Driver Database News

Alice Powell took a clean sweep of victories when she competed in the Performance Direct Radical Clubman’s cup last weekend. She absolutely dominated the meeting taking, pole and fastest lap of the day.

The opportunity arose as a way of learning the new Snetterton 300 circuit before she races there in the Formula Renault UK championship in August , a great deal drive was arranged with experienced team Mansol Motorsport. She had never driven a Radical and Friday was the first time she had even sat in one.

Despite being a sports car, there are quite a few similarities to a single seater with the rear wing providing lots of downforce, they are a very quick racing car. Alice spent Friday testing the car, before race day on Saturday.

Qualifying was pretty close and in wet conditions, with Alice taking pole by only 0.033 of a second from experienced Radical racer David Jacobs. The second race grid was decided on second best times and here Alice took pole by two tenths of a second.

At the start of race one Alice got what looked to be a perfect start, although she later admitted it wasn’t as good as she would have liked. She stayed ahead into the first corner and although Darron Anley attempted to out brake her down the inside, Alice simply took the outside line and just drove away from him. After this she calmly kept up a decent gap, increasing her pace when she needed to if the runners behind started gaining. It was easy to forget that this was her first ever Radical race, you could be fooled into thinking she had been racing them for years. She crossed the line 4.4 seconds ahead of Fredrick Moberg with Darron Anley a further 1.5 seconds back in third.

Race two was cut short after a start line crash on the first attempt to run the race caused a one hour delay while the barriers at the end of the pitlane were repaired. The restarted race was run over only 5 laps but Alice again streaked ahead pulling out a gap of 3.5 seconds over the short race. Fredrick Moberg was again second and Darron Anley also finished in third once more, this time a further 1.9 seconds behind.

It had been a perfect day with two flawless performances in the races. Things got even better when she was awarded driver of the day after the race. It was also revealed that she was the world’s first ever female winner of a Radical race.

Alice was understandably very happy with how the day had gone;

“It was such a surprise. I did not expect to have a weekend like that! The Radical is a great car and to come away making history and taking a clean sweep is awesome! I would like to thank Mansol Motorsport for all their help!”

Alice’s next race will be at Snetterton and is working to get the money together. This will be in the Formula Renault UK championship on the 6th and 7th August.

www.alice-powell.com
www.twitter.com/alicepowell

Photo by Marc Waller.

This weekend was rounds 9 and 10 of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Croft. Alice was hoping to capitalise on a good points finish at Oulton and take that to Croft.

Qualifying One, was wet, and Alice did not get the best out of the wets, and sadly ended up P9 on the grid. Qualifying Two was hit and miss with the weather, with rain threatening just before the session. The rain held off and out the field went on slicks. For the majority of the session, Powell was P2, but it wasn’t till the later stages that she dropped to P3. “Quali 1 was disappointing, but to get P3 in Quali 2 was great and it was a key opportunity to get a podium or a win.”

For race one, Alice used her worst set of tyres to save the best set for race two. Alice got a great start, challenging for P8 and P7. Sadly, whilst trying to make a move she lost a position and dropped down to P10. For the remainder of the race, Alice put pressure on P9, but could not gain a way through and had to settle for the tenth spot.

Race Two would see Alice line up 3rd on the grid. Again getting a great start, she moved along side Mitchell Gilbert (P2) on the approach to the first corner. However, Gilbert bounced off the kerb into Turn one, resulting in his rear wheel hitting Alice’s front wheel and sending her through the gravel and knocking out her tracking (steering). Alice made it back on track, but in P5. Towards the end of the lap, Powell challenged Oliver Rowland for 4th place, but he squeezed her onto the grass and his rear wheel touched Alice’s front wheel, the same side that Gilbert touched. This knocked her tracking out a bit more and on lap two, she misjudged the chicane, due to the tracking, and clipped the tyres, sadly ending her race.

Speaking about the weekend, Alice said “It has not been a great weekend. Getting 3rd on the grid for race two and getting brilliant starts was a positive, but the rest was very disappointing. We definitely have the pace to get great results, and my team (Manor) and sponsors (Silverstone-Hotels.com, Immun’Age, IWI Watches and Sparco) deserve a good result, but, at the moment, things are not coming together. I just need to try and keep my head up and try and raise some money for the remainder of the season. I would like to thank Manor (Competition) for their efforts at the weekend.”

Straight from Croft, Alice flew out to Germany to test at the Nurbugring, Nordschleife Circuit for Aston Martin. This was a great opportunity for the 18 year old to learn the 15mile circuit, and to gain experience in a GT Sports Car. The Nordschleife circuit is very well known across the motorsport world, not only for its length, but for the challenging corners as well as the exciting races it have produced in the past.

Alice thoughts after the test were, “Wow! It was a brilliant experience and I would love to thank everybody from Aston Martin, and their sponsors, for letting me test. It really was a joy!!”

David King, Director, Special Projects at Aston Martin commented, “We invited Alice to come and experience the Nordschleife at a private test. She was so impressive in her training laps, that we sent her out in a 500bhp V12 Vantage race car, in the rain! As expected, she did a great job and impressed the whole team with her professional approach”.

This weekend was rounds 7 and 8 of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Oulton Park. Alice was hoping to finish both races and collect good points after the disappointments of getting knocked off at Thruxton in May.

Qualifying One was interrupted by a red flag, causing the young female driver disappointment as she was not able to complete her flying lap, due to this. Alice would line up for Race One, P10. Qualifying Two was a different story. No red flag meant Alice could push and get in her flying lap. For the majority of the session, the 18 year old from Chipping Norton, was P3, but it was only in the last few minutes of the session, that she slipped down to P6, “Q1 was disappointing, but that is motorsport. Q2, however, was going great until I just tried too hard and made a few mistakes in the last few minutes, which caused me to drop down the order to P6”.

Unlike Saturday, the sun was not shining on Sunday. Rain poured an hour or so before Race One, making tyre choice hard. However, slicks it was, even tho, off line was slightly wet. Alice lined up P10, and got a great launch off the line, gaining two places before the first corner. However, while making the second move, Alice was forced onto the wet, causing her to have to slow dramatically before making the turn, which sadly made her drop three places. However, Alice made her way back to 9th place.

Race Two produced the same track conditions as Race One. For Alice, it would be quite a quiet race until the last lap, occasionally pressuring the driver in front and having to defend at times, from her team mate behind. On the last lap, the Fortec driver of Felix Serralies made a mistake coming out of the Knickerbrook chicane, allowing Alice to get alongside him. Serralies, forcefully pushed Alice onto the grass, causing her to lose time, as well as the chance to gain a position. Powell had to settle for 6th and left the weekend P9 in the Championship and 4th in the Graduate Cup.

Speaking about the weekend, Alice said “It was a tough weekend. I was definitely expecting better results, but I scored points this weekend which is good! However, we do have some work to do before Croft as putting a lap, with all sectors together is key. We hope for better results there. ”

Commenting on Alice’s performance, her engineer, Sarah Shaw said “Alice had a frustrating weekend; in Q1 she was on a very good lap when the session was interrupted by a red flag – this meant that her lap time was not recorded and she had only done one other flying lap. The drivers who got out of the pitlane first were able to get one more flying lap before the chequered flag, and several of them improved their time, but unfortunately Alice was near the back of the queue and took the chequered flag at the end of her out lap. This meant she qualified an uncharacteristic 10th.

Q2 was better but a mistake on her best lap cost her nearly 2 tenths – she qualified 6th but had the potential to be much higher up the grid.

Both races took place in damp / drying conditions. Alice got good starts in both and drove really well, showing good race pace and pressuring the drivers in front. Oulton Park is a track where overtaking is very difficult even in bone dry conditions, but with the circuit still damp and slippery off line it was almost impossible. Still Alice made the best of the situation and brought home some valuable points”.

The next rounds of the Championship are on the 18th/19th of June at Croft.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

BRDC Rising Star, Alice Powell, was one of 800 guests who attended the opening of Silverstone circuit’s state-of-the-art new Pit, Paddock and Conference complex – The Silverstone Wing.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, KG, who is President in Chief of the BRDC, (pictured here with Alice) formally opened the new building that represents the second stage of a multi-million pound investment in the Home of British Motor Racing and heralds an exciting new era for British motor sport.

The official opening ceremony took guests on an evocative journey through the history of Silverstone, including appearances by many of the biggest names in the history of British motor sport. Five of Britain’s six living Formula World Champions – John Surtees OBE, Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, Nigel Mansell OBE, Damon Hill OBE and Jenson Button MBE – were in attendance, along with fellow Formula One luminaries, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Frank Williams, Christian Horner, Ross Brawn, David Coulthard and Murray Walker.

The worlds of MotoGP and World Superbikes were also represented at the launch, by a host of Britain’s best riders, including Cal Crutchlow, Jonathan Rea and James Toseland, who showed their support for their home circuit and the stunning new facility.

Following the opening ceremony the guests, who also included BRDC members and selected media, enjoyed exploring the new complex, which includes 41 garages, a race control building, a podium, media centre, hospitality and VIP spectator zones.

Alice said of the event and on being part of motorsport history, ” I was honoured to be invited by the BRDC to come to the opening of the “Wing”. To be in a room with such great racing drivers and people was incredible. The facilities that Silverstone and the BRDC have produce are outstanding and I really can’t wait to race there in August and October.”

Alice is now preparing for her next race, which is in two weeks (June 4th and 5th), at Oulton Park.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

This weekend was rounds 5 and 6 of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Thruxton. Alice proved her talent and speed in qualifying by securing P5 and P2 for the races, a tremendous effort, at a track where the window to produce your flying lap is extremely small.

Alice has great memories from the Thruxton circuit, as it was where she won the Formula Renault BARC Championship last year, and was hoping to challenge for the wins in the races.

In Race One, starting P5, the 18 year old from Chipping Norton, got off to a great start, working her way up to 3rd place by lap two. However, on lap four, her team mate, Josh Hill, made contact with the side of Alice’s car sending her into a spin and damaging the left rear, ending her race.

For race two, Alice lined up on the front row of the grid, leading the way for the Manor Competition team. Sadly, Alice would only make it to the second corner, as Pedro Pablo Calbimonte drove into the side on Alice’s car, this time damaging the right rear, and ending Alice’s race along with much sympathy from the ITV4 commentators.

Speaking about the weekend, Alice said “Results wise, it was extremely disappointing, seeing that it was not my fault either times, and there was nothing I could have done. However, we showed the pace we had in qualifying by getting P2. Huge thanks to all the Manor Competition team for their continued efforts and hard work, as well as my sponsors, Sliverstone-Hotels.com, Immun Age and IWI Watches. I am very much looking forward to Oulton Park in 5 weeks time!”

Commenting on Alice’s performance, her engineer, Sarah Shaw said “Alice’s weekend was blighted by bad luck which robbed her of the chance of getting the results she deserved. Nevertheless there are a lot of positives to be taken from the weekend. Qualifying 5th for race one was good but we knew there was still potential for more and she proved us right by qualifying 2nd for race two.

Sadly her luck was just rotten in the two races!! Without doubt, Alice had the pace to be on the podium in both races, so it’s really disappointing not to have come away from Thruxton with some results, but that’s racing and we’re really happy with the job Alice did throughout the weekend”.

The next rounds of the Championship are on the 4/5th of June at Oulton Park, Cheshire.

If you would like to support Alice through sponsorship, please visit www.alice-powell.com or email info@alice-powell.com.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Female motor racing ace Alice Powell has signed up for the 2011 Formula Renault UK series with Manor Competition – the most successful team in the history of the Championship.

Alice, 2010 Formula Renault BARC Champion and recently named BWRDC’s Elite Gold Star winner for the second year in succession and recipient of the Club’s prestigious Lord Wakefield Trophy, completes the same quartet of drivers who raced with Manor Competition in the FRUK winter series last November.

Formula Renault UK is established as the country’s leading single-seater championship, launching the Formula 1 racing careers of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen and Heikki Kovalainen. The championship enjoys a high level of exposure due to its place on the support package of the British Touring Car Championship, leading to comprehensive television coverage in the UK on the ITV Sport network. Two races are also held at World Series by Renault, which attracted a crowd of 125,000 in 2010, making it the best attended one-marque single-seater series.

18 year-old Alice first joined the Nottinghamshire squad back in 2009 following a season in Ginetta Juniors. She said of her recent signing; “I am delighted to be working with Manor again. Sarah (Shaw) and the team know how I work and, hopefully, together we can produce the right results in 2011!”

Sarah Shaw at Manor Competition says of the renewed partnership; “We’re really happy to have Alice back in the team – it was important to us to have her as part of our line-up. We all enjoy working with her and she is very quick, so we’re looking forward to a strong season together.”

Alice is the reigning Formula Renault BARC Champion scoring two wins, seven podiums and two pole positions last year. Alice made history by becoming the first female to win a Formula Renault race and the first female to win a Formula Renault Championship. Alice will continue to find sponsors throughtout the season.

If you would like to support Alice through sponsorship, please visit www.alice-powell.com or email info@alice-powell.com.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography

Rising motor racing star Alice Powell has enjoyed an exciting start to 2011 – the 17 year old reigning Formula Renault BARC Champion has been awarded both the British Women’s Racing Driver’s Club (BWRDC) Elite Gold Star and the club’s premier award, ‘The Lord Wakefield Trophy’.

Alice was named the Elite Gold Star winner for the second year in succession and received the award from BBC Sport’s Formula 1 TV presenter, Jake Humphrey at the 2011 Autosport International Show, UK. This prestigious award is presented on merit to a junior member who has shown the capability of, and aspires to become, a professional driver.

Alice was awarded The Lord Wakefield Trophy at the ‘MSA Night of Champions’ held at the Royal Automobile Club on London’s Pall Mall on 21st January.

Delighted to have started the year on such a high note, Alice says: “I am extremely proud to have won these awards and this is a great way to start the year, not just for me, but for my sponsors and all who support me. It is a privilege to win the Lord Wakefield Trophy and to have sat amongst legends such as Ross Brawn and Jason Plato at the awards ceremony was not only inspirational, but a great honour.”

Sarah Shaw at Manor Competition, who champions Alice’s talents, said: “Alice first came to our attention when she was racing Ginetta Juniors. At a time when there were several promising female drivers out there, Alice stood out as not just the best of the girls, but better than the boys too in Formula Renault. We knew then that she had the potential to go all the way in what is a heavily male dominated sport – Alice’s achievement in winning the Formula Renault BARC Championship is impressive enough – but that she did it in one of the most competitive seasons in the championship’s history, despite missing almost all the preseason testing, is testament to her talent and determination.”

Sarah continues: “Being awarded the Lord Wakefield Trophy highlights the fact that she has now caught the attention of some of the most prominent figures in the sport. To have won it at such a young age and early stage in her career is even more of an indication of just what she can achieve. At Manor we feel we are well placed to identify the raw ingredients needed to make a successful racing driver… Alice Powell has all those ingredients.”

Alice proved her mettle on the Formula Renault BARC grid last year scoring two wins, seven podiums and two pole positions. Alice made history by becoming the first female to win a Formula Renault race and the first female to win a Formula Renault Championship.

To continue the momentum already behind Alice, she hopes to compete in the 2011 Formula Renault UK Championship.

Alice Powell’s aim is to be first successful British woman to compete for the Formula 1 World Championship title. In 2009, aged just 16, Alice became the youngest ever female driver in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship, competing with the championship winning team Manor Competition, who launched the careers of F1 Champions Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen.

The Lord Wakefield Challenge Trophy was first presented to the Women’s Automobile Sports Association (WASA) in 1929 by Lord Wakefield and is widely credited as the highest accolade bestowed upon a female for outstanding services to motorsport. The award was handed over to the BWRDC after its creation in 1962 by Mary Wheeler MBE. It is now acknowledged as the club’s premier award with previous recipients including Susie Stoddart, Amanda Whitaker, Rachel Green, the late Pat Moss-Carlsson, Louise Aitken-Walker and Jutta Kleinschmidt. Since 1992, a panel of independent judges was established to decide on a winner – which is only awarded when it is deemed there is a suitable candidate.

Britain’s leading female racing driver Alice Powell has become the first female driver to win a Formula Renault title winning the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship; a grand accolade and one which she fully intends to use as a spring-board to becoming the first successful female in F1.

At 17 Alice is a year younger than Lewis Hamilton was when he won his first Renault Championship at 18 in a similar car.

Alice overturned a 16-point advantage held by title rival Mitchell Hale going into yesterday’s championship finale at Thruxton. Closing the gap down to just four points on overall scores after the opener, Powell triumphed over Hale again in the finale in the best possible way – with race victory.

Alice says: “In the final race I started on pole, got a good start and lead lights to flag to win the championship! It’s been a mega year, big big thanks to my engineer Sarah Shaw for all her help and effort she has given me this season as well as to my team Hillspeed and all my sponsors, Silverstone Hotels, Immun’Age and Bristol Street Motors.”

“Taking the championship with a race win is the perfect way to end the season. I’m doing the Formula Renault UK Winter Series with Manor and I’m hoping we can try and win that and then look at UK again for 2011.”

Alice won in perfect style at Thruxton on Sunday, 17th October, after taking her second race victory of the season during the final round to clinch the coveted crown by just eight points.

Alice says: “There was no pre race testing, so all the 18 cars had to go straight out into qualifying. As the cars began their qualifying runs, my car would not start. At that moment I could see 9 years of blood sweat and tears, as well as every penny invested going down the drain. The seconds and minutes seemed like hours when I heard the cars screaming by on the straight. As the session approached halfway, I could hear the cars coming into the pits to change their tyres. I now felt it was all over. However, just after halfway through the session, my engineer Sarah managed to start the car by sorting the fuel injection problem.”

Alice, who lives in Chipping Norton, says: “As the race started, I managed to build a lead but the safety car came out which bunched the field up, so I had all the drama of the start, once more. I pulled out another lead and to my horror there was another safety car. I managed to pull away again, but on the last bend, on the last lap, in my excitement I clipped a kerb and lost control for a split second, but I managed to hang on for the win.”

www.alice-powell.com

Photos by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Alice Powell closed the gap to the Championship Lead in the Formula Renault BARC Championship to just 5 points, after taking two solid second place finished at the North Yorkshire circuit of Croft.

After qualifying 5th and 4th on the grid for the races, Alice knew it was all to play for: “We did have a struggle with brake problems in qualifying, but we managed to get it sorted for the race, and I knew I had to get a good start and get ahead of my championship rivals”.

This is exactly what Alice did, by producing excellent starts in both races, to achieve her second place finishes: “I am happy about this weekend’s results, as we have closed the gap dramatically to the lead of the championship. Thanks to my engineer Sarah (engineer and co-owner for Manor Competition), we got the car set how we wanted for the races to battle our way through to second”.

Rounds seven and eight of the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship take place at Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit on 31st July/1st August.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Local schoolgirl and racing driver Alice Powell was honoured at the 2009 Women of the Future Awards, held last night (12 November) at a ceremony in London, supported by David Cameron and Cherie Blair.

Alice was runner up in the Young Star Award category, which was won by 19-year-old inventor and businesswoman Ruth Amos, who developed a revolutionary mobility aid whilst studying for her GCSEs.

Other entrants in the Young Star Award included: actress Georgia Groome star of the movie “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging” and pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen.

Alice, who lives in Chipping Norton and attends the Cotswold School near Cheltenham, says: “It’s a real honour to get recognition. Few women have made it in motorsport and no one has made a real impact in F1 – that is my ambition. I think the time is right, if a girl is out there doing well then more women would watch Formula 1 – it would definitely make it more exciting.”

Alice continues: “I’d like to be a role model for girls entering motor sport. A successful woman in motor sport would be a true ambassador for the sport and women wanting to enter it and do well. I am breaking new ground and would like to do for motor sport what Ellen MacArthur has done for sailing.”

Founded by writer and entrepreneur Pinky Lilani OBE and Caspian Publishing, and supported by Shell, the Women of the Future Awards were established to identify Britain’s talented young women aged 35 and under, who are set to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Now in their fourth year, previous winners include Melody Hossaini, co-founder of the UK Youth Parliament, soloist ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson and television presenter and writer, Dawn Porter.

At last night’s ceremony, David Cameron delivered a speech on the vital role of women in the UK. Cherie Blair, a long-standing patron of the awards, presented the award for the Business Woman of the Future category.

Awards went to:
Art and Culture Woman of the Future – sponsored by Visa Europe
• Alexia Khadime (24) and Dianne Pilkington (34), currently performing the lead roles in Wicked.

Business Woman of the Future – sponsored by Asda
• Sam Smith (35), FinnCap

Entrepreneurial Woman of the Future
• Holly Tucker (32), the co-founder of internet retailer notonthehighstreet.com which provides a platform for small businesses to take on established brands.
• (Special commendation: Emily Bendell (28), Blue Bella)

Media Woman of the Future
• Julie King (33), Head of External Relations for the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body organising the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Professions Woman of the Future – sponsored by Sodexo
• Annie Graham (31), Ernst & Young
• (Special commendation: Ayesha Hazarika (34), Special Advisor to Parliament)

Science and Technology Woman of the Future – sponsored by Shell
• Dr Sarah Teichmann (34) of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
• (Special commendation: Dr Karen Masters (30) of the Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation, University of Portsmouth)

The Woman of the Future Voluntary Award
• Katy Tuncer (29), Metropolitan Police

The Young Star Award – sponsored by Barclays
• Inventor and businesswoman Ruth Amos (19) of StairSteady who has put university on hold to focus on the company she formed after inventing a product to help people with mobility issues as part of a GCSE project.

Mentor of the Year – sponsored by Booz & Company
• Birgit Neu, HSBC

The Women of the Future Corporate Award – sponsored by KPMG
• Global outsourcing giant Capgemini UK
• (Special commendation: Caroline Carr and Seung Earm, Executive Directors, Goldman Sachs)

A Women of the Future Awards Special Commendation went to Debbie Moore of Pineapple Studios who was the first women to float a company on the London Stock Exchange.

The awards ceremony took place at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on Thursday November 12, 2009.

For information on the awards, visit: http://womenofthefuture.co.uk/