FEBRUARY 3, 2006

Women drivers!

Over in America, Danica Patrick has shown in the last 12 months just what can be achieved by a woman in the Indy Racing League and the results of that have been seen this week with the announcement that Rahal Letterman Racing has signed sponsorship deals with the grocery store company Meijer and with Coca-Cola Enterprises. As part of the three-way deal fans will get a chance to meet Patrick during autograph sessions at select Meijer stores around IRL events. The company operates 171 stores in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky. Its stores are open 24 hours a day, 364 days a year. Coca-Cola is involved because it wants the association with Patrick, who is now a big star in the US.

It is small wonder that the rival Champ Car series is looking seriously at running Katherine Legge this year.

It is also worth noting that both Legge and Patrick were keen to be Formula 1 drivers but found European attitudes towards women racers to be too closed and raising money to be too difficult.