2014 Women's GT World Championship season: Difference between revisions
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| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] Kathering Legge | | [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] Kathering Legge | ||
| [[File:Flag of the United States svg.png]] Ferrari NART | | [[File:Flag of the United States svg.png]] Ferrari NART | ||
| Maserati | | [[File:Flag of Italy svg.png]] Maserati | ||
| [[File:Flag of Switzerland svg.png]] Rahel Frey | | [[File:Flag of Switzerland svg.png]] Rahel Frey | ||
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Revision as of 15:25, 10 March 2014
The 2014 Women's GT World Championship Season is the first season of said series. As the name suggests, it is a women-only series in which the world's fastest women compete in sports cars from across the world.
Constructors and drivers
Season Review
Preseason Tests
The Preseason Tests for the first season of the Women's GT World Championship took place at Circuit Zolder in Belgium. Every team had to participate in the test sessions. One fact pointed out early on was that Jaguar and Maserati were very quick, with Simona de Silvestro setting the pace on Day 1, followed by the Maseratis of Beitske Visser and Shirley van der Lof. Day 2 saw Melanie Troxel of drag racing fame set the fastest time, with the Maseratis being more consistently at the front of the timesheets than the Jaguars.
Championship Races 1-10
The first half of the season will be known for the Swiss domination of the championship lead, only upset twice in 10 rounds. Only 3 teams won races in the first half, with Jaguar winning 5, Ferrari North America (referred to as Ferrari NART) winning 4, and BMW Team Australia winning 1. But, it was Rahel Frey in her Nissan that lead the championship in 5 of those 10 races thanks to consistency on track, which Ferrari nor Simona de Silvestro had to as much of an extent. Everyone believed there to be a Pole Position Curse in the paddock, but this curse was broken by Pippa Mann at round 10 of the championship.
Midseason Tests
The Midseason Tests were held at the Paul Ricard High Technology Test Track in Le Castellet, France. Not all teams competing i the series had to participate, although 5 new teams came along, testing for the 2015 season. These teams would be McLaren, Morgan, Bugatti, Lister Cars, and Saleen. The competing teams that showed up for the test were Aston Martin, Porsche, Maserati, Audi, BMW Team Australia, Ferrari NART, Stewart-Haas Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz Team Iron Ladies, Honda, and Lotus. Teams came testing different driver, race engineers, tire manufacturers, and some even hired new technical directors. On both days of the test, The Lister Storms were fastest, with 2 of 4 drivers tested going quick. The fastest competing team in the test were Ferrari, thanks to testing Bridgestones in place of their Dunlops, and their switch to the Japanese manufacturer would be a crucial moment in their campaign. Maserati also switched tire manufacturers as well, going from the undurable Pirellis to the Hankooks that Jaguar were using to propell their title chances.
Championship Races 11-20
The Midseason test saw one driver sought after by 2 teams, who had her first outing in a Ferrari GT car during the test. This driver was Emma Kimiläinen, who was wanted by Ferrari NART and Stewart-Haas Chevrolet. Ferrari were coming at unease with Katherine Legge's performances as of late, as she struggled in both the races and didn't fare well on pace with Kimiläinen. Legge was given 3 races to improve. Chevrolet wanted Kimiläinen in one of the Corvettes for round 11 onwards. Kimiläinen went with the Chevrolet deal, and it paid off, getting pole and winning on her debut, even if it was weather assisted. Legge was sacked immediately after round 11 by Ferrari and replaced by Swiss driver Cyndie Allemann, who would score podiums in all her first 5 starts. The season started to turn into Ferrari domination, rounds 15 and 16 in particular were completely in Ferrari's control. Plus, unlike Jaguar with Simona de Silvestro's 2 crashes in rounds 15 and 16, and Danica Patrick with poor results all around, Ferrari stormed into the lead of both championships by round 16.
Season Overview
Testing
Pre-season
Day | Venue | Fastest driver | Fastest team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Circuit Zolder | Simona de Silvestro | Jaguar |
2 | Circuit Zolder | Melanie Troxel | Mercedes-Benz Team Iron Ladies |
Mid-season
Day | Venue | Fastest driver | Fastest team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Paul Ricard High Technology Test Track | Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky | Lister Cars |
2 | Paul Ricard High Technology Test Track | Michela Cerruti | Lister Cars |