Formula Woman

Formula Woman, which was known as the Privilege Insurance Formula Woman Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a female-only one make racing series started in 2004 in the UK. It was inspired by the lack of female drivers in other series and was created, amongst other reasons, to boost the female audience of the sport.[1][2]

In November 2020 it was announced that Formula Woman would be making a come-back in 2021.[3]

Original series

In 2004, all 16 drivers raced Mazda RX-8s over seven rounds around four British racing circuits. For 2005, support was dropped by Mazda and instead drivers competed in Caterham 7s.

2004

The inaugural season of Formula Woman was based around a television series in ITV. Thousands of women applied to join, with ultimately 17 drivers being chosen to compete. Experienced motoring journalist Vicki Butler-Henderson hosted the ITV show,[4] while racing drivers Katherine Legge and Tim Harvey were both part of the judging panel. Legge left for unknown reasons early into the selection process.[5]

Race calendar

Round	Circuit	Date	Race Winner
1	Oulton Park	12 June	Natasha Firman
2	Oulton Park	12 June	Natasha Firman
3	Knockhill Racing Circuit	27 June	Margo Gardner
4	Knockhill Racing Circuit	27 June	Margo Gardner
5	Cadwell Park	4 July	Lorraine Pinner
6	Brands Hatch	25 July	Lorraine Pinner
7	Brands Hatch	25 July	Lorraine Pinner

Championship standings

The 2004 championship was won by Natasha Firman.[6]

Pos	Driver	Pts
1	Natasha Firman	215
2	Lorraine Pinner	209
3	Bev Tyler	161
4	Juliette Thurston	146
5	Emma Hayles	122
6	Margo Gardner	112
7	Pippa Cow	104
8	Lauren Blighton	94
9	Nicola Robertson	80
10	Judith Lyons	74
11	Sarah Bennet-Baggs	73
12	Amy Handford	70
13	Victoria Hardy	63
14	Max Thompson	47
15	Catherine Gard	31
16	Joanna Linton	28
17	Karen Andrews	20

2005

Formula Woman returned in 2005 using Caterham 7s after Mazda withdrew support. The series was run as a Nations Cup. Natalie Butler from England won the 2005 Championship.[7]

Entry list

Nation	Driver
	Emma Hayles
	Annie Templeton
	Natalie Butler
	Margo Gardner
	Rachel Owen
	Jennifer Daniel
	Jennifer Murray
	Nettan Lindgren
	Anna Walewska
	Lauren Gray
	Amanda Hennessy
	Theresia Balk

Following the end of the season in November, a novices race weekend was held at Pembrey, South Wales, using exclusive Caterham 7 race cars, with a record 62 women competing.[8] The four race winners were automatically given entry to the 2006 Formula Woman championship.

Novice Race winners

Nation	Driver
	Amanda Elliott
	Michelle Nixon
	Lucy Redding
	Amanda Black

2006

The series continued in 2006, again using the Caterham 7 car but without any television coverage. Ultimately, Nikki Welsby won the championship.[9]

The series was not renewed for 2007.

New Formula Woman series

In November 2020, it was announced that Formula Woman would be making a come-back.[10] The series opened for applicants in March 2021 with a view to the series starting in the autumn of the same year with an accompanying television package.[11] The new competition prize will offer winners the opportunity to race a McLaren 570S GT4 in the British GT Cup Championship that 16 drivers will compete for.[12]

The series secured major sponsorship including McLaren, Trade Centre, Vauxhall, and many more.[13]

Test days have taken place at circuits including Knockhill and Anglesey Circuit.[14] As of December 2021, the assessments for the final driver decisions were on-going following a test day at Bedford Autodrome using Vauxhall Corsa-e cars.[15]

In March 2022, the competition progressed to select 15 finalists from 70, with more selections involving a track kart test at Croft to achieve 10, followed by a future final race for four contestants.[16][17][18]

References

External links

Official website

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[1] ttp://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/09/formula-woman.html

[2] "Magazine / Sport : On the fast track". The Hindu. 2005-04-03. Archived from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2016-08-07.

[3] ttps://www.motorsportuk.org/formula-woman-set-to-return-next-year/

[4] ttps://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/mates-sponsors-formula-woman-reality-tv-show/209203

[5] ttp://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/09/formula-woman.html

[6] ttps://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/formula-woman/2004/

[7] ttp://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/09/formula-woman.html

[8] ttps://www.carpages.co.uk/motoring-news/formula-woman-24-11-05.asp

[9] ttp://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/09/formula-woman.html#:~:text=It%20was%20won%20by%20Natalie%20Butler%20of%20the%20UK.&text=The%20novice%2Dbased%20championship%20continued,the%20championship%20was%20quietly%20cancelled.

[10] ttps://www.motorsportuk.org/formula-woman-set-to-return-next-year/

[11] ttps://www.formulawoman.co.uk/news/formula-woman-is-back

[12] ttps://www.formulawoman.co.uk/news/march-announcement

[13] ttps://www.formulawoman.co.uk/partners

[14] ttps://www.tradecentreuk.com/news/trade-centre-thrilled-to-support-tvs-formula-woman

[15] ttps://www.formulawoman.co.uk/news/formula-woman-assessments-conclude-with-the-vauxhall-corse-e-excelling

[16] How Formula Woman is helping find female racing stars Autosport, 27 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022

[17] Could the first female Formula One Champion come from the Midlands? ITV News, 2 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022

[18] Sara Misir makes cut! … Through to top 15 of Formula Woman Caribbean National Weekly, 4 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022