FIA GIRLS ON TRACK 2022 – RISING STARS: FOUR JUNIOR DRIVERS AND FOUR SENIOR DRIVERS ON THEIR ROAD TO THE FERRARI DRIVER ACADEMY FINAL
After the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars Shoot-Out and Training Camps at the Winfield Racing School in Le Castellet, four drivers from the Junior and Senior categories have been selected to participate in the decisive stage of the program at the famous Ferrari Driver Academy. (FDA) in Maranello, Italy, the main partners of the initiative.
The FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars program aims to identify the best female drivers aged 12 to 16 from around the world and help them achieve a professional career in motorsport. This third edition saw 14 promising talents from around the world train and compete at Circuit Paul Ricard for just eight places in the Ferrari Driver Academy final in November. The four Senior finalists will be totally immersed in the world of Ferrari, its values and its history. In Maranello, they will approach the theoretical courses, the physical and aptitude tests as well as the learning of communication. Before their two track days at Fiorano, they will also have a few simulator sessions.
Showing speed on track was just one element of the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars assessment, drivers also had to demonstrate their ability to adapt, progress and develop on and off track throughout of the process. The training camps have also been designed to highlight many of the essentials of becoming a well-rounded racing driver, including physiological well-being, media interaction, personal presentation, safety and the value of relationships. team/driver and tire management.
For senior drivers, the program was firmly focused on progressing to Formula 4, the FIA’s entry-level single-seater motorsport category for young people.
All the activities this week at Le Castellet were supervised by the FIA, the FDA and partners: Iron Dames, Winfield Racing School, Circuit Paul Ricard, 321 Perform, Pirelli, OMP and Kart Republic.
The expert jury – comprising Rahel Frey, Iron Dames driver and winner of the 2022 24 Hours of Spa, Cathy Muller, former French racer and FIA Women in Motorsport consultant, members of the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) and partner representatives , met on Sunday evening to select the lucky winners.
The last four Senior pilots (born between 01.01.2006 and 31.03.2008) are (photo above):
Alice Buckley, Australia
Chloe Chong, United Kingdom
Chloe Grant, United Kingdom
Aurelia Nobels, Belgium
The last four Junior pilots (born between 31.03.2008 and 31.12.2010) are (photo below):
Lise Billard, France
Zoe Florescu Potolea, Italy
Sara Mastui, Japan
Mathilda Paatz, Germany
These eight young rising stars now have a few months to progress further before the November final where the two winners of 2022 will be named.
The winning junior driver will take part in an international karting season with potential financial support from the Ferrari Driver Academy. The selected senior driver will potentially become the third woman to have the chance to join the Ferrari Driver Academy – following in the footsteps of Maya Weug and Laura Camps Torras, the winners of the first two editions – where she will begin the development of a professional career. in motorsport and will prepare to compete in the Italian Formula 4 Championship with FIA Girls on Track partner, the Iron Dames project.
Deborah Mayer, Chair of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, said: “This selection was made in the best way possible. It was a great pleasure to meet these young women and witness their passion, talent and progress throughout the selection process. I want to pay tribute to each participant who demonstrated their potential and left the program with more strength, determination and inspiration to continue their development. I congratulate and wish good luck to the eight finalists (four juniors, four seniors) who will face a major challenge in November in Maranello. For the FIA and its partners, it is extremely encouraging to see these young women dreaming of a sporting career and giving their all. We are committed to supporting them further and to bringing ever more diversity to our sport.
Marco Matassa, director of the Ferrari Driver Academy, said: “The third edition of the FIA Girls on Track-Rising Stars program is about to kick off and we are very proud to once again host the final stage in Maranello and Fiorano at Scuderia headquarters. The Ferrari Driver Academy immediately embraced this project with enthusiasm, working with its main partner, the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, with the support of Iron Dames, to make motorsport ever more accessible to people, regardless of gender or race. their financial resources. Maya Weug and Laura Camps demonstrate the value of this program which offers young people the opportunity to develop and achieve their career goal in motorsport. FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars and the FDA World Scouting Program form the basis of our strategy to ensure that Scuderia Ferrari can always count on the most talented young people and maybe one day see one of the young women behind the wheel of one of our two Formula 1 cars. We look forward to working with the four senior and four junior girls in November. »
Photo gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fia-official/albums/72177720301384068
