The latest episode of the Girls on the Grid podcast features an interview with Jess Golding, former karting champion and team owner of Jess Golding Motorsport.
Hosted by Priya Richards, the discussion covers many topics, from Jess’s karting and racing career, to setting up the team, challenges faced as a woman in the industry and even menstrual cycles, an issue that male racers simply don’t have.
Listen to the episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts:
For those who want to skip through the podcast, this is what was discussed so you can jump to a specific part:
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0-1:45 Intro.
1:45 – 3:05 How Jess got into karting.
3:19 – 4:40 Racing karts overseas + Formula BMW Scholarship story at Pukekohe, NZ.
4:46 – 7:06 Karts to cars story – testing in Asia, the UK and racing Australia (a brief history of Formula BMW to Australian Formula Ford)
7:12 – 10:21 The Jess Golding Motorsport story – how it happened in just 12 months and where JGM sits in the Australian Karting market.
10:24 – 11:30 Sports Marketing – brand perception, professional experience, and the karting team.
11:31 – 12:24 Broken rib – now what?
12:25 – 13: 45 Everything happens for a reason.
13:45 – 15:20 Teaching the fundamentals of karting. Discussing the programs and activities of JGM & our celebrating our commercial partners.
15:20 – 17:12 Motorsport is a journey + the importance of understanding goals.
17:19 –18:15 JGM – For the club racer – guiding drivers to their next step.
18:15 –19:02 Milestones & future superstars.
19:03 – 21:21 Managing the team & a rundown on a race day at Ipswich Kart Club with JGM
21:22 – 21:50 Guiding drivers to a State Championship event.
21:51 – 22:50 Priya’s karting stories & the “other” horsepower.
22:51 – 24:14 Paying for karting yourself.
24:15 – 26:14 What was Jess doing at 21? My Formula 1 Interview with Williams, Corporate Hospitality Sales with Supercars & Covid.
25:15 – 27:27 Why JGM has to be legit & the meaning behind the JGM logo.
27:28 – 28:00 TikTok – using every resource to promote karting and the team positively.
28:01 – 28:30 Being a woman in motorsport – resilience, determination and toughness.
28:31 – 29:54 Tough times in motorsport.
30:06 – 34:30 Never giving up & the What If’s.
34: 31 – 35:08 Character building
35:08 – 35: 40 The silence is deafening.
35:41 – 38:52 Winning & Loosing the ReSa Light Australian Karting Championship & the importance of always saying yes!
38:57 – 42: 59 The increased level of female participation in karting over the years, defined female roles & the importance of strong & positive stories in motorsport for women.
43:07 – 44:40 The big conversation. How do we keep conversation positive, encouraging, not about looks but about results and shutting down the nay-sayers.
44:41 –46:19 Fast girls versus being a girl in motorsport & focussing on the right things.
46:30 –47:30 Don’t get beaten by a girl. Educating the next generation of driver’s respect and the reality of women in motorsport.
47:31 – 49:48 Managing performance & women’s menstrual cycles – dealing with emotion in sport on top of everything else.
50:05 – Intelligence, role models, saying what you mean and standing up for yourself. (Susie Wollf, Betty Klimenko & my Dad)
52:36 – 54:00 Jess’ advice for aspiring kart racers. If you are going to do anything, do it well.
54:28 – 55:30 Explaining karting to people outside the sport.
55:31 – Explaining things so it makes sense and everything that goes on.
56:36 – 58:30 Over the hedge – explaining how a racing driver sees things.
58:31 – Outro
56:36 – 58:30 Over the hedge – explaining how a racing driver sees things.
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