EXCLUSIVE: More Than Equal - A New Era For Women In Racing With Coaches Sarah Moore And Jordan King

An exclusive interview with More Than Equal coaches Sarah Moore and Jordan King.

In an exclusive interview, we delve into the groundbreaking steps taken by More Than Equal's female-focussed Driver Development Programme, which recently appointed Sarah Moore and Jordan King as coaches. This initiative marks a substantial commitment to nurturing and elevating the skills of young female racers in a competitive, traditionally male-dominated field.

Sarah Moore brings her significant achievements, including winning the Ginetta Junior Championship, being the first female winner of the Britcar Endurance Championship, and being the first and only female winner of the Indian Racing League. Jordan King, known for his versatility across various high-profile racing series, including his roles with the Alpine Formula 1 team and the Mahindra Formula E team, offers a comprehensive understanding of the racing world.

With the combined expertise of Moore and King, and support from entities like Hintsa Performance, the More than Equal Driver Development Programme, which is backed by former F1 driver David Coulthard, is poised to make a significant contribution to the growth of women in motorsport, offering comprehensive training and mentorship for aspiring female drivers.

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In interview with Sarah Moore

Lydia Mee: What motivated you to join More than Equal as a coach, particularly for a programme focused on developing female talent?

Sarah Moore: I wanted to be a part of More than Equal because I myself never had a coach throughout my young career as a female in motorsport. I was probably 24 years old by the time I had a coach. I feel like this is a big gap within the sport, and my collaboration with More than Equal is an opportunity to close that gap. I’m excited about the opportunity to help develop young female drivers, supporting their journeys to becoming high-performance athletes with the guidance of a dedicated coaching team.

LM: I was surprised to read that you struggled to get access to coaching growing up. From your perspective, what changes need to occur in motorsports to make it more inclusive and supportive of female drivers?

SM: Early driving coaching is rare within motorsport, for men as well but especially for women. More than Equal wants to be part of a change in the motorsport ecosystem by finding the best talent, investing in them early and providing the right support system in place for development. In addition, changes such as more visibility and role models, access to funding, and challenging outdated stereotypes within the sport will go a long way.

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LM: What challenges do you anticipate in coaching a new generation of female drivers and how do you plan to address them?

SM: There are lots of great initiatives now supporting women in motorsport, but we believe ours is different and innovative because we're working with drivers earlier on in their careers and providing them with the training and support that traditionally would come later. There are challenges to that simply because it has never been done before and we will be learning as we go. One thing we want to emphasise throughout the programme is the use of data and analytics to help our drivers to improve and I'm excited to be working with Hintsa Performance as they have a long history of training F1 World Champions and their data-driven approach will be crucial for our programme.

LM: How do you think your success in various racing series, including the W Series and the Indian Racing League, will inspire the female drivers in the programme?

SM: Being a role model for the younger generation is incredibly important to me. It gets younger females interested in the sport, allowing them to realise that it is a sport that they can be a part of. Winning the Indian Racing League was a big milestone for me as I was the first and only female to win, and hopefully it inspires growth in India where they currently have a very small pool of female drivers.

LM: What role do you believe mental toughness plays in racing, and how will you coach this aspect?

SM: Psychology and mental toughness are huge not just in motorsport, but in any sport. To me psychology, physical fitness and nutrition all play a huge part in what makes an athlete. Mental toughness is important both on and off the circuit. Drivers can play mind games, from the paddock to when you’re sat in the car on the grid. Off the track, it’s especially important to have this resilience as a female in a highly competitive, male-dominated sport. Comments on social media, for example can lead you to question yourself. It is such a huge part to be able to bounce back from any setbacks or bad results.

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In interview with Jordan King

Lydia Mee: What motivated you to join More than Equal as a coach, particularly for a programme focused on developing female talent?

I have always got a lot of pleasure from seeing someone develop and see them reach their full potential, to be part of this programme and be able to get a female to F1 would be a fantastic achievement for all involved.

Jordan King: How do you plan to leverage your diverse experience in Formula 1, IndyCar, and WEC to coach the young drivers in the programme?

I’ve started racing at 12 years old so I’m looking to bring in that lived experience of not just a career, but a lifetime of racing. I’ve won races, I've lost races, all the tears and joy along the way - I plan to bring all of my expertise and experience into the programme, and help bring the learnings from the development journey that I went on into the initiative.

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LM: What are the key attributes you look for in identifying the "best young talent" for the programme?

JK: We are looking for talented young female drivers who are performing well consistently relative to their stage of development and are on a trajectory that we believe puts them on course to be an elite driver of the future.

LM: What do you think is the biggest misconception about women in motorsports, and how do you plan to address it through your coaching?

JK: Motorsport is a very cutthroat environment, and the biggest misconception is that only men can handle it. The truth is, there’s only 20 seats and that makes it incredibly difficult to get to the top for both men and women. What people don’t realise is that even just entering the sport is really difficult - there are a wide range of barriers from political, financial, even talent. With female participation being so low at the bottom of the pyramid, it becomes even harder for women to make it to the top. We plan to address this by investing in talent early and guiding them along the way, so that they become better drivers early on - maximising their chance for success.

LM: In your experience, what are the most critical elements of race preparation and how will you impart these to your students?

JK: We are going to be focusing on developing the drivers both on and off the track. Our programme is something that has never been done before in motorsport and it will focus on three areas: developing the athlete as a driver, as an athlete, and as a person. From personal experience, apart from technical skills, I would like to focus on developing accountability for oneself, as well as discipline and dedication to a process that would help them grow, move forward and see progression. 

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