A PROMISING Scots racing driver has been listed among youngsters from around the world with their sights set on bagging a place in the famous Ferrari Driver Academy – an initiative designed to promote young people in sport.
Chloe Grant, 16, was delighted to make the list unveiled by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.
Racing runs in the family with both her dad Mark and sister Lucy involved in motorsports.
Speaking to The National, the teen from Perth said: “Originally, it was my dad that was really into motorsport, but he never really told us, aside from just putting F1 on the TV.
“My sister Lucy had seen the movie about Senna and that inspired her to get into motorsports and luckily our dad had done a bit of karting so he knew people that would help get her involved.
“She’s nine years older than me so I went to all her races and started about a year after she did.
“What I currently use is an F4 car. The ladder goes F3, F2 and then F1 which sounds easy but it’s not that simple.
“We’re in a smaller car than they use in F1 and obviously slower.”
Grant has left school and is going to Loughborough College on a motorsport UK Enhanced DiSE course which aims to support young drivers in their sporting and academic endeavours.
As this is funded by Sport England, they only have two spaces for people outside of the country and Grant said she felt “very lucky” to be one of them.
She said Perth High School was “very supportive” of her when she was there and that “they let me have days off for training”.
Asked about her own heroes growing up, Grant said: “Ayrton Senna was a big one and obviously Lewis Hamilton. He’s the main person I remember growing up.”
Grant and the other racing stars will now take part in two separate training camps hosted at the Winfield Racing School which is based at the Circuit Paul Richard – a venue which has played host to the French Grand Prix.
She will join talent from across the world scouted by over 146 sporting authorities, with each nominating promising young drivers with either national or international racing experience.
The FIA women in Motorsport Commission’s Detection Cell whittled all the applications down to just six senior and eight junior drivers, representing 12 countries.
Grant will be in the senior category with participants drawn from the UK, Australia, Belgium and Uruguay.
“It’s very exciting, I’ve never done anything abroad, so it’ll be nice”, Grant added.
She continued: “Very few people get to be a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy so it would be an incredibly opportunity if I did get to train with them.”
Having been assessed on track in karts as well as off track in various workshops, just four drivers in each category will be selected to participate in the decisive Ferrari Driver Academy karting and Formula 4 Scouting Camps in November.
At the ned of the selection process, the selected senior driver could potentially become just he third female to have the chance to join the Ferrari Driver Academy.
She said: “I want to make it as a professional. Younger me would have said F1 but when you come into the real world of motorsports, you realise there’s so many different paths you can take.
“As long as I’m driving, I’m happy.”
