Edinburgh mum-of-two chases lifelong dream to become a racing driver

Louise Whitehouse has been selected to compete in the Formula Woman challenge happening later this year.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

If she wins the competition she will go on to compete for the McLaren team and drive a GT4 race car in the UK GT Cup championship in 2022.

The 38-year-old from Newington is a complete amateur but has nursed a passion for motorsports since she was a young girl.

Mrs Whitehouse driving a Lamborghinis on the track in 2011.

Ms Whitehouse, who works as a property developer and pilates instructor said pursuing a career as a racing driver never seemed possible.

“I always wanted to be a racing driver but never knew how to get into it, obviously you need to have a good amount of money to get into that sort of thing, so I never really pressured it,” she said.

“My husband does motorbike racing so I would always go to the tracks with him and then go on mini-car track days with other people."

But after seeing an online advertisement looking for amateur drivers with a passion for motorsports she knew she’d finally found the opportunity she needed.

Louise Whitehouse at a formula one ball I n 2011.

Having now passed the online assessments and gearing up to compete in person on November 1, Mrs Whitehouse said she feels closer than ever to realising her dreams.

Speaking to the Evening News about the upcoming competition she said: “I am very excited and obviously a bit nervous as I am not sure what to expect.

“But I am looking forward to this opportunity.”

“I believe you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.”

Training hard to the big day Ms Whitehouse has bought herself a track car to practice in and it attending karting lessons at the weekends.

Lucy, seven and Leo, eight are looking forward to watching their mother compete and have been excited to watch videos of her training.

Explaining why she loves the sport Ms Whitemore said: “I think it probably the adrenaline you get from going fast and the competition side, wanting to be the best.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.