I finished my Sim Racing session yesterday evening to multiple missed calls from my parents telling me I’m “all over the news”… and honestly, I thought they were joking at first.
I checked my phone and suddenly there were messages everywhere. Friends sending links, people tagging me, articles popping up. One of them was on Yahoo talking about me heading into the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain this weekend, and just seeing it written like that felt completely surreal.
It’s strange, because from my side nothing really changed. I was still just sat there on my sim, doing laps, working on the same things I always do. Obviously trying to get better, trying to find time, trying to be ready. Then suddenly, it feels like loads more people are watching.
I think that’s the part that hits you. Not in a bad way really, just in a “this is actually happening” kind of way.
The articles talked a lot about me being a young woman coming through in motorsport, and I get why that’s a story. It is still quite a male-dominated sport. I notice it sometimes, especially when you’re younger and trying to prove yourself. But at the same time, when I’m in the car, none of that really matters. It’s just me, the track, and trying to be as quick as I can and that’s always been the focus. It reminded me of when I got the World Record last summer; I know it’s tagged as ‘First Female in History…’ but I just wanted to see if I could actually do it for myself.
I’m doing it because I want to race, I want to compete, and I want to keep moving up. The Porsche opportunity is a really important step for me, and I know how much work has gone into even getting close to this point from everyone around me.
And on that point, I just wanted to give special mention to one of my new partners, Pure Digital PR, who released the ‘news’ as I’ll call it for now about what I’m doing this season and this coming weekend, and through their relationships with national media outlets, it has been picked up and I’m extremely grateful. I’ll share a few more links at the end of this post.
Seeing it picked up in the news did make me stop for a second though. It makes you realise that people are paying attention, and that the journey isn’t just yours anymore. And if that means a few more young girls see it and think, “maybe I could do that too,” then that’s probably the best part of it all, because I remember being at a younger age and not really seeing many people like me in motorsport. It can feel quite far away when you’re on the outside looking in, but if you’re reading this and thinking that then I need to tell you, it’s not.
You don’t need to have everything figured out. You don’t need to come from a perfect background or have it all mapped out. You just need to start, stick at it, and be prepared to keep going when it gets tough, because it will. It literally is just all about hard work.
This weekend is another step, in fact a really big one. And yeah, maybe a few more people will be watching than usual, but when the helmet goes on, it’s the same job as always. Drive the car. Keep improving. Don’t overthink it.
And for any young girls watching or reading this, whether it’s motorsport or anything else, just go for it. Don’t wait until you feel “ready”, because you probably never will.
Start anyway.
Wish me luck!
Gracie
Here are a couple of the articles so you can have a read:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/yarm-teen-gracie-race-porsche-090758297.html
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/gracie-mitchell-yarm-porsche-sprint-33766342
