Lyn St. James News

Jacksonville, FL — Racer, writer, broadcaster, entrepreneur and motivational speaker Lyn St. James is the Honoree of the 26^th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance scheduled for March 4-7, 2021.

Lyn’s life is a high speed motorsports adventure. Her racing career began in a Ford Pinto — her daily driver — in the 1970s and had its grand finale more than two decades later in a special commemorative ceremony on the “yard of bricks” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Her first titles were a pair of regional south Florida road racing championships. She moved up quickly racing a Corvette at Sebring, Palm Beach and Daytona. A brave class victory in the punishing 1979 24 Hours of the Nurburgring racing an AMC Spirit AMX sponsored by BF Goodrich is an exotic and sometimes overlooked line on Lyn’s deep resume. By then corporate America liked what they were seeing and hearing from the racer from Willoughby, OH.

She graduated to the pro ranks in the 1980s as a Ford factory racer. In 1984 Autoweek magazine named her Rookie of the Year in IMSA’s GTO class. A year later she won IMSA’s Norelco Driver of the Year award. That was a very good year: an IMSA GTO victory came in August 1985 at Road America in the Lowenbrau Classic. A month later, on one of her favorite tracks, the full Grand Prix course at Watkins Glen, Lyn scored an unprecedented and still unequalled solo IMSA GTO class victory in the Serengeti Drivers New York 500 racing a Roush Mustang. The eighties also saw two class victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona.

For Lyn the eighties were fast and productive. In 1988 she set a closed course speed record for women at 212.577 mph in a Bill Elliott-built Thunderbird. That was just one of 21 national and international speed records Lyn authored. She earned another page in the record books with an Indy 500 qualifying lap of 227.32 mph that stood as a record for women until Sarah Fisher’s lap of 229.675 mph qualifying for the 2002 “500.”

In 1989 she entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Ford-powered Spice. Another classic race course and even though her car retired on Sunday morning Lyn logged a lot of seat time. She returned to the classic French 24 Hours in 1991 with two-time World Sports Car Championship race winner Desiré Wilson and Cathy Muller, but their Cosworth-powered Spice prototype lasted just 47 laps In 1990, Lyn earned yet another GTO class win in another famous classic endurance race, the 12 Hours of Sebring, with a Mercury Cougar XR-7.

It was a visit to the Indy 500 with her mother in 1966 that revealed Lyn’s passion for motorsport. Her Indy 500 career began with a surprise test at Memphis Motorsports Park in a Dick Simon Racing Lola. Things began to move quickly. Lyn’s commercial, marketing and persuasive skills brought JCPenney to her Indy rookie program.

On Memorial Day 1992, Lyn raced her JCPenney sponsored Lola/Chevy — the Spirit of the American Woman — to eleventh place, becoming the first woman to win Indy’s prestigious Rookie of the Year award.

Even today she is quick to remind us that she still holds the record as Indy’s oldest Rookie of the Year winner. Eight years and seven Indy 500s later Lyn retired from Indy Car competition with career earnings of nearly $1.2 million.

Lyn’s strong entrepreneurial streak first emerged in an auto components business that fused with her passion for racing. Her ability to see and understand motorsport from the perspective of the cockpit and the boardroom has been a constant asset during her long tenure in and around motorsport. In 2010 those skills were honored by Automotive News as one of The Top 100 Women in the Automotive Industry. Sports Illustrated named her one of the “Top 100 Women Athletes of the Century.”

She has been a spokesperson for Ford, appeared in Rolex ads and is the founder of the Lyn St. James Foundation (a 501(c)(3) charitable organization) for the education, training and advancement of women in automotive fields. She has also served on the board of Kettering University, a top engineering school.

Lyn served as President of the Women’s Sports Foundation from 1990 to 1993. In 1994 Lyn was inducted to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame; Working Woman Magazine included her as one of the Top 350 Women Who Changed the World between 1976 and 1996. She’s been summoned to The White House for civic honors by three consecutive Presidents — Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

“Lyn has been an integral part of the racing community for years and followed in the steps of the likes of Elizabeth Junek, Janet Guthrie, and Lella Lombardi who won races, set records and broke barriers,” said Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “Lyn earned her stripes driving a wide variety of race cars starting in club racing with her daily driver, a Ford Pinto, and culminated with a successful career in Indy cars. Along the way, she shared long distance drives with some of the best drivers of the day. There is more than a quarter of a century of proof that she is the “real thing” behind the wheel.”

Tickets for the 26th Annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance are now available online. For more info and to purchase tickets visit: https://www.ameliaconcours.org/shop/tickets

Take a moment to read with Ted Gushue’s Q & A with Lyn for Petrolicious, excerpted here:

Despite her successful career as celebrated activist and orator, to pigeonhole Lyn St. James as a feminist would completely undersell so much of her tremendous life story, and why she chose to compete in motorsport from the beginning. It wasn’t to prove a point or to forward any sort of agenda; it was a pure and simple desire to drive as fast as possible as often as possible.

In my opinion, Lyn St. James isn’t just a hero for women, she’s a hero for all of us. She woke up one day and found a way to get her butt on a track to drive. Not just as a woman, but as an enthusiast, which lead her all the way to Le Mans. It was a real honor to sit down with her at the Arizona Concourse the other day, and I’m very pleased to be able to share that conversation with you.

Ted Gushue: So Lyn, what was the first car you ever drove?

Lyn St. James: The first car I ever drove was my family car. It was a Ford Fairlane convertible. It was my dad’s too, but it was my mom’s car, basically. That was the first car I ever drove.

TG: Were you legally allowed to drive?

LSJ: No. My mom taught me how to drive when I was 15. I used to work at a summer resort. When the summer was over, that resort was desolate. It was like a ghost town. She would let me drive around those streets because she knew there was no traffic.

TG: Was driving the car a momentous occasion for you? Was it a big deal?

LSJ: The car wasn’t a big deal, driving was the big deal. I remember the policeman, or whatever, when I took my test said, “You seem awfully confident.” Because literally, on my 16th birthday, I was more than ready. I said, “A little bit.” I was like, “Give me my license. I’m out of here.” It wasn’t about the car. It was just the driving.

TG: Had you always grown up in a car family? How did you know you had some sort of destiny to be in the automotive world?

LSJ: I never knew I was destined. Never, really, until it all came to fruition. My mom had polio as an infant, as a three-year-old. Even though she could walk, she couldn’t walk very well or very confidently or very far. For her, a car was everything. Without knowing that this was probably having an impact on me – and I was an only child – it was to the point of almost being boring. My mom and that car always had to be in the driveway. She knew a lot about cars, taught me about them; I had to learn how to check the oil, I had to learn how to check the air in the tires, things like that.

On Sunday, January 12, the Jet Center Sunday Drive will begin with a delicious breakfast and a morning show style interview with automotive icons including Barry Meguiar and race car driver Lyn St James.  Neither of these icons need any introduction, and you will have the opportunity to mingle and enjoy breakfast with Barry, Lyn and others, then enjoy the interview by Rain City Supercars emcee Nicholas Bergeron and Jason Bourriage with plenty of opportunity for audience questions.

After breakfast is a delightful drive on Arizona back roads, returning to Scottsdale for a winery lunch and wine tasting.

Upon return to Scottsdale, enjoy wine tasting at the Desert Rock Winery as well as a catered lunch to complete your wonderful day mingling with new friends, sharing stories and enjoying some of the best Arizona wines, ciders and other beverages available.

Capacity of this truly special event is very limited and will sell out as it does every year.  Do not miss this fun opportunity to meet Barry, Lyn and these automotive icons, and have a delightful drive on the Arizona back roads.

The Jet Center Sunday Drive happens on Sunday January 12, 2020:

• 8:00 am breakfast, mingle and tour the Toy Barn
• 8:30 – 9:30am morning show style interviews
• 9:45 driver meeting
• 10:00 depart for back road drive
• approx 1:00 pm arrive at Desert Rock Winery for lunch and wine tasting

Stay as long as you like. Register HERE.

Indy racer Lyn St James recently joined Horsepower Chrome & Rust on a podcast where she shared information about her career as a racer, coach and spokesperson & more. For more information, please visit their Facebook page or take a listen here:

Savannah is known for its century old buildings, antique shops, boutiques, and fabulous River Street restaurants. What is not so well-known is that Savannah is the birth place of Grand Prix racing in the United States, hosting the American Grand Prize race first in 1908. In 1910 the city ran a Grand Prix and in 1911 invited the prestigious Vanderbilt Cup.

The Savannah Speed Classic offers a unique road race experience on the 10 turn, 1.965 mile Grand Prize of America Road Course. From Pre WW1 cars that ran in a Vanderbilt Cup race to classic Jaguars, MGs, and Porsches, the Savannah Speed Classic grids will showcase a rolling history of motorsports. SVRA “Gold Medallion” cars will figure prominently in the weekend.

The Savannah Speed Classic, October 25-27, starts off a kind of “Speedweek” that spans nine days and includes, the Car Club Jamboree, the Motoring Midway and the Concours d’Elegance on Hilton Head, November 1-3.

From the Savannah Morning News website:

Before she was racing in the Indianapolis 500, or winning the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, or even driving at Roebling Road Raceway, motorsports legend Lyn St. James had to start her career somewhere.

It was behind the wheel of a Ford Pinto at a racing school in South Florida.

“It was my street car,” St. James recalled of the Pinto, which by adding a roll bar, a five-point seat belt and a fire extinguisher, was deemed race ready for the Showroom Stock class.

“I could afford to do it,” she said of using the subcompact for both racing and daily commutes. “I couldn’t afford two cars.”

For those too young to remember or who have chosen to block out the memory of the 1970s-era Pinto, it might not have been the ugliest car St. James ever raced. The AMC Gremlin arguably has that title.

“To be honest, I was trying to build my experience,” said St. James, 72, who will serve at the grand marshal this weekend at the Savannah Speed Classic. “I was not picky.”

She was 27 in 1974, an Ohio native who grew up a racing fan and dabbled in drag and street racing as a teen. She was a spectator first at the Indy 500, and later at Daytona and Sebring after she moved to Florida.

As she gained racing experience that first decade in the Southeast, she went on occasion to Roebling Road in Bloomingdale.

“It’s got its challenges,” she said. “It’s a good little track. It’s great that it’s there and it’s still there.”

She has never raced at the Grand Prize of America road course on Hutchinson Island, and is excited to come to Savannah this week and see the layout which she described as stunning, with the track and the neighboring Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa.

“I’m going to get around the track. I’m not going to do that at speed or in an aggressive manner,” St. James said.

Before making assumptions about St. James’ retirement from racing, she has good reason for being on cruise control. She is recovering from a back injury from an automobile accident in early August.

“Fortunately, I will heal. Unfortunately, it takes a long time,” said St. James, who was interviewed by phone after a physical therapy session in Phoenix, Arizona, her residence for 16 years.

Now, because this is Lyn St. James, it should be explained that the accident was during a vintage car race on a road course inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She was traveling 90-100 mph in a 1963 Corvette when “a tire went down” leading to a single-car crash.

“It’s just a case of the luck of the draw and timing when things happen,” she said. “It’s never fun. My last crash in a race was 2000 at the Indy 500.”

That’s right, for 19 years she’s continued to compete in “a fair number of races,” including those in the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association — which will be operating in Savannah this weekend — and for which she feels blessed and gratitude.

“The last 10 years of my life has pretty much been a reintroduction to this type of racing which has sustained my ability to be part of the sport,” St. James said.

While the crash was “a bit of a shock” to her system, her fondness for Indianapolis has not waned.

“I love that track. It’s not the fault of the track when bad things happen. I don’t hold it against it.”

That’s completely understandable, considering the Indy 500′s place in motorsports and St. James’ history there.

The road to Indy

After years of working her way up the sport, of waiting years to get a sponsorship from Ford Motor Company (yes, the manufacturer of the Pinto) and eventually impressing IndyCar team owner Dick Simon to give this rookie the keys, St. James made her Indy 500 debut in 1992.

She would have her best finish (11th) in seven starts and become the oldest driver and first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award. St. James made six consecutive starts from 1992-97, and was the oldest driver in the field at 53 at her last Indy 500 in 2000.

St. James has raced all kinds of cars at tracks around the globe, set speed records, twice competed in the 24 Hours of LeMans, twice won the 24 Hours of Daytona (1987, 1990); raced at Sebring nine times and won in 1990; and is a member of both the Sports Car Club of America and Florida Sports halls of fame.

Yet, she contends that she “would have been forgotten quickly” if not for her connection to the Indy 500, which “transcends any other race.”

“It’s probably the only race that regardless of where you’re from in the world, that people know it,” St. James said. “If somebody asks what do you do and you say a race car driver, they often ask, ‘Did you ever race in the Indy 500?’ It’s cemented in the minds of people.

“For a driver, it’s the top of the heap, it’s the thing you dream about. I have to say I never thought it would happen.”

She differentiates dreams from goals, which she set and made plans for achieving them. She wanted to win as many races as she could. She wanted to win championships.

Driven to succeed

Her chosen sport was, and is, dominated by men, but it’s gender neutral, at least from the car’s perspective. She didn’t want to be singled out as a female driver, or different, but simply as a race car driver.

“For a long time I wanted to be under the radar, not (known) because of gender but for winning races,” St. James said.

Reflecting on her creation of the Women’s in the Winner’s Circle Foundation and current involvement with the Women’s Sports Foundation (serving as president in 1990-93), St. James credits WSF founder, tennis legend and sports and social activist Billie Jean King for setting an example for her and others to follow.

Instead just letting society label you, do something about it.

“If you can use your platform for the betterment of other people, then why not?” she said. “It took me a long time. I’m a slow learner in this process.”

St. James is an an ambassador for the RPM Foundation, which supports restoration, preservation and mentorship programs that train young people to become auto, motorcycle and marine craftsmen. In other words, the next generation to maintain the kinds of vehicles that will be speeding around Savannah this weekend, and on display next weekend at the Hilton Head Island (S.C.) Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival.

She’s also a book author, motivational speaker and creator of museum exhibits showing the history and importance of racing and cars in our culture. Her place in that history she will leave to others, but she hasn’t slowed down much at all since first taking that Ford Pinto for a spin.

From the Hagerty Website:

When Lyn St. James decided to turn her auto racing dreams into reality, “taking the plunge” wasn’t just a figure of speech, it was a reality. In her first novice race after completing driver’s school, St. James and her Ford Pinto ended up in a Florida lake, a mishap for which she was awarded “Alligator of the Year.”

St. James wasn’t underwater for long. The Ohio native overcame her less-than-auspicious start and went on to race in the Indianapolis 500 seven times and set 21 national and international speed records in her career.

St. James recently visited Hagerty headquarters in Traverse City, Michigan, where she joined us for our weekly Cars & Caffeine get-together and talked cars, motorsports, perseverance, and the power of persuasion.

In 1992, St. James became only the second woman to qualify at Indy, 15 years after Janet Guthrie became the first. Starting in 27th, she finished 11th in the crash-heavy race and earned Rookie of the Year honors. [She likely would have finished 10th, but late in the race, St. James’ crew told her to let A.J. Foyt pass because they mistakenly thought he was a lap down.]

St. James’ best Indy qualifying came two years later, when she averaged 224.254 mph and started on the outside of the second row, directly behind Emerson Fittipaldi and directly in front of Mario Andretti—one qualifying spot ahead of defending CART IndyCar Series champion Nigel Mansell.

“I remember seeing my number 90… at the top [of the scoreboard] for about 10 minutes,” says St. James, who was an early qualifier. “Then it dropped… and it held after it got to the sixth spot.”

Al Unser won the 1994 race from the pole position. St. James ultimately placed 19th.

The road to Indianapolis was long, St. James says. Her mother didn’t support her desire for a career in auto racing, but she jokes that her mom had only herself to blame, since she actually fueled St. James’ interest in cars. After leaving home and beginning her career in SCCA events, St. James says she would call home and tell her mother how she was doing.

“She’d say, ‘Oh, that’s really good! Are you all done with that now? Will you get this out of your system?’” St. James recalls with a laugh. “She taught me how to drive; she taught me that a car talks to you, the car gives you warnings and signals. I had to learn the smells… My mom was the car person in the family, so she’s the one who instilled that in me. [But] as a mother she was concerned about my safety.”

St. James worked her way up the ladder, but she never rested on her laurels.

“When you decide you’re going to be a professional race car driver, it’s a business, so I put my business hat on and I said, ‘I’ve got to figure this out,’” she says. “I’ve spent my entire life convincing people to do things.”

That included Ford Motor Company, which finally sponsored her “after three years of bugging.” It led to a 15-year relationship with Ford. “It worked out pretty well,” she says. “…Without that relationship I’m convinced I never would have had a career in this sport.”

She also bugged IndyCar team owner Dick Simon for three years before he gave her a shot in 1988, and her tryout went well. “I thought, ‘Oh my god… this is real. I’m a real race car driver,’” St. James recalls. “Simon said, ‘We can do this.’ He didn’t say, ‘You can do this,’ he said, ‘We can do this.’ So I had that piece of it… I had somebody else who believed in me. Four years later, after 150 companies had said ‘no,’ JCPenney said ‘yes.’ And the rest is history.”

The JCPenney sponsorship secured an Indy ride with Simon, who was a master at nurturing rookie drivers, including Guthrie, who became the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1977.

Learn more about St. James’ speed records at Talladega, her continuing career in vintage racing, life as a motivational speaker and supporter of women in racing, and the difference between dreams and goals by watching the video.W

Lyn was recently featured in video on the Hagerty website:

SVRA’s Charity Pro-Am Series A Battle Of Titans In The Mold Of Original IROC

Southlake, TX (February 14, 2018) – Al Unser, Jr., Willy T. Ribbs, Davey Hamilton, Lyn St. James and Max Papis have filed entries for Sportscar Vintage Racing Association’s (SVRA) first-ever Vintage Race of Champions (VROC) at Road Atlanta on March 29 and 30.  VROC builds on the success of the SVRA Charity Pro-Am races that began at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014. Other VROC Series races are planned for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August, and Virginia International Raceway in September. Plans call for two points championship trophies to be awarded – one for both an amateur and a professional racer.

These first entries set up a classic inter-disciplinary battle of titans reminiscent of the venerated original IROC series. SVRA officials report that champions from other fields, such as the various levels of NASCAR and sports car racing, will inevitably enter as well.

The new Road Atlanta Charity Pro-Am will support Hope For The Warriors, a national nonprofit organization that provides assistance to combat-wounded service members, their families, and families of those killed in action. The organization focuses on those involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and their families. The SVRA race weekend will run during their Month of the Military Child.

“These drivers are not only racing legends, but over the years have become dear friends,” said SVRA CEO Tony Parella. “They are best known for their achievements at the Indianapolis 500, but also they have collectively won untold races and championships across virtually every discipline of the sport.”

Collectively the five champion drivers represent two Indianapolis 500 victories, 37 Indy car race wins, two Indy car championships, an IROC championship, a Can-Am championship, three overall 24 Hours of Daytona wins, 19 Trans Am victories, an Indy 500 rookie-of-the-year trophy, and 13 IMSA sports car victories as well as numerous other successes across a variety of disciplines and major events. The combined experience of this elite group includes, in addition to Indy cars, all the major categories of auto racing such as Formula One, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, the three major NASCAR series, World of Outlaws, and short track racing in general.

Al Unser Jr. is a two-time Indy car champion (1990 and 1994) and the winner of 34 Indy car races including the 1992 and ’94 Indianapolis 500s. He was Indy car series champion in 1990 and again in 1994. His 1992 Indianapolis 500 victory is the closest finish in history with a margin of just 43 ten-thousandths of a second over runner-up Scott Goodyear. A versatile driver, he was a winner in World of Outlaws sprint car racing, 1982 Can-Am champion, and IROC champion in 1986 and again in 1988. He’s also a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1986 and ’87. Like his father Al Unser Sr. and Uncle Bobby Unser he enjoyed tremendous success as a star driver for Roger Penske’s team, which provided his winning entry for the 1994 “500.”

Willy T. Ribbs is the first black driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He did so twice, in 1991 and again in 1993. He also tested for a Formula One seat, in 1986 with Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham team. He was Trans Am’s most prolific winner from 1983 through 1985 when he scored 18 of his 19 career-total victories. He was series rookie-of-the-year in 1983, winning five times and more than any other driver. After Trans Am, he moved to Dan Gurney’s IMSA Toyota team for two years and picked off 10 overall victories.

Davey Hamilton, who is renowned for his mastery of super-modified racing, competed in 11 Indianapolis 500s with three top-10 finishes including a fourth place. He finished in the runner-up spot twice in the Indy car season championship and in 2014 raced in Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Truck Series. Hamilton is a leader both on and off the track. He was founder of the “King of the Wing” sprint car series and has been active as an Indy car owner. Last year he served as driver coach and consultant at the Carlin IndyCar race team.

Lyn St. James is a seven-time starter in the Indianapolis 500 and the event’s rookie of the year in 1992. While many fans know Lyn best for her Indianapolis 500 achievements, she is an accomplished road racer and has earned numerous laurels at the wheel of a variety of race cars. She is a two-time competitor in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1989 and ’91). She was even more successful in 62 IMSA GT events, amassing a record of six wins, 17 top-five and 37 top-ten finishes. Her 1985 GT victory at Watkins Glen remains the only time a woman has scored a win in that series driving solo. Lyn raced in the 12 Hours of Sebring nine times, winning the GTO class in 1990, and was a two-time winner in the GTO Class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. She has held 31 international and national closed circuit speed records and is a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame and the SCCA Hall of Fame.

Max Papis has driven in virtually every major series this side of drag racing. This includes Formula One, NASCAR, Indy car racing, Le Mans as well as V8 Supercars and IROC. The versatile driver competed in two Indianapolis 500s for 1998 race winner Eddie Cheever and won three Indy car races for Bobby Rahal’s team. In NASCAR he raced Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. He competed in seven 24 Hours of Le Mans contests, scoring a class podium in five of those events along with top-10 overall finishes on four occasions. Papis also won two 24 Hours of Daytona races – including an overall win in 2002. He has also started in more NASCAR races than any European driver in history.

SVRA officials have set a goal of expanding the VROC series to five races with a television package and entitlement sponsor by 2020. As with previous pro-am races, the cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs of SVRA “Group 6” A and B Production.

About SVRA – The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association is the premier vintage racing organization in the United States. Founded in 1978, SVRA has grown steadily to 2,500 active members with a database of over 11,000 race cars. The 2019 schedule consists of 14 race weekends at some of the finest racing venues in the United States, including: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Lime Rock Park, Sebring, Road America, Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta, Auto Club Speedway, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Portland International Raceway and Virginia International Raceway (VIR). SVRA hosted the first U.S. Vintage Racing National Championships at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas in 2013. Further information on SVRA, a complete annual schedule, and entry lists can be found on the SVRA website. Also, be sure to check our Facebook page and YouTube channel which currently boasts a library of over 300 action-packed videos of events.

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Please take a moment to listen to the distinguished panel of highly accomplished industry members as they share experiences, perspectives and invaluable advice on how to pursue a future in motorsports. With a focus on the mentorship mindset and encouraging/inspiring advancement for ambitious or would-be female racing professionals, this program is led by motorsports legend Lyn St. James, whose own impressive career has set the bar for women in the male-dominated sport of auto racing.

Moderated by St. James, other participants include Cara Adams, Katie Hargitt, Shea Holbrook and Karen Salvaggio.

Ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Wurz reveals W Series driver selection details in an online Q&A. Please visit the W Series website for complete details; or view the excerpt here:

Describe the W Series driver selection process that will be taking place at the Wachauring, Melk, Austria, in a few days’ time.

“All the W Series qualifiers – in other words the 50-60 drivers whose applications were accepted to enter the selection process for the first ever W Series season – will assemble at the Wachauring, Melk, for three days of intensive appraisal. The programme will be run on behalf of W Series by Test and Training International, the company that my father Franz and I founded and still run, and it’s basically the same programme that we inaugurated for the FIA Institute some years ago, when it was running its Young Driver Excellence Academy [2011-2015]. A lot of top-class drivers went through that programme – guys like Stoffel Vandoorne and Alexander Rossi for example. My dad used to be a successful rally and rallycross driver, which adds a valuable counterpoint to my own extensive experience in circuit racing, principally in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship.”

But what will the W Series driver selection process actually entail?

“It’s a comprehensive programme, and I won’t go into all the details now, but it’s a very tough series of tests involving all aspects of a racing driver’s skill-set – not only the driving itself but also physical fitness, mental aptitude, psychological and psychometric testing, communications/media/PR skills and so on. And it works. I’ll be one of the judges, but so will David Coulthard, who’s one of the Directors of W Series, and also Lyn St James, who’s a successful retired female racing driver from the States who started seven Indy 500s in the ’90s. It’ll be a private event – not open to fans or journalists I’m sorry to say – because it’ll be a crucial and challenging test for all the W Series qualifiers, whatever they’ve raced in the past, and they must be able to focus on the tasks they’ll be given without distraction of any kind.”

Why did you decide to get involved with W Series?

“It’s the declared ambition of W Series to help the promotion of women in motorsport, and I totally support that effort. I firmly believe that, given the same opportunities, women can race on an equal basis against men, but sadly women haven’t had those same opportunities so far. W Series is aiming to address that imbalance.

“If, as a result of the launch of W Series, more girls and young women are able to go motor racing, then more girls and young women will progress to the higher levels of motor racing. It’s as simple as that. The fact that we’ve never had that many female racing drivers is merely a reflection of the fact that so few parents encourage their daughters to go karting whereas so many of them encourage their sons to do so. And if W Series’ drivers begin to generate a following, particularly among young girls, and those young girls then develop an interest in motor racing, then that current gender imbalance may gradually shift towards greater equality. I’d be very happy if Test and Training International could play its part in helping bring about that important change.

“And, last but not least, I want to help make sure that the best, most promising and most deserving drivers are chosen to race in W Series this year, so that W Series has the very best chance it can possibly have of developing its winners and champions into successful professional high-level racing drivers who’ll go on to compete and win against male rivals, utilising the lessons they learned while racing for W Series.”

On October 20-21, Lyn will be the featured guest speaker at the MAAP Fall Fling event!

The can’t-miss event, offers a banquet at Hotel Madison with special guest speaker, Lyn St. James, tours of MAAP, a low competition car show, time to explore Harrisonburg and the farmers market, and experience the unique cuisine the town has to offer and much more!

Tours will be from surrounding areas in Virginia and end in Harrisonburg at the downtown pavilion right next to the Farmers Market. Take a stroll along the sidewalk and venture right into the heart of downtown. With so much to do and see, you’ll want to come back every year! We hope to see you soon!

Tickets are $59 and include a car show entry, banquet and silent auction and tours of fall colors. Additional banquet tickets are $40. Visit the MAAP website for additional details.