Katherine Legge Looks For Even Greater Success In 2024
Click here to listen to AutoRacingDigest.com's full audio interview with Katherine Legge.
Katherine Legge has competed in virtually every racing genre there is, from NASCAR to IMSA to IndyCar and the Indy 500. Legge has even tested in an F1 car in her career.
But now, the English native is looking to up the ante heading into 2024 with IMSA's Gradient Racing.
“I think it's difficult to put into a sentence when I'm feeling about it,” Legge told AutoRacingDigest.com when asked about her recently completed 2023 season. “There's a lot of opportunity and it was a disappointing year kind of on the IMSA side and on the Indy 500 side. Obviously, everybody knows what happened there.
"But you know, I think in IMSA we showed a lot of promise. We had the fastest laps. We went where we looked like we were going to finish on the podium a few times and it just never came to fruition. That being said, that also leads to a lot of excitement about what's going to happen next year. And to putting that promise into results and into actually doing what we think we're capable of.”
2023 was a massive year for Legge.
With competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with SS Green Light and putting up the one of the fastest qualifying times amongst female IndyCar drivers for the Indy 500, Legge not only pushed the limits, but showed competitiveness and hunger this past season.
However, for Legge, there is more to her journey than meets the eye.
Being one of the pioneers in regards to women in multiple motorsport disciplines, Legge is seeing the true growth that is happening in sports as women continue to set higher standards.
“Yeah, it's really nice to see the amount of opportunities that are out there right now,” Legge said with excitement. “It seems to be definitely a big push from teams, from manufacturers, from everybody, for the inclusion. I think that hopefully that trickles down.
"At the moment, we’ve got some success with the Dames, which was awesome to see. Then we've got a bunch of the young ladies driving across the world in various different forms and hopefully that trickles down to the grassroots to young girls who are in karting and encourages them that they can do it and that they can put the effort in and get there and then hopefully we'll see, we may kind of develop and come up through.
"Hopefully we'll see that it's not a gimmick anymore and it is just kind of the norm and that they will be successful, right? Because it's nothing unusual.”
Nothing unusual is quite correct coming from Legge.
Just to see the ladies who have paved the way such as Helle Nice, Lella Lombardi, Michele Mouton, Danica Patrick, Pippa Mann and even Legge herself, it is creating a new era for women in motorsports, especially seeing the success coming across all levels.
But what the veteran Legge has been able to pilot in her career may be unprecedented, getting to drive some of the most unique vehicles in motorsports, such as the DeltaWing.
“I don't think we'll ever see it again,” says Legge. “Unfortunately, Dr. Panoz is no longer with us. He was one of the really forward-thinking, progressive, entrepreneurial types that wanted to see the technological advance, which is why he took care of the Deltawing from Nissan and wanted to showcase that technology and that technology we worked on for four years.
"It was really cool to be part of it because I learned so much from an engineering technology perspective and It was just cool and different. It was one of those things, you either loved it or you hated it. It drove more like an IndyCar, than anything else, which is strange because you look at those two teeny tiny front tires and how did they generate grip?
"But trust me, they did. They generated and the steering was very heavy, which is also mind-boggling, but I got to work with some really cool people and I got to drive a car that not many people have driven, and it just added to my diversity and my CV (racing resume), which is neat.”
Diversity is nothing new to Legge, given the machines that she has driven. But for her, it's leaving a lasting impression that is something that hits home.
“I think that I've always tried to do what the guys do right and be taken seriously," Legge said. "Like the guys are, I just want to knuckle down and do everything that I can in my power to not be different in a way, but to also be true myself in another way.
"I think that it's not just embracing. I think that any young person who has a role model in any way, shape or form, that role model should show them that they can be anything that they want to be if they put in the work and if they want it badly enough.
"I worry about people thinking that it's easy. It's not easy. You sacrifice a lot for it, but you don't see it as a sacrifice. That’s your passion. I would say find something that you are passionate about, if you're fortunate enough to find something that you're passionate about. And by passionate, I mean like, literally you would anything for this thing and then do anything for that thing, that’s all you can do.”
What this English-born veteran has proven is that anything is possible. Given her career success and what she wants to continue to do, there is more to come for her in what has been a career that will continue to leave a lasting legacy on people.