champions, held in London’s Olympic Stadium on November 20-21, will mark her last competitive race in a career that she has pursued since she was 8 years old getting her start in karting.    Her decision to retire comes from her realization that the pursuit of her dream to become an Formula 1 driver would fall short, and that there wasn’t much room left to continue.   Susie spoke to many news organizations that although she believed that women did have a place in Formula 1 and that they were indeed capable of competing at that level – a fact she proved in test practices; there simply wasn’t enough momentum for her to continue the fight.   Susie Wolff retires as the lone figurehead for women in F1.

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal commented: “It has been a pleasure to work with Susie over the years and see her develop as a driver within the team. Her feedback and knowledge of the car has been an important part our recent development and we will be sorry to see her go. We want to thank her for all her efforts and wish her the very best for her future endeavours. We will of course be supporting both Susie and Felipe at the Race of Champions, and hope Susie has a great weekend to mark the last time we see her race.”

A Step Back for Women in Formula 1?

This announcement certainly feels like a setback for women vying for the opportunity to reach the pinnacle of the sport.    With Susie being the strongest contender to date with ties to the elusive F1 series, her retirement as a result of the ironclad ceiling that is preventing a female from being on the starting grid is definitely a set-back for the many women hoping for that first break-through role model.   Susie said in an interview with the BBC, the problem is two-fold:

“We have two issues – not enough young girls starting in karting at a young age and no clear role model. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it.”

Although she plans to remove herself completely from the Formula 1 paddock, she does hope that her future endeavors will enable her to give back to women in the sport and help another continue the path to success in F1.

“I dared to be different, I want to inspire others to do the same.”

 

What do you think about her retirement from racing?  What does this do for women in the fight to gain entry into Formula 1?

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: F1, Open Wheel, Susie Wolff, Women Racing

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