Sweden

There’s a reason Volvo Amazons are banned from many classic car rallies. They’re made in Sweden.

In Northern Sweden, winter lasts for 8 months, and roads are covered in ice for most of that time. If your car can survive daily driving in Sweden, it can easily survive a classic rally in the UK. And parts for a 1950s Volo Amazon are still readily available from Volvo!

Why am I writing about Sweden? Kate Broadbent is a finalist in Racing Women’s global competition to find their next racing team. And the final is ice driving in Sweden.

Along with 85 other fast and enthusiastic women drivers, Kate went to Bedford autodrome to take part in a series of tests to select just 10 women to go to Sweden for the final. There were fitness tests, reaction tests, media interview tests, a written exam that tested motorsport knowledge and checked out a competitor’s passion for racing, and yes, there was kart racing too.

Watching the GoPro footage that Kate took of her karting session, she was going for it big time. I think it was her experiences at Whilton Mill and Fulbeck that did it. She was absolutely launching the kart over the kerbs. She was fearless.

Not quite driving on ice, but still a challenge for Kate at Bayford.

I dropped her off for the day. I wasn’t allowed to stay, but I did get a good look at the competition, and there were some pretty confident ladies there. Experienced, well-spoken, athletic and extremely confident. So it’s amazing that the assessors and judges picked Kate. Something obviously shone through.

Racing Women’s results email said that Kate’s “talent, charisma, and passion truly stood out”. What a compliment, and an email that was so, so encouraging.

5 regional assessments took place around the world. 10 finalists from each region go to Sweden. That’s 50 finalists from around the globe. And 10 winners from the Sweden final will race in the Racing Women Radical team for 2026.

Some of the 2025 Radical Racing Women Team

Well, we need to do lots of training in the run up to the final at the end of February 2026. I can’t see us zipping over to Sweden for some pre-final training, but, I’ve always fancied a Volvo Amazon. Failing that, there’s the skid pan experience at Donington Park, and karting in the wet at Whilton Mill (which will prepare you for anything!). And I’m sure people will be queuing up to give Kate plenty of advice and training and testing opportunities as the days tick towards the final.