Charlotte Mackenzie, PR & Communications Manager, Motorsport UK, spends a day with the British Women Racing Driver’s Club as part of their InstoSpeed programme, introducing women to Hillclimbing.

It’s a chilly, but beautiful morning at Gurston Down Hillclimb Driver’s School, Wiltshire, with the sun peeking over the hills and pheasants crowing around the edges of the track as we finish up with our track walk.

Today, I’m joining IntoSpeed, run by the British Women Racing Driver’s Club, now in its second year. The programme centres on promoting Hillclimbing, the most accessible of motorsport disciplines, contested against the clock in road cars across the UK.

The IntoSpeed programme offers female-only days, designed to focus on getting comfortable in a car and learning the different ‘basics’ associated with motorsport such as timing and safety, before driving the Hillclimb course.

Returning back to the Club House, it’s time to catch up with Helen Allen, Chair of the BWRDC and the female participants. It’s refreshing to see a wide range of ages and marques lining up in the paddock – from a Morgan to an Abarth and a Mini Cooper S – the excitement, and nerves, are palpable.

The women have undergone a briefing prior to the track walk, and then its time for a few ‘convoy’ runs, during which they follow the lines of their instructors’ car. I’m fortunate enough for Grahame Chubb, Chief Paddock Marshal, to give us a run up the hill – with the deceptively sharp ‘Karousel’ awaiting drivers after they have navigated the equally tricky ‘Hollow’ after descending the first hill of the course.

The first solo runs of the day are soon underway, and as confidence grows, so too does speed – luckily the only casualty being a plucky pheasant – before a break for lunch.

During the break I catch up with Becky Crocombe, Speed Secretary for the BWRDC. Gurston is Becky’s ‘home hill’, having marshalled at the hill for 20 years and around 10 years on the Gurston Down Committee. A regular competitor herself, Becky knows only too well the importance of a short break out of the car to regroup and refocus.

Before long, the women are undertaking their final runs of the day. It’s great to see how confidence has grown, with smiles aplenty and several of the participants keen to even try their hand at competing.

Would I recommend an IntoSpeed day? Absolutely! The support from the BWRDC and warm welcome into the Hillclimbing community made for an excellent day out, and I’m more than tempted to give it a go myself next time…