Helen
Moore
Rising saloon car star, Helen Moore
is set to prove herself a force to be reckoned with this season as she bids for
glory in the all-action, British Ford Credit Fiesta Zetec
championship. Twenty-year-old Helen began her
acing career five years ago in local kart
races. I've always loved motor racing," she says,
"and began karting to gain some experience and learn some of
the basics. I got bored watching other drivers when I went to race meetings
though, so I decided that as soon as I got my driving
license, I'd go for my racing license."
After graduating from the renowned Jim Russell racing school at Donington Park in Leicestershire, Helen started her
racing career with tests for several leading Formula Ford and Formula Vauxhall
outfits. Despite her limited experience, she was offered a seat with a top Formula Vauxhall team when she impressed bosses
with a no-nonsense performance in her first ever run in a championship
specification car. After completing the racing school course and finishing
sixth in the end of course race, I was offered a test with a Formula Vauxhall
team. Helen explains. "They offered me a seat for the following season above a
number of proven drivers - one of whom went on to finish on the podium during
last year's Formula Ford Festival- but I was unable to take it due to lack of
finance."
Although Helen was forced to sit out the majority of the 1999 season with sponsorship woes, she nevertheless finished
a creditable tenth in her only race of the year, driving a Formula Ford Zetec in
the BRDC Junior Single Seater Championship. Last season, the
Maidstone-based racer swapped single seaters for saloon cars and campaigned a Maxi Jazz
Racing-prepared Fiesta in the Ford Credit Fiesta Winter Championship where she
enjoyed an untroubled run to the women's
title. "I originally moved from single seaters because it was much cheaper to race tin-tops, " she explains. I've
continued to race saloon cars because I have found a fantastic team who are in
the sport for the love of racing and not the
money. Maxi Jazz Racing are great in that they allow me to race in the Ford Fiesta Zetec Championship as and when I
have the funds to compete. They also give me all the support and advice I need
and help me to promote my career both on and off the
track."
Pop legend Maxi Jazz's self titled team will again run Helen in selected
rounds of the Fiesta series this season. The fast and furious tin top category
is a feeder formula for the prestigious British Touring Car championship and
boasts some of the most exciting door-to-door action on the PowerTour package.
The feisty Ford Fiesta Zetec's regularly battle it out in front of crowds of
30,000 or more and enjoy significant media coverage. The Fiesta
Championship is an excellent platform on which to further my career," Helen
says. "I'm delighted to be back for selected rounds this season with my
sponsors, Allied Dunbar. My first race of the year will be at my home track of
Brands Hatch on July 8 and I'll be aiming for a podium position. I
want to win the women's championship proper and Maxi Jazz Racing also have high
hopes for 2001. I intend to help them every step of the way.
I would like to go back to single seaters at some point in the future to
see where it would take me but I won't even contemplate that without full
funding. My other options are to continue to a higher level in saloon car
racing- maybe the British Touring Car Championship for example- or sports cars.
I'd love to race at Le Mans one day."
Away from the circuit, Helen has spent several months working to raise her media profile and promote women in
racing. She now enjoys local media support and was recently enlisted to help
raise the profile of Kent-based charity, Racing For Children.
For more information about Helen and
her career, please contact Rebecca at Cresswell Racing:
press@cresswellracing.com
This article is re-printed with permission. www.cresswellracing.com
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