MUMBAI: Anushriya Gulati, Deepa John and Pragathi Gowda will be representing India at the global level of finals to stand a chance to be a McLaren Customer Racing Driver.
The three drivers were selected from among 23 contestants who had registered for the event in Gujarat, which happened last November. Conducted over 2 days, the women were assessed over 5 parameters i.e., driving, go karting, physical fitness, media, and written test.
At the global finals there will be around 70 participants who would-be competing against each other to get the lucrative driver’s spot.
The finals will be conducted on 2nd and 3rd March at the PF1 International circuit which is the largest outdoor karting circuit in UK. From the 70 participants 15 will be shortlisted on 3rd March who will head to Croft circuit for a further round of finals. The top 10 participants will head to Northern Europe for a final shootout. From this there will be six drivers selected who will be participating in the British GT championship (2 cars – 2 drivers each and 2 reserve).
Talking about the same Ativ Shah co-founder and CEO AutoGuru India says, “Our 3 Indian finalists (Anushriya, Deepa, Pragathi) are preparing very well for the UK finals shootouts. We are very confident that they will make us proud! True to the vision of Formula Woman, we hope the success of our 3 Indian finalists inspires numerous more women to follow their dreams for a career in Motorsport”
Talking about the same CEO Formula Woman UK Graeme Glew said: “I am delighted with Auto Guru in working on behalf of Formula Woman and in finding some talented female drivers in India. These young ladies will come to the UK to fight for a place in the finals and I would like to wish them all the very best of British luck and we look forward to welcoming them to the UK.”
Lahiri, CEO ASDC, notde: “ASDC’s association with Auto Guru India is a matter of great enthusiasm, joy and pride. It will prove to be a milestone for women in the field of skill development and honing their skills on the way to achieve gender equality. ASDC recognizes the equality of men and women and will continue to help women realize their dreams in the future as well. This partnership will not just strengthen the skill ecosystem in the country but will also encourage women to excel in their fields and come out as a winner through various training programs conducted by ASDC”
Another Indian Manisha Kelkar will also be participating in the global finals but not as an Indian contestant but as a global contestant as she was not present for the India assessments which happened in Vadodara. She chose to come to The UK to do her finals.
Formula Woman 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.
In November 2020 it was announced that Formula Woman would be making a come-back in 2021.
