Catie Munnings: “There’s more and more females coming into the sport – be it engineers or mechanics – and it’s all about creating opportunities for that to happen”

From Extreme E to E1 Series, Catie Munnings is a trailblazer in motorsport and at just 26 years old, Catie is proving that women can compete at the top level of motorsport. 

With half of 2024 done already, we asked Catie to reflect on her career to date, and look ahead to what’s next this year and beyond… 

Catie has always been captivated by motorsport, but had a slightly more unconventional route into the sport.

“For me, it was growing up on a family farm surrounded by quad bikes and buggies – just driving everything I could as a hobby,” she says. “I never considered a route into motorsport or that I could turn my hobby into a career.”

Catie’s career started when she began grass auto testing at just aged 14 at her local motor club - from there, she moved into rally and the European Rally Championship.

“It was pretty much the same as doing British Rally, but the standard was really high in Europe, so it was quite a steep learning curve the first few years,” she says. 

After this, Catie moved to the World Rally Championship. But, with COVID-19, and a seat offered by Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E,  Catie’s career was about to change. 

Catie has been competing with the team, and in the Extreme E Championship ever since, and she is really paving her way in an emerging and sustainability driven Championship. 

For motorsport overall there is a real drive towards sustainability and with this, there is real opportunity for Catie and other drivers.

“I think as a driver, you always want to be at the forefront of new technologies combined with a sustainability angle,” she tells us. “We’ve learnt how to be more efficient with batteries and how to keep the motors cool and charged, so it’s very exciting to be able to combine two passions of racing and technological advancement. ”

At the end of June, Extreme E announced its Evolution to Extreme H - the brand new hydrogen powered racing series which will launch in 2025. Extreme H is once again proof that there is a real shift towards eco-friendly motorsport and Catie agrees. 

“For the past few years, Extreme E has been making massive leaps – even on a race-to-race basis with the ever-changing conditions that we’ve faced racing all over the world,” she says. “The Championship has really pushed the electric powertrains to the limit and it’s been a real challenge for engineers to manage both cooling and charging in extreme conditions to ensure that we can race with full power everywhere we go.”

Extreme H marks a completely new vision for the world of motorsport - with technology advancements and a focus on sustainability - there’s so much excitement and intrigue around the sport and its future. 

“Motorsport enables so much fast-paced progress due to how competitive it is, and so I think the Championship will push this new type of technology forwards in leaps and bounds.” 

It is no secret that another advancement focus for motorsport is diversity, and Catie is keen to see progress in Extreme E and Extreme H.

In the current Extreme E driver line-up, half the grid is female but this isn’t the same across other Championships. 

“When I go racing in other Championships, you’re surprised to see that there’s still so few females because you kind of get used to it when you’re walking around the paddock in Extreme E,” she says. Nevertheless, across the board there’s more and more females coming into the sport – be it engineers or mechanics – and it’s all about creating opportunities for that to happen.”

There are many initiatives to help bring more women into motorsport, including Racing For All, created by Extreme E.  

“It has been brilliant in enabling the education of all the opportunities available in motorsport, especially for all the girls who have been involved,” she says. “If you don’t necessarily have connections in the industry, it’s a great way to gain valuable experience so I do hope it continues through to Extreme H.” 

For women wanting to enter into motosport, role models are crucial and Catie seconds this. 

“Role models are enormous,” she says. “You don’t realize how much you’re influenced by the outside world - a lot of my role models were not from motorsport, but other sports.”

Like all sports, motorsport requires a significant amount of resilience and it is important to hear the stories of others for advice - like Catie did. 

“I remember reading so many books when I was younger and becoming so motivated and ready for the challenge,” she says. “As soon as you see a route or you see that someone else has achieved something great, it really fills you with confidence - to see more and more of those moments happening in motorsport is massive.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Catie is excited to keep progressing with the team. 

“We’ve started this year in really strong form and I think the whole team is working seamlessly together, so I can’t wait for all of the remaining races through the season,” she tells Females in Motorsport. “I think we can have a really solid year – I’m feeling good about myself, and the team too.”

Outside of the 2024 season, Catie has had many incredible achievements in her career to date, and she finds it hard to select just one.

“Just being offered the opportunity to race against people that I grew up watching such as Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz has been amazing, especially when you have strong performances against them,” she tells us.

From her first heat win in Sardinia to winning in Greenland, all these moments have provided Catie with the confidence to fight for the top step, and it is continuing to drive her forward now. 

“We’re looking in strong shape and I do believe we have another good chance to take victory this year,” she says. “We know we’ve got the pace, it’s just about putting it all together on the day.” 

Catie continues to compete in the Extreme Championship and is currently P4 in the overall standings. The next round of the Championship takes place in Sardinia on 14th and 15th September.

All images provided by Catie Munnings