Buggyra ZM Racing and Motors Formula Team launch an Equality & Diversity Program
The two teams to jointly launch Equality & Diversity Program to support young racers from unusual backgroundsAliyyah and
Yasmeen Koloc to participate in 2023 Dakar Rally, when at 18 they will become the youngest female twins of African descent to do so
In 2024, the two teams plan to enter the 24H of Le Mans with a driver line-up and team with mostly African descent
In 2022, Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc, together with 30-year-old British GT racer Jann Mardenborough, will also race in selected GT races and the 24-Hour Series
#EQUALITY #RESPECT #DIVERSITY: These are the words that 17-year-old twin sisters Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc have been wearing on their caps for all of last year. Following an incident at the 2021 Dakar Rally where the, at the time, 16-year-old girls were the target of sexist and degrading remarks by a competitor, they decided they wanted to raise awareness about inequalities in motorsports and beyond and set a sign for respect and diversity.
Buggyra ZM Racing, their team, has therefore joined forces with Motors Formula Team (MFT), a motorsport start-up focused on enhancing diversity in the motorsports industry. Together they have launched the Equality & Diversity Program, a campaign to raise awareness about equality, respect, and diversity in motorsports and to help young racers from unusual backgrounds to become successful in motorsports.
Martin Koloc, Buggyra ZM Racing CEO said: “Buggyra ZM is opening a new chapter in the motorsport world with this close cooperation with MFT. #EQUALITY #RESPECT #DIVERSITY are qualities that are still not a given in today’s motorsport world. By supporting talented young drivers who will join our Academy program in Europe and the Middle East we want to instigate change.”
“I am delighted to partner with Martin Koloc and Buggyra ZR Racing as we share the same goals in terms of developing new talent, especially from emerging countries. With our motorsports program, we would like to increase diversity in motorsport. This is something we have been fighting for since our debut in 2014 and which was acknowledged by the Sir Lewis Hamilton commission in 2021,” said Ludovic Pezé, CEO of MFT.
“Being at the receiving end of abuse from a motorsport competitor was a big shock to us. We wanted to set a sign and be heard, so we started to wear these caps to remind people about #EQUALITY #RESPECT #DIVERSITY, not just in motorsports but everywhere. We will continue to do so until these words start becoming reality,” added Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc.
2023 Dakar Rally and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024: Two important goals
Apart from continuing to raise awareness for #EQUALITY #RESPECT #DIVERSITY in motorsports and to help young racers through the Academy program, Buggyra-MFT has set two important goals for its cooperation. The first one is entering the 2023 Dakar Rally with Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc, when, at 18, they will become the youngest twin sisters of African descent to participate. The second, equally important goal are the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024 where Buggyra-MFT intends to enter the first team mainly composed of racers and staff of African descent and black heritage.
In addition, the partnership of Buggyra and MFT will enable both teams to raise the profiles of their respective driver line-ups, sim-racers, and technical teams as well as allowing a new generation of promising drivers to benefit from both Buggyra’s and MFT’s racing expertise and technical know-how.
In 2022, Buggyra ZR and MFT will enter selected GT races and the 24-Hour Series with Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc and 30-year-old British GT racer Jann Mardenborough. He won the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy in 2011 and started in GT racing the year after. Jann is therefore one of the few racers to switch successfully from gaming to real circuit racing. The experienced British GT racer achieved a podium in the LMP2 category at Le Mans and raced successfully in LMP1 as well as the GT500.
About Buggyra ZM Racing
A team with 50 years of heritage and among the world-leading racing structures and technology developers with their own Technology Centers in Dubai (UAE), the Czech Republic, and Spain. Buggyra ZR Racing started to gain racing success in truck racing with 11 European championships, three Chinese championships, and one Indian championship.
In 2014, the team entered cross-country rallying with Tatra trucks. This was followed by an entry into the SxS category, where they won the Can-Am category in 2021. The team also counts for six world speed records. Currently, Buggyra ZR Racing competes in Formula and GT series in addition to truck racing and cross-country rallying.
In 2019, Buggyra ZM Racing also founded the Buggyra Racing Academy which aims to find and develop young and talented drivers. The Buggyra Academy works together with some highly experienced drivers like David Vršecký, Adam Lacko, and Josef Macháček who now teach young talents Aliyyah Koloc, Yasmeen Koloc, Téo Calvet, and Nicolas Lacko.
About MFT
Motors Formula Team “MFT” is a one-stop motorsport agency and racing team based in Monaco and Mauritius that offers a large array of sport-driven as well as automotive- and racing centric services including pilot management, coaching, training, motorsports consulting, communication, Simracing, advertising and event planning. MFT stands out in the motorsports industry by its commitment to diversity, which in addition to benchmarking against industry standards, is at the very core of its strategy (Monaco Historic F1 GP / ELMS in LMP2 / F4 / Hillclimb in Formula / Drift and Slalom). In 2021, the team was acknowledged and mentioned in a case study by the Sir Lewis Hamilton commission.
Motors Formula Team was founded in 2014 by Ludovic Pezé, a 30-year-old French-Mauritian entrepreneur born and raised in Monaco. MFT is committed to integrating eco-efficient and environmentally safe standards, including transporting racing cars by truck to racing locations as much as possible and taking part in races where fuel and tires usage limitations are imposed.
