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Profile
DOB: 10/12
Hampshire
Results
Trophy treble for Dawn
Boyd
The season closed with a bang for Andover’s
girl motor racer Dawn Boyd last weekend.
With the points in the championship table so
close there was still all to play for, in the last
two races of the year at Snetterton. Dawn booked in
to do the championship double races and also
entered the VAG mixed class race again and on a
drying track she qualified first in her class in
the VAG race and fourth in the golf races. The VAG
race was very entertaining and with so many
different types and speeds of cars on circuit there
was always something going on. Dawn battled for the
class lead with the championship winner and being
careful not to make a mistake before the golf race
later on, she settled for second in class and
podium number one.
The golf race and hour later was hectic with
close and clean battling. Snetterton’s long
straights help slipstreaming and Dawn traded places
many times getting ahead of her main 2010 rival.
With the golfs mixing both 16valve and 8valve cars
together there were two class races going on at the
same time, and although the overall result counts,
points were gained for the class result. On the
very last corner a 16v car slid sideways straight
into the back of Dawn’s car, which resulted in
a broken exhaust and damaged shell but she brought
it home in third place and podium number two. An
event unheard of for her in four years of
racing.
The second golf race was an hour later and after
some running repairs Dawn was out and the
championship was still in the balance. She had to
be in the top three and her main rival not to
finish for her to be third in class for 2010. The
sun was beginning to set and Dawn kept up with the
leaders of her class but on lap five the car ahead
had technical troubles and she was up to second and
just had to hang on for four more laps. Her rival
had seemed glued to her bumper for lap after lap
when he got a good tow in the slip stream and he
was past. Dawn caught him several times but there
was no way through and on the last corner of the
last lap they went side by side on the run to the
line. The pit wall JMS supporters were going crazy
and as Dawn crossed the line she was pipped to
third by just 0.05 of a second but had podium
number three.
This was the best event of the season for Dawn
with the most trophies, the best racing and the
best support. She would like to thank her
supporters and JMS Motorsport for preparing the
car.
Fuel and Inspirations
Dawn Boyd may have come into the racing world a
little later in her career than others but she has
shown great perseverance and determination. I
caught up with Dawn to discover what fuels her
passion for motorsport racing.
At the age of 34 you entered the Formula
Women competition, what made you enter?
I saw an advert in the local paper for women
drivers - headline along the lines of "can women
drive or similar!" - a red rag to a bull! Before
that I had no special interest in motor racing
except driving my car well and fast whenever
possible. My only previous experience was a red
letter day at Brands Hatch on my 23rd Birthday. No
one in my family had any previous interest in
racing so I was going it alone! Starting from
scratch, so to speak!
How did you feel when you were selected for
the Top 100 out of 4000 entrants?
I cried! I got the letter on email while I was
at work and I was shaking as I opened it... it was
like opening a Wonka bar and seeing a golden
ticket! I was sat at my desk at work and yelled out
YES!! With my arms in the air my friends instantly
knew I was through. Finally I had some recognition
that I really could drive well and someone was
willing to offer me the chance to race.
What training did you do for the Formula
Woman event?
I knew that we would have to do some running.
I’m not built for running plus I have asthma,
so I started to try and get fit by joining a gym
etc. I took part in as many driving training days
that I could afford. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
However, just around the time I entered Formula
Woman my Father contracted pancreas cancer. So, to
keep my mind busy and my fitness up, I decided to
run the Race for Life for Cancer Research. As well
as helping myself I raised about £1000 for the
charity. Unfortunately dad didn’t make it but
he was around long enough to know I was through to
the finals. I remember visiting him after my
advanced training day, turning up to the hospital
in my Formula Woman shirt and racing boots! He died
on 4th April 2005 and unfortunately never got to
see me race. I just hope he approves of my new but
expensive hobby!
What classes have you raced in since your
racing career started in 2006, and which class did
you feel the most improvement in and why?
I raced a couple of times with Formula Woman,
including their record breaking event at Pembrey
and their Novice Championship at Knockhill. I
joined a fellow racer in Fiesta for a few races,
then got invited to join the MINI Challenge with
Advent Motorsport. I raced with them for 2 seasons.
Although I enjoyed the racing and the team
camaraderie I had limited successes. The second
year in Mini was meant to be a progression but
there were too many incidents and damage for me to
improve. I moved to race in the Golf GTI’s for
2009, forming an independent team with my Mini
mechanic, and owning my own car. I have felt the
most comfortable in this car and have really
enjoyed the close clean racing from people who know
the value of the hard work put in to put the car on
the circuit. Most drivers build and repair and even
drive their own race cars to the circuit so they
don’t have the win-at-all-costs mentality.
I have had the most progression and the most
success this year. Highest Qualifying place of 3rd,
best result 4th, finishing 4th in class and 8th
overall out of 46, culminating in my winning the
750 MotorClub's Ann Clayton Cup for the highest
placed female racer overall across 12
championships! I fully intend on improving on this
result with the Golf for 2010.
What has been your scariest moment so far
whilst racing?
Nothing has really 'scared' me, after all you
are strapped up and cocooned within the roll cage,
however, racing in the rain was my biggest hurdle
to climb. Probably the scariest was driving the FW
Caterham in the pouring rain at Knockhill. My
biggest 'moment' was having brake-pad knock-off in
the MINI after hitting the curbs hard at Pembrey
and losing all braking at the old hairpin. I sailed
off onto the grass after fighting with the
steering, and at the bend I ended up in the tyre
wall with a recorded impact speed of 50mph. That
hurt a bit, but it helped reduce my fears of
‘getting it wrong' as I walked away from
it.
So, are there any further plans for 2010, or
anyone you’d like to thank?
I have booked for a second season in the Golf
and fully intend on improving my results and
bringing home some long awaited silverware.
I would like to thank Nicky Grist for his
continued support,JMS Motorsport... my mechanic,
Girlracer Magazine, Wave 105 and the Andover
Advertiser for their press coverage
Source: Becci Stubbs for Girlracer
Magazine www.girlracer.co.uk
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