Rally
Trailblazer Catie Munnings reveals how she’s excelled on the bumpy, financially-precarious, crash-riddled road towards the top of rallying.
Talking to BMX champion and host Matthias Dandois, Catie Munnings – the young Briton, who became rally champion of Europe four years ago at just 18 – gives a fascinating insight into her rallying journey. It’s an “addiction” she hopes will see her eventually drive to the very summit.
1. “I actually didn’t pass my driving test first time – but it took me four years to tell anybody.”
For a prodigy who was the first Briton to win a title in European rallying for 49 years, Munnings has always been a little bit embarrassed about her one teenage failure behind the wheel. Here she confesses all – although she’s still adamant she didn’t endanger that bus driver coming off the roundabout!
2. “I had to learn the hard way – by being hit with a stick!”
We follow her early days as a rally driver and hear all about the unorthodox methods of the French champion who quickly introduced her to the disciplines she needed to help her become Europe’s best woman rallying exponent within a year.
3. “They’re cheap staff!”
Learn all about the remarkable family ‘team’ behind her success. Dad – one-time rally driver Chris, who had her executing perfect handbrake turns at 13; mum Tracey, who films her drives; and sister Hannah, the nutritionist who feeds the champ. Hear how their “crazy” sacrifices down the years, particularly financial ones, have given her career lift-off in an expensive sport.
4. “There have been loads of guys at the top for years but only one woman – she’s a complete legend in my eyes.”
Munnings reveals her inspiration in motorsport and explains how she hopes to emulate her heroine’s achievements. Now she hopes she herself may have the chance to motivate a new generation of young drivers as she talks of her involvement in projects like Dare To Be Different, which seek to secure greater opportunities for female motorsports participation.
5. “When I first started, there were people who would write me a message saying ‘stop rally driving and go and paint your nails’.”
Asked by Dandois about the “stupid stereotypes” surrounding women drivers, Munnings relates the pain they used to cause her – before she started making the trolls look stupid.
6. “It’s like you’re playing a video game and you want to be reloaded back on to the road to carry on – but it doesn’t happen.”
Crashing at high speed may be an occupational hazard in her world, but Catie will never forget the accident where she and her co-driver ended up unexpectedly dropping in on a Polish lady for coffee in her living room, by ploughing through the house wall.
7. “Driving’s what makes my fire burn – I need that adrenaline at this point in my life.”
Munnings had made a hugely successful parallel career as a presenter for the popular BBC children’s programme Catie's Amazing Machines. Here she explains how she had to balance her career in television with her motorsport dreams.
Tune into Decoding Athletes to find out more about Catie Munnings.