LATEST Legge to drive for Dragon Racing in the 2012
IZOD IndyCar Series
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LATEST Legge to drive for Dragon Racing in the 2012
IZOD IndyCar Series
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Bio 
5:11  Excuses:
Katherine Legge’s Quest
For An IndyCar Ride 
 New Look at Road America - The Warriors in Pink BIO Katherine Legge’s Quest For An IndyCar Ride 
Katherine Legge discusses F1, DTM and IndyCar in 2012.
Katherine Joins Lyn St. James on the Autosportradio.com
Show . April, 2010 issue of Racer reports that Katherine "...continues to ply her trade in DTM for 2010." No mention on her web site. With the end of ChampCar, it doesn't look like Katherine will be joining the other three women on the 2008 IRL roster. She has taken her racing efforts into the Audi DTM program. The Briton has joined members of Audi's touring and sportscar teams for a comprehensive winter programme, designed to encourage team 'bonding' over a series of sporting activities, fitness and health regimes. Katherine currently stands 16th of 22 drivers overall.
Next race is November 11 in
Autódromo
Hermanos Rodríguez Katherine gridded 14th of 17 cars at
The Netherlands and finished
11th on the lead lap. She currently stands 15th of 20
drivers overall. Next race is
October 21in Australia at Gold
Coast - Surfers Paradise Katherine gridded 14th of 17 cars at Circuit
Zolder
Katherine is gridded 17th of 17 at Road
America Katherine started 16th at the Streets
of San Jose Katherine started 15th at City Centre Airport - Edmonton but went out early with mechnical problems and ended up 16th of 17. Currently 15th in the standings. The next race is the Streets of San Jose, July 29th. We'll be there to cover this one. In our opinion, this race weekend is the best the West Coast has to offer, with five different types of racing over the three day weekend. Champ Car, Atlantic Car, Formula BMW, Historics and Formula Drift. Katherine started 16th of 17 cars and finished 16th in a
first lap accident at Exhibition
Place Katherine started 16th of 17 cars and finished 16th at
Exhibition
Place Katherine started 17th of 17 cars and finished 11th at Mont Tremblant. Kathrine started and ended today's race in Cleveland in 15th position going out after 32 laps with mechanical problems. She did finished before her teammate Bruno Junqueira, who went out on lap 6 via contact. Katherine started 16th of 17 cars and finished 17th at Portland International with mechanical problems. Katherine started 17th of 19 cars and finished 10th at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Starting from 13th, Katherine Legge got her new relationship with Dale Coyne Racing off to a strong start by finishing in sixth place in the inaugural Vegas Grand Prix, matching her career-best finish and setting a new Champ Car record for the best finish by a female on a road or street course. While she hasn't signed with a Champ Car team for 2007, she jumped at the chance to run in the Rolex 24 hour at Daytona. Katherine fininshed 25th, 72 laps down, with teammates George Robinson, and Wally and Paul Dallenbach. She had the honor of turning the one millionth lap in series history at 11:11am Sunday.
Legge appears in 18 month Women in the Winner's Circle
2007 calendar along with 17 other women throughout the
motorsports field.
Katherine qualified 16th at Mexico City and finished 13th. For the season, she ended up 16th in the standings and 5th of the Rookies. She hasn't been signed by PKV for the 2007 season yet but the first race will be April 8, 2007 in Las Vegas. Katherine Legge's torrid weekend at Surfers Paradise came
to an early end in Sunday's Lexmark Indy 300 when lap 42
contact with the concrete wall in turn one finished her
race. She hasn't been able to finish on the leaders lap
since the first race of the season on the streets of Long
Beach. The final race of the season happens November 12 at
the Autódromo
Hermanos Rodríguez The RoboPong.com 200 Endurance
Go-Kart race saw the Conlin sisters and teammate Lynsey
Tilton finish 16th, one spot behind Tomas
Scheckter (15th) and ahead of Heather
Bloyd (26th), Sarah Fisher (31st), Katherine Legge (31), Dan
Weldom (34), and Scott Dixon (35). Road America - Katherine qualified 8th of 19 drivers at Road American in a new look, going from red to pink to bring awareness to Breast Cancer. She ran as high as fifth in the first lap and 2nd on lap 43 during pit stops, and her race ended on a major crash on lap 46 (of 51) going through a corner at 180mph when her back wing dislodged and she crashed. This was the most intense open-wheel crash I have witnesed since Gordon Smiley crashed at Indianpolis in 1982. While they took here to the on-track hospital in an ambulance, she walked out a short time later, smiled and soon gave an interview to Speed Channel. What for information about the actioning of car parts and her race gear to raise money for Breast Cancer research. She is 16th out of 21 in the over-all standings and 5th out of 9 Rookies. At the first qualifying session at Road America, Katherine sits in the 8th of 17 spots on this 4+ ,ile course. There's a second qualifying session on Saturday, September 23. Currently overall standing in the series is 14th of 20 overall and 3rd in rookie points. The Montreal race made it through 6 laps before being red-flagged and then postpooned because of heavy rains. Katherine, who was the victim of a rain induced spin that had her on the sidelines after two laps, will be allowed to restart the race which is scheduled to begin at 10 am Monday, August 28, 20006. Karherine started 15th on the Grid at Denver with a fastest time of 61.777 seconds (97.088 mpg).and finished the race in 9th. She is 14th for the year and 3rd in Rookie of the Year points. Katherine Legge came through a tiring afternoon in San
Jose with a 12th place finish following a race that saw her
collect a pair of punctures and get involved in a pair of
incidents. British Champ Car World Series rookie starlet Katherine Legge failed to finish a race for the first time in her Champ Car career on Sunday in Toronto after a brush with the last corner wall resulted in a broken gearbox. Kathrine gridded 14th in Cleveland, got to 7th, spun and dropped back to 13th. She worked her way back towards the front to finsih 8th. A record of nine caution flags went up and only 11 cars from a field of 18 finished. Katherine Legge was left ‘disappointed' at the end
of qualifying for the Cleveland Grand Prix, despite securing
her best starting position on a road course so far this
year. British Champ Car rookie Katherine Legge finished
Sunday's G.I. Joe's Grand Prix of Portland in 13th position
Katherine Legge is the first woman to win an open-wheel race in America, Legge (25) won her debut race in the 2005 Toyota Atlantic Championship series (a feeder series for Champ Car), and followed that up with two more victories to conclude the season in third place in drivers' points. Legge pilots the red-and-white PKV Racing-sponsored car. Legge aims to move up to Champ Car within the next two years. But her ultimate dream? To race in Formula One. See the January, 2004 issue of Car and Driver, page 123 Despite making her oval racing debut at the city's famous
The
Milwaukee Mile, Legge eclipsed more seasoned
rivals by becoming the first female to lead a lap (12
actually) in Champ Car history, before taking sixth place on
the road to overturn her previous record placement of
eighth, achieved on her debut at Long Beach in April,
despite having to wrestle with a damaged front wing on the
#20 Bell Micro/PKV Racing entry. Legge to drive for Dragon
Racing in 2012 Indycar Series Talented international driver Katherine Legge, the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America, will compete in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series for Dragon Racing. Legge will drive the No. 6 entry for Dragon, with primary sponsorship from TrueCar. Her teammate will be four-time Champ Car World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais. Both Legge and Bourdais will compete with Lotus power, as Dragon Racing was named as a factory team for the iconic sports car manufacturer that is one of three engine suppliers this season in INDYCAR. The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season starts Sunday, March 25 at St. Petersburg, Fla, with the 101st Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 27 as the marquee event of the schedule. "I am very proud to be driving in the 2012 IndyCar Series for Lotus Dragon Racing , with the gracious support of my sponsor TrueCar,” Legge said. “Lotus, Dragon and TrueCar have put together an amazing programme that I have every faith will succeed and win races. “Lotus has such a great heritage and racing background and will be an enormous strength to our program. I am very much looking forward to working with all of those involved, and I am excited to get out on track now alongside a fantastic teammate in Sebastien Bourdais.” Legge is resuming her elite-level open-wheel racing career after three seasons as an Audi factory driver in the European-based DTM, the world’s top touring car series. She drove for Futurecom TME, Abt Lady Power and Team Rosberg during her three-year DTM career from 2008-10. Legge, 31, achieved the greatest success of her career to date in North American open-wheel racing. She won three races in the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2005, becoming the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America. Legge then became the first woman to compete full time in the Champ Car World Series, in 2006, and was the first woman to lead a lap in that series. Before coming to America in 2004, Legge built an impressive portfolio of success in many ultra-competitive European open-wheel series. She became the first woman to win a pole in a British Formula Ford Zetec event, in 2000. She also earned pole position at Oulton Park in England during the 2002 Formula Renault season with a time quicker than the lap record set by eventual Formula One World Champion Kimi Raikkonen. Those results helped her become the first woman to receive the prestigious British Racing Drivers’ Club “Rising Stars” honor in 2002. Her successful 2005 season in Toyota Atlantic also led to a test late that year with the Minardi team in Formula One, the world’s most prestigious series. Dragon Racing, owned by Jay Penske, is based in Los Angeles. The team made its IZOD IndyCar Series debut in 2007 as Luczo Dragon Racing and guided Raphael Matos to Rookie of the Year honors in 2009. “I am extremely excited and proud to partner with
Lotus Cars and TrueCar,” Penske said. “The
combination of having the technical support of Lotus as a
factory team, the financial backing of a game-changing
company TrueCar as a primary sponsor and the unquestionable
driving skills of Sebastien and Katherine makes us a force
to be reckoned with in 2012.” Katherine Legge’s Quest
For An IndyCar Ride At the final race of the year on the IZOD IndyCar Series trail, it’s customary to see drivers walking around and looking for an appropriate job for the coming season. There are a few seats available for next year, particularly with new engines and chassis supplanting a familiar Dallara/Honda/Firestone grouping that’s been in place since 2006. Because of this teams are looking not only for a good racer but also someone who can test and help develop a car. That’s where a breadth of experience can come in handy – whether in the Indy cars or with other series. One of the drivers talking to team owners at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was Katherine Legge, who most recently has been an Audifactory driver in the DTM (German Touring Car) championships. Legge should be familiar to American racing fans for her efforts in the Toyota Atlantic championship and the Champ Car World Series, where she met far more success than that other female driver, Danica Patrick. The elegant and charming Briton, however, first came to the United States under compromising circumstances. There was a time when Kathryn Nunn, wife of engineer and
Champ Car team owner Morris Nunn, was trying to put together
a Firestone Indy Lights team comprised of woman drivers.
Together with Lyn St James, she organized a – for lack
of a better term – gong show at Texas Motor Speedway
and invited six female race car drivers to show up. (No
access to rest of the story.) Katherine Legge discusses F1, DTM and
IndyCar in 2012 In years gone by it was common practice for many of motorsports greatest drivers to earn a living and develop their skills by driving a variety of different racing cars throughout their careers. Whether it was single-seaters, sportscars, touring cars you name it they would drive it, having the willingness and ability to compete in different series provided them with a degree of versatility many of today’s drivers don’t get to experience. Versatility and adaptability have been qualities Katherine Legge has demonstrated in her career to date. Arguably Britain's most famous female racer, Katherine has also shown speed, bravery and commitment as she rose through the single-seater ranks first in the UK and then in the U.S. Success in Toyota Atlantic's led to a move-up to the Champ Car series where she impressed both on and off the track and became a firm fan favourite. Further headlines were made and experience gained with tests in Formula One with the Minardi team, Team Great Britain in A1 Grand Prix and more recently in the ultra competitive German DTM touring car championship with Audi. This year saw Katherine move back to America, a country she loves, with a new challenge in mind, to land a full-time drive in IndyCar for next season. The series has been making headlines as it continues to develop and with Chevrolet and lotus joining Honda, a new Dallara chassis waiting in the wings, Katherine's decision looks to be a smart one. With this in mind, I recently caught-up with Katherine to see how her plans are developing for next year, her thoughts on what it will take for a female racer to break into Formula One and much more. Girlracer: Katherine you were very popular and successful in open-wheel racing in North America when you raced in Toyota Atlantics and Champ Car. What prompted you to leave and race in the DTM? Katherine: I felt with the merger happening between the IRL and Champ Car to form IndyCar it was a period of uncertainty. I thought that being part of a factory effort would be a great opportunity to grow as a driver. Of course being back in Europe I thought it might even open doors into the F1 world. I would have stayed if I had thought I had a chance to be with a competitive outfit here but like I said everything was up in the air with the merger and I took the security route. Girlracer: Looking back, how do you view your time in the DTM and what will you miss about the series? Katherine: That’s a tough question. I have very mixed emotions about my time in the DTM, we had some good days and some very bad ones. However, I did learn a lot and I grew as a person and a driver. I don’t think my results reflect that for a number of reasons. Girlracer: How are you finding life back in the States again? Katherine: I have a personal love affair with the USA! When I was gone I missed it here and the friends I made. I miss things from the UK still of course and my family. I also miss the mountains in Germany, although if I had the time I could travel to the mountains here!! I think the American outlook on life as a whole is more positive and I really enjoy that ‘can do’ attitude. Girlracer: We see women racing successfully in many different types of motorsport, why do you think that there are no women racing in Formula One? Katherine: I don’t think F1 is ready for a female driver and I don’t think there are that many talented enough to pull it off… I don’t mean that in a bad way its just F1 is not just about the driving, having to manage all the personalities and politics that goes on is way harder!! When I tested I proved that I could drive the car fast enough, it will just take a major commercial backer to open those doors. Girlracer: You impressed in your Formula One test with Minardi in 2005, do you see Formula One as a closed chapter or still unfinished business? Katherine: Gosh I have been so focused this year on putting my IndyCar deal together I haven’t really pursued it as an option. I would jump at the chance to drive in F1 but realistically its not going to happen unless like I say you can get major backing from a global commercial force. Girlracer: So what made you decide to return to the U.S. and IndyCar? Katherine: I felt it was where I belong. I missed racing stateside and I really feel its one of the few places to race in the world where gender is a non-issue. I wanted the chance at winning races and being given an equal shot at it where your results directly depend on the effort and talent you have both on and off the track. Girlracer: Next year Chevrolet and Lotus will join Honda as IndyCar engine suppliers. These manufacturers don't know yet how many cars will start the season next year and therefore how many engines they will have to supply. At the same time, some of the teams are saying they don't know yet which engines they may be using or if they will be able to sign a deal with the manufacturer of their choice. What impact is this situation having on your talks with teams and when would you hope to have a deal announced? Katherine: It’s a tricky situation, because the teams have that as their number one priority at the moment. It will all work itself out pretty quickly here though. I am looking forward to it as I really believe it will make for more interesting racing. Girlracer: Having raced in Europe for a few years, would you anticipate any difficulties in re-adjusting to an IndyCar, ovals and the U.S. style circuits, some of which will be new to you? Katherine: Gosh I think it will take me a while to get used to the car again, but really after a test day it should start to come back! Girlracer: Do you think that you will have the opportunity to have a test in either the current car or new car before the end of the year? Katherine: I hope so! Girlracer: You attended the Indy 500 this year, have you been able to attend any other races since then? Katherine: Yes I have been at quite a few of the races this year. I have to get myself back into the consideration of team owners for next year and that means them seeing you at the track right. It hurts a lot to see the others racing when you are not but it just makes you more determined to make it happen for yourself. I have also had quite a few commercial meetings that take place at the races so it has been important for me to be at as many as possible. Girlracer: IndyCar introduced double-file race restarts this year, what's your thoughts, is this good for the series? Katherine: I think it is good for the series as it creates closer racing, but I cant really judge myself having not been part of one. Girlracer: Are there any particular IndyCar circuits that you're looking forward to racing at again next year or any of the new circuits that you're looking forward to getting to race at? Katherine: All of them!!! Girlracer: Looking at the championship this year it looks like it's going to come down to Dario Franchitti and Will Power again, who's your money on taking the title? Katherine: Oh that’s a tough one! They have both done a great job this year and created a lot of interest for IndyCar racing! I will go with Dario but only because it was a gut instinct!! Girlracer: What do you do you stay fit and in such great shape? Katherine: I enjoy running and so in a typical week will run 20-30 miles, some long easy, some hard, some intervals. I also do circuits and weight training three times a week. I try to do some cycling but on more of a casual basis, and I just started Yoga! Girlracer: Who's inspired you the most in your career Katherine: My dad… He has been there for me the whole time. Senna was my childhood hero growing up in racing. Girlracer: What advice would you give to any of our readers interested in starting a career in motorsports? Katherine: Don’t do it!!! Go grab a tennis racquet instead!!... No, seriously if its what you have your heart set on than be prepared for a lot of hard work and you will need a thick skin. You have to make sure its what you want 110% and you are prepared for the journey because if you don’t have total commitment it will chew you up and spit you out very quickly. If you are prepared for it then be single minded, focused and don’t give up! One of the main things I would suggest is get some professional advice from someone you trust early on to guide your career. Girlracer: Thank you Katherine for taking the time to talk with Girlracer, we can't wait to see you back in Indycar next year! Katherine: Thanks Girlracer, I hope to make you
proud! I have been working very hard and being very patient
and diligent with my 2012 aspirations and program...
xoxo Katherine Joins Lyn St. James on the
Autosportradio.com Show Katherine was once again a guest on the Autosportradio.com show, live from McGilvery's in Speedway, Indiana. In this video from last night's show, she is joined by Lyn St. James, a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 IndyCar Series starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1992. The first two guests on the show were Ryan Briscoe (INDYCAR driver) and his wife Nicole (a NASCAR reporter on ESPN). You can pick up Katherine and Lyn at 36:00 minutes into the show. 
Katherine Legge Walks Away
from Spectacular Crash Unscathed Legge, who qualified a season and career high tying eighth, got an equally good start picking up three places by the second lap. One as a result of the opening lap incident and another when Justin Wilson was moved back two spots for jumping the start. However, on the restart following the crash she got boxed in and lost sixth places dropping to 11th. Showing her trademark determination, Legge began the long climb back. She picked up one spot on lap seven, but fell back to 12th after the first round of pit stops. Legge fought her way back to 10th by the second round of stops and when Tracy made an off-track excursion after losing a battle with Servia, she was in ninth. Legge was running in seventh just before the start of the third round of stops, then moved into second place when she was able to stay out longer than most of the cars ahead of her. The extra laps, with a low load of fuel, gave Legge additional track position so that following a very quick stop by the Bell Micro - PKV Racing crew on lap 43 she reemerged in sixth place, just behind her teammate. Three laps later she was flying through the air upside down and staring at the ground. "I am a bit shaken, but I'm okay...as you can see," she said. "All my bits are intact, so that just goes to show how strong Champ cars are. It was a big impact, but hopefully everything will be fine for the next race at Surfers Paradise." Legge went on to say, "I don't think you are really aware of what is going on when you have a situation like I had. All of a sudden the car just sped up and hit the wall. Then I see the ground and there is dirt coming into the cockpit...and I see the fence...honestly you are thinking what is going to happen next. I think I saw parts breaking off all around me. And I think I saw the engine split away because the thing I was thinking about the most was that the car was going to catch fire, which it did. Then when the engine went away and I though okay that's good. To be honest I think I had my eyes closed for lots of it, but it is a bit scary." Legge concluded by saying, "The only problem I am having now is I banged by knee a little bit against the bulkhead. It is just a bit of bruising which won't look to attractive in my dress at the Atlantic's banquet tonight." Note: Following her crash safety officials reported that Legge was "awake, alert and had no complaints." She was held for observation for approximately half an hour. Upon arrival at the Champ Car medical unit she was asked if she wanted anything to which see responded, "Just a cup of tea." Legge, a rookie, made her 12th career Champ Car start and first at Road America although she did compete there last year in the Atlantic Championships qualifying third and finishing second. The native of Guilford, England has earned four top-10 finishes in her first 11 Champ Car races placing a season, and career, high sixth at Milwaukee, eighth in her Champ Car debut at Long Beach eighth in Cleveland and ninth in Denver. She has qualified in the top-10 twice in 12 attempts this year (eighth on the oval in Milwaukee and here on the Road America road course). The resident of Indianapolis, Indiana is third in laps completed and ninth in laps led with 12. Legge is 16th in the standings with 122 points, 46 points out of 10th. She is fifth in the Roshrans Rookie of the Year race. Legge has established a number of Champ Car records this
season. She is the first female to start a Champ Car/CART
race since Lyn St. James at Michigan in 1995 and the first
female to lead a Champ Car race (Milwaukee, 12 laps). Her
sixth place finish at Milwaukee set a new Series high for a
female driver (her eighth in Long Beach and Cleveland give
her the three best finishes) surpassing a ninth place finish
by Janet Guthrie at the 1978 Indianapolis 500. Legge won
three races and finished third last year in her rookie
season in the Atlantic Championship Series. Her victory in
her debut Atlantic event at Long Beach made her the first
woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America. Legge endures 'difficult day' in
San Jose Katherine Legge came through a tiring afternoon in San Jose with a 12th place finish following a race that saw her collect a pair of punctures and get involved in a pair of incidents. The Crash.Net columnist came into Sunday's 97-lap Canary Foundation Grand Prix of San Jose with a fighting chance of another top ten finish in her #20 PKV Racing Lola-Ford for although she only qualified 15th on the 17-car grid, the bumpy and unforgiving nature of the 1.448-mile San Jose circuit was guaranteed to claim a few victims. Unfortunately for Legge she became one of those victims on no less than two separate occasions, first seeing a good start go to waste when she clashed with Andrew Ranger on lap 20 while disputing 12th place and then losing six laps when she made contact with the turn six tyre barriers on lap 36. Coupled with the single lap she lost as her team replaced
the punctured tyre caused by the clash with Ranger, Legge
was left to complete the second half of the race seven laps
adrift of the leaders and only able to pick up places as
others fell by the wayside. Fortunately for the
Englishwoman, the arduous San Jose circuit claimed a number
of victims before the day was over, allowing Legge to
complete the list of those running at the finish in 12th
position. Katherine Legge was left ‘disappointed' at the end of qualifying for the Cleveland Grand Prix, despite securing her best starting position on a road course so far this year. Legge had been 13th going into final qualifying but had to settle for 14th place by the end of the session. Nonetheless, her result came after she gave her PKV squad a scare when she crashed into the tyre barriers during morning practice. However, while she left the team with plenty of repair work to do, she repaid them with 12th in the warm-up session. Improving her provisional time initially by two tenths, Legge sat fifth in the speed charts with 25 minutes remaining but while she was able to improve her time by half a second later on, she still slipped to 14th on the grid. It was a result she was frustrated with, particularly as Oriol Servia's fourth place gave her hope that she would be able to get into the top ten. “I was disappointed with qualifying because the Bell Micro – PKV Racing car is better than where we qualified,” Legge said. “I think it was one of those situations where I never got track position. I would have the first four laps clear and then, when I should have been running my fastest laps, I would run into traffic. “I thought we should easily be in the top-10 with
the car we've got. It is just disappointing because I didn't
get any clear laps at the end of my runs,” she
explained. “I am also disappointed because the Bell
Micro – PKV Racing crew did a great job getting the car
back together after the misdemeanour earlier today. The car
is a good race car, so I am confident that we can have a
good race tomorrow.” Legge finishes tough Portland
weekend in 13th British Champ Car rookie Katherine Legge finished Sunday's G.I. Joe's Grand Prix of Portland in 13th position after her PKV Racing team only clicked on a competitive set-up in the final two thirds of Sunday's race. The 25-year old Crash.Net columnist never found the same comfort zone with her #20 Bell Micro backed Lola as she did in April's major test session at the picturesque 1.964-mile Portland road course and with a practice spin doing her confidence no favours either she lined up a disappointed 15th for Sunday's 105-lap race. It quickly became apparent in the race that keeping the car on the island was of paramount importance as all 18 starters successfully completed the race and Legge did just that, gaining two positions over the course of the afternoon and finishing ahead of former Forsythe driver Mario Dominguez in a respectable 13th position. ?The Bell Micro ? PKV Racing team did a good job preparing the car for the race,? said Legge, who still sits second in the Rookie of the Year standings. ?It was the best it has been all weekend on the last two sets of tyres. I am a little disappointed because I felt we were held up by some other cars that were slower, but overall I think we had a solid race. ?We stayed in the hunt for the rookie of the year award,
so I feel good about that. I really want to thank my crew
for all the hard work this weekend. They did a great job in
the pits, as always. It's hard because I know we can do
better, but I also know that I am still learning. I just
have to keep improving each weekend.? Legge ‘still searching'
for Portland speed. Crash.Net columnist Katherine Legge continued to struggle to find the sweet spot with her #20 PKV Racing Lola in final qualifying at the Portland International Raceway. The 25-year old British Champ Car rookie will start Sunday's G.I. Joe's Grand Prix of Portland from 15th position after setting a best time of 59.297secs around the scenic 1.964-mile Portland road course, although at the end of the session she was in no mood to admire the mountain backdrop. “The Bell Micro – PKV Racing team is disappointed,” said Legge, who was more than a second and a half behind polesitter Bruno Junqueira. “What makes it more disappointing is that we had such a good car at the test here in April. We thought it would be the same this weekend and it is not. The whole team has worked very hard this weekend, but we still have a lot of work to do. “We are going to have to sit down and figure out the
right direction to go with the car,” she continued.
“The good news is we have a practice tonight, so we
have a chance to make the changes we need. Then we can come
back stronger in the race tomorrow.” Legge 'disappointed' with sixth. Although not one to set her expectations too high, Katherine Legge has admitted that, in hindsight, she is underwhelmed with a record-breaking sixth place in Milwaukee. Despite making her oval racing debut at the city's famous Mile, Legge eclipsed more seasoned rivals by becoming the first female to lead a lap in Champ Car history, before taking sixth place on the road to overturn her previous record placing of eighth, achieved on debut at Long Beach in April, despite having to wrestle with a damaged front wing on the #20 Bell Micro/PKV Racing entry. The 25-year old Briton gained valuable track time and experience by running an extraordinary number of laps during Friday's open test and Saturday's practice session, and then ran another 50 tours in Sunday's morning warm-up, the most of any driver, as she focused on a couple of long runs to get a feel for the car in race conditions. That track time then paid off as Legge drove like a ten-year veteran instead of a rookie, conducting a smart, patient race, resisting the temptation to challenge Paul Tracy when he used his patented high line into turn one on opening lap and benefiting when the ensuing three-car pile-up moved her into fifth place. When the second yellow flag came out, the PKV team decided to go with an alternative fuel strategy and remained on track, putting Legge into the race lead for the first time in her Champ Car career. Not content to just lead the race, however, the Briton then proceeded to defend her position against fellow countryman Justin Wilson for the next dozen laps, before a damaged wing caused her car to understeer and let Wilson, on newer tyres, through. Her position then ranged from second to seventh as the race continued through its three-stop cycle, but she managed to get some payback on Wilson as she passed him to keep from going a lap down, eventually moving into sixth place on lap 156 when rookie rival Will Power pitted for the last time. However, despite setting new marks for the series, Legge admitted to a sense of anti-climax after the race. "I am actually disappointed because we had such a great car all weekend," she said, "If someone had said yesterday that I was going to finish sixth, I would have been happy with that, but now I am not so sure. "The car felt really good at the beginning of the race then, unfortunately, about a quarter of the way in, something went wrong with the front wing. From that point on, I was struggling with a massive push, massive understeer, and, the more I turned the wheel, the more I would scrub the front tyres away. I was just holding on, trying not to hit the wall. Fortunately, the rear was very secure, which is what you want on an oval, but it was a big struggle, a tough race. "Even leading is not really significant. I mean, it is a nice feeling, but that is my job. We had a good pit strategy, so we took the lead legitimately and I was racing with Justin, so I proved that I could be competitive and run with good speed. "It is all part of the learning process, and I made it to the end of the race, so that is good. The team did a fantastic job - the pit-stops and strategy were great and I am really proud of them." Legge is now eleventh in the standings, with 49 points,
but just one point of the rookie series lead, behind
Power. More history made as Legge leads
Milwaukee - 6/4/06 British Champ Car rookie Katherine Legge continued to re-write the Champ Car history books with a career best sixth place finish at Milwaukee. In finishing sixth in what will arguably be the toughest race of the year for the 25 year-old PKV Racing driver Legge not only continued to vindicate her place on the Champ Car grid but also began proving herself as a potential series frontrunner. The Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225 at the venerable Milwaukee Mile was always going to be one of the toughest tests of the season for Legge and she rose to the challenge admirably. In addition to taking a career best eighth place on the grid Legge also became the first female driver to lead a Champ Car race when she stayed out under the first caution period of the day on lap 29, holding on to top spot for a dozen laps despite the close attentions of Justin Wilson. Legge eventually succumbed to her countryman's advances but continued to hold second place through the middle of a race shortened to 197 laps in order to fit in with the series' time-limit. However her earlier pit strategy meant that another pitstop was required, leaving her two laps down in sixth place when the chequered flag fell. With just ten cars finishing the race Legge not only
easily finished as the best placed rookie but she also moved
into eleventh place in the title race, one point behind
current rookie leader Will Power and just 20 points out of
the top five. Penalty hinders feisty Legge in
Monterrey. British Champ Car rookie Katherine Legge may not be pleased with a final result of 15th in Sunday's Tecate Grand Prix of Monterrey but her final result masked a fighting performance from the 25 year-old PKV Racing driver. Following a weekend marred by engine changes, difficulties with the handling of her PKV Racing #20 Bell Micro Lola-Ford and a further clash with her fellow British rookie Dan Clarke in practice, Sunday's 76-lap race was another roller coaster ride for Champ Cars only female driver. From 17th and last on the grid Legge picked up three places on the opening lap around the twisty 2.104-mile Fundidora Park circuit in Mexico thanks to brave first turn pass on Nicky Pastorelli and a collision between CTE-HVM teammates Clarke and Nelson Philippe. Safely settled in 13th position Legge latched onto a large train of cars backed up behind her similarly troubled PKV teammate Oriol Servia only to lose all her hard earned ground with a brief spin in turn five. Pushed back to 16th Legge persevered with a set of tyres that were well passed their best and began turning laps far quicker than the drivers immediately ahead of her. Briefly promoted to the top ten during the second round of pit stops Legge emerged ahead of both Pastorelli, Clarke and Jan Heylen for the final run to the finish, once again in 13th position. While 13th would have placed Legge third in the six strong rookie class her afternoon wasn't over yet as race officials handed her a drive through penalty for some stout defending against her increasing nemesis Clarke in the closing stages. Forced to take an extra trip down pit road with less than ten laps remaining Legge was demoted to 15th where she remained for the rest of the race. Despite losing several valuable championship points
thanks to her penalty Legge still runs third in the
Roshfrans Rookie of the Year standings just 12 points behind
rookie leader Will Power heading into the next round of the
series at the famous Milwaukee Mile. Katherine Legge was left frustrated after her second Champ Car outing, having endured a string of problems throughout the two-hour night event at Reliant Park in Houston. Already ruing a less than satisfying second qualifying session, and having had to have a precautionary suspension change after brushing the wall in warm-up, the Briton was faced with having to battle her way through the field, but was hampered by three very different obstacles. "What a day, what a day," she sighed, "Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. They say bad things happen in threes and they were certainly right today. First, I had a knee pad get loose in the cockpit. Then, I had an electrical problem with the car and finally I got taken out of the race." Legge was running 13th, having made up two places on her grid slot on good PKV strategy despite the electrical woes, when fellow Briton Dan Clarke sent the Bell Micro machine into the tyres with a mistimed lap 42 move. To make matters worse, the CTE-HVM driver was ten laps down on Legge at the time of the incident. The impact with the tyre wall not only cost Legge time while the safety car extricated and restarted her, but also confined the PKV car to the pits for a further twelve laps while her crew set about replacing the rear wing which had been torn off. She eventually returned to the race 15 laps down, and back in 15th place, but made up one spot before the chequered flag fell. "I really have to thank the Bell Micro/PKV Racing crew, as they did a fantastic job getting the car repaired," Legge admitted, "They are really a great bunch of guys and I appreciate their hard work and support. "Obviously, I am very disappointed because we had a good
car for this race and were moving up the field. The good
thing is that we made a lot of progress this weekend and I
am looking forward to making even more next weekend in
Monterrey." It's been a week now since my Champ Car debut, and I think the Long Beach result has just about sunk in. For sure, the part where I made a mistake has sunk in, but we'll take eighth for our first race. We had a bad qualifying the day before, so we'll take that result and the points, and we'll work on things and move on to the next one. I love Long Beach, but I am glad to have got it out of the way. Of course, I won there last year, and the atmosphere, the sunshine, everything about it is just great, so I like going back there. I like the track although, obviously, it's different to drive in a Champ Car. I think it is going to be like that this year because, even though I know some of the tracks, they're going to be different in the Champ Car. Long Beach is still fun to drive but, when you're coming out of the hairpin and put your foot down and have 750bhp and a lot of wheelspin and there's no rubber on the track, you think it's definitely different! The whole weekend feels different going back as a Champ Car driver. You've got a lot more things to do, and a lot more demands on your time - and there was a lot more pressure on me last weekend. There was a lot of added media attention, and I think, to some degree, it was a distraction, but you just have to focus harder on being focused. It was an experimental weekend in that respect, as we didn't know exactly what was going to happen, and how heavy the attention was going to be, but, now that we do, we can develop strategies to move forward. Practice was really all about getting used to everything and, although practice and first qualifying didn't really go as planned, again, looking back, perhaps they weren't so bad. We were just learning and getting to grips with the set-up of the car, and Oriol and Jimmy were trying to help as much as they could with that because they had driven there before and have driven Champ Cars a lot more than I have. We just wanted to get through the first qualifying and practice sessions as it was going to be faster in second qualifying. Basically, we drove around, trying to improve the car, staying out of the wall and we thought that we had a good shot at the top ten in second qualifying, but things didn't really go our way. I made a mistake on new tyres - running with the two types, the reds and the blacks, was a learning experience - but, at least, we know we can come back next time and it will be better. Because of qualifying, lining up on the grid was disappointing. I wanted to be further up the grid - I don't think I've ever been that far back, and it was a bit humiliating! When you're on the last few rows, it's not really where you want to be, so I was disappointed at that. It was great going round on the back of the truck, and on the parade lap, when everyone's waving and cheering - that really gives you a boost - but I thought that we really had a lot of work to do. The team did a fantastic job with the strategy and that got us back into the race, and we were eighth fastest, so we probably finished where we should have. It was a long race, kind of what I expected but, obviously, there were things that I didn't expect too. I believe that I cost myself sixth place and a shot at leading the race, but most of the other rookies made more mistakes than I did, so we'll take that and move on. I'm glad that I've got the first one out of the way because it was weighing on my mind, and I'm really looking forward to Houston now. It was disappointing to be the only PKV driver to make it to the finish, and I really felt for Jimmy and Oriol. Of course, I went through the first corner and saw that the others hade gone off, and my first thought was that it could mean more points for me. It sounds selfish, but it's completely honest. Obviously, you want to win by overtaking those guys and being quicker than them, but you'll still take the points any which way you can. If they're silly enough to throw it away, we'll take it. Unfortunately, the retirements weren't Oriol or Jimmy's fault, so I felt really bad for them. I hope Jimmy does more this year, as it was great to have him there, and great to have him racing. Both he and Oriol have been such a great help to me, developing me and bringing me along. I don't think that you'll find that in many team-mates, as racing drivers are selfish and generally do the bare minimum for anyone else. Would I do what they have done for someone else? Honestly, I don't think I would. The first corner wasn't so bad for me, although, if I had qualified higher up, who knows. At Long Beach, you come through a hairpin before going down the start-finish straight, so the field is always pretty strung out before it gets to the first corner. I could see the yellow flags and, at the back, we were just cruising and taking it easy by the time we got there. As a team, we half-expected that something might happen and, when it's a long race like that, you really don't want to take yourself out on the first bend. I picked my way through, then there was a yellow, so we came in for fuel - we made sure that, every time we could, we topped up - and managed to drag the people behind in with us, so we didn't lose track position. After that, we managed to pick a couple off, but did most of it under pit-stops really. Like I said, I reckon we could have finished sixth, but I spun mid-race. I just made a mistake. I was on 40-lap old tyres, so they were pretty old, and I obviously wasn't being careful enough on them. I had a lot of oversteer coming around that particular corner and where, normally, you'd give it a handful of opposite lock and it'd be fine, this time it snapped out on me and I was fully on the lock-stops and couldn't rescue it. Maybe it was a lack of concentration, but I think it was really just a genuine mistake, albeit one that I won't make again. I was sat there and I was kicking myself so hard! It was soul-destroying, I was desperate! Obviously, I had spun it, and I was fine with that. I'd even kept the engine running in the spin, but then I stalled it, so I was doubly kicking myself while I was waiting for the rescue team to get to me! However, I know that I'm going to make these mistakes. It's if I make them again that I'm going to be stupid. If I only make them once and learn from them, then it's a good thing. Everybody's been fantastic since the race. The fans were fantastic and I'm so grateful for their support. That's what makes it fun, what makes it a great weekend. A street circuit and the fans at a street circuit make it a completely different atmosphere. Obviously, I haven't talked to all the other drivers, but we had a couple of days of testing in Portland after Long Beach and everyone's been really supportive. They respect what I am trying to do and, more importantly, they respect the fact that I'm just another race car driver and I'm just trying to do my very best. I think that the team were also happy to get the race under their belt, because there was just as much pressure on them as there was on me. They have been working so hard towards it, and have had a lot of extra work because of my lack of experience and needing to bring me on. It's not like they have got an experienced driver and can plonk him in the car, get fantastic feedback and get to be up the front straight away - they've had to work really hard with me and I think it was a relief for them to get this one out of the way as well. I showed promise, I showed that I can race and I got out of the car and wasn't tired at all - I could have done another race. I've worked really hard on all that, and I think that it showed that we have potential. Testing showed that too - although I had my first crash in a Champ Car at Portland. It was disappointing in that we were P8 on the first day and then had some gearbox problems, and then we were P7 on the second day and I went and caught the tyre barrier. I didn't get a chance to run in 'happy hour', when everyone puts new tyres on and generally goes quicker. However, overall, it was promising. Every time we go out, I get closer to Oriol, closer to the front of the pack, and I learn. That's all we can wish for. I know some people say that I have a luxury in being able to go out there and have a 'learning year', but I don't care. That's what all the other rookies are doing as well, I'm just being honest about it. Yes, I want to win, as much as anybody else on the grid, but I'm being realistic and want to get what I can out of it. I want to maximise what I can this year, and that means learning as much as I possibly can. Of course, it also means results, but I'll be happy going in to 2007 having learned all I need to learn and developed as a driver. We tried some really funky stuff at Portland, some bizarre set-ups. Oriol did the same, as he had Jimmy's car from Long Beach as well as his own. They each had their own direction to go in, and we were coming from another direction, so we learned a lot, some really beneficial things which, moving forward, will really help us. Whether they'll help us for Houston or not, I doubt, because Portland is a 'proper' track, not a street course, but I think, when we go back to Portland, we'll be in really good shape. The PKV team is doing an awesome job now. Of course, we're still a relatively new team but, as long as the engineers and everyone keep working as hard as they have been, I don't see any reason why, by the end of the year, we wont be on top of things. I've got some time off this week, although I don't know what normal people call time off, as I'm still busy 24-7. I suppose, as a race car driver, you don't get any real time off as I'm still going to be in the gym twice a day, and I'm still going to be down at the workshop, learning all I can. I suppose, for me, time off means not travelling for a while. I'm in Indy now for seven or eight days, then we go to Milwaukee for a rookie test, where Kevin will pick Jimmy and me up to go to Italy - where we'll have some fun on powerboats for a while! The life of a racing driver, eh? After that, I think I'll have a quick stop back in England, where I'll get to see my mum, my sister and my boyfriend. Then I'll be back in Indy for a few more days, getting acclimatised again and figuring out plans for what we're going to do when we get to Houston. I'll speak to you again then. Legge to drive in the Champ Car World Series at Long Beach Katherine Legge, 25, joins the IRL Indy Car Series' Danica Patrick, as the only women racing in major open-wheel series. She won three times on the developmental Atlantic Championship Series in 2005, and moved up to Champ Cars beginning with the season-opener Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. She will drive her first event for PKV Racing, a team co-owned by series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven. Source: USA Today, February 15, 2006 "It's all so new to me," Legge
said. "I have to be more physical to drive the car, and
the whole thing is just a different beast with pit stops,
push-to-pass and strategy...I just want to be rookie of the
year and improve toward 2007 and see where we are as a
team." Katherine Legge signed for Polestar for this season's US-based Toyota Atlantic Championship with backing from Champ Car team PKV Racing. And she scored a history-making debut victory in the Series at Long Beach, California, on 10th April. Well done, Katherine - details on www.champcarworldseries.com - a terrific achievement for the 25-year old ex-Formula Renault racer from Guildford, England. Katherine's first win was followed up by two more as the year wore on and she finished Third overall in the Championship. In October 2005 comes news that she is to test an F1 Minardi (just before the team is handed over to Red Bull) at Vallelunga on November 21-24, just after she has her first taste of a ChampCar on November 18-19 in the States. Katherine Legge to test
Rocketsports Racing Champ Car in Sebring Source: katherinelegge.sexysportschicks.com
Look
out, Danica! Woman wins race
Legge earns 2nd major open-wheel victory for woman since 1980 Woman
gets third victory of season
The only woman driving in Champ Car’s top developmental series pulled off a difficult pass for the lead Sunday and went on to win in the streets of downtown San Jose, her second straight victory and third of the season. A
Woman's Place A few weeks ago I drove from LA to Dallas/Ft Worth to witness a six-woman shootout for a possible Menards Infiniti Pro Series ride with Nunn Motorsports, owned my Kathryn Nunn. Please emphasize the word "possible". Katherine
Legge Gets Second Toyota Atlantic
Victory -
womenssportsnet.com
Look out Danica Patrick, Katherine Legge is on your heels. Legge showed Sunday that her victory in April at Long Beach in her Toyota Atlantic debut was no fluke, racing to a win on the new road course at City Center Airport, near downtown Edmonton. It is only the second major open-wheel win for a woman since Desire Wilson won an Aurora Formula One race at Brands Hatch in Legge's native England in 1980, the year Legge was born. Rookie
driver has Legge up in open
wheel
While Katherine Legge was preparing to drive in her first race this season in Long Beach, a couple of young girls stopped to wish her good luck. They made her charm bracelets and asked for her autograph. After Legge crashed during qualifying, the girls came by to make sure she was OK. On race day, Legge gave the girls something to celebrate: a victory. Legge's win in the Toyota Atlantic series, the feeder system for the Champ Car World Series, marked the first time a woman has won an open-wheel race in North America. Desire Wilson won at Brands Hatch in England in 1980, the year Legge was born. "It was so cool to see those young girls after I won," says Legge, of England. "Hopefully, people like me can open doors for young girls like them. I didn't actually think I could be a racing driver when I was growing up because I'm a girl." Legge and her family have financed much of her racing career. She has been a driving instructor to help pay the bills. It all started when her father, Derek, a former competitive soccer player, bought her a go-kart for her ninth birthday. "I got the go-kart, and I was quicker than my father," she says. From then on, racing became a father-daughter endeavor. Derek, who makes a living building homes in England, has been to all but one race this season. He missed Edmonton. "To think that it all started when I was 9 and he spent all of his hard-earned money on my go-karts and then he missed that win," Legge says. "He was crying on the phone, and I told him he had to stop because he was making me cry." Legge's mother, Vivienne, however, never really shared in
their enthusiasm. Vivienne, who sells homes in England,
didn't like the dusty atmosphere of the racetrack. "She's
been very supportive, but I don't think this is what she
expected her daughter to do," Legge says. Legge has planned to take her first practice spin in a Champ Car at an undetermined location sometime after the season. For someone who didn't even think she'd have a ride this season at any level, Legge is glad to have options. She unsuccessfully made a bid to race in the IRL during
the last offseason. Then she heard that Kalkhoven was going
to be in England meeting with engine executives and she
showed up in the company's waiting room for him. She
persuaded him to give her a test ride; soon afterward he
decided to help sponsor her. Rookie results for Legge,
Patrick A comparison of Katherine Legge and Danica Patrick's rookie seasons in the Toyota Atlantic series.What a difference of six-years racing experience means.
Katherine
Legge - Toyota Atlantic (Legge is pronounced "leg") Team
Polestar Racing Group
Career Highlights
2005 Outlook One of Europe’s top female race car drivers, Legge joins the Toyota Atlantic Championship this season with sponsorship from PKV Racing of the Champ Car World Series. After establishing an impressive racing resume in the UK and finishing in the top 10 last season in the North American Formula Renault series, Legge is looking forward to vying for the 2005 Atlantic crown. She’ll compete for Polestar Racing Group, one of the top teams in the series, and will race alongside another talented rookie – Antoine Bessette – in the Polestar stable. Experience 2004: Competed in the both the British Formula Renault and North American Formula Renault 2000 Championships. Finished 10th in the North American series, despite starting in less than half of the events. Earned Kathryn Nunn Infinity Pro Series Scholarship. 2003: Raced in the British Formula 3 Championship. 2002: Ran in the British Formula Renault Championship. Won the pole position at Oulton Park. Became first female to receive prestigious British Racing Drivers Club Rising Stars accolade. Won the Susan JP Jamieson award from the British Women Racing Drivers Club for fastest lap speed by a female in the UK. 2001: Competed in the British Formula Renault Winter Series. 2000: Raced in the British Formula Ford Zetec Championship with a best finish of third place. Became the first female to win a pole position in the series. 1990-1998: Won numerous British karting championships. 2005 Road America History Legge will be seeing her first Atlantic Road America racing action this weekend. 2005 Season Overview It was a magical and historical weekend for Katherine
Legge in the 2005 season opener at Long Beach. She showed
poise and speed all weekend but lost her fast lap in
qualifying after hitting the wall and causing a stoppage in
the session. Coming from seventh on the starting grid, she
put on a remarkable display in the race moving up quickly
from the green flag. She got involved in an accident with
Fernando Rees early on and she was able to continue while
Rees was forced to retire. After shaking off the contact,
Legge settled in to pursue the leaders. She engaged in a
tremendous battle for the top spot with Rocky Moran Jr. and
her teammate Antoine Bessette in the final stages of the
race. Legge captured the lead with three laps remaining when
Moran’s car broke down. She held off Bessette in the
last two laps, winning by just half a second over her
hard-charging rookie teammate. With the victory, she became
the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North
America and she was also the first Atlantic driver to win in
their first series race since Jon Fogarty did it at
Monterrey, Mexico in 2002. Despite some struggles in
qualifying, Legge turned in a solid result at Monterrey in
Round 2. After running among the top three for most of the
weekend, Legge crashed into a tire barrier early in
qualifying. She not only damaged her car’s suspension,
but she also lost her fast laps and was forced to start
eighth in the race. Once again raising her game on race day,
Legge improved to fifth place at the checkered flag for her
second consecutive top-five to start the year. At the
Portland doubleheader, Legge struggled for most of the
weekend but recovered with a strong finish in Round 4. She
qualified seventh for the opening race of the weekend and
lost a couple of spots during the 35-lap event to finish
ninth for her worst finish of the season. Earlier that day,
Legge suffered some wing damage on her car and lost her
fastest lap when she made contact with the tires in Turn 5
during qualifying. Starting 10th on the grid on Sunday, she
worked her way up the running order and had a great battle
with David Martinez for several laps before getting by the
talented Mexican. Legge moved up to finish third for her
second podium of the year and she earned a bonus point for
improving the most positions during the race. In her first
experience racing at Cleveland in Rounds 5 and 6, Legge
learned some valuable lessons on the wide-open airport
circuit. She qualified fifth in the first race of the
weekend but she made contact with both her teammate Bessette
and Dan Selznick in Turn 1 and she was forced to retire in
16th place before ever completing a lap. Race #2 carried
much better results as she made it cleanly through the
difficult first turn. After qualifying an Atlantic
career-best fourth, she wound up fifth overall for her
fourth top-five result of the season. At Toronto in Round 7,
Legge qualified sixth and started strong in the race passing
Tonis Kasemets for fifth position early on. She was running
as high as fourth before a hard-charging Kasemets began to
try and get by her. Legge was penalized for blocking on
Kasemets and she had to serve a drive-through penalty on pit
lane. After falling back in the field as a result of the
penalty, Legge fought back to claim her original spot of
sixth at the finish line. Round 8 brought about Legge’s
second win of the season and her best all-around performance
of 2005. Her car was fast on the Edmonton airport course
from the moment it rolled off the truck. She owned the
second-fastest lap in both rounds of qualifying, but wound
up starting third, for her best qualifying effort of the
season, behind both the provisional and final polesitters.
Legge made contact with both of the drivers in front of her
in Turn 1 at the start, but no serious damage was done to
any of the cars and she moved up to second on the opening
lap and began to track down polesitter Charles Zwolsman.
Legge was able to get past Zwolsman when he came upon lapped
traffic and she assumed control of the race on Lap 19. She
fought off a challenge from Zwolsman on both a late-race
restart and in the final lap to secure her second Atlantic
win in eight events. She also earned a bonus point for
improving the most positions in the race. Legge made it two
in a row when she captured the first Atlantic race on the
streets of San Jose in Round 9. She qualified fourth and
enjoyed another good start, passing David Martinez for third
place in Turn 1. She moved up to second when race leader
Tonis Kasemets retired with mechanical problems. She then
passed Zwolsman for the lead for the second consecutive
week, this time on Lap 29 of the 45-lap event. She held off
Martinez late to win by 1.084 seconds. After improving to
third in the season standings with back-to-back wins, Legge
suffered some early-race heartbreak in Denver. She qualified
fifth but became involved in a Turn 1 accident with Zwolsman
at the start of the race. Legge was forced to pit lane with
suspension damage and didn’t re-enter the race for five
laps as repairs were being made. She ran well for the
remainder of the event, posting the third-quickest lap of
the race, but finished 17th for her worst result of the
season. Legge fell to fifth in the title chase as a result
of the finish as she now owns 217 points on the year, 51
behind Zwolsman, the championship leader. How often have we heard that one driver or another is the "real deal"? Some people were just born to race. Katherine Legge, who makes her home next to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northampton, UK is certainly one of those. She is the real deal. In 2000 Katherine Legge became the first female to win pole position in the British Formula Ford Zetec Championship and scored a best finish of third. That result was only the beginning. In 2002 Legge ran the British Formula Renault championship, taking pole position at Oulton Park. Katherine became the first woman to receive the
prestigious British Racing Drivers Club Rising Stars award
in 2002 and followed that with the Susan JP Jamieson award
from the British Women's Racing Drivers Club, awarded for
setting the fastest lap speed by a female UK racer. Katherine
Legge Heading to Portland to Regain
Ground
"I am hoping to have good races at Portland because it is a doubleheader and it's very important for points and the championship," said Legge, who became the fist female driver to win a Toyota Atlantic Championship race in her debut during season-opening 2005 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. For all the latest Katherine Legge news visit the
official Katherine Legge website www.gokatherine.com
Legge
continues to excel with her third Atlantic
win When Derek Legge put his oldest daughter behind the wheel of a go-kart for the first time, the ride was expected to be a short one. Sixteen years later, Katherine Legge's driving career is still gaining speed. Sunday, Legge put another exclamation point on her breakthrough rookie season on the Toyota Atlantic circuit by leading the final 16 of 45 laps and holding off David Martinez by about three car lengths to win the support race at the inaugural Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San Jose. Legge, 25, has won three of the series' nine races, including the past two. She is the only woman ever to win an open-wheel race in North America. She won her series debut in April at Long Beach and leapfrogged from fifth place to third in the season standings Sunday with her sixth top-five finish. "I saw Tonis went into the pits and couldn't continue his race, and after that I felt quite confident I was going to win the race,'' said Zwolsman, who started from the pole position. ``I thought on this tight track nobody was going to pass me.'' Zwolsman led for 20 laps until his gear box began to fail. He held off Legge until the 29th lap, when she caught him on a straightaway and zipped into the lead on Turn 8. ``Honestly, I don't know if I would have passed Charles if he hadn't had his problems,'' Legge said. ``Where you started the race on this track was basically how you were going to finish. I was just focused on not making any mistakes. ``I saw my opportunity again and went for it. I felt bad for him, but I felt good for me. I was lucky.'' Legge had minor mechanical issues -- she locked her right front brake early in the third lap and had problems for the remainder of the race. But she never relinquished the lead and won by 1.084 seconds despite late pressure from Martinez, who matched his series-best finish. ``He was right behind me the whole way,'' Legge said. ``Yeah, a little bit of pressure, but I coped with it OK I think.'' Although a ride in the Champ Car series appears only a matter of time, Legge reiterated that she probably needs another year on the Atlantic series. ``The one thing I don't want to do is be driving around at the back'' on the Champ Car circuit, Legge said. ``I'd rather do another year in Atlantics and win a championship or contend to win a championship before I make the jump.'' Legge said she hopes her continuing success has proved that she is more than a novelty in a male-dominated business. ``I should just be seen as a driver now,'' Legge
said. A Lot to Learn: A
better-educated Katherine Legge could strike fear in the
hearts of male racers It’s inevitable that race fans will compare Katherine Legge to Danica Patrick, and it’s tempting to emphasize one point. In 10 starts in the Toyota Atlantic Championship, Legge (like the limb) has done something Patrick could not do in two seasons. Legge has won a race. Actually, three. Tempting, but not necessarily fair. No one knows that better than Legge. “Danica is really good and deserves to be where she is,” she says. “But I don’t think you can compare us. We’re in different places at different times. Maybe one day we’ll be able to race each other.” That’s not likely to happen soon. Patrick is ensconced in the IRL, where she took the world by storm with the fastest qualifying lap this year at Indianapolis, and found her way to the cover of Sports Illustrated. Legge is only beginning to garner attention outside the Atlantic paddock, and she has eyes fixed squarely on Champ Car. Now 25, she was three years older than Patrick—with fewer race starts—when she climbed into an Atlantic Swift. She competes in a field with far less experience (and arguably less talent). The two do share things beyond gender—things common to racers everywhere. Legge got her first taste of speed at age eight, when her family visited a kart track on holiday in Spain. When they returned home to Northhampton, England, her dad bought his own kart, but soon it was obvious who had the knack. From age nine, Legge did the driving. “Until I was 18, we were together at kart races nearly every weekend, but particularly in the beginning we had no idea what we were doing,” Legge says. “My father’s a builder, and he had no racing experience whatsoever. When I was 17, we figured out that I should probably drive for a professional team.” When it was time for Legge to graduate to cars, her father sold a piece of property and decided to start a team in Formula Ford 1600, fielding a second car for a paying driver to defray costs. It proved difficult. Legge consistently outperformed the payer, who thought he was getting the short stick. The team disbanded after seven races, and Legge’s season was cut short. She hasn’t completed a full season since. She sat out 2001. In 2002, she ran half of the British Formula Renault series and won the pole at Oulton Park, breaking Kimi Raikkonnen’s track record. In 2003 she bought four races with a second-tier F3 team. In 2004 she came to North America and finished 10th in the Formula Renault championship, starting only half the races. Her experience and the caliber of her team seldom matched her talent, yet she never lost her drive to drive. With nothing for 2005, Legge went uninvited to Texas Motor Speedway, where veteran team owner Morris Nunn’s wife had arranged a test for female drivers. “At the press conference before the test, I told them ‘Put me in the car, and if I’m not quickest I’ll go home to England,’ ” she says. They did, and she was, even though she’d never driven on an oval. Legge won the Kathryn Nunn Scholarship and a ride in the Infiniti Pro Series. Unfortunately, Nunn’s Infiniti team shut down when parent Mo Nunn Racing disbanded. Legge was back in the cold. So she tried something else. Aware last winter that Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven would be visiting Cosworth, which he had just purchased, Legge tracked down his number and phoned, asking to wait in the lobby in the event he might see her. Hours later, Kalkhoven called her in. “I figured he had the whole world and their dog asking for money, so I was looking for advice,” she says. “I told him ‘I’m quicker than this and that person.’ He looked amused and said, ‘How do you know that?’ ” Kalkhoven was convinced of something, because after the meeting he phoned Jim Griffith, co-owner of the Polestar Racing Atlantic team, and asked Griffith to give Legge a test. “I believe women are capable of winning, but I didn’t relish testing a wanker, and I wasn’t sure if I was getting one,” Griffith says. “We brought her to Phoenix and clearly she had technical shortcomings, but within minutes it was also clear she was better than 99 percent of the drivers in this country. We had to get her to slow down.” So Kalkhoven funded a car for Legge with sponsorship from his PKV Champ Car team, but promised only half the season. Legge probably guaranteed herself all the races when she won the Atlantic opener at Long Beach. Her year has been a mix of near brilliance and nearly wild inconsistency. In Long Beach she benefited from leader Rocky Moran Jr.’s broken gearbox, but by that point she had passed five cars and was breathing fire down Moran’s neck. She ran down the leader in both Edmonton and San Jose, then survived hard challenges in both races. She’s also finished as low as 16th. In Denver a first-corner accident kept her from completing a lap. Legge has a shot at the Atlantic championship, but Griffith believes moving up next season is a bad idea. “She still needs a lot of seasoning,” he says. A race engineer by trade, Griffith teamed with Patrick Carpentier, Alex Barron and Buddy Rice when each won his Atlantic championship. He’s engineered Memo Gidley, and watched Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani, A.J. Allmendinger—and Danica Patrick—as they served apprenticeships in Atlantic. “To be honest, Katherine was kind of thrown under the bus coming here,” Griffith says. “All of those drivers were already much more developed when they got to Atlantic. If you look at it in those terms she is better than any of them. She just takes to it. She wants it. “Until four races ago, I don’t think she recognized the concept of ‘the zone,’ or when she’s in it or how she might get herself there. It’s not remotely clear to her yet how deep or wide her zone can be. But she’s relentless in her desire to get ahead of whoever’s in front of her and then to drive away. “In a few years, when guys see Katherine in their
mirrors, they’re going to be very nervous.” - J.P.
Vettraino British woman's
wish: Champ Car ride Katherine Legge doesn't feel right asking for too much, considering the kind of year she's had. Or pressing the boss for answers, considering what he has done for her career. But after finishing two days of encouraging tests in a PKV Racing Champ Car this week at Sebring International Raceway, the 25-year-old Brit, who was unknown and looking for a break a year ago, is just eager to know whether she'll be driving one full time this spring. "I'll do whatever they think is best. I'll be all right, but I wish I could say, "Well, it's 80 percent Champ car or it's definitely 90 percent Atlantics,' " said Legge, who in 2005, her first year in the developmental Atlantics series, won three times to become the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America and finished third in points. "Half of me is saying I should stay in Atlantics and get another year of experience. The other half is saying, "Put me in the big car. Put me in the big car. Put me in the big car. This is cool.' "Maybe in three weeks they'll let me know. I hope I will. I'll be nagging. Believe me, I will." As persistent as she is, Legge knows she won't be able to pry anything out of PKV co-team owner Kevin Kalkhoven - "I try to look into his eyes and get a feel for it, but he's a very good poker player," she said. Kalkhoven said he does not need to make a decision for six weeks. One of three co-owners of the series, Kalkhoven makes it clear that he wants Legge to succeed as a racer, not as a novelty in a male-dominated sport. Starting her in Champ Car in 2006 would be ahead of a normal schedule. That said, she has been ahead of the curve since she pitched herself to him in England last year. After her driving ability proved equal to the determination that convinced Kalkhoven to sign Legge, he helped arrange tests for her this fall in various other series, including Formula One. Kalkhoven admitted that Legge's Sebring test, where she posted a best lap of 51.51 seconds over the 1.66-mile course on Wednesday and posted the fifth-best time of any Champ Car driver - including regulars - who tested there this fall was "quite remarkable." Legge made 119 laps on both Tuesday and Wednesday. NOT READY: Jimmy Vasser , 40, has been so consumed with his immediate future as a racer and ever-closer future as a team co-owner that he did not realize that Michael Andretti, 43, announced last week he would race the Indianapolis 500. Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing, which has won consecutive Indy Racing League titles with Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon, "retired" after the 2003 Indy 500. Vasser, a 10-time race winner and the 1996 CART champion, said he couldn't relate to Andretti's desire to return because "I've never retired and then come back, so maybe when I retire here shortly and if I come back you can ask me that." But the time is coming, he admitted. Vasser, the "V" in PKV, finished sixth in points in 2005, his 14th season. His decision will impact where Legge races, but he's taking his time. "We had a decent year last year and it's just that it's time for me, I believe, to transition, although we haven't made our decision yet," he said Wednesday. "We're going to take all our data and our list of 20 drivers we have as candidates to take the seat at PKV, including the driver we had last year - Cristiano da Matta - and go make a decision. Whenever retirement is involved, I shouldn't say retire. When I resign my seat at PKV at some point in time it doesn't mean I've stopped driving forever. Retirement is the wrong word. However, it's going to be difficult for sure." Source: By Brant James,
Times Staff Writer, Published December 25, 2005,
www.sptimes.com/2005/12/25/Sports/British_woman_s_wish_.shtml
Katherine
Legge Shows Progress in First Full Day of Champ Car
Testing Legge clocked 119 laps with a best mark of 52.04 today at Sebring. Last week, Katherine Legge got her feet wet in her first experience in a 750-horsepower Champ Car; on Tuesday, the 25-year-old Brit dove headfirst into the Champ Car pool, completing nearly 200 miles of testing with PKV Racing at Florida’s Sebring International Raceway. Legge, who produced three victories while claiming third place this past season in the Toyota Atlantic Championship, ran 119 laps on the Sebring road circuit in the No.12 Gulfstream/PKV Racing machine to begin a two-day test session with the team that sponsored her Atlantic effort in 2005. After making her Champ Car debut on December 13 at Sebring running for Rocketsports Racing, Legge nearly doubled her total laps from last week as she competed in cool, overcast conditions on the 1.66-mile Sebring circuit. Legge posted a best lap of 52.04 seconds Tuesday, demonstrating how drastically she can improve her on-track performance with a full day of testing under her belt. Her top time from one week ago, under completely different track conditions, was 53.2 seconds. “Overall, it was a good day,” said Legge, who has also tested a Formula 1 car with Minardi and an A1 Grand Prix car with Team Great Britain in the past month. “I’m getting more accustomed to driving a Champ Car and I’m very thankful to PKV for this opportunity and their help. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get my time down into the 51-second range, but the day went well and I’m happy with the way I drove. We still have some work to do tomorrow.” Competing as the lone Champ Car on the track, Legge benefited from strong support at the test. PKV Racing co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Dan Pettit were on hand for the test along with fellow team owner and Champ Car driver Jimmy Vasser as well as team general manager Jim McGee, team manager Steve Krisiloff and the PKV crew. “Katherine did a very good job,” said McGee. “She ran quite a few miles and we tried some different things on the car once she got comfortable. We still want to do some longer, full-tank runs, but we’ve got another day ahead of us.” Legge will return to the test track
on Wednesday morning. “Last week’s test with
Rocketsports really helped me get used to driving a Champ
Car and I think I did a good job today,” she concluded.
“But I still need to work on getting more consistent in
the car.” Katherine
Legge Wraps Up Two-Day Sebring Test Legge improved another half-second in comparison to Tuesday, clocking a best lap of 51.5s at Sebring today. British female racer Katherine Legge again made progress in the final day of a two-day test session with PKV Racing. For the second consecutive day, Legge logged 119 laps on the 1.66-mile road circuit at Sebring International Raceway for the PKV squad. She completed both long and short runs on the tough test track and posted a top unofficial lap time of 51.51 seconds, surpassing her quick mark from Tuesday of 52.04 seconds. “It was an awesome experience. I have to give a huge thanks to both PKV Racing and (team co-owner) Kevin Kalkhoven for this opportunity,” said Legge, who tested in very chilly conditions Wednesday with temperatures in the 50s under an overcast Florida sky. “Seeing as there weren’t any other Champ Cars on the track during the test so there wasn’t much rubber, I really wanted to reach a time of 51.5 and I was able to do that. We did a lot of laps and some pretty long runs and I came away from the experience knowing I did my very best.” After becoming the first woman ever to win a major open-wheel race in North America this season with three victories in the Atlantic Championship, Champ Car’s top developmental category, Legge proved that she could handle the heavier and more powerful Champ Carduring the test. She ran nearly 400 miles over the two days, clocking her fast lap during a mid-afternoon run on Wednesday. “She did a great job and she’s definitely not afraid to push the car to the limit,” said Champ Car driver and PKV Racing co-owner Jimmy Vasser, who was on hand to supervise Legge’s test in the #12 Gulfstream/PKV Racing machine. “We all watched Katherine race last year in Atlantics and we knew that she was a good driver. But until you work with someone you don’t truly know how determined they are. After these last two days, one thing I know for sure now is that she has a tremendous amount of determination. She has the talent to compete at this level.” Vasser, the 1996 Champ Car series champion, said Legge will definitely be considered for PKV’s plans for the 2006 Champ Car season. “We’ll sit down as a team in mid January and look at all the data from the tests and make a decision from there,” said Vasser. “Katherine, along with the other drivers we’ve been looking at [Giorgio Pantano, Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Dalziel], will certainly be in the mix when we get to that point.” Since finishing third in the 2005
Atlantic standings for Polestar Racing Group, Legge has
reaped the benefits from her strong showing as a rookie. In
addition to her Champ Car tests with both PKV and
Rocketsports Racing, she’s also driven a Minardi
Formula 1 car and an A1 Grand Prix car. If she makes the
jump up to Champ Cars next season or returns for a
championship run in the new Champ Car Atlantic series, Legge
knows she’s certainly matured as a driver over the past
year. “It’s been an unbelievable year,” said
the native of Northampton, England. “Regardless of
where I wind up racing, the experiences I’ve had will
be a massive help to me on the race track in 2006.” We haven't been able to make the cut for an interview during the two races we've covered. When I mentioned this to Katherine at the first race, her comment was "Keep trying." That has been my only comment from her, though her father was gracious enough to grant an interview. All we wanted to ask were our standard three questions. Q1: How did you get interested in racing? Q2: What did/does your father think about it? Q3: What advice would you give young girls who might be interested in racing against guys? Maybe it's because her highest placement in Champ Car has been 6th this year (when only 10 cars were running at the finish) and her largest finish from last place this year has been five positions (Portland). Long Beach was the only race where she finished on the lead lap.
GC: Being a father and seeing Katherine's interest in a primairly male dominate sport, how was it for you? Derek: I think the thing is this is that if we had had a little boy first, would Katherine have had the same chances. I can't answer that because that would be a tricky one. But having seen what Katherine has done, and I'm 100% behind her, you shouldn't pigeon hole girls. Katherine prefered go-karting scene and at a young age, the difference between the sexes isn't quite so apparent. It was really a bigger problem with some of the parents, really. Especially little boy's mothers not likely their little boys being beaton by a girl. But we're all stereotypes to a certain degree. Katherine never thought of herself as other than a racer. She hates all that comparisons to Danica Patrick, because she wants to be compared for racing. so she stears clear of trying to do the girly thing because straight away that's how you characterise them. My advise to any fathers bring their girls up in racing is to always stear clear of painting the car in Barbie pink or going too far to use female type sponsors. But don't push the girly bit. GC: How's she feeling about going into Champ Cars versus Atlantic cars, with the increase in horsepower. Is it a big difference for her? Derek: At first, because it was such a big jump,
last year was Katherine's first full season of racing in
cars. She did lots of years in karts. a lot of people were
advising her to do another year in Atlantics but when you
get the opportunity to do this, the opportunitiy doesn't
come along too often. so she did a few tests and she started
realizing that she was competitive and my thing was, you may
never be strong enough so why don't you go ahead and do it.
And, although Katherine has never believed that, it's always
there, I wonder if I can handle it. So she did a
two-hour race simulation at Sebring. Before she did it, she
was a bit apprehensive but no, it's just another car, just a
big go-kart. Now she just wants to go faster. But she
realizes that you have to learn and do it step by step.
Nobody jumps straight in. If she tried to think that she
could go faster than somebody who's been doing it for 15
years, and Katherine's only at her fourth/fifth race, you
have to earn the right. I recon next year or the year after
that, once she's done all the circuits and with a new car,
then I think you will see that she will be as quick as
anyone out there. It's just a matter of learning, because
she's got to learn to give technical feedback because of her
lack of racing in the past, she's still at a slight
disadvantage but she's learning it really quickly and the
team she's got around her now, there's not one sexist there,
they're all behind her because they know how much she puts
into it and how much she wants it and that she's not there
to be a posing female poddling around at the back of the
grid.
WomenInRacing.org ©1996-2012 by Gordon Clay |
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