Pippa
Mann

LATEST

Pippa does it. She started on the pole and lead all 67 laps for her first Indy Lights win. She came in 2nd last weekend, only 0.159 seconds out of 1st. She moves up to 7th in the overall standings with one race to go

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Bio
Results
Latest News

2010 Indy Lights Schedule/Results
Snippets
Job Search
Finding a new ride
Mann, Wilson to test at Kentucky with SSM
Contact: www.pippamann.com or E-Mail
Related Issue: Women Racers Directory, Women in Racing, Women Racers, More Women in Racing, Race Schedules, Notable Women

Bio

Nationality: British
Date of Birth: August 1, 1983
Birthplace: Ipswich, England
Residence: Indianapolis
Height: 5' 5"
Hobbies: AC Milan, squash, music, shopping
Favourite Food: Anything I'm not meant to be eating!

Born in London but now resident in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, Pippa Mann started competing in karting aged 13, racing in the categories of Junior TKM, JICA and Formula A, competing in the British Championships and selected races in Europe.

Mann is pragmatic about her expectations for the season: "This is going to be a learning year for me as I will certainly be one of the less experienced drivers in the field. However, this is not a short-term project and I am confident that with the expertise and experience of the team I will be able to fulfil my potential."

Mann Forced Out of Second Consecutive Top 15 Finish. Mann will be back in action on August 18-19 at Spa-Francorchamps in Belguim for the next round of the 2007 World Series by Renault Championship.

Away from the track Pippa enjoys music, squash and following the fortunes of AC Milan.

Snippets

Pippa Mann finished 2nd at Chicagoland, .0159 seconds behind the minner.

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Mann started 13th, finished 8th in Toronto and is currently 11th for the season.

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Mann Second Quickest at Indianapolis Open Test.

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Pippa was gridded 13th at St. Petes inagural Indy Lights race and finished 13th, having dropped out with mechnical problems on the 6th lap.

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Mann hopes to announce plans for her 2010 season over the next few months.

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Pippa had her highest start this season in 3rd at Homestead and finished 67 laps in 8th which gave her a 14th overall for the series.

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Pippa started Chicagoland in 5th and finished 64 laps in 9th.

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Pippa started Infineon in 15th and finished in 14th. She maintains14th place overall.  

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Pippa started in 19th (last positoin) and finished in 15th at Kentucky. She is currently in 15th positoin in the standings.

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Pippa was gridded at 15th on the Edmonton Airport circuit and finished 11th, one spot ahead of Ana Beatriz

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Pippa gridded 14th and finished in 17th at Toronto.

Results

 In 2001 she decided to concentrate full time on karting and moved to Italy, the home of karting. As well as racing, Pippa found time to learn Italian (which she now speaks fluently) and to write for a number of motoring journals.

By 2003 Pippa was driving for one of the leading kart teams, CRG, and taking part in the highly competitive Italian, European and World Championship Kart races. In a field dominated by male drivers (maybe two or three women in every 80 drivers), Pippa is the only British female to have won an international kart race.

In 2004 Pippa returned to the UK and started racing in the UK Formula Renault Championship. During her first season Pippa held her ground in a very competitive field, racing against drivers with two or more years' experience in single seaters. Drove in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK for Team JVA

In 2005 Pippa secured a two-year contract to drive for Comtec Racing in the Formula Renault Eurocup. Comtec is the only UK team to compete in the Formula Renault Eurocup. Her first year in Eurocup saw her peaking at 14th, however Pippa says her highlight was qualifying 7th at Donington Park. 2005 also saw Pippa competing in the French Championships. Despite being new to the circuits and having only 40 minutes' testing at each race, Pippa was able to get into the points, the first female driver to do so in about ten years.

In 2006 Pippa raced in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship as well as the Eurocup. She had a frustrating season but managed to achieve some of her best results ever, which led to her participating in some World Series by Renault tests over the winter.

In January 2007, Pippa signed for Cram by P1 Europe to become the first female to race in the World Series by Renault 3.5 Championship. She scored a point in her debut in the World Series by Renault 3.5 Championship. Earned a pole position in the World Series by Renault 3.5 Championship.

In 2008 she comepted in the World Series by Renault 3.5 for P1 Motrorsport with best finish of seventh at the Nurburgring. Raced with Team Eurotech in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 997.

2010 Indy Lights Schedule/Results

Date

Track
Start
Finish
Laps
Status

3/28

St Petersburg

13

13

6

Mechanical

4/11

Barbara Motorsports

12

12

40/40

Running

4/18

Streets of Long Beach

12

8

45/45

Running

5/28

Indy 100

1

16

2

Contact

6/19

Iowa Speedway

8

8

115/115

Running

7/4

Watkins Glen

9

14

1

Contact

7/18

Streets of Toronto

13

8

50/50

Running

7/25

Edmonton Airport

11

11

50/50

Running

8/8

Mid-Ohio

NA

NA

40/40

Not race

8/22

Sonoma

7

5

40/40

Running

8/28

Chicagoland

2

2

67/67

Running

9/4

Kentucky Speedway

1

1

67/67

Running

10/2

Homestead

2009 

Date

Track
Start
Finish
Qual Speed
Laps
Status

4/4/09

St Pete
20
18
91.074
40
Running

4/5/09

St Pete
22
24
92.878
17
Contact

4/19/09

Long Beach
22
14
91.565
45
Running

4/26/09

Kansas
5
16
186.386
57
Contact

5/22/09

Indianapolis
8
21
188.413
7
Contact

5/31/09

Milwaukee
9
9
145.176
98
Running

6/20/09

Iowa
7
13
159.909
105
Running

7/4/09

Watkins Glen
20
14
120.730
30
Running

7/11/09

Toronto
14
16
95.137
46
Running

7/25/09

Edmonton
15
11
99.740
49
Running

8/1/09

Kentucky
19
15
NA
65
Running

8/9/09

Mid-Ohio
18
15
104.280
40
Running

8/23/09

Infineon
15
14
98.186
40
Running

8/29/09

Chicago
5
9
188.300
64
Running

10/9/09

Homestead
3
8
185.364
67
Running

Mann strickes from the pole for first win.

Pippa Mann did everything right to win her first Firestone Indy Lights race. J.K. Vernay did just about everything right during the season – and just enough in the Drive Smart. Buckle Up Kentucky 100 – to virtually wrap up the series championship.

Mann, the pole sitter, jumped to a large lead after a Lap 5 restart and cruised to the victory on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway. She’s the second female (Ana Beatriz at Nashville and Iowa) to win in Firestone Indy Lights.

“This weekend, we started out right and got it in qualifying and took it in the race,” said Mann, whose previous high finish was second a week earlier at Chicagoland Speedway. “I said my game plan was to run away and hide, but realistically I didn’t think it would happen. I am so pleased and my team gave me an awesome car.

“I was praying that a caution didn’t come out because if a caution didn’t come out we had a really good chance of winning. I was praying that no one got into it behind me.”

James Hinchcliffe, driving the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, finished 6.8372 seconds back and Vernay was third in the No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. He takes a 48-point lead over Hinchcliffe into the season finale Oct. 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and only needs to take the green flag to clinch the title.
Source: indycar.com/news/show/56-firestone-indy-lights/39536-mann-strikes-from-the-pole-for-first-win/

Mann Second Quickest at Indianapolis Open Test

Pippa Mann has completed the first official 2010 test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, having set the second quickest time of the day. With a lap of 190.225 mph, Mann narrowly missed taking the top spot, which was set by the #10 car of Gustavo Yacaman who managed to turn a lap of 190.511 mph.

Jeff Simmons was third (190.072), Charlie Kimball fourth (189.864), and defending race winner Wade Cunningham took fifth position (189.672) in today’s test.

Mann spoke about the result: “The car feels great in traffic, and I had a lot of fun today running side by side at IMS. We’ve got some work to do on the solo lap – to make sure we have the speed without a draft, but there are some places we know we can make up some time, and regardless, I’m confident we will have a good race car for the Freedom 100.”

Mann will next take to the track on the morning of Thursday 27th May, when the Firestone Indy Lights series will complete their final practice session before qualifying for the Freedom 100 later that afternoon.
Source: www.pippamann.com/NewsArticle.aspx?ArticleID=254

Pippa Takes on Indy

Firestone Indy Lights driver Pippa Mann offers up her latest entry in her 2010 driver diary. This week, she brings us to the Firestone Indy Lights Indianapolis Open Test with her Sam Schmidt Motorsports team.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a magical place. This time last year, I turned my first ever laps around this amazing track, and although I had a good car by race weekend, the test prior to opening day didn’t go so well. I came out of it with some trepidation about the race weekend, and still as an after effect I went into this year’s test with a little trepidation remaining as well.

Driving a car really fast around an oval in clean air is a little like a black art, but once you’re mastered it, you start to understand it’s all about the tiny details which make a big difference. Last year for me, driving around very fast in clean air and qualifying up front regularly was something that I was able to achieve, and I discovered the true black art is learning how to drive the car around an oval fast in traffic and dirty air. How to have the confidence to stay inside or outside without even thinking about lifting while racing two by two at over 180mph with inches between your wheels. That is the true black art.

This year only the rookies had a test on an oval before we went to Indy for our Open Test, so Indy would be the first place where I would really be able to explore what my No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car could really do. Last year at this Indy test, no one really ran side by side - whoever was on the inside on the way in took the turn, and whoever was on the outside gave it up. The first time the Firestone Indy Lights cars really ran side by side last year at Indy was on Race Day, so going into the test I thought the best that was going to happen was that I could work on following, and work on my timing to get that pass just right down the straight without lifting.

About 10 minutes after the green flag dropped, I headed out onto the track for my first run. As I headed into turn one for the first time I wondered whether I’d forgotten how fast this place was, then as I headed down the back stretch into turn three, my brain went into “oval mode” and 190mph became normal and I started to feel out my car. By lap three, I was running flat out and immediately into the top five in times. It felt good to be back.

For the rest of the morning, we spent time working on the car, working on the driver, working on going fast. And then in the afternoon session we decided to start look for people to play with - and that was when the fun started.

After getting a few runs, and passing a few people in the usual Indy test way, where you make the pass on the straight rather than running side by side through the corners, and similarly getting overtaken by the occasional car in my tow in the same way, I decided to have a look on the outside going into turn three – 75 percent throttle. I held the outside line, waiting to see how it would feel, how the car would handle. And the answer was, it felt pretty good. A couple of laps later I decided to really find out what I had and see if it could stick the whole way around the outside. Last year whenever I did this, my heart was in my mouth, I could feel the back of the car trying to escape from behind me, and I had to remind myself to breathe while trying to make a pass. This year, in this car, I suddenly discovered that when my car likes the outside as much as the inside, I like the outside as much as the inside.

For about 10 laps I had a mini race-style battle with one of the other drivers. In oval racing, you can’t block, you can’t change your line, but if you’re fast enough to hold the outside all the way around, and confident to get close enough to make really good use of the side-draft coming off onto either the long front or back stretch at Indy, I discovered I could make my car very difficult to pass. I started working on always being the car ahead over the start finish line, and I think in those 10 laps I was the car across the line first nine times. According to most of the people watching, we put on quite a show, and inside or outside, for the first time in my oval career, with this great car underneath me, I was loving every minute of it.

We pitted for a set of “matched special staggereds” (Days of Thunder quote - actually we just checked tire pressures) and went back out into the fray again. I found someone new to run outside or inside of, and I liked it just as much the second time around. When the chequered flag for the session came out I was just ahead of one of the two guys I had been running with. Sure it means nothing, but psychologically of course it means something. Find me a racing driver who doesn’t like coming out of a dice to the flag first, even in a test session.

So what else did I learn from the test day? Well, I still need to find a little solo speed, but we have two whole weeks to work on that. However, as second quickest on the time sheets, we’re obviously good in a tow, and with a car that runs either side out there, I know we’ll be coming to the front in a big hurry on race day. I also learnt that whoever is leading the race, doesn’t have the tow, and whoever doesn’t have the tow is going to get passed by the car behind. But then I learnt that when someone is trying pass me on the inside I can sometimes drive all the way around the outside of them and hold on anyway, or if they’re trying to pass me on the outside, I learnt I can hold on to the inside and stay ahead that way too. I learnt I can pass on whichever side is open, and the timing of the pass to go to the front will be the key to winning the race.

There are a lot of other good people out there, but my team and my car is very good too, and this year, we’re coming to play. My last thoughts as I went to sleep last night, and my first thoughts as I woke up this morning were all about different scenarios - who I’m going to be racing up there, and how I’m going to time that pass right, and get that pass done to make it across the line – hopefully P1 at the checkered flag.

Watch your mirrors boys - I’m coming.
Source:

Mann Achieves Top 10 in Long Beach

Pippa Mann scored a season-high eighth place in the Firestone Indy Lights, Grand Prix of Long Beach. Climbing four spots from the start of the race, Mann put in a strong performance at the Californian event, to take her first top ten finish of the year.

The race got underway without incident, and at the end of lap one, Mann was in 13th position, having just dropped a place to team mate James Winslow. By the halfway point of the race, Mann had worked her way up to 11th position, when Adrian Campos Jr. ran wide and into the tyre barrier right in front of her. Mann responded immediately and managed to avoid any contact, moving herself up into the top 10.

From there, Mann continued to push, and where other drivers came unstuck around the challenging streets of Long Beach, Mann kept her composure. Finally crossing the line in a deserved eighth place, the young Brit achieved her best ever finish on a street circuit.

Mann commented on the result: “Overall I’m really pleased – while I’ve had results on ovals and road courses, we’ve never been so far forward on a street circuit. There were a lot of cautions, but I managed to make no mistakes and put people under pressure, which paid off in the end. Hopefully we can take this momentum forward through the rest of the season.”

The result places Mann 10th in the point's standings going into the next race, when the Firestone Indy Lights drivers prepare for the 2010 Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Source: www.pippamann.com/NewsArticle.aspx?ArticleID=252

Mann Taken Out of 2010 Season-Opener

Pippa Mann was forced to retire from the opening round of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights championship, after sustaining damage in a first corner incident which took her out of contention.

The Sam Schmidt Motorsport driver managed to start the race, despite suffering from an ongoing virus which had hampered her throughout the build-up to the St Petersburg event. As the race got underway, Mann was positioned well for the first corner, however Adrian Campos Jr (Team Moore Racing) made a dive down the inside line from a number of car lengths back and appeared to miss his braking point. Campos Jr made heavy contact with the side of the #11 car, and Mann could do nothing to avoid the incident.

Continuing on regardless, the field slowed for a full course yellow brought out by a further incident, and Mann struggled to keep the car facing the right way under caution. As rain fell over the Florida street circuit, a red flag ordered all drivers into the pits to change tyres, and with the car stationary on pit road, the team were able to diagnose the problem. The first corner incident had ruptured the oil cooler on Mann’s #11 car, and her rear tyres were covered with oil.

Unable to continue, Mann’s tough weekend came to abrupt end. Speaking about the race, Mann said: “I got a good start and went to turn in at the first corner, and from nowhere I got tagged heavily from the inside. I’ve been battling with illness throughout the weekend but regardless, I’m gutted to be out of the race. I’ve just got to focus on getting healthy now and coming back strong at Barber Motorsports Park in a couple of weeks time.”
Source: www.pippamann.com/NewsArticle.aspx?ArticleID=240

Job Search

Throughout the off-season, Firestone Indy Lights driver Pippa Mann will share her job hunt with race fans through a blog firestoneindylights.com. Today, she takes testing with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

Since my first outing back in a car a couple of weeks ago at Kentucky, I've been keeping busy with all the other stuff racing driver's do in the off season.

I've been training myself into the ground with the kind help of those at PitFit, and also down at the Sam Schmidt Motorsports workshop - debriefing from Kentucky and preparing for my next outing at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

My manager also came to town, and we had a week of meetings, which meant eating at a number of very nice restaurants. It's lucky he doesn't come to town too often, as if I ate at those places all the time I'm sure I would soon be too big to fit in a car at all!

Talking of fitting back into a car. I was pretty excited about my next outing with the team. I may love the ovals, but as a European driver, I come from road racing and the big famous European circuits back home.

My next test would involve me turning right more than I did left, as I would be getting back to my racing roots running at Barber.

Monday morning - the day of the test - started early. Part of the reason for the early start is the light seems to start and end early in Alabama at this time of year.

This meant we were out on the track by 8:30 a.m., and would have until 4 p.m. before the light ceased to cooperate. I had already been told that this car would require a different driving style to what I was used to, and I knew I would have a lot to learn. So, I was the first car out onto the circuit, getting the sound of the engine echoing around the facility, and knocking the cobwebs off remembering how to turn right after nearly three months of running on ovals.

The car really was different, but I just started driving it, and began to enjoy lap after lap. My pace was improving throughout the morning and the lap times came tumbling down - things were looking good.

Then, just before lunch time, I kind of stalled out. It became apparent that to go faster again I needed to work on a different driving technique - one that's completely new to me as a driver.

Back home in Europe, I went straight from Formula Renault 2.0 to Formula Renault 3.5, and I completely skipped a 'middle series' such as Formula 3. This Indy Lights car was much more like an F3 car - so back to school for me then!

The afternoon was spent working on putting into practice the things which were so easy to say and understand when in the pits, but actually much more difficult to do when out on circuit. Unlearning what you know, and learning something new, even just the smallest detail, is basically trying to get rid of bad habits - and it's not easy! However I gradually started to get better at kicking my bad habits, and the lap times certainly showed their appreciation! It's a great feeling knowing you're starting to do something right, but that still doesn't make the road ahead any easier…

In the end, I set my best lap time of the day as the track surface and temperature were going away from us right at the end of the test.

Everybody else had slowed up a bit at that point, but I was still learning, and still getting quicker. I didn't run as fast as I wanted to at the start of the test, but I still ran much better than I had done previously this year on a road course.

The main thing is that not only had I started the process of putting understanding into action on the track, but if you can understand why you're fast, you stand a better chance of being faster everywhere you go.

Finding a new ride Oct. 23, 2009

Throughout the offseason, Firestone Indy Lights driver Pippa Mann will share her job hunt with racefans through a blog firestoneindylights.com. Today, she details the beginning of the search for a ride for 2010.

I woke up on Monday morning (Oct. 19), just over a week after the Homestead-Miami finale, and my one, over-riding thought is that I currently don't have a job.

There are lots of people out there in this situation at the moment, and in racing, at the end of each season, it's kind of normal for drivers to find themselves looking to the following season not yet sure what they'll be driving. It might be normal, but it's still a stressful time of year.

To put together a deal for the following year requires money, but sponsors are always hard to come across. Good teams always want good drivers, but teams have to be able to pay their bills too, or it will go out of business.

I train at PitFit, and on that Monday morning, the training was a chore. Normally, despite their consistent and varied attempts to kill me, I actually quite enjoy the challenge. However, for one of the first times ever, it just felt like a chore.

Then at lunchtime, I had a phone call from my manager back home in England. He asked whether I would like to go and have a seat made for a test at Kentucky this Thursday. Of course! And with Sam Schmidt Motorsports? Even better.

When I drove down to the SSM shop for the first time on Tuesday morning I felt like the new girl at school. I checked my kit bag probably a hundred times, and I was still convinced I was going to forget something obvious and look fairly stupid on my first day. Thankfully for once, I didn't…

In my meetings with the engineers before the test, they told me about how they run their cars, and given me a good idea what to expect when I got in. I knew it was going to be a bit different from what I was used to, so I took in all the advice they could give me. At 10 a.m. on Thursday, the car was in pit lane, and we were ready to rock 'n' roll.

My first few laps went something like this:

Lap 1 - It's cold out here today
Lap 2 -- Yep I'm still sliding
Lap 3 -- This is more like it
Lap 4 - Going flat out, now let's find out where this car likes to run
Lap 5 - Okay - now we're talking…

The car was completely different in handling terms from the car I've been driving all year, but immediately I started to understand and like driving it. The lap times followed suit and Lap 5 was the first 'money lap' of the day. Despite the different handling, I was running fast, consistent, and above all, enjoying it.

We had plenty more of those money laps over the course of the day, and overall, it was a great day's testing. I was so comfortable and confident in the car that I wished that the track was full of cars so that I could get a feel for driving it in traffic. If the car handled that differently by itself, I couldn't wait to find out what it would be like in a pack - bring it on!

Well next up for me - we do have plans to run again, perhaps on a road course. You'll have to watch this space!

Mann, Wilson to test at Kentucky with SSM

Pippa Mann will return to the cockpit of a Firestone Indy Lights car when she tests with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

The one-day test is scheduled for Oct. 22 at Kentucky Speedway, where the team will be running Mann and Stefan Wilson.

"The only Firestone Indy Lights car I have driven up until now has been the #16 Panther Racing car, so it will be extremely interesting for me to test with another team," Mann said. "The chance to do so with an outfit as highly regarded as Sam Schmidt Motorsports is a great opportunity for me, and I'm really looking forward to getting onto the track. Although we're still undecided on plans for next year, this gives me a positive feeling about what we're trying to achieve."

Mann completed her debut Firestone Indy Lights season with Panther Racing, achieving a string of top 15 finishes, including three top ten results. The rookie driver also managed to claim a top ten qualifying spot in all of the oval races, and started her final race of the season from third on the grid.

"I have had the opportunity recently to speak with Pippa at length about her goals and ambitions in motorsports and was extremely impressed with her drive, determination, and focus to be successful," said Sam Schmidt Motorsports owner Sam Schmidt. "She has a very disciplined and technical approach, and we are very much looking forward to testing with her."

Mann hopes to announce plans for her 2010 season over the next few months.

Schedule

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