Flower seen in motor race (9)
I believe the answer is:
carnation
'flower' is the definition.
(carnation is a kind of flower)
'motor race' is the wordplay.
'motor' becomes 'car' (informal term for car).
'race' becomes 'nation' (both can mean a national or ethnic group).
'car'+'nation'='CARNATION'
'seen in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for carnation that I've seen before include "Not in a car (anag) - plant" , "Feature of many a wedding" , "Oscar Wilde wore a green one" , "Anoint car with the strange flower" , "Pink - garden flower" .)