#39: Driving progress for women in motorsport with Catherine Bond Muir (Founder of W Series Racing)

START UP. START NOW.

W Series is a free-to-enter championship that provides equal opportunities for women and eliminates the financial barriers that have historically prevented them from progressing to the upper echelons of motorsport. By placing all participants in identical cars, the series ensures that talent takes precedence. Since its inaugural season in 2019, W Series has created the greatest number of professional women racing drivers of all time. In 2021, W Series entered a new landmark partnership with Formula 1 and supported the world’s premier motor racing series at seven Grand Prix weekends. This year, W Series will stage 10 races at eight Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends across three continents, including a first-ever race in Asia.

Catherine Bond Muir may not seem the obvious candidate to have founded the world’s first all-female single-seater motor racing championship. A former intellectual property solicitor, in 2000 she moved into corporate finance and spent more than a decade working on sports and gaming deals. This included the sale of Chelsea FC to Roman Abramovich and the acquisition of Aston Villa by Randy Lerner. After a career break following the birth of her first and only child relatively late in life, she was ready for a new challenge.

W Series was born at Catherine’s dining table. As a lifelong motorsport fan with treasured childhood memories of watching James Hunt racing on the television, she saw that, while women’s sport was generally enjoying a boom in popularity, the situation was only getting worse for women in motorsport. It has now been 46 years since a woman competed in a Championship Formula 1 Grand Prix, and it is W Series’ mission to change this.

Catherine Bond Muir was voted one of the Top Ten Most Influential Women in Sport in 2021 by iSport connect. She is currently a Board Director of Motorsport UK and Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee at Motorsport UK.

Listen in to find out more about W Series and Catherine's thoughts on Lewis Hamilton taking the knee at Formula One.

Find out more about Catherine Bond Muir via: LinkedIn and Instagram.

Find out more about W Series via: website, Instagram and LinkedIn.

A new episode EVERY WEEK, showcasing the journeys of inspirational entrepreneurs, side hustlers and their mentors. We discuss their successes, challenges and how they overcame setbacks. Focusing mainly on what they wish they had known when starting out. The podcast aims to give aspiring entrepreneurs the confidence to START UP and START NOW by showcasing real and relatable entrepreneurs. After all, seeing is believing!

Join the conversation using #startupstartnow and tagging us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Don't forget to leave a review as it really helps us reach those who need it and allows us to get the best guests for you!

Connect with START UP. START NOW. and to nominate a guest please visit: www.startupstartnow.co.uk. To connect with Sharena Shiv please visit: www.sharena.co.uk.