Every Lap Counts: How E.ON Next and Veloce are giving women the green light in motorsport

When rally star Kevin Hansen lined up on the grid at E.ON Next and Veloce Racing’s ‘Every Lap I Complete’ challenge, he knew the day wasn’t going to be a typical spin around the circuit.

The format was simple but clever – five laps to try and beat four different female rivals.

But it came with a catch – each time the 27-year-old Swede returned to the track, his opponent was years, and sometimes decades, younger.

“It’s going to be really interesting,” Hansen said before his races at the Gravity MAX karting centre, London – adding:

“The younger generation is aggressive and super-quick, the older generation has tricks up their sleeves. I have to be careful I don’t get knocked out on the way.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Charlie Martin, 43: Campaigning and racing without a roadmap

First up was endurance specialist and transgender activist Charlie Martin, who competed in the 2019 Michelin Le Mans Cup and appeared in Vogue as a woman to watch.

The 43-year-old made Hansen fight hard.

“He managed to do a full 360 spin and keep going,” she laughed before the race – adding: “So I knew I had my work cut out.”

Hansen eventually edged her in their five-lap clash, but only just.

For Martin, who began racing aged 24 without family connections or any karting pedigree, the battle on track echoed her fight off it.

She admitted about the curveballs motorsport has thrown her: “There were times when I lost hope.”

Martin added: “Then I think, ‘Actually, you’ve come this far, you can keep going’.”

But more than results on the track, Martin she sees herself as an example to others.

She said about blending activism with her sporting passion: “Trying to create pathways for other people is something that feels really important to me, because when I was growing up I never saw any queer people in the sport, and that made me feel really limited – like, ‘I can’t be me and do what I want to do as a racing driver’.”

Martin added: “Trying to be a bit of a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community is a thing that that makes me feel like, ‘You know, you started this, you've got to keep going’.

“Motorsport is tough, but sometimes you never know when you’re on the five-yard line, about to break through.”

Ami Jerger, 25: Building a team and breaking barriers

Next up against Kevin was Ami Jerger, a Dutch Superkart GP racer and bioengineer who has set up an all-female karting team to provide “a safe hub for girls to thrive”.

She admitted to nerves before her face-off against Hansen.

Those fears showed as she clipped the barriers early.

Hansen took the win but praised her “great racing line” and technical knowledge.

Jerger, 25, won’t be deterred by the defeat.

“Motorsport is very much highs and lows,” she said – adding “and it does often feel like there are more lows than highs, but the wins and the good days just make it so worth it.”

She said about being the owner of the all-female AJ Racing kart team: “Racing was so male-dominated, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I try to do something about this and try and change it up a bit?’

“It was so there would be a safe hub for girls to really thrive on the track, which we really have provided.”

Jerger says one of the best pieces of advice she has ever had was: “As a female racing, you are perfectly welcome at the track.”

She added: “That’s one that a lot of my drivers need to hear and digest that, because maybe they listen to it, but they need to really feel like they are welcome at the track.

“I’m just building up a good team of female racers to try and beat the boys and show them what we're about and that we can race as well.”

Chloe Grant, 19: Pushing the future over the line

Then came the breakthrough in the contest.

Chloe Grant – a Scottish driver who competed for the ART Grand Prix team in the 2023 F1 Academy season – went wheel-to-wheel with Hansen and beat him.

“I had no idea how I’d fare against Kevin,” she said afterwards, “but I just wanted to give him a good run for his money. It was just good fun.”

Hansen was effusive about her talents – admitting after his defeat: “She was super-quick – I just couldn’t keep up.”

For 19-year-old Grant, simplicity is key in her approach to her sport.

“At 15 or 16, years old, I was getting overwhelmed, with a bunch of different people telling me so much different information, and it was kind of too much for my brain.

“Only really in recent years, when I’ve found the correct people for me that helped me in my career, they've simplified it.

“Just go for it and just feel it. Everybody over-analyses… and that's what I used to do.

“Now, it's like, forget about that.

“Just feel it. You know, feel the car. Feel what it needs feel how fast you can push it.”

Katrina Ee, 15: Learning quickly, racing faster

The final duel was against Malaysia’s Katrina Ee, just 15 but already an Asian champion with her eye firmly on a Formula 1 spot.

Having won a host of Asian junior karting titles in 2022 and 2023, including the Rotax Max Challenge Asia Trophy and IAME Series Asia, the teen’s talent is clear.

She achieved another milestone in 2024 when she was the only Asian picked for former British Formula 1 driver David Coulthard’s inaugural female driver development programme, More Than Equal.

Ee rocketed off the line against Hansen, holding the lead until the Swede’s experience reeled her in.

“It was close,” Hansen admitted about how he battled to close the gap with Ee – adding: “She had a good lead and I really lost in the beginning.”

Ee grinned as she took off her helmet: “You were good.”

The defeat is unlikely to get her down.

She said: “Trusting the process is super important, and going through setbacks.

“It doesn't mean that you’re a failure… don’t let it affect you.”

Ee also has dreams beyond her personal ambitions on the track – adding: “I would love to see more Asian girls in the sport.”

Far more than a race

The Every Lap I Complete initiative wasn’t just a showcase of pace, talent and the need for diversity in motorsports.

It was a demonstration of resilience, of ambition, and of how much female drivers are shaping the future of the game.

And that’s far more than a slogan.

As Scott Somerville, Director of External Affairs for E.ON and E.ON Next, put it: “This partnership with Veloce is trailblazing – not only in sustainability but in inclusion and equality.

“The Every Lap I Complete initiative showed exactly why inclusion matters: it gives a platform to voices that have too often been overlooked, and it proves when people are given equal opportunities, incredible results are delivered.”

Driving towards a fairer future

The E.ON Next and Veloce Racing partnership stretches back years.

Our shared commitment to promoting sustainability, innovation and diversity in our industries provides a perfect platform to educate the world about the urgent need for climate action and a greener, more sustainable future.

But E.ON Next’s partnership with Veloce Racing goes beyond electric vehicles.

It’s about challenging barriers – including motorsport’s glaring gender gap.

And it is a vital way to get voices belonging to racers such as Martin, Jerger, Grant and Ee heard.

For Hansen, who walked away from his Every Lap I Complete day with bruised pride and huge respect for his competitors of all ages, it was about more than just a series of showdowns.

It was a reminder that the next generation is coming fast – and it’s female as well as male.

It also proved women not only belong in racing, but are key to its future.

For Martin, Jerger, Grant and Ee, it was a personal chance to showcase grit, skill and determination – and to send a wider message that will echo beyond the racetrack.

Because when we open doors in sport, we inspire inclusion and ambition everywhere – on the track, in engineering, and in the journey to Net Zero.

It also proved winning the lap is sometimes not as important as simply completing it.

As Grant put it: “Just feel it. Feel the car. Feel how fast you can push it.”