Nathalie McGloin is the only female tetraplegic in the world who races cars.
She is also the only disabled female to hold both a race and rally licence in the UK.
In motorsport, there are no separate classes for female nor disabled drivers. This means Nathalie’s main competitors are able-bodied men. She trains and competes at the highest level, and thrives on the adrenaline. Her car is an adapted Porsche 987 Cayman S, fitted with radial hand controls that she pushes forward to brake, and down to accelerate. It’s a system that allows her to mix the accelerator and throttle for greater car control. The hand controls are mounted to the right of the steering column, leaving her left hand free to steer.
Nathalie after winning her first race
“Nathalie’s relationship with her car is a love story unlike any other - a story of defeat, triumph, and ultimately freedom.”
Always focused on developing her race craft, Nathalie competes in two different championships. In the Porsche Club Championship - a top club-level and highly competitive series - Nathalie drives her Porsche Cayman S on slicks in class one. Her championship includes seven race meets with two races per weekend. She also competes in the New Millennium series run by the Classic Sports Car Club. There, she races on treaded tyres against other makes and models of cars, in a class defined by engine capacity. The New Millennium series has eleven rounds including European circuits.
Nathalie competes at all the major national circuits, including the revered GP circuits of Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington. Choosing a combination of rounds from both championships allows her to plan her race calendar around her FIA engagements. On race days, you’ll find her in her open-house garage where you’re welcome to meet her, look at her car and control set-up, and take photos.
With a list of podium finishes under her belt and her first outright win at Silverstone in 2018, Nathalie’s victory is absolute testimony to the fact that in motorsport, gender and disability are completely irrelevant.
Racing Posts
The latest racing posts from Nathalie’s Blog
The stress and build up of hype around racing simply doesn’t exist on a rally. For me, it’s still massively exciting but it’s a different buzz to racing.