Jaguar NZ is backing a campaign to bury outdated views about female drivers.

THREE female motorsport involvers are setting out to break discredited gender stereotypes, such as belief men can drive better than women.

 Jaguar New Zealand has teamed with Tiffany Chittenden, the first-ever female to win a British National Karting Championship, New Zealand Women in Motorsport ambassador Amy Hudson and a rising star, 20-year-old Rianna O’Meara-Hunt, for a series of upcoming television exercises inspired by Sybil Lupp, a high-profile identity in national motorsport and car sales.

 The three cite that, despite national and international acclaim for their success, they still operate in a heavily male-dominated sport.

 They are affronted by a recent research that has raised controversial outcomes.

 Findings included belief by 84 percent of men that they are better drivers than their female counterparts, despite men accounting for 64 percent of serious crashes on New Zealand roads.

 Also, that 55 percent of men believe that women are more interested in the style, colour and aesthetics of a car than performance – while women claim performance and safety are the most important considerations when purchasing a new vehicle.

The survey of an uncited number of respondents also suggests just 15 percent of New Zealanders are able to name a female race car driver and that 80 percent have never seen a female motorsport event.

Jaguar NZ, which funded the research, says it is seeking to challenge these stereotypes by giving the racers a platform to demonstrate their expertise and successes. It’s also to show how the motoring industry has the potential to lead the way in terms of breaking conventions.

The company has arranged several driving challenges, one for each of the trio, that relate to the kind of motorsport events Lupp excelled at when competing in hill climbs, sprints and circuit races, primarily between 1947 and 1954, with the high point of a national flying quarter mile speed record that stood for some years.

From that point on, the Wellingtonian focused on building up a successful Jaguar franchise, a very much hands-on approach as she was one of New Zealand's first ever female mechanics.

Today her feats are celebrated by a trophy named in her memory competed for at one of the country’s largest race meetings for bygone era cars, the MG Classic staged annually at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon.

The challenges – an agility and precision challenges in the i-Pace electric car for Hudson, a quarter mile sprint for O’Meara-Hunt (in a F-Pace) and  a one hour endurance run, by Chittenden in a F-Pace SVR – will progressively highlight on TV3’s The Project next week.

 “As far as I’m concerned, motorsport has the opportunity to be one of the most levelling sports in terms of gender, says Chittenden in supplied comment.

“A vehicle has no idea whether it is driven by a male or a female, so we need to move past these outdated stereotypes.”

 “It’s awesome to see more and more women coming into motorsport,” says O’Meara-Hunt. “When we put our helmets on, we all become equal, we’re all there for the same reason, and we all have the same goal at the end of the day.”

Jaguar NZ chief executive Steve Kenchington says his business is committed to challenging gender conventions “so a new generation of female drivers can experience the thrill and excitement of high-performance cars.

“We look forward to creating tangible changes in the motoring industry by championing everyday heroes such as Tiffany, Amy and Rianna, and look forward to unveiling more commitments in this place soon.”