Girls on Track for 2021

Motorsport Australia’s ‘Dare to be Different’ program has been rebranded and expanded for 2021.

Initially limited to girls aged 8-12, the program has been rebranded as part of the FIA Women in Motorsport’s global initiative.

Now called 'Girls on Track', the program will now invite participants aged up to 18 as it seeks to attract girls to the career opportunities offered in motorsport and the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) arena.

Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca said the revised program will bring more opportunities for girls and young women to learn from females already in the sport overseas, as well as locally.

“While there is a new brand, we’ll continue to grow on the success of the program to date and ensure there is strong interest and that will encourage girls to consider motorsport as a career – whether as a competitor, engineer, in the media or whatever path they might be interested in,” Arocca said.

The importance of female motorsport role models and encouraging girls to pursue STEM subjects are key to the success of the program, according to Triple Eight Race Engineering commercial operations officer and co-owner, Jessica Dane.

Dane has worked in motorsport since 2008, initially as a mechanic but subsequently in merchandising, marketing and sponsorship roles.

“I desperately wanted to be a race engineer but you need maths and sciences, which I didn’t do. I did languages – that’s what I’m good at,” she said.

“So, I missed that opportunity and at the time I thought the only way I could be involved was as an engineer, and I thought that door was closed to me.”

She says her epiphany came while studying in the UK in 2011.

“I had stayed up all night watching the Bathurst 1000 only for us [Triple Eight] to come second to Garth Tander and Nick Percat – that was with Craig [Lowndes] and [Mark] Skaife in the car,” she said.

“I then drove to Silverstone for the British F3 finale! It was tipping with rain and I was sitting in the grandstand thinking, ‘Why am I sitting here in the pissing rain when I could be in Australia [working in motorsport]?’

“That was my light bulb moment. I knew whether it be in media, PR or TV production I’ve got those skills and I know that [motorsport] is the area I want to go into.

“I love the competitive nature, I love the team environment and I’m so grateful for that gut feeling I got on that day. It all made sense.”

Fast-forward a decade and Jessica Dane (now aged 30) is not only co-owner of the 2020 Bathurst 1000-winning team, she is a passionate and vocal advocate for women in motorsport.

Dane is the chair of the Australian Women in Motorsport Commission, the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s Australian delegate and an ambassador for the Australian FIA Girls on Track program. To top it off she’s also heading into the final year of a law degree.

“The bigger age range [of the new program] means we’re meeting and reaching more girls and we’re also now tapping into girls making those key choices about their university degrees and what subjects they take at school or college in the latter part of their education,” she told carsales.

“We’re [now] able to reach girls at other key points in their education timelines.”

If you’re chasing a career in motorsport, Dane says there’s one must-have trait – adaptability.

“One of the most important attributes you need to be successful in motorsport is adaptability. If there’s one thing 2020 has taught us, it’s the ability to adapt is vital,” she said.

“It’s also taught us how strong the motorsport community is and Supercars is just the tip of the iceberg… It’s the whole motorsport community that has come together to make this [season] possible; officials, volunteers and everyone else who comes together on a race weekend to make sure we can all go racing and keep it on TV.

“For a career in motorsport you’ve got to think on your feet quickly and pitch into a team effort when it really matters.”

With an eye to the challenges of 2020, Motorsport Australia has kicked off a Q&A-style Instagram Live series, with episode one hosted by Dane.

Fellow Girls on Track ambassador Molly Taylor co-hosted the first episode, with carsales’ consumer editor Nadine Armstrong and Erebus Motorsport managing director Shannen Kiely also presenting a program. ASBK TV host and executive producer Emma Notarfrancesco and sports broadcast journalist, TV presenter and F1 pit reporter Rosanna Tennant hosted the third episode of the series.

Jennifer Pitson, general manager of commercial and development for Motorsport Australia, said the 2021 program will expand as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

“We’ve got funding to expand into Tasmania and South Australia – potentially aligned to a Shannons Championship round or an Australian Rally Championship event,” Pitson said.

“This will provide a different experience for participants and showcase alternative aspects of motorsport.”

To amplify the success of women in motorsport, however, more female drivers are needed, says Dane.

“We definitely need to see more female drivers if we want to be serious about growing female participation in sport. As much as motorsport is a team effort, the drivers are by far the most visible in whatever category you’re looking at. We need to see females at the top of the pyramid,” Dane told carsales.

“By making female participation more visible, by having more females on the grid, it will definitely grow other areas of the sport. We all know it’s not a lack of talent that there aren’t more female drives at the top.”

Never one to turn down a challenge, in 2021 Dane will join the pit reporting team at Channel 7 on Motorsport Australia championship rounds including the carsales TCR Australia and Super 5000 series.

“It’s about changing the perception and that starts at a grassroots level. If we can grow the grassroots bases in both Australia and internationally, then we’re going to be in a far better position to be able to feed the girls through,” she said.

It harks back to the old adage that ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t be it’ and Dane admits that that 50:50 representation remains the dream.

“For that to be the norm, however, you have to do something outside of the norm to make it happen.”

Find out how to get involved in the FIA Girls on Track program here.