Racing driver thanks college for career boost

Racing driver Rachel Robertson has thanked staff at Wiltshire College & University Centre for the support she received in following her dream while studying there. 

The 18-year-old chose to study a Level 3 Motorsport Engineering course at the college’s Chippenham campus but during that time, her career accelerated faster than anyone anticipated. 

Rachel went from competing in karting to earning a scholarship with Radical Racing and Wera Tools to compete in the Radical Cup UK.

Her podium success brought her to the attention of the F1 Academy, a female-only championship that competes across seven countries in three continents as part of the Formula 1 platform. This season she joined the Hitech GP team after impressing in a drive in Las Vegas. 

Rachel said the encouragement and support from her lecturers and classmates helped her complete her studies while seizing the opportunities that came her way. 

She explained, “Through my first year, it was beginning to get a bit more busy in my racing life, and then in the second year I was going here, there and everywhere.

“But all of the lecturers and course leaders were super lenient and really understanding of that. They’re all petrolheads so when I told them I could either try and make a due date for an assignment or be racing at a Grand Prix weekend, they understood the circumstances and made it all manageable for me.”

Despite the distractions of competing in China, Canada and at Silverstone, Rachel was determined to continue her studies and get her qualification. 

“I thought ‘I’ve started it now, I don’t want to just leave it half done’,” she said.

Originally from Edinburgh, attending the course meant living at the college’s Lackham campus alongside some of her classmates, as well as agriculture and horticulture students studying there.

“It was definitely very different to where I came from, being very close to a city centre and then moving to a working farm,” she said. “But I actually really liked learning that side of it.”

After a mixed start to the F1 Academy season she put her first points on the board with a fourth and sixth place at Silverstone and goes into the last three races feeling confident. She is hopeful of another season in the academy but has her sights set on turning her promise into a professional career. 

Rachel now hopes to secure a place on a Formula Three team or perhaps a seat in a GT racing outfit but is open to whatever comes her way.

Looking back on her time in Wiltshire, she said she’ll take away some important skills learned that will help her understanding of racing, as well as the adaptability and resilience she has shown in building a new life far from home at such a tender age. 

Rachel added, “I think I’ll just remember how much I enjoyed being with the people in my class and the lecturers. Everyone there is so passionate about motorsport and that was really lovely to be around.” 

For more information about courses at WCUC visit: www.wiltshire.ac.uk. 

Pictured: Rachel Robertson studied a Level 3 Motorsport Engineering at Chippenham while competing around the world in the F1 Academy