Motorsport is an expensive and male-dominated industry, usually only accessible for Cornelius and Clifford using their trust funds. However, 21-year-old Alicia Barrett from Southwell is looking to buck this trend. Despite her tender years, she’s more than a decade into her racing career, currently moving from kart racing to race cars, and looking for support to take it to the next level…
How did your journey in racing begin?
I was eight years old when my parents took me to PF International karting track in Grantham. I loved it and knew I wanted to carry on doing it. It all escalated from there. At the age of ten I got my race license and my first kart, which meant we could travel to more tracks. However, PF has always been my local track and it still is now.
What have you achieved in your career so far?
In 2017 I took part in my first ever European race at the Le Mans Kart track, which is next to the illustrious car track. We went there with no expectations, but I ended up becoming the X30 Ladies Champion. It’s a massive title and some of the women that you've seen win these titles since are now competing in GT racing and other big categories. Then in 2019 I became the IAME Ladies Cup Champion in a tournament in France. I was the only Brit out there and I'd never raced against a full grid of women. It was really competitive.
Growing up, how hard was it to see a place for yourself as a young female in racing?
When I started racing really young, I just didn't think about gender. However, when I started to reach my teens I realised there were barriers I had to overcome as a female. The only role model I had growing up was Susie Wolff. She was the only woman I ever saw achieving anything. Then when she reached a point where she couldn't drive professionally anymore, she started to focus on movements like the F1 Academy.
For many years the only other female racer I saw on the tracks with me was Abbi Pulling, who is now in the F1 Academy and racing in the GB3 championship. It was only us really, everyone else was male. At times it definitely felt like I had to prove myself more than everyone else. Some of the boys I raced against told me their dads hated it when I beat them. However, I think knowing that made me a better driver - I always gave as good as I got.
Some of the boys I raced against told me their dads hated it when I beat them. However, I think knowing that made me a better driver - I always gave as good as I got
Do you think the new wave of initiatives like F1 Academy are enough? Or does real equality mean women racing alongside men at every level?
My belief is that women are good enough to compete against men and it's nice to see that there are now more females moving up the ranks. In a sense the F1 Academy is controversial because I've always raced against males and I don't necessarily believe in sectioning off women. However, I understand the reason they've done it, which is basically to increase the spotlight on the female athletes.
It was disappointing seeing the woman who won the first F1 Academy series, Marta Garcia, drop out of single seater racing because she couldn't afford it, though she does now race with the Iron Dames team in GT racing. For me, seeing her doing well in that is cool, but it's disappointing because she went through F1 Academy with the aim of trying to get up through Formula 3 and Formula 2. It was just the lack of financial backing that stopped her.
Unless you're a part of an academy, like Ferrari or Mercedes, you've completely got to navigate it by yourself and it's hard to know which way to go, especially when teams are just looking for someone to pay them the most money. If you don't have money to back you, they're not interested. It’s a shame considering Lewis Hamilton is one of the best F1 drivers ever and he's one of the few who didn’t pay his way up.
You were part of the McLaren 60 Scholars programme. Tell us about that…
It was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I went into it not quite understanding where I wanted my career to go in motorsport. Obviously, driving for me is always a priority, but I also study Zoo Biology and am passionate about the environment. We worked with big companies like Google and Deloitte and did lots of different courses and workshops with them.
Sustainability is important in business nowadays and companies and teams like McLaren have to offset their emissions. I learned more about that and met McLaren’s Head of Sustainability, Kim Wilson, who explained the work they do out in the Great Barrier Reef. For me that seemed like the perfect thing to combine two passions and gave me that reassurance that I was going down the right route.
How much of your time is actually spent off the track, navigating sponsors and logistics?
That side of it is like a full-time job in itself. Before I was trying to do all this by myself, but I’m so grateful that I now have Johnny Moore working with me as my promoter and taking some of the workload off me. He's the one going after all the leads, but I’m obviously still there to meet people and represent myself. Ultimately if I don't get the sponsorship, I’m not going racing.
Tell us about your ambitions to race in the Ginetta GT Academy...
Our aim for 2026 is to go and race in the Ginetta GT Academy. We’ve spent a lot of time looking at the right series, and I truly believe that’s where my journey should go next. My aim is to finally get a full season of cars under my belt and gain experience and hopefully some top five finishes and podium finishes along the way.
What’s the best message you can send to a young woman from Notts who dreams of racing?
Believe in yourself and have confidence. I think a lot of the time, the reason a lot of young girls don't get into sport in general is because they worry too much about it. Really I'd say, just go and have fun, but it’s also worth looking at sponsorship as early as possible, even if it's just your local sponsors. If you can build a relationship with people over your career, you've got more chance if and when you need more support to move up the ranks. However, even more than that just believe in yourself and enjoy the ride.
Alicia and her manager Johnny Moore are currently looking for sponsors and support to help make the Ginetta GT dream happen. If you are interested, email Johnny at onejohnny@live.co.uk
@aliciabarrettracing
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