GB4's Chloe Grant on Karting in Scotland, Competing in F1 Academy, and Pushing Change for Women in Motorsport

Born and raised in Perth, Scotland, Chloe Grant spent her early years in a kart after taking inspiration from her older sister Lucy, who raced karts in her teens. Chloe spent her time watching Lucy at kart tracks across Scotland and before she knew it, she was spending her time in a kart herself.  

In only a few years, Chloe has jumped from karts to closed wheel racing to single seaters, and went international in 2023 when she competed in the inaugural season of F1 Academy in 2023 with ART Grand Prix. This season, Chloe is back racing on UK soil in the GB4 Championship with KMR Sport.  

Silverstone caught up with Chloe about her racing journey so far and what it means to be inspiring the next wave of girls and young women wanting to break into the motorsport industry.  

Chloe initially set foot in a kart in 2013, when she was seven, after following Lucy around at the kart circuit and watching her race. Chloe told her dad, who was motorsports obsessed, that she wanted to have a go in a kart, too.

“Because I was much younger than Lucy, I had to get my own kart that was obviously suited to my age with the speed that it goes at,” she says. “I started cadets because of Lucy and then it never stopped.”  

As she grew up karting across Scotland, Chloe was often surrounded by at least another girl at race weekends. However, now, she coaches aspiring female racers in karts, and she is already seeing a difference in diversity at the track.

“There are four or five other girls and that is just unbelievable to me, and that’s only in Scotland,” Chloe says. “In England, I’ve seen just how many young girls there are in karting now and it’s so nice to see because there are so many more than what I knew of.”

Unlike England, there are very few karting circuits in Scotland and Chloe spent a lot of her formative karting years in her home country. It wasn’t until later in her karting career that she moved to competing in England.

“In England, there are so many more karting opportunities, so many more teams and tracks,” she says. “I felt that the more I went to different tracks, drove with new drivers and learnt more race craft, I was becoming a better driver.”

However, Chloe has some amazing memories from her time competing in Scotland. Her first championship win came in 2019, in the East of Scotland (ESKC) Junior Club Championship.  

“As a kid, it makes you the happiest person in the world,” she says.

Having spent a lot of time karting and perfecting her craft in karts, Chloe admits that now, she doesn’t have as much confidence in the car compared to karts, particularly in wet conditions. In three years of single seater racing, she’s only had five days running in the wet.

However, Chloe looks back at her first ever Junior Max race in 2019, when she was 13, at Crail, her local circuit in Scotland. She was racing on dry tyres when it started to rain, and she absolutely loved that in the kart.

“I won the race by two seconds and I was very happy,” Chloe says. “That was the best race I had because I just felt so confident in the kart, I knew exactly what I was doing and I was just driving.

“When you’re not thinking and you’re just driving, that’s the best thing ever, so I’m trying to get to that point in cars at the minute.” 

In 2021, Chloe’s plan was to spend one more year in karts and enter the British Championships in the UKC but a friend suggested that she enter into the Junior Saloon Car Championship Scholarship. The process consisted of a fitness test, a media test, a driving test and a manoeuvres test before a points system narrowed down the top five.

“They did an auction and announced the winner and it was me,” Chloe says. “I was very shocked. Another driver, Charlotte Birch, recorded it and the camera was on me so I have that as a nice memory.”

Chloe spent 2021 in the Junior Saloon Car Championship, her first year outside of karts in a closed wheel racing category.  

“When you start karting, you dream of Formula 1, you dream of driving single seater,” Chloe says. “At the time, I would have loved to think it would be great to do single seaters next season but I didn’t see it as a realistic option, I didn’t think my family would ever be able to afford it.”

Chloe ended up looking at other options, including the JCW Mini Challenge and GT racing, to progress into touring cars but then, Laser Tools Racing had partnered up with her teammate in 2022 and they were looking for another girl to sponsor for GB4. Her team then suggested her and Laser Tools Racing got in touch to begin discussing the possibility.

“I went downstairs one day and my mum and dad were sitting in the kitchen,” Chloe says. “I knew something was going on, and they were like, ‘Laser Tools Racing want to sponsor you to do GB4’ and I just started bawling my eyes out.

“I didn’t think it was real, it was unbelievable; I’m coming into my third year of partnership with them now and they’ve been so good to me, so that was the biggest life changing moment.” 

2023 saw the first year of Formula 1’s brand-new initiative to support more young female drivers in motorsport. F1 Academy raced across Europe before flying Stateside to join the F1 support package for their final round at COTA, in Austin, Texas.  

Prior to her joining the series, Chloe was put in touch with Sébastien Philippe, the CEO of ART Grand Prix. After a few conversations, they arranged to meet at the team’s head office in Paris.

“I went on their simulator and they judged me from how I was driving on the sim and how I got along with the team because of course, they needed to know how I can work with the team,” Chloe explains. “I actually worked with the engineer who became my engineer, which was really nice.

“A week later, we were home, and we got an email saying that ART wanted to sign me for F1 Academy and again, I just started crying. I don’t cry often, but when it comes to racing, I cry.”

During her year in F1 Academy, Chloe secured a best race finish of P4 in Valencia. Off-track, she built an incredible relationship with her teammates at ART Grand Prix, and they really helped her in continuing to develop her career on-track and as a racing driver.

“Everything I know now – how a car feels, what’s good, what’s wrong, how it’s set up, everything to make me smooth, fast and efficient – is because of ART,” she says. “I owe so much to them.

“They really became like a family to me and it completely changed me, not just as a driver but also as a person in the best way.”

At the fifth round at Monza, in the first race of three at the event, Chloe was involved in a turn one collision which saw her retire from the race and withdraw from the following two that weekend. She expected to return at Paul Ricard and just be able to drive, however, it was a little harder than that.

“I definitely lost a bit of confidence but after having more time in the seat after it, more testing before Austin and more time out, I got back to my normal self,” Chloe says. “Maybe in a way not it’s helped, because I almost know my limits and I can push very hard now.

“Maybe it’s convinced me to wake up, forget about any mental blocks and just push.” 

Over recent years, especially with the popularity of W Series and F1 Academy, as well as a range of off-track initiatives, the world of motorsport has seen a huge push for the inclusion of girls and young women in the sport across a whole variety of roles. The Girls on Track initiative, something Chloe has been part of since its Dare to be Different days, host events throughout the year for girls and young women to attend.

“These events and are about educating girls and young women and showing them that motorsport is an option,” Chloe says. “That it’s not just driving, but there’s mechanics, engineers and media... they show them the options and let them interact with fun activities.

“When I was younger, I had nothing like that and I found motorsport on my own, through my sister, but without her, I don’t know how I would’ve found the way I wanted to get into it.”

Girls on Track is all about inspiring the next generation and Chloe now holds an ambassador role with the initiative, having been involved with it since the very first event.  

“It’s unbelievable, becoming an ambassador,” she says. “I get to sit on the panel and chat and pass on any information, answer any questions... it’s all a bit unreal because I’ve been that girl in the crowd before.

“It’s an incredible privilege and I hope I can help lots of girls by being in this role.” 
 

Chloe hasn’t spent much time racing at Silverstone yet, however, at the beginning of 2024, she was at the Home of British Motorsport in a British F4 car.

“I love that car to death and I love the Grand Prix circuit,” she says. “My most special moment at Silverstone was the first time I drove it and I just couldn’t believe I was driving on a circuit that Lewis Hamilton and all of these Formula 1 drivers have driven on.”

Chloe also attended the 2022 British Grand Prix with the BRDC but more recently, she returned to race on-track as part of the 2024 GB4 Championship. Although the weekend, and therefore the GB4 racing schedule, was interrupted by poor weather at Silverstone, Chloe scored a P7 finish in race one. Unfortunately, she did not finish the second race, but she hopes that she can continue to make some incredible memories on-track and off-track at the Circuit. 

In 2023, Chloe was asked by John Clark OBE to join the driver line-up for Écurie Écosse and to represent Scotland. The racing team have such rich history, including in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and now, Chloe has the opportunity to meet more Scottish racing drivers and learn from them.

“I’m very lucky to be part of it and I hope to keep having more success with them,” she says.

“They’re giving me lots of opportunities this season, with the likes of driving historical cars, which I never thought I’d get to do so I’m quite excited for that.”

For the rest of the 2024 season, Chloe will continue her GB4 campaign with KMR Sport, with another event scheduled at Silverstone later on in the year.

“In a world where I can dream big, I’d love to be champion but I don’t know if that’s possible with the lack of testing,” Chloe says. “I’m just going to push the hardest and best that I can, hopefully get consistent podiums and that first win, and see where we can end up.”

 

Image credit: 

Heading image: ©Thru The Lens

Article Images: ©Jakob Ebrey Photography