INDIANAPOLIS 500 MILE RACE WILL HAVE FOUR LADY PARTICIPANTS!

The 2011 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race coming soon should be very exciting for those who would like to see a lady cross the finish line first.  The race, which will be televised live on ABC this coming Sunday, May 29, will have four ladies driving.  The average qualifying speeds for the four (based upon their four-lap averages over a total of 10 miles) was 224,267.  By contrast the pole winner, Alex Tagliani, qualified at 227.472.  However, if you were to average his speed with those of the other 29 male drivers, the numbers would be measurably closer.

This is really not a serious gender competition for me but I freely admit that I would be delighted to see the ladies do well and a win would be fantastic.  Perhaps my being the father of 3 “girls” and just one “boy” is a factor here.  Ladies I’ve known, particularly my mother and my mother-in-law, have caused me to have a great respect for their gender and the obstacles they’ve faced through history.   The bottom-line hope is that it’s a clean race and that no one gets hurt.  This kind of racing is truly a team sport and strategy can also make a world of difference.  I believe that luck is a key factor also.   Of the ladies, Pippa Mann is my favorite even though this will be her first race in an IndyCar.  If she can stay out of trouble early in the helter-skelter of the start and first 20 laps or so – I think she has a chance to do well.  She has never done a pit stop in a race before so this could be a factor also.  My emotional favorites among the men are number 43, John Andretti (a real gentleman), number 23, Paul Tracy (temperamental, unyielding), and number 67, Ed Carpenter (Sarah Fisher’s driver).

ABC broadcasting begins at 11 am.  The driver introduction is scheduled to occur at 11:30 and I expect the checkered flag to drop at noon – weather permitting.

Here are the ladies – a left click on the image should enlarge it for you:

The Ladies of the 2011 Indy-500

Pippa Mann – Indy Car Driver

Pippa Mann

If you know a little about my racing interests you might be aware of my long-time desire to see a lady win the Indy-500 Race. I’ve hoped for that since Janet Guthrie first drove in an Indy-500 in 1977.

There are 33 spots available for the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 race. Four of the 41 entrants are female. If you’ve been considering the remote possibility of a 5^th in racing team owner, Sara Fisher, you can erase that one from your mind instantly since she is now about halfway though her much desired pregnancy.  Ed Carpenter will be driving Sara’s team car number 67.  The identity of her driver for car 57 has yet to be announced.  Here’s a link to her March 31 announcement about her pregnancy: http://www.sarahfisherracing.com/sarahsblogs.php

The four female entries are:

Pippa Mann – car 36

Danica Patrick – car 7

Simona De Silvestro – car 78

Ana Beatriz – car 24

Yesterday (May 12, 2011) my favorite, Pippa Mann, completed the Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

She ran consistent laps at each of the required four speed phases:

5 laps at 200-205 mph

10 laps at 205-210

10 laps at 210-215

10 laps at 215 or more.

Her fastest average speed was 219.116 mph.

Eric Bachelart, the Conquest Team owner was elated. “Pippa has done a sensational job today. It only took her 35 laps to go through the four phases of the program and I have to say this has been the smoothest rookie test we have ever done. She is ready, she gave us good feedback, and we can’t wait to get back on the track on Saturday for the opening of the practice week.”

Afterwards Mann said: “ . . . . things went so well today that we went through all four phases on just two sets of tires. I actually found the balance of the car fairly similar to the Indy Lights car, so the past two years have been great training.” She continued by expressing how happy she was with the results and expressed her gratitude over how hard the team worked to create such a successful outcome.

Tomorrow (Saturday, May 14) weather permitting, she will return to the Speedway for this year’s first Indianapolis 500 practice session.

There is now an official website for Pippa. Here is a link:

http://www.pippamann.com/default.aspx

And – here is a nice recent interview with Pippa where she talks about, among other things, the transition from Indy Lights to the Big Cars:

http://www.pippamann.com/MediaShow.aspx?ArticleID=308

PIPPA MANN WINS AT KENTUCKY!

Links:

http://www.pippamann.com/NewsArticle.aspx?ArticleID=284

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100904/IRL/100909936

AND

Link to previous posting on this web-log: https://cloudman23.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/pippa-mann-wins-pole-for-saturdays-indy-lights-race/

PIPPA MANN WINS THE INDY LIGHTS RACE AT KENTUCKY!

Originally this posting was to announce that Pippa Mann had won the pole for the start of the 9-4-2010 Indy Lights race at Kentucky.  Now at the race’s conclusion I’m revising this (at 6:30 pm EDT race day) to announce that she has won the 100 mile race – leading all 67 laps!  This lady is for real!

Read story about winning the pole at the following link:

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2010/09/03/494754.html

Sign up free for IndyCar Nation at this site and then utilize live streaming.

http://indycarnation.indycar.com/

The Kentucky Indy Lights race is scheduled to run at 5:30 EDT, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010.

Previous web-log posting on Pippa Mann:

https://cloudman23.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/pippa-mann-a-close-second-in-indy-lights-at-chicagoland/

Pippa Mann a Close Second in Indy Lights at Chicagoland

Pippa Mann, after leading a race for the first time in her Indy Lights career (several laps), came in second today in the 67 lap race at Chicagoland Speedway. James Hinchcliffe was the winner by only 0.0159 seconds – and Phillip Major came in third. Pippa is a native of Ipswich, England, and drives the No. 11 car for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.  Keep an eye on this rising star.  My mother who loved open-wheel racing is surely pleased to see a lady do so well.   Mom left to be with the Great Guy In the Sky back in 2004 so I’m sure she gets to watch every race that interests her.

http://www.pippamann.com/