Beyond the grid of any racing series, there are hundreds and thousands of things taking place that all come together to form the overall product and experience of a race weekend while also reverberating beyond the paddock and helping to shape the future of motorsport. From engineers to team managers to marshals, ambassadors and many more, every person plays their part. Oftentimes, these individuals don’t get the spotlight or recognition that they deserve. One of those individuals is who we here at It’s Race Week! wanted to highlight - and that’s Carol Glenn. As the Founder of Next Racing Generation, an FIA Girls on Track Ambassador, a Motorsport UK Inclusion Ambassador 2025 and much more besides that, Carol has a wealth of experience and knowledge gathered from decades of working in motorsport.
It’s Race Week! was able to sit down and speak with Carol at the Formula E Season 12 Finale in London about her role, what she loves about it so much, the approaches she takes and more.
Working behind the scenes as part of her role with the British Marshals Club as well as an ambassador for Girls on Track, one of Carol’s roles was to help recruit more volunteers to become Marshals and introduce it as a pathway for individuals who might not have even been aware of this as an option before now.
“The Marshal force in England has become very aged, you know, if you look at the most images itself men are 60 plus. They’re still enjoying doing their sport, but…you know, we need some fresh blood coming in, and (I’m) trying to encourage youngsters to become Marshals.” - Carol Glenn
Positioned at the Formula E race weekend alongside Girls on Track, the stand was in prime position to kill two birds with one stone - attract new people to become part of the world of motorsport while also encouraging young women in particular to take an interest in this too. With Girls on Track focused more on young women who are either in school or university, it can be difficult for them to know at times what options are available to them and where they can gain any kind of experience that may benefit them down the line.
“The way I do it now, and approach it now, is for them, especially if they’re studying and they want to get into working in the industry, at any level, being a volunteer for at least a year to two years will help them on their CV. You know, from being engineers, for social media, marketing, anything like that. Because again, not only are you a Marshal during the day, but in your breaks, whenever, you get to have access to teams and people who could then give them work experience or a job etc.” - Carol Glenn
This approach was working well in London, particularly at the start of the race weekend on Friday. Just over a hundred girls attended the event from a number of schools in the local area and Carol and others were able to talk to them about motorsport, volunteering, communication and what all of that involved in order to give them a taste of being involved and what it could look like for them if they wanted more.
As the weekend progressed, the focus shifted more onto the general public who were primarily in attendance to watch the double header weekend season finale of Formula E’s twelfth season. For this, Carol says she took a tailored approach depending on who she found herself talking to.
“If it’s somebody old, it’s like, do you want to have a hobby? Would you like to go and see motorsport for free? You know, the way you could do it is by volunteering. And to youngsters, it’s very much career focused. Get it on your CV. People want to see that you’ve done something outside of just doing your degree. Having a good degree is not enough anymore. You’ve got to have something else on your CV and motorsport is the way to do it.” - Carol Glenn
It’s an approach and advice that you see somewhere like Formula Careers, but don’t always hear as much of as you should. By taking this approach too, it alleviates the pressure on any and all individuals looking to get more involved. Motorsport isn’t for everyone but it should be an option and Carol’s doing her part in making sure that it is.
It’s also beneficial to have someone with as much experience in motorsport as Carol - having spent decades in a variety of motorsport related roles about the length of your arm - at an event such as Formula E where she can compare and contrast what she sees with what she’s experienced elsewhere.
“I was knocked out by this event because I’ve done lots of other events. I’d never done Formula E (before last year) and Formula E is a very unique one. It’s very different because…I’m used to, usually, there’s (being)lots of races on during the day. It’s fast paced, whereas this (Formula E) is a bit more leisurely. You have free practice and there’s a break. There’s no support series. There’s just plenty of time for it. So this gives us time to have conversations with people, which is really good.” - Carol Glenn
For Carol too, not only does she get to speak about and promote what she does and something that she loves but she also gets to see the impact that her words and the motorsport world have on those that she interacts with. Emily Mitchell is a perfect example of this. She attended the Formula E weekend a few years ago and spoke with Carol. Fast forward to today and Emily is now a Communications Executive with Formula E itself. Seeing that change, growth and impact over time keeps Carol motivated and in love with her role event after event, year after year.
“I loved my Fridays with Girls on Track, seeing their enthusiasm. And what was good for me this year is seeing young girls that came last year as a guest, and now are here working. I was joined by Emily yesterday when she came a few years ago and now she works for Formula E!” - Carol Glenn
It’s the passion that Carol has for her role too simply because she loves it, that makes even a casual conversation with a member of the public worth their while - even if they have no intention of volunteering as a marshal or becoming involved with motorsport in any other way. Having a positive interaction with someone who isn’t out on track racing or in the limelight helps paint a picture of the wider motorsport world and what it takes to put a weekend like the Formula E Finale together and leaves fans with a more positive overall experience that something such as buying a piece of merchandise simply can’t compete with.
“I just love, I love interacting with people. I love telling people about, you know, what I do, about what they can do, trying to get people to help to make more of themselves.
I mean, even back to on the marshal recruitment, even if they’re not wanting to get into the industry, and let’s say you’re out of work, marshalling gives you so much because you’re in a team, you could end up being the supervisor of, or post chief or supervisor in an area, gives you confidence, it helps you make decisions. So these are all things you can’t always get, you know, on your CV. So especially if you’ve been out of work for a while, that’s another great factor. It gives you the experience that you might need to try and get something later. So it’s just, you know, for me, it’s a good thing to do.” - Carol Glenn
There’s a lot more to Carol’s story than Formula E and marshaling but from this snapshot of her role here alone, the importance of each individual behind the scenes at any motorsport event as well as their longevity in the industry, becomes more and more paramount.
Formula E returns for the opening round of Season 13 on December 18th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.