Girl racer confirms: "Sex makes the difference"

Ever wondered why women get a better deal on car insurance than blokes? Especially when there's all those (allegedly) hilarious emails and websites showing just how bad women are at driving, with their 'blonde behind the wheel' moments and the diamond-carat comedy of the parking lot.

Well it turns out that the typical 35% discount (or so) that women enjoy is down, at least in part, to the skills of drivers like Sarah Bennett-Baggs. Sarah, who is based in Maidenhead, is a member of the Butler Motorsport team competing in the Britcar Championship and driving an M3 BMW. In the average 35-40 car grid, each car having a team of two or three drivers, she's often the only woman driver. But Sarah's team has managed several podium finishes and regularly comes home first in its class.

And now her rising profile has landed Sarah a sponsorship deal with Adrian Flux Insurance.

So how does a mere woman (blonde, too) cope not just with the egos and testosterone of the masculine racetrack, but manage to hold her own? And how does all this relate to the male/female insurance divide?

"The Britcar is a series of endurance races of two, three or four hours," she says. "The drivers' main job is to bring the car home - fast, sure, but safely too. Women are at least as good at that as men.

"During a recent four hour night race at Spa I was tangling with a fellow competitor on the first few laps of the race, I kept overtaking him on the straight, only for him to slide past on the corners - which was crazy, given the conditions and the three and a half hours left to run.

I decided to back off and let him go, rather than throw if off in the battle of the egos. A couple of laps later I passed him - he'd spun off over-driving. If I hadn’t have backed off he could have taken me with him.

"That's the difference - women race with plenty of balls, but also with our heads. We'll take risks, but we're not daft. We keep the car out of trouble, and bring it home. Male racing drivers are prone to taking stupid risks in the heat of battle."

Most insurance companies agree with her (hence Adrian Flux Insurance's interest). And the reason they agree is down to statistics: put simply, men drivers make more claims, and the claims they make cost more.

"Flux is keen to attract more women policy holders," confirms company spokesperson Gerry Bucke. "Frankly, because they're safer they're good for business, even though their policies are lower. That's one of the reasons for supporting Sarah and her team."

Adrian Flux has a huge range of policies for the motoring enthusiast. For details contact the Adrian Flux quote line on 0800 505 3000, email the company at quotes@adrianflux.co.uk, or see the Flux homepage on www.adrianflux.co.uk

For more information or photos please call Sarah Bennett-Baggs Tel: 0870 3500911

Recent results:
Britcar Endurance Race – Spa Francorchamps :12th overall and 3rd in class
Oulton Park – 3rd in class

Driver Profile:
Sarah Bennett-Baggs works as team manager for Rupert Lewin Racing Ltd, Maidenhead, Berkshire (0870 3500911) a private Porsche team running a series of Exclusive Porsche Driving events. Her racing debut started with Formula Woman in 2004, when she was selected as one of the 16 finalists to race a season in the Mazda RX8. Since then she has completed two seasons of endurance racing in an MG-ZR and two 24hr races. 2007 has seen her inaugural Porsche race and the partnership with Adrian Flux and Butler Motorsport in the M3 BMW.