The motorsport LGBTQ+ tolerance lessons of a W Series star

"Right now I am the happiest I've been in life in general, with everything that's going on and with all the support that's going on with the LGBTQ side. Life is really good right now."

Sarah Moore, the 2009 Ginetta Junior champion, is so far having a pretty good '19.

Her return to single-seater racing in the new W Series after a lengthy break has been a solid one. She led briefly in the opening round at Hockenheim and finished fifth, a result she equalled at Zolder, and is holding onto seventh in the standings even after a slightly disappointing round at Misano.

But things are also going well for Moore personally - she is starting to plan a wedding to her long-term girlfriend, and now-fiancee, although no date has been arranged just yet.

Moore was recently announced as a driver ambassador for the newly-launched LGBTQ+ initiative Racing Pride, which is inspired by Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign to raise visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender participants in all areas of motorsport.

"It's to support pride in general really," explains Moore, who joins Le Mans Cup racer Charlie Martin in the role of driver ambassador for Racing Pride. "I'm a big supporter of it obviously and for it to be brought into motorsport I think is fantastic.

"We need as much support as we can get across the board really, in every sport or even in day-to-day life. There will always be problems and I don't think they'll ever be ironed out completely, but if we can get communities together and to support each other then it's always going to help.

"Maybe we can take it all the way to Formula 1. At the end of the day there are always people in sport and in day-to-day life who are scared of coming out - so if we can put it out there and make it more normal, then more people are likely to feel comfortable."

Moore - whose whole family are heavily involved in motorsport and are regulars on the UK national scene - essentially grew up in a paddock and has been racing competitively since she was 14. For her to come out as a lesbian to her peers at the age of 20, in an environment as often archaic and, historically, rigidly heteronormative, as motorsport must have been a terrifying prospect.

"Luckily I've never had any really bad experiences and I'm quite a chilled out person and I can laugh things off, so if ever I get any kind of comment I usually have a witty comment back," Moore laughs when asked about her personal experiences since coming out publicly.

Moore's story about how the motorsport community, and not just the LGBTQ+ community, helped with her self-acceptance and gave her the confidence to live her life as she chooses is positively reassuring

"Motorsport took my mind off it all actually. When I was in the car, helmet on, I was there to do a job.

"I wasn't fighting for my rights, I was doing exactly the same as every other person on that grid and that's the most important thing to remember.

"I don't take things personally very often and I didn't find it too difficult coming out. The hardest part was telling my parents, but, in the end, that didn't come from me and came from my little brother.

"It took maybe five or six months, but now they're so chilled and my family honestly couldn't be any more supportive.

"I don't really have any friends outside of motorsport because I've grown up at a racetrack with 'the lads'.

"I wouldn't say it was extremely difficult, because I had friends that supported me. I gained a fair bit of confidence from the support I had within the motorsport community. I want people to understand that there is support out there and that they do have people to talk to. It is difficult and it is emotional, and it's nice to know there's someone there.

"People can approach me and ask me any questions. I'm a chilled out person so if you have questions then I'll answer them, as long as they're not too personal, I'm a pretty open book."

Moore's story about how the motorsport community, and not just the LGBTQ+ community, helped with her self-acceptance and gave her the confidence to live her life as she chooses is positively reassuring. It refreshingly suggests that motorsport as a whole - with its reputation for a historic disregard for minorities - isn't quite as draconian as one may anticipate based on its past.

But it would be naive to assume that the same can be said for everyone identifying as LGBTQ+. This is evident not only in the need for Racing Pride to exist in the first place, but also from the experiences shared by Danny Watts when he publicly came out as gay just two years ago.

The language used by Watts, pictured below, to describe his anxiety over his sexuality and his terror at how he might be received in motorsport paddocks after coming out was heartbreaking. While that is different to Moore's own experience, Watts' announcement was ultimately received as positively as could be hoped by the wider motorsport community. But his concerns beforehand prove that more must be done in motorsport and society as a whole to encourage more tolerance and acceptance.

"There are a lot of things that should have happened a lot sooner but I think it was a case of getting people together and actually doing it, which was the hardest part," muses Moore.

"Now with everyone together, the community can just keep getting stronger and stronger.

"For people in this community, coming out is a big thing. Especially at such a high level. I'm lucky that I came out fairly early in my career, so that if I do reach the likes of Le Mans - which is my goal - it'll be normal for me.

"Had I reached Le Mans and then come out, it would have been totally different. When you get to that level, you feel like you can't - you don't want anyone to have any bad opinions of you.

"I'm happy that I came out so early on and I can enjoy life without having to hide behind closed doors.

"You are who you are at the end of the day and there are always going to be people there to support you.

"If you want to do something and you want it bad enough, you're just going to do it anyway."