CIK Best-of 2014: “Women and Motorsport” et Karting

For 4 years, the FIA “Women in Motorsport” Commission chaired by Michèle Mouton has worked to promote women’s access to all levels of motorsport: drivers, engineers, managers, technicians and volunteers. There is no trace of bias in the “Women in Motorsport” Commission, as competition gives no free pass for the win. It is there to support women who simply seek to be better than their male counterparts.

The sporting coordinator of the commission, Alexandra Jentet specifies the operation.

“The WMC aims to help women to acceed at all the levels of motorsport (drivers, officials, engineers or team managers). For now, the most effective role of the Commission was the detection of young female talent. We try to provide them with assistance, mainly in connecting them with a network of contacts of sponsors and partners, in addition to a financial contribution. In cars, our partnership with Volkswagen is a concrete action that allows young drivers to be offered one to two seasons in the Scirocco R-Cup, a series that runs with the prestigious DTM. Performance on the track is not our only criteria. The attitude and mindset are also taken into account as the FIA President Jean Todt is keen on our proximity to Action for Road Safety. We need to know our work and highlight successful women in motorsport: they are more numerous than we imagine in a very masculine seeming world“

“In close collaboration with the CIK, we have followed young kart racers in recent years, soliciting the ASNs for applications. After Swedish Lina von Schedvin in 2012, French Adeline Prudent in 2013, the 13 years old Spanish Driver Marta Garcia has chosen as this year’s FIA Women in Motorsport-supported driver for the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy. “

Marta Garcia began karting at nine years of age and started competing aged 10. During the past three years she has competed a lot of national and international races. In 2013 and 2014, she finished in second place in the Spanish championship’s KF-Junior category, the first girl to achieve such a finish. She scored ninth position in the 2013 KF Junior CIK-FIA Super Cup. She is currently in her second year in the KF-Junior category and has been selected as an official driver of the Zanardi Strakka Racing Team. She finished in 14th position in the 2014 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy.

Commenting on her racing style, Marta’s manager Jesus Pacheco said:

“Marta is quiet, ambitious and highly competitive. She is now studying eighth grade at school and during the evenings has a personal trainer to improve her reflexes and endurance. Her driving style is very smooth, with a steering wheel movement of less than 20 degrees.“

(Extract from 2014 CIK-FIA Best-of 2014)

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