ITV1 Puts Women in the driving Seat Britain’s first ever all-female motor racing championship series, FORMULA WOMAN is to be shown on ITV1 this Summer.
Sixteen women will take part in the I0-race championship driving race-prepared Mazda RX8s on some of Britain’s major circuits. Launched a year ago, FORMULA WOMAN attracted 10,000 applicants whittled down initially to 2,400 and then to 50 from which the final 16 and two reserves will be chosen.
From bank clerks to barmaids and from nurses to pole dancers, none of the applicants had any previous racing experience and all are determined to prove themselves on the track.
ITV1’s programme plans were unveiled today (Thursday 8 January) at Birmingham NEC’s Autosport International Show.
The TV coverage presented by former racing driver, Vicki Butler-Henderson, will begin with a launch programme showing how the idea of FORMULA WOMAN came about and how the 2,400 applicants were narrowed down to the 50 that are currently still in contention.
The programme will also preview the elimination process which will reduce the number of applicants from 50 to 18 and the championship race series itself.
The 50 were chosen during 16 days of assessment at nine different race circuits around the country. The process involved media interviews and tests of strength, reactions and general knowledge. The fifth element of the process and the most important was a driving test in Mazda MX5s on the circuits.
The 16 women finally chosen to race plus two reserves will be selected by a gruelling series of tests. The 50 finalists will attend a five-day selection camp at Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire that will be exhilarating and, at times, tearful. The 18 who get through will go on to another three-day camp also at Cadwell Park. At the end of that training period, intended to turn them into racing drivers, the 16 best racers will be chosen while the other two will have the unenviable honour of being demoted to reserves. Both selection and training will be featured in programmes shown on ITV1.
By the end of the three-day camp, the final group will be seen trying out the Mazda RX8s, meeting their support teams and sponsors ready for the first of 10 races.
The championship race series itself will be shown on ITV1 during the Summer.
As well as the actual racing, viewers will get to know the women with coverage of all the tension behind the scenes, the successes, the failures and the reaction of these new heroines of the race track. The series will reach its climax with the final race shown live from the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent and the eventual champion crowned. The title will be decided by a points system designed to keep the championship open till the last race.
Graeme Glew of Formula Woman, who came up with the idea of an all-female motor racing championship said, “It’s a golden opportunity for women to show they’re just as good as men when it comes to driving.”
Jane McCloskey, executive producer of the ITV1 coverage, said, “We’re confident the programmes will attract a wide range of audiences. We hope those who watch the early knockout programmes and who may not be traditional motor sports fans will want to stay with us for the whole race series to see who emerges as the first FORMULA WOMAN champion.”
FORMULA WOMAN is an HTV production for ITV1.