Sophia Flörsch: “If a female driver or line up can win Le Mans, it will have a massive impact on motorsport in general."
The latest episode of WEC Talk is here and this week we explore the roles of some of the talented and successful women in our paddocks and look at how they started their career in motorsport.
Listen to the full podcast on Spotify HERE or on Apple Podcasts HERE.
The 13th instalment of the official FIA World Endurance Championship podcast starts with an interview with one of the most successful race engineers in endurance racing, Leena Gade. We also hear from Lisa Weishard, assistant to FIA Race Director Eduardo Freitas not only the WEC but also for ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup events. Next, we talk to our own Louise Beckett about how she started in the business, and finish with an interview with one of the most exciting young LMP2 talents, Sophia Flörsch.
The first female race engineer to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2011), a feat repeated twice more and all with Audi Sport Team Joest, Leena talks about how her interest in motorsport came about and stresses the importance of getting experience at grass roots level in order to progress. She explains that “every day is a new learning experience” and how she gives 100% to her job. Since leaving the WEC, Leena now works with Multimatic Motorsport in IMSA in the USA, is an Ambassador for the FIA Commission for Women in Motorsport and President of the FIA GT Commission.
The voice of the FIA WEC’s Lisa Weishard can often be heard on radio communications between Race Control and the teams, and here we learn more about her start in motorsport and how she got her dream job. The second eyes and ears of Eduardo Freitas, Lisa talks about her determination to work in motorsport and how she worked hard to get where she is today.
The WEC’s own pit reporter, Louise Beckett, also gives some valuable insights into how to get a foot in the motorsport door, and says “it’s really important to have an ability to deal with whatever is thrown at you, to be adaptable and versatile…it’s essential for females now to lead by example for the next generation coming through.”
Finally, WEC Talk host Martin Haven talks to 19-year-old Sophia Flörsch who competed in her first 24 Hours of Le Mans just a month ago and who is racing with an all-female line up in the Richard Mille Racing Team LMP2 ORECA in the ELMS.
Still bubbling with enthusiasm about her first – but definitely not the last – Le Mans, Sophia feels that more and more women are already coming into the sport. “The more women or girls that do the sport, the better it is. In the last 10 years it’s already better with more girls, not just girls but mechanics, engineers and team managers which is something positive. We need women succeeding. If a female driver or line up can win Le Mans it will have a massive impact on motorsport in general.”
Don’t forget to listen HERE and check back in one month’s time (Friday 27 November) when WEC Talk will have more exclusive interviews with 2020 FIA World Endurance Champions and much more.
About WEC Talk
Available on various platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, AudioBoom and Google Podcasts, the WEC’s official podcast promises fans a unique insight into the exhilarating world of sportscars.
With exclusive interviews from drivers, team members, management and legendary figures involved in endurance racing, fans across the world can get their regular sportscars fix by tuning into WEC Talk.
