East Cheshire Staff Nurse ‘in the driving seat’ for prestigious Formula Woman competition

East Cheshire NHS Trust staff nurse, Tara Richardson has taken things up a gear after being selected as a finalist in the prestigious Formula Woman competition.

Tara, who works on a cardiology ward at Macclesfield Hospital faced strong competition to secure her position, beating more than 800 applicants from 28 different countries to make it through to the final 50.

The competition so far has seen Tara take part in a series of online and on-track assessments to determine who will be successful in becoming the next female motor racing champion.

The assessments have included fitness, media, and on-track driving skills, which have been assessed by a team of professional racing judges.

Tara, who is balancing nursing care and racing cars in her spare time, has been passionate about motorsport since childhood.

She said; “I couldn’t be more excited about the experience of taking part in the final and I am feeling confident. My sponsors Duel Autocare have been amazing at supporting me every step of the way, and the support I’ve also received through social media has also been brilliant.

“The last two years as a newly qualified nurse has been extremely challenging. I know nursing and motor racing don’t usually go hand in hand, but motorsport and my automotive hobbies are an escape from my job that can often be quite high pressured.

“I love being a nurse, I’m a people person and I’ve wanted to look after people for as long as I can remember, so it was always going to be my career.”

The final 50 successful applicants will now proceed to the last stage of the competition, to take part in further televised on-track assessments in March 2022.

After successful completion of this, six winners will then be awarded the grand prize of a drive in a McLaren Customer Racing GT4 car in the UK GT Cup championship during 2022, after undergoing full intensive training and coaching.

Senior Sister Laura Atherton, from the cardiology ward where Tara works, said: “Tara is an excellent nurse and takes pride in delivering high quality care for our patients every day. We know her other passion is motorsport and we want to wish Tara the best of luck in the next stage of this amazing challenge. We are all rooting for her!”

To follow Tara’s challenge on social media, visit @taraa.sr (Instagram), @taraa.sr (TikTok) and ‘taraasrtv’ on Youtube. To get in touch with Tara about sponsorship to support her journey, please contact her through Instagram.

Pictured - Tara Richardson and Laura Atherton at Macclesfield Hospital.