WHO IS BUILT BY GIRL?

I DIDN’T GROW UP THINKING I’D BECOME A RACE CAR DRIVER.

Built By Girl® didn’t begin with a business plan or a school programme.

It began with curiosity.

I wanted to understand how a race car worked, so I started asking questions, pulling things apart, learning from people around me and figuring things out as I went.

I had no mechanical qualifications, no engineering background and no history in motorsport.

Eventually, that curiosity became a race car.

And that race car changed far more than I expected.

Four children with light skin enjoying a day outdoors. Two are sitting on a white horse, one girl with blonde hair wearing a yellow and white cap and blue jumpsuit, and a boy with brown hair in a blue t-shirt and beige pants. Two boys stand beside the horse, one with dark hair in a purple and blue sweatshirt, and another with curly hair wearing a gray and orange shirt with a green cap. The background features green rolling hills and a partly cloudy sky.

THEN CAME MOTORSPORT.

I didn’t begin my racing journey until my mid-40s.

I didn't know how to build a race car. So I learned.

One component. One question. One mistake. One solution at a time.

There were plenty of moments when I didn't know what I was doing — but instead of that being the reason to stop, it became the reason to keep learning.

The result is the Built By Girl RX-8: a real, working circuit race car that continues to race today.

And that's important.

Because the car students meet isn't a museum piece or a prop.

On the weekend, it's a race car.
At school, it's a classroom.

A woman racing driver with blonde hair wearing a black racing suit with logos, standing in a garage with race cars and equipment in the background.

BEFORE THE RACE CAR

I grew up on a farm, where being practical, getting dirty and having a go were simply part of life.

But school was different.

I struggled academically and left without the qualifications I thought I needed for the future I had imagined.

It wasn't until much later in life that I discovered I had ADHD and dyslexia.

Suddenly, many of the things I'd struggled with made more sense.

I hadn't lacked the ability to learn.

I simply learned differently.

A black race car with gold and red decals, number 144, parked in a pit garage area. The car has a large rear wing, various sponsor logos, and racing stickers, including Penrite Racing and Mazda.

Sketch of a black race car with yellow decals, the number 144 on the side, emitting tire smoke, with sponsor logos and a rear wing.

BUILT BY GIRL ISN'T REALLY ABOUT THE CAR.

The car is what you can see.

The bigger story is what happened while building it.

I discovered that confidence doesn't always come first. Sometimes you have to start before you feel ready, make mistakes, learn something new and allow confidence to catch up later.

That's the idea I now take into schools through The Power of Possibility.

Not every student will become a mechanic, engineer or racing driver — and that's not the goal.

I want young people to walk away thinking:

MAYBE I COULD.

Maybe I could learn that.

Maybe I could try something I've never considered.

Maybe there's another pathway for me.

Maybe being different isn't a reason to count myself out.

A woman standing in a garage next to a black race car with various sponsor logos, including Penrite, inside a racing facility with open door and outdoor view in the background.

AND I'M STILL LEARNING.

Built By Girl isn't the story of someone who has everything figured out.

The race car is still racing. I'm still developing as a driver. Things still break. Mistakes still happen. And there is always something else to learn.

That's exactly why the story is real.