Charlie Christina Martin

Charlie Christina Martin (born 24 August 1981) is a British racing car driver and transgender rights activist,[1] who competes in endurance racing. In 2021, she participated in the Britcar Championship.

Charlie Martin
Born (1981-08-24) 24 August 1981
Leicester, United Kingdom
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Alma materNottingham Trent University
OccupationRacing Driver
Known forMotorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge Britcar Michelin Le Mans Cup

She was born in Leicester, United Kingdom.

Career

European Hillclimb

Martin graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2004.[2] Martin began her career in 2006 in the Hillclimb Leaders Championship, part of the British Hill Climb Championship racing a Peugot 205 before moving on to race in the European Hill Climb Championship in 2014, driving a Formula Renault and a Norma Auto Concept M20FC prototype.[3] Martin has competed in the Trophee Tourisme Endurance in November 2017 alongside French racer Nicolas Schatz, claiming third place on her debut endurance outing at Bugatti Circuit.

In 2017, she raced in the annual Race of Remembrance, an endurance event that raises money for the Mission Motorsport charity. Racing as part of the PT Sportscars team, Martin finish second in Class B.[4]

Ginetta GT5 Challenge

In 2018, Martin joined the Richardson Racing team to compete in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, the official support category to the British GT Championship.[5][6] During the season she also completed her first test of LMP3 endurance racing machinery at Circuit de Chambley with the Racing Experience team in a Ligier JSP3 car.[7] In July 2018, Martin was announced as a member of the Electric Production Car Series Drivers’ Club.[8]

Michelin Le Mans Cup

On 28 February 2019, Martin announced that she will be competing in the 2019 Michelin Le Mans Cup. This marks her prototype racing debut, joining Luxembourgian brothers Gary and David Hauser on the Racing Experience team. Martin will compete in a 5-litre 420 bhp Norma M30 LMP3 car.[9]

She and her team finished in 4th place in her series debut at Circuit Paul Ricard[10]

VLN

On 18 March 2020, Martin announced that she would compete in the German VLN Championship, which will include her first 24-hour race, during the 2020 24 Hours of Nürburgring.[11] She drove a BMW M240i in the series for the Adrenalin Motorsport team [12] and became the first transgender person to compete in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring - securing a fourth-place finish in her class on her debut in the race. Martin's car completed a total of 70 laps with an average speed of 73.600 km/h during the race.[13]

Britcar

On 23 September 2020, it was announced that Martin had signed to race with Praga to participate in the 2021 Britcar Endurance Championship, racing their R1 Mk5 prototype car.[14][15]

Formula E

On 15 April 2020, Martin took part in FIA Formula E's online press conference to announce the “Race at Home Challenge” eSports Championship, which will see drivers from the all-electric series lining up in a competition against gamers to raise money for UNICEF.[16]

She will be a permanent guest driver for the “Race at Home Challenge” series, which will offer the winner a chance to test a Formula E car at a future real-world race event. The Challenge will take place on the rFactor 2 platform.[17]

As such, Martin is the first transgender driver to be affiliated with FIA Formula E and joins a host of other female drivers who have either competed in the series or who have participated in test events.[18]

Personal life

Martin is the great-granddaughter of engineer Percy Martin, and is a part-owner of the machine tool company that he founded in 1921.

Martin is transgender[19] and has used her status as a prominent racing driver to raise awareness of LGBT and transgender rights. She was influenced by trans model Caroline Cossey, saying "She was a real trailblazer for the trans community and I remember it clear as day. It was a huge 'eureka' moment of 'this is what I need to do'. I was only about seven."[20]

During the 2018 Ginetta GT5 Challenge and British GT round at Silverstone, she led a campaign for drivers to run with rainbow stickers on their cars in order to mark Pride Month and to show support for equality and diversity in the industry.[21][22]

She has called for the normalisation of LGBT representation in motorsport as part of the greater drive towards gender equality in racing. Speaking to Motor Sport in June 2018 about her bid to become the first transgender racing driver to race in 24 Hours of Le Mans she commented: "People will say it shouldn’t be a big deal that a driver is transgender but I think it’s important that people in those positions should be visible. People from the LGBT community are in all sports and all walks of life, and they inspire and encourage others."[23]

Martin was announced as Stonewall’s first Sports Ambassador [24] as part of the charity’s Rainbow Laces campaign, joining celebrity ambassadors such as Alan Carr, Nicole Scherzinger and Paris Lees in representing the charity.

She also became the first-ever racing driver to join Athlete Ally’s ambassador programme, partnering with the charity in May 2019 and saying: "I hope to show that a career in motorsport is possible regardless of gender identity. There is a place for everyone in the sporting community and that is as much the case in the pitlane as on the golf course or on a football field."[25]

In June 2019, Martin was announced as an ambassador for Racing Pride – an initiative developed in partnership with Stonewall UK to promote LGBT+ inclusivity within the motorsport industry and among its technological and commercial partners.[26]

Martin has been an active vlogger on transgender rights on her YouTube Channel, Girl For All Seasons.[27] She has collaborated with other vloggers, such as Fox Fisher and Owl and My Genderation to support their #TransAND campaign,[28] as well as partnering with Childline for their Voice Box series.[29]

In 2017, Martin competed in Series 3 of Ninja Warrior UK, completing the course with a time of 03:03. The show aired on 28 January 2017, drawing an audience of 3.87 million viewers.[30]

Sponsors

Charlie Martin is sponsored by NGK[31][32] and Bloc Eyewear.

Martin is supported by Naomi Panter and her PR agency, Navigate Partners, who have been responsible for building her profile in the media.[33][34]

References
  1. "Charlie Martin Is Bringing Trans Visibility To Motor Racing". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. Huffington Post. 6 March 2020.
  2. "Nottingham Trent University Outstanding Alumni Awards".
  3. "How hillclimb racer Charlie Martin is trying to make motorsports for everybody". www.jalopnik.com. Jalopnik. 16 June 2018.
  4. "Charlie Martin - Racer". www.influx.co.uk. Influx. 30 March 2018.
  5. "Richardson Racing names Charlie Martin for Ginetta GT5 Challenge". www.richardsonracing.co.uk. 16 January 2018.
  6. "Charlie Martin". www.ginetta.com. 15 August 2021.
  7. "Charlie Martin tests Ligier LMP3 in France". www.checkeredflag.com. Checkered Flag. 12 July 2018.
  8. "Charlie Martin joins Electric GT Drivers' Club". www.checkeredflag.com. Checkered Flag. 20 July 2018.
  9. "Charlie Martin steps up to Michelin Le Mans Cup with Racing Experience". www.lemanscup.com. European Le Mans Series. 28 February 2019.
  10. "Charlie Martin's first impressions". www.lemanscup.com. European Le Mans Series. 26 April 2019.
  11. "Charlie Martin to reach a new milestone for this season and reaches for a new challenge for 2021". www.outsports.com. Out Sports. 23 September 2020.
  12. "Charlie Martin to race at Nurburgring in 2020 as her 24 Hours of Le Mans quest continues". www.skysports.com. Sky Sports. 18 March 2020.
  13. "24h Nuerburgring Race Result Revised" (PDF). www.automobilsport.com. Automobilsport. 27 September 2020.
  14. "Charlie Martin will be first transgender competitor in Nurburgring 24-hour race". www.skysports.com. Sky Sports. 24 September 2020.
  15. "Charlie Martin Joins Praga for Britcar 2021". www.britcar-endurance.com/. BritCar. 23 September 2020.
  16. "Formula E launches eSports 'Race at Home' Challenge". The New York Times. 15 April 2020.
  17. "Formula E drivers will compete in streamed 'rFactor2 races". www.engadget.com. Engadget. 15 April 2020.
  18. "First in-season Formula E test features nine female racers". www.jalopnik.com. Jalopnik. 16 December 2018.
  19. "'It feels very possible.' How This Transgender Racing Driver Is Hoping to Make Sports History". www.time.com. Time. 12 June 2019.
  20. Morgan, Tom (30 November 2018). "Exclusive interview: How trailblazing transgender driver Charlie Martin put her life on track". The Telegraph. Telegraph.
  21. "Racing driver Charlie Martin inspires Pride support at Silverstone". www.skysports.com. Sky Sports. 10 June 2018.
  22. "Racing driver Charlie Martin talks LGBT & racing". www.channel4.com. Channel 4. 20 June 2018.
  23. "LGBT in motor sport: "It shouldn't be a story"". www.motorsportmagazine.com. Motor Sport Magazine. 14 June 2018.
  24. "Charlie Martin, transgender racing driver, to compete in Michelin Le Mans Cup". www.skysports.com. Sky Sports. 28 February 2019.
  25. "New Organization Aims to Increase Visibility for the LGBTQ+ in Motorsport". www.jalopnik.com. Jalopnik. 6 June 2019.
  26. "Charlie Martin is first racing driver to join Athlete Ally ambassador programme". www.sky .com. Sky Sports. 16 May 2019.
  27. "Meet the Trans Vloggers of the UK". www.teneightymagazine.com. TenEighty Magazine. 24 April 2016.
  28. "Trans racing driver Charlie Martin says transitioning 'unlocked her potential'". www.pinknews .co.uk. Pink News. 10 May 2019.
  29. Lander-Boyce, Teoh; Bertie, Alex; Martin, Charlie (25 May 2016). Trans Puberty Myths ft. Alex Bertie & Charlie Martin | Voice Box | Childline (YouTube). ITV. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  30. Ninja Warrior UK (28 January 2017). Can race driver Charlie cross the finish line? (YouTube). ITV. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  31. "Go Charlie". www.gocharlie.co.uk. Go Charlie Go. 4 May 2016.
  32. "Go Charlie". www.ngktoque.com. NGK Torque. 30 April 2017.
  33. "Navigate Partners Leadership Team". www.navigate.partners. Navigate Partners. 30 April 2020.
  34. "Naomi Panter: Driving sustainability and diversity in motorsport". www.ulaa.ie. University of Limerick. 12 May 2021.
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