Driven by Diversity Podcast

A long and distinguished career in sports medicine, physiotherapy and rehabilitation is on the CV of today’s guest Roger Cleary, not only in elite sport, but within the RAF and NHS too. More specifically in the motorsport world, Roger is probably most known to avid F1 fans as Mark Webber’s former physio at Red Bull, but prior to this he worked closely with world rally legends, Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz Sr. Growing up as first generation-born to Jamaican parents in what was a turbulent era for black Britons, Roger tells of having to endure racist abuse early on in his career  - particularly in professional football, both as player and physio. Not only this, he witnessed the infamous glass ceiling effect around him too, but Roger refused to accept this as his fate and pushed through to forge his own path to achieving what he never thought possible as a young boy leaving home.

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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The only full-time female rally driver in the USA is quite a title, and one that Keanna Erickson-Chang wears proudly. After growing up experiencing the harsh winters of home state Vermont, it might be fitting to declare that the rally world chose her, as it was after attending winter driving schools that gave Keanna that first taste of car handling and control. Picking up the bug for just pure driving, sports car racing then made its way onto the agenda, only to be soon pushed aside for rallying - and the rest is history. Strongly believing that visibility is key in order for more women to make their way into motorsport, in our chat we touch on W Series as well as other initiatives set up to support females within the industry.

Find more of Keanna's rally stories on socials @keannaechang on both Instagram & Twitter

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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The Driven by Diversity Podcast returns for a second season and who better to help us kick things off than a familiar face on the motorsport broadcast and presenting scene, Rosanna Tennant. Covering Formula 1 and Formula 2, Rosanna has travelled to various Grands Prix over the last few years, interviewing some of the sport’s biggest stars as well as iconic VIP celebs. She also works with the Mercedes F1 team to host their digital video content, however you may be surprised to learn that her original ambition was actually to become a newsreader. Rosanna's Broadcast Journalism Masters acted as the catalyst that would start her on, at times, a twisting and turning career path, but the dots finally started to align when she landed a presenting job with YouTube channel, Pole Position. Keen to inspire the next generation, this broadcaster has had involvement with organisations such as F1 in Schools and Dare to be Different and is now ambassador for the FIA Girls on Track programme.

To catch Rosanna on socials and follow her behind the scenes during the F1 season, find her on Instagram & Twitter: @RosannaTennant

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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For our final episode before we sign off for 2020, we are joined by Gabriel Elias, an ex-Mercedes F1 Team engineer, whose ambition as a young graduate saw him quit his job, sell everything he owned and pack his bags to move 4,000 miles across the Atlantic, from Miami to Brackley. Focusing on concept design, composite design and powertrain integration at the home of the 7-time world champions, Gabriel's journey into Formula 1 saw him jump a lot of hurdles in order to get to where he had always dreamed of. After a good stint at the factory, this Lebanese-American engineer now has his own design consultancy in the US, having seen the huge potential to grow the sport in the Americas, aligning with F1’s ambition to enter emerging markets.

Search Gabriel Elias on LinkedIn to hear more about his work at GME Concepts.

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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A few weeks ago now we heard from the Jahee Campbell-Brennan, director of WaveyDynamics, a specialist motorsport and automotive engineering consultancy in the UK. From briefly considering a career in physiotherapy, to working in a call centre and testing video games, Jahee suddenly found himself on an Automotive Engineering masters and since has been contracted by and consulted for the likes of Ford, AP Motorsport and Racecar Engineering, with his ultimate goal being to replicate the work of McLaren Applied and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. Strongly believing that the importance of inspiring a diverse talent base in our future engineers is something that cannot be neglected, he is involved in outreach projects, from primary schools to university level, showing the next generation that a career in engineering is absolutely attainable.

LINKS

Web: www.waveydynamics.com

Instagram: @WaveyDynamics

YouTube: Search Wavey Dynamics

Racecar Engineering article regarding representation that we discussed in the show: www.waveydynamics.com/post/black-representation-in-motorsport

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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Making her way round the UK’s race tracks one weekend at a time, today we speak to Sophia Bi, a production journalist at ITV Motorsport, who has been assisting with this season’s broadcasting of the British Touring Car Championship. She has previous experience in print too - having been an FIA accredited journalist reporting on WEC and F1 travel editor for Kettle Mag. Close to Sophia's heart though is marshalling and has been volunteering since 2017, getting close to the action at three Formula E races amongst others over the last few years. Fresh from completing her Masters degree, Sophia's dissertation focused on the current barriers facing women of ethnic minority working in the broadcasting motorsport industry today. It’s clear that our guest is hugely driven to change perceptions of both females and ethnic minorities in this space, having been shocked at the lack of representation through her own personal experiences within the roles she’s had.

Follow Sophia on socials:

Instagram @sbi_x

Twitter @MissSophiaBi

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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Born as a humble university project, the Motorsport101 network is where Dre Harrison puts his Broadcast Journalism degree to good use, in offering a fresh and modern take on the world of motorsport. Growing up with a love for all things racing through a shared passion with his Jamaican sports-loving father, this self-described ‘accidental activist’ is honest and open with his thoughts on the current state of diversity, representation and accessibility in and around Formula 1. Combining this with his passion for creating relatable journalism, Dre recently penned an article on the We Race As One campaign, which went viral within the motorsport community online.

LINKS

'No, We Don’t Race As One' blog article

https://www.motorsport101.com/no-we-dont-race-as-one/

For motorsport chat on the daily follow @harrison101HD on Twitter or @harrison101 on Instagram

Search Motorsport101 on podcast platforms; for socials check out:

YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/Motorsport101

Twitter: @Motorsport_101

Instagram: @Motorsport101pod

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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Imagine sharing your university lectures with an ex-pro AMA racer? Such is the case for motorsport engineering students at Oxford Brookes, where Antoine Richards has returned to education with dreams of translating his experience as a racer in both the US and homeland, Bermuda, into a career in motorsport engineering. His involvement in Formula Student as team leader stands him in good stead for this, along with his dedication to all things two wheels, having previously established a motorcycle riding academy back in Bermuda. We also talk courage, inspiration and solidarity in the quest for diversity in motorsport.

Enjoyed Antoine's story and want to reach out? You'll find him on Insta @arichards87

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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Infatuated with dirt bike riding as a young child, Bri Lynch found her love for drifting in her teenage years, to then soon follow her father’s footsteps as a stunt driver. Having acted as stunt double in productions such as Black Panther, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more recently the Batwoman TV series, this performer is passionate about showing black females that you are in no way limited to your race and gender, having never let this deter her from following her path. Also delving into the world of content creation with a successful YouTube channel, Bri combines her love of all things automotive with filmmaking and photography alongside her role in the stunt world.

Want to see more from Bri? Find her on socials @helmethairr and check out some pretty cool drift and stunt content on her channel: www.youtube.com/c/helmethairr

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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On paper, growing up around the streets of one of Formula 1’s most iconic circuits surely seemed like a fast-track ticket to a career in motorsport for this young Monégasque. But, having focused on his studies and a career elsewhere, Ludovic Pezé's life was turned upside down when he fell seriously ill with meningitis, which would see him in a coma with a year of rehabilitation. Thankfully, Ludovic was given a second chance at life, subsequently chasing his one true passion, and setting up Motors Formula Team for which he is now motorsport consultant, driver agent and business manager. His dual nationality background of French and Mauritian sees him a good fit to represent drivers across Africa and Europe, from Formula E to karting, with the hope of supporting talented racers of colour to reach the very top.

Follow @MFTRacing on Insta and Twitter for driver updates signed to Motors Formula Team and if you want to reach out to Ludo you'll find him at @ludovicpz.

Keep up to date with Driven by Diversity on Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity

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