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 Sportsmail’s 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 top-level 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.’