A Formula One fanatic who started watching the sport as a child hopes she can take full advantage of a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
Magdalena King of Whittlesey is one of 50 women to have reached the finals of this year’s Formula Woman racing series in a bid to race against professional drivers.
“The fact that I could apply as a person without a racing background, I knew that this is my opportunity,” she said.
Magdalena, 30, has lived in the UK since she was 13-years-old after moving from Poland and used to spend time with her father who was keen on Formula One.
“I hung around with him and his mates while they were with their motorbikes,” said Magdalena.
“I’ve watched F1 since I was nine, 10-years-old.”
At 15-years-old, Magdalena tried karting but was unable to pursue a career in the sport due to financial reasons.
So, she became a marshal at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire and also attends British Grand Prix events.
But after signing up to a WhatsApp group with other female motorsport enthusiasts, Magdalena became aware of another opportunity.
“We have a WhatsApp group and talk about different topics, such as fitness and mental wellbeing,” she said.
“One day, a girl asked if I had heard of Formula Woman. I hadn’t, so I went on their website and the rest is history.”
Magdalena applied and attended an assessment day at the Bedford Autodrome last November, where she was examined on areas such as fitness, theory and media training.
And it was on December 23 when she was confirmed a place, from around 800 to 1,000 applicants, in the final between March 2-3.
The field will then be cut to 10 women before the final four, who will race for Formula Woman at this year’s GT Cup, are revealed over the weekend of March 10-11.
Magdalena hopes through her progress, she can help inspire other women and girls into motorsport, too.
“It’s about resilience and following your dreams,” she added.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and many other women, and I feel quite confident about it.
“I feel quite confident as I’m spending a lot of time doing mental and fitness preparation, so I’ll be going there to smash it."
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