A racing driver sponsored by bluedog Security Monitoring has become the first woman in 13 years to compete in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). She is Jade Edwards, and the 30-year-old hopes to use her appearance at Silverstone later this month to launch her career on the BTCC circuit and continue the family racing tradition. Her father, Jim Edwards Junior, is a former BTCC race winner; while her grandfather, Jim Edwards Senior, won the Renault UK 5 TS Championship.
Jade, pictured, has been racing since 2006 and for the past three years competed in a supporting event, the Renault UK Clio Cup, finishing seventh overall last year. She was also the first female driver to take an outright win in an Aston Martin GT racer.
Cybersecurity is playing its part in supporting motorsport – in particular in Formula One, where six of the ten teams are sponsored by cyber firms.
bluedog’s co-founder Paul Lomax is a fellow racing driver who is a former team mate of Jade’s father. He said: “Jade is a very talented racing driver. It is great to see her keeping up the family tradition, and also to see more women in competitions at this level. This is a great opportunity for her to build her career and encourage more women to enter the sport.”
Paul, who has sponsored Jade in the past via his previous company, the domain name registrar Freeparking, added: “The IT industry has always had an affinity with racing – perhaps because we are geeks who love a technical challenge, and the added bonus of corporate hospitality! However in recent years, cybersecurity companies have also become enthusiastic supporters. They are now playing an important role in helping motorsport get back on track after many races were cancelled due to the pandemic.”
The 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship runs on 26 and 27 September and will be shown live on ITV4. Jade will be competing in rounds 16, 17 and 18 and driving a Vauxhall Astra as part of the Power Maxed Racing team. It will be 375 races since the last woman, Fiona Leggett, competed in the BTCC.
