Female Focus: Molly on the Mic’

Molly Pettit is a familiar face in motorsport paddocks all around the world, as a highly-respected and knowledgeable television reporter and presenter – but what is perhaps less commonly known is that she also boasts extensive experience behind the steering wheel herself...

Interested in cars from a young age, in 2009, the Norwegian completed a four-year project to build her first race car – a Nissan 200SX S13 – with which she proceeded to make her competitive debut.

What started out as a hobby soon turned into something altogether more serious, and before long, Molly was tackling both the Danish Thundersport Championship and Norwegian Thunder Car Championship in a Ford Mustang, placing second overall in the latter in 2013. Three years later, she switched to the Danish Supertourisme Turbo series, reaching the rostrum on several occasions in the ‘Am’ category.

In parallel with her on-track exploits, the Stavanger native was carving out an increasingly successful career for herself on camera. After impressing with her FIA World Rally Championship commentary and reporting on Norway’s Viasat Sport channel from 2011 to 2014, she was recruited by WRC Promoter in 2016 as a live reporter for the globe-trotting series – a role she continues to fulfil to this day.

Molly subsequently joined the World RX broadcast crew in 2021 for the inaugural season of RX+. Her in-depth understanding of the pressures of competition generates incisive and engaging interviews with the stars of the show and has made her a popular addition to the team.

“For me, motorsport feels like home,” she acknowledges. “Ever since I found my passion for cars, the environment and the people have felt like family. It’s where I belong and where I can be 100 per cent myself. 

“It all started in my teens, and I just couldn’t get enough of hanging out in the evenings with car friends and going to local events. My competitive side got me behind the wheel of a race car and I was lucky to spend a decade in circuit racing – but the need for adrenaline and pushing my limits didn’t stop with that, and next to racing I found a passion on the TV side.

“I feel very lucky to spend a lot of my time with the world’s best drivers, seeing them go through all the highs and lows. It gives me so much joy to see them succeed and to be the person that often gets those first reactions after a win – and rallycross is so great because the family feeling is really intensified. We are all together in the paddock and you can just pop in and out of any tent, where you are always welcome for a chat or a coffee. 

“In 2022, it’s fantastic to see how many talented and hard-working women there are in rallycross and in motorsport in general, from drivers to team principals, mechanics, engineers and media – there are no limits and there is no divide. I hope we see many more women joining the family in the years to come!”