Think women can't drive as well as men? Think again!
Study of professional racers finds females are genetically better at dealing with the extreme conditions at the wheel
Female drivers in the world of auto- sport are genetically wired up to deal with the extreme conditions better than their male peers.
A study found that their is no difference between the physical fitness of males and females but women, with suitable training and experience, could become faster.
Debate over the differences in physical performance has raged for a long time as to whether women are as capable of enduring the brutal conditions at the wheel.
It also dispelled a common and unfounded myth that women are less tolerant of the high temperatures involved in Motorsport at a certain point on their menstrual cycle.
Carmen Jorda, a member of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, was criticised after encouraging female drivers to pursue ' less physical' racing opportunities.
Researchers at Michigan State University studied six people - three male and three female - to see if there was any difference between the sexes.
Evaluation was done in two classes of racing, closed and open cockpit, and found the physical durability to be the same.
Researchers analysed heart and breathing rate, core body and skin temperature as well as heat-induced stress, which can lead to heat exhaustion.
' Heat strain is the primary stressor in racing. Women naturally have an elevated core temperature during a certain phase of their menstrual cycle.
'The misperception was that they would potentially fatigue faster and become a safety risk to other drivers,' said David Ferguson, an assistant professor who has spent 15 years studying the physiology of race car drivers at Michigan State University.
' Based on our results, I'm here to say that's just not true.'
It was previously suggested that the luteal phase - the second half of the cycle which begins after ovulation and ends at the start of the next period - made women a danger to themselves and others.
' The luteal phase is when women can have higher heart rates, core body temperature and an increase in other physiological factors that are considered markers for fatigue.
' Yet even during this time, these factors still were no different than what male drivers exhibited.'
The study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, also found that the structure of the car, whether a closed or open cockpit, was more of a factor causing higher physiological stress in both sets of drivers than any hormonal changes.