Our Commitment

We are proud to represent the interests of Motorsport in the UK, a nation inspired by the past, present and future of a sport that thrives on our world-leading expertise in technology, our competitive spirit and our deep community roots.

Our mission is to celebrate and enable participation in motorsport in a safe, fair, fun, inclusive and progressive environment. All individuals, from the grassroots to the professional elite, should have the opportunity to realise their potential.

We are committed to using our reach and influence effectively, ensuring that in the course of our core role we are also making a positive contribution to wider society. We strive not only to engage in the conversation around equality, diversity and inclusion – and other global concerns including the environment and well-being – but to make a difference through meaningful action. Positive steps have already been taken with our programmes supporting women in motorsport and disability and accessibility, and in addressing the affordability of participation, particularly at the entry level.

We commend, and are aligned with, the initiatives of the world governing body, the FIA, and those of our fellow National Governing Bodies, with regard to the higher purpose sport must serve.

We are continually creating and implementing plans that will ensure motorsport can become one of the most inclusive sports in the UK, administered by a proactive network of clubs and organisations, and led by a contemporary governing body.

We commit to:
• Developing our understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion as it applies to our organisation and sphere of influence
• Regular reviews of our policies, procedures and practices and alignment with best practice
• Recruiting and retaining talent at all levels of the organisation to reflect our committed approach to equality and diversity
• Frequent monitoring of the equality profile of motorsport in the UK
• Eliminating the barriers for underrepresented groups in motorsport
• Providing information and learning opportunities for clubs, coaches, officials and members to help them address inequality and discrimination in motorsport

A Statement from the Chair on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

“As the governing body for motorsport in this country one of our key functions is to provide the regulatory framework for the sport and I honestly think we do a pretty good job of that. So, when Lewis Hamilton raised the issues of prejudice in our sport and the racial abuse he’s faced throughout his career it is easy to think everything can be solved with yet another entry in the rule book.

“However, we all need to recognise that new regulations or policy statements alone will not achieve what is required. It is a far deeper issue that goes right to the culture of our sport and requires each and every one of us to examine the way we behave and the values we want to uphold.

“I remember all too well the early days of karting with Lewis and his father, Anthony. It never occurred to me at the time that Lewis felt like an outsider, let alone the racial abuse he was experiencing behind the scenes.

“When I look back now and consider what a father and son from such a modest background achieved, it is nothing short of a miracle, given all of the challenges that they faced. But more importantly I ask myself has anything really changed in the last 25 years. Do the same barriers and prejudices still exist today and what are we as a governing body doing about it?

“Unless we recognise the reality of the situation things will never change and I trust that all in our sport would agree that this is unacceptable.

“Motorsport has the opportunity to be totally inclusive, but we are far from that today. We have tried numerous initiatives to get more women racing and things are improving; yet they still represent only 5% of our licence holders. Those with disabilities find that barriers to participation are there at every turn. We might claim to embrace diversity, yet we still have a long way to go.

“Our Vision as a governing body should be to represent the interests of all motorsport enthusiasts in this country; not just some of them. We need to address this issue with a cultural change that democratises a sport that has for far too long been seen by the outside world as the bastion of the white middle class male.

“We, the governing body, need to take advantage of the momentum that Lewis has created to look far deeper into our own organisation and ask ourselves searching questions about how we reduce the barriers to entry and embrace diversity in all its forms. But it is up to each and every one of us, within the motorsport community, to ensure the cultural change required is something that we all embrace.

“So we will not be writing any new regulations but instead we’ll take a proactive approach to adopting new initiatives that lead to our sport becoming genuinely diverse, inclusive and welcoming for everyone.

“After all, how can we applaud our own British World Champion if we continue to place barriers in the way of his successor, whoever they might be?”

David Richards CBE
Chair, Motorsport UK