E-Paper
Feminine side of motor racing
Japan's Keiko Ihara is taking part in the British Formula 3 series.
Teenage golfer Michelle Wie may have her sights set on history by becoming the first woman to qualify for the British Open, but in the equally tough world of motor racing, the battle of the sexes is already raging.
American IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, just 22, found herself in the vanguard of the fight at the weekend when she stunned her male counterparts to take a place on the front row of the grid at the Japan 300 at Montegi.
She eventually finished fourth in the race to hammer home her credentials as the girl most likely to make a significant breakthrough in the traditionally male-dominated sport.
But it will be a gruelling road.
She's the only woman in the championship while in Formula One, Indy's higher profile cousin, there have been just five female drivers in the history of the sport - the most recent being Giovanna Amati who drove for Brabham in 1992.
Patrick, who has been racing since 10, insists she has a role to play - even posing for a men's magazine to boost her public profile.
"Any publicity is good," she said after her photo spread in FHM magazine last year.
"I wore red and white leather kind of stuff. It was sort of a dominatrix, racy, fiery sort of look. But I was always wearing something. There were a lot of things I said no to.
"The only thing people said is maybe I should go out and win races before I do something like that. My answer to that is if a magazine like Men's Health came up to a fit guy on pit lane and asked him to pose by taking his shirt off, he'd be an idiot to say no," said Patrick who stands at just 5ft 1in.
Small she may be, but she has big plans.
"The eyes were on me last year because I'm a woman," said Patrick, only the second woman to race in the Indy series.
"And they will be until I win something like the Indianapolis 500."
Italy's Amati raced in F1 three times in 1992, failed to make it out of qualifying and never managed to shake off the attention lavished on her solely because of her gender.
"In South Africa there were photographers who insulted me because I did not smile at them," she said at the time.
"I am not here to smile at them. They expected me to be a glamour girl, who is always available and smiling. I am a racing driver."
Despite her brief flirtation with F1, Amati, now 43-years-old, has plenty of memories.
"In Mexico I had a fight with (former world champion) Nigel Mansell. I thought that the day I had Mansell behind me in qualifying I would just get out of his way, but then I saw him in my mirrors and I thought: "No, I won't let you overtake.
"You have to wait. I have had to wait. He was very angry with me and pushed me. I did not give way. He overtook me and slowed down. That made me so angry."
Paul Stoddart, the boss of Minardi in the current championship, says there is no real reason why there can't be more women drivers.
"She'd have to be incredibly fit, but there are women around obviously that are in that condition," said Stoddart.
One woman with her eye on the big time now is Japan's Keiko Ihara, a former model.
This year Ihara is taking part in the British Formula 3 series which was the proving ground for such Formula One world champions Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen.
"I have worked to the limit in testing and my machine and myself have been improving each day," said the 31-year-old.
"I am also building up my overall muscles, particularly in the neck, shoulders and around the backbone, to battle the G-force.
"Of course, women are totally different from men in terms of physical strength. But I don't feel any handicap in the team, being a woman or a Japanese.
"On test days, my teammates go outside the transporter which we share when I change my clothes. They are all kind enough."
