Formula E has announced a world-first for an FIA Championship in holding a dedicated test session for women racing drivers in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The test will be taking place on Thursday 7th November at Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.
The first of its kind test in the all-electric championship provides elite women racing drivers the opportunity to driver the new for Season 11 Gen3 Evo car, which is capable 0-60mph in just 1.82 seconds.
The car will also be tested during the same week by the 11 world-class race teams and 22 drivers currently competing in the series.
Each of the race teams in the championship will be required to field at least one woman driver for the half-day test, but is encouraged to field two, who will all drive in the current-season cars.
With all the women on track at the same time, the session creates a tangible platform for a wide pool of elite drivers who wouldn’t get otherwise an opportunity to drive machinery at this level.
The test aims to provide the women not only with a destination but also a pathway to develop their careers and skills using current technology at its full potential.
While at the Valencia track, drivers will take part in multiple media opportunities, including press conferences, briefings, interviews and capturing content for broadcast and social media on behalf of Formula E and their respective teams.
We know there isn’t a simple solution for greater diversity in motorsport. If we’re going to truly give women equality, opportunity and visibility in our series, however, conditions for all need to be the same to aid their development and test themselves against those already on the starting grid. Unlike other series where women drivers have to use old or restricted machinery, they’ll be using the state-of-the-art GEN3 Evo car that accelerates 30% faster than an F1 car, just as our Championship drivers do. We also recognise that one test will not solve the longstanding issue, but we have to start somewhere, knowing there is a long way to go and making sure we’re making proactive, consistent steps that continue to make forward progress. As a motorsport with an almost-equal split of male and female fans, as well within Formula E including my Exec and Director teams, we believe it’s only right that our drivers and wider ecosystem is representative of those that follow and support the sport.
Jeff Dodds, CEO at Formula E.
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