Sisters on track for motorsport success Siblings raring to go after being signed up by race teams
Perth sisters Lucy and Chloe Grant are lappingup life in the fast lane.
Teenage track star and Perth High pupil Chloe (15) secured a dream £35,000 Junior Saloon Car Championship scholarship earlier this year.
The aim of the prize package is to bridge the gap between karting and saloon car racing for thrillseeking youngsters in the 14-17 age group.
Now big sis Lucy, a former karting champion, is also making the step into car racing.
She has been taken under the wing of the Graham Brunton Racing team after being selected as a role model for the Scottish Motor Racing Club’s ambitious ‘Women on Track’ initiative.
Lucy, who celebrates her 24th birthday tomorrow, is counting down to her first race this weekend in the SMRC David Leslie Trophy Meeting at Fife’s Knockhill circuit, in front of a limited number of spectators.
It marks the start of the Scottish Formula Ford Championship, with five races at Knockhill and one at the one-time F1 track at Cadwell Park flagged up for the summer.
Lucy, who heads-up Fierce Digital Marketing, admits she has been inspired by the exploits of sister Chloe and cousin Liam Gordon, the St Johnstone defender who has scooped two cup winners’ medals this season.
“Chloe’s first race after winning the scholarship was at Cadwell in Lincolnshire, where my dad Mike used to race bikes. It is a super narrow track,” said Lucy.
“It’s been four years since my last full season in karting and my first ever in cars.
“The plan had been to race Minis last year but COVID-19 wiped that out.
“I was going to race karts this year but out of the blue I got the offer of support from the Scottish Motor Racing Club (SMRC).
“The SMRC business development director Rory Bryant asked if I would be interested in heading up their ‘Women on Track’ project, which is encouraging more females into racing.
“This is a big step-up from karting and I’m looking forward to the first race weekend.
“I was so nervous the first time I took the car out. I felt sick.
“But after one lap I just couldn’t stop smiling. I couldn’t believe I was driving a race car round Knockhill, never mind a Formula Ford.
“That was the first official testing of the season and there were eight or nine of us involved.
“But the Knockhill event doubles up as the first race of the British Formula Ford Championship so it will be even more daunting, with competitors from across the UK taking part.
“In my first ever race there will be 20-odd of us out there on the track, including the best guys in the whole of the country.
“These cars can hit speeds of 130mph going down the straight. I actually lifted off because I was going so fast.
“I’d never had that feeling before. Normally you’re worried about going off the track at a corner. I could feel every bone in my body rattling.
“When I said I was going to be doing Formula Ford a few people said it would suit me coming from karts because the set-up would be similar.
“But when I went to Graham’s garage the team assured me it was very different.
“I have always been very competitive and so is Chloe.
“When this opportunity came along, I grabbed it. I really missed racing and seeing Chloe doing so well has pushed me on.
“At Cadwell, when Chloe secured her scholarship, I knew I was missing it all, even the smell of the cars and race days. I was desperate to get out there.
“Incredibly, I got the phone call from the SMRC a day or two after Chloe had won her scholarship. I couldn’t believe it.”
Lucy added: “I suppose the love of racing is in the DNA. We each want to do better than the other. We will be pushing each other on, even though we won’t be in the same races.
“When I was karting, Chloe was wanting my helmet and suit to get out there on the track herself. I suppose we are very alike.
“She doesn’t like being reminded she’s doing so well because of watching me in the karting!
“Liam has done so well with St Johnstone. Winning two cups has been incredible.
“I’d be thrilled to do half as well as he has done so far in his football career.”