About Nathalie

Nathalie McGloin is the only female tetraplegic racing driver in the world. Paralysed from the chest down in a car accident at 16, in 2015 she became the first female with a spinal injury to be granted a racing licence in the UK, and in 2019 she became the first ever female disabled rally driver. She is the only disabled female to hold both a race and rally licence in the UK.

Racer

In motorsport there are no separate classes for female or disabled drivers, so Nathalie competes directly against able-bodied men. Her car is an adapted Porsche 987 Cayman S fitted with radial hand controls, mounted to the right of the steering column, that she pushes forward to brake and down to accelerate, leaving her left hand free to steer. She competes in the Porsche Club Championship and in the New Millennium series run by the Classic Sports Car Club, racing at major national circuits including Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington. With a list of podium finishes to her name, she took her first outright win at Silverstone in 2018.

Speaker

Nathalie is an established international keynote speaker. Her motto is simple: Anything Is Possible. She shares her journey from breaking her neck at 16 to racing Porsches today, speaking openly about the challenges she faced after her injury and what drove her to push beyond what she believed she was capable of. She has spoken for the FIA International Sport Conference, Red Bull, UBS, Mac Tools, Wellspect Healthcare and the United Nations Foundation.

Ambassador

After hearing Nathalie speak at the FIA International Sport Conference in 2017, FIA President Jean Todt appointed her the first President of the newly formed FIA Disability and Accessibility Commission. In that role she became the first disabled driver to present a trophy on the podium at the British Grand Prix, and she was the youngest FIA Commission President at the time of her appointment. She has served as an ambassador for Wings for Life, a charity funding research to cure spinal cord injury, and for Dare To Be Different, which champions women in motorsport.

In 2016 Nathalie co-founded Spinal Track, a charity giving free track days and rally experiences to disabled drivers in adapted, hand-controlled cars. Spinal Track is a separate charitable organisation and is independent of Nathalie McGloin Racing Ltd.

When I’m racing I leave my wheelchair in the pits. When I’m lining up on that grid with my helmet on, no-one knows I’m female or have a spinal injury. I’m just another driver – and that’s the way it should be.

Nathalie McGloin