IT’S SEGREGATION
Brit star Pippa hits out at women-only racing
The women- only motor-racing championship launched yesterday will segregate female drivers, says British IndyCar racer Pippa Mann.
Confirmation of revelation that W Series will begin next spring with 20 of the world’s leading women racers competing for a £1million prize fund, drew a mixed reaction.
Mann, 35, was the most outspoken critic, saying: ‘What a sad day for motorsport. Those with funding to help female racers are choosing to segregate them as opposed to supporting them. I am deeply disappointed to see such a historic backwards step take place in my lifetime.’
Mann, who became the first woman to reach in excess of 230mph at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, added: ‘I stand with those who feel forced into this as their only opportunity to race. I stand against those who are forcing the above-mentioned racers into this position.’
Those doing the ‘forcing’ include distinguished figures from Formula One — David Coulthard and Adrian Newey, who has designed cars that have won 20 world championships. Both are W Series shareholders.
They believe they are filling a gap, allowing women to prove themselves where they might otherwise find doors closed. The top women, so the W Series credo suggests, could then filter back into the existing mixed- sex racing pyramid and, they hope, progress to F1.
Only two women have raced in the top echelon in the 68 years of the F1 World Championship. W Series, which will stage six 30-minute races in Formula Three cars, might consider itself a success if it adjusts that imbalance by a female driver or two.
The pros and cons were weighed up by Michele Mouton, a world rally winner in the 1980s. Speaking as president of the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission, she said: ‘While this new series is obviously giving an opportunity for women to showcase their talent in a female-only environment, our objective is to have more of them competing alongside men and demonstrating they have the same ability and potential to succeed in toplevel FIA championships.’
But John Watson, who raced in 152 grands prix, including against Lella Lombardi, echoed support, saying: ‘If you had said there would be no female driver to start a grand prix in the intervening 40-plus years since Lella, I would have said you were mad. happily, W Series gives a select group of women the right opportunity.’