On the 28th of April 2024, Racing Pride hosted a hugely successful Pride Hub at the British GT Silverstone 500. We invited our members, ambassadors and community champions to join us at the iconic Silverstone Circuit for one of the biggest events of the British national motorsport calendar. It was a particularly appropriate event to stage a Pride Hub at as we approach our fifth anniversary in June, since one of Racing Pride’s very earliest public activations was at the 2019 edition of the Silverstone 500.

Our Pride Hub overlooking the circuit at the Woodcote Hospitality Suite brought together our members, ambassadors, and community champions for a full day of trackside activities and networking opportunities. The Hub was a thriving and uplifting space throughout the day.

Racing Pride guests enjoyed the spectacular opportunity to watch all the on-track action from our balcony viewing space over the pitlane and track including the Ginetta Junior Championship, GB4 Championship, GB3 Championship, and British GT Championship, as well as to attend the Paddock Autograph Session.

Throughout the day, our guests heard from some of our ambassadors and community champions in between the exciting race action. Racing Pride’s CEO Richard Morris formally welcomed our guests to the suite ahead of the Ginetta Junior Championship Race and hosted these discussions.

The first panel of the day featured recently-appointed Racing Pride Director Bryanna Harding and long-standing Ambassador Matt Bishop, who both shared their personal stories and discussed their experiences working with Racing Pride. Bryanna, who has worked in HR roles with Aston Martin and McLaren, talked about her early interactions with Racing Pride which were instrumental in establishing our first Formula One partnership. 

Matt Bishop, a Formula One journalist since the 1990s, former Communications Director at McLaren, W Series, and Aston Martin, and now Managing Director at Diagonal Communications, added his personal insights including anecdotes about working with multiple world champions and with Jessica Hawkins – who our members were able to watch on track in her Aston Martin Vantage GT3. 

The next panel, interspersed with the on-track action, brought together speakers from Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, and BWT Alpine F1 Team in the form of Racing Pride Industry Ambassadors Laura Webber, Carys Conlon, Matt Drew, and Kerrie Sparling. It was an opportunity to share not only personal experiences, but also insights into the difference Racing Pride’s work behind the scenes is making in the world of Formula One. 

Finally, Community Champion Anji Vadgama-Silva spoke about her racing with Team BRIT and how she has been on a journey from wondering whether it would be possible to drive a road car to racing high-end endurance machinery. She also highlighted the importance of intersectionality, representing a number of protected characteristics which are too often only thought of in isolation.

Alongside having an enjoyable day of community building, spectating, and networking, we were able to spotlight our ongoing work and shared goals for the future. A fantastic start to our newly announced relationship with Silverstone Circuit.

Photo credits: Aaliyah Chapman