Talking Classics With Grace Webb

We recently spoke to Grace Webb who is a qualified teacher, journalist and television presenter. You will have likely seen her presenting the television coverage of the TT Motorcycle Road Races, Fifth Gear: Recharged, and, if you have children in your house – Grace’s Amazing Machines.

As the granddaughter of Donington Park’s Race Circuit founder Tom Wheatcroft, it was fantastic to speak with Grace and find out about her work, current and future projects, and all things automotive.

This is how our conversation went:

Have you always been interested in the automotive and engineering world? Did this love come from your Grandad?

Yeah, I’d say I’ve always been interested in automotive & engineering but mainly as a hobby. I’ve always watched racing of some kind from a young age, both on the television or going to race tracks and having a family that loves motorsport too really got me hooked. Growing up, we would often watch racing at Donington Park as a family or I’d chat to my dad about what engine was in his workshop that week, as he works as a V8 specialist. I feel very fortunate now that I can work in this space as well as it being a hobby.

How did you first embark on your career within the motorsport industry?

My motorsport career started when I was a student at university. Both my brothers raced motorbikes and I’d often go to the circuits to support them on track/ in the garage, and the championship that they raced for was looking to be televised on Freeview TV and had asked whether I wanted to have a go at interviewing some of the riders on camera, which I ended up doing for a couple of years.

I really enjoyed chatting to the riders about their racing and watching their championships and careers unfold. I was studying to be a Primary Teacher at the time and after gaining my degree, I went on to teach for 6 years, before a video of me interviewing a rider was seen by a producer at the BBC who emailed to ask if I’d be interested in presenting a children’s show about machinery. I jumped at the chance as it combined two things that I was passionate about – education and motorsport. I went on to host the children’s show for 4 series at the BBC and a new career for me snowballed from there!

You get to experience lots of ‘Amazing Machines’ do you know all about these beforehand or does it require research before you film?

 I love presenting the Amazing Machines series because I love finding out about all the different vehicles, however, there is such a wide range of machines documented on the show that it would be impossible to know all about them beforehand! Myself and the team do a lot of research leading up to filming to make sure we give it the justice it deserves as an Amazing Machine!

How important do you think female representation is within motorsport?

I think equal representation is important, not just in motorsport but in many industries. As we know, motorsport is a male-dominated industry so it would be great to see more female representation coming through, which I think it is.

We’re starting to see an increase in women taking on roles within motorsport and this is being seen more through the likes of social media platforms and television broadcast, etc. I think this is important to see because not only does it break down stereotypes but it also creates a more diverse and dynamic workforce.

How does your experience as a teacher shape your presenting when addressing a young audience?

I think my experience as a teacher really helps when I’m presenting to a young audience because a lot of the skills needed in teaching, I think can be transferred to my presenting! Every lesson I taught was effectively presenting a concept to my class in an engaging and enthusiastic way – and that still applies when I moved from the classroom to the film set, I just pretend that the camera is my class! 

Do you have any advice for anyone who is starting out in journalism?

My advice would be to be as prepared as you can. Do research, make notes and swot up – but also don’t be worried if you don’t know everything about the subject as that is also your job as a journalist to find out.

A quote that I’ve heard recently that has really inspired me, says “Being passionate about something doesn’t mean you need to know everything about it, but being passionate means, you’re willing to learn everything about it.”  

Have you got any exciting projects coming up?

Yes! A few exciting projects I have coming up this year are, that I’m hosting The British Motor Show in Farnborough from the 15^th – 18^th August 2024 alongside ‘Motors’ who are the title sponsor for this year. As well, I’m hosting a stage at Motorcycle Live held in the NEC at Birmingham from 16^th – 24^th November 2024. I hope to see you there!

If you could ride any bike or drive any car what would it be?

I would love to have the chance to ride a MotoGP bike or drive an F1 car – both these machines are at the pinnacle of engineering so to experience a little of what that feels like for a rider/driver in the hot seat at the most elite end of motorsport, I think would be fantastic.

You have been to some amazing and exclusive places, what would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?

I feel really fortunate to have had some mind-blowing experiences in my career so far that I’m very grateful for. One that really stands out to me was quite early on, where I had the opportunity to film and fly the Goodyear Blimp in the USA. The sights, sounds and feelings were breathtaking and to have done this so early on in my career was a real pinch-me moment – and to top it all off, the crew displayed my name on the side of the blimp for all of Miami Beach to see! Incredible.

With the rise of EV, how do you see the future of the automotive industry?

Electric Vehicles are certainly on the rise, at the end of 2016 just 0.4% of all new vehicles registered in the UK were electric. By 2023 this had risen to 16.5% of new car registrations. To put that into perspective, as of the end of June 2024, there are now over 1.1 million fully electric cars on UK roads and a further 670,000 plug-in hybrids (zap-map.com) which demonstrates the increasing consumer demand so I see the future of the automotive industry definitely incorporating EVs alongside Internal Combustion Engine vehicles.

Battery technology is developing and I believe EVs are brilliant in certain situations, such as the off-road market, airports, paddocks, etc and they really suit some people’s lifestyles. However, there won’t be a sudden disappearance of ICE vehicles and I believe the charging infrastructure needs to be a little more reliable yet but with the rise in the technology of synthetic fuels, we may even find a more sustainable way to run ICE vehicles in the future so they can be alongside EVs.

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