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Since our inception, the vision of a better tomorrow has inspired our work today.
Our intention to educate, raise awareness, and generate positive conversations is just one part of this. Ultimately, we hope to one day change the face of motorsport.
In June 2021, one team member’s story as a gay woman working in motorsport sparked change and captivated minds at World Championship level.
Now, for the past three years, we’ve been open in our support for the LGBTQ+ community in the global sporting platform of Formula E.
At this weekend’s Formula E season finale, we will continue to fly our flag with pride, and in the run-up to the event, we caught up with professional racing driver, Richard Morris.
As the Co-Founder of leading motorsport LGBTQ+ organisation Racing Pride, Richard talked about his journey in motorsport so far, and the meaningful impact that teams, drivers, partners, and championships can make by joining the conversation.
“We launched Racing Pride in 2019, and to a large extent, the impetus for me to create the concept of it came from my own personal experiences of feeling that I couldn’t be open about being LGBTQ+ in a motorsport environment,” says Richard.
“As I rose up through various categories as a driver, motorsport was becoming a big part of my life, and I wanted to be myself, yet I found that motorsport was the hardest place to be 'out' in my career at that point.
“I remember, in 2018, watching Formula One on the same weekend as I’d seen a lot of other sports marking the Rainbow Laces campaign and being quite vocal about LGBTQ+ inclusion.
“At that point in time, I realised that I’d never seen anything like that in motorsport. I found it hard to be open because I felt a sense of isolation – I didn’t know other LGBTQ+ people in the sport, I didn’t have LGBTQ+ role-models, and I hadn’t seen people in the sport communicating allyship.
“Given the lack of representation in the sport, particularly, it seemed clear to me that an initiative was really needed.
“I wanted to create something that not only allowed me to talk about being LGBTQ+ as an individual but also created a visible community of both LGBTQ+ and allies so people could be supported and could celebrate a more inclusive sport together.
“I wanted something that could provide education and generate discussion so we can answer questions and make conversations happen.
“I was always sure that there would be lots of supportive people in the sport, but it was a case of helping them to express that support in the right way and with a real understanding of the issues.
“Because no one was talking about it, I decided to talk about it myself and so I posted online about my experiences of being LGBTQ+ in motorsport, how great it was to see other sports expressing support for the community, and how I wished there was something like that in motorsport which could bring people together.
“It was a big moment for me, personally,” he continues. “I didn’t know how people would react to it. I firmly believed it was the right thing to do but I remember quite vividly how scared I was about it at the time.
“I lost a few followers, some people said some nasty things, but the majority of the responses I received were supportive and positive.”
Richard’s voice inspired change across the motor racing industry, and from the Winter of 2018 into the Spring of 2019, Racing Pride was born by bringing together a collective of people in different roles within motorsport and its associated industries who could contribute their insights, knowledge, and connections to create a movement.
A number of the key individuals in that initial group which brought Racing Pride to fruition are still very much involved in driving its progress, such as Matt Bishop, Sarah Moore, and Jon Holmes. Racing Pride launched publicly in June 2019.
“We started to build this community with the aim of finding ambassadors who were willing to share their story and their experiences in motorsport,” explains Richard.
“We wanted to show that there are LGBTQ+ people in the sport, tell some stories about some obstacles, but also celebrate and remind people that they can be successful, whoever they are.
“Racing Pride was launched in 2019, and obviously it’s expanded an enormous amount since then. We have an international team of Ambassadors, and a group of awesome Community Champions supporting our work.
“Earlier this year, we also launched our member community where individual people can come together in a safe space online, connect, and meet up for Racing Pride events.
“ It’s a natural progression for us, as bringing people together is a core part of what we’re trying to do.”
Four years on from its foundation, Racing Pride is motorsport’s leading LGBTQ+ organisation, and works across the sport, both at grassroots and World Championship level, to raise awareness and open accessibility.
“We also have some fantastic partners in different regions and series, right up to World Championship level.
“It’s really great that we’ve been able to identify opportunities to work alongside Maserati MSG Racing to bring some genuine visibility in Formula E,” Richard continues.
“Visibility is extremely important, but it’s also crucial to have that backed up by internal action and education so teams can be genuinely inclusive, instead of just talking about inclusion.
“I think the LGBTQ+ community is a little cynical of pink washing – the notion of brands only discussing these things, instead of putting any action plans in place.
“I think one of the best things about Maserati MSG Racing’s approach is that the team has celebrated Pride all-year round, and the rainbow features on the car throughout the year.
“It’s also extremely positive that Maserati MSG Racing’s partner, Stoli, is very actively engaged in meaningfully supporting a number of LGBTQ+ organisations and initiatives.”
Since 2018, Richard has noticed key changes across the motor racing industry, and when once there was no voice, there is now regular conversation around diversity and inclusion.
“The topic of inclusion in motorsport has improved in recent years, and when it comes to LGBTQ+ inclusion,we went from a situation of almost complete silence to now having far more regular discussions, since we launched Racing Pride,” he adds.
“Unfortunately, I think there is still some caution from some stakeholders in motorsport around conversations relating to the LGBTQ+ community in particular, which is a big shame but that is gradually changing.
“I think diversity and inclusion is interconnected.
“While there are of course unique perspectives, experiences, and obstacles faced by different communities, we shouldn’t see D&I as being just about separate strands to be worked on in isolation, but all work relating to including different groups be seen as part of the same mission of making the sport open and accessible to everyone, while respecting different cultures and opinions.
“We should make it clear that it is a space in which respect will always go in both directions and reinforce that everyone has to be able to belong.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, but we need to keep pushing to make sure that this is something consistent across motorsport, and not just across some particular teams, drivers, or series who are doing good things.
“It needs to be unified across the whole picture.
“Motorsport as a whole needs to address it from grassroots, all the way up to World Championship level, and I think series and governing bodies have a duty to put standards in place on certain issues.
“Teams, like Maserati MSG Racing, can really set an example and inspire positive change, because they have the capacity, audience and resources to do so.
“It’s deeply meaningful when teams, partners, and organisations do this as a choice instead of it being something they have to do.
“It’s genuinely appreciated when organisations choose to go above and beyond what is required and seek to make a real difference.”
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