Scots motor racing star Logan Hannah makes a pit stop at the University of Stirling for her graduation

For most students, the last few weeks before they hand in their dissertations will be filled with polishing their work.

But Logan Hannah was just weeks out from her deadline when she got a call to drop everything and fly off to France to compete in a top motorsport race.

Just eight hours later, she was boarding a flight to chase her dream.

Now, as she celebrates graduating from a Scots University, the talented 22-year-old, from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, has told how she juggled a career as a racing driver with her studies and how she now aims to become the first female to win Le Monde 24 – one of the biggest 24-hour races on the calendar.

Ms Hannah first got behind the wheel aged 10 on the karting circuit in Dubai, where her family had relocated.

Within years she was named Female Driver of the Year by a prestigious magazine and she made history in the Formula 4 United Arab Emirates Championship by being the first woman to compete.

She continued her success back in the UK in the Scottish Formula Ford Championship, winning the David Leslie Trophy at Knockhill, in Fife, and making the podium twice in the 2022 GB4 series with Graham Brunton Racing, becoming only the second woman to win in the series.

Ms Hannah can now add an academic feather to her cap after graduating with BA (Hons) in psychology and sports studies at the University of Stirling.

She said: ‘I am excited to be on the path to where I want to be – a professional factory driver. My ambition is to race and win at Le Monde 24 – one of the biggest 24-hour races in GT racing.

‘Balancing racing with studying was not easy. I had to manage work, social life, uni, racing – looking back, I’m not sure how I did it.

‘My uni friends couldn’t believe how crazy my life was. 

'Three weeks out from my dissertation deadline, I was called to go to France and from the initial phone call to getting on a flight was about eight hours – I just had to drop everything and go. But that’s how motorsport works – it’s twenty-four-seven, 365 days a year.

‘You might only have six or seven weekends in a year of actual racing, but the work involved in getting to the track is immense. 

'I do a lot of brand ambassador work – which often involves travelling – I’m finding sponsors, emailing, networking, testing, training. It’s full-on.’

She wrote her dissertation on the social barriers affecting female participation in motorsport but admitted it was now a world away from what it was when she first started.

Ms Hannah continued: ‘When I began racing, especially in Dubai, there were no female racing drivers out there – and across the world it was only those women who were really at the very top of their sport that were visible. 

'You couldn’t see any girls below them, on the ladder on the way up.

‘That’s changed now and I think in part that’s thanks to social media, which has given everyone an opportunity to create a platform and promote themselves.

‘There has been a genuine increase in female drivers across the sport, which is nice to see. There’s more work to be done, of course, but it’s going in the right direction.

‘The difference from when I started, 12 to 15 years ago, to today, is night and say.’

After the summer break Ms Hannah will continue racing with Nielsen Racing alongside teammate Ben Caisley in Belgium, but made a whistle-stop trip to Stirling to collect her degree and catch up with family.

She added: ‘My parents are proud. Racing wise, my dad lives vicariously through me, he loves it, while my mum is more apprehensive – the racing is scary for her to watch, which I understand.

‘They have both been very supportive of me wanting to finish my degree and do the racing at the same time and it wouldn’t have been possible without them – they do so much for me.’

The racing driver was among 2,271 students who celebrated their graduation at the university’s summer ceremonies this week with degrees conferred by University Chancellor, the Rt Hon Lord Jack McConnell. 

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