Engineering team’s Red Bull soapbox entry aims to encourage women

An all-female engineering team will take on a famous soapbox race in a bid to encourage more women to join the industry.

Loughborough University students Belle Singleton, Isra Shaikh, Keya Zara Patel and Megan Thurgood will compete in the Red Bull Soapbox Race at Alexandra Palace, London, on Saturday 22 June.

The team, named The 12 Percent, was formed following a meeting at Loughborough’s Women in Engineering Society.

Ms Patel said: “We’re in three separate disciplines of engineering.”

She added: “The team name comes from the average percentage of women across those specific courses.

“Though there have been marginal improvements, women still represent a minority in the field. So we’re trying to advocate for more women to go for those engineering roles and courses.”

A soapbox is a handmade motorless vehicle raced on downhill roads, powered only by an initial push and gravity.

The team’s entry is a tribute to the Mario Kart character Princess Peach, with the character’s pink ballgown being the focal point of the vehicle.

Ms Patel, who is 23, will pilot the soapbox and has planned a co-ordinated race-day outfit, consisting of a pink tracksuit, blonde wig and DIY cardboard crown to be attached to her helmet.

The choice to race as Peach was a deliberate one.

She added: “We’re going to be racing down the track in a puffy pink dress, looking all girly, and still hopefully beating the boys.”

“We want to inspire other little girls to do the same when they grow up.”

The 12 Percent is one of just 10 teams in receipt of the selective Young Constructor’s Grant, which funds material resources, allocates building time and provides access to workshop spaces and tools.

The team’s soapbox, dubbed “Peaches, Peaches, Peaches”, incorporates a chassis concealed by industrial grade metal wiring, which will be bent into a ballgown shape to replicate the character’s infamous pink dress.

Megan added: “We’ve all been lucky enough that we feel like we’re on a pretty even playing field with all the guys at university, but there’s still sometimes an underlying assumption in some scenarios that you don’t have the knowledge that perhaps a man in your situation would have.”

“But that’s why we’re doing this,” she adds. “It’s so important to enthuse women and give them confidence in this area.

“Every little step we take is really significant in battling those stereotypes.”

Though Ms Shaikh and Ms Thurgood have graduate jobs lined up in engineering, they hope to one day transfer their skills to a career in Formula 1.

“A large portion of F1 is basically just competitive engineering,” Ms Thurgood added.

“That’s why I’m personally so drawn to it. It’s fascinating to see how teams adapt to the constraints of the car.”