The Radical recruit who’s risen from indoor rental karting to an SR3 in two years

As team names go, Radical Racing Rebels could not be more appropriate. The squad’s new signing for this year’s Radical Cup UK campaign matches that description perfectly.

Motorsport may be full of stories of drivers who have enjoyed dizzying ascents up the ranks but, even by those standards, Rachel Robertson’s unconventional rise from very little karting experience to being awarded a factory drive in a Radical SR3 XXR in the space of just two years is remarkably rapid. Especially when you consider Robertson is not exactly from a family where motorsport was a regular feature.

Instead, Robertson’s unusual journey comes from the most humble of beginnings. “As long as I can remember, I would always enjoy being in control of anything with wheels – with it being my scooter or bike I had when I was three/four years old,” recalls Robertson, who then asked her father about going karting at the age of eight. “I would always want it – when I was at primary school and they asked what you want to be when you grow up, I would always say, ‘I want to be an F1 driver.’ People in my school were like, ‘that’s not a thing!’”

Yet Robertson was determined to rebel against the norm and prove that a motorsport career was indeed a thing. Sure enough, she began karting at an indoor centre just outside Edinburgh. But her aspirations were almost derailed before she even had chance to show any potential. Just a couple of months after enjoying her first karting experience, the track closed, and Robertson’s motorsport adventure was abruptly halted.

It took almost seven more years, by which time she was nearly 15, until she was back in a kart at another Scottish indoor centre and it was then that Robertson’s meteoric rise really began. “The staff then got to know me and, after a time, they said, ‘You’re pretty good and we recommend you take a step up and do outdoor rental karts,’” she says. “They recommended we went to Larkhall. It was just a bit faster and being outside it felt a lot cooler. I would go once or twice a week and the same thing happened.”

Again, Robertson impressed and she was then encouraged to take the next step, this time to buy her own kart and start competing. “My dad and I were like, ‘OK, that can’t be hard,’” she states. “But it was very hard, especially as no-one in my family knew anything about or were really interested in motorsport so it was a big unknown and we had to find our way. We managed to secure myself a kart and an engine and got ourselves along to Crail and went out for the first time and loved it.

Robertson flew up the ranks in karting, which led to Radical’s attention being grabbed

Photo by: Adam Gumbs Photography

“Since then, I’ve been jumping up and up and up and getting to know everyone. I joined a Scottish team and they were really good at developing my skills and getting me more comfortable in the kart. After just over a year, I was competing in national competitions and the British Karting Championships, so I moved up very quickly. I moved team to be able to compete in the BKC, joining Guy Cunnington Racing, and they were amazing and really helped me. It’s just skyrocketed.”

That jet-propelled leap up the karting ladder culminated in Robertson reaching the Senior Rotax class of the BKC last year. And it was while at the season finale that she learned of a new initiative between prototype manufacturer Radical and major motorsport sponsor Wera Tools that was seeking to help youngsters make the step from karts to cars. Without having the funding herself to even contemplate such a move, Robertson entered the scholarship and, from over 50 applicants, was selected as one of six finalists to take part in a shootout.

Robertson headed to Bedford Autodrome last October with a whole mix of emotions: excitement at the opportunity being offered, but also nerves about taking her first steps in a whole new world. “I had never driven a race car before, so it was very different!” admits Robertson, who also had not undertaken the same level of simulator practice beforehand that some of her rivals had.

“It’s such a rare opportunity to have because this is a scholarship to be a factory driver for Radical. I don’t even know what’s possible – I can’t wait” Rachel Robertson

Yet Robertson need not have worried, she quickly got to grips with the Radical machinery and relished the huge boost in performance. “It just feels amazing – it’s so fast for a light piece of machinery,” she says of the car.

As well as the two very brief 10-15 minute sessions on track, the finalists also had to face an interview with representatives from both Radical and Wera. “It was quite scary because I had never really experienced an interview in person before, so I was very nervous, but it was great,” Robertson continues. “I managed to get my nerves under control and they were great – they were very chilled and welcoming. It lasted over an hour, so it was definitely in depth.”

Fortunately, Robertson did not have long to wait to find out if she had been successful, the decision being revealed just two days later. “When I got the call, they started off saying, ‘The day was great and, unfortunately, you’re going to be driving for us next year!’” she smiles. “I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ I didn’t know what to say! It was a massive relief. I felt I had given it my all and didn’t have anything left on the table. I got my seat fitted and pedals adjusted last month and now that felt very real.”

After tests and interviews with Radical and Wera, Robertson was handed a scholarship

Photo by: Radical

Given she is still just 17 with no car racing experience and relatively little karting under her belt, Robertson is realistic about what is going to be possible this season in the Radical Cup UK. Nevertheless, she is determined to make the most of the opportunity and enjoy the challenge. “I can’t say I’ve got any expectations – I don’t know how I will cope really – because it’s so different and I’m still very new to the sport,” she says. “It’s such a rare opportunity to have because this is a scholarship to be a factory driver for Radical. I don’t even know what’s possible – I can’t wait.”

And while she wants to reward Wera and Radical’s faith in her, Robertson also has one eye on the future and extending her climb up the sport. “In my head, I would love to move up into single-seater racing,” she concludes. “I would like to get into GB4 next year and maybe getting a wildcard in F1 Academy.”

Those may sound lofty ambitions but there can be no doubting Robertson’s commitment. She’s moved “down south” to focus on building her career and to study motorsport engineering at college. And having progressed so far already, who’s to say this rebel cannot continue to surge toward that once-distant primary school goal.

What does the future hold for Robertson following her Radical scholarship?

Photo by: JEP