By Joe Murphy
Milena Clark isn’t your standard racing driver. At just 14 years old, she’s already turning heads with some of her standout performances. She sat down with Wheel2Wheel Reports to discuss her journey and the exciting future in store.
Milena made it clear conveying her love for motorsport started at a very young age. From originally karting with her family, she knew that this was something she wanted to do moving forward. It was more than a hobby.
She disclosed that as soon as the lights go out, any fear simply vanishes when driving extremely powerful karts all the way to road cars. She’s driving road cars at beyond the legal limit whilst still being too young to take official driving lessons in the UK. Milton Keynes acts as one of her favourite venues to race currently, with sim racing also playing a key part in Milena developing her racecraft.
Off the back of the recent Belgian Grand Prix, she said that Spa was somewhere she is excited to experience in a future event, but Formula 1 is not the long term target. Not yet anyway. Instead, 24-hour Le Mans is on the young British drivers bucket list, with longer stint driving something that peaks her interest.
It’s not been a smooth journey. A young girl stands out at a race track as a literal minority. As a person of colour also, this becomes an even more rare, albeit growing, representation. Following her hero Lewis Hamilton’s footsteps, whilst also being directly influenced by personnel such as Jamie Chadwick, this has made this route less difficult, but it still remains far from easy. Milena told us that she prefers to do her speaking on the track and has confidence to prove that she is indeed the best regardless of any genetic characteristics. It is true that the Jamie Chadwick Series has been a huge benefit to Milena this year.
Not only that, but Milena also races with Adrenal Insufficiency (AI) which is a condition where your adrenal glands don’t produce enough hormones. These hormones are important in helping regulate various bodily functions, like blood pressure, metabolism, and stress response. In other words, Milena requires a pack with her at all times in case of an accident. Despite this setback, she’s kept racing and managed to claim multiple podiums and race wins, with the hop of adding to these in the future. She is also supported relentlessly by her family both at the track and behind the scenes.
Arguably the biggest hurdle to a future in motorsport is the financial one. Costing an estimated £80,000 next year, this fact alienated a large portion of racers who could be quick enough with pure pace alone. To overcome this, Milena has grown her network with a new website and is actively seeking sponsorship to help fulfill her obvious potential.
Click the link HERE to learn more about the next big name in motorsport.
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 