Anushriya Gulati, Deepa John and Pragathi Gowda have been announced as the winners of Formula Woman India. The three drivers will now be representing India at the Formula Woman global finals, where they will compete to earn the chance to be a McLaren Customer Racing Driver in the 2022 UK GT Cup.
Another Indian, Manisha Kelkar, will also be participating in the finals, but not as an Indian contestant, as she made it through the assessment rounds in the UK.
- Global finals on March 2-3
- Winner gets to drive a McLaren GT4 racer in the UK GT Cup
What is Formula Woman?
Formula Woman is a UK initiative that seeks out women from across the world who are passionate about motorsport – both on-track racing and behind-the-scenes activities. Registered members participate in track days, training sessions, race meetings and more. As part of this initiative, Formula Woman launched a campaign to find “the next female motor racing champion”. Drivers who make it through multiple selection rounds will get to race McLaren GT4 cars as part of the UK GT Cup championship.
Formula Woman India
With the help of AutoGuru India, this campaign was extended to India and the national assessment round was held on November 23-24 at Erda’s Speedway in Vadodara. A total of 23 keen women participated. Speaking to Autocar India last year, AutoGuru India CEO Ativ Shah pointed out that it was a diverse mix of racers, college students, mothers and more. The youngest participant was 21 years old and the oldest was 62.
The initiative was open to anyone with a genuine passion for motorsport and zeal to break into the racing circuit. You didn’t need to be a well-established racer or even have a professional racing or competition licence to join, just a valid driver’s licence.
The participants were assessed on multiple parameters – driving, physical fitness, a written test for driving and motorsport knowledge, as well as a media test to gauge how the participants respond to the camera and media questions. At the end of this, Anushriya Gulati, Deepa John and Pragathi Gowda were selected as the winners.
Formula Woman global finals
The first leg of the global finals will be conducted on March 2-3 at the PF1 International circuit, which is the largest outdoor karting circuit in the UK. From the 70 participants who will be battling it out against one another, 15 will be shortlisted to head to the Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire for another selection leg.
The top 10 racers will then make it to the final shootout where six drivers will be selected to participate in the UK GT Cup. McLaren is providing two cars, so four drivers will be split into two pairs, while two others will serve as reserve drivers.
“Our three Indian finalists are preparing very well for the UK final shootouts. We are very confident that they will make us proud! True to the vision of Formula Woman, we hope the success of our three Indian finalists inspires numerous more women to follow their dreams for a career in motorsport,” said Ativ Shah.
Dipan Sur
