School pupils rub shoulders with motor racing stars on International Women in Engineering Day

Pupils from Oxford and beyond enjoyed a packed day of activities at Oxford Brookes University to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day earlier this week.

More than 50 girls from schools including Cheney School and Headington Rye in Oxford visited the University’s brand-new teaching building on the University’s Headington Hill site, where they met female motorsports stars Vanina Ickx and Marta Garcia from the Iron Dames Motor Racing Team. 

Vanina Ickx is a professional Belgian racing driver and the daughter of motorsport legend Jacky Ixck. Her racing career began in 1996 with the Procar BMW Compact Cup. Her notable achievements include a 7th overall finish at the 2024 Hours of Le Mans, two Le Mans Series podiums and a victory at the Spa 12 Hours in 2008. Her racing career began in 1996 with the Procar BMW Compact Cup.

Marta Garcia was the inaugural champion of the F1 Academy, a series of female drivers. She has experience as a race winner in the W series and won titles in karting including CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and the Trofeo delle Industrie (the oldest kart race in the world).  

Marta and Vanina talked about their careers in a presentation designed to inspire girls to consider careers in motorsport. Iron Dames is a Swiss-Italian auto-racing and equestrian team founded by French businesswoman Deborah Mayer. 

The pupils also met the award-winning Oxford Brookes Racing team and learnt about the electric racing vehicle they develop each year to compete in the International Formula Student competition. They were introduced to Driven by Us - an organisation that aims to empower aspiring leaders from underrepresented backgrounds in the automotive and motorsport industry. A Mission 44 scholar studying for the MSc Motorsport at Oxford Brookes University was part of a question and answer panel that took place in the afternoon. Mission 44 is Sir Lewis Hamilton’s charity foundation which focuses on building a more inclusive and equitable future for young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). 

Local media, including BBC Oxford and Heart FM reported on the event. Read the BBC Oxford report.