Female only racing series?
Discussion
ahelaborate said:
Does anyone know of any female only racing series around, apart from F1 Academy?
My daughter has been involved in karting for a few years now, mainly mixed grids. I'm just wondered if there are any stepping stones to F1 Academy which are female only?
Cheers.
Not that I know of. My daughter has been involved in karting for a few years now, mainly mixed grids. I'm just wondered if there are any stepping stones to F1 Academy which are female only?
Cheers.
I am in two minds on this subject, I am all for females doing well in the sport and we should try our best to help them progress, but I am not sure female only series achieve this.
ahelaborate said:
Does anyone know of any female only racing series around, apart from F1 Academy?
My daughter has been involved in karting for a few years now, mainly mixed grids. I'm just wondered if there are any stepping stones to F1 Academy which are female only?
Cheers.
I did see David Coulthard being interviewed by Jodie Kidd and he’s founded More than Equal to help females in motorsport. My daughter has been involved in karting for a few years now, mainly mixed grids. I'm just wondered if there are any stepping stones to F1 Academy which are female only?
Cheers.
Could be worth a look?
https://www.morethanequal.com/
sinbaddio said:
I did see David Coulthard being interviewed by Jodie Kidd and he s founded More than Equal to help females in motorsport.
Could be worth a look?
https://www.morethanequal.com/
That's great thank youCould be worth a look?
https://www.morethanequal.com/
Drumroll said:
Not that I know of.
I am in two minds on this subject, I am all for females doing well in the sport and we should try our best to help them progress, but I am not sure female only series achieve this.
Personally, I am a great believer in women's sport, and I don't see why motorsport should be any different.I am in two minds on this subject, I am all for females doing well in the sport and we should try our best to help them progress, but I am not sure female only series achieve this.
ahelaborate said:
Drumroll said:
Not that I know of.
I am in two minds on this subject, I am all for females doing well in the sport and we should try our best to help them progress, but I am not sure female only series achieve this.
Personally, I am a great believer in women's sport, and I don't see why motorsport should be any different.I am in two minds on this subject, I am all for females doing well in the sport and we should try our best to help them progress, but I am not sure female only series achieve this.
I’m not aware of any female-only series outside of F1A, but they are also outreaching down into karting at the moment, trying hard to identify future talent which has always been their plan.
They’re also looking outside drivers, for promising engineers and other motorsports skills. My understanding is that they have sponsorships and scholarships available.
More details: https://www.f1academy.com/Discover-Your-Drive
There are some series that require a man and a woman in a team, such as Extreme E https://www.extreme-e.com/ But that’s aimed at pro drivers rather than juniors.
They’re also looking outside drivers, for promising engineers and other motorsports skills. My understanding is that they have sponsorships and scholarships available.
More details: https://www.f1academy.com/Discover-Your-Drive
There are some series that require a man and a woman in a team, such as Extreme E https://www.extreme-e.com/ But that’s aimed at pro drivers rather than juniors.
Drumroll said:
Sorry, if it wasn't clear in my post, but am I an advocate of women in Motorsport (my wife was a member of the British Women Racing Drivers Club). All I am saying Is that I personally don't believe women only series achieve this.
Inclined to agree, apart from beginner / club level where it can help women feel more confident giving it a try - my local club runs a few autocross / grass beginner events that are set aside for women and under 18 beginners only, they seem quite popular.At a more competitive level, a women only racing series basically tells you the organiser thinks the women aren't good enough to compete against men. I'm all for more women competing in motorsport but I don't think that's the way to do it.
Edited by GravelBen on Sunday 26th July 12:21
ahelaborate said:
Does anyone know of any female only racing series around, apart from F1 Academy?
My daughter has been involved in karting for a few years now, mainly mixed grids. I'm just wondered if there are any stepping stones to F1 Academy which are female only?
Cheers.
Bit late to this but the Kyojo Cup in Japan has been running for nearly a decade now and recently switched from small prototypes to a unique hybrid engine Formula 4 car.My daughter has been involved in karting for a few years now, mainly mixed grids. I'm just wondered if there are any stepping stones to F1 Academy which are female only?
Cheers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyojo_Cup
It's become popular with a 20-car grid this season and an international field, with drivers from Australia, Finland, China and America taking part.
The sorry answer is there aren't any.
The longer answer and area of discussion will always be one of credibility. If you're only competing against 50% of the population, even the fastest could be miles off the pace.
Female only series will identify and develop good female racing drivers and that's it. Looking at it purely from a numbers perspective, most junior kart grids are 20:1 boy to girl. That is as equal as it gets. Then as they progress, as one girl drops out, that ratio just increases. Then you add in testosterone and money, opportunities and misogyny and it's not surprise that there are so few women in the higher echelons of motorsport. The barriers are higher and there are more of them.
Were i the father of a karting daughter, I would focus on GTs or Historics as soon as possible. Its quite possible to carve out good results on a budget and Le Mans is an achievable target. Neither have the barriers that apply to F3/2/1
I see so many karters of both genders say they want to get to F1 and know that none of them will make it based on their talent and families wealth. Expectation management. Do they want to be a racing driver or an F1 racing driver?
That all said, i hope she makes it!
Sharon Davies' book iabout sport and gender is an excellent read
The longer answer and area of discussion will always be one of credibility. If you're only competing against 50% of the population, even the fastest could be miles off the pace.
Female only series will identify and develop good female racing drivers and that's it. Looking at it purely from a numbers perspective, most junior kart grids are 20:1 boy to girl. That is as equal as it gets. Then as they progress, as one girl drops out, that ratio just increases. Then you add in testosterone and money, opportunities and misogyny and it's not surprise that there are so few women in the higher echelons of motorsport. The barriers are higher and there are more of them.
Were i the father of a karting daughter, I would focus on GTs or Historics as soon as possible. Its quite possible to carve out good results on a budget and Le Mans is an achievable target. Neither have the barriers that apply to F3/2/1
I see so many karters of both genders say they want to get to F1 and know that none of them will make it based on their talent and families wealth. Expectation management. Do they want to be a racing driver or an F1 racing driver?
That all said, i hope she makes it!
Sharon Davies' book iabout sport and gender is an excellent read
This is exactly what Jamie has done if you read between the lines.
She tried NXT and was successful without being dominant, she could easily have got an Indy car ride in my view but found it too difficult physically, that is a hard thing to admit in her position, others would just shrug it off.
She saw the next level as Endurance, and events like Le Mans are actually bigger profile than before now, WEC is huge and she may be able to carve a career for herself in at least GT but hopefully in he Hypercar, but that is a huge step.
She tried NXT and was successful without being dominant, she could easily have got an Indy car ride in my view but found it too difficult physically, that is a hard thing to admit in her position, others would just shrug it off.
She saw the next level as Endurance, and events like Le Mans are actually bigger profile than before now, WEC is huge and she may be able to carve a career for herself in at least GT but hopefully in he Hypercar, but that is a huge step.
bergclimber34 said:
This is exactly what Jamie has done if you read between the lines.
She tried NXT and was successful without being dominant, she could easily have got an Indy car ride in my view but found it too difficult physically, that is a hard thing to admit in her position, others would just shrug it off.
She saw the next level as Endurance, and events like Le Mans are actually bigger profile than before now, WEC is huge and she may be able to carve a career for herself in at least GT but hopefully in he Hypercar, but that is a huge step.
Yes, Indy cars decision that the IR28 still like past Indy cars will continue not have power steering when F1 has had if for over a decade is fool move.She tried NXT and was successful without being dominant, she could easily have got an Indy car ride in my view but found it too difficult physically, that is a hard thing to admit in her position, others would just shrug it off.
She saw the next level as Endurance, and events like Le Mans are actually bigger profile than before now, WEC is huge and she may be able to carve a career for herself in at least GT but hopefully in he Hypercar, but that is a huge step.
Accidentalhero said:
...The barriers are higher and there are more of them...
Maybe 20 years ago but I don't know about that now - I imagine a genuinely high level competitive female driver would find it easier to get sponsorship than a male driver at the same level these days, due to standing out more for marketing appeal etc.Very. very much easier, there are multiple opportunities for female racing drivers to get better sponsorship initially.
As you get further it gets a lot harder unless you are taken under the wing of a team like Iron Dames were, or Chadders was in the USA. Or in bike racing you can be bang average for years and continue to get GP rides, especially if you are a Spanish female, because the governing body will part fund it.
I think though eventually results are what counts, and you can make it a few years with none and simply be an interesting news item, but in time you need to be improving or doing well.
And frankly a lot of female racing drivers do not. They manage odd wins, then struggle mid grid or pack, I don't know why, but it seems to be the case. Or they get huge deals and get into series they should not be in like Danica, Block of Deegan did, and sadly make themselves look worse than they probably are.
Even now, 40 years later the best was Mouton, and she had a slight advantage in that she was in a very good revolutionary car. But she worked her butt off to win rallies and not use her gender as an excuse.
As you get further it gets a lot harder unless you are taken under the wing of a team like Iron Dames were, or Chadders was in the USA. Or in bike racing you can be bang average for years and continue to get GP rides, especially if you are a Spanish female, because the governing body will part fund it.
I think though eventually results are what counts, and you can make it a few years with none and simply be an interesting news item, but in time you need to be improving or doing well.
And frankly a lot of female racing drivers do not. They manage odd wins, then struggle mid grid or pack, I don't know why, but it seems to be the case. Or they get huge deals and get into series they should not be in like Danica, Block of Deegan did, and sadly make themselves look worse than they probably are.
Even now, 40 years later the best was Mouton, and she had a slight advantage in that she was in a very good revolutionary car. But she worked her butt off to win rallies and not use her gender as an excuse.
GravelBen said:
Drumroll said:
Sorry, if it wasn't clear in my post, but am I an advocate of women in Motorsport (my wife was a member of the British Women Racing Drivers Club). All I am saying Is that I personally don't believe women only series achieve this.
Inclined to agree, apart from beginner / club level where it can help women feel more confident giving it a try - my local club runs a few autocross / grass beginner events that are set aside for women and under 18 beginners only, they seem quite popular.At a more competitive level, a women only racing series basically tells you the organiser thinks the women aren't good enough to compete against men. I'm all for more women competing in motorsport but I don't think that's the way to do it.
Edited by GravelBen on Sunday 26th July 12:21
I suppose you need a hell of neck to be a F1 driver though.
bergclimber34 said:
Very. very much easier, there are multiple opportunities for female racing drivers to get better sponsorship initially.
As you get further it gets a lot harder unless you are taken under the wing of a team like Iron Dames were, or Chadders was in the USA. Or in bike racing you can be bang average for years and continue to get GP rides, especially if you are a Spanish female, because the governing body will part fund it.
I think though eventually results are what counts, and you can make it a few years with none and simply be an interesting news item, but in time you need to be improving or doing well.
And frankly a lot of female racing drivers do not. They manage odd wins, then struggle mid grid or pack, I don't know why, but it seems to be the case. Or they get huge deals and get into series they should not be in like Danica, Block of Deegan did, and sadly make themselves look worse than they probably are.
Even now, 40 years later the best was Mouton, and she had a slight advantage in that she was in a very good revolutionary car. But she worked her butt off to win rallies and not use her gender as an excuse.
The barriers are higher and there are more of them compared to men not compared to women racing drives years ago. As you get further it gets a lot harder unless you are taken under the wing of a team like Iron Dames were, or Chadders was in the USA. Or in bike racing you can be bang average for years and continue to get GP rides, especially if you are a Spanish female, because the governing body will part fund it.
I think though eventually results are what counts, and you can make it a few years with none and simply be an interesting news item, but in time you need to be improving or doing well.
And frankly a lot of female racing drivers do not. They manage odd wins, then struggle mid grid or pack, I don't know why, but it seems to be the case. Or they get huge deals and get into series they should not be in like Danica, Block of Deegan did, and sadly make themselves look worse than they probably are.
Even now, 40 years later the best was Mouton, and she had a slight advantage in that she was in a very good revolutionary car. But she worked her butt off to win rallies and not use her gender as an excuse.
But Where are these sponsorship opportunities? I don’t see anyone picking up these women in the early echelon of their career, they have to prove themselves first to a sponsor (which is fair enough) but by that point the boys/men are already winning. If you sponsor a female driver you’ll get some publicity but probably not the results, sponsor a guy and have a stronger chance you might get both .
As an example, If I want to promote my make up brand so you might say logic is I look for a female driver but my target market aren t watching motorsport so save for some initial early promotion, it s a waste of time. E.L.F tried it, they sponsored a stock car in the US, I showed my daughter, she said, oh, that s cool. But she was already a customer and it had no impact on her choosing that product again, nor did she suddenly start watching motorsport .. and I didn t buy any make up either.
And motorsport is still sadly, a bigoted and misogynistic environment, I ve been around club motorsport for a long time, there are still people desperate for grid girls to return, any woman who does get beyond karting is hit with the same old tropes they are only there because they re fit/slept with the boss/daddy s money .
As an aside, I doubt Physical strength is an issue, we have female Marines, fighter pilots etc all that can be trained and worked on
Edited by Accidentalhero on Monday 7th September 19:48
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