WOMEN in motor sport. They’re usually found in public relations, marketing or clad in bikinis on the starting grid. It is virtually unheard of for a member of the fairer sex to be calling the shots of a major racing team. Katie Clements is the exception to the rule.
“You sometimes get the impression from an outsider’s point of view that perhaps women shouldn’t hold this level of profile in motor sport.
” – Katie Clements The Team GBR principal talks about perceptions of motor sport
Clements is the principal of Team Great Britain, one of A1GP’s most respected and best-performing teams. As if her gender isn’t enough to distinguish Clements in a macho, male-dominated realm, Clements is also comfortably the youngest team leader in A1GP. The energetic, affable blonde celebrated her 30th birthday the day after foxsports.com.au caught up with her at Sepang International Circuit on qualifying day for the Malaysian A1GP.
To place an exclamation point on Clements’s uniqueness, other A1GP teams such as Australia (Alan Jones) and Brazil (Emerson Fittipaldi) boast former Formula One world champions as their figureheads. Rubbing shoulders as equals with such industry heavyweights, it is not stretching things to say Clements is one of the most important and influential women in motor racing.
“As long as you’re tough enough to stand on your own two feet, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman,” says Clements, who took over from former champion driver John Surtees in May last year having joined A1GP in a commercial capacity.
“What I do is a tough job, whether you are a man or a woman. I do have the same respect of other teams’ seatholders down the pit lane, but it can be difficult. You sometimes get the impression from an outsider’s point of view that perhaps women shouldn’t hold this level of profile in motor sport.
“In terms of being female, you do come across the occasional problem. But I’m strong enough to look after myself. We have a lot of females in A1GP – not in the job I’m doing – and they are all respected.
“The important thing is I get a lot of support from other team owners, other team principals, mechanics, engineers and everyone down the paddock. I’m very lucky.
“And a lot of people see it as a breath of fresh air. The supporters outnumber the detractors. I feel I’ve proven myself with last season’s results (Team GBR finished third in the championship). I can only see positives.”
Clements’s job is all-encompassing and all-engaging. Her father, Tony, is the seatholder of Team GBR, but her appointment was not a publicity stunt, and nor does her remit end at interviews and photo shoots.
“I oversee everything to do with the team, whether it be racing, commercial, PR, accounts, legal, everything,” she says.
“However, I have guidance from a great team with Formula One experience and I have a top engineer as well. I have some fantastic guys behind me”
Clements’s affection for her pit crew and drivers is palpable.
“We’re not in competition with F1. Lewis Hamilton attracts people to motor sports, and that’s a good thing for us. His success is a good thing for Team GBR. There’s no other way to look at it.
” – Katie Clements Team GBR principal describes the effect of Lewis Hamilton on the popularity of A1GP in the Old Dart
“All the teams work so hard in A1GP, and my team is no exception,” she says.
“In the last round in Chengdu, they worked through the night one night. Over the course of three or four days they had six and a half hours sleep, and that was in order to get us on track and get us to win. We had two podiums there, so that was testament to their skill and hard work.
“The driver, Danny Watts, is absolutely awesome. He’s really, really hungry and it’s great to be able to give him the opportunity.”
Motor sport has always been a big deal in Great Britain, but the success of Lewis Hamilton, the current king of Formula One, has seen the sport enjoy levels of popularity unseen in decades. Clements says Hamilton’s success has helped A1GP’s profile back home, as, crucially, has Team GBR’s success with three third-place championship finishes in the first three seasons.
“We’ve been accepted very well,” she says. “A lot of people seem very excited about it and the good thing about A1 is it’s captured the imagination of people who aren’t necessarily motor sports fans. It’s attracted people who like the idea of getting behind their nation as opposed to a manufacturer.
“From that point of view it’s great as it’s brought an increasingly large fan base year on year. TV figures are up, and even just on feedback it’s very encouraging. The fact we’ve been consistently good performers on the track also helps.
“We’re not in competition with F1. Lewis Hamilton attracts people to motor sports, and that’s a good thing for us. His success is a good thing for Team GBR. There’s no other way to look at it.”
Just as Clements is a good thing for Team Great Britain. Tradition and convention might suggest otherwise, but the proof is in the pudding. There’s no other way to look at it.
