Formula 1
Sarah Kavanagh linked to McLaren
Ireland's Sarah Kavanagh may be set to join the McLaren F1 team as a 2nd test driver for the 2002 season. The 28 year-old Dubliner is awaiting news of whether she is to become the first woman in 12 years to join motorsport's top ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
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Ireland's Sarah Kavanagh may be set to join the McLaren F1 team as a 2nd test driver for the 2002 season. The 28 year-old Dubliner is awaiting news of whether she is to become the first woman in 12 years to join motorsport's top level.
Super-fit Sarah, who has raced a Jordan in the EuroBoss series for older F1 cars this year, has successfully completed a number of evaluations by the Woking based team to assess her capabilities. Following detailed analysis at the team's Physical Performance Laboratory, Managing director Martin Whitmarsh stated that; "There is nothing in the results that suggest that Sarah could not drive a Formula One car right away".
Further evaluation was carried out this week at the Pembrey circuit in Wales where performance tests were carried out by Formula Three team; Carlin Motorsport, who steered Takuma Sato to championship victory this season and into a drive with Jordan for 2002. The assessments were designed to determine Kavanagh's on-track performance relative to the new breed of drivers who are joining Formula One directly from Formula Three. Team boss Trevor Carlin professed that the Irish woman was 'extremely impressive'.
In taking a different route to the top, Ireland's fast lady is another driver who is proving that the traditional Formula Three and Formula 3000 routes to Formula One stardom, are not set in stone. "I've never had the money available to race a full championship of F3 or F3000, but what I have had has enabled me to race 90's Formula One cars for the last 3 years, and that's what gives me the confidence to stand up and say I can drive in F1", she said.
"Last month Bernie Ecclestone told me to never give up and he was right. As a huge Senna fan it was always my dream to drive for McLaren, and hopefully that might now happen", she said.
-SKS-
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