Young Irish born racer Alyx Coby talks to Females in Motorsport about her career so far and her dream: to become a W Series racer.
Since the age of six, Alyx has been at the wheel, but has been at race tracks since she was born as her dad has raced previously. Quite frankly, motorsport is in her blood.
Alyx’s talent has been shown internationally - from club racing in home country Ireland to her first race in Senior X30 at Lake Garda, Italy which she described as a “baptism of fire”.
Coby races in Senior X30 internationally; having many highlights along the way, including qualifying top-40 out of 120 – top – drivers in France which she says, “was a really big achievement for herself”.
Among her career highlights, she has also joined CJJ Motorsport, and was picked out by John Campion, who has now sadly passed. Speaking to Alyx, she said that the opportunity has given her so much confidence, not only for interviews and talking to people about her racing but also for her mentality when it comes to driving.
“I was proud of myself for someone seeing me out of all of the other drivers - out of all of the amazing talent we have over here,” she says. “I am sitting on the grid, so many people behind me see something in me that before I was blinded by, so I'm sitting in the kart thinking I have earnt my place here; I am a talented driver. So it does give you a lot of confidence and for driving.”
W Series is the current dream for kart racer Alyx, as she believes it will give her the connections to more opportunities for her future career. She believes part of being a skilled racing driver is feedback, and Alyx has already realised so soon into her career that feedback is the key to learning.
“Listening and paying attention and having a good understanding of your surroundings and the car and how it works…because you can go in after testing or a race and you can say ‘oh, it wasn’t good’, yeah but was it you? And then you can say ‘no, it wasn’t me’, and then you have people pulling a good set up apart when it was you.”
Being prepared for race weekends is essential, and Alyx has said that confidence and fitness, both physically and mentally, has helped her to her success.
“They all play together - your fitness affects your mindset a lot which over the past while I have improved a lot on,” she says. “Thankfully, I have a great fitness partner, Nicci, being a hockey player she is at the top of her game and will get me at the top of my game and has me working very, very hard. A lot of people don’t think it is as physical as it is, but it’s unbelievable the amount of strength it takes.”
Being a female in the motorsport world can be very difficult, and Alyx has said to us that she had to prove her talent a little bit more than everyone else.
“You know you come into the sport and someone sees you, the top drivers are seeing you, before they can see you drive, if you’re fast or if you’re any good,” she says. “You know, top drivers are always going to be a bit of a bully. They’re going to nudge you just so they can live up to their standards which is ‘don’t come near me, don’t try to push me off, I’m going for a championship’ is their kind of way of saying it. But as a driver starting off, you build up a lot of respect for those people.”
Of course, Alyx has now built up a lot of respect in the paddock and no longer feels intimidated. She has built her confidence and resilience to it all.
“You’re mind fit and you’re physically fit: that as well is a really big deal and confidence as well because I know when I went to the international finals, even when I went over to the U.K. to race, I was unbelievably intimidated when I was younger,” she says. “I feel now I’m not because the lads that are driving now, they don’t look down on me as much as they used to. They were looking at me and saying ‘aw, she’s a girl, we can bully her around the track’ but now they’re looking at me as competition. It’s sad that I had to prove that, but at the same time it’s made me a stronger person and a stronger driver.”
Coby is now preparing for her future – her W Series dream. She aims to try and get into single seaters, maybe Formula 4, this year to improve upon her skills and make herself more known. In addition to this, she has signed with Navigate Partners.
On her future she said: “I remember listening to podcasts Jamie Chadwick was doing, she was explaining that after she won W Series it wasn’t the end of her career. When she won, it opened so many doors for her. Obviously that is my goal, is to be a part of the W Series and then to move onto bigger things that the W Series has opened for me.”
Alyx has showcased her tremendous talent internationally and will be one to watch for the future. We can’t wait to cheer her on and watch her blossom.
All photos are taken from Alyx Coby.