A few weeks ago, David Reynolds’ foot-in-mouth disease fed the Australian media some viral gold by referring to the V8 Supercar all-female Bathurst entry as “the pussy wagon”.
Reynolds’ comment conveniently took the spotlight from Dick Johnson who told the media the girls had “a million to one” chance of finishing the great race.
Two main points can be drawn from these drivers. Firstly, that V8 Supercar drivers need more media training. But more importantly, it is really hard to be a successful female athlete in a male dominated sport.
My brother is a V8 Supercar driver. Since I was about 12, I have been attending motorsport events with my dad and watching my brother race because I really love the sport.
As a female following motor racing, I would love to see a woman giving the boys a run for their money but unfortunately it’s not that simple.
Firstly, Reynolds needs to be forgiven because he is a bit out of left field. Please see the below photo of him drinking champagne out of his very sweaty race boot.
But I think Johnson’s comments were worse then Reynolds’ because he completely wrote off the girls chances of success, even though last years winners started last and at one point were a lap down.
Reynolds just said something he shouldn’t have, even though in the same interview he said plenty of nice things about the girls.
I also have the good word from his mum that he takes care of all the domestics at home.
But enough about the boys, lets talk about the girls. Renee Gracie, who races in the development V8 Supercar series and Simona De Silverstro, an ex-Sauber F1 test driver.
I give so much credit to both of the girls for achieving all that they have in such a tough sport.
But I would like to explain the boy’s stigma behind the girls getting a drive at Bathurst and why it is such a big deal for a woman to be a successful in motorsport.
The girls gained a wildcard spot in the category to race at Bathurst. But the boys were jealous because there are plenty of other guys higher up in the development series championship than Gracie.
So I hate to say it but the girls did get the spot because they are women. But far, out they deserve it.
I know though my brother’s early career, how many people told him he could never make it to where he is today. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be constantly dealing with ‘pad change’ jokes as well.
When I was younger my brother used to make vroomm-vroomm when he watched the race cars on TV. Sometimes I wonder if I had done the same, whether my dad would have bought me a go-kart so I could show the boys up.
But instead I played netball and now struggle to parallel park a car.
Male or female the sport is very tough. Unfortunately for girls, their physique can be a strong disadvantage.
Brake pressure applications are the equivalent of an 80kg leg press. Which makes my 50kg sets at the gym seem pretty pathetic.
The field, when qualifying for a race, is usually separated by 1 second and two-tenths-of-a-second could mean the difference between first and fifth. Keeping in mind you can’t start and stop a stopwatch faster than two tenths.
The cabin temperature can get up to 70°c and a driver is obviously not wearing a t-shirt, shorts and thongs (or jandals).
A driver also has to contend with the massive g-forces and have enough core strength to control their body.
If that’s not enough, no matter how tired or fatigued the driver is feeling they can’t make a mistake because they will probably hit a wall. If the driver hits a wall not only is their race most likely over, it could cost hundreds of thousands to fix and could leave them with any lasting effects, ranging from broken bones to death.
So I guess my point is that I’m happy with the way the media responded in backing up the female drivers. The conversations started by Reynolds’ comment shows that Australia is starting to care more about woman in sport.
However, it also shows how little the majority of Australia understands about motorsport because most of the media didn’t appreciate why people were so sceptical about the girl’s success.
Motorsport is so tough for girls because there are no female categories, even at the grassroots level of go-karts.
Maybe there would be a professional female V8 Supercar driver if they didn’t have to compete against the boys from the start, like most other sports.
Lucy's Life 