Written by Alejandra Guajardo, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Women have played an influential role throughout the history of motor racing. Many have taken to the wheels of motorsport machines, while numerous figures have worked tirelessly on the sidelines in various roles, shaping the racing world to the present day. Woman Spotlight Wednesday aims to take a look at the tales of these superwomen, who have surpassed various hurdles to reach where they are today.
Today’s story focuses on the motorsport journalist and podcaster, Katy Fairman, one that has proven that hard work and passion are everything you need to succeed.
Katy Fairman, born in the mid-90s, was introduced to the motorsport world by her dad, much like many fans of the sport. Her earliest and most unforgettable memory of motorsport is of Jenson Button winning the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.
However, Katy never considered a career in motorsports, even though it was her biggest passion, she thought it was out of reach, placing that dream on a pedestal too high.
Things turned around for Fairman when she was 17 and bored during the holidays in her bedroom. She decided to start a blog dedicated to her one and only true love, motorsport. Having seen her motorsport blog take off, she decided to re-do her first year of A-levels, switching from teacher to motorsport journalist.
Just two years after creating her blog, Fairman received amazing opportunities such as attending and being in and around the Formula E and Formula 1 paddock. Even so, she still used all her money and vacation days from her jobs as a hairdresser and marketer to keep writing about different championships.
"I got to a point where I was just spending all my own money to get to events," Katy said in an interview with Her Sport. "Every trip I went on, I loved it because I got to be with fast cars and cool people that drive them."
Katy attended her first race with media accreditation in 2017, Formula E’s Monaco E-Prix. That same year, one of her articles got noticed and praised by the Sauber F1 Team, who called her work “mesmerising” on their Reddit page.
2020 was a big year for Fairman as she was offered a life-changing opportunity to join WTF1 as their Website Editor. She gained exposure ever since, appearing on WTF1’s podcast, and live streams in front of their hundreds of thousands of followers.
After three years of working with WTF1 and growing their website traffic massively, Katy decided to take a step forward in her career, and venture into full-time freelance journalism. She also launched her podcast, Small Torque.
"I really had a sense of empowerment and self-belief in myself that I've never really had before in my career," she said to Her Sport about her decision to leave WTF1 and launch her own podcast.
Fairman’s podcast has been an absolute success, even appearing on a billboard in Leicester Square. Katy continues to thrive throughout her career, proving how hard work and patience can take you to the top.
"Believe in yourself and understand that although you might be working hard, these things can take time”, said Katy when asked to give advice about working in motorsports.
