Real Life: British racing driver Morgan Kidd is speeding up the ranks in motorsport

From riding her first quad bike at four to competing for a podium place at Silverstone, racing driver Morgan Kidd, 20, is a rising star on the circuit

When did you first discover your love of racing?

I’ve always been involved in motorsport; my dad’s a race engineer for classic cars so constantly had the F1 on the telly when I was growing up. When I was eight, my dad took me to watch his colleague race go-karts and I was like ‘wow, I want to have a go’, so Dad sat me on one and I’ve never looked back! I’ve been racing ever since.

Tell me about your racing journey so far?

I began in a weekend kids club called Young Starz Training Academy at Red Lodge driving the corporate karts. I loved driving really fast; I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie ever since Dad bought me a quad bike when I was four!

I got my own kart when I was nine and by 2014, I was fast enough to race in Red Lodge’s championship, Club 2000. I went on to race at Hunts Kart Club at Kimbolton for a few years, then I started racing British Championships. In 2023 I made the jump to cars where I won the AirTec Fiesta ST240 Club Championship in my rookie year!

You now race for JRW Motorsport. What’s been the most exhilarating race so far?

Probably the last race of the 2023 season which was at Silverstone. It was my first year of racing cars and by the end of the championship I was within the top five as a rookie. Even though that race weekend didn’t go to plan, the first race was absolutely brilliant; I was up there fighting with men that had been racing cars for years so it felt amazing to get stuck in.

Obviously racing cars comes with big risks. Does it ever get scary or is it just a massive adrenaline rush?

Just a massive adrenaline rush! Last year I was racing at Thruxton, which is the fastest circuit in the UK. The whole weekend I was within the top three or four, and then on the Sunday it started to rain and a warning light came on while I was sat in the pits waiting to go out. But I was starting third and wanted to finish the race so ignored it, then my ABS failed at the fastest part of the circuit and I went straight into the barrier at 125 miles an hour. It was scary because I could see it was going wrong and there was nothing I could do. I went to the medical centre and luckily wasn’t hurt and the first thing I said to my dad was ‘can we get the car out for the next race?’ and he was like absolutely not!

Men have been considered as superior in racing in the past. How do you feel about that?

When I race, I don’t think who is in front of or behind me; everyone is just a number regardless of sex. I had a bit of trouble with cyber bullying when I was racing karts in the British championships as I was the only girl and they didn’t like it that I was fast. But then I moved up to cars which is much more professional. There’s still a bit of stigma around women racing but I don’t really care; I think it spurs me on!

How is 2025 shaping up for you?

I’m in my final year of a Sport and Exercise Science degree at Nottingham University which I’m really enjoying. I’m racing in the Fiesta championship which is my main focus this year. I’ve had offers to race elsewhere but money is such a limiting factor. I want to have a career in motorsport, but with money being a barrier, I’m considering going down the performance coaching route within racing, using my degree as that’s something I’m passionate about.

What would be the dream if money was no object?

The dream would be world GT racing so endurance stuff in sports cars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris; that’s where I’d want to be on the world stage, travelling and doing something that I love.

Find out more about Morgan Kidd on Instagram @morgankiddofficial