A woman in a Hypercar? Philippe Sinault is betting on three names
The director of Alpine endurance has given four women the opportunity in the LMP2 category between 2020 and 2022. At a time when female drivers are increasingly present in motorsport, they could soon arrive in Hypercar. Three names come to Philippe Sinault's mind.
He gave them a chance. Between 2020 and 2022, Philippe Sinault had four women racing a LMP2, the Richard Mille Racing Team. The red car welcomed Sophia Flörsch, Tatiana Calderon, Beitske Visser, and Lilou Wadoux. The first three formed an all-female trio in 2020 and 2021. Lilou Wadoux, on the other hand, drove with Sebastien Ogier and Charles Milesi during the last year of the team’s existence, in 2022.
This project of having women race in LMP2 cars is Richard Mille’s idea, the famous entrepreneur and founder of the eponymous watch brand. Philippe Sinault simply followed him in this idea. But with one condition. After an Endurance Committee meeting, he looked at me and asked if I was going to follow his desire to field an all-women LMP2 team. I told him, “if we are guaranteed to focus on performance and not marketing, I’m in.” For him, it was his goal, it was performance, the current head of Alpine endurance told us.
« The three girls I mentioned, tomorrow, you put them in a Hypercar it will drive at a high level. Well surrounded, the level of performance will be there. »
Two years after this project, the director of the team based in Bourges believes that women have fully their place in motorsport. That this discipline should be, like horse riding or sailing, mixed. And that today, three women have fully their chance and the level to race in Hypercar.
« Lilou (Wadoux), Doriane (Pin), Sophia (Flörsch), he enumerates. These three girls are able to drive in Hypercar. I won’t be objective, because we’ve done so many things with Lilou. We took her practically from the cradle, between Peugeot Sport and the Alpine Cup. But the three girls I mentioned, tomorrow, you put them in a Hypercar, they will perform at a high level. Well supervised, the level of performance will be there.
Sophia Flörsch is ready to drive in Hypercar.
Philippe Sinault also believes that Sophia Flörsch would be better suited for endurance and Hypercar racing rather than Formula 3. To support his statements, he recalled what she has proven behind the wheel of the Richard Mille and Algarve Pro Racing cars during her three participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even though the German driver has often been struck by bad luck, she has always driven at the pace of her teammates and has nothing to envy from the top drivers in the LMP2 category.
