On the occasion of March 8, we have left aside the latest releases, news and tests to speak, without hesitation and with total sincerity, with some of the most important women in the motor sector in Spain. Laia Sanz, Pilar Garcia de la Puebla, Sara Fernández, Mónica Plaza, María Lanzón, Christine GZ, Rocío Bultó and Luna Fluxà have a common message: “Being a woman does not determine your career in the motor world. If you want to get it, just like a man, you just have to work.” They insist on the importance of education, and the key role of parents, to show the world of motoring as one more option for girls who are curious.
This will not be just another article about the history of women in the automotive world. There are many occasions that we have, and will have, to highlight the role of women in the development of cutting-edge technologies, but the protagonists of the present only look to the past to gain momentum. Gasoline ceased to be a solely masculine perfume a long time ago. There are many women who walk the paddocks around the world, as protagonists or part of the team, and there are even those who sit at the head of the offices of the most recognized manufacturers.
I’m talking about executives like GM’s CMO, Deborah Wahl, or Linda Jackson, at the helm of Peugeot. Also from Laia Sanz, the princess of the Dakar with 14 World Trial titles, 6 World Enduro titles and a 9th overall position in the toughest raid in the world, among other titles on her list of winners. She is clear about it: “The fact of being a woman has not limited me, despite experiencing negative things for being a woman, the passion I have for the motor world has always weighed more heavily. The desire has been stronger, but it is true that I have had to work a lot”.
Christine GZ is Sanz’s rival in the new off-road and electric project called Extreme E, from which she has had to take a temporary leave of absence due to an accident that has taken her to surgery. However, she has found a few moments to talk about her experience: “In my case, she has neither harmed me nor helped me, in the end, the important thing is to work hard. Whatever it is, in sport or work, the message is the same: never give up”.
Mónica Plaza, also from Dakar and an Avatel pilot, considers that “Purchasing level is more relevant than gender and there are still not so many women with that power who are interested in motoring, something that is changing.” What’s more, she openly acknowledges that some of the current projects have entered because she is a woman: “We are experiencing a change, little by little, and the girls that are there are at a very high level both on motorcycles and in cars. Benchmarks are being set.”
The office side
She has high hopes based on training, which as she rightly says: “Base sport is working very well, through federations and private events so that it changes little by little. It won’t be seen anytime soon.” For this, she works from organizations such as the Royal Spanish Automobile Federation, with programs such as the one led by María Lanzón de Mujer y Motor. With the experience that her captaincy and position in the RFEdeA gives her, she tells us that: “Despite being an obviously masculine sector, the reality is that I have never had any problem or encountered a barrier due to the fact of being a woman.” In this sense, she points out: “The recognition, trust and respect of people is achieved only through daily work and gender does not matter there.”
Thanks to this involvement in creating young promises, we are talking about a world of competition with Spanish women conquering records and making history. An example of this is Sara Fernández, the first female European Champion of Co-drivers last 2021 and who, together with Efrén Llarena, took the FIA title for our lands. She explains to us her beginnings in 2015 and assures that: “Thanks to my family who were the ones who instilled in her a love for motorsport”. Something similar happened to Luna Fluxà, the young promise of karting who, at only 11 years old, has just signed with the Mercedes Junior Formula 1 team and she tells us: “I saw my brothers racing and I wanted to try it”.
All of them share the same idea when asked about the following: What would you say to a girl who wants to start in the motor world? Laia and Mónica agree that they would respond the same as to a boy, perseverance, perseverance and hard work are key, even more so if you are a girl. María Lanzón sends them a message: “I encourage you to fight for your dreams, to have fun because sport at that early stage is what is important. Doing sports for pleasure, for health and that, because she is a girl and being alone surrounded by children, does not limit her dreams, enthusiasm and desire to continue growing because with work the results come”. In this sense, Luna Fluxà supports Lanzón from her youth “I get along very well with my classmates and it doesn’t change anything to be a girl or a boy”.
We all know very well that girls, until relatively recently, did not feel the motor world as an alternative or a reality to browse. We also wanted today’s protagonists to give their opinion on the best method to break down this gender barrier. All of them highlight the importance of offering this sport as one more option, as long as a little girl feels attracted to it. Maria Lanzón comments: “So that tomorrow we can have many more female role models, more women who inspire girls and boys, we have to work on it from within families. It is necessary to break stereotypes and cultural myths, that they have the same opportunities. From within the federation: promoting programs that make female talent visible, that make it flourish”.
But not only is the female contribution important in the competition, which is a sensational showcase, it is also essential to sneak into the offices. The corporate side of this series of interviews is given by Pilar García de la Puebla, Communication Director of BMW Group Spain. Her position allows her to speak with confidence and security about the importance of the feminine approach in communication: “Of course, the feminine vision in brands is important. Women enrich a diverse team and always, a high performance team is a team that is made up of men and women”. For Pilar, the keys are “passion and determination. It is crucial to get past prejudices, which are brakes, and that is where stereotypes are, which are there to break them”.
The princess of the Dakar, for her part, supports that initial message and underlines the importance of aid in a world marked by economic support: “I think that the way for more female promises to emerge is through education, in my time there were girls that they would have liked to go by motorcycle, but they did not have the same luck as me. My brother and I were educated in the same way and I was able to ride a motorcycle and do all those “typical” things for boys, so education is vital and then help and support”.
A similar story is that of Rocío Bultó, born into the Bultaco family: “I’ve lived it since I was little, it’s my passion and what I like the most”. All of them encourage any girl to launch herself: “work hard and you will get there, if this is what you want and love, surely the path will open for you” encourages Christine GZ.
Sara Fernández also points to the family as the key: “I think it is important to encourage girls to have the opportunity to find out if they like it or not. Nowadays it is not a dangerous sport and families have to be made to believe that their girls can compete just like a man.” In this sense, the co-driver of the MRF Racing and Rallye Team Spain team positively values the ‘increasing’ presence of women in competition “There are currently many more women in the world of competition and it is thanks to Karting, that from the base from the pyramid you see more girls”.
Christine GZ thinks the same: “Today the idea that we cannot be as fast is being forgotten, so with more programs (by the Federation and companies) there will be more girls. I hope that we will be a small example for the girls who now enter this world.” Young people like Luna, who wants to encourage the rest of the girls to feel part of the competition on wheels and sends them a message: “never give up and go for your dream”.