It’s speeding to a town near you this summer – a motor racing series that’s fast gaining a reputation for its gender inclusiveness.
Toyota’s six-round 86 series, which travels the country from next month through until April, is attracting increasing numbers of women both as drivers and volunteer officials.
And it seems the series' family-friendly vibe is playing a part.
Four women — the most ever, two of them from Australia — will line up at the first round in Taupō in three weeks. And working diligently in multiple organisational roles, a troupe of female volunteers are giving back to the sport they love.
“It’s very much a family environment," said Deb Day from the Hampton Downs race circuit race control tower.
"It’s my dad’s fault I’m involved in motorsport. It really is a game the family plays. Both my daughters, my sister, my mother and my dad still volunteer.”
Day’s family company, Dayle ITM, is adding to the commitment by sponsoring 12 New Zealand drivers — several of them on the international stage.
Volunteer assistant clerk of the course, Amy Pullen, will be travelling the country with the Toyota circus, and her newborn daughter Indie is also going along for the ride.
“I love it, being able to work with a close-knit team and being empowered in the sport as a female makes you feel good about yourself," she said.
"We are encouraged hugely as women working in motorsport."
Thirty-six-year-old Christina Orr-West, a dairy farmer from the Bay of Plenty, is the elder stateswoman of the series. She’s been racing since she was 12 and this is her fourth season racing in the Toyota 86s.
She’ll be joined on the grid by fellow Kiwi Bree Morris and Australians Alice Buckley and Summer Rintoule.
Orr-West said having four female competitors on the grid shows the strength of the series, in terms of close competition and as a stepping stone for developing drivers.
“When the visor goes down, we're no different to anyone else. We are all racers,” she said.
Series manager Amanda Tollemache said she's “incredibly proud” of the category’s inclusiveness and believes female participation can only increase.
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