The World Rally Championship (WRC) has selected the three finalists from the Beyond Rally Women’s Driver Development Programme.
Confirmed:
- Lyssia Baudet (Belgium), Suvi Jyrkiäinen (Finland) and Claire Schönborn (Germany) beat 12 other hopefuls
- The drivers will now contest the Central European Rally from 17th to 20th October
- One entrant will receive a seat in the 2025 Junior World Championship
Context:
At the Beyond Rally forum in Portugal in May, WRC launched a three-part development programme designed to boost female representation at the highest levels of rallying.
Last month, 15 applicants were chosen to undergo intensive training at the M-Sport Poland headquarters in Krakow. This camp included a day of gravel and a day of tarmac testing in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 as well as simulator testing, pace-note and reconnaissance competence, PR training and an evaluation of mechanical knowledge.
Comment:
“For us, it was at the end, very difficult to make the choice. We hope of course that it was the right one, we will see on the next stage of the process at the Central European Rally,” said WRC Promoter’s senior director of sport Peter Thul.
“Each one of the finalists has been exceptional. We know their CV, but some of the applicants had no experience to, say, drive on gravel at all, and they have really surprised us here. They all delivered a fantastic performance, I must say the 15 here were the correct drivers to be selected.
“Now though, a WRC event is waiting and it’s a very tough Tarmac rally with changing weather conditions through Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. But this training camp here in Poland offered a variety of road surfaces, so I think they will be well prepared.”
Coming next:
The Central European Rally takes places across Germany, Czech Republic and Austria from 17th to 20th October.
Go deeper:
- Beyond Rally 2024: Why technological, social and environmental innovation is needed for motorsport to achieve sustainable progress
- Three drivers of the World Rally Championship’s new sustainability strategy
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