We’ve got such a lot to be proud of here in the UK, the most democratic electoral system in the world, the best football teams, the best weather and even the most talented entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Oh sorry, I was dreaming again…
Sometimes though we can’t help complaining about our lot compared to other nations, so it’s great to find a bit of news that puts the ‘Great’ back into Britain, especially when it comes from such an unexpected source.
If like me you consider yourself a died-in-the-wool petrolhead then you’ll be ashamed to discover how little you know about Pippa Mann. Pippa who?
She’s a 26-year old professional racing driver who has steadily worked herself up the ranks, starting in karts at the tender age of 13 then after becoming the only British female to win an international kart race she progressed up to UK Formula Renault in 2004.
She then became the first female to compete in World Series by Renault in 2007 before moving over to the US to race in the Firestone Indy Lights Series in 2009.
Which is where we arrive at the present day.
Later on today (in fact in just over 1 hour from now at 12:30 ET) Pippa will begin the Indy 500 supporting race, Firestone Freedom 100. From Pole.
After a solid fifth position in both practice sessions, Mann went out for qualifying and recorded a convincing average speed of 187.989 mph (1 minute, 35.7505 seconds) around the 2.5 mile oval.
The Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver took provisional pole with just five cars left to qualify. Despite a challenge from last year’s Freedom 100 winner Wade Cunningham, Mann’s time could not be surpassed. She took the pole – launching herself into the record books and to the front of the field for the Firestone Freedom 100 race.
This achievement makes the young Brit the first female driver in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 101-year history to put a car on pole. Not bad eh?
An elated Mann said: “I knew we had a quick race car, but I wasn’t expecting to be on pole position today. I was concerned after practice that the car felt too loose, so my engineer made some changes and when I went out to qualify, the car felt great. My dash wasn’t working and I had no idea what my speed was, so you can imagine how surprised I was to find out we were on pole!”
“I’m really looking forward to the race – last year was a disappointment for me, so I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to get back out there and go for the win.”
Mann will line-up beside team mate Cunningham to complete a Sam Schmidt Motorsports front row, with the AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport cars of Charlie Kimball and Martin Plowman on row two.
You can catch the race LIVE on VERSUS.com and follow Pippa on Twitter at @pippamann.
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