20 young talented female drivers ages 12 to 16 from all over the world came to Winfield Racing School on October 11th for an intense week of training and selection as part of FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars program. This project, created by the Women in Motorsport Commission, in association with Ferrari Driver Academy and Winfield, highlights female drivers of tomorrow. A huge step forward, giving concrete opportunities to women who want to become professional race drivers.
For 5 days, young female talents were evaluated on track in identical Praga karts to ensure absolute fairness. When they weren’t in their kart seats, girls were able to train for their future driving careers throughout workshops including stress management, nutrition, reactivity, strength and balance tests, media training, under the watchful eye of an impartial jury.
The expertise and advice of Winfield coaches has allowed the girls to make incredible progress. Thanks to the video observation and data analysis, each race driver was able to improve their racing line, braking points, throttle management, etc.
After the first 2 days of selection (Shoot out), 12 girls were selected for Training Camp 1, which included a three-day training session (14-16 October) at Winfield Racing School. Driving skills and progress are again evaluated, on-track and in different workshops. Furthermore, the female drivers were able to test the Formula 4 on Circuit Paul Ricard thanks to Winfield’s professional simulator, which is now an essential part in motorsport preparation.
Training Camp 1 ended on October 16, with the announcement of the 8 drivers selected to take part in the next stage: Training Camp 2. The 8 participants are (in alphabetical order):
Julia AYOUB (BRA) – 15 years old
Antonella BASSANI (BRA) – 14 years old
Jessica EDGAR (GBR) – 15 years old
Esmee KOSTERMAN (NLD) – 15 years old
Toni NAUDÉ (CHE) – 14 years old
Juju NODA (JAP) – 14 years old
Doriane PIN (FR) – 16 years old
Maya WEUG (NLD/BEL) – 16 years old
Michelle Mouton, President of the FIA Women In Motorsport Commission, says: “I thank Winfield Racing School for the work they do (…), the most important thing in this kind of selection is fairness, and we can see that they do their best to make it as fair as possible for each girl. »
Detecting and selecting talented young drivers are part of Winfield Racing School’s DNA. Young talents have successfully launched their careers in motorsport thanks to the support of Winfield, such as Caio Collet, 2018 Volant Winfield winner and 2018 FIA F4 French Champion, or Théo Pourchaire, 2018 Trophée Winfield winner, 2019 ADAC F4 Champion and FIA F3 Vice-Champion at only 17 years old!
Winfield Racing School is proud to have been nominated by the FIA for such an innovative program. This is an incredible opportunity to use all Winfield’s historic know-how to select and train the female talents of tomorrow.
Next step: Training Camp 2 which will take place from November 2 to 4 in Winfield’s Formula 4 on the 3.8 km track of Circuit Paul Ricard. At the end of these 3 selection days, 4 drivers will be selected and will move to the last stage of FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars program in Maranello, at the Ferrari Driver Academy, always with the technical and pedagogical support of Winfield Racing School.
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